Tiberius Caesar depicted on a Roman denarius coin (18 AD—35 AD.) with the words “Caesar Augustus Tiberius, son of the Divine Augustus”. The reverse depicts his mother Livia Drusilla. When Jesus was asked whether or not it was lawful to pay tribute to Caesar, he requested that he be shown a coin. He then asked whose image appeared on it. On being told that it was Ceasar’s, he replied “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God's”.. Photographer: DrusMAX. Licensed (Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0)
Tiberius Caesar depicted on a Roman denarius coin (18 AD—35 AD.) with the words “Caesar Augustus Tiberius, son of the Divine Augustus.” The reverse depicts his mother Livia Drusilla. When Jesus was asked whether or not it was lawful to pay tribute to Caesar, he requested that he be shown a coin. He then asked whose image appeared on it. On being told that it was Caesar’s, he replied “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s.” Photo by DrusMAX. Licensed by CC BY-SA 3.0.

Answers about…
coins in the Bible

Before the Exile the Jews had no regularly stamped money. They made use of uncoined shekels or talents of silver, which they weighed out (Genesis 23:16; Exodus 38:24; 2 Samuel 18:12).

The silver ingots used in the time of Abraham may have been of a fixed weight, which was in some way indicated on them. The “pieces of silver” paid by Abimelech to Abraham (Genesis 20:16), and those also for which Joseph was sold (37:28), were probably in the form of rings.

The shekel was the common standard of weight and value among the Hebrews down to the time of the Captivity.

Only once is a shekel of gold mentioned (1 Chronicles 21:25).

The “6 thousand of gold” mentioned in the transaction between Naaman and Gehazi (2 Kings 5:5) were probably so many shekels of gold.

The “piece of money” mentioned in Job 42:11; Genesis 33:19 was the Hebrew kesitah, probably an uncoined piece of silver of a certain weight, perhaps in the form of a sheep or lamb, or perhaps having on it such an impression. The same Hebrew word is used in Joshua 24:32, which is rendered by Wickliffe “an hundred young sheep.”

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Article Version: March 18, 2026