Farthing

The umbrella term renders an old British coin name into the small-value Roman coins that appear in the Greek New Testament. The underlying texts use the Greek-derived names directly — assarion (plural assaria), lepton (plural lepta), and quadrans — and these are the words that appear in the verses themselves.

Sparrows Priced at Two Assaria

In the discourse on fearless witness, the worth of a single sparrow is measured against the worth of one human soul. "Are not five sparrows sold for two assaria? And not one of them is forgotten in the sight of God" (Lu 12:6). Two assaria buy five sparrows; the cheapness of the bird is the point against which the divine attention is measured.

The Widow's Two Lepta

In Mark's temple-treasury scene a widow's offering is reported in the same small-coinage register: "And there came a poor widow, and she cast in two lepta, which make a quadrans" (Mr 12:42). Two lepta — two of the smallest copper coins in circulation — together come to one quadrans, the next denomination up. The narrative gives the conversion explicitly so that the reader can feel the smallness of the gift in two coins and again at the level of the larger unit.

The same widow appears in Luke's parallel: "And he saw a certain poor widow casting in there two lepta" (Lu 21:2). Luke names only the lepta, without the quadrans conversion.