Coins and the New Testament: From Ancient Palestine to the Modern Pulpit

Abstract

Ancient coins are ubiquitous items used by archaeologists, along with several types of artifacts, for purposes of relative dating when excavating at ancient sites. Furthermore, coins play an important role in gaining a better understanding the cultural milieu of the first centuries of the Common Era, the period into which events and writing of the New Testament fit. Some archaeologists are also numismatists, that is, specialists in ancient coins. In writing this article the author has drawn upon his own years of work as a field archaeologist and numismatist in Israel. This survey introduces the reader to the subject of ancient Roman Imperial coins, Roman Provincial coins and coins minted in ancient Palestine specifically for use by the Jewish populace. Examples of the importance of the coins as both official, and unofficial, propaganda (as is the case with Jewish coins of the First Revolt of the Jews against Rome, 66–70 CE) are discussed. There is an analysis of the coins that circulated in Palestine and the eastern Roman provinces into which early Christianity spread. Special attention is given to those coins specifically mentioned in the New Testament. Ethical issues concerning the removal of coins from ancient sites and the collecting of them by individuals are also introduced. Finally, possibilities for presenting numismatic information via the pulpit and religious education are addressed. To this end the reader will find some resources for starting out in the field of ancient and Biblical numismatics, and creatively applying that information for the edification of others.