Money MONEY, n. plu. moneys. 1. Coin; stamped metal; any piece
of metal, usually gold, silver or copper, stamped by public authority,
and used as the medium of commerce. We sometimes give the name of money
to other coined metals,and to any other material which rude nations use
a medium of trade. But among modern commercial nations, gold, silver
and copper are the only metals used for this purpose. Gold and silver,
containing great value in small compass, and being therefore of easy
conveyance, and being also durable and little liable to diminution by
use, are the most convenient metals for coin or money, which is the
representative of commodities of all kinds, of lands, and of every
thing that is capable of being transferred in commerce. 2. Bank
notes or bills of credit issued by authority, and exchangeable for coin
or redeemable, are also called money; as such notes in modern times
represent coin, and are used as a substitute for it. If a man pays in
hand for goods in bank notes which are current, he is said to pay in
ready money. 3. Wealth; affluence. Money can neither open new
avenues to pleasure, nor block up the passages of anguish.
money
n 1: the most common medium of exchange; functions as legal
tender; "we tried to collect the money he owed us"
2: wealth reckoned in terms of money; "all his money is in real
estate"
3: the official currency issued by a government or national
bank; "he changed his money into francs"
money
ˈmʌnɪv. phr. To solicit donations for a charity or a specific project. Our
church is trying to raise the funds for a new organ.
See: COIN MONEY or MINT MONEY, EASY MONEY, FOOL AND HIS MONEY ARE SOON PARTED, FOR LOVE OR MONEY,
IN THE CHIPS or IN THE MONEY, MADE OF MONEY, MARRY MONEY, PUT ONE'S MONEY ON A SCRATCHED HORSE,
RUN FOR ONE'S MONEY, SEE THE COLOR OF ONE'S MONEY, SPENDING MONEY or POCKET MONEY.
money I. noun (pluralmoneysormonies)
Usage: often attributive Etymology: Middle English
moneye, from Anglo-French moneie, from Latin moneta
mint, money — more at mintDate: 14th century 1. something
generally accepted as a medium of exchange, a measure of value, or a means
of payment: as
a. officially coined or stamped metal currency b.money
of account} c.paper money2.a. wealth reckoned in terms of money b. an amount
of money c.plural sums of money ; funds
3. a form or denomination of coin or paper money 4.a. the first, second, and third place winners (as in a horse or dog
race) — usually used in the phrases in the money or out of the
moneyb. prize money <his horse took third money>
5.a. persons or interests possessing or controlling great
wealth b. a position of wealth <born into money>
II. adjectiveDate: circa 1934
involving or reliable in a crucial situation <a money player>
<a money pitch>
money n. 1 a a current medium of exchange in the form of coins and banknotes. b a particular form of this (silver money). 2 (pl. -eys or -ies) (in pl.) sums of money. 3 a wealth; property
viewed as convertible into money. b wealth as giving power or influence (money speaks). c a rich person or family (has married into money). 4 a money as a resource (time is money). b profit,
remuneration (in it for the money). Phrases and idioms: for my money in my opinion or judgement; for my preference (is too aggressive for my money). have money to burn see BURN(1). in
the money colloq. having or winning a lot of money. money box a box for saving money dropped through a slit. money-changer a person whose business it is to change money, esp. at an official rate.
money for jam (or old rope) colloq. profit for little or no trouble. money-grubber colloq. a person greedily intent on amassing money. money-grubbing n. this practice. --adj. given to this.
money market Stock Exch. trade in short-term stocks, loans, etc. money of account see ACCOUNT. money order an order for payment of a specified sum, issued by a bank or Post Office. money spider a
small household spider supposed to bring financial luck. money-spinner a thing that brings in a profit. money's-worth good value for one's money. put money into invest
in. Derivatives: moneyless adj. Etymology: ME f. OF moneie f. L moneta mint, money, orig. a title of Juno, in whose temple at Rome money was minted
money
(monies, or moneys)Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English.
1. Money is the coins or bank notes that you use to buy things, or the sum that you
have in a bank account.
A lot of the money that you pay at the cinema goes back to the film distributors...Players should be allowed to earn money from advertising......discounts and money saving offers.N-UNCOUNT
2. Monies is used to refer to several separate sums of money that form part of a larger
amount that is received or spent. (FORMAL)
We drew up a schedule of payments for the rest of the monies owed.N-PLURAL
3.
see alsoblood money, pocket money
4. If you say that someone has money to burn, you mean that they have more money than
they need or that they spend their money on things that you think are unnecessary.
He was a high-earning broker with money to burn.PHRASE: V inflects
5. If you are in the money, you have a lot of money to spend. (INFORMAL)
If you are one of the lucky callers chosen to play, you could be in the money.PHRASE: usu v-link PHR
6. If you make money, you obtain money by earning it or by making a profit.
...the only bit of the firm that consistently made money.PHRASE: V inflects
7. If you say that you want someone to put their money where their mouth is, you
want them to spend money to improve a bad situation, instead of just talking about improving it.
