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The Day Hasmonean Coinage became Mundane

by Chaim Shacham
Seminar Assignment for Prof. Eyal Regev, Bar Ilan University– March 2017

In this paper, we will attempt to examine the deliberate changes that


took place in way Hasmonean rulers chose to display their personal
names in the Paleo-Hebrew inscriptions of their coins. We will also
endeavor to offer an explanation for this change.

I. An Overview of Hasmonean Coinage:


To begin, we would like to present a brief description of Hasmonean
coinage in general, in order to better explain the phenomenon of the
Hebrew name inscription change upon which we would like to focus.

The field of Hasmonean coinage is vast, with over 36 separate coin


types and numerous sub-types1. Therefore, this overview will include
only the main groupings, which better represent the overall coinage
policy, rather than rare types which can be safely assumed to be
exceptions2, rather than the rule. In this paper, the Paleo-Hebrew
inscription will be used as the determining factor of classification, since it
was this inscription which was directed solely to the Hasmonean’s main
audience, the Jewish population3.

A. The “Priestly” Coin Group (Employs the Title KHN):


This group is characterized by coins bearing Hebrew inscriptions in
which the Hasmonean ruler presents himself as filling the position
of the High Priest in the Jerusalem Temple.
1. The Priestly Prutah Subgroup:
This subgroup is the most
consistent of the
Hasmonean coin groups,
since its design remained
basically unchanged throughout the period of Hasmonean
independence and coins of this group were minted by all the
Hasmonean rulers who minted coins. The obverse contained an
inscription in Paleo-Hebrew characters, surrounded by a wreath
depicting the ruler as the High Priest (KHN GDWL), while the
reverse displayed two cornucopia (shofars) facing each other, tied
together near their bases (creating a U shape), with a
pomegranate (or under M. Antigonus, an ear of grain) between
them.

It is now generally accepted that coins of this group were first


issued by John Hyrcanus I4 in about 130BCE and continued to be
minted until the fall of the Hasmonean Dynasty under Mattathias
Antigonus in 37BCE.

These coins were made of bronze, and are assumed to have the
denomination of one prutah. Although the weights and dimensions
of these coins varied, they averaged about 2 grams and measured
about 15mm in diameter. The designs were individually hammer-
struck with dies onto strips of blank bronze planchettes cast in
limestone molds, which were then cut into individual coins5.
Of particular importance to this paper is the Hebrew inscription
found on the obverse of this group of coins. In it, the Hasmonean
ruler, using his Hebrew name, self-identified as the High Priest,
and added that he ruled together with the “Assembly of the Jews”.
The Hebrew names used by the rulers on this Priestly Prutah were
YHWḤNN ‫( יהוחנן‬John Hyrcanus I), YHWDH ‫( יהודה‬Judah
Aristobulus I), YHWNTN ‫ יהונתן‬- also spelled YNTN ‫ינתן‬
(Alexander Jannaeus and probably his widow Salome Alexandra6),
and MTTYH ‫( מתתיה‬Mattathias Antigonus). The full inscription
generally read:

Paleo-Hebrew:
‫]יהוחנן[ הכהן הגדול וחבר היהודים‬
Transliteration:
[YHWḤNN] HKHN HGDWL WḤBR HYHWDYM
Translation:
[YHWḤNN] the High Priest and the Assembly of the Jews

The name YHWḤNN, referring to John Hyrcanus I, would be


exchanged with YHWDH (Judah Aristobulus I) or YHWNTN/YNTN
(Jannaeus), depending on the issuing ruler.

The last Hasmonean King, Mattathias Antigonus, shortened the


inscription appearing on most of the types of this standard Prutah,
and usually wrote only his name MTTYH. This may have been
due to lack of space, since almost all the prutahs which he issued
were struck on planchettes which, although thicker, were smaller in
diameter than those of his predecessors. In addition, his
inscriptions used coarser script which took up more space.
It can be assumed that this Inscription/Shofar Priestly prutah was
viewed by the Hasmoneans as their standard coin. It was, by far,
the most numerous group of coin minted by John Hyrcanus I
(YHWḤNN) and Mattathias Antigonus (MTTYH), and the only
group minted by Judah Aristobulus I (YHWDH). Vast numbers of
this group were also minted by YHWNTN/YNTN (the name used
by Alexander Jannaeus and probably his widow Queen Salome
Alexandra).

