Greek word · G3414

μνᾶ

mna

mina

A unit of weight that became a unit of money. In the Greek system a mina was 100 drachmas, and 60 minas made a talent. Since a drachma was roughly a laborer's day's wage (comparable to a denarius), a mina was about 100 days' pay.

Appears 9 times in 6 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

μνᾶ, -ᾶς, ἡ

(a Semitic word; cf. Heb. מָנֶה, Aram. מְנֵא, a weight and a sum of money = 100 shekels, cf. 1 Kings 10:17),

a mina (Let.), mna, in Attic a weight and sum of money = 100 δραχμαί (which see) : Luke 19:13, 16 19:18, 20 19:24-25.†

(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 19:13

Range of meaning

A unit of weight that became a unit of money. In the Greek system a mina was 100 drachmas, and 60 minas made a talent. Since a drachma was roughly a laborer's day's wage (comparable to a denarius), a mina was about 100 days' pay.

Against the English

The KJV and YLT say 'pound,' which a modern reader takes as British currency of unclear value, or a weight. Modern versions keep 'mina' or paraphrase it as 'money.'

How it drifted

Older English translators used 'pound' for the mina because both were weight-based money units. Neither the value nor the foreign flavor carries over.

Used elsewhere in the period

The word goes back to ancient Near Eastern weight systems (Hebrew māneh, Akkadian manû), and it is standard in Greek financial texts. In the New Testament it appears only in Luke 19.

Where it appears

Luke · 9

  1. Luke 19:13 μνᾶς minas

    Beforehand, he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. ‘Conduct business with this until I return,’ he said.

    Here: A mina was worth 100 drachmas, roughly 100 days' wages for a laborer, so about three to four months' pay. It is a real sum, but small for a man about to become king. The master later calls it 'a very little' (v.17).

  2. Luke 19:16 μνᾶ μνᾶς. mina, more minas.

    The first servant came forward and said, ‘Master, your mina has produced ten more minas.’

  3. Luke 19:18 μνᾶ μνᾶς. mina, minas.

    The second servant came and said, ‘Master, your mina has made five minas.’

  4. Luke 19:20 μνᾶ mina

    Then another servant came and said, ‘Master, here is your mina, which I have laid away in a piece of cloth.

  5. Luke 19:24 μνᾶν μνᾶς mina, minas

    Then he told those standing by, ‘Take the mina from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.’

  6. Luke 19:25 μνᾶς. minas.

    ‘Master,’ they said, ‘he already has ten!’

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