Shekel (biblical) (shekel)

Biblical (Hebrew)Historical unit (no longer in standard use)Approximate value

About 11.5 g. The usual biblical weight for silver and gold; the name later became a currency.

1 shekel (biblical) = 0.0115 kilograms (approximately).

Approximate value. Standards for the shekel (biblical) varied by place and period, so this converter uses the most commonly cited value. Treat results as estimates, not exact figures.

About the shekel (biblical)

Long before it meant a modern currency, the shekel was a weight. The word comes from a Proto-Semitic root and matches Akkadian siqlu, and it is attested as early as about 2150 BC under Naram-Sin of Akkad. English acquired it through the Hebrew Bible, where it first turns up in Genesis 23. Israelites, Moabites, Edomites and Phoenicians all weighed metal in shekels long before coinage took hold in the region.

Ancient shekels ranged from about 7 to 17 grams across the region. A two-shekel weight from the First Temple period weighs 23 grams, or about 11.5 grams each, which is the figure used here, though it is one estimate and not a certainty. A separate Shekel of the Sanctuary served the Temple. Later, Jews paid an annual half-shekel to the Temple, and the Tyrian shekel was the coin preferred for that tax. The modern Israeli shekel is a fiat currency and carries no fixed weight of metal. The biblical weight is roughly that of two nickels, or about 0.4 ounce.

Sources: Wikipedia: Shekel; Wikipedia: Mina (unit); Wikipedia: Talent (measurement)

Shekel (biblical) conversion chart

1 shekel (biblical) expressed in every other weight & mass unit:

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