2. Other Priestly Coins:


There were other Priestly coin types minted by John Hyrcanus I,
such as an extremely rare 2-prutah coin bearing a helmet on its
obverse and two shofars on the reverse, and a scarce half-prutah
displaying a Lulav (palm frond) on the obverse and a Lily on the
reverse. These coins bore Paleo-Hebrew inscriptions on their
obverse very similar to those used on the standard
Inscription/Shofar prutah.

Mattathias Antigonus minted a significant amount of larger


denominations as well, and those coins carried fuller Hebrew
inscriptions than his single prutah coin. On his 4-prutah coin, which
was about 7 grams and 18mm in diameter, he wrote in Paleo-
Hebrew “MTTYH the High Priest”. On the 8-prutah denomination
(14 g, 24mm) he included the complete Hebrew inscription:
“MTTYH the High Priest and the Assembly of the Jews”. These
Hebrew inscriptions were placed surrounding the shofars on the
coin’s obverse. On the reverse, surrounded by a wreath, he placed
a Greek inscription BACIΛEΩOC ANTIΓONOY (King Antigonus).
These two multi-prutah denomination coins were minted in
substantial numbers by M. Antigonus and it can therefore be
assumed that their design was in keeping with an overall policy
regarding the appearance and message of his coinage.

The rarest of all the Hasmonean coins is


a Priestly prutah issued by M. Antigonus
bearing depictions of the Temple
Shewbread Table on the obverse and
the Temple Menorah on the reverse. The table is surrounded by
the Paleo-Hebrew inscription “MTTYH the High Priest” MTTYH
KHN GDWL (‫)מתתיה כהן גדול‬, and the Menorah was
encircled by the Greek inscription BAΣIΛEΩOΣ ANTIΓONOY (King
Antigonus). It has been suggested that this coin was minted in the
last days of Antigonus’ reign, during his desperate war against
Herod to retain the throne for the Hasmoneans7. The coin was
perhaps meant as a patriotic propaganda tool to rally the Jews
around his army, since he was the scion of a dynasty of High
Priests, and was defending the Temple from being taken over by
Herod, a Hellenized convert. Since only a handful of these coins
have been found, it can be assumed that it was never a standard,
widely circulated issue.

B. The “Royal” Coin Group (Employs the Title MLK)


This group is characterized by coins upon which the Hasmonean
rulers presents themselves in their Paleo-Hebrew inscriptions in
their capacity as King (MLK).
1. The Lily/Anchor Royal Prutah Sub-group
These prutah sized coins (about
2g/15mm) are characterized by a
Lily design on the obverse, and an
anchor design on the reverse. The
lily is surrounded by a Paleo-Hebrew inscription YHWNTN HMLK,
“YHWNTN the KING” (‫)יהונתן המלך‬, while the inscription on
the reverse is in Greek, BAΣIΛEΩOΣ AΛEΞANΔPOY (Alexander
the King). This coin is rather scarce, due to the fact that, although
many were produced, only a fraction were put into circulation8. The
great majority were overstruck – both obverse and reverse -
converting them into standard Priestly type prutah coins
(Inscription/Shofar) bearing the name YNTN (‫)ינתן‬. Only after
they were changed in this fashion were they released into general
circulation.

2. The Star/Anchor Royal Prutah Sub-group


The determining
characteristics of this sub-
group of coins is an obverse
design featuring a star with
eight rays, and an anchor on the reverse. The earlier issues of this
group were about the size of the standard Priestly Prutah (see
above). They had clear inscriptions, with a legend in Paleo-Hebrew
letters separated by the rays of the star, reading
Y/H/WN/T/N/H/ML/K/ (/‫ך‬/‫מל‬/‫ה‬/‫ן‬/‫ת‬/‫נ‬/‫הו‬/‫“ )י‬YHWNTN the
KING”. Like the aforementioned Lily type, the reverse featured an
Anchor, surrounded by a Greek inscription reading BAΣIΛEΩOΣ
AΛEΞANΔPOY (of King Alexander).
Over time, the size of these coins was gradually reduced (>1g), the
designs were less complete and the inscriptions became unclear
or were removed entirely.

