Convert Mina (Biblical Hebrew) (mina) to Bekan (Biblical Hebrew) (bekan) instantly.
About these units
Mina (Biblical Hebrew) (mina)
A mina was a mid-sized Hebrew weight unit, commonly approximated as 560–600 grams, though it varied historically. It served as the intermediary unit between the shekel and the talent: 1 talent = 60 minas 1 mina = 50 shekels Minas were used in both commercial trade and temple accounting. They appear in ancient Near Eastern texts describing wages, penalties, and allocations of precious materials. Because of their role in administrative and religious contexts, the mina highlights the bureaucratic sophistication of ancient Israel and surrounding cultures.
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.