The term
Yehud Coinage refers to a series of small silver coins bearing the
AramaicAramaic is a Semitic language with a 3,000-year history. It has been the language of administration of empires and the language of divine worship...
inscription 'Yehud', the Persian province of
JudaeaIudaea is the term used by historians to refer to the Roman province that extended over parts of the former regions of the Hasmonean and Herodian kingdoms of Israel...
, which were minted in or near
JerusalemJerusalem is the capital of Israel and its largest city in both population and area, with a population of 747,600 residents over an area of if disputed East Jerusalem is included...
during the late Persian period (
Yehud MedinataYehud Medinata, , was a Jewish autonomy located in Judea area under the Persian Empire rule over the Land of Israel.The Jewish autonomy, that is mentioned in Ezra 5:8, was the...
,
The Province of Judah) and the
HellenisticHellenistic civilization represents the zenith of Greek influence in the ancient world from 323 BC to about 146 BC ; note, however that Koine Greek language and Hellenistic philosophy and religion are also indisputably elements of the Roman era till Late Antiquity...
period (
Iudaea ProvinceIudaea is the term used by historians to refer to the Roman province that extended over parts of the former regions of the Hasmonean and Herodian kingdoms of Israel...
) of the 5th and 4th centuries
BC , abbreviated as AD or A.D., and Before Christ, abbreviated as BC or B.C., are designations used to number years in the Julian and Gregorian calendars....
after the
Babylonian ExileCaptivity may refer to:*Imprisonment or hostage, the state of being confined to a space from which it is difficult or impossible to escape*the same used in a figurative sense, like for example female captivity, as allegorically portrayed in The Gilded Cage, a painting by Evelyn De Morgan*Captivity...
. None of the coins bears a mint mark.
Unlike later
JewThe Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
ish coinage, Yehud coins depict living creatures, flowers and even human beings, in contravention of the
Second CommandmentThe Ten Commandments, or Decalogue, are a list of religious and moral imperatives that, according to Judeo-Christian tradition, were authored by God and given to Moses on the mountain referred to as "Mount Sinai" or "Horeb" in the form of two stone tablets...
"Thou shalt not make for thyself a sculptured image or any likeness" (Exodus 20:4).
The term
Yehud Coinage refers to a series of small silver coins bearing the
AramaicAramaic is a Semitic language with a 3,000-year history. It has been the language of administration of empires and the language of divine worship...
inscription 'Yehud', the Persian province of
JudaeaIudaea is the term used by historians to refer to the Roman province that extended over parts of the former regions of the Hasmonean and Herodian kingdoms of Israel...
, which were minted in or near
JerusalemJerusalem is the capital of Israel and its largest city in both population and area, with a population of 747,600 residents over an area of if disputed East Jerusalem is included...
during the late Persian period (
Yehud MedinataYehud Medinata, , was a Jewish autonomy located in Judea area under the Persian Empire rule over the Land of Israel.The Jewish autonomy, that is mentioned in Ezra 5:8, was the...
,
The Province of Judah) and the
HellenisticHellenistic civilization represents the zenith of Greek influence in the ancient world from 323 BC to about 146 BC ; note, however that Koine Greek language and Hellenistic philosophy and religion are also indisputably elements of the Roman era till Late Antiquity...
period (
Iudaea ProvinceIudaea is the term used by historians to refer to the Roman province that extended over parts of the former regions of the Hasmonean and Herodian kingdoms of Israel...
) of the 5th and 4th centuries
BC , abbreviated as AD or A.D., and Before Christ, abbreviated as BC or B.C., are designations used to number years in the Julian and Gregorian calendars....
after the
Babylonian ExileCaptivity may refer to:*Imprisonment or hostage, the state of being confined to a space from which it is difficult or impossible to escape*the same used in a figurative sense, like for example female captivity, as allegorically portrayed in The Gilded Cage, a painting by Evelyn De Morgan*Captivity...
. None of the coins bears a mint mark.
Unlike later
JewThe Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
ish coinage, Yehud coins depict living creatures, flowers and even human beings, in contravention of the
Second CommandmentThe Ten Commandments, or Decalogue, are a list of religious and moral imperatives that, according to Judeo-Christian tradition, were authored by God and given to Moses on the mountain referred to as "Mount Sinai" or "Horeb" in the form of two stone tablets...
