Boyd’s Bible Dictionary:
(weight). A weight for weighing uncoined money, of Assyrian and Babylonian origin. There seem to have been two standards, that of the sanctuary and the king (Ex. 30:13; 2 Sam. 14:26). Both approximated half an ounce, valued in silver at about 64 cents. Later, a Hebrew silver coin, with bronze half and quarter shekels. Probably the “pieces of silver” (Matt. 26:15), though the “pieces of silver” in Luke 15:8 are clearly the Greek drachmas. The first Jewish coins were struck by Simon Maccabeus, who obtained permission to coin money from Antiochus, King of Syria. His shekel showed a vase on one side, representing a pot of manna, and on the other an almond branch with flowers, representative supposedly of Aaron’s rod.
Concise Bible Dictionary:
See WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.
From Manners and Customs of the Bible:
Leviticus 27:25. All thy estimations shall be according to the shekel of the sanctuary: twenty gerahs shall be the shekel.
1. What the “shekel of the sanctuary” was is not definitely stated. There are those who think it was worth double the value of the ordinary shekel. Others, again, suppose that “the shekel of the sanctuary” was the standard to which all shekels must conform if of full weight. See note on Genesis 23:16 (#26).
2. The gerah was the smallest weight known to the Hebrews, and the smallest. piece of money used by them. It weighed between eleven and twelve grains, and was in value about three cents.
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