Talent (measurement)

The talent (Latin: talentum, from Ancient Greek: τάλαντον, talanton 'scale, balance, sum') was one of several ancient units of mass, a commercial weight, as well as corresponding units of value equivalent to these masses of a precious metal. The talent of gold was known to Homer, who described how Achilles gave a half-talent of gold to Antilochus as a prize.^[1] It was approximately the mass of water required to fill an amphora.^[2] A Greek, or Attic talent, was 26 kilograms (57 lb),^[3] a Roman talent was 32.3 kilograms (71 lb), an Egyptian talent was 27 kilograms (60 lb),^[3] and a Babylonian talent was 30.3 kilograms (67 lb).^[4] Ancient Israel, and other Levantine countries, adopted the Babylonian talent, but later revised the mass.^[5] The heavy common talent, used in New Testament times, was 58.9 kilograms (130 lb).^[5]

An Attic talent of silver was the value of nine man-years of skilled work.^[6] During the Peloponnesian War, an Attic talent was the amount of silver that would pay a month's wages of a trireme crew of 200 men.^[7] Hellenistic mercenaries were commonly paid one drachma per day of military service. There were 6,000 drachmae in an Attic talent.

The Babylonians, Sumerians, and Hebrews divided a talent into 60 mina, each of which was subdivided into 60 shekels. The Greek also used the ratio of 60 mina to one talent. A Greek mina was approximately 434 ± 3 grams. A Roman talent was 100 libra. A libra is exactly three quarters of a Greek mina, so a Roman talent is 1.25 Greek talents. An Egyptian talent was 80 libra.^[3]

The talent as a unit of value is mentioned in the denarii. The talent is also used elsewhere in the Bible, as when describing the material invested in the Ark of the Covenant.^[13] Solomon received 666 gold talents a year.^[14]

References

External links

•  "Talent".  
•  "Talent". The New Student's Reference Work. 1914.