The government might be obliged to put its money where its mouth is to prove its
commitment.PHRASE: V inflects
8. If you say that thesmart money is on a particular person or thing, you mean
that people who know a lot about it think that this person will be successful, or this thing
will happen. (JOURNALISM)
With England not playing, the smart money was on the Germans...PHRASE
9. If you say that money talks, you mean that if someone has a lot of money, they also
have a lot of power.
The formula in Hollywood is simple–money talks.PHRASE
10. If you say that someone is throwing money at a problem, you are critical of them for
trying to improve it by spending money on it, instead of doing more thoughtful and practical
things to improve it.
The Australian government's answer to the problem has been to throw money at it.PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n [disapproval]
11. If you say that someone is throwing good money after bad, you are critical of them
for trying to improve a bad situation by spending more money on it, instead of doing more
thoughtful or practical things to improve it.
Further heavy intervention would be throwing good money after bad.PHRASE: V inflects [disapproval]
12. If you get your money's worth, you get something which is worth the money
that it costs or the effort you have put in.
The fans get their money's worth.PHRASE: PHR after v
13.
to be rolling in money: seerollingmoney for old rope: seerope
to give someone a run for their money: seerun
money
ˈmʌnɪ n. 1 a a current medium of exchange in the form of coins and
banknotes. b a particular form of this (silver money). 2 (pl. -eys or -ies)
(in pl.) sums of money. 3 a wealth; property viewed as convertible into
money. b wealth as giving power or influence (money speaks). c a rich person
or family (has married into money). 4 a money as a resource (time is money). b
profit, remuneration (in it for the money). øfor my money in my opinion or
judgement; for my preference (is too aggressive for my money). have money to
burn see BURN(1). in the money colloq. having or winning a lot of money. money
box a box for saving money dropped through a slit. money-changer a person
whose business it is to change money, esp. at an official rate. money for
jam (or old rope) colloq. profit for little or no trouble. money-grubber
colloq. a person greedily intent on amassing money. money-grubbing n. this
practice. --adj. given to this. money market Stock Exch. trade in short-term
stocks, loans, etc. money of account see ACCOUNT. money order an order for
payment of a specified sum, issued by a bank or Post Office. money spider
a small household spider supposed to bring financial luck. money-spinner a
thing that brings in a profit. money's-worth good value for one's money. put
money into invest in. øømoneyless adj. [ME f. OF moneie f. L moneta mint,
money, orig. a title of Juno, in whose temple at Rome money was minted]
Money
This yellow slave
Will knit and break religions; bless the accurs'd;
Make the hoar leprosy ador'd; place thieves,
And give them title, knee, and approbation,
With senators on the bench.
SHAKESPEARE: Timon of A., Act iv., Sc. 3.
He had rolled in money like pigs in mud.
Hood: Miss Kilmansegg.
'T is true we've money, th' only power
That all mankind falls down before.
BUTLER: Hudibras, Pt. iii., Canto ii., Line 1327.
Get money; still get money, boy,
No matter by what means.
BEN JONSON: Every Man in His Humour, Act ii., Sc. 3.
Money \Mon"ey\, n.; pl. Moneys. [OE. moneie, OF. moneie, F.
monnaie, fr. L. moneta. See Mint place where coin is made,
Mind, and cf. Moidore, Monetary.]
1. A piece of metal, as gold, silver, copper, etc., coined,
or stamped, and issued by the sovereign authority as a
medium of exchange in financial transactions between
citizens and with government; also, any number of such
pieces; coin.
To prevent such abuses, . . . it has been found
necessary . . . to affix a public stamp upon certain
quantities of such particular metals, as were in
those countries commonly made use of to purchase
goods. Hence the origin of coined money, and of
those public offices called mints. --A. Smith.
2. Any written or stamped promise, certificate, or order, as
a government note, a bank note, a certificate of deposit,
etc., which is payable in standard coined money and is
lawfully current in lieu of it; in a comprehensive sense,
any currency usually and lawfully employed in buying and
selling.
Note: Whatever, among barbarous nations, is used as a medium
of effecting exchanges of property, and in the terms of
which values are reckoned, as sheep, wampum, copper
rings, quills of salt or of gold dust, shovel blades,
etc., is, in common language, called their money.
3. In general, wealth; property; as, he has much money in
land, or in stocks; to make, or lose, money.
The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.
--1 Tim vi. 10
(Rev. Ver. ).
Maundy coins \Maundy coins\ or money \money\ .
Silver coins or money of the nominal value of 1d., 2d., 3d.,
and 4d., struck annually for the Maundy alms.
To turn one's coat, to change one's uniform or colors; to
go over to the opposite party.
To turn one's goods or money, and the like, to exchange
in the course of trade; to keep in lively exchange or
circulation; to gain or increase in trade.
To turn one's hand to, to adapt or apply one's self to; to
engage in.
To turn out.
(a) To drive out; to expel; as, to turn a family out of
doors; to turn a man out of office.