The legible coins of this subgroup were minted by the Hasmonean


ruler who used the name YHWNTN (‫ )יהונתן‬in Paleo Hebrew
characters, or in one type, ALKSNDRWS (‫ )אלכסנדרוס‬in
contemporary Aramaic Hebrew characters. Although the ruler
using these names was clearly Alexander Jannaeus, the later
types of this group – those reduced in size and without clear
inscriptions - may have been minted by his successors, Queen
Salome Alexandra, Hyrcanus II and Aristobulus II9.

3. Other Royal Coins:


In addition to the two types of Royal prutah denomination coins
described above, a smaller, half-prutah version of the Lily coin was
also minted. The obverse, like the prutah version, carried a lily with
the Paleo-Hebrew inscription YHWNTN HMLK ( ‫יהונתן‬
‫“ )המלך‬YHWNTN the KING”. However, the reverse bore a lulav
(palm frond) rather than an anchor, and had no inscription. This is
an extremely rare type, and apparently not many were minted.

Another Royal coin minted in modest amounts was a prutah sized


lead issue, with a simple Aramaic Hebrew inscription on the
obverse MLKA ALKSNDRWS (‫ )מלכא אלכסנדרוס‬and an anchor
surrounded by a Greek inscription, BAΣIΛEΩOΣ AΛEΞANΔPOY,
on the reverse - similar to the other Royal coin anchor designs. It is
possible that this coin was some kind of token, rather than an
issue of regular coinage, due to the fact that it was made of lead
rather than bronze.

II. The Changes in the Appearance of Hasmonean Names


Hasmonean coinage is replete with irregularities and anomalies. The
dimensions of the coins vary within the same type, the inscriptions
sometimes lack letters or add letters, and the quality of the engraving
fluctuates greatly from die to die. However, most of these individual
variations were minted in very limited number, indicating that they are
due to the lack of quality control, not the result of an overall policy10.

We have ascertained, however, that there are four numismatic


innovations in the presentation of the Paleo-Hebrew names of the
Hasmonean rulers which, due their consistency and quantity, appear to
have been the result of deliberate policy decisions. They are all
exceptional in the field of ancient coinage, and are apparently particular
to the Hasmoneans. Below is a description of these four innovations:

A. The Abbreviation of Jannaeus’ Name: YHWNTN -> YNTN


It has been noted above that the spelling of the names of the first two
Hasmonean rulers who issued coins, John Hyrcanus I (135-104BCE)
who used the name YHWḤNN (‫)יהוחנן‬, and Judah Aristobulus I
(104-103BCE) who used the name YHWDH (‫)יהודה‬, remained
constant throughout the period of their rule. Also, these two rulers
used only Paleo-Hebrew script and only minted coins of the “Priestly”
group, in which they identified themselves as “High Priest” (rather
than the political leader, as was contemporary practice among other
nations11).
Jannaeus was the first Hasmonean ruler who minted both Priestly
coins and Royal coins. Jannaeus’ Priestly coins were minted with two
different spellings of this ruler’s name in Paleo-Hebrew, YHWNTN
(‫ )יהונתן‬and YNTN (‫)ינתן‬.

The sequence of the minting of the various Hasmonean coins has


been the subject of much conflicting research. It is generally believed
today that, regarding the Jannaeus coinage12, the reign began with a
continuation of the tradition of the standard Inscription/Shofar Priestly
prutah, with the unabbreviated Hebrew name YHWNTN in Paleo-
Hebrew script. This is especially apparent when examining the style
of the latter coins of Judah Aristobulus I, and comparing them with the
earliest coins of Jannaeus. They appear to have been manufactured
by the same engravers, with only the ruler’s name being changed13.

The religious/national message carried by the Hebrew-only inscription


and traditional Jewish design of these Priestly coins was directed
primarily towards the Jewish population. Later in his reign, Jannaeus
felt the need to add coins that stressed his status as King, and to
include a Greek inscription. Perhaps this grew out of a desire to
impress his sovereignty upon the large population of non-Jews who
had come under Hasmonean control as a result of the expansion of
the borders of the state under Jannaeus and his predecessors. The
bilingual Royal coins were the result.

Hendin and Shachar have suggested14 that the first of the two main
bilingual Royal coin issues was the Lily/Anchor type, which bore a
contiguous Paleo-Hebrew inscription on the obverse (YHWNTN the
King) and a Greek inscription on the reverse (Alexander the King).
Although some of these coins were issued to the public, it appears
that a decision was made to cease their release into circulation, and
to convert most of them into standard Inscription/Shofar Priestly
prutahs, but this time using the abbreviated name YNTN. From this
point onward, it appears that all further Jannaeus Priestly prutahs
used the abbreviated spelling, omitting the letters HW from the Paleo-
Hebrew inscription of Jannaeus’ name.

