The Life of Jesus in Harmony |
Index
denarii
Denarius (Gk. denarion, <Mt. 18:28>). The denarius was the daily wage of a
laborer.
This was a Roman silver coin, in the time of
Jesus and the
apostles. It took its name from its being first equal to ten "donkeys," a number
afterward increased to sixteen.
The earliest specimens are from approximately the start of the second century
B.C. From this time it was the principal silver coin of the commonwealth.
In the time of
Augustus eighty-four denarii were struck from a pound of silver, which would make the
standard weight
about sixty grains. This Nero reduced by striking ninety-six from the pound, which
would give a standard weight of about fifty-two grains, results confirmed by
the coins of the periods, which are, however, not exactly true to the standard.
In Palestine, in the NT period, evidence points to the denarii as mainly
forming the silver currency. The denarius was the daily wage of a laborer. The only
way to compute the value of NT coins in current values is to consider what a
laborer might earn in a day in various countries of the world