I believe that silver is the only legitimate biblical form of money, whereas gold as money, although precious was instituted by Kings. I realize that the Genesis account of money appears to be vague regarding the origins of money and the mystery is compounded by the controversy as to when Genesis was written. Nonetheless, in order to build upon my faith by seeking to prove this belief maybe it will be possible to discover what scripture has hidden in plain sight.

When prospecting scripture for money it is quickly noticed that both silver and Abraham are essential portions of the equation from which further questions originate. Hopefully, this primitive essay will shed added light instead of aiding and abetting confusing darkness which appears to surround the modern concepts of money.

I start this journey with a few questions which places the problems before each step instead of being allowed to remain under the surface where the majority treads without looking.

1. What was money prior to Abraham?

2. Was silver in any form considered money prior to Abraham and did YHVH command Abraham to only use silver for money?

3. Was metal mining an active vocation prior to Abraham? If not then how did money originate?

4. Where did Abraham get his silver money prior to entering and after leaving Egypt? Did he find it, and if so was silver lying around to be scooped up by any enterprising prospector?

5. Did Abraham receive his wealth while in Egypt as some scholars advocate, although scripture does not specifically state that Pharaoh gave Abraham money?

6. If Abraham acquired money in Egypt how much did he accumulate and be able to transport it to become designated as biblically “rich’? And, what does “rich” actually mean biblically?

7. Obviously YHVH wanted Abraham to be rich in His good Gold and Silver, or it would not have occurred. Therefore, does it seem likely that YHVH would have wanted or allowed Abraham to be using any form of money that would later refer to as abominable?

8. Was Abraham’s money in different denominations? And was this money distinguishable from other forms of money that may have also been “Common with Merchants”?

9. Was Abraham’s money worth the same as what the merchants used in neighboring Nations/tribes? And, was this “common to merchants” money stamped or cast denoting weight, measure or value by some king? If so did YHVH allow abominable money prior to and
during Abraham’s time?

Some additional related questions are:

A. Who originally promoted and established silver as money after Noah’s flood and prior to or during Abraham’s life span?

B. Was silver the only form of an honest measure of money prior to and during Abraham life?

C. If YHVH mandated the use of silver as money, did YHVH also establish weights and measures of silver money?

D. Were there other forms of money that traded along with silver, thereby establishing money changers?

E. What type of refining was practiced to establish acceptable weights and measures of silver?

F. Were silversmiths employed by Kings, or were they self-taught and plentiful?

G. Was the art of silver-smithing money a secret trade similar to the modern makers of money? Similarly, were there unscrupulous silversmith’s who fudged a bit?

H. What happened to all the silver money during the days of Abraham? Did it get re-melted or does some still remain buried waiting discovery?

I.. Why did the people stop using Abraham’s type of money assuming that it did not have images indicating ownership?

I have chronologically positioned the below biblical verses so they may be read with the above questions in mind with a few notes and questions below some of the verses,. Hopefully, these questions will cause a few astute biblical prospectors to re-examine the foundation of the greatest form of communication (silver money), which transcends all language, race and national boundaries prior to and after the 1st 5 books of the Bible.

Genesis 4:22 And Zillah, she also bare tubalcain, an instructor of every artificer in brass and iron:
I have little doubt that Cain was the 1st person to practice the arts of metal working, which others (tubalcain) were taught or eventually learned. Therefore, assuming that these arts found their way into the hands of Noah and his family there can be little doubt that metal working was commonly practiced after the flood and provided the mechanism for the advancement of civilization. To give some idea of ancient biblical history this genealogical tree is provided that may be of some assistance.
www.lukemastin.com/diary/bible_family_tree.gif

Genesis 9:20 And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard:
The word “husbandman” has several possible meanings, and marshalling all the available natural life-sustaining resources like mining could be lumped into this seldom used word. After-all, Noah had 600 years to learn metal working prior to the flood.
Furthermore, because YHVH created the world-wide flood that He could just as easily have re-concentrated various metal placer deposits that Noah and his family could easily harvest.

On a semi-related geological subject is a question that has bothered me a long time – what happened to all the broken-up portions of mountains? Is it not a bit strange that there are not a bunch of 1000 to 5000 foot boulders laying around that were once part of mountain chains? Did the waters of Noah’s Flood wash all these huge boulders into deep crevasses that became silted over obscuring these gigantic boulders? Or, maybe there’s another explanation?

Genesis 13:2 And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.
Is “rich” synonymous with money?

Genesis 17:13 He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money,
Is this “money” silver or something else?

Genesis 20:16 And unto Sarah he said, Behold, I have given thy brother a thousand pieces of silver: behold, he is to thee a covering of the eyes, unto all that are with thee, and with all other: thus she was reproved.
This verse proves that Abimelech gave to Abraham this silver. But, are these 1000 pieces of silver actually money or in a format similar to bullion bars? If these pieces of silver belonged to Abimelech did they have his likeness stamped on them like Caesar’s money during Yeshua’s time on earth?
Why is there no mention of gold to help make Abraham rich?
Why does scripture refer to this silver as “pieces” instead of shekels or talents?

Genesis 23:9 That he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he hath, which is in the end of his field; for as much Money as it is worth he shall give it me for a possession of a buryingplace amongst you.
Was this “money” silver, and if so was it always money?

Genesis 23:16 And Abraham hearkened unto Ephron; and Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver, which he had named in the audience of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, current money with the merchant.

The words "current money" implies at least two possibilities: 1) money may have had other forms during this same or previous period of time, and 2) other forms of money that were not used by merchants. A follow-up question would be – is the merchant one who deals in the exchange of money or any seller of merchandise?

