Reference: Silver
American
One of the precious metals and the one most commonly used as coin among all nations. It is first mentioned in Scripture in the history of Abraham, Ge 13:2; 20:16; 23:16, and was used in constricting the tabernacle, Ex 26:19,32, and afterwards the temple, 1Ch 29:4. In employing it as a medium of trade, the ancient Hebrews weighed it out, instead of having coins. In the times of the New Testament there were coins. See SHEKEL, and MONEY.
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And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.
And to Sarah he said, Behold, I have given thy brother a thousand pieces of silver; behold, let that be to thee a covering of the eyes, in respect of all that are with thee, and with all; and she was reproved.
And Abraham hearkened to Ephron; and Abraham weighed to Ephron the money that he had named in the ears of the sons of Heth four hundred shekels of silver, current with the merchant.
And thou shalt make forty bases of silver under the twenty boards; two bases under one board for its two tenons, and two bases under another board for its two tenons.
And thou shalt attach it to four pillars of acacia-wood overlaid with gold, their hooks of gold; they shall be on four bases of silver.
three thousand talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the houses;
Easton
used for a great variety of purposes, as may be judged from the frequent references to it in Scripture. It first appears in commerce in Ge 13:2; 23:15-16. It was largely employed for making vessels for the sanctuary in the wilderness (Ex 26:19; 27:17; Nu 7:13,19; 10:2). There is no record of its having been found in Syria or Palestine. It was brought in large quantities by foreign merchants from abroad, from Spain and India and other countries probably.
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And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.
My lord, hearken to me. A field of four hundred shekels of silver, what is that between me and thee? bury therefore thy dead. And Abraham hearkened to Ephron; and Abraham weighed to Ephron the money that he had named in the ears of the sons of Heth four hundred shekels of silver, current with the merchant.
And thou shalt make forty bases of silver under the twenty boards; two bases under one board for its two tenons, and two bases under another board for its two tenons.
All the pillars of the court round about shall be fastened together with rods of silver; their hooks of silver, and their bases of copper.
And his offering was one silver dish of the weight of a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl, of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for an oblation;
he presented his offering; one silver dish of the weight of a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour, mingled with oil for an oblation;
Make thee two trumpets of silver; of beaten work shalt thou make them; and they shall serve for the calling together of the assembly, and for the journeying of the camps.
Fausets
Hebrew keceph, Greek arguros. The only one of the four metals, gold, silver, brass, and iron, not mentioned until after the deluge. Abraham paid Ephron for the cave of Machpelah "400 shekels of silver, current money with the merchant" (Ge 23:16). By this time it had become a recognized standard of value and medium of exchange. It probably was not coined, but bars of silver were probably formed in conventional shapes and marked with some sign to note their weight. The thousand ("pieces" is not in the Hebrew) of silver given by Abimelech to Abraham probably indicate the value of the "sheep and oxen," etc., which he gave (Ge 20:14-16). (See MONEY.) Silver was brought to Solomon in lavish abundance from Arabia and Tarshish (in plates like the Cingalese sacred writing tablets). 2Ch 9:14,21; 1Ki 10:21-27. Idols were generally wood inside, plated over with silver (Jer 10:9; Isa 30:22; 40:19; Ho 13:2; Hab 2:19).
It was used for women's ornaments, Ge 24:53; cups, Ge 44:2; sockets and chapiters of the pillars of the tabernacle, Ex 26:19; 27:10; 38:17; the two trumpets, Nu 10:2; the temple candlesticks, etc., 1Ch 28:15-17; the model shrines of Diana, Ac 19:24. There being mines ("vein") of silver and "dust of gold" is accurately noted in Job 28:1 (See METALS.) The Lord, with perfect wisdom and love, leaves His people in affliction till, their dross being purified, He sees them reflecting His holy image; just as a "refiner of silver" sits watching the melting silver until he sees his own image reflected, when he knows the silver has been long enough in the furnace and withdraws it (Mal 3:3). (See MINES; LEAD.) Captain Burton's discovery of silver and gold and other metals in great abundance in the land of Midian, as well as the remains of ancient mine workings, remarkably confirms the Scripture account of Midian's wealth in the metals (Nu 31:9,22,50-54; Jg 8:24-26). A forger would never have ascribed this kind of wealth to a nomadic people. (See MIDIAN; PARAN.)
