Currencies, Measurements and Time
I. Currencies
A currency is not necessarily coins or paper bills, but is money in any form that is used as a medium of exchange. The earliest forms of currency were pieces of gold or silver that were in an un-minted and un-unified form whose values were determined by the weight of the piece. Around the 7th century B.C. governments used an official stamp to guarantee the weight and purity of a piece of metal, thus the coin was born.
- It would take 6 of the widow’s mites to equal one penny! (Luke 21:2)
- The golden basins that Ezra brought back from Babylon were worth $5,280.00 each. (Ezra 8:27)
- In Jesus’ time you could buy a sparrow for less than a penny. (Matt. 5:26)
| Currency | Modern Equivalent | Scripture | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dram-a gold coin (Also known as the Persian Daric) | O.T. | $5.28 | I Chron. 29:7 |
| Farthing (1) Gr. Kondrantes-a bronze coin | N.T. | $0.00375 (3/8 of a cent) | Matt. 5:26 |
| Farthing (2) Gr. Assarion-a bronze coin | N.T. | $0.015 (about 3 farthings) | Lk. 12:6 |
| Mite-a copper coin | N.T. | $0.001875 (3/16 of a cent) | Lk. 21:2 |
| Penny (denarius)-a silver coin | N.T. | 2 bread loafs/day’s wage | Matt. 20:9 |
| Piece of Silver (1) Usually a shekel of silver | O.T. | Uncertain, $0.54 | I Sam. 2:36 |
| Piece of Silver (2) Gr. Argurion | N.T. | $0.64 | Matt. 26:15 |
| Piece of Silver (3) Gr. Drachme | N.T. | $0.17 | Lk. 15:8, 9 |
| Tribute Money Gr. Didrachmon- double drachme | N.T. | $0.32 | Matt. 17:24 |
II. Weights
The balance was a tool used to determine weight. It was an early form of a scale with a beam that was suspended in the middle and had a basket hanging on each side. In one basket they would place the item that was desired to be weighed and in the other basket they would place premade weights of stone or metal of a known amount. They would add or remove the known weights until both sides were equal.
Now a problem that they faced was that one person’s weight may not have been the same in another town or country, and they solved this problem by bringing their own weights with them so they could see if they were receiving a just value. Deuteronomy 25:13 indicates to us that some people had two weights that they carried with them—a lighter weight and a heavier weight—and they tried to trick people by using the different weights to their advantage.
These counterweights of stone and metal did not become common in the near east until the 5th century B.C. Before this time the shekel, which was a balance equal to 320 grains of barley, was used. When metals were introduced as a means of counterweight, the weight of a shekel was fixed at 11.5 grams of silver.
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The Queen of Sheba gave Solomon more than 9,000 pounds of gold (1 Kings 10:10)
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The offering taken up to rebuild the temple contained 12,500 pounds of silver (Ezra 2:69)
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1/5 of an ounce of silver was collected from every adult male Israelites to build the Tabernacle (Ex. 38:26)
Weight | Biblical | Modern Equivalent | Scripture | |
