Exodus 30:13

30:13 Everyone who crosses over to those who are numbered ¹  is to pay this: a half shekel ²  according to the shekel of the sanctuary ³  (a shekel weighs twenty gerahs). The half shekel is to be an offering ⁴  to the Lord.

Numbers 3:47

3:47 collect ⁵  five shekels for each ⁶  one individually; you are to collect ⁷  this amount ⁸  in the currency of the sanctuary shekel (this shekel is twenty gerahs). ⁹ 

Numbers 18:16

18:16 And those that must be redeemed you are to redeem when they are a month old, according to your estimation, for five shekels of silver according to the sanctuary shekel (which is twenty gerahs).

Ezekiel 45:12

45:12 The shekel will be twenty gerahs. Sixty shekels ¹⁰  will be a mina for you.

[30:13]  ¹ sn Each man was to pass in front of the counting officer and join those already counted on the other side.

[30:13]  ² sn The half shekel weight of silver would be about one-fifth of an ounce (6 grams).

[30:13]  ³ sn It appears that some standard is in view for the amount of a shekel weight. The sanctuary shekel is sometimes considered to be twice the value of the ordinary shekel. The “gerah,” also of uncertain meaning, was mentioned as a reference point for the ancient reader to understand the value of the required payment. It may also be that the expression meant “a sacred shekel” and looked at the purpose more – a shekel for sanctuary dues. This would mean that the standard of the shekel weight was set because it was the traditional amount of sacred dues (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 333). “Though there is no certainty, the shekel is said to weigh about 11,5 grams…Whether an official standard is meant [by ‘sanctuary shekel’] or whether the sanctuary shekel had a different weight than the ‘ordinary’ shekel is not known” (C. Houtman, Exodus, 3:181).

[30:13]  ⁴ tn Or “contribution” (תְּרוּמָה, tÿrumah).

[3:47]  ⁵ tn The verb again is the perfect tense in sequence; the meaning of “take” may be interpreted here with the sense of “collect.”

[3:47]  ⁶ tn The idea is expressed simply by repetition: “take five, five, shekels according to the skull.” They were to collect five shekels for each individual.

[3:47]  ⁷ tn The verb form now is the imperfect of instruction or legislation.

[3:47]  ⁸ tn Heb “them,” referring to the five shekels.

[3:47]  ⁹ sn The sanctuary shekel was first mentioned in Exod 30:13. The half-shekel of Exod 38:26 would then be 10 gerahs. Consequently, the calculations would indicate that five shekels was about two ounces of silver for each person. See R. B. Y. Scott, “Weights and Measures of the Bible,” BA 22 (1951): 22-40, and “The Scale-Weights from Ophel, 1963-1964,” PEQ 97 (1965): 128-39.

[45:12]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “twenty shekels, twenty-five shekels, fifteen shekels.”