For example, following the aforementioned YNTN overstrike, an


additional type of Inscription/Shofar coin was minted, this with the
name YNTN written in a very distinctive “wild” script. Metallurgy tests
carried out by Krupp15 have
suggested that this “wild” series of
YNTN Priestly coins was actually
minted later than the other Jannaeus
coinage, perhaps by his widow Queen Salome Alexandra or even by
their sons Hyrcanus II and/or Aristobulus II.

The abbreviation of a ruler’s name on coinage was not uncommon in


the ancient world. Some Roman emperors even used single letters to
abbreviate parts of their name. However, a permanent alteration of
the standard spelling of a ruler’s name on coinage in the midst of his
reign was very uncommon indeed.

B. The Separation of Letters: YHWNTN becomes Y/H/WN/T/N


It appears from Hendin and Shachar’s research that the Star/Anchor
subgroup was introduced following the YNTN overstrike, perhaps in
order to replace the abandoned Lily/Anchor type as Royal coinage.
This chronology was deduced after their examination of an
exceptional coin which bore the overstrike of a Star/Anchor type on
top of a YNTN overstrike of a Lily/Anchor coin. This coin was, in
essence, an overstrike of an overstrike, and, like the layers of an
archeological dig, indicated the internal chronology of the three coins
- the earliest layer being the Lily/Anchor coin, followed by the layer of
the YNTN overstrike, followed by the layer of the Star/Anchor coin.

While employing the same reverse as the


Lily/Anchor type (an Anchor with a Greek
inscription), the obverse of the Star/Anchor prutah
carried a Paleo-Hebrew inscription which was
broken apart by the eight rays of the new star design -
Y/H/WN/T/N/H/ML/K/ To the casual observer, this writing looks like a
series of separate letters, rather than a coherent inscription. Such a
design arrangement is highly irregular in the coinage of the ancient
world.

From this time forward, coins bearing the Paleo-Hebrew name of


Jannaeus carried either the abbreviated name YNTN or the full name
with disconnected letters Y/H/WN/T/N. No longer did the name
YHWNTN appear in its complete and contiguous form on Jannaeus
coinage.

Hendin and Shachar suggest that the massive YNTN Priestly


overstrike of the Lily Royal prutah was connected in some way to the
clash that occurred between Jannaeus and the Pharisees16.
According to Josephus, this clash brought about the involvement of
the Seleucid ruler Demetrius III (96-88BCE) in the ensuing Jannaeus-
Pharisee civil war. Josephus adds that Demetrius’ reign ended soon
thereafter. Therefore, in Hendin’s opinion, the YNTN overstrike can
be dated to the latter days of Demetrius’ reign, which ended in
88BCE.

C. The Retrograde of Inscriptions: HYTTM instead of MTTYH


It is uncertain whether Jannaeus’ widow, Queen Salome Alexandra,
or his sons, Hyrcanus II and Aristobulus II, minted coins during their
reigns. It is assumed17 that if they did, these coins were either the
series of Priestly prutahs bearing the name YNTN in distinctive “wild”
script, and/or the numerous degraded versions of the Star/Anchor
sub-group in which the inscriptions are incomplete and unclear.
Consequently, the next name of a Hasmonean ruler appearing on a
coin after Jannaeus is that of Mattathias Antigonus (40-37BCE).

Mattathias Antigonus’ most numerous coin was a prutah based on the


Inscription/Shofar design. It was minted on a planchette of double
thickness, but of smaller diameter than the previous prutah coins,
which left less room for his bulkier inscriptions. Consequently, only his
name MTTYH (‫ )מתתיה‬appears on the obverse in Paleo-Hebrew
script, with neither the title “High Priest” nor the accompanying
element “and the Assembly of the Jews”. The inscription is, however,
most peculiar in that it is always written in retrograde fashion (mirror
writing), thus ‫ מתתיה‬becomes
as seen here:

Generally, a retrograde inscription is encountered in ancient coinage


only in cases of irregular issues, minted in limited numbers outside
official mints by inexperienced engravers. Here, however, we
encounter a retrograde inscription in a standard coin, issued in great
numbers by an official mint. This was not the outcome of unintended
die cutting by an inexperienced engraver, but rather the result of an a-
priori decision made to produce a coin with a retrograde inscription.

