Κοδράντης Quadrans, a Farthing. It was a Roman coyn, weighing a grain of barly; it consisted of two mites. The poor Widow threw in two mites which makes a farthing, Mark. 12. 42. By consequence it valued of ours c. ½.

Ἀσσάριον, Assarius, vel assarium. It was a Roman coyn, weighing four grains. The Rabbins call it ‎‏איסור‏‎ Isor, and say, that it containeth[783] eight mites. Of this we read, Mat. 10. 29. Are not two Sparrows sold for (an Assarium?) our English readeth it, for a farthing? It valueth of ours, in precise speaking, q^a.—q.

Their silver Coyns.

‎‏גרה‏‎ Gerah. It was the twentieth part of the shekel of the Sanctuary; A shekel is twenty Gerahs, Exod. 30. 13. It was the least silver coyn among the Hebrews; it valued of ours 1 d. ob.

‎‏אגורת‏‎ Agorath: We English it in general, a piece of silver, 1 Sa. 2. 36. But it appeareth by the Chaldee paraphrase, that it is of the same value with Gerah; that paraphrase renders both ‎‏מעא‏‎ Megna; by the Greek they are both rendred ὄβολος the value therof therfore is 1 d. ob.

‎‏קשיטה‏‎ Keshitah. The word signifieth a lamb, and is used for a certain coyn among the Hebrews, on the one side whereof the Image of a lamb was stamped; our English reads it in general, a piece of mony. Jacob bought a parcel of a field for an hundred pieces of mony, Gen. 33. 19. In the original it is, for an hundred lambs. But it is apparent, that Jacob paid mony; for S. Stephen saith, he bought it for mony, Act. 7. 16. In the judgment of the Rabbines,[784] it was the same that Obolus, twenty of them went to a shekel;[785] so that the value thereof was 1 d. ob.

‎‏כסף‏‎ Ceseph, ἀργύριον Argenteus, a piece of silver: as the Romans numbred their sums by Sesterces, insomuch that Nummus is oftentimes put absolutly to signifie the same as Sestertius: So the Hebrews counted their sums by shekels, and the Grecians by Drachmæ: Hence Argenteus, a piece of silver, being put absolutely in the Bible, if mention in that place be of the Hebrew coyns, it standeth for a shekel, and valueth 2 s. 6 d. if it stand for the shekel of the sanctuary: if it stand for a common shekel, then it valueth 1 s. 3 d. But if mention be of the Greek coyns, as Acts 19. 19. then it signifieth the Attick Drachma, which valueth of our money 1 d. ob.

Δραχμὴ, Luk. 15. 8. It was a quarter of a shekel,[786] and thus by consequence it valued of ours 7 d. ob.

Δίδραχμον, Didrachmon; Mat. 17. 24. We English it tribute money: The Syriack readeth Duo Zuzim;[787] now that coyn which was termed Zuz by the Hebrews, was answerable to the Roman Denair; whence it appeareth, that it valued of ours 1 s. 3 d.

Στατὴρ, Stater. We English it a piece of money at large, but it contained precisely two didrachmas. For the tribute money to be paid for each person, was Didrachmum, as is evident, Mat. 17. 24. and this Stater was paid for two, namely, for Christ and Peter, the value of it therefore was, 2 s. 6 d.

Δενάριον, Denarius, a peny. This was their tribute money, Mat. 22. 19. There were two sorts of pence[788] in use among them: the common peny, which valued of ours 7 d. ob. And the peny of the Sanctuary, which valued 1 s. 3 d. For it was answerable to their Didrachmum; and of this last we must understand S. Matthew in this place, for their tribute mony was Didrachmum, as before hath been noted out of Mat. 17. 24. This Didrachmum or half shekel was formerly paid by the Isrælites every year after they were 20 years old;[789] towards their Temple, Exod. 30. 13. Cæsar by taking away this money from the Temple, and changing it into a tribute for his own Coffers, did in truth take away from God that which was God’s. Hence in that question proposed unto Christ, Is it lawful to give tribute unto Cæsar, or not? Christ answereth, Render unto Cæsar the things that are Cæsar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s. This very tribute afterward was paid by the Jews[790] toward the Roman capital, by vertue of a Decree made by Vespasian.

