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Bible Dictionaries
Shekel
Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary
or שקל , signifies weight, money, shekel, siclus, a Hebrew weight and money, Exodus 30:23-24; 2 Samuel 14:26 . Shekel is used to denote the weight of any thing; as iron, hair, spices, &c. Dr. Arbuthnot makes the weight of the shekel equal to 9 dwt. 2 4/7 gr. English troy weight; and the value equal to 2 s . 3 3/8 d . sterling money: but the golden shekel was worth 1 l . 16 s . 6 d . English money. Some are of the opinion that the Jews had two kinds of shekels, namely, the common one already noticed, and the shekel of the sanctuary, which last they make double the former. But most authors make them the same, and think that the word sanctuary is added to express a just and exact weight, according to the standards kept in the temple or tabernacle. Moses, Numbers 18:16 , and Ezekiel 45:12 . say, that the shekel was worth twenty gerahs.
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Watson, Richard. Entry for 'Shekel'. Richard Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/wtd/s/shekel.html. 1831-2.