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And Abimelech took sheep and oxen, and bondmen and bondwomen, and gave them to Abraham, and restored him Sarah his wife. And Abimelech said, Behold, my land is before thee: dwell where it is good in thine eyes. read more. And to Sarah he said, Behold, I have given thy brother a thousand pieces of silver; behold, let that be to thee a covering of the eyes, in respect of all that are with thee, and with all; and she was reproved.
And Abraham hearkened to Ephron; and Abraham weighed to Ephron the money that he had named in the ears of the sons of Heth four hundred shekels of silver, current with the merchant.
And the servant brought forth silver articles, and gold articles, and clothing, and he gave them to Rebecca; and he gave to her brother, and to her mother, precious things.
And put my cup, the silver cup, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest, and his grain-money. And he did according to the word of Joseph which he had spoken.
And thou shalt make forty bases of silver under the twenty boards; two bases under one board for its two tenons, and two bases under another board for its two tenons.
and the twenty pillars thereof, and their twenty bases of copper, the hooks of the pillars and their connecting-rods of silver.
and the bases of the pillars of copper, the hooks of the pillars and their connecting-rods of silver, and the overlaying of their capitals of silver; and all the pillars of the court were fastened together with rods of silver.
Make thee two trumpets of silver; of beaten work shalt thou make them; and they shall serve for the calling together of the assembly, and for the journeying of the camps.
And the children of Israel took the women of Midian captives, and their little ones, and took for a spoil all their cattle and all their flocks and all their goods;
So we present the offering of Jehovah, that which each one hath found, jewels of gold, chains, and bracelets, rings, earrings, and necklaces, to make atonement for our souls before Jehovah. And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of them, all manner of wrought jewels. read more. And all the gold of the heave-offering that they offered to Jehovah was sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels, from the captains of thousands and the captains of hundreds. (The men of war had taken spoil each one for himself.) And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it into the tent of meeting, as a memorial for the children of Israel before Jehovah.
And Gideon said to them, "Let me make a request of you; give me every man of you the earrings of his spoil." (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ish'maelites.) And they answered, "We will willingly give them." And they spread a garment, and every man cast in it the earrings of his spoil. read more. And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was one thousand seven hundred shekels of gold; besides the crescents and the pendants and the purple garments worn by the kings of Mid'ian, and besides the collars that were about the necks of their camels.
and the weight of the golden candlesticks, and of their golden lamps, by weight for every candlestick, and for its lamps; and for the silver candlesticks, by weight, for the candlestick and for its lamps, according to the use of every candlestick; and gold by weight for the tables of the loaves to be set in rows, for every table; and silver for the tables of silver; read more. and pure gold for the forks, and the bowls, and the goblets; and for the golden basons by weight for every bason; and for the silver basons by weight for every bason;
besides what dealers and merchants brought, and what all the kings of Arabia and the governors of the country brought of gold and silver to Solomon.
For the king's ships went to Tarshish with the servants of Huram: once in three years came the ships of Tarshish, bringing gold and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks.
Surely there is a vein for the silver, and a place for gold which they refine;
And ye shall defile the silver covering of your graven images, and the gold overlaying of your molten images; thou shalt cast them away as a menstruous cloth: Out! shalt thou say unto it.
The workman casteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains for it.
Silver spread into plates is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the artizan and of the hands of the founder; blue and purple is their clothing: they are all the work of skilful men.
And now they sin more and more, and have made them molten images of their silver, idols according to their own understanding, all of it the work of the craftsmen: they say of them, Let the men that sacrifice kiss the calves.
Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake! to the dumb stone, Arise! Shall it teach? Behold it is overlaid with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it.
And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; and he will purify the children of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver; and they shall offer unto Jehovah an oblation in righteousness.
For a certain man by name Demetrius, a silver-beater, making silver temples of Artemis, brought no small gain to the artisans;
Hastings
Morish
This was a source of wealth from early days. Abraham was rich in silver, Ge 13:2; but with Solomon gold was so plentiful that silver was 'nothing accounted of.' 1Ki 10:21. The silver and gold which he had amassed were, alas, afterwards carried away to enrich their enemies because of the sins of Israel. 2Ch 12:9. Silver was also the common specie of commerce, 'pieces of silver' being weighed long before money was coined. Ge 23:16. Silver was used for the sockets, hooks, etc., in the tabernacle, the money paid for the redemption of the Israelites being applied to this purpose. Ex 30:11-16; 38:25-28. The house of God is founded on redemption. Ex 36:24-36; 38:10-17.
Silver is found in the earth (Job 28:1), and before it can be compared to 'the words of the Lord' it must be purified seven times. Ps 12:6; Pr 25:4.
THE SILVER CORD in Ec 12:6 seems to refer to 'the thread of life,' which is loosed, or removed, when death ensues.
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And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.
And Abraham hearkened to Ephron; and Abraham weighed to Ephron the money that he had named in the ears of the sons of Heth four hundred shekels of silver, current with the merchant.
And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, When thou shalt take the sum of the children of Israel according to those of them that are numbered, then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul to Jehovah on their being numbered, that there be no plague among them on their being numbered. read more. This shall they give every one that passeth among them that are numbered half a shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary, twenty gerahs the shekel; a half shekel shall be the heave-offering for Jehovah. Every one that passeth among those that are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give the heave-offering of Jehovah. The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when ye give the heave-offering of Jehovah, to make atonement for your souls. And thou shalt take the atonement-money of the children of Israel, and devote it to the service of the tent of meeting; and it shall be a memorial to the children of Israel before Jehovah, to make atonement for your souls.
and he made forty bases of silver under the twenty boards, two bases under one board, for its two tenons, and two bases under another board for its two tenons. And for the other side of the tabernacle, on the side toward the north, he made twenty boards, read more. and their forty bases of silver, two bases under one board, and two bases under another board. And at the rear of the tabernacle, westward, he made six boards; and he made two boards for the corners of the tabernacle at the rear; and they were joined beneath, and were coupled together at the top thereof into one ring: thus he did to both of them in both the corners; and there were eight boards, and their silver bases: sixteen bases, under every board two bases. And he made bars of acacia-wood: five for the boards of the one side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the tabernacle at the rear, westward. And he made the middle bar in the midst of the boards reach from one end to the other. And he overlaid the boards with gold; and made their rings of gold as receptacles for the bars; and overlaid the bars with gold. And he made the veil of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined byssus: of artistic work he made it with cherubim. And he made four pillars of acacia-wood for it, and overlaid them with gold; their hooks were of gold; and he cast for them four bases of silver.
their pillars twenty, and their bases twenty, of copper; the hooks of the pillars and their connecting-rods of silver. And on the north side, a hundred cubits; their pillars twenty, and their bases twenty, of copper; the hooks of the pillars and their connecting-rods of silver. read more. And on the west side, hangings of fifty cubits; their pillars ten, and their bases ten; the hooks of the pillars and their connecting-rods of silver. And for the east side, eastward, fifty cubits; the hangings on the one wing of fifteen cubits, their pillars three, and their bases three; and on the other wing, on this side as on that side of the gate of the court, hangings of fifteen cubits, their pillars three, and their bases three. All the hangings of the court round about were of twined byssus; and the bases of the pillars of copper, the hooks of the pillars and their connecting-rods of silver, and the overlaying of their capitals of silver; and all the pillars of the court were fastened together with rods of silver.