‎‏זוז‏‎ Zuz, It was the fourth part of a shekel of silver:[791] it valued therefore of ours, 7 d. ob.

‎‏שקל‏‎ Shekel, Siclus, a shekel: it was twofold; Siclus regius, the Kings shekel, of common use in buying and selling, it valued 1 s. 3 d. And Siclus Sanctuarii; the shekel of the Sanctuary, it valued 2 s. 6 d.

The shekels of the Sanctuary were of two stamps. The one was always in use among the Jews: the thirty pieces of silver which Judas received, are thought to be 30 shekels of the Sanctuary. It had stampt on the one side, the pot of Manna, or as others think, Aarons censer or Incense-cup: the inscription on this side was ‎‏שקל ישראל‏‎ Shekel Israel, The shekel of Israel: on the reverse side was stampt Aarons Rod budding, with this inscription about the Coyn ‎‏ירושלים הקדושה‏‎ Jeruschalaiim hakeduscha. After the coming of our Saviour, the Jews which were converted to the Christian Faith, changed their shekel,[792] and on the first side stampt the Image of Christ, with ‎‏יש‏‎ at the mouth of the Image, and ‎‏ו‏‎ in the pole, which three letters made his name Jesu. On the reverse side there was no picture, but the whole rundle was filled with this inscription, ‎‏משיח מלך בא בשלום ואור מאדם עשוי חי‏‎ (i.) Messias rex venit cum pace, & lux de homine facta est vita. In some Coyns, for the latter clause of that inscription is read ‎‏אדם עשוי אלהים‏‎ (i.) Deus homo est factus.

The King’s shekel, in David and Solomon’s time, had stampt on the one side, a kind of a Tower standing between ‎‏ירו‏‎ and ‎‏שלם‏‎, and underneath was ‎‏עיר הקדש‏‎. The whole inscription was, Jerusalem urbs sanctitatis: On the reverse side, the rundle was filled with this Hebrew, ‎‏דוד המלך ובנו שלמה המלך‏‎ (i.) David rex, & filius ejus Solomon rex.

The shekel again was divided into lesser Coyns, which had their denomination from the parts thereof. Thus we read of the half shekels, Exod. 30. 13. The third part of a shekel, Nehem. 10. 32. The quarter of a shekel, 1 Sam. 9. 8.

Their Gold Coyns.

‎‏זהב‏‎ Zahab. The English reads it, a piece of gold, 2 Kin. 5. 5. By it is meant, that which elsewhere is called Siclus auri, a shekel of gold, 1 Chron. 21. 25. Hence the one thousand seven hundred pieces of gold mentioned, Judg. 8. 26. the Greek renders 1700, shekels of gold.[793] The weight of this Coyn was two attick drams,[794] the value 15 s.

‎‏אדרכון‏‎ Adarcon, of this we read, Esra 8. 27. It was also called ‎‏דרכמון‏‎ Drachmon, of which we read Esra 2. 69. Both these names seem to denote the same coyn; if not, yet both were of the same weight. The Greek interprets them both by δραχμὴ, and our English accordingly renders both, a dram, which must be understood of the drams in use among the Hebrews, weighing two Attick drams. From the Greek δραχμὴ, Drachmon seemeth to have had its name. He conjectureth not amiss, who thinketh[795] that Adarcon was so called, quasi Daricon, which was a certain coyn of gold in use among the Persians and from King Darius (whose Image one side thereof bore) was named Daricon, and ‎‏א‏‎ amongst the Chaldæans, is often prefixed before a word, as ‎‏ה‏‎ is amongst the Hebrews. The value of this Coyn was of ours 15 s.

Their sums.

