Dram

Dram in the KJV translates the Hebrew ʾadarkōn or darkᵉmôn, both referring to the daric—the gold coin of the Persian Empire named after King Darius I. The daric was a high-quality gold coin weighing approximately 8.4 grams (about a third of a troy ounce), bearing the image of the Persian king in a running or kneeling position with a bow and spear. It was the standard gold coinage of the Achaemenid period and widely circulated throughout the Persian world.

The daric appears in the Old Testament in the context of offerings for temple construction: 1 Chronicles 29:7 records the leaders' contributions in gold darics; Ezra 2:69 and Nehemiah 7:70–72 document daric contributions to the post-exilic temple rebuilding fund; and Ezra 8:27 specifies gold bowls worth a thousand darics among the vessels returned to Jerusalem. Their appearance confirms the post-exilic dating of these texts and illustrates the integration of Persian-era monetary practices into the life of the restored Judean community.