Pound (2)
Pound
(money), a value (μνᾶ mina) mentioned in the parable of the Ten Pounds (Lu 19:12-27), as the talent is in the parable of the Talents (Mt 25:14-30), the comparison of the Savior to a master who entrusted money to his servants wherewith to trade in his absence being probably a frequent lesson in our Lord's teaching (comp. Mr 13:32-37). The reference appears to be to a Greek pound, a weight used as a money of account, of which sixty went to the talent, the weight depending upon the weight of the talent. At this time the Attic talent, reduced to the weight of the earlier Phoenician, which was the same as the Hebrew, prevailed in Palestine, though other systems must have been occasionally used. The Greek name doubtless came either from the Hebrew maneh or from a common origin; but it must be remembered that the Hebrew talent contained but fifty manehs, and that we have no authority for supposing that the maneh was called in Palestine by the Greek name, so that it is most reasonable to consider the Greek weight to be meant. SEE MINA.
