{
  "id": "dict_001041",
  "term": "Coin",
  "slug": "coin",
  "letter": "C",
  "entry_type": "biblical_background_term",
  "entry_family": "theological_term",
  "depth_profile": "standard",
  "short_definition": "A coin is a stamped piece of money used in Bible times for taxes, wages, offerings, trade, and everyday spending.",
  "simple_one_line": "A coin is a form of money mentioned in Scripture in everyday life, taxation, and Jesus’ teaching.",
  "tooltip_text": "A coin was a small unit of money in the ancient world, often used for taxes, wages, and illustration in biblical teaching.",
  "aliases": [],
  "scripture_references": [],
  "original_language_terms": [],
  "related_entries": [
    "Denarius",
    "Tribute",
    "Tax",
    "Temple Tax",
    "Widow's Mite",
    "Wages",
    "Stewardship",
    "Money"
  ],
  "see_also": [
    "Caesar",
    "Offering",
    "Talent",
    "Drachma",
    "Lepton",
    "Parable of the Lost Coin"
  ],
  "lede_intro": "Coins were part of ordinary economic life in the biblical world and appear in Scripture in narratives, parables, and discussions about taxes, wages, and value.",
  "at_a_glance_definition": "Coins are pieces of stamped metal used as money.",
  "at_a_glance_key_points": [
    "Biblical coins appear in real-world settings such as taxation, labor, offerings, and trade",
    "Jesus also used coin imagery in teaching",
    "coin values varied by time and region",
    "some biblical passages name specific coins, such as the denarius, drachma, and lepton."
  ],
  "description_academic_short": "A coin is a form of money commonly mentioned in the Bible, especially in connection with taxes, wages, offerings, and trade. Biblical references to coins help readers understand the economic setting of Scripture and sometimes carry symbolic weight in Jesus’ teaching. The term itself is not chiefly theological, but it is an important biblical-background entry for interpreting specific passages.",
  "description_academic_full": "A coin is a piece of stamped metal used as money, and the Bible refers to coins in both Testaments, especially in narratives, laws, and the Gospels. Coins appear in contexts such as paying workers, rendering taxes, making offerings, measuring value, and illustrating spiritual truths. Jesus referred to coins in several well-known passages, including questions about tribute to Caesar, the lost coin, the widow’s offering, and parables involving wages or entrusted money. While coinage is not a doctrinal category in itself, it is a useful biblical-background entry because it helps readers understand the ordinary economic life assumed by many passages and the concrete imagery used in biblical teaching.",
  "background_biblical_context": "Scripture mentions coins in everyday transactions, temple-related giving, taxation, and parabolic teaching. In the Gospels, coin imagery often serves to expose heart issues, stewardship, value, or allegiance to God and earthly authorities.",
  "background_historical_context": "The ancient Mediterranean world used various coins of different metals and values, and those values changed over time and from region to region. Jewish life in the Second Temple period included both local and imperial coinage, which shaped taxation, temple payments, and daily commerce.",
  "background_jewish_ancient_context": "In Jewish settings, coinage was part of ordinary life but also carried religious and political implications because of images, inscriptions, and imperial authority. This helps explain why questions about tribute, temple tax, and lawful giving mattered so much in the New Testament.",
  "key_texts_primary": [
    "Matthew 22:19–21",
    "Mark 12:15–17",
    "Luke 15:8–10",
    "Matthew 17:24–27",
    "Mark 12:41–44"
  ],
  "key_texts_secondary": [
    "Matthew 20:1–16",
    "Luke 7:41–43",
    "Luke 16:1–13",
    "Acts 19:19"
  ],
  "original_language_note": "The Bible uses several different words for specific coins rather than one single generic term. New Testament references may involve denarius, drachma, lepton, and other coin names, whose exact modern equivalents are not fixed.",
  "theological_significance": "Coin passages often highlight stewardship, honesty, human obligation, the limits of earthly authority, and the proper ordering of loyalty to God. Jesus used coin imagery to teach discernment and the value God places on people.",
  "philosophical_explanation": "Coins illustrate how value can be assigned, recognized, and exchanged in human society. Biblical coin references remind readers that material realities are morally significant and can be used either faithfully or selfishly.",
  "interpretive_cautions": "Coin values varied across time and geography, so modern currency comparisons are usually misleading. Specific biblical coin names should not be over-precisely mapped onto modern money, and symbolic meanings should not be forced where the text is simply describing ordinary life.",
  "major_views_note": "Readers generally agree that coin references in Scripture are concrete historical details, though interpreters differ on how much symbolic weight to assign to any given passage. The clearest approach is to read each text in context and avoid speculative numerology or exaggerated allegory.",
  "doctrinal_boundaries": "Coins themselves are not a doctrine. Biblical references to money should support, not replace, the text’s actual teaching about stewardship, justice, allegiance, generosity, and faithfulness.",
  "practical_significance": "Coin passages remind believers to handle money honestly, give generously, pay what is owed, and keep earthly wealth in proper perspective before God.",
  "meta_description": "Coins in the Bible were used for taxes, wages, offerings, and everyday trade, and they often appear in Jesus’ teaching and New Testament narratives.",
  "public_url": "/companion-bible-dictionary/coin/",
  "json_url": "/companion-bible-dictionary/data/dictionary/coin.json",
  "final_disposition": "PUBLISH_CANONICAL"
}