"Thou shalt not make for thyself a sculptured image or any likeness" (Exodus 20:4). During the First Temple period figural art was frequently used, such as the
cherubA cherub is a form of angel mentioned several times in the Bible. In modern English the word is usually used for what are strictly putti, baby or toddler angels in art...
im over the
Ark of the CovenantThe Ark of the Covenant is a container described in the Bible as containing the Tablets of Stone on which were inscribed the Ten Commandments as well as Aaron's rod and manna. According to the Pentateuch, the Ark was built at the command of God, in accord with Moses' prophetic vision on Mount Sinai...
, the twelve oxen that supported the giant
laverLaver might refer to one of the following:*Laver , an edible seaweed*Laver, a basin for ceremonial ablution*Laver, a river in North Yorkshire*High Laver a village in the Epping Forest district of Essex, England- See also :...
in front of
SolomonSolomon is a figure described in the Hebrew Bible as a King of Israel and later in the Qur'an, where he is described as a Prophet. The biblical accounts identify Solomon as the son of David...
's Temple, etc. Thus, it is likely that the Yehud coins are continuing the use of figural art from the previous period. The prohibition against graven images in Exodus was probably seen as relating only to
idolatrousIdolatry is usually defined as worship of any cult image, idea, or object, as opposed to the worship of a monotheistic God. It is considered a major sin in the Abrahamic religions whereas in religions where such activity is not considered a sin, the term "idolatry" itself is absent...
images rather than the purely decorative. Depictions on the coinage include imagery borrowed from other cultures, such as the owl of
AthensAthens , the capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery; as one of the world's oldest cities, its recorded history spans around 3,400 years....
,
mythologicalMythology is the study of myths and or of a body of myths. For example, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece. The term "myth" is often used colloquially to refer to a false story;...
creatures, and perhaps even images of Jewish rulers. One coin depicts an enthroned deity, claimed by some experts to be
YahwehYahweh is the English rendering of יַהְוֶה , a Hebrew vocalization of the Tetragrammaton that was proposed by the Hebrew scholar Wilhelm Gesenius in the 19th century. Although this vocalized Hebrew spelling יַהְוֶה is found in no extant Hebrew Manuscript, several English Bibles use the spelling...
, while this is disputed by others.
The coins from the Persian period tend to be inscribed in
AramaicAramaic is a Semitic language with a 3,000-year history. It has been the language of administration of empires and the language of divine worship...
or
Paleo-HebrewThe Paleo-Hebrew alphabet is an abjad offshoot of the ancient Semitic alphabet, identical to the Phoenician alphabet. At the very least it dates to the 10th century BCE...
and use the Aramaic spelling of the province as 'y-h-d', while those coins from the Ptolemaic/
HellenisticHellenistic civilization represents the zenith of Greek influence in the ancient world from 323 BC to about 146 BC ; note, however that Koine Greek language and Hellenistic philosophy and religion are also indisputably elements of the Roman era till Late Antiquity...
period are inscribed in the Paleo-Hebrew script and usually spell
JudaeaIudaea is the term used by historians to refer to the Roman province that extended over parts of the former regions of the Hasmonean and Herodian kingdoms of Israel...
as 'y-h-d', 'y-h-d-h' or 'y-h-w-d-h'.
Mildenberg divides most of the Persian period 'Yehud' coinage into three groups: an early group of poorly defined coins with the head of
AthenaIn Greek mythology, Athena is the goddess of wisdom, peace, warfare, strategy, handicrafts and reason, shrewd companion of heroes and the goddess of heroic endeavour...
on the
obverseThe term, obverse, and its opposite, reverse, describe the two sides of units of currency and many other kinds of two-sided objects - most often in reference to coins, but also to paper currency, flags , medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics...
with her owl on the
reverseThe term, obverse, and its opposite, reverse, describe the two sides of units of currency and many other kinds of two-sided objects - most often in reference to coins, but also to paper currency, flags , medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics...
with the inscription 'y-h-d' in
Paleo-HebrewThe Paleo-Hebrew alphabet is an abjad offshoot of the ancient Semitic alphabet, identical to the Phoenician alphabet. At the very least it dates to the 10th century BCE...
; the second group are more clearly defined and depict a lily, and a
EgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia...
ian
falconA falcon is any species of raptor in the genus Falco. The word comes from their Latin name falco, related to Latin falx because of the shape of these birds' wings.-Overview:...
