Talent (measurement) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

An ancient Greek amphora. A talent was approximately the mass of the water required to fill an amphora

The talent (Latin: talentum, from Ancient Greek: τάλαντον "scale, balance") is one of several ancient units of mass, as well as corresponding units of value equivalent to these masses of a precious metal.[1] It was approximately the mass of water required to fill an amphora.[1] A Greek, or Attic talent, was 26kg,[2] a Roman talent was 32.3 kg, an Egyptian talent was 27 kg,[2] and a Babylonian talent was 30.3kg.[3] Ancient Israel adopted the Babylonian talent, but later revised the mass.[4] The heavy common talent, used in New Testment times, was 58.9 kg.[4]

An Attic talent of silver had a purchasing power of approximately $20,000 in 2004 money.[5] It was also the value of nine man-years of skilled work.[6] During the Peloponnesian War, an Attic talent was the amount of silver that would pay a month's wages of a trireme crew.[7] Hellenistic mercenaries were commonly paid one drachma per day of military service. There were 6,000 drachmae in an Attic talent.

The Babylonians, Sumerians, and Hebrews divided a talent into 60 mina, each of which was subdivided into 60 shekels. The Greek also used the ratio of 60 mina to one talent. A Greek mina was approximately 434 ± 3 grams. A Roman talent was 100 libra. A libra is exactly three quarters of a Greek mina, so a Roman talent is 1.25 Greek talents. An Egyptian talent was 80 libra.[2]

The talent as a unit of value is mentioned in the New Testament in Jesus's parable of the talents.[8] This parable is the origin of the sense of the word "talent" meaning "gift or skill" as used in English and other languages. Luke includes is a similar parable with different details involving the mina.[9] The talent is also used elsewhere in the Bible, as when describing the material invested in the dwelling of the commandments.[10] Solomon received 666 gold talents a year.[11]

Southern Wildlife - ibex, sheep, jackals, camels, shepherd (BiblePlaces.com)

Ibex

Ibex are a large species of wild goat. Their Hebrew and Arabic names both mean "to ascend." Dependent on water, the group travels together to a water hole. One member of the group will keep watch and whistle if danger approaches, telling the herd to race to the cliffs. The cliffs are their safety because of their strong agile legs and grooved hooves, allowing them to climb on the rocks in difficult areas.

Psalm 104:18 (KJV) “The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats; and the rocks for the conies.”

Machtesh Ramon (BiblePlaces.com)

Machtesh Ramon


Peaks of ancient volcanoes, jagged chunks of quartzite, huge blocks of overturned rock, and beds of multicolored clays are just a few of the sites in the machtesh. Machtesh Ramon was expected to have an abundance of natural resources, but it has been disappointing that regard. Only small factories of raw materials, such as quartz and clay, are mined there today.

Mindorenian Tour « Mindorenian’s Community

-MASADA ISRAEL-

Masada (Hebrew מצדה, pronounced Metzada, from מצודה, metzuda, “fortress”) is the name for a site of ancient palacesfortifications in the South District of Israel on top of an isolated rock plateau, or large mesa, on the eastern edge of the Judean Desert overlooking the Dead Sea. After the First Jewish-Roman War (also known as the Great Jewish Revolt) a siege of the fortress by troops of the Roman Empire led to the mass suicide of Jewish rebels, who preferred death to surrender.

DeadSea on Wiki Biblical Places Images




The Dead Sea (Hebrew: יָם הַ‏‏מֶ‏ּ‏לַ‏ח‎, Yām Ha-Melaḥ, "Sea of Salt"; Arabic: البَحْر المَيّت‎, al-Baḥr l-Mayyit, "Dead Sea";) is a salt lake between Israel and the West Bank to the west, and Jordan to the east. It is 422 metres (1,385 ft) below sea level,^[2] and its shores are the lowest point on the surface of Earth on dry land. The Dead Sea is 378 m (1,240 ft) deep, the deepest hypersaline lake in the world. It is also one of the world's saltiest bodies of water, with 33.7% salinity. Only Lake Assal (Djibouti), Garabogazköl and some hypersaline lakes of the McMurdo Dry Valleys in Antarctica (such as Don Juan Pond and perhaps Lake Vanda) have a higher salinity. It is 8.6 times as salty as the ocean.^[3] This salinity makes for a harsh environment where animals cannot flourish, hence its name. The Dead Sea is 67 kilometres (42 mi) long and 18 kilometres (11 mi) wide at its widest point. It lies in the Jordan Rift Valley, and its main tributary is the Jordan River.

Dead Sea, Jordan

Deep in the Jordan Valley and 55 km southeast of Amman, is the Dead Sea, one of the most spectacular natural and spiritual landscapes in the whole world. It is the lowest body of water on earth, the lowest point on earth, and the world's richest source of natural salts, hiding wonderful treasures that accumulated throughout thousands of years.

To reach this unique spot, the visitor enjoys a short 30 minutes drive from Amman, surrounded by a landscape and arid hills, which could be from another planet. En route a stone marker indicates "Sea Level", but the Dead Sea itself is not reached before descending another 400 meters below this sign.

