Nehemiah 7:71

71 And some of the heads of the families gave to the treasury for the project 20,000 darics of gold ^[a] and 2,200 minas of silver. ^[b]

Nehemiah 7:71 Meaning and Commentary

Nehemiah 7:71

And some of the chief of the fathers gave to the treasure of
the work
To be put into the treasure, out of which the expenses of the temple, and service of it were defrayed:

twenty thousand drachms of gold;
which were so many pounds of our money, and somewhat more: for, according to Bishop Cumberland ^F6, a drachm of gold was of the value of twenty shillings and four pence: and 2200 pounds of silver; "the maneh", or pound, with the Jews, was of the value of sixty shekels, ( Ezekiel 45:12 ) and so is reckoned by our Brerewood ^F7 to be of our money seven pounds and ten shillings; he reckoning a shekel at half a crown, whereas it was little more than two shillings and four pence; and so sixty of them, or a "maneh", came to about seven pounds; wherefore this sum here was seven times so many pounds of silver.

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FOOTNOTES:

F6 Scripture Weights and Measures, ch. 4. p. 115.
F7 De Ponder & Pret. Vet. Num. c. 4.

Nehemiah 7:71 In-Context

69 435 camels, and 6,720 donkeys.

70 Some of the heads of the families contributed to the project. The governor gave to the treasury 1,000 darics of gold, 50 bowls, and 530 priestly garments.

71 And some of the heads of the families gave to the treasury for the project 20,000 darics of gold and 2,200 minas of silver.

72 The rest of the people gave a total of 20,000 darics of gold, 2,000 minas of silver, and 67 priestly garments.

73 So the priests, Levites, gatekeepers, singers, and temple servants, along with some of the people and the rest of the Israelites, settled in their own towns. And by the seventh month the Israelites had settled in their towns.

Footnotes

• [a]. Or 20,000 gold drachmas; that is, approximately 370.4 pounds or 168 kilograms of gold coins; also in verse 72
• [b]. Or 2,200 silver minas; that is, approximately 1.38 tons or 1.25 metric tons of silver