Numbered Shekels

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.

Exodus 30:13

Well, the numbering of the shekel among other coins really is something, isn’t it? Now I’m not sure how much a gerah is. Nor does Scripture ever tell us. Let me tell you though, if you can find it, let me know and I don’t mean with the other odd denarius or silver pieces floating about in the midst. I don’t care whose image or inscription it is unlike the penny. With that one, it’ll always be about a penny and most probably with Caesar himself trotting not too far on behind. I’ll be the most surprised of all though if you can find some basis for equal measures of this. Look in Scripture though, not in some man’s old printed book where the pages get dry and crumble with the ever-present passage of years and nothing ever changes if at all ever not with stroke of writer’s pen or the sudden movements say of the Lord. That’s to say, it’s best to make sure your books, unlike your currency, have some room to breathe and to grow. If they don’t, something, somewhere is dreadfully, terribly wrong. It’s mostly because his book is supposed to be filled with his Spirit with life in his Word. So too, does it swell and grow with every few passage of years. If your currency does that though, it’ll be a bit more pressing sort of an issue that we’ll see very much later. Basically, a shekel, as the text has said, is twenty gerahs. I sure couldn’t tell you what a gerah is, but you could think of it as the smallest measure almost like a penny is of these times. Half of it though, or ten gerah at first, is sufficient to make offering to the Lord. This money will be used for the upkeep of the temple as well as needs of food and some hunger and also shelter of all of the people. Regardless, having a collection done for religious reasons sounds like a pretty good notion. At least, it does for saving up much later and perhaps also investment of sorts. Then again, having all these huge crowds and large groups of people, really has done much for spreading the wealth thinly between them. As seen just prior, it seems Abraham has likely no issue with four hundred shekels laying round doing nothing of course. Now though the wealth has spread going down through the people. Through trade and whatever else between them, it’s enough for all to have say a little. It's not very much though at the time, just enough to make a decent sort of living and have enough for sharing between them. That is, if they can afford their own household, they’ll also go in for having a shekel. That’s cause mainly census struck them at first which is an accounting not of the Lord as you and I probably heard.