I'll turn you out of my kingdom. -- Shak.
(b) to put to pasture, as cattle or horses.
(c) To produce, as the result of labor, or any process of
manufacture; to furnish in a completed state.
(d) To reverse, as a pocket, bag, etc., so as to bring the
inside to the outside; hence, to produce.
(e) To cause to cease, or to put out, by turning a
stopcock, valve, or the like; as, to turn out the
lights.
To turn over.
(a) To change or reverse the position of; to overset; to
overturn; to cause to roll over.
(b) To transfer; as, to turn over business to another
hand.
(c) To read or examine, as a book, while, turning the
leaves. ``We turned o'er many books together.''
--Shak.
(d) To handle in business; to do business to the amount
of; as, he turns over millions a year. [Colloq.]
To turn over a new leaf. See under Leaf.
To turn tail, to run away; to retreat ignominiously.
To turn the back, to flee; to retreat.
To turn the back on or
upon, to treat with contempt; to reject or refuse
unceremoniously.
To turn the corner, to pass the critical stage; to get by
the worst point; hence, to begin to improve, or to
succeed.
To turn the die or dice, to change fortune.
To turn the edge or point of, to bend over the edge or
point of so as to make dull; to blunt.
To turn the head or brain of, to make giddy, wild,
insane, or the like; to infatuate; to overthrow the reason
or judgment of; as, a little success turned his head.
To turn the scale or balance, to change the
preponderance; to decide or determine something doubtful.
To turn the stomach of, to nauseate; to sicken.
To turn the tables, to reverse the chances or conditions of
success or superiority; to give the advantage to the
person or side previously at a disadvantage.
To turn tippet, to make a change. [Obs.] --B. Jonson.
To turn toprofit, advantage, etc., to make profitable or
advantageous.
To turn up.
(a) To turn so as to bring the bottom side on top; as, to
turn up the trump.
(b) To bring from beneath to the surface, as in plowing,
digging, etc.
(c) To give an upward curve to; to tilt; as, to turn up
the nose.
To turn upon, to retort; to throw back; as, to turn the
arguments of an opponent upon himself.
To turn upside down, to confuse by putting things awry; to
throw into disorder.
This house is turned upside down since Robin Ostler
died. --Shak.
MONEY
mun'-i: Various terms are used for money in the Bible, but the most common
are the Hebrew keceph, and Greek argurion, both meaning silver. We find
also qesiTah, rendered by Septuagint "lambs," probably referring to money
in a particular form; chalkos, is used for money in Mt 10:9; Mr 6:8;
12:41. It was the name of a small coin of Agrippa II (Madden, Coins
of the Jews); chrema, "price," is rendered money in Ac 4:37; 8:18,20;
24:26; kerma, "piece," i.e. piece of money (Joh 2:15); didrachmon,
"tribute money" (Mt 17:24 the King James Version, the Revised Version
(British and American) "half-shekel"); kensos, "census," "tribute money"
(Mt 22:19).
1. Material and Form:
Gold and silver were the common medium of exchange in Syria and Palestine
in the earliest times of which we have any historical record. The period of
mere barter had passed before Abraham. The close connection of the country
with the two great civilized centers of antiquity, Egypt and Babylonia,
had led to the introduction of a currency for the purposes of trade. We
have abundant evidence of the use of these metals in the Biblical records,
and we know from the monuments that they were used as money before the time
of Abraham. The patriarch came back from his visit to Egypt "rich in cattle,
in silver, and in gold" (Ge 13:2). There was no system of coinage,
but they had these metals cast in a convenient form for use in exchange,
such as bars or rings, the latter being a common form and often represented or
mentioned on the monuments of Egypt. In Babylonia the more common form seems to
have been the former, such as the bar, or wedge, that Achan found in the sack
of Jericho (Jos 7:21). This might indicate that the pieces were too
large for ordinary use, but we have indications of the use of small portions
also (2Ki 12:9; Job 42:11). But the pieces were not so accurately
divided as to pass for money without weighing, as we see in the case of the
transaction between Abraham and the children of Heth for the purchase of the
field of Machpelah (Ge 23). This transaction indicates also the common
use of silver as currency, for it was "current money with the merchant,"
and earlier than this we have mention of the use of silver by Abraham as
money: "He that is born in thy house and he that is bought with thy money"
(Ge 17:13).
