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 unto Sarah he said, Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver: behold, he is to you a vindication of the eyes, unto all that are with you, and with all others: thus she was righted.
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 merchants.
And you shall make forty sockets of silver under the twenty boards; two sockets under one board for its two tenons, and two sockets under another board for its two tenons.
And you shall hang it upon four pillars of acacia wood overlaid with gold: their hooks shall be of gold, upon the four sockets of silver.
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 unto me: the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver; what is that between me and you? bury therefore your dead. 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 merchants.
And you shall make forty sockets of silver under the twenty boards; two sockets under one board for its two tenons, and two sockets under another board for its two tenons.
All the pillars round about the court shall have bands of silver; their hooks shall be of silver, and their sockets of bronze.
And his offering was one silver charger, the weight of which was a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them were full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering:
He offered for his offering one silver charger, the weight of which was 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 mixed with oil for a grain offering:
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 menservants, and womenservants, and gave them unto Abraham, and restored to him Sarah his wife. And Abimelech said, Behold, my land is before you: dwell where it pleases you. read more. And unto Sarah he said, Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver: behold, he is to you a vindication of the eyes, unto all that are with you, and with all others: thus she was righted.
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 merchants.
And the servant brought forth jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and clothing, and gave them to Rebekah: he gave also to her brother and to her mother precious things.
And put my cup, the silver cup, in the sack's mouth of the youngest, and his grain money. And he did according to the word that Joseph had spoken.
And you shall make forty sockets of silver under the twenty boards; two sockets under one board for its two tenons, and two sockets under another board for its two tenons.
And the twenty pillars of it and their twenty sockets shall be of bronze; the hooks of the pillars and their bands shall be of silver.
And the sockets for the pillars were of bronze; the hooks of the pillars and their bands of silver; and the overlaying of their capitals of silver; and all the pillars of the court were banded with silver.
Make you two trumpets of silver; of a whole piece shall you make them: that you may use them for the calling of the assembly, and for the journeying of the camps.
And the children of Israel took all the women of Midian captives, and their little ones, and took the spoil of all their cattle, and all their flocks, and all their goods.
We have therefore brought an offering for the LORD, what every man has gotten, of ornaments of gold, chains, and bracelets, rings, earrings, and necklaces, to make an atonement for ourselves before the LORD. And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold from them, even all crafted ornaments. read more. And all the gold of the offering that they offered up to the LORD, of the captains of thousands, and of the captains of hundreds, was sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels. (For the men of war had taken spoil, every man for himself.) And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it into the tabernacle of meeting, for a memorial for the children of Israel before the LORD.
And Gideon said unto them, I would desire a request of you, that you would give me every man the earrings of his spoil. (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.) And they answered, We will willingly give them. And they spread a garment, and did cast therein every man the earrings of his spoil. read more. And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was a thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold; beside ornaments, and collars, and purple raiment that was on the kings of Midian, and beside the chains that were about their camels' necks.
Even the weight for the lampstands of gold, and for their lamps of gold, by weight for every lampstand, and for the lamps thereof: and for the lampstands of silver by weight, both for the lampstand, and also for the lamps thereof, according to the use of every lampstand. And by weight he gave gold for the tables of showbread, for every table; and likewise silver for the tables of silver: read more. Also pure gold for the forks, and the basins, and the cups: and for the golden bowls he gave gold by weight for every bowl; and likewise silver by weight for every bowl of silver:
Besides that which traders and merchants brought. And all the kings of Arabia and governors of the country brought gold and silver to Solomon.
For the king's ships went to Tarshish with the servants of Huram: once every 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 where they refine it.
You shall defile also the covering of your graven images of silver, and the ornament of your molten images of gold: you shall cast them away as an unclean thing; you shall say unto them, Get away.
The workman melts a graven image, and the goldsmith spreads it over with gold, and casts silver chains.
Silver beaten into plates is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the craftsman, and of the hands of the goldsmith: blue and purple is their clothing: they are all the work of skillful men.
And now they sin more and more, and have made them molten images of their silver, and idols according to their own understanding, all of it the work of craftsmen: they say of them, Let the men that sacrifice kiss the calves.
Woe unto him that says to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in it.
And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.
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 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 merchants.
