Nehemiah 7:71

71 And [some] of the chief of the fathers gave to the treasure of the work, twenty thousand drams of gold, and two thousand and two hundred pounds of silver.

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.

---

FOOTNOTES:

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

Nehemiah 7:71 In-Context

69 [Their] camels, four hundred and thirty five: six thousand seven hundred and twenty asses.

70 And some of the chief of the fathers gave to the work. The Tirshatha gave to the treasure a thousand drams of gold, fifty basins, five hundred and thirty priests' garments.

71 And [some] of the chief of the fathers gave to the treasure of the work, twenty thousand drams of gold, and two thousand and two hundred pounds of silver.

72 And [that] which the rest of the people gave [was] twenty thousand drams of gold, and two thousand pounds of silver, and sixty seven priests' garments.

73 So the priests, and the Levites, and the porters, and the singers, and [some] of the people, and the Nethinims, and all Israel, dwelt in their cities; and when the seventh month came, the children of Israel [were] in their cities.