Exodus 30: 13-16) to collect a half-shekel tax, the shekel being 20
gerah of the shekel of the sanctuary, at the time of each census. During the time of Moses there were no coins, so we understand this to mean the weight of half a shekel, according to the standards set by the sanctuary. Subsequently, it is suggested that the half-shekel was paid annually (
II Kings 12 5-17 and
Nehemiah 10:32-33). In the
Book of Nehemiah, it was referred to as a “third-shekel” but scholars generally believe that this was either an error of transcription or a reference to Persian weight standards, commonly used in coins of the day. The Temple tax is also mentioned in