Historical-Political Dissertation on Coins, Both Functional and Commemorative

benefit, even when separated by an immense distance of lands, men could nevertheless carry out mutual negotiations, and both relieve their own need and, especially, preserve the memory and rights of their common origin. Therefore, it seems to us that in that very place where the separation and dispersion of men began, the remedy for preserving some connection and familiarity between those living apart also took its beginning. The Holy Scriptures themselves, which not long after the history of the confusion of languages treat of the first money—and indeed that handled by Abraham, who had his fatherland in Chaldea (Gen. 17)—perhaps gave occasion for this not inept, certainly pious, conjecture. Indeed, already in Gen. 13:12 it is said: But Abraham was very wealthy in possessions of cattle, gold, and silver. Among these riches of gold and silver of Abraham, it seems not so doubtful to us that there was not only a molten mass of gold and silver, but also money—even if not precisely stamped (about which nothing certain can be stated), yet at least distinguished by weight and value—because not only shortly after, in the just-alleged Chapter 17 of Genesis, v. 12, 23, 27, Abraham is said to have had servants argyronetous bought with silver [Hebrew miqnat-kesef purchase and possession of silver], but because we also read in Gen. 20:16 that Abimelech gave to Abraham elef kesef a thousand of silver, i.e., silver coins. For although the Hebrew word kesef generally signifies silver, the number added, elef a thousand, indicates that there were certain particles, suitable for counting or, according to the custom of that time, weighing. Hence, in our German Bibles it is most correctly translated: Silberlinge silver pieces. For as Cocceius notes, when a number is added, the shekel is implied (see e.g., Gen. 37:28, ch. 45:22, Zech. 11:12), just as it is read fully in Gen. 23:15-16, where it is said that Abraham there had bought the field of Ephron for the burial of his wife for four hundred shekel-kesef, i.e., shekels of silver weighed out [it was weighed to him], and indeed of sound money, accepted among merchants (argyriou dokimou emporois money approved by merchants, as the version of the LXX Interpreters has it; that was accepted and current in trade, as Luther excellently translates), or, according to the original text itself, over lasoher current for the merchant, i.e., as the Chaldean paraphrases, what is accepted in negotiation in all provinces; see D. Glass, Rhetorica Sacra, Tract 1, ch. 9, p. 1193; Conring, Diss. §. 7. And thus, already in the time of Abraham, about twelve hundred