דַּרְכְּמוֹן

From the study of Nehemiah 7:70

Range of meaning

The name of a coin, used to count gold. It is attested only in plural form in Ezra 2:69 and Nehemiah 7:70–72. A related form, adarkon, appears in Ezra 8:27 and 1 Chronicles 29:7.

Against the English

KJV has 'drams'. NASB has 'drachmas'. BSB, WEB, NIV and ESV have 'darics'. NLT avoids the problem with a general 'gold coins'.

How it drifted

KJV's 'drams' was a reasonable form of 'drachm' in 1611. Today 'dram' suggests a small apothecary weight or a shot of whisky, so the reader loses the point that these are coins.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Persian gold daric was introduced under Darius I (c. 515 BC) and weighed about 8.4 g. Greek drachmas, especially Athenian silver coins, circulated widely in the Levant in the 5th–4th centuries BC and were imitated on local coinage. The form darkemon looks like the Greek drachmē, while adarkon looks more like 'daric'. BDB and HALOT both discuss both options.

From the study of Nehemiah 7:72

Range of meaning

A monetary unit of the Persian period. It appears only in Ezra 2:69 and Nehemiah 7:70–72. 1 Chronicles 29:7 and Ezra 8:27 use a similar word, adarkon. The word is identified either with the Persian gold daric (an official gold coin of about 8.4 g, first struck under Darius I, c. 515 BCE) or with the Greek drachma.

Against the English

KJV 'drams'; BSB, WEB and ESV 'darics'; NIV and NASB 'drachmas'; NLT turns it into 'gold coins'. 'Daric' and 'drachma' are both reasonable guesses at a real coin. 'Dram' is the problem, because to a modern ear it means a tiny weight or a measure of whisky.

How it drifted

In 1611 'dram' was the ordinary English form of 'drachma', so the KJV was not wrong at the time. Later the dram became a small apothecary or avoirdupois unit (about 1.8–3.9 g), and in everyday speech a small drink, so the size of the gift shrinks for modern readers.

Used elsewhere in the period

Persian darics circulated widely in the Achaemenid empire. Attic drachmas (Athenian 'owls') are well attested in Persian-period Palestine. Greek writers (e.g. Herodotus, Xenophon) mention the daric, often valued at about 20 silver drachmas. The shape of the Hebrew word -on, with dr-k-m, sits closer to Greek drachmē than to Persian dārayaka, which is the main argument for the drachma.