Exodus 30:13
in Exodus 30Everyone who crosses over to those counted must pay a half shekel, according to the sanctuary shekel, which weighs twenty gerahs. This half shekel is an offering to the LORD.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
This they shall give, every one that passeth over unto them that are numbered, half a shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary; (the shekel is twenty gerahs), half a shekel for an offering to Jehovah.
KJV
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.
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This verse in Exodus 30
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
It was required from all classes alike, and a refusal to pay implied a wilful exclusion from the privileges of the sanctuary, as well as exposure to divine judgments. It was probably the same impost that was exacted from our Lord (Mt 17:24-27), and it was usually devoted to repairs and other purposes connected with the services of the sanctuary.
This site's exposition
Then the LORD said to Moses
on Exodus 30:11-13
This speech commands “a ransom for his life” from every man counted, “Then no plague will come upon them”. Second Samuel 24 records a later census that ended in one. The “sanctuary shekel” first occurs here and fixes the weight against a sanctuary standard.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
This they shall give, everyone that passeth among them that are numbered,....
And, (2.) It was to teach us, who are daily to attend upon God, daily to renew our repentance for sin and our believing application of the blood of Christ to our souls for remission; for in many things we daily offend and contract pollution, John xiii. This is the preparation we are to make for solemn ordinances.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
WILL you kindly open your Bibles to Exodus 30, for I must commence my discourse by expounding that passage. When the account was taken of the number of the children of Israel, the Lord commanded that every male over 20 years of age should pay half a shekel as Redemption money, confessing that he deserved to die, acknowledging that he was in debt to God and bringing the sum demanded as a type of a great Redemption which would, by-and-by, be paid for the souls of the sons of men. The truth was thus taught that God's people are a redeemed people—they are elsewhere called, "the redeemed of the Lord." If men reject the Redemption which He ordains, then they are not His people, for of all His chosen it may be said—"The Lord has redeemed Jacob and ransomed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he." Whenever we attempt to number the people of God, it is absolutely necessary that we count only those who at least profess to have brought the Redemption price in their hands and so have taken part in the Atonement of Christ Jesus. David, when he numbered the people, did not gather from them the Redemption money and, therefore, a plague broke out among them. He had failed in obedience to the Lord's ordinance and counted his subjects, not as redeemed people, but merely as so many heads. Let us always beware of estimating the number of Christians by the number of the population of the countries called Christian, for the only true Christians in the world are those who are redeemed from iniquity by the blood of the Lamb and have personally accepted the ransom which the Lord has provided—personally brought their Redemption money in their hands by taking Christ to be theirs and presenting Him, by an act of faith, to the great Father.
Half a shekel - Each of the Israelites was ordered to give as a ransom for his soul (i.e., for his life) half a shekel, according to the shekel of the sanctuary. From this we may learn, 1. That the life of every man was considered as being forfeited to Divine justice. 2. That the redemption money given, which was doubtless used in the service of the sanctuary, was ultimately devoted to the use and profit of those who gave it.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Moses our Teacher instituted a silver coin in Israel, for he was a great king. 44 See Deuteronomy:5. See also Ramban above,:25. He called it “shekel” [literally: “weight”] because that whole coin was a perfect weight, it had nothing defective in it and the silver contained no dross.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
The Holy One, blessed be He, commanded Moses that when he takes a census of the children of Israel, they should each give a soul’s ransom — half a shekel; and He further told him, And thou shalt take the atonement-money. Verse.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 2 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
