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August 26, 2025

The Ancient Near East May Have Started Using Currency 3,500 Years Ago

A Bronze Age market economy.

The book of Genesis (23:15–16) suggests that silver coinage was used even in the time of Abraham, much earlier than most archaeologists believe currency was introduced into the Levant. While a new study doesn’t exactly refute that view, it does suggest that the idea of using silver as legal tender is much older than previously thought. Joanie Margulies explains: 

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