to the potter: Some scholars think a professional group of potters might have been minor temple officials because of the constant need for sacred vessels (see Leviticus 6:28). Others, noting the similarity between potter (Hebrew yotser) and treasury (’otsar), follow the Syriac version, which reads into the treasury (see Matthew 27:6, 10; compare Jeremiah 32:6–9). The Greek Old Testament translates this sentence as “throw it into the furnace,” suggesting the silver was melted down and recast into a silver vessel for temple rituals.
Thirty coins (or pieces of silver) was a large sum of money, nearly two years’ wages for the average worker.