Woman's lost coin--from headband?

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Our visiting priest said that the parable of the woman who had 10 coins but lost one had a deeper cultural significance that we aren’t familiar with. Specifically, married Jewish women (supposedly) wore a headband with coins on it to show she was married, similar to our wedding rings custom. (Here’s the real killer:) He said, “If a woman was caught in adultery, one of her coins would be removed from her headband.”!!! [Gee, I thought women caught in adultery were stoned.] I believe this supposed cultural custom is a modern invention. Does anyone know where it came from and /or how I can convince this priest of the truth? Thanks and God bless you and yours. Susan n Midwest
 
I didn’t hear the “lost coin=adultery” part, but I did hear the headband part, again from a visiting priest, and presume they got this from one of the various publications priests consult for help with understanding the background of the gospels and preparing homilies.
 
Pretty interesting …

After having sat in Church , wondering about our Lord endorsing the woman for calling her friends and neighbors about the lost (and found) coin … had thought it was may be for her gift of friendship…(and even worrying a bit that her friends may not have thought that it is such a big deal !)

May be something more here - such as God and even the sheep rejoicing about the return of the one lost sheep (unlike those who murmured about our Lord eating with the sinners )

Our Lord , bringing dignity into their lives so that they can love and trust again…

and He rightly comments the woman , for helping her friends , in case they might have had (wrong) reasons to stay away !

Like The Church, reaching out to the lost , through The Sacraments… and the found ones able to share that joy , to restore and heal relationships …
 
I heard that the word “coin” translated into english, was our equivalent of a penny. That the women would go through all that and then throw a party after finding a penny seems absurd. The parable shows us how exuberant God’s love for us is. Convention would tell us to look for a penny for a few seconds and forget about it if you couldn’t find it. Not God! He does everything He can to get us back and is overjoyed when we return to him.

Same with the sheep. What kind of respectable shepard would leave 99 sheep in the desert defenseless, with no food or water, to look for one lost sheep. The conventional shepard would cut his losses for the sake of the 99. Not God!

Thank God! 🙂
 
Not intending to argue about words …yet our Lord is The GOOD Shepherd …And He - THE WORD - never seem to ’ waste ’ a word …

Those 99 sheep were probabaly safe ,even in the desert ( of the world around them ) - on a Mountain… ( like Mt. Carmel…) . near enough water and food ( of The Sacraments … )

with good and faithful watch dogs …like the Dominicans …and a powerful fence , like The Rosary…

And The Shepherd - a very loving One , with enough other family members around too …like a good and powerful Mother …

( May be also a good parable to think of , for those who worry about the appointed Shepeherd going too far out for the ’ lost’ ones ; that He has left His Peace and there is enough in The Sheepfold, for those who are ‘in’ )
 
And , would it not be siginificant that in one sermon that was quoted from a noncatholic authority , made it even sound like the shepeherd is rash / even irresponsible …

Love always protects …

May all the sheep without The Shepherd , be blessed , to be in The Sheepfold !
 
In the three parables from Luke 15 Jesus is talking to a group of sinners and tax collectors. In a parable the lesson is always aimed at the immediate audience. The lost sheep, the lost coin, and the wayward son are all images that a sinner or tax collector could identify with and realize that Jesus was saying that God would rejoice if any of them returned to him by repenting: being no longer lost. The three parables build up to a crescendo with the last being a human being having more value than a sheep or a coin.

The prodigal son is also a good lesson not only for sinners who recognize their need, but also for those who consider themselves sinless and who may harbor feelings of resentment because God is so merciful to those awfully lax and sinful ones. These latter would identify with the older son.

When we realize that the point of the story is not a lost sheep or a lost coin, but a lost soul, the need to figure out how reasonable Jesus’ chosen images are from a practical view point goes away and in fact could be misleading.
 
True and thank you - wouldn’t be good to loose sight of the forest, for the trees ! 🙂
 
Susan_n_Midwest said:
Our visiting priest said that the parable of the woman who had 10 coins but lost one had a deeper cultural significance that we aren’t familiar with. Specifically, married Jewish women (supposedly) wore a headband with coins on it to show she was married, similar to our wedding rings custom. (Here’s the real killer:) He said, “If a woman was caught in adultery, one of her coins would be removed from her headband.”!!! [Gee, I thought women caught in adultery were stoned.] I believe this supposed cultural custom is a modern invention. Does anyone know where it came from and /or how I can convince this priest of the truth? Thanks and God bless you and yours. Susan n Midwest
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I would ask for documentation.

Firstly, there is no mention anywhere in the bible about married Jewish women wearing coins nor of a coin being taken away for adultery.
 
marymol said:
And , would it not be siginificant that in one sermon that was quoted from a noncatholic authority , made it even sound like the shepeherd is rash / even irresponsible …

Love always protects …

May all the sheep without The Shepherd , be blessed , to be in The Sheepfold !
Click to expand...
Thank you for your posts. I realize I didn’t gather my thoughts very well, or compose my message very well. I was refering to a Catholic sermon and I’m going to try clarify my original post.
 
marymol said:
Not intending to argue about words …yet our Lord is The GOOD Shepherd …And He - THE WORD - never seem to ’ waste ’ a word …

Those 99 sheep were probabaly safe ,even in the desert ( of the world around them ) - on a Mountain… ( like Mt. Carmel…) . near enough water and food ( of The Sacraments … )

with good and faithful watch dogs …like the Dominicans …and a powerful fence , like The Rosary…

And The Shepherd - a very loving One , with enough other family members around too …like a good and powerful Mother …

( May be also a good parable to think of , for those who worry about the appointed Shepeherd going too far out for the ’ lost’ ones ; that He has left His Peace and there is enough in The Sheepfold, for those who are ‘in’ )
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I absolutely agree with this interpretation and so did the priest who gave the sermon.
 
