Shekel — Meaning in the Bible
A unit of weight, used especially for silver, roughly 11 grams. Before coins, payments were weighed out in shekels.
Modern equivalents are approximate estimates: ancient units varied by time and place, and Scripture does not give modern values. A commonly cited estimate is about 11–12 grams.
What it means
Abraham weighed out 400 shekels of silver for the cave of Machpelah. Joseph's brothers sold him for twenty pieces (shekels) of silver. Genesis 23:15–16Genesis 37:28
The law speaks of "the shekel of the sanctuary" as a standard. Goliath's armour is weighed in shekels of bronze. Exodus 30:131 Samuel 17:5
Key passages
- Genesis 23:14–16 — Abraham buys a field.
- Genesis 37:28 — Joseph sold.
- Exodus 30:13 — The sanctuary shekel.
- Jeremiah 32:9 — Jeremiah buys a field for seventeen shekels.
Original language
שֶׁ֫קֶל she.qel
Hebrew · Strong’s H8255 · gloss: “shekel”
The Hebrew word sheqel, from a verb "to weigh". Genesis 23:15
A Strong’s number is a reference identifier, not a complete definition: what a word means in a passage depends on its context. Lexical data: STEPBible.org, based on work at Tyndale House Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).