Genesis 20:16

20:16 To Sarah he said, “Look, I have given a thousand pieces of silver ¹  to your ‘brother.’ ²  This is compensation for you so that you will stand vindicated before all who are with you.” ³ 

Genesis 23:15

23:15 “Hear me, my lord. The land is worth ⁴  400 pieces of silver, ⁵  but what is that between me and you? So bury your dead.”

Genesis 24:53

24:53 Then he ⁶  brought out gold, silver jewelry, and clothing and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave valuable gifts to her brother and to her mother.

Genesis 43:15

43:15 So the men took these gifts, and they took double the money with them, along with Benjamin. Then they hurried down to Egypt ⁷  and stood before Joseph.

Genesis 43:21

43:21 But when we came to the place where we spent the night, we opened our sacks and each of us found his money – the full amount ⁸  – in the mouth of his sack. So we have returned it. ⁹ 

Genesis 44:2

44:2 Then put ¹⁰  my cup – the silver cup – in the mouth of the youngest one’s sack, along with the money for his grain.” He did as Joseph instructed. ¹¹ 

Genesis 45:22

45:22 He gave sets of clothes to each one of them, ¹²  but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and five sets of clothes. ¹³ 

¹ sn A thousand pieces [Heb “shekels”] of silver. The standards for weighing money varied considerably in the ancient Near East, but the generally accepted weight for the shekel is 11.5 grams (0.4 ounce). This makes the weight of silver here 11.5 kilograms, or 400 ounces (about 25 pounds).

² sn To your ‘brother.’ Note the way that the king refers to Abraham. Was he being sarcastic? It was surely a rebuke to Sarah. What is amazing is how patient this king was. It is proof that the fear of God was in that place, contrary to what Abraham believed (see v. 11).

³ tn Heb “Look, it is for you a covering of the eyes, for all who are with you, and with all, and you are set right.” The exact meaning of the statement is unclear. Apparently it means that the gift of money somehow exonerates her in other people’s eyes. They will not look on her as compromised (see G. J. Wenham, Genesis [WBC], 2:74).

⁴ tn The word “worth” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

⁵ sn Four hundred pieces of silver. The standards for weighing money varied considerably in the ancient Near East, but the generally accepted weight for the shekel is 11.5 grams (0.4 ounce). This makes the weight of silver here 4.6 kilograms, or 160 ounces (about 10 pounds).

⁷ tn Heb “the servant”; the noun has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

¹⁰ tn Heb “they arose and went down to Egypt.” The first verb has an adverbial function and emphasizes that they departed right away.

¹³ tn Heb “in its weight.”

¹⁴ tn Heb “brought it back in our hand.”

¹⁶ tn The imperfect verbal form is used here to express Joseph’s instructions.

¹⁷ tn Heb “and he did according to the word of Joseph which he spoke.”

¹⁹ tn Heb “to all of them he gave, to each one, changes of outer garments.”

²⁰ tn Heb “changes of outer garments.”