SILVER
Precious metal. The mineral was extracted from the ground (Jb. 28:1). It was melted in a crucible to purify it from dross (Ps. 12:6; Pr. 17:3; 25:4; Ez. 22:22). The silver came from Arabia (2 Chron. 9:14; cf. 1 Kings 10:22, 27) and Tarshish (Jer. 10:9; Ez. 27:12).
Spain (Tarshish in the canonical) is also mentioned in apocryphal literature as a source of silver supply (1 Mac. 8:3). Since ancient times, silver was used for barter (Gen. 23:16; 37:28).
The quantity ordered was weighed; the unit of weight was the shekel (Is. 7:23; Jb. 28:15; Is. 46:6), because the coinage was not known until later. The Jews did not begin minting money until long after the Babylonian captivity (1 Mac. 15:6). (See CURRENCY.)
Silver allowed the manufacture of various personal objects (Gen. 24:53; Ex. 3:22; Song 1:11); of crowns (Zech. 6:11); of musical instruments, such as trumpets (Num. 10:2). The rich owned silver utensils; Joseph drank from a silver cup (Gen. 44:2).
The Tabernacle and the Temple required large amounts for their construction: for the bases (Ex. 26:19), the columns, the capitals, the moldings (Ex. 27:10; 38:19), the plates, the jars (Num. 7:13; 1 Chron. 28:17), bowls and knives (Ezra 1:9, 10), daily candlesticks, and tables (1 Chron. 28:15, 16). Silver was also used to make idols and reproductions of pagan temples (Ps. 115:4; Acts 19:24).