Convert Bekan (Biblical Hebrew) (bekan) to Shekel (Biblical Hebrew) (shekel) instantly.
About these units
Bekan (Biblical Hebrew) (bekan)
The bekan (or beka) is a half-shekel unit, approximately 5.6 grams. It appears in the Hebrew Bible as the required contribution for the census tax, symbolizing equality among contributors regardless of wealth. As a practical unit, the beka was useful for small-scale offerings, jewelry, and silverwork. Its precise half-shekel value made it easy to incorporate into the larger Hebrew weight structure. The bekan highlights how weights were intertwined with religious observance and communal obligations in ancient Israelite society.
Shekel (Biblical Hebrew) (shekel)
The shekel, approximately 11.3 grams, is the foundational Hebrew weight unit, originally used for silver-based transactions long before it became a monetary term. In Biblical contexts, shekels represent wages, prices, fines, and sacrificial offerings. The shekel's mass-based origins mean that early shekel "coins" were actually weighed pieces of silver rather than minted currency. The modern Israeli currency's name (the New Israeli Shekel) preserves the ancient term, linking present-day society to its deep historical roots.