κολλυβιστής

From the study of John 2:15

Range of meaning

Money changer. It comes from kollybos, a small coin and also the fee charged for changing money. The changer swapped one currency for another, or large coins for small, and took a set commission.

Against the English

'Money changers' (all versions) is accurate. A modern reader may hear 'loan sharks' or 'greedy bankers', but the text here makes no accusation of cheating.

How it drifted

Centuries of sermons and art have turned 'money changers' into a byword for corrupt finance. In John the complaint (v.16) is that God's house has become a 'house of trade', not that the changers were dishonest. The Synoptic Gospels' 'den of robbers' (Mark 11:17, quoting Jer 7:11) does not appear in John.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Mishnah (Sheqalim 1:3) says changers set up tables in the provinces on the 15th of Adar and in the temple on the 25th, ahead of Passover, to collect the half-shekel temple tax (Exod 30:11–16). It also records the surcharge, called qalbon, which is the same root as kollybos (Sheqalim 1:6–7). Rabbinic sources say the tax was paid in Tyrian silver, which was valued for its reliable purity (Tosefta Ketubbot 13:3). Josephus and the papyri use kollybos for exchange fees.

From the study of Matthew 21:12

Range of meaning

A small-scale money changer, named after the kollybos, a small coin and also the fee charged for exchange. The word is rare. It is attested in Greek papyri and later writers, and its Hebrew equivalent shulḥani, 'table man,' appears in the Mishnah.

Against the English

'Money changers' is a fair rendering. The problem is what the phrase now calls up: bankers, financiers or currency speculators. These were seasonal exchange agents at folding tables.

How it drifted

Since at least the twentieth century 'the money changers in the temple' has been a stock image for high finance. Franklin Roosevelt's 1933 inaugural address famously said that 'the money changers have fled from their high seats in the temple of our civilization.'

Used elsewhere in the period

Mishnah Sheqalim 1:3 says exchange tables were set up in the provinces on the 15th of Adar and in the temple on the 25th, in the weeks before Passover, to collect the half-shekel tax of Exod 30:13. Sheqalim 1:6–7 regulates the surcharge (qalbon, the same word as kollybos). Tosefta Ketubot 13:3 says that 'silver' in the Torah means Tyrian silver, the high-purity coinage of Tyre. Matthew's audience knew this tax: see 17:24–27.

From the study of Mark 11:15

Range of meaning

A money changer: someone who exchanges one currency for another for a fee. From κόλλυβος (kollybos), a small coin, and from that the premium or fee charged for exchanging.

Against the English

'Money changers' is accurate as a description. In modern English, though, the phrase has become a byword for greedy bankers and financiers, and that colours how readers picture these men.

How it drifted

From the 19th century on, 'the money changers in the temple' became a political metaphor for financial elites. Franklin Roosevelt's 1933 inaugural address is a famous example: 'The money changers have fled from their high seats in the temple of our civilization.'

Used elsewhere in the period

The Mishnah (m. Shekalim 1:3) says that exchange tables were set up in the provinces on 15 Adar and inside the temple on 25 Adar, so that the half-shekel tax (Exodus 30:11–16) could be paid before Passover. A small surcharge called the kolbon (the same word) was added (m. Shekalim 1:6–7). The coin required was the high-quality silver shekel of Tyre (compare m. Bekhorot 8:7), even though it carried the image of the god Melqart/Herakles and an eagle. Purity and reliable weight of silver mattered more than the image.