D. Inversion of the Letter Y: MTTʎH instead of MTTYH


As mentioned above, Mattathias Antigonus was the only Hasmonean
to mass produce denominations larger than one prutah. He minted
coins of 4-prutahs and 8-prutahs, both using the traditional design
elements of the Hasmonean Priestly coins, the Shofar and the Paleo-
Hebrew inscription of the ruler’s name, along with the title of “High
Priest” and (in the case of the larger 8 prutah piece) the “Assembly of
the Jews”.

There is, however, a subtle peculiarity in the Paleo-Hebrew


inscriptions on the two large denomination coins that was first noticed
by Meshorer18 – the letter “Y” in the name MTTYH is almost always
inverted and/or retrograde. Although all the other letters of the name
appear as they should, the Hebrew letter “Yod” is purposely changed,
thus, ‫ י‬becomes as is seen in these examples:
III. A Possible Explanation of these Changes in the Rulers’ Name
We have shown that, beginning with the latter years of Jannaeus’ rule,
four deliberate and numismatically exceptional innovations took place in
the manner in which the Paleo-Hebrew names of Hasmonean rulers
appeared on their coinage. These four changes are:
a) the replacement of the name YHWNTN with YNTN on the Priestly
coins;
b) the replacement of the contiguous name of YHWNTN with
separated name Y/H/WN/T/N on the Royal coins;
c) the deliberate use of a retrograde inscription of the ruler’s name on
prutahs (HYTTM instead of MTTYH) and;
d) the inversion/retrogradation of the Hebrew letter Y in the ruler’s
name (MTTʎH instead of MTTYH) on multi-prutah denominations.

The question is “why?” Why did the Hasmoneans make these unusual
changes in the way their names were depicted on their coins?

We shall attempt to answer by comparing these four changes to a rather


curious custom which is practiced by Hebrew speakers until this very
day.

A. The Exceptional 15 in the Hebrew Numbering System


Like many ancient languages, Hebrew has developed over time its
own numerals, much as the Phoenicians, the Romans and the Arabs
have developed their own numbering system. In the Hebrew system,
the letters of the alphabet serve to represent number values. The first
letter, Aleph (‫ )א‬being equal to one, the second letter Bet (‫ )ב‬equaling
two and so forth until nine. Numbers having two digits are written with
two letters, the first letter representing the “tens” and the second letter
representing the “digits”. The Hebrew letter equaling ten is Yod (‫)י‬, so
in Hebrew, the number eleven is written ‫יא‬.

Traditionally, the aforementioned rule holds true for all numbers,


except the number 15. Exceptionally, the number 15 is made up of
the letters Tet/9 (‫ )ט‬and Vav/6 (‫)ו‬, and is written ‫טו‬. The reason that
the letters Yod/10 (‫ )י‬and Heh/5 (‫ )ה‬are not used is because the
combination of those two letters “YH” spell out “Jah”, one of the
names of Gd used in the Hebrew Bible. For example, the word
Hallelujah meaning “Praise Gd” contains this Holy Name. Another
example of the use of this Name in Scripture is found in Psalm 68:4
(KJV): “… extol him that rideth upon the heavens by his name Jah,
and rejoice before him”.

The use of a Sacred Name for a secular purpose is prohibited by


Jewish law. Consequently, the reason that Hebrew users represent
the number 15 by use of the exceptional ‫( טו‬9+6) rather than the
intuitive combination of ‫( י‬10) and ‫( ה‬5) is because ‫ טו‬offers an
alternative to writing out a Sacred Name for use in a mundane
context.

B. “YH”: The Common Denominator of the Four Name Changes


Let us return now to examine the four changes that took place near
the end of Jannaeus’ rule with regard to the manner in which the
Paleo-Hebrew names of the Hasmonean rulers were displayed on
their coinage. The common element in all of these changes is the
removal of the Sacred name “Jah” from the coin, and its replacement
with an alternative.
It is common for Hebrew names to contain references to Gd.
Jannaeus’ Hebrew name, Jehonathan/YHWNTN, means “Given by
Gd”. In the first change, the letters HW were removed from the name,
leaving YNTN. This version of the name no longer contains a
prohibited Sacred Name “YH”. The name may sound the same,
“Jonathan” instead of “Jehonathan”, but it no longer contains the
same degree of sanctity.

