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.
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.
Gerah |
Beka |
Shekel |
Maneh |
Talent |
Scripture |
10 |
1 |
1/2 |
Exodus 30:12-13 |
||
20 |
2 |
1 |
Exodus 30:13 |
||
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."
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
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"
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".