In all ages, there were researchers who were curious, but how much did Judas Iscariot actually gain for his betrayal? Is 30 pieces of silver a lot or a little? How tempting is the amount to make a man betray his friend and send him to certain death?
These events are mentioned in the 26th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew. Judas Iscariot comes to the Pharisees and asks how much they will pay him. But this is not the only mention of thirty pieces of silver in the Bible. In the Old Testament, the prophet Zechariah receives the same amount for his work as a shepherd. In addition, in the book of Exodus, the same is paid for a slave. What does all this mean in modern terms?
"Kiss of Judas". Giotto di Bondone.
There are several different interpretations. One theory is that the silver coins used to pay for Judas' betrayal were the equivalent of a Roman denarius. A Roman soldier, for example, was paid about 225 denarii a year. By comparison, a modern American soldier makes about $ 25,000 a year. In this interpretation, Judas would be paid about $ 3,000 in today's value.
On the other hand, various biblical scholars, referring to the book of Exodus, calculate differently. The silver shekel, which was in use at the time of Christ, weighed 15-26 grams of silver and was equal to four Greek drachmas or one tetradrachma. The coin weighed approximately 15 grams of silver. That is, it turns out that Judas rescued 450 grams of silver for his betrayal. If we take the cost of a gram of silver at the Sberbank exchange rate for July 11, 2019, it turns out that he was paid 13,176 rubles. Not a lot, right?
Based on the cost of a slave, and Exodus, as we know, estimates it at 30 pieces of silver, then, according to research on modern slavery by the CNN Freedom Project, "the average price of a slave in 2009 was $ 90." Based on this interpretation, Judas could receive 5,663.7 rubles. But this has another meaning. The Pharisees valued the services of a traitor at the cost of a slave. The price of contempt.
Other historians propose to count on the basis of the salary of an employee - a plasterer, painter, bricklayer … In ancient Judea, these specialists earned 1 or 2 denarii a day. Skilled workers could receive up to 4 denarii a day. But let's dwell on the middle 2 denarii. 30 pieces of silver are 120 denarii. That is, two months' wages of a hired worker. It is easy to count further. If we take the average salary of a worker in Russia, according to Rosstat for 2019, 35,000 rubles, then it turns out that Judas received 70,000 rubles.
"Judas throwing pieces of silver." P. Vasiliev.
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Numismatists have tetradrachms of that time today costing from 1,500 to 3,500 thousand dollars. That in rubles is from 92,000 to 220,000. There are experts who believe that Judas was paid in Tyrian shekels. They were minted in the city of Tire, the capital of Phenicia, between 130 BC and 15 AD. This coin was used to pay taxes and church fees. Residents of Jerusalem received 15 shekels for their work per month. Accordingly, 30 shekels was a fee for 2 months. So, today an Israeli citizen, according to statistics, earns an average of 10 100 shekels per month.
Tyrian shekel.
Today one shekel costs 17.84 rubles. If the two-month salary is multiplied by this rate, then it turns out that Judas received 360,368 rubles. But no matter how much this money was worth, it was a bad price to pay for the evil that Judas did, who later tragically realized it. When he tried to get them back, the Pharisees contemptuously rejected him.
Pavel Romanutenko