Bekah | O.T. | 1/2 shekel | 1/5 ounce (5.7 grams) | Ex. 38:26 |
Gerah | O.T. | 1/20 shekel | 1/50 ounce (.6 grams) | Lev. 27:25 |
Pound (1) Heb. Maneh | O.T. | 100 shekels | 2 1/2 pound (1.2 kg) | Erza 2:69 |
Pound (2) Gr. Litra | N.T. | 30 shekels | 2/5 ounce (11.5 grams) | John 12:3 |
Pound (3) Gr. Mina | N.T. | 50 shekels | 1 1/4 pound (.6 kg) | Lk. 19:13 |
Shekel | O.T. | 2 bekahs | 2/5 ounce (11.5 grams) | Ex. 30:13 |
Talent | 3,000 shekels | 75-88 lbs. (34-40 kg) | Ex. 25:39 |
III. Dry Measure
- On her first day of gleaning Ruth brought home 3/5 of a bushel (Ruth 2:17)
- When the quail fell on the Israelites, every person gathered at least 6 bushels (Num. 11:32)
Unit | Biblical | Modern Equivalent | Scripture |
Cab | 1/18 ephah | 1 quart (1 liter) | 2 Kings 6:25 |
Bushel | 4 omers | 1 peck of ¼ bushel (9 liters) | Matt. 5:15 |
Omer | 1/10 ephah | 2 quarts (2 liters) | Ex. 16:16 |
Ephah [Bath] | 10 omers | 3/5 bushel (22 liters) | Ex. 16:36 |
Cor [Homer] | 10 ephahs | 6 bushels or 200 quarts (220 liters) | Isa. 5:10 |
IV. Liquid Measure
Solomon’s molten sea could hold 12,000 gallons of water (1 Kings 7:26) The drink offering during the Feast of the First-Fruits consisted of 1 quart of wine (Lev. 23:13)
Unit | Biblical | Modern Equivalent | Scripture |
Log | 1/72 bath | 1/3 quart (.3 liter) | Lev. 14:10 |
Hin | 1/6 bath | 1 gallon or 4 quarts (4 liters) | Ezek. 45:24 |
Bath | 6 hins | 6 gallons (22 liters) | Ezra 7:22 |
Firkin | 10 hins | 10 gallons (39 liters) | John 2:6 |
Cor [Homer] | 10 baths | 60 gallons (220 liters) | Ezek. 45:14 |
V. Length
Linear measure was originally based upon parts of the body, such as the hand, arm or foot. The cubit, which is one of the most used measures of length in the Bible, was the distance from the elbow to the fingertip (about 18 inches), the span is the distance between the extended thumb and the little finger (about 9 inches), and the handbreadth was the width of the hand at the base of the four fingers (about 3 inches).
- Noah’s ark was 450 feet long! That means that it was as long as 1½ football fields (Gen. 6:15)
- Goliath was 9½ feet tall (1 Sam. 17:4)
- Nebuchadnezzar’s idol was 90 feet tall (Dan. 3:1)
Unit | Biblical | Modern Equivalent | Scripture |
Handbreadth | 1/6 cubit | 3 inches (8 centimeters) | Ps. 39:5 |
Span | 1/2 cubit | 9 inches (23 centimeters) | 1 Sam. 17:4 |
Cubit | 2 spans | 18 inches (.5 meter) | Judges 3:16 |
Fathom | 4 cubits | 2 yards (2 meters) | Acts 27:28 |
Reed Heb. Kaneh | 6 cubits | 3 yards (3 meters) | Ezek. 40:3 |
Furlong | 400 cubits | 1/8 mile (185 meters) | Rev. 14:20 |
Mile Gr. Mileon | 8 furlongs | 1,620 yards (1.5 kilometers) | Matt. 5:41 |
VI. Time
An hour was the shortest measurement of time among the ancient peoples. Their hour was not quite like our hour, which is always a fixed time, but was a 12th part of the time from sunrise to sunset, which made their hours constantly change in length as the season of the year changed.
A watch was one of units of time that the night was divided into. Old Testament night was divided into three watches while the New Testament night due to Roman influence was divided into four watches.