And the silver of them that were numbered of the assembly was a hundred talents, and a thousand seven hundred and seventy-five shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary: a bekah the head half a shekel, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, for every one that passed the numbering from twenty years old and upward, of the six hundred and three thousand five hundred and fifty. read more. And there were a hundred talents of silver for casting the bases of the sanctuary, and the bases of the veil; a hundred bases of a hundred talents, a talent for a base. And of the thousand seven hundred and seventy-five shekels he made the hooks for the pillars, and overlaid their capitals, and fastened them with rods.
And all king Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of precious gold: none were of silver, which was not of the least account in the days of Solomon.
And Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, and took away the treasures of the house of Jehovah, and the treasures of the king's house; he took away all; and he took away the shields of gold that Solomon had made.
Surely there is a vein for the silver, and a place for gold which they refine;
The words of Jehovah are pure words, silver tried in the furnace of earth, purified seven times.
Take away the dross from the silver, and there cometh forth a vessel for the refiner:
before the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be shattered at the fountain, or the wheel be broken at the cistern;
Smith
Silver.
In very early times silver was used for ornaments,
and for vessels of various kinds. Images for idolatrous worship were made of silver or overlaid with it,
; Habb 2:19 Bar. 6:39, and the manufacture of silver shrines for Diana was a trade in Ephesus.
But its chief use was as a medium of exchange, and throughout the Old Testament we find "silver" used for money, like the French argent. Silver was brought to Solomon from Arabia,
and from Tarshish,
which supplied the markets of Tyre.
From Tarshish it came int he form of plates,
like those on which the sacred books of the Singhalese are written to this day. Spain appears to have been the chief source whence silver was obtained by the ancients. Possibly the hills of Palestine may have afforded some supply of this metal. Silvers mixed with alloy is referred to in
and a finer kind, either purer in itself or more thoroughly purified, is mentioned in
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And the servant brought forth silver articles, and gold articles, and clothing, and he gave them to Rebecca; and he gave to her brother, and to her mother, precious things.
Ye shall not make beside me gods of silver, and ye shall not make to you gods of gold.
besides what dealers and merchants brought, and what all the kings of Arabia and the governors of the country brought of gold and silver to Solomon.
For the king's ships went to Tarshish with the servants of Huram: once in three years came the ships of Tarshish, bringing gold and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks.
Reprobate silver shall they call them, for Jehovah hath rejected them.
Silver spread into plates is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the artizan and of the hands of the founder; blue and purple is their clothing: they are all the work of skilful men.
Tarshish dealt with thee by reason of the abundance of all substance; with silver, iron, tin, and lead, they furnished thy markets.
And now they sin more and more, and have made them molten images of their silver, idols according to their own understanding, all of it the work of the craftsmen: they say of them, Let the men that sacrifice kiss the calves.
For a certain man by name Demetrius, a silver-beater, making silver temples of Artemis, brought no small gain to the artisans;
Watsons
SILVER, ????, Ge 20:16; ????????, 1Pe 1:15; Ac 3:4; 20:33; a well known metal, of a white shining colour; next in value to gold. It does not appear to have been in use before the deluge; at least Moses says nothing of it; he speaks only of the metals brass and iron, Ge 4:26. But in Abraham's time it was become common, and traffic was carried on with it, Ge 23:2,15. Yet it was not then coined, but was only in bars or ingots; and in commerce was always weighed.
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And to Seth, to him also was born a son; and he called his name Enosh. Then people began to call on the name of Jehovah.
And to Sarah he said, Behold, I have given thy brother a thousand pieces of silver; behold, let that be to thee a covering of the eyes, in respect of all that are with thee, and with all; and she was reproved.
And Sarah died in Kirjath-Arba: that is Hebron, in the land of Canaan. And Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her.
My lord, hearken to me. A field of four hundred shekels of silver, what is that between me and thee? bury therefore thy dead.
And Peter, looking stedfastly upon him with John, said, Look on us.
I have coveted the silver or gold or clothing of no one.
but as he who has called you is holy, be ye also holy in all your conversation;