money, riches

Boyd’s Bible Dictionary:

(warning). Gold and silver passed by weight among Hebrews (Gen. 17:13; 23:16¹³He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. (Genesis 17:13)
¹⁶And 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 merchant. (Genesis 23:16)); though the ring tokens of Egypt may have been current (Gen. 20:16; 37:28¹⁶And unto Sarah he said, Behold, I have given thy brother a thousand pieces of silver: behold, he is to thee a covering of the eyes, unto all that are with thee, and with all other: thus she was reproved. (Genesis 20:16)
²⁸Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt. (Genesis 37:28)). Persian coined money (daric or dram) came into use after the captivity (Esther 2:69; Neh. 7:70-72⁷⁰And some of the chief of the fathers gave unto the work. The Tirshatha gave to the treasure a thousand drams of gold, fifty basons, five hundred and thirty priests' garments. ⁷¹And some of the chief of the fathers gave to the treasure of the work twenty thousand drams of gold, and two thousand and two hundred pound of silver. ⁷²And that which the rest of the people gave was twenty thousand drams of gold, and two thousand pound of silver, and threescore and seven priests' garments. (Nehemiah 7:70‑72)). The Maccabees first coined Jewish money, B. C. 140—shekels and half shekels of gold and silver, with minor copper coins. The N. T. coins (Matt. 17:27; 22:19; 10:29; 5:26²⁷Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee. (Matthew 17:27)
¹⁹Show me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny. (Matthew 22:19)
²⁹Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. (Matthew 10:29)
²⁶Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing. (Matthew 5:26); Mark 12:42⁴²And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. (Mark 12:42)), were Roman or Grecian.

Concise Bible Dictionary:

Mention is made of money as early as Genesis 17:12-13¹²And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed. ¹³He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. (Genesis 17:12‑13), where persons are said to be “bought with money”; and from Genesis to Zechariah it is spoken of as being not counted, but weighed, which would give the true value of the precious metals in the form of rings or in odd pieces of gold or silver. The names Gerah, Bekah, Shekel, Maneh, and Talent, being used for weights as well as money, the two are better considered together. See WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.

On the return of the Jews, B.C. 536, Persian money was used by them. This would be followed by Greek money when they were under the dominion of the Greeks. Antiochus VII, about B.C. 140, granted permission to Simon Maccabeus to coin Jewish money. Shekels were coined bearing a pot of manna and an almond rod. Under the Romans, Roman money was used.

Strong’s Dictionary of Greek Words:

Number:

5536 (find all occurrences in KJV Bible)

Greek:

χρῆμα

Transliteration:

chrema

Phonic:

khray’-mah

Meaning:

something useful or needed, i.e. wealth, price

KJV Usage:

money, riches