The sunset touching distant hills with ribbons of fire across the waters of the Dead Sea brings a sense of unreality to culminate a day's visit to this region. It is normally as calm as a millpond, with barely a ripple disturbing its surface, but it can become turbulent. During most days, however, the water shimmers under a beating sun. Where rocks meet its lapping edges, they become snow-like, covered with a thick, gleaming white deposit that gives the area a strange and surreal sense.

Scientifically speaking, its water contains more than 35 different types of minerals that are essential for the health and care of the body skin including Magnesium, Calcium, Potassium, Bromine, Sulfur, and Iodine. They are well known for relieving pains and sufferings caused by arthritis, rheumatism, psoriasis, eczema, headache and foot-ache, while nourishing and softening the skin. They also provide the raw materials for the renowned Jordanian Dead Sea bath salts and cosmetic products marketed worldwide.

A unique combination of several factors makes Dead Sea's total attraction: the chemical composition of its water, the filtered sunrays and oxygen-rich air, the mineral-rich black mud along the shoreline, and the adjacent fresh water and thermal mineral springs.

Although sparsely populated and serenely quiet now, the area has a historical and spiritual legacy of its own. It is believed to be the site of five biblical cities: Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zebouin and Zoar.

Dead Sea Also known as Bahr Lut, Eastern Sea, Lake of Asphalt, Salt Sea, “Sea of Sodom and Gomorrah,” Sea of the Arabah, Sea of the Devil, “Sea of the Plain,” Sea of Zoar, Stinking Lake

Names of the Sea Known in the Bible as the "Salt Sea" or the "Sea of the Arabah," this inland body of water is appropriately named because its high mineral content allows nothing to live in its waters. Other post-biblical names for the Dead Sea include the "Sea of Sodom," the "Sea of Lot," the "Sea of Asphalt" and the "Stinking Sea." In the Crusader period, it was sometimes called the "Devil's Sea." All of these names reflect something of the nature of this lake.

Biblical Period The Dead Sea, unlike the Sea of Galilee to the north, does not figure prominently in the biblical narratives. Its most important role was as a barrier, blocking traffic to Judah from the east. An advancing army of Ammonites and Moabites apparently crossed a shallow part of the Dead Sea on their way to attack King Jehoshaphat (2 Chron 20). Ezekiel has prophesied that one day the Dead Sea will be fresh water and fishermen will spread their nets along the shore.

Lowest Point The Dead Sea is located in the Syro-African Rift, a 4000-mile fault line in the earth's crust. The lowest point of dry land on earth is the shoreline of the Dead Sea at 1300 feet below sea level. That the lake is at the lowest point means that water does not drain from this lake. Daily 7 million tons of water evaporate but the minerals remain, causing the salt content to increase. Figures for the Dead Sea's salinity today range from 26-35%.

Mineral-Rich Nearly ten times as salty as the world's oceans and twice as saline as the Great Salt Lake in Utah, the Dead Sea is rich with minerals. The Dead Sea Works company on the southwest side of the lake employs 1600 people around the clock to harvest the valuable minerals from the water. Potash is the most valuable of those extracted today and is used in the manufacture of fertilizer. The best article on the minerals in the Dead Sea is in the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Healthy Water The unique concentration of the Dead Sea waters has long been known to have medicinal value. Aristotle, Queen of Sheba, King Solomon and Cleopatra were all familiar with this and modern doctors as well often prescribe patients with skin ailments to soak in the waters of the Dead Sea. Because of the dropping level of the Dead Sea, the southern end is no longer under water, except for that which is channeled by aqueducts for the purpos

Let us not slip the occasion

Image via Wikipedia

Fall'n Cherube, to be weak is miserable
Doing or Suffering: but of this be sure,
To do ought good never will be our task,
But ever to do ill our sole delight,
As being the contrary to his high will
Whom we resist. If then his Providence
Out of our evil seek to bring forth good,
Our labour must be to pervert that end,
And out of good still to find means of evil;
Which oft times may succeed, so as perhaps
Shall grieve him, if I fail not, and disturb
His inmost counsels from thir destind aim.
But see the angry Victor hath recall'd
His Ministers of vengeance and pursuit
Back to the Gates of Heav'n: The Sulphurous Hail
Shot after us in storm, oreblown hath laid
The fiery Surge, that from the Precipice
Of Heav'n receiv'd us falling, and the Thunder,
Wing'd with red Lightning and impetuous rage,
Perhaps hath spent his shafts, and ceases now
To bellow through the vast and boundless Deep.
Let us not slip th' occasion, whether scorn,
Or satiate fury yield it from our Foe.
Seest thou yon dreary Plain, forlorn and wilde,
The seat of desolation, voyd of light,
Save what the glimmering of these livid flames
Casts pale and dreadful? Thither let us tend
From off the tossing of these fiery waves,
There rest, if any rest can harbour there,
And reassembling our afflicted Powers,
Consult how we may henceforth most offend
Our Enemy, our own loss how repair,
How overcome this dire Calamity,
What reinforcement we may gain from Hope,
If not what resolution from despare.

Dolphin Fresco from the Queen's apartment at Knosos