(see pictures), and the head of the Persian king, with the inscription 'y-h-d'; the third group has the
HebrewHebrew is a Semitic language of the Afro-Asiatic language family. Culturally, it is considered a Jewish language. Hebrew in its modern form is spoken by more than seven million people in Israel while Classical Hebrew has been used for prayer or study in Jewish communities around the world for over...
inscription 'Hezekiah the governor' (yhzqyh hphh). All these coins have been found in the area of
JudaeaIudaea is the term used by historians to refer to the Roman province that extended over parts of the former regions of the Hasmonean and Herodian kingdoms of Israel...
.
The Yehud coins come in two denominations, approximately .58 gram as a
ma'ahA gerah Hebrew "גרה" is an ancient Hebrew unit of weight and currency. One gerah is one-twentieth of a shekel, or 500 grams divided by 60 divided by 20. 1 gerah = /20 = 0.416666667 grams = 6.43014932 grains...
and approximately .29 gram as a half
ma'ah (
chatzi ma'ah). These coins were minted in the first 40 years of the
Second TempleThe Second Temple was the reconstructed Temple in Jerusalem which stood between 516 BCE and 70 CE. During this time, it was the center of Jewish worship, which focused on the sacrifices known as the korbanot...
era. For larger coinage, they first used Persian coinage, the
Persian daricThe daric was a gold coin used within the Persian Empire. It was of very high gold quality, with a purity of 95.83%. Weighing around 8.4 grams, it bore the image of the Persian king or a great warrior armed with a bow and arrow, but who is depicted is not known for sure...
and the Sigloi; then
GreekThe coinage of the Seleucid Empire is based on the coins of Alexander the Great which in turn was based on Athenian coinage of the Attic weight. Many mints and different issues are defined with mainly base and silver coinage being in abundance...
and
PtolemaicPtolemaic is the adjective formed from the name Ptolemy.This adjective is usually used in one of three ways:*To describe the Egyptian dynasty founded in 305 BC by Ptolemy I Soter...
coins like the drachma and the
tetradrachmThe tetradrachm was an Ancient Greek silver coin equivalent to four drachmae. It was in wide circulation from 510 to 38 BC.Many surviving tetradrachms were minted by the polis of Athens around the middle of the 5th century BC; the popular coin was widely used in transactions throughout the...
.
See also
- Hashmonean coinage
Hashmonean coinage are the coins minted by the Hasmonean Kings. Only bronze coins in various denominations have been found; the smallest being a prutah or a half prutah. Two Roman silver denarii's are associated with the Hashmoneans; one has the inscription "BACCIUS JUDAEAS"; with its exact meaning...
- List of historical currencies
- ma'ah
A gerah Hebrew "גרה" is an ancient Hebrew unit of weight and currency. One gerah is one-twentieth of a shekel, or 500 grams divided by 60 divided by 20. 1 gerah = /20 = 0.416666667 grams = 6.43014932 grains...
- Zuz
A Zuz was an ancient Hebrew silver coin struck during the Bar Kochba revolt. They were overstruck on Roman Imperial denarii or Roman provincial drachmas of Vespasian, Titus, Domitian, Trajan and Hadrian...
- Shekel
Shekel , also rendered sheqel, refers to one of many ancient units of weight and currency. The first known usage is from Mesopotamia around 3000 BC. One explanation is given for the origination of this word as to have originally applied to a specific mass of barley, and the first syllable of the...
- Yehud Medinata
Yehud Medinata, , was a Jewish autonomy located in Judea area under the Persian Empire rule over the Land of Israel.The Jewish autonomy, that is mentioned in Ezra 5:8, was the...
(The Province of Judah)
- Iudaea Province
Iudaea is the term used by historians to refer to the Roman province that extended over parts of the former regions of the Hasmonean and Herodian kingdoms of Israel...
(Judaea Province)
Further reading
- Nahman Avigad
Dr. Nahman Avigad , born in Zawalow, Galicia , was an Israeli archaeologist.-Biography:...
, Bullae and seals from a post-exilic judean archive. publication: "Qedem" - Monographs of the Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University of JerusalemThe Hebrew University of Jerusalem is Israel's oldest university....
. Editor: Y. yadin, 1976.
External links