Pound
Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897) · International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915)
THE DICTIONARY — Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897)
(1.) A weight. Hebrews maneh, equal to 100 shekels (1 Kings 10:17; Ezra 2:69; Nehemiah 7:71, 72). Gr. litra, equal to about 12 oz. avoirdupois (John 12:3; 19:39). (2.) A sum of money; the Gr. mna or mina (Luke 19:13, 16, 18, 20, 24, 25). It was equal to 100 drachmas, and was of the value of about $3, 6s. 8d. of our money. (See MONEY.)
THE FULL ARTICLE — from the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915), general editor James Orr — public domain, printed whole.
pound (maneh; mna, litra; Latin, libra): Pound does not correctly represent the Hebrew maneh, which was more than a pound (see MANEH). The litra of Joh 12:3 and 19:39 is the Roman pound (libra) of 4,950 grains, which is less than a pound troy, being about 10 1/3 oz. In a monetary sense (its use in Lu 19:13-25) it is the mna, or maneh, which was either of silver or gold, the former, which is probably the one referred to by Luke, being equal to 6,17 British pounds, or about $33 (in 1915); the latter 102,10 British pounds or $510 (in 1915).
See WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.
Figurative: "Pound," like "talent," is used in the New Testament for intellectual gifts and spiritual endowments, as in the passage given above.
H. Porter