The Enigma of the Shekel Weights of the Judean Kingdom
Inscribed stone and bronze shekel weights are a distinctive feature of Late Iron II Judah where they were used to weigh pieces of silver in monetary transactions. But a curious circumstance has always plagued their interpretation. The weights themselves are arranged in a system of 1,2,4,8,12,16,24,...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Scholars Press
1996
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| In: |
The Biblical archaeologist
Year: 1996, Volume: 59, Issue: 2, Pages: 122-125 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (JSTOR) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Parallel Edition: | Non-electronic
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| Summary: | Inscribed stone and bronze shekel weights are a distinctive feature of Late Iron II Judah where they were used to weigh pieces of silver in monetary transactions. But a curious circumstance has always plagued their interpretation. The weights themselves are arranged in a system of 1,2,4,8,12,16,24, and 40 shekels, but the hieratic numerals inscribed on them are 1,2,5,10,15,20,30, and 50. Another curiosity has never before been noticed: Why does the system of weights employ base eight when people in Judah counted by units of ten or six? Yigal Ronen can solve both enigmas. |
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| Contains: | Enthalten in: The Biblical archaeologist
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.2307/3210515 |