In the second change, the letters of the name YHWNTN were


separated into Y/H/WN/T/N by means of a design element (the rays
of a star), thus the “YH” became discontinuous. Consequently, there
is no longer any “Jah” in the name, and it is rendered totally
mundane.

The name Mattathias (MTTYH), Antigonus’ Hebrew name, means “A


Present from Gd”. It too contains the Sacred Name “YH”. Indeed,
many religiously conscientious Jews today prefer to spell the name
MTTYH with an apostrophe between the Y and the H (‫ )מתתי'ה‬in
order to avoid attaching unintended sanctity to the written word.

Thus we encounter the third change. By retrograding the Hebrew


inscription on Antigonus’ prutah, the order of the letters is reversed,
MTTYH becomes HYTTM, and the ruler’s name no longer contains
the sacred “YH”.

In a comparable fashion, in the fourth change, the Hebrew name


MTTYH was made mundane on Antigonus’ multi-prutah
denominations by inversing and retrograding the “Y”. No longer is the
“YH” considered holy, since the “Y” is no longer a true “Y”.
C. The Source of the Prohibition of the Secular Use of the Holy Name
Modern Jewish law is based upon a compilation of positive
commandments and negative prohibitions appearing in a four-volume
legal work written in the Middle Ages called the Shulhan Arukh. This
work is in turn an extraction of the conclusions of legal discussions
held in the first half of the first millennium CE in the Rabbinical
academies of Babylonia and Israel, which were recorded in a 37-
volume set called the Talmud. The discussions in the Talmud are
based upon the body of oral Pharisaic traditions clarifying and
supplementing the Bible, existing during and soon after the period of
the Second Temple. In the third century CE these traditions were
compiled and redacted into a six-volume work called the Mishnah -
with some sanctioned Mishnaic source material existing
independently as addenda (“Tosefta”) or external sources (“Baraita”).

Our research into the source of the prohibition of the secular use of
Sacred Names has revealed that this Jewish law is based upon the
earliest known written Mishnaic source - a short legal volume
describing various days of celebration called “Megillat Taanit”. This
external volume was probably written in the time of the Second
Temple, and records events that occurred before and during the
Hasmonean period. It contains a list of holidays upon which one is
forbidden to fast.

Along with a brief entry for each holiday’s date in Aramaic, there is a
commentary (known as the Scholion) written in Hebrew further
explaining each date. Although for some of the holiday dates the
period and the source of the Scholia19 is not known and could be as
late as the Gaonic period (7th – 11th century), in our case, the
commentary is recorded in nearly identical language in the
Babylonian Talmud, meaning that the relevant Scholia was already
formulated by the 5th century CE. The following is our synthesis of the
Parma and Oxford manuscripts20 and the Talmudic rendition (Rosh
HaShana 18b) of the relevant Scholia:

On the third of Tishri the Citation [of God’s Name] in financial


instruments was abolished. [Scholia:] This because the wicked
Greek monarchy decreed a persecution against Israel, and said to
them “Deny the kingdom of heaven and say ‘We have no portion in
our Gd in heaven’”. And when the rule of the Hasmoneans became
strong and defeated them [the Greeks], they [the Hasmoneans]
decreed that they [the Jews] should now cite the name of God even in
their financial instruments. Consequently, they used to write thus: ‘In
the year so-and-so of Johanan [apparently, John Hyrcanus], High
Priest to the Most Exalted Gd’.
And when the Sages of blessed memory heard this they said, “Is it
possible that the Heavenly Name be written in financial instruments?
Tomorrow this man will repay his debt and the document with the
Holy Name will be thrown in the fire or torn up and tossed into the
garbage”. So they [the Sages] revoked their [the Hasmoneans’]
decree and declared that the Name no longer be written in financial
instruments. And they made that day a holiday.”
(Megillat Taanit Chapter 7)

IV. Conclusion
On the basis of the information presented above, we would venture to
suggest that at some point in time, apparently during the latter half of the
reign of Jannaeus, a policy promoted by the Pharisaic Sages regarding
a more cautious use of the Holy Name was adopted by the Hasmonean
rulers. It seems that this policy change was faithfully reflected in the
removal or alteration of the appearance of the Holy Name “YH” in the
Paleo-Hebrew inscriptions of Hasmonean coinage.