Jewels of silver and gold were probably made to conform to the shekel weight,
so that they might be used for money in case of necessity. Thus Abraham's
servant gave to Rebecca a gold ring of half a shekel weight and bracelets
of ten shekels weight (Ge 24:22). The bundles of money carried by
the sons of Jacob to Egpyt for the purchase of grain (Ge 42:35) were
probably silver rings tied together in bundles. The Hebrew for "talent,"
kikkar, signifies something round or circular, suggesting a ring of this
weight to be used as money. The ordinary term for money was keceph,
"silver," and this word preceded by a numeral always refers to money,
either with or without "shekel," which we are probably to supply where it
is not expressed after the numeral, at least wherever value is involved,
as the shekel (sheqel) was the standard of value as well as of weight (see
WEIGHTS AND MEASURES). Thus the value of the field of Ephron was in shekels,
as was also the estimation of offerings for sacred purposes (Le 5:15;
27, passim). Solomon purchased chariots at 600 (shekels) each and horses at
150 (1Ki 10:29). Large sums were expressed in talents, which were a
multiple of the shekel. Thus Menahem gave Pul 1,000 talents of silver (2Ki
15:19), which was made up by the exaction of 50 shekels from each rich
man. Hezekiah paid the war indemnity to Sennacherib with 300 talents of
silver and 30 of gold (2Ki 18:14). The Assyrian account gives 800
talents of silver, and the discrepancy may not be an error in the Hebrew
text, as some would explain it, but probably a different kind of talent
(see Madden, Coins of the Jews, 4). Solomon's revenue is stated in talents
(1Ki 10:14), and the amount (666 of gold) indicates that money was
abundant, for this was in addition to what he obtained from the vassal states
and by trade. His partnership with the Phoenicians in commerce brought him
large amounts of the precious metals, so that silver was said to have been
as plentiful in Jerusalem as stones (1Ki 10:27).
Besides the forms of rings and bars, in which the precious metals were
cast for commercial use, some other forms were perhaps current. Thus the
term qesiTah has been referred to as used for money, and the Septuagint
translation has "lambs." It is used in Ge 33:19; Jos 24:32; Job 42:11,
and the Septuagint rendering is supposed to indicate a piece in the form of
a lamb or stamped with a lamb, used at first as a weight, later the same
weight of the precious metals being used for money. We are familiar with
lion weights and weights in the form of bulls and geese from the monuments,
and it would not be strange to find them in the form of sheep. QesiTah is
cognate with the Arabic qasaT, which means "to divide exactly" or "justly,"
and the noun qist means "a portion" or "a measure."
Another word joined with silver in monetary use is 'aghorah, the term being
translated "a piece of silver" in 1Sa 2:36. 'Aghorah is cognate with
the Arabic ujrat, "a wage," and it would seem that the piece of silver in
this passage might refer to the same usage.
Another word used in a similar way is rats, from ratsats, "to break in pieces,"
hence, rats is "a piece" or "fragment of silver" used as money. These terms
were in use before the introduction of coined money and continued after
coins became common.
2. Coined Money:
After the exile we begin to find references to coined money. It was invented in
Lydia or perhaps in Aegina. Herodotus assigns the invention to the Lydians
(i.94). The earliest Lydian coins were struck by Gyges in the 7th century
BC. These coins were of electrum and elliptical in form, smooth on the
reverse but deeply stamped with incuse impressions on the obverse. They
were called staters, but were of two standards; one for commercial use with
the Babylonians, weighing about 164,4 grains, and the other of 224 grains
(see Madden, op. cit.). Later, gold was coined, and, by the time of Croesus,
gold and silver. The Persians adopted the Lydian type, and coined both gold
and silver darics, the name being derived from Darius Hystaspis (521-485 BC)
who is reputed to have introduced the system into his empire. But the staters
of Lydia were current there under Cyrus (Madden, op. cit.), and it was perhaps
with these that the Jews first became acquainted in Babylon. Ezra states (2:69)
that "they (the Jews) gave after their ability into the treasury of the work
threescore and one thousand darics (the Revised Version (British and American))
of gold, and five thousand pounds of silver." The term here rendered "daric"
is darkemonim, and this word is used in three passages in Ne (7:70-72), and
'adharkonim occurs in 1Ch 29:7 and Ezr 8:27. Both are of the
same origin as the Greek drachma, probably, though some derive both from
Darius (a Phoenician inscription from the Piraeus tells us that darkemon
corresponds to drachma). At all events they refer to the gold coins which
we know as darics. The weight of the daric was 130 grains, though double
darics were struck.
Besides the gold daric there was a silver coin circulating in Persia that must
have been known to the Jews. This was the siglos, supposed to be referred to
in Ne 5:15, where it is translated "shekel." These were the so-called
silver darics, 20 of which were equivalent to the gold daric. Besides these
Persian coins the Jews must have used others derived from their intercourse
with the Phoenician cities, which were allowed to strike coins under the
suzerainty of the Persians. These coins were of both silver and bronze,
the suzerain not permitting them to coin gold. We have abundant examples of
these coins and trade must have made them familiar to the Jews.
