Hebrew word · H1626

גֵּרָה

gerah

gerah

The smallest unit of weight in the Hebrew system, one twentieth of the sanctuary shekel. It probably comes from a word for a grain or bean, perhaps carob seeds, which are fairly uniform in weight and were used to balance scales (compare Akkadian girû, a small weight).

Appears 5 times in 5 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

gerah, a weight, a 20th part of a shekel, equal to the weight of 16 barley grains or 4 to 5 carob beans

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Exodus 30:13

Range of meaning

The smallest unit of weight in the Hebrew system, one twentieth of the sanctuary shekel. It probably comes from a word for a grain or bean, perhaps carob seeds, which are fairly uniform in weight and were used to balance scales (compare Akkadian girû, a small weight).

Against the English

English versions transliterate it as "gerah." The Septuagint uses obolos (obol), a small Greek unit.

Used elsewhere in the period

Found only in Exod 30:13; Lev 27:25; Num 3:47; 18:16; Ezek 45:12, each time in the formula "twenty gerahs (is) the shekel." Small Judahite weights marked in gerah units have been found by archaeologists.

Where it appears

Exodus · 1

  1. Exodus 30:13 גֵּרָה֙ gerah[s]

    Everyone who crosses over to those counted must pay a half shekel, according to the sanctuary shekel, which weighs twenty gerahs. This half shekel is an offering to the LORD.

    Here: The smallest unit in the system, about a twentieth of a shekel (roughly half a gram). The name probably comes from a small seed or bean used to balance scales.

Leviticus · 1

  1. Leviticus 27:25 גֵּרָ֖ה gerah[s]

    Every valuation will be according to the sanctuary shekel, twenty gerahs to the shekel.

Numbers · 2

  1. Numbers 3:47 גֵּרָ֖ה gerah[s]

    you are to collect five shekels for each one, according to the sanctuary shekel of twenty gerahs.

  2. Numbers 18:16 גֵּרָ֖ה gerah[s]

    You are to pay the redemption price for a month-old male according to your valuation: five shekels of silver, according to the sanctuary shekel, which is twenty gerahs.

Ezekiel · 1

  1. Ezekiel 45:12 גֵּרָ֑ה gerah[s]

    The shekel will consist of twenty gerahs. Twenty shekels plus twenty-five shekels plus fifteen shekels will equal one mina.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.