The Hebrew word for silver is kesef. In Biblical Hebrew, kesef has three meanings: the metal itself, an abbreviation of shekel kesef – a specific weight of silver – and “price,” which isn’t necessarily tied to silver. This last sense later evolved into “money,” the most common usage today.
The word kesef may derive from a root meaning “white, pale.” This same root also provided the word kisufim – “longing” – as intense yearning can cause a person to turn pale. Some linguists suggest that the name of the Caspian Sea may stem from a Semitic cognate meaning “white,” possibly referring to the nearby snow-capped mountains or the paler skin of the people.
Interestingly, the English word “silver” may also have Semitic origins. One theory suggests that “silver” derives from the Akkadian word sarapu, meaning “to smelt, refine.” Akkadian, a Semitic language, shares this root with the Hebrew tzaraf, which has the same meaning. This root may have even influenced the name of a distant land. In the Tanach, Tzarfat was a Phoenician town, possibly named for the glassmaking industry that developed there, which involves melting – a process similar to smelting. In medieval times, Jews referred to France as Tzarfat, a name that resembled Francia, the term used for the region at the time. While it may seem unusual to name a European country after a biblical city, it allowed those Jews far from “home” a feeling that they were still connected with Jewish history.
