Gerah

Obverse of a Judean silver Yehud coin from the Persian era (.58 gram), with falcon or eagle and Aramaic inscription "יהד" "Yehud" (Judaea). Denomination is a ma'ah

A gerah Hebrew "גרה" is an ancient Hebrew unit of weight and currency. One gerah is one-twentieth of a shekel. A shekel being 180 barleycorns or 60 carob divided by 20 = 3 carob. This is 0.568 grams.

A gerah is in Aramaic a ma'ah "מעה" (pl. ma'ot "מעות" which means "money"). It was originally a fifth of a Denarius/Zuz as seen in Exodus ("20 gerah is a shekel"), then became a sixth of a denar/Zuz, such as the Yehud coins which came in two denominations, approximately .58 gram as a ma'ah and approximately .29 gram as a half ma'ah (chatzi ma'ah), and (.58 X 6 = 3.48) which is about the weight of a Zuz/Denarius based on a 14 gram Shekel.

The Jerusalem Talmud Shekalim in the Mishnah, debates if a "kalbon" which was added when giving annually a half shekel to the Temple in Jerusalem, if it was a "ma'ah" or a "chatzi ma'ah" (half ma'ah).

See also

• Biblical and Talmudic units of measurement
• List of historical currencies
• Yehud coinage
• Zuz
• Shekel

References

Exodus 30:13 Book of Numbers 3:47

This Middle Eastern history-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.v · Categories: Talmud Currency unit stubs Middle Eastern history stubs Wikimedia Foundation. 2010. Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую GST Computer Systems Greatest Hits, Vol. 3 (Johnny Cash album) Look at other dictionaries: gerah — GERÁH, gerahi, s.m. (Turcism înv.) Chirurg. – Din tc. cerrăh. Trimis de gall, 13.09.2007. Sursa: DEX 98  GERÁH s. v. chirurg. Trimis de siveco, 13.09.2007. Sursa: Sinonime  geráh s. m., pl. geráhi …   Dicționar Român Gerah — Ge rah, n. [Heb. g?rah, lit., a bean.] (Jewish Antiq.) A small coin and weight; 1 20th of a shekel. [1913 Webster] Note: The silver gerah is supposed to have been worth about three cents; the gold about fifty four cents; the weight equivalent to… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English Gerah — Gerah, alte hebräische Münze, so v.w. Agorah …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon gerah — [gē′rə] n. [Heb gera, lit., a bean] an ancient Hebrew coin and weight equal to 1/ 20 of a shekel …   English World dictionary Gerah — ma ah de Judea de 0,58 gr de peso, con un halcón o un águila e inscripción en arameo יהד Yehud (Judea) Gerah (del hebreo grano גרה ) es una antigua unidad de peso de la que se servían los hebreos para la fabricación de moneda. Correspondía a 16… …   Wikipedia Español gerah — noun Etymology: Hebrew gērāh Date: 1530 an ancient Hebrew unit of weight equal to 1/20 shekel …   New Collegiate Dictionary gerah — /gee reuh/, n. an ancient Hebrew weight and coin, equal to 1/20 of a shekel. [1525 35; < Heb gerah < Akkadian giru] * * * …   Universalium gerah — ge•rah [[t]ˈgi rə[/t]] n. num an ancient Hebrew weight and coin, equal to 1/20 of a shekel • Etymology: 1525–35; < Heb gērāh < Akkadian girū …   From formal English to slang gerah — noun an ancient Hebrew unit of weight and currency equal to one twentieth of a shekel …   Wiktionary Gerah —    A bean, probably of the carob tree, the smallest weight, and also the smallest piece of money, among the Hebrews, equal to the twentieth part of a shekel (Ex. 30:13; Lev. 27:25; Num. 3:47). This word came into use in the same way as our word… …   Easton's Bible Dictionary 18+ © Academic, 2000-2024 Contact us: Technical Support, Advertising Dictionaries export, created on PHP, Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, MODx. Mark and share Search through all dictionaries Translate… Search Internet Share the article and excerpts Direct link … Do a right-click on the link above and select “Copy Link”