Genesis 23:16 · measurement explained
Four hundred shekels of silver by merchant weight
Abraham weighs silver for Ephron to complete the field and cave purchase, explicitly using the standard current among merchants.
Read the verse first
Abraham 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.
World English Bible · engwebp-source-2026-09-12
Modern measurement range
Four hundred shekels
3.8–5.6 kg
8.38–12.35 lb
Using the shekel by weight estimate. Merchant, sanctuary, royal, regional, and later coin standards differed. The broad range prevents a single 11 g reference estimate from being treated as universal.
Calculate another amount →The result is a silver-mass range, not a modern property price. Purchasing power and later coin systems cannot be recovered by multiplying today's silver quote.
What this conversion does—and does not—show
It gives a defensible modern scale for the amount stated in the verse. Ancient standards varied by time and place, so the endpoints are deliberately approximate. A volume is not a food mass, a metal weight is not a modern cash value, and a conversion does not settle a textual, archaeological, or theological debate.
Conversion references: ESV weights and measures ↗, American Bible Society ↗, and Encyclopedia of the Bible ↗. Reference pages accessed October 10, 2026.