Shekels (biblical) to Pounds (shekel to lb)
1 shekel (biblical) equals 0.02535316015 pounds (rounded).
How to convert shekels (biblical) to pounds
To convert shekels (biblical) to pounds, multiply the number of shekels (biblical) by 0.02535316015. The factor is rounded to 10 significant digits. To go the other way, multiply pounds by 39.44281478 (rounded).
pounds = shekels (biblical) × 0.02535316015
Example: 10 shekels (biblical) = 0.2535316015 pounds.
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 these units
Shekel (biblical) (shekel)
About 11.5 g. The usual biblical weight for silver and gold; the name later became a currency.
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.
1 shekel (biblical) = 0.0115 kilograms (approximately).
Sources: Wikipedia: Shekel; Wikipedia: Mina (unit); Wikipedia: Talent (measurement)
Pound (lb)
Exactly 0.45359237 kg, divided into 16 ounces. The standard unit of weight in the US and common in the UK.
Why is pound abbreviated lb? The answer is Roman. The English word comes from the Latin libra pondo, roughly the weight measured in libra, and the symbol keeps the first word. The Roman libra was divided into 12 unciae. The avoirdupois pound of 16 ounces came into general use around 1300 and was initially equal to 6,992 troy grains; under Elizabeth I it was redefined as 7,000 grains. The UK's Weights and Measures Act 1878 set the imperial standard pound as a platinum cylinder, and the troy pound was abolished for trade the following year.
Today the pound is defined from the kilogram. The International Yard and Pound Agreement of 1959 fixed it at exactly 0.45359237 kg, and the UK's Weights and Measures Act 1963 wrote the same figure into law. Pounds remain the everyday unit for body weight, groceries and shipping in the United States and are widely used in the UK. The word also survives in odd places: a six-pounder cannon was named for the weight of its shot, not its own.
1 pound = 0.45359237 kilograms (exactly).
Sources: Wikipedia: Pound (mass); NIST Guide to the SI, Appendix B.8 (mass conversions)
Related conversions
- Pounds to shekels (biblical) (reverse)
- Shekels (biblical) to kilograms
- Shekels (biblical) to grams
- Shekels (biblical) to metric tons
- Shekels (biblical) to ounces
- Kilograms to pounds
- Grams to pounds
- Metric tons to pounds
- Ounces to pounds
- Milligrams to pounds
- Micrograms to pounds
- Carats to pounds
- Stone to pounds
- Short tons to pounds
- Long tons to pounds
- Troy ounces to pounds
- Daltons to pounds
See all weight & mass units.