Bible dictionary for children
Shekel
A shekel was a unit of weight, often used when weighing silver for payment.
In simple words
What does it mean?
A shekel was a unit of weight, often used when weighing silver for payment. Later settings can also involve coins called shekels.
Talk about it
Why would accurate scales matter when silver is used to pay?
An example from the Bible
Genesis describes Abraham weighing silver for a burial place. The transaction uses agreed weights rather than a modern bank payment.
Read Genesis 23:16 ↗A little more to explore
Bible context & readings +
Read the surrounding passage to see who is speaking and how this word or idea is being used. The linked reading opens the full chapter.
Related reading: Genesis 23:16
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.Full readings at eBible.org · World English Bible Classic. Read with an adult.