17 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| זֶ֣ה׀ | zeh | this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| יִתְּנ֗וּ | yitenu | they will pay | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הָעֹבֵר֙ | haover | <the> [one who] passes over | H5674 → | 556 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | to | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הַפְּקֻדִ֔ים | hapekudim | those [who] are enrolled | H6485 → | 303 times |
| מַחֲצִ֥ית | machatzit | [the] half of | H4276 → | 16 times |
| הַשֶּׁ֖קֶל | hashekel | the shekel | H8255 → | 88 times |
| בְּשֶׁ֣קֶל | beshekel | by [the] shekel of | H8255 → | 88 times |
| הַקֹּ֑דֶשׁ | hakodesh | the holy place | H6944 → | 469 times |
| עֶשְׂרִ֤ים | ʾesrim | [is] twenty | H6242 → | 315 times |
| גֵּרָה֙ | gerah | gerah[s] | H1626 → | |
| הַשֶּׁ֔קֶל | hashekel | the shekel | H8255 → | 88 times |
| מַחֲצִ֣ית | machatzit | <the> half of | H4276 → | 16 times |
| הַשֶּׁ֔קֶל | hashekel | the shekel | H8255 → | 88 times |
| תְּרוּמָ֖ה | terumah | [is] a contribution | H8641 → | 76 times |
| לַֽיהוָֽה׃ | layahweh | to Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
זֶ֣ה׀this
zehH2088 →1180 times
יִתְּנ֗וּthey will pay
yitenuH5414 →2011 times
כָּל־every
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הָעֹבֵר֙<the> [one who] passes over
haoverH5674 →556 times
עַל־to
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הַפְּקֻדִ֔יםthose [who] are enrolled
hapekudimH6485 →303 times
מַחֲצִ֥ית[the] half of
machatzitH4276 →16 times
הַשֶּׁ֖קֶלthe shekel
hashekelH8255 →88 times
בְּשֶׁ֣קֶלby [the] shekel of
beshekelH8255 →88 times
הַקֹּ֑דֶשׁthe holy place
hakodeshH6944 →469 times
עֶשְׂרִ֤ים[is] twenty
ʾesrimH6242 →315 times
גֵּרָה֙gerah[s]
gerahH1626 →
הַשֶּׁ֔קֶלthe shekel
hashekelH8255 →88 times
מַחֲצִ֣ית<the> half of
machatzitH4276 →16 times
הַשֶּׁ֔קֶלthe shekel
hashekelH8255 →88 times
תְּרוּמָ֖ה[is] a contribution
terumahH8641 →76 times
לַֽיהוָֽה׃to Yahweh
layahwehH3068 →6520 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Ezekiel 45:12The shekel will consist of twenty gerahs. Twenty shekels plus twenty-five shekels plus fifteen shekels will equal one mina.
it leads to
- Leviticus 27:25
Every valuation will be according to the sanctuary shekel, twenty gerahs to the shekel.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Numbers 3:47
you are to collect five shekels for each one, according to the sanctuary shekel of twenty gerahs.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Leviticus 27:25
Through
Matthew 17:24After they had arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma tax came to Peter and asked, “Does your Teacher pay the two drachmas?”
it leads to
- Exodus 38:26
a beka per person, that is, half a shekel, according to the sanctuary shekel, from everyone twenty years of age or older who had crossed over to be numbered, a total of 603,550 men.
- Exodus 38:26
Through
Leviticus 27:25Every valuation will be according to the sanctuary shekel, twenty gerahs to the shekel.
it leads to
- Numbers 18:16
You are to pay the redemption price for a month-old male according to your valuation: five shekels of silver, according to the sanctuary shekel, which is twenty gerahs.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ezekiel 45:12
The shekel will consist of twenty gerahs. Twenty shekels plus twenty-five shekels plus fifteen shekels will equal one mina.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Numbers 18:16
Through
Exodus 38:26a beka per person, that is, half a shekel, according to the sanctuary shekel, from everyone twenty years of age or older who had crossed over to be numbered, a total of 603,550 men.
it leads to
- Numbers 1:46
And all those counted totaled 603,550.
- Exodus 12:37
The Israelites journeyed from Rameses to Succoth with about 600,000 men on foot, besides women and children.
- Numbers 1:46
Through
Numbers 3:47you are to collect five shekels for each one, according to the sanctuary shekel of twenty gerahs.
it leads to
- Leviticus 27:6
Now if the person is from one month to five years of age, then your valuation for the male shall be five shekels of silver, and for the female three shekels of silver.
- Leviticus 27:6
Where this verse is studied
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About Exodus
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 1581: “Silver Sockets—Redemption the Foundation!” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.