MONEY
exact
weight
of
the
heavy
Babylonian
shekel
of
the
common
or
trade
standard.
For
the
weighing
of
silver,
on
the
other
hand,
this
shekel
was
discarded
for
practical
reasons.
Throughout
the
East
in
ancient
times
the
ratio
of
gold
to
silver
was
13J
:
1,
which
means
that
a
shekel
of
gold
could
buy
13i
times
the
same
weight
of
silver.
The
latest
explanation
of
this
invariable
ratio,
it
may
be
added
in
passing,
is
that
advocated
by
Wmckler
and
his
foUowera.
On
this,
the
so-called
'astral
mythology
theory
of
the
origin
of
Babylonian
culture,
gold,
the
yellow
metal,
was
specially
associated
with
the
sun,
while
the
paler
silver
was
the
special
'moon-metal.'
Accordingly
it
was
natural
to
fix
the
ratio
between
them
as
that
which
existed
between
the
year
and
the
month,
viz.
360
:
27
or
40
:
3.
In
ordinary
commerce,
however,
this
ratio
between
the
two
chief
media
of
exchange
was
extremely
incon-venient,
and
to
obviate
this
inconvenience,
the
weight
of
the
shekel
for
weighing
silver
was
altered
so
that
a
gold
shekel
might
be
exchanged
for
a
whole
number
of
silver
shekels.
This
alteration
was
effected
in
two
ways.
On
the
one
hand,
along
the
Babylonian
trade-routes
into
Asia
Minor
the
light
Babylonian
shekel
of
126
grains
was
raised
to
168
grains,
so
that
10
such
shekels
of
silver
now
represented
a
single
gold
shekel,
since
126X134
=
168X10.
On
the
other
hand,
the
great
commercial
cities
of
Phoenicia
introduced
a
silver
shekel
of
224
grains,
15
of
which
were
equivalent
to
one
heavy
Babylonian
gold
shekel
of
252
grains,
since
252
X
134=224X15.
This
224-grain
shekel
is
accordingly
known
as
the
Phoenician
standard.
It
was
on
this
standard
that
the
sacred
dues
of
the
Hebrews
were
calculated
(see
§
3);
on
it
also
the
famous
silver
shekels
and
half-shekels
were
struck
at
a
later
period
(§
5).
With
regard,
now,
to
the
intrinsic
value
of
the
above
gold
and
silver
shekels,
all
calculations
must
start
from
the
mint
price
of
gold,
which
in
Great
Britain
is
£3,
17s.
lOid.
per
ounce
of
480
grains.
This
gives
£2,
Is.
as
the
value
of
the
Hebrew
gold
shekel
of
252
gis.,
and
since
the
latter
was
the
equivalent
of
15
heavy
Phoe-nician
shekels,
2s.
9d.
represents
the
value
as
bullion
of
the
Hebrew
silver
shekel.
Of
course
the
purchasing
power
of
both
in
Bible
times,
which
is
the
real
test
of
the
value
of
money,
was
many
times
greater
than
their
equivalents
in
sterling
money
at
the
present
day.
The
results
as
to
weights
and
values
above
set
forth
may
be
presented
in
tabular
form
as
follows:
—
Since
the
effective
weight
of
the
extant
shekels
is
somewhat
under
the
theoretical
weight
above
given,
the
intrinsic
value
of
any
number
of
shekels
of
silver
may
be
found
with
sufficient
accuracy
by
equating
the
shekel
roughly
with
our
half-crown
(2s.
6d.).
Although
we
have
literary
and
numismatic
evidence
for
the
gold
and
silver
shekels
of
these
tables
only,
it
may
now
be
regarded
as
certain
that
other
standards
were
in
use
in
Palestine
in
historic
times
for
weighing
the
precious
metals.
The
best
attested
is
that
which
the
present
writer,
in
his
article
'Weights
and
Meas-ures'
in
Hastings'
DB
iv.
904
f.,
termed
the
'
Syrian
320-grain
unit,'
a
shekel
which
is
A'h
o'
a
heavy
Baby-
MONEY
Ionian
mina
of
16,000
grains.
That
the
light
shekel
of
this
standard,
represented
by
the
now
familiar
weights
of
160
grains
or
thereby,
inscribed
netseph,
was
used
for
weighing
silver
or
gold
or
both
is
evident
from
the
small
denominations
which
have
been
recovered,
such
as
the
quarter
netseph
of
40
grs.,
known
as
the
Chaplin
weight
(see
op.
cit.
and
PEFSt,
1903,
p.
197,
1904,
p.
209
fl.,
and
later
years).
2.
Money
in
the
pre-exUic
period.
