Keluaran 30:24

30:24 and twelve and a half pounds of cassia, all weighed ¹  according to the sanctuary shekel, and four quarts ²  of olive oil.

Keluaran 38:24

38:24 All the gold that was used for the work, in all the work of the sanctuary ³  (namely, ⁴  the gold of the wave offering) was twenty-nine talents and 730 shekels, ⁵  according to the sanctuary shekel.

Keluaran 38:26

38:26 one beka per person, that is, a half shekel, ⁶  according to the sanctuary shekel, for everyone who crossed over to those numbered, from twenty years old or older, ⁷  603,550 in all. ⁸ 

Imamat 5:15

5:15 “When a person commits a trespass ⁹  and sins by straying unintentionally ¹⁰  from the regulations about the Lord’s holy things, ¹¹  then he must bring his penalty for guilt ¹²  to the Lord, a flawless ram from the flock, convertible into silver shekels according to the standard of the sanctuary shekel, ¹³  for a guilt offering. ¹⁴ 

¹ tn The words “all weighed” are added for clarity in English.

² tn Or “a hin.” A hin of oil is estimated at around one gallon (J. Durham, Exodus [WBC], 3:406).

³ tn These words form the casus pendens, or independent nominative absolute, followed by the apodosis beginning with the vav (ו; see U. Cassuto, Exodus, 469).

⁴ tn Heb “and it was.”

⁵ sn There were 3000 shekels in a talent, and so the total weight here in shekels would be 87,730 shekels of gold. If the sanctuary shekel was 224 grs., then this was about 40,940 oz. troy. This is estimated to be a little over a ton (cf. NCV “over 2,000 pounds”; TEV “a thousand kilogrammes”; CEV “two thousand two hundred nine pounds”; NLT “about 2,200 pounds”), although other widely diverging estimates are also given.

⁶ sn The weight would be about half an ounce.

⁷ tn Heb “upward.”

⁸ tn The phrase “in all” has been supplied.

⁹ tn Heb “trespasses a trespass” (verb and direct object from the same Hebrew root, מַעַל, ma’al); cf. NIV “commits a violation.” The word refers to some kind of overstepping of the boundary between that which is common (i.e., available for common use by common people) and that which is holy (i.e., to be used only for holy purposes because it has been consecrated to the Lord, see further below). See the note on Lev 10:10.

¹⁰ tn See Lev 4:2 above for a note on “straying.”

¹¹ sn Heb “from the holy things of the Lord.” The Hebrew expression here has the same structure as Lev 4:2, “from any of the commandments of the Lord.” The latter introduces the sin offering regulations and the former the guilt offering regulations. The sin offering deals with violations of “any of the commandments,” whereas the guilt offering focuses specifically on violations of regulations regarding “holy things” (i.e., things that have been consecrated to the Lord; see the full discussion in J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:320-27).

¹² tn Here the word for “guilt” (אָשָׁם, ’asham) refers to the “penalty” for incurring guilt, the so-called consequential use of אָשָׁם (’asham; see J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:303).

¹³ tn Heb “in your valuation, silver of shekels, in the shekel of the sanctuary.” The translation offered here suggests that, instead of a ram, the guilt offering could be presented in the form of money (see, e.g., NRSV; J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:326-27). Others still maintain the view that it refers to the value of the ram that was offered (see, e.g., NIV “of the proper value in silver, according to the sanctuary shekel”; also NAB, NLT; J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 72-73, 81).

sn The sanctuary shekel was about 10 grams (= ca. two fifths of an ounce; J. E. Shepherd, NIDOTTE 4:237-38).

¹⁴ tn The word for “guilt offering” (sometimes translated “reparation offering”) is the same as “guilt” earlier in the verse (rendered there “[penalty for] guilt”). One can tell which is intended only by the context.

sn The primary purpose of the guilt offering was to “atone” (see the note on Lev 1:4 above) for “trespassing” on the Lord’s “holy things” (see later in this verse) or the property of others in the community (Lev 6:1-7 [5:20-26 HT]; 19:20-22; Num 5:5-10). It was closely associated with reconsecration of the Lord’s sacred things or his sacred people (see, e.g., Lev 14:12-18; Num 6:11b-12). Moreover, there was usually an associated reparation made for the trespass, including restitution of that which was violated plus one fifth of its value as a fine (Lev 5:16; 6:5 [5:24 HT]). See R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 1:557-66.