The issues of Aradus, Sidon and Tyre were especially noteworthy, and were
of various types and sizes suited to the commercial transactions of the
Phoenicians. The Tyrian traders were established in Jerusalem as early as the
time of Nehemiah (13:16), and their coins date back to about that period. Among
the finest specimens we have of early coinage are the tetradrachms of Tyre
and the double shekels or staters of Sidon. The latter represent the Persian
king, on the obverse, as he rides in his chariot, driven by his charioteer and
followed by an attendant. On the reverse is a Phoenician galley. The weight
of these coins is from 380 to 430 grains, and they are assigned to the 4th
and 5th centuries BC. From Tyre we have a tetradrachm which corresponds to
the shekel of the Phoenician standard of about 220 grains, which represents,
on the obverse, the god Melkarth, the Tyrian Hercules, tiding on a seahorse,
and, beneath, a dolphin. The reverse bears an owl with the Egyptian crook and
a flail, symbols of Osiris. The early coins of Aradus bear, on the obverse,
the head of Baal or Dagon, and on the reverse a galley. The inscription has
"M.A." in Phoenician letters, followed by a date. The inscription signifies
"Melek Aradus," i.e. "king of Aradus."
When Alexander overthrew the Persian empire in 331 BC, a new coinage, on
the Attic standard, was introduced, and the silver drachms and tetradrachms
struck by him circulated in large numbers, as is attested by the large
number of examples still in existence. After his death, these coins, the
tetradrachms especially, continued to be struck in the provinces, with his
name and type, in his honor. We have examples of these struck at Aradus,
Tyre, Sidon, Damascus and Acre, bearing the mint marks of these towns. They
bear on the obverse the head of Alexander as Hercules, and, on the reverse,
Zeus seated on his throne holding an eagle in the extended right hand and
a scepter in the left. The legend is BASILEOS ALEXANDROU, or ALEXANDROU,
only, with various symbols of the towns or districts where they were struck,
together with mint marks.
The successors of Alexander established kingdoms with a coinage of their own,
such as the Ptolemies in Egypt and the Seleucids in Syria, and these coins, as
well as those of Alexander, circulated among the Jews. The Ptolemies of Egypt
controlled Palestine for about a century after Alexander, and struck coins,
not only in Egypt, but in some of the Phoenician towns, especially at Acre,
which was, from that time, known as Ptolemais. Their coins were based upon the
Phoenician standard. But the Seleucid kings of Syria had the most influence
in Phoenicia and Palestine, and their monetary issues are very various and
widely distributed, bearing the names and types of the kings, and the symbols
and mint marks of the different towns where they were struck, and are on the
Alexandrine or Attic standard in contrast to those of the Ptolemies. They
are both silver and bronze, gold being struck in the capital, Antioch,
usually. The coins of Antiochus IV, Epiphanes, are especially interesting
on account of his connection with Jewish affairs. It was he who made the
futile attempt to hellenize the Jews, which led to the revolt that resulted,
under his successors, in the independence of the country of Syrian control,
and the institution of a native coinage in the time of the Maccabees.
The struggle caused by the persecution of Antiochus commenced in 165 BC
and continued more than 20 years. Judas, the son of Mattathias, defeated
Antiochus, who died in 164, but the war was continued by his successors
until dynastic dissensions among them led to treaties with the Jews to
gain their support. At last Simon, who espoused the cause of Demetrius II,
obtained from him, as a reward, the right to rule Judea under the title of
high priest, with practical independence, 142-143 BC. Later Antiochus VII,
his successor, confirmed Simon in his position and added some privileges,
and among them the right to coin money (138-139 BC). Both silver and bronze
coins exist ascribed to Simon, but some numismatists have recently doubted
this, and have assigned them to another Simon in the time of the first
revolt of the Jews under the Romans. The coins in question are the shekels
and half-shekels with the legends, in Hebrew, sheqel yisra'el and yerushalem
qedhoshah ("Jerusalem the holy"), bearing dates ranging from the 1st to the
5th year, as well as bronze pieces of the 4th.
