Greek word · G2772

κέρμα

kerma

coin

Small coin, small change. The word comes from keirō, 'to cut' or 'to clip': money in small pieces. In the singular it can mean coins collectively.

Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

κέρμα, -τος, τό

(κείρω),

1. a slice, hence,

2. a small coin: pl., John 2:15.†

(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 John 2:15

Range of meaning

Small coin, small change. The word comes from keirō, 'to cut' or 'to clip': money in small pieces. In the singular it can mean coins collectively.

Against the English

'Coins' (BSB, YLT) and 'money' (KJV, WEB) both work. 'Money' loses the picture of heaps of small, sorted coins being spilled.

Used elsewhere in the period

Classical and papyrus Greek use kerma for small change. In the New Testament it appears only here, and v.14 has the related kermatistēs, 'dealer in small change'.

Where it appears

John · 1

  1. John 2:15 κέρμα, coin,

    So He made a whip out of cords and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle. He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables.

    Here: 'The coinage' or 'small change'. The singular is collective, meaning all the coins together. The word comes from *keirō*, 'to cut': small pieces of money.

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