TREASURE (אﯴצָר, H238, treasure, storehouse, prized possessions hidden away for safe-keeping [Deut 28:12]; גְּנִיזִין, treasures kept in the king’s palace or a rich man’s storehouse; חֹ֫סֶן, H2890, wealth and precious possessions kept hidden in a man’s house [Exod 22:25; Prov 15:6]; מִכְמַנִּים, treasures, storehouse in the king’s palace, royal treasure house [Dan 11:43]; מִסְכְּנﯴת, H5016, treasure cities, such as were built by Israel for Pharaoh in Egypt [Exod 1:11]; θησαυρός, G2565, a man’s wealth or earthly goods, that which is stored up in a treasury, or storehouse [Matt 13:52; 19:21]; γαζοφυλακεῖον, treasury or treasure storehouse, a contribution box or receptacle in the Temple [Mark 12:41; Luke 21:1]).

Treasure in the Holy Scriptures consisted in the money, jewels, gold, silver, vessels, ointments, spices, arms, grain and food, instruments of war, hoards of coins, or any possession which was considered wealth or valuable, which a king, a government or an individual stored in a safe, guarded place to keep from thieves and robbers. The sacred vessels and furnishings of the Temple in Jerusalem, or even the temples of heathen gods, were considered treasures (1 Chron 32:27-29; Ezra 1:9-11; Neh 7:70). Since wealth in ancient times was concentrated in the hands of the king or in the temple, the term treasure also came to mean “storehouse,” or “treasury,” and Bible VSS tr. the term variously. When enemy forces invaded a country, they generally headed for the king’s palace or the temple for the treasures stored there, and these plus the captives and slaves of the people were the booty of war in ancient times. Because treasure signified a man’s highest desires and possessions which gave him food, power, and luxury, often the term “treasure” is used by the prophets, Jesus and the apostles to signify spiritual wealth and possessions, such as wisdom, love, heaven, and the Gospel (Prov 10:2; Isa 33:6; Mark 10:21). The entire concept of treasure or storehouse in the Bible indicates the monarchial aspect of the culture and economy of the ancient world in that all wealth was concentrated in the king, in the sacred temple, or in the hands of princes or wealthy individuals. The common people had little of this wealth, nor did they think they should have it; but revered the king in the temple for storing it for the entire country. There was extreme wealth among a few and poverty among the multitudes. For this reason prophets often identified wealth with wickedness and poverty with good, and one heard the saying that the “wicked have wealth, and the good have poverty” (Prov 8:21; Ps 17:14). There were no banks or safety deposit boxes (see Bank, Banking) in the treasure houses of the emperors and kings, and the temples were always under heavy guard. Wealthy individuals hid their possessions beneath their houses, in caves, and in fields. Many wars were fought for these treasures (1 Kings 14:26). Plundering the cities and temples of others was a method of gaining wealth for a nation. When Jerusalem fell to the invading armies from the E, all the treasures were carried off to foreign countries. Very often emperors, kings and queens, as in Egypt, had their treasures buried with them in secret sealed tombs. The pyramids of Egypt are an outstanding example of this method. The place in the Temple in Jerusalem where the trumpet-shaped offering boxes were set out for gifts to the Temple was thus called a “treasury” (Mark 12:41; Luke 21:1).

One of the first references to treasure in the OT is the episode of Joseph’s brothers buying food in Egypt during the famine and Joseph returned their money in their sacks with the food and said to his frightened brothers “Rest assured, do not be afraid; your God and the God of your father must have put treasure in your sack, for you” (Gen 42:23). King David and King Solomon were known for the great wealth which they amassed in their palaces, and also stored in the house of the Lord. The treasure of the Temple in Jerusalem consisted of the vessels, the golden altar, the golden table for the bread of the Presence, the lampstands of gold, the lamps, the tongs, cups, snuffers, basins, dishes for incense, fire-pans, and even the doors and the building itself was a great treasure all made of gold. “Thus all the work that King Solomon did on the house of the Lord was finished. And Solomon brought in the things which David his father had dedicated, the silver, the gold, and the vessels, and stored them in the treasuries of the house of the Lord” (1 Kings 7:48-51). Like the palaces of other monarchs of the ancient world, so the palaces of the kings of Judah and Israel had vast storehouses for the treasures of the nation. Concerning the wars with the powerful countries around Israel, the OT speaks again and again of foreign powers taking away the treasures of the king’s house. Shishak, king of Egypt, besieged Jerusalem and “took away the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king’s house; he took away everything. He also took away all the shields of gold which Solomon had made” (1 Kings 14:25, 26).

Sometimes the treasures of the palaces of the kings of Judah and Israel were at stake in the local wars in Pal. For example, when Baasha, king of Israel, and Asa, king of Judah, were at war, Asa sent all of the treasures of the nation to Benhadad, king of Syria, to make a bargain with him to attack Baasha so that he would leave Judah, “Asa took all of the silver and the gold that were left in the treasures in the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king’s house, and gave them into the hands of his servants; and King Asa sent them to Benhadad...who dwelt in Damascus” (1 Kings 15:16-19). In the rebuilding of Israel during the days of Ezra and Nehemiah the same system of gathering huge treasures and wealth in the ruler’s house (“treasury of the work”) and in the Temple was used (Ezra 2:69; Neh 7:70-71; 10:38; 12:44).

