shek⋅el
[shek-uh
l] 
| 1. | Also, sheqel. a paper money, cupronickel or silver coin, and monetary unit of Israel equal to 100 agorot: replaced the pound in 1980. |
| 2. | an ancient, orig. Babylonian, unit of weight, of varying value, taken as equal to the fiftieth or the sixtieth part of a mina or to about a quarter to half an ounce. |
| 3. | a coin of this weight, esp. the chief silver coin of the ancient Hebrews. |
| 4. | shekels, Slang. money; cash. |
1550–60; < Heb sheqel
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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| shek·el (shěk'əl) n.
[Hebrew šeqel, from šāqal, to weigh; see ṯql in Semitic roots.] |
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Shekel
Shek"el\, n. [Heb. shegel, fr. sh[=a]gal to weigh.]1. An ancient weight and coin used by the Jews and by other nations of the same stock. Note: A common estimate makes the shekel equal in weight to about 130 grains for gold, 224 grains for silver, and 450 grains for copper, and the approximate values of the coins are (gold) $5.00, (silver) 60 cents, and (copper half shekel), one and one half cents. 2. pl. A jocose term for money.Cite This Source
shekel
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Shekel
weight, the common standard both of weight and value among the Hebrews. It is estimated at 220 English grains, or a little more than half an ounce avoirdupois. The "shekel of the sanctuary" (Ex. 30:13; Num. 3:47) was equal to twenty gerahs (Ezek. 45:12). There were shekels of gold (1 Chr. 21:25), of silver (1 Sam. 9:8), of brass (17:5), and of iron (7). When it became a coined piece of money, the shekel of gold was equivalent to about 2 pound of our money. Six gold shekels, according to the later Jewish system, were equal in value to fifty silver ones. The temple contribution, with which the public sacrifices were bought (Ex. 30:13; 2 Chr. 24:6), consisted of one common shekel, or a sanctuary half-shekel, equal to two Attic drachmas. The coin, a stater (q.v.), which Peter found in the fish's mouth paid this contribution for both him and Christ (Matt. 17:24, 27). A zuza, or quarter of a shekel, was given by Saul to Samuel (1 Sam. 9:8).
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