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We find in Ezra:

KJV Ezra 8 27 Also twenty basons of gold, of a thousand drams; and two vessels of fine copper, precious as gold.

  1. How much is a dram?
  2. Was there a change in the measure of talent through various periods of history?
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2 Answers2

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According to https://biblehub.com/topical/t/talent.htm

  1. (v. t.) Among the ancient Greeks, a weight and a denomination of money equal to 60 minae or 6,000 drachmae. The Attic talent, as a weight, was about 57 lbs. avoirdupois; as a denomination of silver money, its value was 243 15s. sterling, or about USD1,180.
  2. (v. t.) Among the Hebrews, a weight and denomination of money. For silver it was equivalent to 3,000 shekels, and in weight was equal to about 93/ lbs. avoirdupois; as a denomination of silver, it has been variously estimated at from 340 to 396 sterling, or about USD1,645 to USD1,916. For gold it was equal to 10,000 gold shekels.

According to https://biblehub.com/topical/d/dram.htm

  1. (n.) A weight; in Apothecaries' weight, one eighth part of an ounce, or sixty grains; in Avoirdupois weight, one sixteenth part of an ounce, or 27.34375 grains.
  2. (n.) A minute quantity; a mite.

Other references are available on the same web site.

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  • A shekel would have had a constant value - 20 gerahs(Lev 27:25). Whether silver or gold, I don't see it changing based on material since it's a measure of weight(2Sa 14:26, Ezek. 4:10); likewise also would be the talent, being 3000 shekels as deduced from Ex. 38. – user21676 Feb 17 '20 at 07:55
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Ezra doesn't mention dram or talent, instead it mentions daric = 8.4 grams and mina = 571 grams.

The English Standard Version gives the correct translations in Ezra 2:69 + 8:27.

During the reign of Cyrus the Great the daric coin didn't yet exist. Which suggests Koresh of Ezra 1 is Cyrus the Great's grandson and namesake Xerxes rather then Cyrus the Great himself.

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