Online Encyclopedia

SHEKEL (from Heb. shakal, to weigh)

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Originally appearing in Volume V24, Page 825 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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SHEKEL (from Heb. shakal, to weigh)  , originally a Jewish unit of
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weight (r of a mina, and Th-lf of a talent) and afterwards a coin of the same weight . The Biblical references to shekels must refer to uncoined ingots . In the time of Josephus it seems that the
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light shekel weighed from 210 to 210.55 grains; the heavy shekel was twice that amount, which is practically identical with the Phoenician weight (224.4 grains) . It corresponds to Is . 41d. and 2S. gd. respectively in
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English
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silver . Jewish shekels were first coined by Simon the Hasmonean, probably in 139-138 B.C . These bear inscriptions in the archaic
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Hebrew and various emblems, such as the cup or chalice, the
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lily branch with three flowers, the
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candlestick, the citron and palm branch and so forth . They never bear the portraits of rulers or figures of animals . A later series of shekels, belonging to the
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Roman period, are tetradrachms, " which came from the mints of Caesarea and
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Antioch and were used as blanks on which to impress Jewish types.'° Hence in Matt. xvi . 24 the temple tax of
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half a shekel is called a didrachm (2 drams) . In 2
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Samuel xiv . 26 we read of " shekels after the King's weight." The royal norm was heavier than the
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common norm .

The

Hebrews divided the shekel into 20 parts, each of which was called a gerah . (See also NUMISMATICS.) See articles in Ency . Bibl. col . 4442, and Hastings'
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Diet. of the Bible, ii . 417 seq . ; F . W . Madden, Coins of the Jews (1881) ; T . Reinach, Jewish Coins (1903) . (I .

End of Article: SHEKEL (from Heb. shakal, to weigh)
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RICHARD LALOR SHEIL (1791-1851)
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