This general “secularization” of coinage seems to have been


implemented in different ways, perhaps depending upon the most
appropriate solution for the different coin designs. On some, the ruler’s
name was abbreviated to remove the sacred “YH”, on others the letters
were separated with a design device, a third method was to employ
retrograde inscriptions, and the fourth was to invert and/or retrograde
only the problematic letter “Y”.

The apparent acquiescence of Jannaeus to the request/demand of the


Pharisaic Sages may perhaps be connected to the vicissitudes of the
relationship between them, as recorded by Josephus Flavius. Although
Jannaeus is described as being, at times, extremely cruel to rebellious
followers of the Pharisees21, he is also said to have reconciled with them
towards the end of his reign. Josephus relates that before his death,
Jannaeus counsels his wife, Queen Salome, to ally herself with the
Pharisees, and indeed, she heeded his advice22.

This new coinage secularization policy appears to have been first


implemented by the act of overstriking the problematic uncirculated
cache of YHWNTN Lily coins, and converting them into YNTN
Inscription/Shofar coins. Basing ourselves on the timetable proposed by
Hendin and Shachar23, we can therefore suggest that the overstrikes
began on the third day of the month of Tishri (August-September) in one
of the 5 years between 88BCE (the withdrawal of Demetrius III) and
83BCE (the estimated inauguration of the Star/Anchor coinage).

Perhaps Jannaeus’ change of coinage policy was a good-will act of


reconciliation with the Pharisees taken at an earlier stage of their
conflict, or perhaps a final capitulation to end the animosity between the
sides. Either way, the numismatic evidence appears to indicate that
Jannaeus’ secularization of coinage in deference to the Pharisees
remained in force until the end of the Hasmonean era. Here we have
what seems to be a correlation between the numismatic evidence, the
historical narrative of Josephus and the earliest written record of
Pharisaic law, Megillat Taanit.
1
Hendin, D., Guide to Biblical Coins Fifth Edition, New York 2010 pps 183-217
2
Hendin, D., Personal Communication, 13 February 2017
3
Regev, E., The Hasmoneans - Ideology, Archeology, Identity, Manuscript. p. 181
4
Meshorer, Y., A Treasury of Jewish Coins, Jerusalem and New York 2001. p. 26
5
Meshorer, Y., Ancient Jewish Coinage Volume I: Persian Period through Hasmoneans,
New York 1982. p. 56
6
Hendin D., GBC (see above note 1) p. 205
7
Meshorer, Y., AJC I (see above note 5). p.94
8
Hendin, D., GBC (see above note 1) p. 167
9
Hendin, D., GBC (see above note 1) p. 168
10
Hendin, D., Lecture before the Israel Numismatic Society, Tel Aviv, 13 February 2017
11
Klawans, Z., Handbook of Ancient Greek & Roman Coins, Atlanta 2012.
12
Hendin, D., GBC (see above note 1) p. 194
13
Hendin, D., Hasmonean Coin Chronologies: Two Notes, Israel Numismatic Journal 16
(2007-8) pps. 57-75
14
Hendin, D. and Shachar, I., The Identity of YNTN on Hasmonean Overstruck Coins and
the Chronology of the Alexander Jannaeus Types. Israel Numismatic Research 3 (2008), pp.
87-94
15
Krupp, M., A Metallurgical Examination of Hasmonean Coins, Israel Numismatic Journal
17 (2009-10) p. 36
16
Hendin, D. and Shachar, I. (see note 14 above)
17
Hendin, D., GBC (see above note 1) p. 168
18
Meshorer, Y., AJC I (see above note 5). p.91
19
Noam, V., “Megillat Taanit: The Scroll of Fasting”, Chapter Eight of The Literature of the
Sages, Second Part, ed. Shmuel Safrai et al., Assen, 2006 pps. 339-42
20
Kalmin, R., “Jewish Sources of the Second Temple Period in Rabbinic Compilations of
Late Antiquity, in The Talmud Yerushalmi and Graeco-Roman Culture, Volume 3, eds. Peter
Schäfer, Catherine Hezser, Tubingen, 2002, pps. 25-27
21
Josephus Flavius, Antiquities, Book 13 Chapter 14
22
Josephus Flavius, Antiquities, Book 13 Chapter 15
23
Hendin, D. and Shachar, I. (see note 14 above)

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