Their sums were two ‎‏מנה‏‎ Maneh, μνᾶ Mina, a Pound. In gold it weighed one hundred shekels. This appeareth by comparing these Texts, 1 Kin. 10. 17. Tres ‎‏מנים‏‎ Manim three pound of gold went to one shield. Now we read, 2 Chron. 9. 16. Three hundred shekels of gold went to one shield. The name shekels is not expressed in the Original, but necessarily understood, as appeareth in that which was spoken of Zahab. For it is a received rule, that in Scripture, Aurum being put with a numeral signifieth so many shekels of gold; and so Argentum in like manner. The weight thereof then being 100 shekels, it followeth, that the value was 75 l. In silver, their Maneh weighed 60 shekels, Ezek. 45. 12. so that it valued 7 l. 10 s. Note, that Sheindler[796] was deceived, in saying, that the price or value of the Maneh was changed in Ezekiels time, because it then valued 60 shekels: for the difference is not between the sacred & profane Maneh, as Sheindler conceives, but between the Maneh of gold, which was valued at 100 shekels always, and the Maneh of silver, which weighed 60 shekels, according to the forequoted place in Ezekiel.

The second sum was ‎‏ככר‏‎ Cicar, Talentum, A Talent. This, if it were of silver, it contained in weight 3000 shekels. For, those two verses being compared together, Exod. 38. 25, 26. sheweth, that six hundred thousand men paying every man half a shekel, the whole sum amounted to an hundred talents; whence it followeth, that a talent of silver amongst the Hebrews was 375 l. But a talent of gold (the proportion of gold to silver being observed) was twelve times as much, so that it valued of ours 4500 l.

In this tract of their Coyns we are to know three things. First, that as the Romans, in the former ages, used Æs grave, Bullion money, unstampt, which in the Mass or Billot they weighed out in their payments, and afterward Æs signatum, coyned metals: so the Hebrews though at last they used, coyned money, yet at first they weighed their mony uncoyned; Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver, Gen. 23. 6. Hence the shekel had its name from ‎‏שקל‏‎ Shakal, ponderare, librare, to weigh, or put in the ballance. Secondly, as the coyned shekel was twofold, one for the use of the Sanctuary; the other for the use of the Commonwealth; and that of the Sanctuary was double the price of the other; so the weight of the shekel to be distinguisht after the same manner; the shekel of the Sanctuary weighed half an ounce Troy weight; the common shekel weighed a quarter of an ounce. For example, Goliahs spears head weighed 600 shekels of the Sanctuary 1 Sam. 17. 7. that is, twenty five pound weight: Absalom’s hair weighed two hundred shekels after the Kings weight, 2 Sam. 14. 26. that is, four pound weight and two ounces. Yea, the sums which I have reckoned only according to the Sanctuary, in common use, according to the King’s weight, they abate half their value.

3. The lesser coyns were in general termed κέρματα or in the singular number κέρμα, Joh. 2. 15. The word signifieth properly a small quantity or little piece of metal, such as may be clipt off from coyns. Upon the first of the mon. Adar, Procla. was made throughout Israel, that the people shold provide their half shekels, w^ch were yearly paid toward the service of the Temple, according to the commandment of God, Ex. 30. 13.[797] On the 25. of Adar,[798] then they brought tables into the Temple (that is, into the outward Court where the people stood) on these tables lay these κέρματα, or lesser coyns, to furnish those who wanted half shekels for their offrings, or that wanted lesser pieces of mony in their payment for oxen, sheep, or doves, which likewise stood there in a readiness in the same court to be sold for sacrifices: but this supply of lesser coynes was not without an exchange for other mony or other things in lieu of mony, and that upon advantage. Hence those that sat at these tables, as chief bankers or masters of the exchange, they were termed Κερματισταὶ, in respect of the lesser coyns which they exchanged: in respect of the exchange it self, they were termed Κολλυβισταὶ, for Κόλλυβος signifieth the same in Greek as Cambium in Latine,[799] whence those Letters of exchange, which the Latines call Literas Cambii, the Greek call σύμβολα κολλυβιστικὰ, Tickets of exchange: in respect of the Tables at which they sate, they are termed by the Talmudists ‎‏שולחנים‏‎, Schulcanim from ‎‏שולחן‏‎ Schulchan Mensa; for the same reason they are sometimes termed by the Greeks τραπεζίται, and by the Latines Mensarii. These are those changers of money which our Saviour drove out of the Temple.

FINIS.

.‎‏תהלה לאל חי‏‎

The Names of Authors cited in this BOOK.

