This is an article from the public domain Easton's Bible Dictionary, originally published in 1897.
This article is written from a nineteenth century Christian viewpoint, and may not reflect modern opinions or recent discoveries in Biblical scholarship.
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Weights - Reduced to English troy-weight, the Hebrew weights were:
- Gerah[?] (Lev. 27:25; Num. 3:47), a Hebrew word, meaning a grain or kernel, and hence a small weight. It was the twentieth part of a shekel, and equal to 12 grains.
- Bekah[?] (Ex. 38:26), meaning "a half" i.e., "half a shekel," equal to 5 pennyweight.
- Shekel, "a weight," only in the Old Testament, and frequently in its original form (Gen. 23:15, 16; Ex. 21:32; 30:13, 15; 38:24-29, etc.). It was equal to 10 pennyweight.
- Ma'neh[?], "a part" or "portion" (Ezek. 45:12), equal to 60 shekels, i.e., to 2 lbs. 6 oz.
- Talent[?] of silver (2 Kings 5:22), equal to 3,000 shekels, i.e., 125 lbs.
- Talent[?] of gold (Ex. 25:39), double the preceding, i.e., 250 lbs.
From Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897)
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