When reading through Exodus, Leviticus, or Numbers, you’ll occasionally meet a strange little word many people skip right over: gerah. It appears only a handful of times, yet it plays an important role in understanding offerings, valuations, and the way everyday Israelites measured value.
Most Bible readers know what a shekel is. But the gerah is the piece that helps the whole system make sense.
1. What Is a Gerah?
A gerah is the smallest unit of weight in the biblical Hebrew system.
God establishes it plainly:
“A shekel is twenty gerahs.”
— Exodus 30:13
That one sentence gives us the whole structure:
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1 shekel = 20 gerahs
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The gerah is like the “penny” of the ancient world—tiny, but necessary for precise measurement.
2. How Much Did a Gerah Weigh?
Ancient weights varied slightly over time, but most scholars agree:
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1 gerah ≈ 0.57 grams
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1 shekel ≈ 11.3 grams
So when God gives instructions involving shekels and gerahs, He is giving exact measurements. This accuracy shows His seriousness about fairness, honesty, and integrity in worship.
3. Why the Gerah Matters
Although small, the gerah teaches several truths:
A. God Values Accuracy
Many laws in the Torah deal with honest weights and measures.
The gerah reminds us that every detail matters, even the smallest ones.
B. Offerings Were Measured Carefully
When someone brought a temple tax or vow offering, the weight had to be exact.
The gerah helped ensure the worshipper brought what God required, not less and not more.
C. It Connects Worship to Daily Life
Israelites used the same weight system in:
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trade
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marketplace transactions
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vows
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offerings
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redemption money
In other words, worship wasn’t separate from life.
You were expected to be honest in the temple and in the marketplace.
4. The Larger Picture: Weights in the Bible
Understanding the gerah unlocks the entire biblical weight system:
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20 gerahs = 1 shekel
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50 shekels = 1 mina
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60 minas = 1 talent
This means:
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A talent was 3,000 shekels
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A talent of gold or silver represented enormous wealth
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No wonder Jesus used talents in His parable—He was showing the weight of responsibility.
5. A Spiritual Parallel
The gerah may be small, but it reflects a larger truth:
God builds great responsibilities on small units.
Faithfulness in small things leads to faithfulness in greater things.
(See Luke 16:10.)
Just as a shekel is built from tiny gerahs, a faithful life is built from small decisions:
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a word spoken honestly
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a promise kept
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time spent in Scripture
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quiet obedience
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unseen acts of service
Little weights add up.
Little choices matter.
Little obediences shape a life God can use.
Conclusion
The gerah may seem like a tiny, obscure term, but it plays a big role in understanding ancient worship, biblical economics, and even spiritual living.
Next time you run across it in your Bible reading, don’t skip it.
Remember the truth behind it:
God cares about the details — even the smallest ones.
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