GOLD, TALENTS AND MINAS

January 1, 2008

Values in US or Canadian dollars)

Gold _____________ $833 +/- per Troy Ounce _____ $26,780 +/- per Kilogram
Silver ____________ $14.70 +/- per Troy Ounce ____ $472 +/- per Kilogram

Gold _____________ $803,400 +/- per light Talent __ $1,606,000 +/- per heavy Talent
Silver ____________ $14,200 +/- per light Talent ___ $28,350 +/- per heavy Talent

Gold _____________ $13,390 +/- per light Mina ____ $26,780 +/- per heavy Mina
Silver ____________ $240 +/- per light Mina _______ $470 +/- per heavy Mina

One Kilogram is 32.1507 Troy Ounces. (1 Troy Ounce is 31.104 Grams)
A light Talent is approximately 30 Kilograms.
A heavy Talent is a double Talent is approximately 60 Kilograms.
A Mina is usually considered a sixtieth of a Talent. Some think it is a fiftieth of a Talent. Either way it is 3,000 Shekels. I do not know if a light or heavy Talent is used for this weight determination.

Luke 19 and Matthew 25 contain very similar parables. Matthew 25 is called the parable of the Talents. Luke 19 would be called the parable of the Minas I suppose. In view of the values of the weights mentioned you might consider the parable of the Talents to be for those in authority or in prestigious positions or the wealthy. The parable of the Minas is for a more common man in a more common situation.

The amount of Gold that came to Solomon in one year was 666 Talents or about $535 million US if a light Talent is used and about $1.07 billion US if a heavy Talent is used. (1 Kings 10:14, 2 Chronicles 9:13) It is interesting to find the number 666 here. Is this the origin of the mystique?

David gave 3,000 Talents of gold for the Temple or about $2.41 billion US or $4.82 billion US. Plus some silver. Even more was given by the rulers of the fathers’ and the princes of the tribes of Israel. (1 Chronicles 29:6)