Original Word: כִּכֵּר
Part of Speech: Noun Feminine
Transliteration: kikker
Pronunciation: kik-KAR
Phonetic Spelling: (kik-kare')
KJV: talent
NASB: talents
Word Origin: [(Aramaic) corresponding to H3603 (כִּכָר - talents)]

1. a talent

talent

(Aramaic) corresponding to kikkar; a talent -- talent.

see HEBREW kikkar

Word Origin
(Aramaic) corresponding to kikkar
Definition
a talent (a measure of weight or money)
NASB Translation
talents (1).

[כִּכַּר] noun [feminine] talent; — plural absolute כִּכְּ רִין Ezra 7:22.

Definition and Semantic Range

The term כִּכֵּר (kikkēr) designates a rounded or disk-shaped measure. In commerce it functioned as the “talent,” the heaviest standard weight in biblical times, but its root idea of something circular also lay behind descriptions of a loaf, a district (“plain”), or any disk-like object. Though the specific spelling numbered 3604 appears only once, the concept is woven through Scripture, highlighting both material wealth and dedicated worship.

Biblical Occurrence

Ezra 7:22 records King Artaxerxes’ decree that Ezra may draw “up to one hundred talents of silver”. This single verse is the sole attestation of 3604 yet stands within a broader Old Testament pattern in which talents finance God-ordained work (Exodus 25:39; Exodus 38:24; 1 Kings 7:47).

Narrative Setting in Ezra

Ezra’s return from Babylon focuses on re-establishing the Law and proper temple service. Artaxerxes’ lavish authorization of talents, grain, oil, wine, and salt illustrates God’s providential rule over pagan authorities (Proverbs 21:1). The talent thus becomes a tangible pledge that the rebuilding of worship in Jerusalem will not fail for lack of resources.

Historical Weight and Monetary Value

Archaeology and comparative Near-Eastern sources set the talent at roughly 75 pounds (34 kg). A single silver talent equaled about 6,000 shekels, the wages of an average laborer for nearly twenty years (cf. Matthew 20:2). One hundred talents, therefore, approached two million day-laborer wages, underscoring the king’s staggering generosity.

Role in Temple Worship and Administration

1. Construction: The wilderness tabernacle required a talent of pure gold for the lampstand (Exodus 25:39). Solomon later weighed temple articles “by weight, by talent” (2 Chronicles 4:19–22).
2. Maintenance: Judah’s kings used talents to fund repairs (2 Kings 12:18; 2 Kings 23:33).
3. Tribute and Ransom: Assyrian and Egyptian overlords demanded talents as tribute, revealing how national sin placed covenant communities under heavy financial oppression (2 Kings 18:14; 2 Kings 23:33). God-directed offerings, however, reversed this pattern, dedicating wealth to holy rather than idolatrous ends.

Broader Canonical Connections

• Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30) employs the same weight (Greek talanton) to teach kingdom stewardship.
• Revelation’s hailstones “weighing about a talent each” (Revelation 16:21) picture inescapable judgment, the very mass of the object intensifying the scene.
• The round loaf imagery anticipates Christ, “the bread of life” (John 6:35), whose body was broken that the many might be made whole.

Spiritual Themes and Ministry Application

Stewardship: The sheer value of a talent compels believers to view all resources as entrusted wealth. Ezra handled royal treasure with meticulous accountability (Ezra 8:24-30), setting a standard for modern ministry finance.

Consecration: When gold or silver became “holy to the Lord,” its purpose shifted from personal gain to corporate worship. In Christ, believers themselves become offerings (Romans 12:1), far outweighing any monetary gift.

Faith and Providence: God moved a Gentile monarch to supply what His people lacked. Contemporary servants of God may labor confidently, knowing that divine provision often arrives from unexpected quarters.

Christ-Centered Reflection

The talent’s weight prefigures the incalculable debt of sin and the immeasurable worth of the atonement. Where Ezra received precious metal, the church receives “the priceless blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or spot” (1 Peter 1:19). As Ezra safeguarded kingly silver for temple service, so believers are to guard the gospel treasure (2 Timothy 1:14) and invest their God-given “talents” until the Master returns.

Summary

Though כִּכֵּר (kikkēr) appears only once in this exact form, its significance resonates throughout Scripture: a unit of weight so great that it could build sanctuaries, ransom nations, or symbolize both grace and judgment. It reminds the faithful that all wealth—material, spiritual, or metaphorical—ultimately belongs to the Lord and must be employed to advance His redemptive purposes.

כַּכְּרִ֣ין ככרין kak·kə·rîn kakkeRin kakkərînInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts