Denarius

Biblical Text

The denarius appears in the Gospels and the Book of Revelation.

• A day's wage: In the parable of the laborers in the vineyard, the householder agrees with the laborers to pay them one denarius for the day (Matthew 20:2).
• Debt: In the parable of the unforgiving servant, the fellow servant's debt is one hundred denarii (Matthew 18:28). In the parable Jesus tells in the house of Simon the Pharisee, one man owes five hundred denarii and another fifty (Luke 7:41).
• The cost of care: The Good Samaritan gives the innkeeper two denarii (Luke 10:35).
• Five loaves and two fish: The disciples say that two hundred denarii's worth of bread would be needed to feed the crowd (Mark 6:37). The Gospel of John attributes this remark to Philip (John 6:7). For the event as a whole, see Feeding of the Five Thousand.
• Ointment: When a woman pours ointment on Jesus at Bethany, it is said that the ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii (Mark 14:5). The Gospel of John identifies the woman as Mary and the speaker as Judas Iscariot (John 12:3-5).
• The question of tribute: The Pharisees and the Herodians ask whether it is lawful to pay tribute to Caesar. Jesus has a denarius brought to him and asks whose image and inscription it bears (Mark 12:13-17; Matthew 22:19; Luke 20:24).
• Famine: When the third seal is opened, a voice is heard saying, "A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny" (Revelation 6:6).

Background

The denarius was a Roman silver coin. The Latin word denarius derives from a word meaning "by tens" or "ten at a time," and the name is generally understood to reflect the coin's original value of ten bronze asses (singular as). It was minted from the late third century BC, and its weight and silver content declined over time. It circulated at a value roughly equivalent to that of the Greek silver drachma (see parable of the lost coin).

The obverse usually bore the emperor's portrait and titles. A widely known view identifies the coin in the tribute exchange as a denarius of the emperor Tiberius, though the text does not specify which emperor's coin it was.

Significance in the Bible as a Whole

On the basis of Matthew 20:2, the denarius is commonly understood as a laborer's daily wage. By this standard, two hundred denarii is equivalent to two hundred days' wages, and three hundred denarii represents a large sum amounting to nearly a year's wages.

Revelation 6:6 depicts prices at which a day's wage buys barely enough grain to feed one person. For this reason, many interpreters read the verse as a description of famine (see Seven Seals, Trumpets, and Bowls).

Interpretation and Debate

• The wage standard: Scholars differ on whether one denarius was the ordinary daily wage of the time or merely the amount agreed upon within the parable. Conversions into modern currency should be regarded as rough approximations.
• The parable of the laborers in the vineyard: The scene in which every laborer receives the same single denarius has been read in several ways.
• Many church traditions read it as grace given irrespective of merit (what one has done).
• Some interpret it in terms of the relationship between Jews and Gentiles, or between those who believed earlier and those who believed later.
• Others read it as a picture of distribution that secures a day's subsistence.
• The tribute exchange: The saying "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's" (Mark 12:17) is frequently cited in discussions of the relationship between church and state (Church and Politics). Some emphasize it as an affirmation of the state's authority, while others emphasize that the state's authority is itself relative and subject to God's sovereignty.
• Translation: The King James Version renders denarius as "penny." Korean Bibles such as the New Korean Revised Version and the Revised New Korean Standard Version transliterate the original name as denarion.

In the Korean Church

In preaching, it is common to convert the denarius into a present-day daily wage to illustrate the scale of the miracle of the five loaves and two fish or the value of the ointment. The parable of the laborers in the vineyard is frequently used as a sermon text on grace, as well as on service and reward.