weight
How much is a biblical gerah?
A gerah was one twentieth of a sanctuary shekel in passages that state the relationship.
Interactive reference
Convert a biblical measurement
Choose a unit and enter an amount to see a modern metric and labeled US customary or Imperial range.
gerah — A gerah was one twentieth of a sanctuary shekel in passages that state the relationship.
The displayed mass follows the selected ESV-style estimate rather than claiming every historical shekel was identical.
Direct answer
1 gerah ≈ 0.6–0.6 g ≈ 0.02–0.02 oz
The displayed mass follows the selected ESV-style estimate rather than claiming every historical shekel was identical.
Biblical ratio: 20 gerahs = 1 sanctuary shekel.
| Amount | Metric range | US customary / imperial range |
|---|---|---|
| 1 gerah | 0.6–0.6 g | 0.02–0.02 oz |
| 2 gerahs | 1.1–1.2 g | 0.04–0.04 oz |
| 5 gerahs | 2.8–3.0 g | 0.1–0.11 oz |
| 10 gerahs | 5.5–6.0 g | 0.19–0.21 oz |
Primary reference: ESV Global Study Bible · Table of Weights and Measures ↗. The default system used for the representative estimates. The table says all equivalents are approximate and varied by time and place. Accessed October 10, 2026.
Bible passages using this unit
Questions about gerahs
How much is one gerah today?
0.6–0.6 g, or 0.02–0.02 oz, in this site's selected approximate system. The displayed mass follows the selected ESV-style estimate rather than claiming every historical shekel was identical.
Is the gerah conversion exact?
No. Biblical weights and measures varied by period, place, and standard. The displayed range is for reading scale and should not be treated as a calibrated surviving object.
Can I turn the result into a modern price or food weight?
Not without additional evidence. Metal price, purchasing power, material purity, grain density, and container packing are separate questions from unit conversion.
Related units
beka
A beka was half a shekel, the per-person amount named in Exodus 38:26.
shekel by weight
Before it was a modern currency name, the biblical shekel was fundamentally a unit of weight.
pim
A pim was an Iron Age weight of roughly two thirds of a shekel, reflected as payim in the WEB text of 1 Samuel 13:21.
mina (50-shekel estimate)
The common reference estimate treats a mina as about fifty shekels or roughly 0.6 kilogram.