Jesus was talking to tax collectors and sinners. He was also talking to Pharisees and scribes. Jesus is telling all of them how loving God is. How God searches to find lost souls (sheep, coins, and sons) and celebrates when they are found. This was good news to the tax collector and sinners because the Pharisees and scribes saw them as the sheep, coins, and sons.
 
ryanoneil said:
I heard that the word “coin” translated into english, was our equivalent of a penny. That the women would go through all that and then throw a party after finding a penny seems absurd. The parable shows us how exuberant God’s love for us is. Convention would tell us to look for a penny for a few seconds and forget about it if you couldn’t find it. Not God! He does everything He can to get us back and is overjoyed when we return to him.

Same with the sheep. What kind of respectable shepard would leave 99 sheep in the desert defenseless, with no food or water, to look for one lost sheep. The conventional shepard would cut his losses for the sake of the 99. Not God!

Thank God! 🙂
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When I posted this, I was writing with a sub plot in mind. Jesus knows that the Pharisees and scribes are not going to accept his message. Remember Jesus already accused them of hypocrisy without explaining the charges in (Luke 12:1) They are complaining that Jesus “welcomes sinners and eats with them” pointing out Jesus’ double standard. So, while Jesus is speaking the good news to the sinners he it also firing back at the Pharisees and scribes.

As far as the Pharisees were concerned the lost sheep is damned to die alone in the desert, because God is a just judge who stays with the 99 sheep. (Hence my quote above) Jesus says No! God’s love isn’t right, fair, or justified the way you think. He is all loving. I’m not hypocritical for welcoming sinners and eating with them.

Same with the coin. As far as the Pharisees are concerned it makes no sense for the women to search so hard for the coin, then call her friend to have a party which cost even more than the coin was worth. Jesus says No! God’s love isn’t right, fair, or justified the way you think. He celebrates when one sinner repents.

The complaint of the Pharisees and scribes is much like that of the elder brother in the story of the prodigal son. He is understandably angry at his father’s double standard. But can one child’s fidelity deny that parent’s love for the other? Jesus says No! You can’t place a restriction on God’s joyful reception of sinners at his table.

Hope that clears things up. 🙂
 
There are still some tribal groups in the near East or Middle east who do wear a coin headress. There was an article in National geographic several years ago with pictures. I do not think they were from Palestine or Israel. i would think if they were we would have had some reference to the practice somewhere in the 613 commandments of the Law. We need one of our posters from the Jewish Faith to verify such an explanation as offered by the priest. In my opinion he missed the boat when he attempted to explain the parable in this fashion. Makes a nice story though. 👍
 
Luke 15:1 The Lost Sheep 100 to 1

Luke 15:8 The Lost Coin 10 to 1

Luke 15:11 The Prodigal Son 2 to 1

**
scroll all the way down to the Parables of the Lost
click on it to hear Archbishop Fulton Sheen
talk about the parables.**

fultonsheen.com/Browse_audio_library.cfm#
 
Here is a question on each of those parables

Who suffers more?

The sheep? or The shepherd?

The coin? or The woman?

The son? or The father?

We always look at the “lost” ones. But what about the one who lost?
This is God who lost each of us one way or another one time or another.
 
ryanoneil said:
Thank you for your posts. I realize I didn’t gather my thoughts very well, or compose my message very well. I was refering to a Catholic sermon and I’m going to try clarify my original post.
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I have screwed up restating this sermon bad enough. I found the original sermon I was refering to. So, If you want to listen to it here is the link

wordonfire.org/fullnews/349.shtml

It’s 15 minutes long and you can right click on mp3 to open it into real player. Sorry if I offended anyone earlier.

Peace,

Ryan 🙂
 
1ke said:
I would ask for documentation.

Firstly, there is no mention anywhere in the bible about married Jewish women wearing coins nor of a coin being taken away for adultery.
Click to expand...
Actually several sciptures mention the headband, which can also be referred to as tablet: Isaiah 3:30; Exodus 35:22 and Numbers 31:50. Each of the 10 coins had a special virtue of that woman. The first coin represented her love for her husband, the second her pledge to live clean for him, but do not remember the rest. If a woman was found with a missing coin, she was considered unfaithful to her husband and she could be put away.
 
Just wanted to mention I heard the same thing in a homily about 20 years ago-- that the coin was sort of the equivalent to a lost wedding ring-- minus the adultery bit.

I did want to mention that it’s my understanding that in the original, the lost coin was a drachma. The rule of thumb for interpreting a drachma’s worth was that it was roughly equivalent to a day’s wage. So it’s kind of like getting paid on a daily basis— and then misplacing your whole paycheck for the day. Definitely not as insignificant as a penny.
 
midori said:
Just wanted to mention I heard the same thing in a homily about 20 years ago-- that the coin was sort of the equivalent to a lost wedding ring-- minus the adultery bit.

I did want to mention that it’s my understanding that in the original, the lost coin was a drachma. The rule of thumb for interpreting a drachma’s worth was that it was roughly equivalent to a day’s wage. So it’s kind of like getting paid on a daily basis— and then misplacing your whole paycheck for the day. Definitely not as insignificant as a penny.
Click to expand...
Exactly. The drachma (the Gk. word translated “coin” or “silver coin”) is about a day’s wage for a skilled laborer.

The bit about adultery sounds completely made up.
 
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