—
Throughout
the
whole
of
this
period,
as
has
already
been
emphasized,
in
every
transaction
involving
the
payment
of
sums
of
considerable
value,
the
money
was
reckoned
by
weight.
Accordingly,
when
Abraham
bought
the
field
and
cave
of
Machpelah
he
'weighed
to
Ephron
the
silver
.
.
.
four
hundred
shekels
of
silver,
current
money
with
the
merchant
'
(Gn
23").
In
view
of
what
has
just
been
said
regarding
the
variety
of
standards
in
use
in
Palestine
in
early
times,
it
would
be
unwise,
in
the
present
state
of
our
knowledge,
to
pronounce
as
to
the
value
of
the
price
paid
in
this
transaction.
On
the
Phoenician
standard
it
would
be
approximately
£55
sterling;
on
the
netseph
standard,
which
stands
to
the
Phoenician
in
the
ratio
of
6
:
7,
it
would
be
under
£40.
Similarly,
the
price
which
David
paid
for
the
threshing-floor
of
Araunah
the
Jebusite,
50
shekels
of
silver
(2
S
242»),
will
vary
from
£6
to
£7
according
to
the
standard
adopted.
On
the
other
hand,
where
gold
is
concerned,
as
in
the
case
of
the
30
talents
which
Sennacherib
'appointed
unto
Heze-kiah'
(2
K
18"),
we
may
with
some
confidence
assume
the
gold
standard
common
to
Palestine
and
Assyria.
In
this
case
Hezekiah's
tribute
will
represent
the
respect-able
sum
of
£184,500.
A
noteworthy
feature
of
the
entries
of
prices
in
the
pre-exilic
writings
of
the
Hebrews
is
the
disappearance
of
the
mina,
the
sums
being
stated
in
terms
of
shekels
and
talents
exclusively.
Thus
Abraham,
as
we
have
seen,
paid
400
shekels,
not
8
minas,
to
the
children
of
Heth;
the
weight,
and
therefore
the
value,
of
Achan's
'wedge
of
gold'
(see
next
paragraph)
is
given
as
50
shekels,
not
as
1
mina,
and
so
throughout.
In
this
period
the
precious
metals
circulated
in
three
forms.
The
shekel,
its
subdivisions
(cf.
the
quarter-
shekel
of
1
S
9«)
and
smaller
multiples,
had
the
form
of
ingots
of
metal,
without
any
stamp
or
other
mark,
so
far
as
our
evidence
goes,
as
a
guarantee
of
their
purity
and
weight.
Larger
values
were
made
up
in
the
shape
of
bars,
such
as
Schhemann
discovered
at
Troy
and
MacaUster
found
at
Gezer
(iUust.
Bible
Sidelights,
etc.,
fig.
36).
The
'wedge
(lit.
'tongue')
of
gold'
which
Achan
appropriated
from
the
loot
of
Jericho
(Jos
7")
was
probably
such
a
thin
bar
of
gold.
Further,
Rebekah's
nose-ring
of
half
a
shekel
of
gold,
and
her
bracelets
of
ten
shekels
(Gn
24^),
represent
a
third
form
which
the
metal
currency
of
the
early
period
might
assume.
The
vases
and
other
vessels
of
gold
and
silver
which
are
so
frequently
mentioned
in
ancient
tribute
hsts
also,
in
all
probability,
represented
definite
weights
and
values.
To
such
an
extent
was
the
shekel
the
exclusive
unit
in
all
ordinary
transactions,
that
the
Hebrew
writers
frequently
omit
it
in
their
statements
of
prices.
This
applies
to
gold
as
well
as
to
silver,
e.g.
2X5'
'six
thousand'
of
gold,
where
AV
and
RV
supply
'pieces,'
but
RVm
has
the
correct
'
shekels'
(cf.
silverling
[wh.
see]
in
Is
7^).
3.
Money
in
the
Persian
period:
introduction
of
coins.
—
In
this
period
the
money
of
the
small
Jewish
community
was
still,
as
before
the
Exile,
chiefly
ingots
and
bars
of
the
precious
metals,
without
official
mark
of
any
kind.
The
addition
of
such
a
mark
by
the
issuing
authority
serves
as
a
public
guarantee
of
the
purity
of
the
metal
and
the
weight
of
the
ingot,
and
transforms
the
latter
into
a
coin.
Coined
money
is
usually
regarded
as
the
invention
of
the
Lydians
early
in
the
7th
cent.
B.C.,
but
it
is
very
improbable
that
any
'coins'
reached
Palestine
before
the
fall
of
the
Jewish
State
in
B.C.
587.
The
first
actual
coins
to
reach
Jeru-