And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying, When you take the census of the children of Israel for their number, then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul unto the LORD, when you number them; that there be no plague among them, when you number them. read more. This they shall give, every one that passes among them that are numbered, half a shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary: (a shekel is twenty gerahs:) a half shekel shall be the offering of the LORD. Every one included among them that are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give an offering unto the LORD. The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when they give an offering unto the LORD, to make an atonement for your souls. And you shall take the atonement money of the children of Israel, and shall appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of meeting; that it may be a memorial unto the children of Israel before the LORD, to make an atonement for your souls.
And forty sockets of silver he made under the twenty boards; two sockets under one board for its two tenons, and two sockets under another board for its two tenons. And for the other side of the tabernacle, which is toward the north side, he made twenty boards, read more. And their forty sockets of silver; two sockets under one board, and two sockets under another board. And for the sides of the tabernacle westward he made six boards. And two boards made he for the corners of the tabernacle in the rear. And they were coupled at the bottom, and coupled together at the top of it, to one ring: thus he did to both of them in both the corners. And there were eight boards; and their sockets were sixteen sockets of silver, under every board two sockets. 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 to pass through the boards from the one end to the other. And he overlaid the boards with gold, and made their rings of gold to be places for the bars, and overlaid the bars with gold. And he made a veil of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen: with cherubim made he it of skillful work. And he made for it four pillars of acacia wood, and overlaid them with gold: their hooks were of gold; and he cast for them four sockets of silver.
Their pillars were twenty, and their bronze sockets twenty; the hooks of the pillars and their bands were of silver. And for the north side the hangings were a hundred cubits, their pillars were twenty, and their sockets of bronze twenty; the hooks of the pillars and their bands of silver. read more. And for the west side were hangings of fifty cubits, their pillars ten, and their sockets ten; the hooks of the pillars and their bands of silver. And for the east side fifty cubits. The hangings of the one side of the gate were fifteen cubits; their pillars three, and their sockets three. And for the other side of the court gate, on this side and that side, were hangings of fifteen cubits; their pillars three, and their sockets three. All the hangings of the court round about were of fine twined linen. And the sockets for the pillars were of bronze; the hooks of the pillars and their bands of silver; and the overlaying of their capitals of silver; and all the pillars of the court were banded with silver.
And the silver of them that were numbered of the congregation was a hundred talents, and a thousand seven hundred and three score and fifteen shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary: A bekah for every man, that is, half a shekel, after the shekel of the sanctuary, for every one that went to be numbered, from twenty years old and upward, for six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty men. read more. And of the hundred talents of silver were cast the sockets of the sanctuary, and the sockets of the veil; a hundred sockets of the hundred talents, a talent for a socket. And of the thousand seven hundred seventy and five shekels he made hooks for the pillars, and overlaid their capitals, and banded them.
And all king Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold; none were of silver: it was accounted as nothing in the days of Solomon.
So Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, and took away the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king's house; he took all: he carried away also the shields of gold which Solomon had made.
Surely there is a vein for the silver, and a place for gold where they refine it.
The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tested in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.
Take away the dross from the silver, and there shall come forth a vessel for the refiner.
Before the silver cord is loosed, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is broken at the fountain, or the wheel 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 jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and clothing, and gave them to Rebekah: he gave also to her brother and to her mother precious things.
You shall not make to be with me gods of silver, neither shall you make unto you gods of gold.
Besides that which traders and merchants brought. And all the kings of Arabia and governors of the country brought gold and silver to Solomon.
For the king's ships went to Tarshish with the servants of Huram: once every three years came the ships of Tarshish bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks.
Rejected silver shall men call them, because the LORD has rejected them.
Silver beaten into plates is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the craftsman, and of the hands of the goldsmith: blue and purple is their clothing: they are all the work of skillful men.
Tarshish was your merchant because of the multitude of all kinds of riches; with silver, iron, tin, and lead, they traded in your wares.
And now they sin more and more, and have made them molten images of their silver, and idols according to their own understanding, all of it the work of craftsmen: they say of them, Let the men that sacrifice kiss the calves.
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 there was born a son; and he called his name Enosh: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD.
And unto Sarah he said, Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver: behold, he is to you a vindication of the eyes, unto all that are with you, and with all others: thus she was righted.
And Sarah died in Kiriatharba; the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan: and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her.
My lord, hearken unto me: the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver; what is that between me and you? bury therefore your dead.
I have coveted no man's silver, or gold, or apparel.
But as he who has called you is holy, so be holy in all manner of conduct;