The Two-Shekel Weight from the Western Wall Plaza
A First Temple-period limestone weight of exactly 23 grams with a clumsily copied shekel sign
Found 2020 — Barak Monnickendam-Givon and Tehillah Lieberman (Israel Antiquities Authority)
Where Western Wall Plaza excavations, Old City, Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) (Israel (Old City))
Dates from 8th–7th century BCE · Iron Age IIB–C · Kings of Judah
Now at Israel Antiquities Authority collections
How The Two-Shekel Weight from the Western Wall Plaza was found
Recovered by wet-sifting soil from excavations beneath the Western Wall Plaza (the Beit Strauss area of the Western Wall Tunnels). Announced October 2020.
What it is
A round, domed limestone weight weighing 23 grams, twice the Judean shekel of about 11.5 grams. On top is incised the shekel symbol, borrowed from an Egyptian hieratic sign and shaped like a Greek gamma, with two strokes for 'two'. The sign is drawn wrongly, triangular rather than rounded, so the carver evidently copied a form he did not fully know, yet the mass is precisely correct.
Why it matters for the Bible
Weights like this were the everyday tools of honest trade the Torah demands, and this one came from the heart of the city near the Temple. Its accurate mass and flawed symbol show a local craftsman working to a standard set by the state. The shekel weights of Judah are how we know what the Bible's silver amounts actually weighed.
The Hebrew word: SHEH-kel
שֶׁקֶל
שֶׁקֶל is pronounced SHEH-kel and means shekel, a unit of weight (about 11.5 g) before it was a coin (Strong's H8255).
Places
- Jerusalem — יְרוּשָׁלַיִם (ye-roo-shah-LAH-yim) — foundation of peace
Events
Trade and taxation in First Temple Jerusalem
The Two-Shekel Weight from the Western Wall Plaza in Scripture
Genesis 23:15 First mention of shekel in Scripture.
Leviticus 19:36 'Just balances, just weights'; a weight of exactly 23 grams is what that command looked like in practice.
Proverbs 16:11 'A just weight and balance are YHVH's; all the weights of the bag are His work.'
Questions people ask
What is The Two-Shekel Weight from the Western Wall Plaza?
A round, domed limestone weight weighing 23 grams, twice the Judean shekel of about 11.5 grams. On top is incised the shekel symbol, borrowed from an Egyptian hieratic sign and shaped like a Greek gamma, with two strokes for 'two'. The sign is drawn wrongly, triangular rather than rounded, so the carver evidently copied a form he did not fully know, yet the mass is precisely correct.
When was The Two-Shekel Weight from the Western Wall Plaza discovered?
It was found in 2020 by Barak Monnickendam-Givon and Tehillah Lieberman (Israel Antiquities Authority), at Western Wall Plaza excavations, Old City, Yerushalayim (Jerusalem).
Where is The Two-Shekel Weight from the Western Wall Plaza today?
Israel Antiquities Authority collections.
Which Bible verses does The Two-Shekel Weight from the Western Wall Plaza relate to?
Genesis 23:15, Leviticus 19:36, Proverbs 16:11.
Related discoveries
- בֶּקַעThe 'Beka' Weight from the Western Wall FoundationsA First Temple-period stone weight inscribed with the biblical half-shekel unit, in mirror writing
- שֶׁקֶלTyrian Shekel (Temple Tax Coin)The silver coin required for the half-shekel Temple tax — and the likely 'thirty pieces of silver'
- הַר הַבַּיִתHerodian Western Wall and Temple Mount PlatformThe retaining walls of Herod's expanded Temple enclosure
- הַר הַבַּיִתRoman Theater under Wilson's ArchAn unfinished 200-seat odeon built against the Western Wall after the Temple's fall
Sources
- Times of Israel, 'Weight, weight: Western wall dig uncovers flubbed 2,700-year-old 2-shekel stone' (Oct 2020)
- Algemeiner, 'First Temple Period Two Shekel Weight Discovered in Jerusalem's Old City' (Oct 2020)
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