Silver
Archimandrite Nikifor’s Biblical Encyclopedia
(Gen. 13:2)—a precious metal valued for beauty, usefulness, purity, and durability and known from the earliest times. It appears among the patriarchs’ riches (Gen. 44:2; Job 28:1). After the exodus, Israel used much silver for the bases, fastenings, and other parts of the Tabernacle (Exod. 26:19, 32; 27:17), for sacred vessels (1 Chron. 28:14–17), and for trumpets (Num. 10:2); it also adorned idols (Isa. 40:19). Silver was an important article of Hebrew trade with the Phoenicians and was weighed in commerce (Gen. 23:16).