Was this particular money stamped, and thereby recognized by one and all as having equal weight in the eyes and hands of anyone? Or was this silver unstamped and merely lumps of native silver? Similarly, is it possible that this money was 100% pureand without blemish? The concept of “pure” today is at best only a relative term,because to my knowledge there is absolutely nothing physically100% pure.

My research indicates that a silver shekel is equal to 132 grains. Although I have searched I have not been able to verify what a “grain” actually is. There is a strong indication that this word (grain) refers to barley and/or wheat. However, as logical as this seems there is a troubling aspect of “grain” that makes a wheat and/or barley kernel suspect. With a little thought anyone can recognize that grain crops yield different abundances from year to year based upon soil and weather conditions from field to field and country to country and not counting the various diseases. Therefore, I continue to remain perplexed as to how the ancients fixed specific weights against some kind of a recognizable, universally accepted and unchanging wheat/barley grain standard, which is continued to be used to this day. I have read that this fix cameabout by taking the average weight of a kernel of wheat or barley from the middle of the grain stalk. Maybe this was how weights and measures were established? Or, perhaps the ancient crops always produced the most dense and heaviest kernels each and every season? Then again, perhaps there is an alternative explanation, but the fact remains, finding the correct answer to this riddle has remained illusive and gives rise to these old slogans: There is not a single grain of truth in what they say, 2) It goes against the grain, 3) It’s not worth a grain of salt. Regardless of what seems to be right about monetary weights and measures mentioned in scripture, it would seem that during Abraham’s time YHVH would have found unjust weights and measures just as abominable as He did during the days of Moses. Consequently, although I have not yet found or recognized the complete Truth regarding honest monetary measurement, maybe this information will be discovered and shared, so that when the time is right a new silver monetary standard can be initiated.

For those interested in digging a little deeper here are two websites relating to measurements that appear to be interesting, as well as confusing sources for Biblical weights and measures.
www.spiritrestoration.org/Church/Research%20History%20and%20Great%20Links/Biblical%20Weights%20Measure%20and%20Monetary%20System.htm www.1911encyclopedia.org/Weights_And_Measures

This next webpage describes the numerous variables relating to grain harvests, and should cause speculation as to how men several thousand years ago rendered meaningful accuracy concerning the weight of a grain of wheat/barley for the determination of what a piece silver weighed that could be traded without fear of compromising integrity. http://ag.arizona.edu/pubs/crops/az1059/az105916.html

Although the Jewish historian Josephus confirms (www.earlyjewishwritings.com/text/josephus/ant1.html), in the 8th chapter of book 1 that Pharaoh gave money to Abraham there is a severe lack of details. Furthermore, Josephus says that Abraham was a wise and skilled man in mathematics and astronomy, which the Egyptians were unacquainted with. Obviously, if Josephus accurately portrayed Abraham’s history in which he accepted Pharaoh’s monetary peace bribe then perhaps Abraham was not as mathematically and astrologically astute as he was made out to be?
Why would I say such a thing? If the Egyptian’s were not as skilled in the various arts as was Abraham then how could the Egyptian’s have found ways to skillfully implement acceptable silver monetary standards throughout the region, as well as be acceptable to Abraham who was doing YHVH’s work? Unfortunately, as interesting as Josephus’s biblical accounts are he creates as many questions as he seems to answer.

From the bits and pieces I can put together and by reading between the lines it would appear that Abraham would have likely visited mines and bartered with the miners using his cattle and wares for rich silver ore that he would later smelt and make into money. For many a year there have been rumors of a book originally belonging to Abraham that contained many mysterious metal working recipes that was transcribed down through the ages, somewhat similar to the 6 & 7th book of Moses (Kaballah). Is there anyone out there that knows of a route to investigate concerning the viability of such a book?

Many a modern-day scholar suggests the ancients were a bunch of ignorant peasants or dumb brutes wandering aimlessly throughout the desert. While this concept may be appealing to modern man’s ego this type of thinking fails to consider the many clues provided in scripture that man was technologically way ahead of where we find ourselves.

Today’s so-called science is rife with the arrogance warned about in scripture, and for some reason or another science prefers the mindset that only within the last century did man begin to realize his potential by embracing such ideologies as the evolutionary trail of the big-bang theorem. Of course everyone has the right to believe as they choose, even if their belief is patently wrong. Yet, even though I completely disagree with much of so-called science that has its roots in alchemy and occult I am not qualified to point fingers at those who have not found where and how to seek the Truth.

If man was not a very mentally swift creature thousands of years ago, then how did ancient man manage to construct the astrological devise that can be read about at this webpage address? www.physorg.com/news84029305.html It seems apparent that man has forgotten most of what he knew and is constantly trying to discover what Adam, Noah and Abraham knew. With the foregoing in mind it does not require a rocket scientist’s mentality to realize that man knew a way to make pure silver money that was recognizable to one and all, whereas, today this act is beyond comprehension. Therefore, is it any wonder why we are so full of dross when the majority find it acceptable to follow modern science that adamantly declares YHVH does not exist and to follow govt instead of Yeshua?

Many meandering books could be written on this subject and still not be able to adequately answer the questions of silver’s ancient biblical monetary role. Thus, one could rightly ask – what difference does it make to have just weights and measures for today’s silver? The answer may well be nothing or perhaps everything, especially if the devil is in the details? Is it possible that since the time of Cain we have been mislead into accepting a false set of standards by which to measure YHVH's good gold and silver? If this is the case, perhaps a re-examination of the whole concept of weights and measures is in order? After-all wasn’t Yeshua, trying to say something when He got after the money changers?

Joseph Cummins

Created: 12-16-06

www.kjvbible.net/
online KJ Bible

www.eliyah.com/lexicon.html
Strong’s Concordance

Note: All enclosed links are intended only as possible reference sources.