N.T. Time | Aprox. Modern Time |
First hour | 6-7 am |
Second hour | 7-8 am |
Third hour | 8-9 am |
Fourth hour | 9-10 am |
Fifth hour | 10-11 am |
Sixth hour | 11-12 pm |
Seventh hour | 12-1 pm |
Eighth hour | 1-2 pm |
Ninth hour | 2-3 pm |
Tenth hour | 3-4 pm |
Eleventh hour | 4-5 pm |
Twelfth hour | 5-6 pm |
JEWISH CALENDAR
CIVIL | SACRED | APROXIMATE EQUIVALENT | HEBREW | FESTIVALS | SEASONS & PRODUCTIONS |
7 | 1 | APRIL | ABIB/NISON 30 days | 1 New Moon 14 The Passover 15-21 Unleavened Bread | Spring rains (Deut. 11:14)/Floods (Josh. 3:15)/ Barley ripe of Jericho |
8 | 2 | MAY | ZIV/IYYAR 29 days | 1 New Moon 14 Second Passover | HARVEST: Barley Harvest (Ruth 1:22)/Wheat Harvest/ SUMMER begins/No rain April to Sept. (I Sam. 12:17) |
9 | 3 | JUNE | SIVAN 30 days | 1 New Moon/ 6 Pentecost | |
10 | 4 | JULY | TAMMUZ 29 days | 1 New Moon 17 Fast: taking of Jerusalem | HOT SEASON: heat increases |
11 | 5 | AUGUST | AB/AV 30 days | 1 New Moon 9 Fast: Jerusalem’s destruction | The streams dry up/ heat intense/ vintage (Lev. 26:5) |
12 | 6 | SEPTEMBER | ELUL 29 days | 1 New Moon | Heat intense (2 Kings 4:19)/ Grape harvest (Num. 13:23) |
1 | 7 | OCTOBER | ETHANIM/TISHRI 30 days | 1 New Year, Day of Blowing of Trumpet, Day of Judgment and Memorial (Lev. 29:1) 10 Day of Atonement (Lev. 16) 15 Booths/ 21 (Lev. 23:24) 22 Solemn Assembly | SEED TIME Former or early rains begin (Joel 2:23 Plowing and sowing begin |
2 | 8 | NOVEMBER | BUL/MARCHESRAN 29 days | 1 New Moon | Rain continues Wheat and barley sown |
3 | 9 | DECEMBER | CHISLEV 30 days | 1 New Moon 25 Dedication (John 10:22,29) | WINTER: winter begins/snow on mountains |
4 | 10 | JANUARY | TEBETH 29 days | 1 New Moon 10 Fast: Siege of Jerusalem | Coldest month Hail and snow (Josh. 10:11) |
5 | 11 | FEBRUARY | SHEBAT 30 days | 1 New Moon | Weather gradually warmer |
6 | 12 | MARCH | ADAR 29 days | 1 New Moon/ 13 Fast of Esther 14-15 Purim | Thunder and hail frequent Almond tree blossoms |
LP YR | 13 | MARCH/APRIL | VEADAR/ADAR SHENI | (same as ADAR) | INTERCALARY MONTH |
JEWISH CALENDAR NOTES
- After the EGYPTIAN EXODUS, the first month was changed from BUL/MARCHESRAN to ABIB/NISON.
- A new month commenced with the new moon Nu 10:10; Ps 81:3
- Each new moon was commemorated with feast and sacrifice. Num. 10:10; 28:11; I Sam. 20:5; Ps. 81:3; Isa. 1:14; Hosea 2:11
- The Civil Day was from sun-set one evening to sun-set the next; for “the evening and the morning were the first day.”
- NIGHT Watches (Ancient): First till midnight, Middle till 3 a.m., Morning till 6 a.m.
- NIGHT Watches (New Testament) First-Evening-6 to 9 pm/ Second-Midnight-9 to 12 a.m./ Third-12 to 3 a.m./ Fourth-morning-3 to 6 a.m.
- DAY (Ancient) Morning to 10 a.m., Heat of day to 2 p.m., Cool of day to 6 p.m.
- DAY (New Testament) Third Hour-6 to 9 a.m./ Sixth Hour-9 to 12 midday/ Ninth Hour-12 to 3 p.m./ Twelfth Hour-3 to 6 p.m.
- 360 Natural Days to one prophetic year. Dan. 7:25; 12:7 3.5 Prophetic Years=1,260 natural days; Rev. 12:14
In the history of the Jews, the year was wholly lunar, having alternately a full month of thirty days, and a defective month of twenty-nine days, thus completing their year in three hundred and fifty-four days. As the lunar year, which the Jews followed, is shorter than the solar year by eleven days, the Jewish calendar contains a 13th month, Veadar, introduced 7 times every 19 years. By this means the average length of the year is nearly correct and it keeps the seasons in the proper months.
For more information see The Student Bible Dictionary, Barbour Publishing
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