שֶׁ֫קֶל
she.qel
shekel
Lexicon Entry
Lexicon data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What Original Readers Understood
Supported# The Shekel in Biblical Hebrew The shekel (Hebrew: שֶׁקֶל) appears 88 times throughout the Hebrew Bible, establishing itself as a significant term in biblical texts. Based on its frequency and the specific designation as a standard unit, the shekel functioned as a primary measure of weight and value in ancient Israelite society. Its consistent presence across the scriptural corpus suggests it held considerable importance in daily economic and religious transactions. As a standardized measure, the shekel served practical purposes in commerce and commerce-related activities. The term's technical nature—referring to a specific quantifiable unit rather than a general concept—indicates that biblical authors used it with precision when discussing transactions, valuations, and payments. This precision reflects a society with established economic systems that required agreed-upon standards for exchange and measurement. The shekel's 88 occurrences distributed throughout the Bible indicate that it remained relevant across different periods and contexts of Israelite history. Its sustained presence in the scriptural record underscores its role as a fundamental economic institution, one important enough to record repeatedly in narratives dealing with purchases, tributes, offerings, and valuations. The word itself became so embedded in biblical vocabulary that it required no extensive explanation—suggesting readers understood it as a familiar unit of their economic world.
Source data & methodology
Occurrences in Scripture
88 total occurrences across the text — showing 50
But the former governors who were before me were supported by the people, and took bread and wine from them, plus forty shekels of silver; yes, even their servants ruled over the people; but I didn’t do so, because of the fear of God.
Nehemiah 10:32Also we made ordinances for ourselves, to charge ourselves yearly with the third part of a shekel for the service of the house of our God;
Jeremiah 32:9I bought the field that was in Anathoth of Hanamel my uncle’s son, and weighed him the money, even seventeen shekels of silver.
Ezekiel 4:10Your food which you shall eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels a day. From time to time you shall eat it.
Ezekiel 45:12The shekel shall be twenty gerahs. Twenty shekels plus twenty-five shekels plus fifteen shekels shall be your mina.
Ezekiel 45:12The shekel shall be twenty gerahs. Twenty shekels plus twenty-five shekels plus fifteen shekels shall be your mina.
Ezekiel 45:12The shekel shall be twenty gerahs. Twenty shekels plus twenty-five shekels plus fifteen shekels shall be your mina.
Ezekiel 45:12The shekel shall be twenty gerahs. Twenty shekels plus twenty-five shekels plus fifteen shekels shall be your mina.
Amos 8:5Saying, ‘When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell grain? And the Sabbath, that we may market wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel large, and dealing falsely with balances of deceit;
Genesis 23:15“My lord, listen to me. What is a piece of land worth four hundred shekels of silver between me and you? Therefore bury your dead.”
Genesis 23:16Abraham listened to Ephron. Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver which he had named in the hearing of the children of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, according to the current merchants’ standard.
Exodus 21:32If the bull gores a male servant or a female servant, thirty shekels of silver shall be given to their master, and the ox shall be stoned.
Exodus 30:13They shall give this, everyone who passes over to those who are counted, half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs); half a shekel for an offering to Yahweh.
Exodus 30:13They shall give this, everyone who passes over to those who are counted, half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs); half a shekel for an offering to Yahweh.
Exodus 30:13They shall give this, everyone who passes over to those who are counted, half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs); half a shekel for an offering to Yahweh.
Exodus 30:13They shall give this, everyone who passes over to those who are counted, half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs); half a shekel for an offering to Yahweh.
Exodus 30:15The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less, than the half shekel, when they give the offering of Yahweh, to make atonement for your souls.
Exodus 30:24and of cassia five hundred, according to the shekel of the sanctuary; and a hin of olive oil.
Exodus 38:24All the gold that was used for the work in all the work of the sanctuary, even the gold of the offering, was twenty-nine talents and seven hundred thirty shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary.
Exodus 38:24All the gold that was used for the work in all the work of the sanctuary, even the gold of the offering, was twenty-nine talents and seven hundred thirty shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary.
