Biblical Coins and Weights

The major Jewish coins in the Bible involved three precious metals:

Silver

Copper

Gold

In the Bible, God called for certain coin offerings to be made to the temple.

Temple Offering Example

In Exodus 30:13-15, God called for a temple offering to all of the people of Israel that were numbered.

"13 This they shall give, every one that passeth among them that are numbered, half a shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary: (a shekel is twenty gerahs:) an half shekel shall be the offering of the LORD.
14 Every one that passeth among them that are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give an offering unto the LORD.
15 The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when they give an offering unto the LORD, to make an atonement for your souls."

The table below contains examples of major silver coins and their relative values in weights in Bible times.

Coin & Weights

Gerah	Beka	Shekel	Maneh	Talent	Scripture
10	1	1/2			Exodus 30:12-13
20	2	1			Exodus 30:13 Ezekiel 45:12
1200	120	60	1		Ezekiel 45:12 20+25+15=60 shekels =1 Maneh
60,000	6,000	3,000	50	1

In Ezekiel 45:12, the Bible states:

"And the shekel shall be twenty gerahs: twenty shekels, five and twenty shekels, fifteen shekels, shall be your maneh."

The 10 in the temple offering

A half a shekel is equal to 10 gerahs - This is the offering for the Tabernacle in gerahs

The same number was used as a ratio of a persons income for tithes which also involved money

Tithe Ratio - a Tenth

In Numbers 18:21, God established a tenth of the people income were to paid to the Levites as tithe.

"21 And, behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tenth in Israel for an inheritance, for their service which they serve, even the service of the tabernacle of the congregation"

A Tenth of a Tenth

In Numbers 18:25-26, God told Moses that the Levites were to offer a tenth of the tenth of the offerings they received from Israel to Him.

"25 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
26 Thus speak unto the Levites, and say unto them, When ye take of the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then ye shall offer up an heave offering of it for the LORD, even a tenth part of the tithe."

These offerings and the numbers associated with them were used by God to also establish the dimensions of His Temples that He commanded in Israel. This is part of a larger numbering system detailed in the Bible Number Series books "Yahweh's Temple Numbers" and "Yahweh's Temple in Ezekiel".