Exodus 30:15
in Exodus 30In making the offering to the LORD to atone for your lives, the rich shall not give more than a half shekel, nor shall the poor give less.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less, than the half shekel, when they give the offering of Jehovah, to make atonement for your souls.
KJV
The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when they give an offering unto the Lord, to make an atonement for your souls.
⋯
This verse in Exodus 30
Commentary
4 notes on this verseIn Christ and his ordinances rich and poor meet together; the Lord is the Maker, the Lord Christ is the Redeemer of them both, Prov. xxii. The Jews say, "If a man refused to pay this tribute, he was not comprehended in the expiation." 2. this tribute was to be paid as a ransom of the soul, that there might be no plague among them.
This site's exposition
from twenty years old and above
on Exodus 30:14-16
The rich shall not give more and the poor shall not give less, which makes this the one offering in the book with no scale in it, because a ransom is priced by what is redeemed rather than by what the payer holds. Exodus 38:27 follows the money and says where it went, a hundred talents cast into a hundred silver sockets at a talent apiece. The boards of the dwelling place therefore stand in atonement money, and Charles Spurgeon preached that point from these verses in Silver Sockets, Redemption the Foundation.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
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.
The words behind it
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הֶֽעָשִׁ֣יר | heashir | the rich [person] | H6223 → | |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יַרְבֶּ֗ה | yarbeh | he will make much | H7235 → | 227 times |
| וְהַדַּל֙ | vehadal | and the poor [person] | H1800 → | |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יַמְעִ֔יט | yamit | he will make little | H4591 → | 22 times |
| מִֽמַּחֲצִ֖ית | mimachatzit | more than [the] half of | H4276 → | 16 times |
| הַשָּׁ֑קֶל | hashakel | the shekel | H8255 → | 88 times |
| לָתֵת֙ | latet | by paying | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| תְּרוּמַ֣ת | terumat | [the] contribution of | H8641 → | 76 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| לְכַפֵּ֖ר | lekhaper | to make atonement | H3722 → | 102 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| נַפְשֹׁתֵיכֶֽם׃ | nafshoteikhem | selves your | H5315 → | 754 times |
הֶֽעָשִׁ֣ירthe rich [person]
heashirH6223 →
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
יַרְבֶּ֗הhe will make much
yarbehH7235 →227 times
וְהַדַּל֙and the poor [person]
vehadalH1800 →
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יַמְעִ֔יטhe will make little
yamitH4591 →22 times
מִֽמַּחֲצִ֖יתmore than [the] half of
mimachatzitH4276 →16 times
הַשָּׁ֑קֶלthe shekel
hashakelH8255 →88 times
לָתֵת֙by paying
latetH5414 →2011 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
תְּרוּמַ֣ת[the] contribution of
terumatH8641 →76 times
יְהוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
לְכַפֵּ֖רto make atonement
lekhaperH3722 →102 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
נַפְשֹׁתֵיכֶֽם׃selves your
nafshoteikhemH5315 →754 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
Leviticus 17:11For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for your souls upon the altar; for it is the blood that makes atonement…
it leads to
- Hebrews 9:22
According to the law, in fact, nearly everything must be purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
- 1 John 1:7
But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.
- Romans 3:25
God presented Him as the atoning sacrifice through faith in His blood, in order to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance He had passed over the sins committed beforehand.
- Revelation 1:5
and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has released us from our sins by…
- Mark 14:24
He said to them, “This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.
- Hebrews 9:22
Through
Ephesians 6:9And masters, do the same for your slaves. Give up your use of threats, because you know that He who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism…
it leads to
- Colossians 3:25
Whoever does wrong will be repaid for his wrong, and there is no favoritism.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Acts 10:34
Then Peter began to speak: “I now truly understand that God does not show favoritism,
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Colossians 3:25
Through
Job 34:19who is not partial to princes and does not favor rich over poor? For they are all the work of His hands.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 10:17
For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, mighty, and awesome God, showing no partiality and accepting no bribe.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 10:17
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Exodus
This page draws on Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon 1581: Silver Sockets, Redemption the Foundation; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 1581: “Silver Sockets—Redemption the Foundation!” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.