The alabastron of ointment is a little glass jar containing a libra of |139 oil, and the capacity is half a xestes. But it is called an alabastron because of its fragility.
(As for) the kapsakes of water, 12 xestai of water is the capacity; but the kapsakes prepared for Elijah is 4 xestai.
The kotyle is a measure, it is half a xestes. And it is called a kotyle because the xestes is cut in two.
The kyathos is the sixth part of a xestes. But the Scripture calls the kyathoi medekoth. And it calls the strainers masmaroth, which we also call ethmoi. But both are called by the same name because they have also the same use.
The tryblion is a saucer in form, that is, a dish, but it has the capacity of half a xestes. The Alexandrian xestes holds 2 librae of oil by weight.
The aporryma is employed as a measure only among the Thebans, for it is half a saites. The true saites, however, is 22 xestai.
The sabitha. This is the Syriac term which is translated "the drawing vessel of the wine press"; among the people of Ashkelon it is 22 xestai.
The hin. The great hin is 18 xestai; the sacred hin is 9 xestai.
The chus is 8 xestai. But the one called "sacred" is 6 xestai, which is the twelfth part of a metretes.
The talent is that measure used in weighing that exceeds every other, and in librae it is 125 librae, 6,000 lepta to the talent, which lepta are called assaria; but the denarion is 60 assaria, and the silver (talent) is 100 denaria.
Now the silver (coin) was coined as a coin from the beginning, but it was coined by the Assyrians. And they say Abraham brought the coin into Canaan.
The 1/125 part of the talent is 1 libra. But the libra is 12 ounces. And the ounce contains 2 staters. |140
And the stater is half an ounce, being a didrachmon.
Concerning the shekel. The shekel, which is also called the kodrantes, is the fourth part of an ounce, half of the stater, being 2 drachmae, for the drachma was the eighth part of the ounce.
And the drachma was called the holke. By this weight, the shekel, they weighed the hair of Absalom whenever he had his hair cut, the weight being 125 shekels, which is an ounce of 1 shekel, amounting to 2 1/2 librae.
Even the obolus was coined among silver (coins). But this was the eighth part of the ounce, the one made not of silver but of iron. But there was also another obolus coined of silver, being a very small coin, the eightieth part of the ounce. For it is said in Leviticus: "The didrachmon is 20 oboloi." We have already shown that the didrachmon is the fourth part of the ounce.
The chalkoi. The Egyptians invented these. There are two silver (coins) coined, and the silver (coins) are called copper among the Alexandrians. But the chalkus is the eighth part of an ounce by weight, like the drachma.
The mina, which is called the mane in Hebrew. But the Italian mina is 40 staters, which is 20 ounces, a libra and two-thirds.
And there have been many types of silver coins from time to time.
The nummus was coined by a certain Numa, king of the Romans. But the ancients called half of the silver (denarius) the dichryson. |141
And this silver (denarius) is what the Romans call the miliarision, which is translated "military gift."
This dichryson also was the silver (coin) that was later called repudiated, because after a time the king was killed and his stamp, which had been engraved upon the dichryson, was removed from it. For thereafter when one was found bearing the image of the dead king it was accounted repudiated, that is, fraudulent.
The follis, which is also called the talent. But it is double, composed of 2 silver (minas), which is 208 denarii. And the follis is 2 lepta according to the copper coinage, but not according to the silver coinage.
The mares is a measure of 2 pots among the people of Pontus. But the pot among them is 10 xestai, so that the kupros is 20 Alexandrian xestai.
Among the same people of Pontus the kupros is a measure of dry produce of 2 modii, which is said by them to be 5 choinikes. And the choinix among them is 5 xestai, so that the kupros would be 20 xestai. For among them the great modius is 24 xestai.