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In establishing the value of the shekel there is an additional complication in that the Bible mentions at least three kinds of shekels: in Genesis 23:16, a shekel of silver "at the going merchant's rate [over la-socher]; in Exodus 30:13, "shekel by the sanctuary weight [ha-kodesh]"; and in II Samuel 14:26, "shekels by the king's stone [b'even ha-melech]," that is, shekels stamped by the royal ...
- Ashkelon
The town of Lachish 20 miles east of Ashkelon may have first...
- Genesis
Genesis - Weights, Measures & Coins of the Biblical &...
- Chapter 10
10:1 And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of...
- Malachim II
Malachim II - Weights, Measures & Coins of the Biblical &...
- Exodus
24 and of cassia five hundred, after the shekel of the...
- Nehemiah
Nehemiah - Weights, Measures & Coins of the Biblical &...
- Ashkelon
It is impossible to know silver's value in biblical times. At today's rate of approximately 17 US dollars per ounce, 8 grams of silver is around five dollars. 1. Rabbi Eliezer Posner. Footnotes. 1. There is a custom to give a half shekel to charity on the Fast of Esther (click here for more info on this tradition).
Between the sacred shekel, Exodus 30:13, and the shekel after the "king's weight," 2 Samuel 14:26, there would seem to have been a difference; but this and many think the phrase "shekel of the sanctuary" simply means a full and just shekel, according to the temple standards. The first coin, which bore the name of shekel was struck after the exile in the time of the Maccabees, and bore the ...
In establishing the value of the shekel there is an additional complication in that the Bible mentions at least three kinds of shekels: in Genesis 23:16, a shekel of silver "at the going merchant's rate [ʿover la-soḥer]," which is similar to the Akkadian expression ina manê ša tamkari, "in the merchant's mina"; in Exodus 30:13, "shekel by the sanctuary weight [ha-qodesh]"; and in II ...
- 22.0 liters
- 110.0 liters
- 220.0 liters
- 7.3 liters
The “shekel of the sanctuary” (Exod 30:13, 24; 38:24-26; Lev 5:15; Num 3:47, etc.) is said to be equal to twenty gerahs. The expression is sometimes tr. as “sacred shekel” and is thought by some authorities to be different from the ordinary shekel. It may refer to a standard weight which was kept in the Temple.
Weights. These were used to measure precious stones and metals, the basic unit being the shekel, i.e., "weight." The Bible mentions royal weights, sanctuary weights, and merchant's weights. The royal shekel was probably double the ordinary shekel. The value of premonarchical weights and the original sanctuary shekel have not been determined.
On our daf today, we find alternative explanations for the half-shekel obligation, and though they also may amount to assuaging divine wrath, in this case the midrashim lean heavily on the description of the half shekel has “expiation money” (kesef kipurim) found in Exodus 13:16. That is, the half shekel atones for previous sins.