The reason for denying the ascription of these coins to Simon the Maccabee
is the difficulty in finding room for the years indicated in his reign
which closed in 135 BC. He received the commission to coin in 139-138,
which would allow only 4 years for his coinage, whereas we have coins of
the 5th year. Moreover, no shekels and half-shekels of any of the Maccabees
later than Simon have come to light, which is, at least, singular since we
should have supposed that all would have coined them as long as they remained
independent, especially since they coined in bronze, examples of the latter
being quite abundant. The fact also that they bore the title of king, while
Simon was high priest only, would seem to have furnished an additional reason
for claiming the prerogative of coinage in silver as well as bronze. But this
argument is negative only, and such coins may have existed but have not come
to light, and there are reasons which seem to the present writer sufficient
to assign them to Simon the Maccabee. In the first place, the chronological
difficulty is removed if we consider that Simon was practically independent
for three or four years before he obtained the explicit commission to coin
money. We learn from Josephus (Ant., XIII, vi, 7) and from 1 Macc (13:41,42)
that in the 170th year of the Seleucid era, that is, 143-142 BC, the Jews
began to use the era of Simon in their contracts and public records. Now it
would not have been strange if Simon, seeing the anarchy that prevailed in
the kingdom of Syria, should have assumed some prerogatives of an independent
ruler before they were distinctly granted to him, and among them that of
coining money. If he had commenced in the latter part of 139 BC, he would
have been able to strike coins of the 5th year before he died, and this would
satisfy the conditions (see Madden's Jewish Coinage). There is a difficulty
quite as great in attributing these coins to Simon of the first revolt under
the Romans. That broke out in 66 AD, and was suppressed by the taking of
Jerusalem in 70. This would allow a date of the 5th year, but it is hardly
supposable that in the terrible distress and anarchy that prevailed in the
city during that last year any silver coins would have been struck. There is
another fact bearing upon this question which is worthy of notice. The coins
of the first revolt bear personal appellations, such as "Eleazar the priest,"
and "Simon," while those assigned to Simon the Maccabee bear no personal
designation whatever. This is significant, for it is not likely that Eleazar
and Simon would have commenced coining silver shekels and half-shekels with
their names inscribed upon them in the 1st year of their reign and then have
omitted them on later issues. Another point which has some force is this:
We find mention, in the New Testament, of money-changers in connection with
the temple, whose business it was to change the current coin, which was
Roman or Greek, and bore heathen types and legends, for Jewish coins, which
the strict Pharisaic rules then in force required from worshippers paying
money into the temple treasury. It is inferred that they could furnish the
shekels and half-shekels required for the yearly dues from every adult male
(compare Mt 17:24-27). Now the only shekels and half-shekels bearing
Jewish emblems and legends, at that time, must have been those issued by
the Maccabean princes, that is, such as we have under discussion. In view
of these facts the Maccabean origin of these pieces seems probable.
The shekels under discussion have on one side a cup, or chalice (supposed to
represent the pot of manna), with the legend in Hebrew around the margin,
sheqel yisra'el, with a letter above the cup indicating the year of the
reign. The reverse bears the sprig of a plant (conjectured to be Aaron's
rod) having three buds or fruits, and on the margin the legend, yerushalem
ha-qedhoshah, "Jerusalem the holy." The half-shekel has the same type,
but the reverse bears the inscription, chatsi sheqel (half-shekel). The
letters indicating the year have the letter called "shin" (Shenath, "year")
prefixed, except for the first. This also omits the Hebrew letter "waw" (w)
from qedhoshah and the second letter, "yodh" (y) from yerushalem. The term
"holy" for Jerusalem is found in Isa 48:2 and other passages of the
Old Testament, and is still preserved in the Arabic qudus by which the city
is known today in Syria.
Copper, or bronze, half-and quarter-shekels are also attributed to Simon,
bearing date of the 4th year. The obverse of the half-shekel has two bundles
of thick-leaved branches with a citron between, and on the reverse a palm
tree with two baskets filled with fruit. The legend on the obverse is shenath
'arba` chatsi, "the fourth year a half," and on the reverse, li-ghe'ullath
tsiyon, "the redemption of Zion." The quarter-shekel has a similar type,
except that the obverse lacks the baskets and the reverse has the citron
only. The legend has rebhia`, "quarter," instead of "half." Another type is
a cup with a margin of jewels on the obverse and a single bunch of branches
with two citrons on the reverse.
The palm is a very common type on the coins of Judea and a very appropriate
one, since it is grown there. Jericho was called the city of palms. The
branches of trees in bundles illustrate the custom of carrying branches at
the Feast of Tabernacles and the erection of booths made of branches for use
during this feast (see Le 23:40). The baskets of fruit may refer to
the offerings of first-fruits (De 26:2). One of the above series of
coins published by Madden bears the countermark of an elephant, which was a
symbol adopted by the Seleucid kings, and this is an evidence of its early
date. But whatever doubts there may be as to the coins of Simon, there can
be none as to those of his successor, John Hyrcanus, who reigned 135-106
BC, since they bear his name. They are all of bronze and bear the following
inscription with a great number of variations, Yehochanan hacohen hagadel
wachabar heyhudim, "Johanan the high priest and senate of the Jews." The
reverse has a two-branched cornucopia with a poppy head rising from the
center. There is some doubt as to the meaning of the word hebher in the
above. It is commonly rendered "senate," taking it in the sense it seems
to bear in Ho 6:9, "a company" or "band," here the company of elders
representing the people. Judas Aristobulus (106-105 BC) issued similar coins
with Hebrew legends, but with the accession of Alexander Janneus (105-78 BC)
we find bilingual inscriptions on the coins, Hebrew and Greek. The obverse
bears the words yehonathan ha-melekh, "Jehonathan the king," and the reverse,
BASILEOS ALEXANDROU, "King Alexander." Most of his coins, however, bear Hebrew
inscriptions only. All are of copper or bronze, like those of Hyrcanus and
Aristobulus, and are of the denomination known to us in the New Testament as
"mites" weighing from 25 to 35 grains.
