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Jan 14, 2024 · The shekel was widely used for commercial transactions in the lands of the Bible. There are also some references comparing the shekel to Greek currencies. For example, one report from around 400 B.C. stated that a half-shekel was equivalent to the pay for five days’ work for a Greek soldier ( this suggests relative parity between the shekel and common Greek coins like the drachma in that ...
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 ...
- History of The Shekel
- The Shekel Coin
- Shekel Metals
- Sources
Hebrew weights were never a precise system of measurement. Weights were used on a balance scale to weigh out silver, gold, and other goods. These weights varied from region to region and often according to the type of goods for sale. Before BC 700, the system of weights in ancient Judea was based on the Egyptian system. Sometime around BC 700, the ...
Eventually, the shekel became a coined piece of money. According to the later Jewish system, six gold shekels were equal in value to 50 silver ones. In Jesus’ day, the mina and the talent were considered huge sums of money. According to New Nave's Topical Bible, one who possessed five talents of gold or silver was a multimillionaire by today's stan...
The Biblementions shekels of various metals: 1. In 1 Chronicles 21:25, shekels of gold: “So David paid Ornan 600 shekels of gold by weight for the site” (ESV). 2. In 1 Samuel9:8, a silver shekel: “The servant answered Saul again, ‘Here, I have with me a quarter of a shekel of silver, and I will give it to the man of God to tell us our way’ ” (ESV)....
“The Enigma of the Shekel Weights of the Judean Kingdom.” Biblical Archaeologist: Volume 59 1-4, (p. 85).“Weights and Measures.” Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (p. 1665).“Weights and Measures.” Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible Dictionary (Vol. 2, p. 2137).Manners and Customs of the Bible (p. 162).A talent a shekel and was a specified weight of a precious metal which was understood to have a specific "monetary value". Before coins, Third/fourth of a shekel is not a coin but a fraction of a known and accepted weight of a shekel: 1 Sam 9:8; Ne 10:32. Remember that coins were not used in Israel until after 400 BC.
Shekel came into the English language via the Hebrew Bible, where it is first used in Genesis 23. The term "shekel" has been used for a unit of weight, around 9.6 or 9.8 grams (0.31 or 0.32 ozt), used in Bronze Age Europe for balance weights and fragments of bronze that may have served as money.
A zuza, or quarter of a shekel, was given by Saul to Samuel (1 Samuel 9:8). Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary. 1. (n.) An ancient weight and coin used by the Jews and by other nations of the same stock. 2. (n.) A jocose term for money. International Standard Bible Encyclopedia.
Shekel [N] [S] weight, the common standard both of weight and value among the Hebrews. It is estimated at 220 English grains, or a little more than half an ounce avoirdupois. The "shekel of the sanctuary" ( Exodus 30:13 ; Numbers 3:47 ) was equal to twenty gerahs ( Ezekiel 45:12 ). There were shekels of gold ( 1 Chronicles 21:25 ), of silver ...
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