When Syria invaded Israel, King Ahaz asked Tiglath-pileser, king of Assyria, to come to his rescue against Syria. In order to entice the king of Assyria to do this, Ahaz took the silver and gold and all of the treasures of the house of the Lord, and sent them as presents to Assyria and marched against Syria and rescued Israel. A similar incident took place in the days of King Hezekiah when Sennacherib, king of Assyria, invaded Judah. The booty which the king of Assyria required of Judah was the silver and gold that was in the house of the Lord. The fact that the king of Babylon took King Jehoiachim of Judah a prisoner and carried off all the treasures of the house of the Lord and cut in pieces all the vessels of the gold from the Temple of the Lord which Solomon, king of Israel had made, indicates the vast treasures which were found in the Temple at Jerusalem through the centuries. The source of the treasures of the Temple, or the Lord’s house, was dedicated gifts which David the king and others had given to the Temple, spoil won in battles dedicated to the Temple. Special groups of people or families of Israel were assigned the task of guarding the treasures in the Temple (1 Chron 26:22-28). Another source of wealth and treasure for the Temple were large gifts from heads of families of Israel as freewill offerings for the house of God. “According to their ability they gave to the treasury of the work 61,000 darics of gold, 5,000 minas of silver, and 100 priests’ garments” (Ezra 2:69). The tithes of the people were also added to the treasure storehouse at the Temple. The Book of Proverbs repeats the wisdom that the fear of the Lord is always greater than earthly treasures and the trouble which goes with treasures (Prov 8:21; 15:16). The prophet Isaiah speaks of “treasures on humps of camels,” indicating the wealth which was carried in caravans. That the wealth of ancient countries consisted in the treasures in storehouses at the seat of the government is indicated by the prophet Jeremiah against Jerusalem: “I will give all the wealth of the city, all its gains, all its prized belongings, and all the treasures of the kings of Judah into the hand of their enemies, who shall plunder them, and seize them, and carry them to Babylon” (Jer 20:5). Hezekiah had tremendous storehouses while he was king, consisting of “the silver, the gold, the spices, the precious oil, his armory, all that was found in his storehouses” (2 Kings 20:13, 14; Isa 39:2). Sometimes invading kings, such as Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, besieged Jerusalem, and took the precious vessels of the Temple and of the king and would place them into the Temple of his own idol, indicating that all temples in ancient times had secret storehouses for vessels, jewels, gold and silver as a sacred treasury (Dan 1:1, 2).

Often the term treasure “or storehouse” is used in the OT in a fig. sense. For instance, in a dry land like Pal. rain from heaven for the parched crops was considered treasure: “The Lord will open to you his good treasury the heavens, to give the rain of your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hands” (Deut 28:12). Wisdom was considered a great treasure among the ancients: “Precious treasure remains in a wise man’s dwelling, but a foolish man devours it” (Prov 21:20). Another common word-picture is that the fear of the Lord is a man’s treasure, as Isaiah told the people of Israel, “The fear of the Lord is his treasure” (Isa 33:6). The prophet Ezekiel echoes the same sentiment: “By your wisdom and your understanding you have gotten wealth for yourself, and have gathered gold and silver into your treasuries” (Ezek 28:4).

While in the OT treasure or storehouse of treasure refers to the vast treasures concentrated in the king’s palace or in the Temple, in the NT treasure (thesauros) speaks of treasure in individual terms as personal property. The Magi of the E (not necessarily kings) brought great treasures to the child Jesus in Bethlehem. Since Jesus is a King their gifts were those fit for a king—gold, frankincense, and myrrh (Matt 2:11). Their gifts remind one of the king’s treasury in the OT. Outside of the few instances such as in Hebrews 11:26 where we are told that Moses “considered abuse suffered for the Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt,” and Jesus comparing the kingdom of heaven to a “treasure hidden in a field” (Matt 13:44), the term is used more generally in the NT in a metaphorical sense. Jesus admonishes His disciples, “Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal.” The term “treasure” is used also for a person’s greatest desire or possession, for the Lord says, “where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matt 6:20, 21).

Our Lord also uses the term treasure to designate the good and evil in a man: “The good man out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil man out of his evil treasure brings forth evil” (Matt 12:35). Since the kingdom of heaven is the ultimate desire, Jesus likens it to a treasure which is hidden in a field and a man will sell all of his possessions and buy the entire field so that he is certain to obtain the treasure (Matt 13:44). Love and works of love are treasures which are stored in heaven, as Jesus tells the young man “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me” (19:21). Jesus tells His disciples that such works of providing for the poor through selling one’s possessions is “a treasure in the heavens that does not fail” (Luke 12:33). The writer of the gospel according to Matthew speaks of treasure as the spiritual wisdom and knowledge which a scribe who is a member of the kingdom produces: “Every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old” (Matt 13:52). The Apostle Paul terms the Gospel of Jesus Christ a treasure which dwells in weak human beings: “We have this treasure in earthen vessels, to show that the transcendent power belongs to God and not to us” (2 Cor 4:7). The capstone and ultimate meaning of treasure in the NT is Paul’s statement that all divine wisdom and knowledge centers in Jesus Christ, “in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col 2:3).

Bibliography M. S. Miller, Encyclopedia of Bible Life (1944) 143ff.; F. H. Wight, Manners and Customs of Bible Lands (1953) 224-230; S. W. Baron, A Social and Religious History of the Jews (1954), Vol. 7; J. Pedersen, Israel, Its Life and Culture (1959), Vol. 4, 306ff.; IDB (1962) Vol. 4.