Exodus 38:25The silver of those who were counted of the congregation was one hundred talents and one thousand seven hundred seventy-five shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary:
Exodus 38:25The silver of those who were counted of the congregation was one hundred talents and one thousand seven hundred seventy-five shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary:
Exodus 38:26a beka a head, that is, half a shekel, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, for everyone who passed over to those who were counted, from twenty years old and upward, for six hundred three thousand five hundred fifty men.
Exodus 38:26a beka a head, that is, half a shekel, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, for everyone who passed over to those who were counted, from twenty years old and upward, for six hundred three thousand five hundred fifty men.
Exodus 38:29The bronze of the offering was seventy talents and two thousand four hundred shekels.
Leviticus 5:15“If anyone commits a trespass, and sins unwittingly regarding Yahweh’s holy things, then he shall bring his trespass offering to Yahweh: a ram without defect from the flock, according to your estimation in silver by shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, for a trespass offering.
Leviticus 5:15“If anyone commits a trespass, and sins unwittingly regarding Yahweh’s holy things, then he shall bring his trespass offering to Yahweh: a ram without defect from the flock, according to your estimation in silver by shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, for a trespass offering.
Leviticus 27:3your valuation of a male from twenty years old to sixty years old shall be fifty shekels of silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary.
Leviticus 27:3your valuation of a male from twenty years old to sixty years old shall be fifty shekels of silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary.
Leviticus 27:4If she is a female, then your valuation shall be thirty shekels.
Leviticus 27:5If the person is from five years old to twenty years old, then your valuation shall be for a male twenty shekels, and for a female ten shekels.
Leviticus 27:5If the person is from five years old to twenty years old, then your valuation shall be for a male twenty shekels, and for a female ten shekels.
Leviticus 27:6If the person is from a month old to five years old, then your valuation shall be for a male five shekels of silver, and for a female your valuation shall be three shekels of silver.
Leviticus 27:6If the person is from a month old to five years old, then your valuation shall be for a male five shekels of silver, and for a female your valuation shall be three shekels of silver.
Leviticus 27:7If the person is from sixty years old and upward; if he is a male, then your valuation shall be fifteen shekels, and for a female ten shekels.
Leviticus 27:7If the person is from sixty years old and upward; if he is a male, then your valuation shall be fifteen shekels, and for a female ten shekels.
Leviticus 27:16“ ‘If a man dedicates to Yahweh part of the field of his possession, then your valuation shall be according to the seed for it. The sowing of a homer of barley shall be valued at fifty shekels of silver.
Leviticus 27:25All your valuations shall be according to the shekel of the sanctuary: twenty gerahs to the shekel.
Leviticus 27:25All your valuations shall be according to the shekel of the sanctuary: twenty gerahs to the shekel.
Numbers 3:47you shall take five shekels apiece for each one; according to the shekel of the sanctuary you shall take them (the shekel is twenty gerahs);
Numbers 3:47you shall take five shekels apiece for each one; according to the shekel of the sanctuary you shall take them (the shekel is twenty gerahs);
Numbers 3:47you shall take five shekels apiece for each one; according to the shekel of the sanctuary you shall take them (the shekel is twenty gerahs);
Numbers 3:50from the firstborn of the children of Israel he took the money, one thousand three hundred sixty-five shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary;
Numbers 7:13and his offering was: one silver platter, the weight of which was one hundred thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a meal offering;
Numbers 7:13and his offering was: one silver platter, the weight of which was one hundred thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a meal offering;
Numbers 7:19He offered for his offering: one silver platter, the weight of which was one hundred thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a meal offering;
Numbers 7:19He offered for his offering: one silver platter, the weight of which was one hundred thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a meal offering;
Numbers 7:25gave his offering: one silver platter, the weight of which was a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a meal offering;
Numbers 7:25gave his offering: one silver platter, the weight of which was a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a meal offering;
Numbers 7:31gave his offering: one silver platter, the weight of which was one hundred thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a meal offering;