What is a Mina in the Bible?
Quick Summary
A mina in the Bible is an ancient unit of weight and value that sat between the shekel and the talent. One mina equaled fifty shekels. In modern terms a mina weighed roughly one and a quarter pounds of silver. The mina appears in stories of temple service, royal wealth, and one of Jesus’ parables.
Introduction
Ancient Israel used a tiered system of weights to measure precious metals, offerings, and economic exchange. The mina played an important role in this system. Larger than the shekel but far smaller than the talent, the mina represented a substantial yet manageable unit of value.
Understanding the mina helps modern readers appreciate biblical stories that involve stewardship, generosity, and the economic world of kings and merchants. It appears in both the Old Testament and the teachings of Jesus, where it becomes a symbol of trust and responsibility.
What Is a Mina?
The mina is a weight measure used across the ancient Near East. While precise standards varied, a common Hebrew mina equaled fifty shekels. Using the average shekel weight, the mina weighed about one and a quarter pounds or roughly five hundred to six hundred grams.
In many cultures, the mina also functioned as a unit of currency because its weight corresponded to a known value of silver. This made it useful for trade, temple service, and taxation.
To read more about the mina, please see David Noel Freedman, ed., The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary, 6 volumes (New York: Doubleday, 1992).
The Mina in the Old Testament
Temple Service and Offerings
The mina appears in passages describing temple equipment and offerings. Ezra 2:69 records that returning exiles contributed sixty one thousand darics of gold, five thousand minas of silver, and one hundred priestly garments for the rebuilding of the temple. The mina here reflects significant generosity.
Royal and Political Contexts
Ezekiel 45:12 presents a standard for weights that includes the mina along with the shekel. It sets forth a system intended to promote justice and fairness in all economic dealings. By tying the mina to honest measures, Ezekiel underscores the importance of integrity.
Historical Parallels
Ancient records from Mesopotamia and surrounding regions confirm the widespread use of the mina. Archaeological finds of inscribed weights demonstrate its value and consistency. These parallels help clarify biblical references.
The Mina in the Teachings of Jesus
The Parable of the Ten Minas
Luke 19:11-27 contains Jesus’ parable in which a nobleman entrusts ten servants with a mina each. The mina becomes a symbol of trust, responsibility, and accountability. Each servant responds differently: some multiply what they receive, while one hides the mina out of fear.
In this parable the mina is a substantial amount but not overwhelming. It represents real value—enough to reveal character and faithfulness. Understanding the mina as a weight of silver enhances the story’s economic and moral dimensions.
Daily Life and Use
The mina was a practical unit for large transactions. Merchants used it for trade, kings for tribute, and worshippers for offerings. It bridged the gap between everyday exchanges measured in shekels and large tributes measured in talents.
Because silver functioned as a store of value in the ancient world, the mina played an important role in maintaining consistency across the economy.
Why the Mina Matters for Biblical Interpretation
Understanding the mina enriches reading of both Old and New Testament passages. It clarifies the scale of offerings in Ezra, the economic background of Ezekiel’s reforms, and the stakes of Jesus’ parable. Seeing the mina as a concrete measure helps ground these stories in their historical and cultural setting.
The mina also highlights themes of faithfulness and stewardship. Whether entrusted to kings, priests, or servants in a parable, the mina becomes a way of measuring responsibility.
FAQs
How heavy was a mina?
About one and a quarter pounds or roughly five hundred to six hundred grams.
How many shekels equal one mina?
Fifty shekels.
Did all cultures use the same mina?
No. Mesopotamian, Egyptian, and Hebrew standards varied slightly, though the general scale remained similar.
Was a mina a coin or a weight?
Originally a weight, though in some cultures it functioned like a unit of currency because its weight in silver carried consistent value.
Where does the mina appear in Jesus’ teachings?
In Luke 19:11 to 27 in the Parable of the Ten Minas.
See Also
• Bible Measurement Converter Tool
