Bible Dictionary
MONEY-CHANGERS
Money-changers exchanged foreign coins for the Jewish half-shekel used in temple payments and likely charged a fee for the service. Jesus drove them from the temple courts because their commercial activity had corrupted a place of worship.
Definition
Money-changers were exchangers of coins and, in some cases, bankers or brokers who paid interest on deposits. In Jerusalem they exchanged foreign currency for the Jewish half-shekel required for sanctuary payment and charged a fee for the service.
Biblical Usage
The money-changers appear in the Gospel accounts of the temple. Because of their greed and impiety, Jesus drove them from the temple courts.
Historical Background
Their profession arose because Jews arriving for the feasts brought many kinds of coins, while the sanctuary offering was paid in the regular Jewish half-shekel. The exchange fee was called a kollubos.
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>chan'-jers (kollubistes, from kollubos, "a small coin," so "a money-changer," or "banker" (Mt 21:12; Mr 11:15; "changers" in Joh 2:15; compare Joh 2:14, where kermatistes, "a dealer in small bits," or "change," is also rendered "changers"); compare trapezites, "one who sits at a table," "a money-changer," "a banker" or "broker"; one who both exchanges money for a small fee and pays interest on deposits (Mt 25:27, the King James Version "exchangers," the American Standard Revised Version "bankers")): The profession of money-changer in Palestine was made necessary by the law requiring every male Israelite who had reached the age of 20 years to pay into the treasury of the sanctuary a half-shekel at every numbering of the people, an offering to Yahweh, not even the poor being exempt. It seems to have become an annual tax, and was to be paid in the regular Jewish half-shekel (Ex 30:11-15). Since the Jews, coming up to the feasts, would need to exchange the various coins in common circulation for this Jewish piece, there were money-changers who exacted a premium for the exchange. This fee was a kollubos (about 31 cents in U.S. money, i.e. in 1915), hence, the name kollubistes. The Jews of Christ's day came from many parts of the world, and the business of exchanging foreign coins for various purposes became a lucrative one, the exchangers exacting whatever fee they might. Because of their greed and impiety, Jesus drove them from the courts of the temple.</p><p>Edward Bagby Pollard</p>