Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver, according to the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament
. This amount was agreed upon when Judas approached the chief priests before the Last Supper and asked what they would give him if he handed Jesus over to them
. In terms of value, these thirty silver coins were likely Tyrian shekels, which were high-purity silver coins used at the time. The silver content of these coins in today's market would be worth roughly $340
. However, this valuation does not fully capture the economic context of the time, such as wages and cost of living, which would affect the real value of the payment
. The thirty pieces of silver represented a significant sum, roughly equivalent to about four months' wages for a laborer in that era
. This amount was both a practical payment and carried symbolic weight, fulfilling Old Testament prophecies related to betrayal and "blood money"
. In summary:
- Judas received 30 silver coins for betraying Jesus
- These coins were probably Tyrian shekels, worth about $340 in silver content today
- The payment was roughly equivalent to four months' wages at the time, a significant but not extravagant amount
- The sum also had symbolic and prophetic significance in biblical tradition
Thus, Judas betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver, a payment that was both materially meaningful and symbolically charged in the biblical narrative.
