Greek word · G1406

δραχμή

drachmē

drachma

A Greek silver coin, and also a unit of weight. In the first-century Roman East it was treated as equal to the Roman denarius, the standard day's wage for a labourer (compare Matthew 20:2). Four drachmas made a shekel (tetradrachm).

Appears 3 times in 2 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

δραχμή, -ῆς, ἡ

(δράσσομαι), [in LXX: in Hex. for in בֶּקַע, שֶׁקֶל Ezra for אֲדַרְכֹּן, דַּרְכְּמוֹן ;]

a drachma, nearly equal to the Roman denarius (see: δηνόριον): Luke 15:8-9 (DCG, ii, 200).†

(AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Luke 15:8

Range of meaning

A Greek silver coin, and also a unit of weight. In the first-century Roman East it was treated as equal to the Roman denarius, the standard day's wage for a labourer (compare Matthew 20:2). Four drachmas made a shekel (tetradrachm). Two drachmas (the didrachma) was the yearly temple tax (Matthew 17:24).

Against the English

KJV has 'pieces of silver'. BSB, ESV, NIV, NASB and NLT have 'silver coins'. WEB and YLT keep the actual name ('drachma', 'drachms'). 'Silver coin' is accurate, but to a modern reader 'coin' suggests small change. A drachma was closer to a day's earnings.

How it drifted

Modern coins are worth little, so 'coin' now suggests something trivial. The ancient drachma was real money for a working family.

Used elsewhere in the period

Tobit 5:15 (Greek): Tobit offers the hired guide 'a drachma a day' as wages, which matches the day's-wage value. 2 Maccabees 4:19 and 12:43 count sums in drachmas. The Septuagint uses drachmē as a unit of weight (e.g. Genesis 24:22). Josephus (Antiquities 3.195) gives the shekel as four Attic drachmas. In the New Testament the word appears only here and in v. 9.

From the study of Luke 15:9

Range of meaning

A Greek silver coin. In the Roman East of the first century it was valued about the same as the Roman denarius, which Matthew 20:2 gives as a day's wage for a field labourer.

Against the English

KJV has 'piece [of silver]', BSB, NIV, ESV and NASB have 'coin', and WEB and YLT keep 'drachma'. 'Coin' can suggest small change. One drachma out of ten was a real part of a poor household's cash.

Used elsewhere in the period

Outside this passage, the word appears in the New Testament only in Luke 15:8–9 (and the related 'two-drachma' temple tax in Matthew 17:24). Josephus and the papyri use it widely as a unit of money.

Where it appears

Luke · 3

  1. Luke 15:8 δραχμὰς δραχμὴν drachmas, drachma

    Or what woman who has ten silver coins and loses one of them does not light a lamp, sweep her house, and search carefully until she finds it?

    Here: A Greek silver coin worth about the same as a Roman denarius, roughly a day's pay for a labourer. These are her real savings, not loose change.

  2. Luke 15:9 δραχμὴν drachma

    And when she finds it, she calls together her friends and neighbors to say, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my lost coin.’

    Here: A Greek silver coin worth about a Roman denarius, roughly a day's pay for a labourer. It was one of only ten she had, so a tenth of what she held.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.