When the Romans took possession of Palestine in 63 BC, the independent rule
of the Hasmoneans came to an end, but Pompey confirmed John Hyrcanus as
governor of Judea under the title of high priest. Dissensions between him
and other members of his family called for interference several times on
the part of the Romans. Hyrcanus was again confirmed by Julius Caesar in 47
and continued in authority until 40. It is uncertain what coins he issued,
but whatever they were, they bore the type found on those of Alexander
Janneus. In 40 BC, the Parthians temporarily overthrew the Roman authority
in Syria and Palestine, and set Antigonus on the throne of the latter, and
he reigned until 37. The coins he issued bore bilingual inscriptions like the
bilinguals of Alexander. He calls himself Antigonus in Greek, and Mattathias
in Hebrew, the type being a wreath on the obverse and a double cornucopia
on the reverse, though some have it single. They are much heavier coins
than the preceding issues. The legends are: obverse, BASILEOS ANTIGONOU,
"of King Antigonus"; reverse (mattithyah ha-kohen gadhol ha-yeh(udhim),
"Mattathias the high priest of the Jews."
The Hasmonean dynasty ended with Antigonus and that of the Herods
followed. Herod the Great was the first to attain the title of king, and his
coins are numerous and bear only Greek legends and are all of bronze. The
earliest have the type of a helmet with cheek pieces on the obverse and the
legend: BASILEOS HRODOU, and in the field to the left gamma (year 3), and on
the right, a monogram. The reverse has a Macedonian shield with rays. The coin
here illustrated is another type: a rude tripod on the obverse, and a cross
within a wreath on the reverse, the legend being the same as given above.
Herod Archelaus, who reigned from 4 BC to 6 AD, issued coins with the title
of ethnarch, the only coins of Palestine to bear this title. They are all
of small size and some of them have the type of a galley, indicating his
sovereignty over some of the coast cities, such as Caesarea and Joppa.
The coins of Herod Antipas (4 BC-40 AD) bear the title of tetrarch, many
of them being struck at Tiberias, which he founded on the Sea of Galilee
and named after the emperor Tiberius. The following is an example: obverse
HER. TETR. (HERODOU TETRACHOU), with the type of a palm branch; reverse,
TIBERIAS, within a wreath. Others have a palm tree entire with the date
lambda-gamma (LG) and lambda-delta (LD): 33 and 34 of his reign, 29-30
AD. There are coins of Herod Philip, 4 BC-34 AD, though somewhat rare,
but those of Agrippa, 37-44 AD, are numerous, considering the shortness of
his reign. The most common type is a small coin ("mite") with an umbrella
having a tassel-like border, on the obverse, and three ears of wheat on one
stalk on the reverse. The legend reads: Basileos Agrippa, and the date is LS
(year 6). Larger coins of Agrippa bear the head of the emperor (Caligula or
Claudius) with the title of Sebastos (Augustus) in Greek.
Agrippa II was the last of the Herodian line to strike coins (48-100 AD). They
were issued under Nero, whose head they sometimes bear with his name as well
as that of Agrippa. They are all of the denomination of the mite (lepton).
In 6 AD, Judea was made a Ro province and was governed by procurators,
and their coins are numerous, being issued during the reigns of Augustus,
Tiberius, Claudius and Nero. They are all small and bear on the obverse the
legends: KAISAROS (Caesar), or IOULIA (Julia), or the emperor's name joined
with Caesar. The coins of the Jews struck during the first and second revolts,
66-70 AD, and 132-135 AD, have already been alluded to with the difficulty
of distinguishing them, and some have been described. They all have the types
common to the purely Jewish issues; the date palm, the vine, bunches of fruit,
the laurel or olive wreath, the cup or chalice, the lyre and a temple with
columns. Types of animals or men they regarded as forbidden by their law. Most
of them are bronze, but some are silver shekels and half-shekels, dated in
the lat, 2nd and 3rd years, if we assign those of higher date to Simon the
Maccabee. Those of the 1st year bear the name of Eleazar the priest, on the
obverse, and on the reverse the date "first year of the redemption of Israel,"
shenath 'achath li-ghe'ullath yisra'el. Others bear the name of Simon and
some that of "Simon Nesi' Israel" ("Simon Prince of Israel"). The coins of
the 2nd and 3rd years are rare. They have the type of the cup and vine leaf,
or temple and lulabh. Those supposed to belong to the second revolt bear
the name of Simon without Nesi' Israel, and are therefore assigned to Simon
Bar-Cochba. The example here given has the type of the temple on the obverse
with what is thought to be a representation of the "beautiful gate," between
the columns, and a star above. The name Simon is on the margin, the first
two letters on the right of the temple and the others on the left. The legend
of the reverse is: lecheruth yerushalem ("the deliverance of Jerusalem").
Some of the coins struck by the Romans to commemorate their victory over the
Jews were struck in Palestine and some at Rome, and all bear the head of the
Roman emperor on the obverse, but the reverse often exhibits Judea as a weeping
captive woman, seated at the foot of a palm tree or of a Roman standard bearing
a trophy. The legend is sometimes Judea capta and sometimes Judea devicta. The
example given has the inscription in Greek: IOUDIAS EALOKUIAS, Judea capta.
