Commentators are agreed in thinking that the reference is to the treasury in the court of the women, consisting of thirteen brazen trumpet-shaped receptacles, each destined for its distinctive gifts, indicated by an inscription, so many for the temple tribute, and money gifts for sacrifice; others for incense, wood, etc.; all the gifts having reference to the service carried on.

χαλκός is strictly ‘copper’ or ‘bronze’, and the widow’s two coins would be of copper. But the large sums donated by the rich would presumably be in silver or gold coins (as were the half-shekels for the temple tax, which had to be paid in Tyrian silver coins), so that χαλκός is here used in its more general sense of ‘money’.

The λεπτόν (Hebrew perûṭâ) was the smallest denomination of currency in use, a copper coin less than a centimetre in diameter and worth less than one hundredth of a denarius (which was itself half the value of the half-shekel temple tax).

In addition to worship, one of the most important functions of the temple in Jerusalem was as a depository for and the administration of vast amounts of wealth.

The lepton was the smallest coin in circulation in Palestine and was worth 1/64 of a denarius, a day’s wages for a common laborer.

It was not the rich with their large gifts who caught Jesus’ attention but a poor widow (v. 42). She placed in the box two copper coins (lepta), the smallest coins in circulation in Palestine (cf. Notes). Their value was, as NIV puts it, “only a fraction of a penny.”

a penny The Greek word used here refers to a small monetary denomination worth 1/64th a denarius. A denarius was worth about a day’s labor.

12:42 two small coins. In Gr., this phrase refers to two lepta or quadrans, as Mark explains (BDAG 550). These were the smallest coins in the currency, and a lepton was only worth 1/128 of a denarius. That worked out to about six minutes’ wage at a basic worker’s daily pay level. In other words, it was next to nothing in contrast to the large amounts that the wealthy put in.

Mark describes her as “a poor widow,” not just a widow. Has she been robbed of her house? Her offering is only a pittance—two lepta.

A mite was the smallest Greek copper coin, and 128 mites equaled a Roman denarius, which was the standard day’s wage of a laborer. Her two mites equaled one quadrans, the Greek name for the smallest Roman copper coin.

What matters in God’s sight is not what a person has (and therefore is able to give without pain) but the devotion which causes her to give even at great personal cost, even though the amount of the gift may be completely negligible in comparison with the enormous wealth of the temple. The gift does not matter to God so much as the giver.

In purely financial terms, the value of her offering is negligible—and unworthy of compare to the sums of the wealthy donors. But in the divine exchange rate things look differently.

How powerfully ironic is the word “more” in Mark’s description. Everything about this woman has been described in terms of less, particularly in comparison to the scribes and wealthy crowd. And yet, the contrast between her genuine piety and faith and the pretense of the wealthy is beyond compare.

Jesus indicated that the thing of most importance is not how much is given but the extent to which the gift is a sacrificial one.

The widow’s total giving demonstrates an attitude of absolute trust in God.

In giving to God sacrificially she completely entrusted herself to Him to provide her needs.

12:43 this poor widow has given more than all the others. Jesus commended the widow’s contribution as greater than those of the rich. Jesus may have known that the woman was a widow by the way she was dressed. The next verse will explain the point.

The clause πλεῖον πάντων ἔβαλεν τῶν βαλλόντων εἰς τὸ γαζοφυλάκιον is literally ‘more than all have put in, the ones who are putting into the offering-box’ and it is translated ‘has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering-box/treasury’ [ESV, NRSV],

It was not the amount of the gift but the heart of the giver that mattered most [NTC].

The value of a gift is not the amount but the dedication and joyfulness of the giver. It cost the widow more to give because she only had a little compared to the rich who gave out of their abundance. And she gave, not expecting praise and honor from men, but out of gratitude to God and the joy of giving back to Him. It is not the amount a person gives, but how and why he gives which is the true estimation of one’s offering.

The Greek may mean that the woman not only gave “more” than any one of the rich people, but more than all of them together.

She had two coins, and she gave both of them. The concluding phrase all she had to live on (lit. ‘her entire life’) may mean that after she had donated two perutot, she was without the ability to pay for her next meal. She is an example of what it means to fulfil the greatest commandment: loving God with one’s entire self (12:29–32).

Jesus emphasizes yet again the ‘upside-down’ values of the kingdom of God compared with the traditional values of society: a wealthy person who contributed an aureus gave 1,600 times as much as the poor widow who gave 1/64 of a denarius.

While the wealthy may be pious, demonstrating their devotion to God by their generous giving, the poor widow is so totally devoted to God that she is willing to give everything that she has, without regard for the consequences, trusting that God will provide because he is ‘a defender of widows’ (Ps. 68:5).