• A
• Aben Esra.
• Aboth. vid. Pirke Aboth.
• Æschines.
• Alexander Neopol.
• Alstedius.
• Ambrosius.
• Aquinas.
• Aristoteles.
• Arias Montanus.
• Aristophanes, Aureliæ Allobrogum, 1607
• Artemidorus.
• Athenæus.
• Augustinus, Coloniæ Agrippinæ, 1616
• B
• Baalturim.
• Beda.
• Bellarminus.
• Bertramus.
• Beza.
• Bodinus.
• Breerwood.
• Buxtorfius.
• Budæus.
• C
• Caninius.
• Capnio, vi. Reuchlin.
• Carion.
• Casaubonus.
• Cœlius Rhodiginus.
• Chazkuni.
• Chemnitius.
• Chimchi, alias, R. David Kimchi.
• Chrysostomus.
• Clem. Alexandrinus.
• Cicero.
• Concilium quintum, sextum.
• Cyrillus.
• Cyprianus.
• Cunæus, Lugduni Batavorum, 1617
• D
• Demosthenes, Venitiis, 1554
• Diodorus Siculus.
• Dionysius Halicarnas.
• Drusius, de tribus sectis, Franekeræ, 1619.
• E
• Elias Thisbites.
• Epiphanius.
• Erasmus.
• Euripides.
• Eustathius.
• Eusebius.
• F
• Funccius.
• Fagius.
• Firmicus.
• G
• Galatinus, Francofurti, 1612
• Gellius.
• Genebrardus.
• Gorionides.
• Gregor. Nazianzen.
• Gyraldus.
• H
• Herodianus.
• Herodotus.
• Hesiodus.
• Hieronymus, Basileæ, 1516
• Homerus.
• Horatius.
• Hospinianus, Tiguri, 1611
• I
• Jalcut, Cracoviæ, 1595
• Jansenius.
• Josephus, Aureliæ Allobrog., 1611
• Jonathan.
• Junius.
• Justin Martyr.
• Justin, histor.
• Juvenalis.
• Ilmedenu.
• K
• Kimchi. vid. Chimchi.
• L
• Lactantius.
• Laertius.
• Levi ben Gersom.
• Lipsius.
• Livius.
• Lucanus.
• Lucianus.
• Lyranus.
• M
• Macrobius.
• Magius.
• Maimonides, lib. Jad. Venetiis, 1574
• Masius.
• Maximus Tirius.
• Montacutius.
• Moses Kotsensis. Venetiis, 1557
• Munsterus.
• Musar.
• Modestus.
• O
• Oecumenius.
• Onkelos.
• Origines.
• Ovidius.
• P
• Philo Judæus, Coloniæ Allobrog., 1613
• Pirke Aboth.
• Plautus.
• Plinius.
• Pierius, Basileæ, 1575
• Plutarchus.
• Procopius.
• Prudentius.
• R
• Reuchlinus (pro quo citatur Capnio perperam) Francofurti, 1612
• Rosinus.
• Ruffinus.
• S
• Seder-olam minus.
• Septuaginta interpretes.
• Serarius.
• Scaliger, De emend. temp. Lutetiæ, 1583
• Trihæres. Franekeræ, 1619
• Sheindler.
• Sigonius.
• Scholiastes Aristophanis.
• Solomon Jarchi.
• Solinus.
• Sozomenus.
• Statius.
• Stukius.
• Suetonius.
• Suidas.
• Syrius interpres.
• T
• Talmud Babylonicum.
• Talmud Hierosolymitanum.
• Targum Uzielidis sive Jonathanis.
• Targum Onkelos.
• Targum Hierosolymitanum.
• Tertullianus, 1609
• Theophylactus.
• Theodoretus.
• Theophrastus.
• Tholosanus.
• Thisbites.
• Tiraquellus.
• Toletus.
• Tremelius.
• V
• Vatablus.
• Valerius Max.
• Varro.
• Virgilius.
• X
• Xenophon, Basileæ, 1569
• Z
• Zepperus.
• Zohar.

A TABLE OF THE Several Texts of Scripture Explained in the Six Books.