There are coins of Agrippa II (the "king Agrippa" of Ac 25: 26,
struck in the reign of Vespasian, with his name and title on the obverse and
with a deity on the reverse, holding ears of wheat in the right hand and a
cornucopia in the left. The inscription reads: ETOU KSBA AGRI PPA (year 26,
King Agrippa) in two lines.
After the revolt of Bar-Cochba and the final subjugation of the Jews by
Hadrian, Jerusalem was made a Roman colony and the name was changed to Aelia
Capitolina. A series of coins was struck, having this title, which continued
until the reign of Valerianus, 253-260 AD. These coins were all of copper
or bronze, but silver pieces were in circulation, struck at Rome or at some
of the more favored towns in Syria, such as Antioch. These were denarii and
tetradrachms, the former being about one-fourth the weight of the latter
which were known as staters (Mt 17:27). The piece referred to was
the amount of tribute for two persons, and as the amount paid by one was the
half-shekel (Mt 17:24), this piece must have been the equivalent of
the shekel or tetradrachm.
H. Porter
Money
Of uncoined money the first notice we have is in the history of
Abraham (Gen. 13:2; 20:16; 24:35). Next, this word is used in
connection with the purchase of the cave of Machpelah (23:16),
and again in connection with Jacob's purchase of a field at
Shalem (Gen. 33:18, 19) for "an hundred pieces of money"=an
hundred Hebrew kesitahs (q.v.), i.e., probably pieces of money,
as is supposed, bearing the figure of a lamb.
The history of Joseph affords evidence of the constant use of
money, silver of a fixed weight. This appears also in all the
subsequent history of the Jewish people, in all their internal
as well as foreign transactions. There were in common use in
trade silver pieces of a definite weight, shekels, half-shekels,
and quarter-shekels. But these were not properly coins, which
are pieces of metal authoritatively issued, and bearing a stamp.
Of the use of coined money we have no early notice among the
Hebrews. The first mentioned is of Persian coinage, the daric
(Ezra 2:69; Neh. 7:70) and the 'adarkon (Ezra 8:27). The daric
(q.v.) was a gold piece current in Palestine in the time of
Cyrus. As long as the Jews, after the Exile, lived under Persian
rule, they used Persian coins. These gave place to Greek coins
when Palestine came under the dominion of the Greeks (B.C. 331),
the coins consisting of gold, silver, and copper pieces. The
usual gold pieces were staters (q.v.), and the silver coins
tetradrachms and drachms.
In the year B.C. 140, Antiochus VII. gave permission to Simon
the Maccabee to coin Jewish money. Shekels (q.v.) were then
coined bearing the figure of the almond rod and the pot of
manna.
money
ˈmʌnɪ n.
1 currency, legal tender, medium of exchange, specie, (hard) cash, ready money, banknotes,
paper money, Brit notes, US bills, coin(s), change, small change, Derogatory (filthy) lucre,
pelf, Colloq shekels, Brit lolly, readies, US folding money, cold (hard) cash, US and Canadian
and Australian shin-plasters; Slang loot, dough, bread, spondulicks or spondulix, boodle, readies
or the ready, moolah, Brit rhino, US (long) green, greenbacks, mazuma, wampum, simoleons, bucks,
scratch, gelt, kale, cabbage, lettuce, spinach: He makes daily rounds to collect the money from
the launderettes he owns.
2 resources, wealth, fortune, funds, capital, wherewithal, affluence, means, (liquid)
assets, riches; Slang bundle: All the family money is invested in long-term bonds.
3 gain, profit, net, Colloq take, percentage, Slang rake-off: How much money does the
shop take in at the end of the day?
4 in the money. rich, wealthy, affluent, moneyed or monied, well off, well-to-do,
prosperous, Colloq flush, in clover, in or on Easy Street, Slang loaded, well-heeled, rolling
in it or in money or in dough, filthy rich, stinking rich, fat: They have been in the money
since their uncle died.
On most web browsers you can double click any word on this page to see what definitions I have for that word.
This dictionary server is not an authoratative source of information for anything. Like almost everything at sorabji.com, I set this up for my own purposes. In this case the purpose is to
browse words and ideas at random. An automatically generated page that produces Random Words
is my gateway to this resource. Below is a list of some of my favorite words discovered here. I also have attempted a word of the day type of thing,
in which I simply post interesting words that I find through the Wordswarm Random Words Pages. I have made available the complete 1828 Webster's Dictionary, which many feel is the greatest English dictionary ever published.
Other random links of mine include the Sorabji.com Random Link, which sends you to one of
over 7,000 pages on my web sites; the Face Server produces random images of
human faces; clicking the Random WAYD link shows you a random posting to my "What Are You Doing?" board; the Random USPS
Mailbox link sends you to a page with information about a random mailbox; and the random pictures page page of sorabji.com shows one of over 11,000 random images any time you load the page. On an unrelated note, I have begun making several thousand pages of legal documents searchable.