weight
How much is a biblical shekel by weight?
Before it was a modern currency name, the biblical shekel was fundamentally a unit of weight.
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.
shekel by weight — Before it was a modern currency name, the biblical shekel was fundamentally a unit of weight.
Merchant, sanctuary, royal, regional, and later coin standards differed. The broad range prevents a single 11 g reference estimate from being treated as universal.
Direct answer
1 shekel by weight ≈ 9.5–14 g ≈ 0.34–0.49 oz
Merchant, sanctuary, royal, regional, and later coin standards differed. The broad range prevents a single 11 g reference estimate from being treated as universal.
Biblical ratio: Often 20 gerahs; ESV representative estimate about 11 g.
| Amount | Metric range | US customary / imperial range |
|---|---|---|
| 1 shekel by weight | 9.5–14 g | 0.34–0.49 oz |
| 2 shekels by weight | 19–28 g | 0.67–0.99 oz |
| 5 shekels by weight | 47.5–70 g | 1.68–2.47 oz |
| 10 shekels by weight | 95–140 g | 3.35–4.94 oz |
Primary reference: Encyclopedia of the Bible · Weights and Measures ↗. Used for historical variation, the fathom, and the warning that biblical metrology is not an exact modern system. Accessed October 10, 2026.
Bible passages using this unit
Four hundred shekels of silver by merchant weight
Genesis 24:22A half-shekel ring and ten-shekel bracelets
Exodus 21:32Thirty shekels of silver
Exodus 30:13Half a sanctuary shekel and twenty gerahs
Exodus 30:24Five hundred shekels of cassia and one hin of oil
Exodus 38:2429 talents and 730 shekels of gold
Exodus 38:25100 talents and 1,775 shekels of silver
Exodus 38:26One beka per counted person
Questions about shekels by weight
How much is one shekel by weight today?
9.5–14 g, or 0.34–0.49 oz, in this site's selected approximate system. Merchant, sanctuary, royal, regional, and later coin standards differed. The broad range prevents a single 11 g reference estimate from being treated as universal.
Is the shekel by weight 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
gerah
A gerah was one twentieth of a sanctuary shekel in passages that state the relationship.
beka
A beka was half a shekel, the per-person amount named in Exodus 38:26.
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.