A new study in the Journal of World Prehistory analyzes 42 silver hoards from the Southern Levant and concludes that silver was used as a form of pre-coinage money from the Middle Bronze Age to the Iron Age (ca. 2000 – 600 BC). While silver was used as a medium of exchange in Mesopotamia and Syria during the Early Bronze Age, archaeological evidence appears to indicate it became popular in the land of Canaan during the Middle Bronze III period. The study analyzed not only the composition of the silver hoards, but also their archaeological context, including whether they were found as deposits in public buildings or in private dwellings. The author of the study writes,
The Southern Levant saw significant use of silver during the final stages of the Middle Bronze Age, with the first silver-currency hoards appearing at Shiloh and Gezer (~ 1650/1600–1600/1550 BC), predating other regions. Although silver was temporarily replaced by gold in the Late Bronze Age, it re-emerged as the dominant form of money by the Late Bronze Age IIB, ~ 1300 BC, a status it retained until the end of the Iron Age (~ 600 BC), despite occasional shortages. (See link below)
Furthermore, the author claims that while silver became the main medium of exchange in the Southern Levant, other regions throughout history relied on different metals, including gold, copper, and bronze. Since silver does not occur naturally in the Southern Levant, it was imported from regions such as Anatolia. The Bible also refers to the use of silver as a form of pre-coinage money in the Middle Bronze Age, when Abraham purchased the field of Ephron in Machpelah for four hundred shekels of silver (Gn 23:15–19).
Source: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10963-025-09191-7
