506 TRANSLATION, NOTES, AND COMMENTS
Then I knew that this was the word of Yahweh. A singular confession by the
prophet, showing that Yahweh's word in this case needed confirmation by sub-
sequent events. Compare 1Sam10:2-10; also Gen 24:1-27.
- So I bought the field from Hanamel, son of my uncle, that was in Anathoth,
and I weighed for him the silver-seventeen shekels of silver. The LXX omits
"that was in Anathoth" and "the silver" in its first occurrence, probably because
both terms occur in both verses (Giesebrecht). "The silver" (hakkesep) should
not be deleted; in its first occurrence it simply means "the price" or "the
money" (Ehrlich 1912: 324-25; cf. Gen 23:9, 13; 31:15). Jeremiah here places
a quantity of cut silver on one scale, which weighs in at 17 shekels according to
stone weights on the other. Someone present with a pair of scales suspended
from a bar does the weighing (cf. Zeph 1:11). The widespread use of silver to
supplement traditional modes of payment is well documented in the seventh
century B.C., at which time throughout the Assyrian Empire-also in Judah-'-
it was weighed out on scales, as it had been for centuries. Silver was a more
common currency than gold. Excavated hoards of silver from this period con-
tain stamped or unstamped silver ingots, cut silver (Hacksilber), and silver
jewelry (bracelets, earrings, nose-rings). Stamped ingots were of predeter-
mined weight, which prepared the way for coinage coming later. Tel Miqne-
Ekron produced a number of silver hoards, reflecting Ekron's status as a major
olive oil and textile center during this period (Gitin 1995: 61, 69; 1997: 92-93;
1998: 282-84; Gitin and Golani 2001 ). A jar dating to the seventh century was
found at En-Gedi (Stratum V) containing a hoard of silver ingots, some of
them scored, which were doubtless used as currency (Meshorer 1978: 129-31;
NEAEHL 2: 402; P. J. Kine 1993: 92). A n11mher of other silver ho;:irds from the
late seventh and early sixth centuries B.C. have turned up at various ANE sites
(Gitin and Golani 2001: 38-40).
Coins were minted for the first time in the late seventh century B.C. at
Sardis, capital of Lydia in Asia Minor (Herr 1997: 159; Meshorer 1998: 3 3;
P. J. King 1999: 104). Coinage spread into other parts of the Greek world and
into Persia by the mid-sixth century B.C. By the late fifth century, foreign
currency was circulating in Tyre, Sidon, Gaza, and Jerusalem. But even after
coins came into use, people continued to pay for goods with ingots of pre-
cious metals, and in doubtful cases weighed the coins. Weights used on the
scales were commonly made of stone, occasionally of bronze, and in preexilic
Israel and Judah were shaped like round loaves of bread. The weights were
inscribed with numbers and a symbol for the shekel, or just numbers, or some
other term indicating a fraction of a shekel, e.g., two-sixths shekel, one-half
shekel (beqa'; cf. Exod 38:26), one shekel, two shekels, four shekels, and eight
shekels (Meshorer 1978: 131-33-with pictures). They also came in sets, so
that fine differences could be weighed out. The first known coins from Judah
were found in a cave in the Ben-Hinnom Valley and date to the sixth century
B.C. They were Greek. Coins began to be minted in Judah about 400 B.C. On
currencies, weights, and the development of coinage in the ancient world, see
Meshorer 1978; 1998; and P. J. King 1999: 104.
