Convert Denarius (Biblical Roman) (denarius) to Shekel (Biblical Hebrew) (shekel) instantly.
About these units
Denarius (Biblical Roman) (denarius)
The denarius, about 3.9–4.5 grams, was the standard Roman silver coin of the early empire and appears frequently in the New Testament. It was considered a typical day's wage for a laborer, providing historians with a powerful economic reference point. As a mass unit, the denarius represents a consistent silver weight upon which Roman taxation and commercial pricing depended. Its stability made it a backbone of Roman monetary policy. Its appearance in religious texts shows how deeply embedded Roman economics were in the daily lives of conquered regions.
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.