How many times is shekel mentioned in the Bible?
The word shekel appears 43 times in the King James Version, in 34 verses. Counting every form (shekel, shekels), it appears 139 times in 84 verses across 17 of the 66 books. The World English Bible uses shekel 43 times (132 with every form).
Shekel in the King James Version and the World English Bible
Each form of shekel counted in each translation.
| Form | KJV | WEB |
|---|---|---|
| shekel | 43 | 43 |
| shekels | 96 | 89 |
| Total | 139 | 132 |
Which books mention shekel most
Shekel appears in 17 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Numbers has the most (62), then Exodus (19) and Leviticus (14).
Also in: Jeremiah (1), Amos (1).
First and last mention of shekel
My lord, hearken unto me: the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver; what is that betwixt me and thee? bury therefore thy dead.
Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit?
The verse that uses it most is Exodus 30:13, 4 times (tied with Ezekiel 45:12):
This they shall give, every one that passeth among them that are numbered, half a shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary: (a shekel is twenty gerahs:) an half shekel shall be the offering of the LORD.
Where the two translations differ
7 verses match in the KJV but not in the World English Bible, and 2 verses match only in the World English Bible, usually because the other translation chose a different word there.
Judges 17:2: counted in the KJV only
And he said unto his mother, The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from thee, about which thou cursedst, and spakest of also in mine ears, behold, the silver is with me; I took it. And his mother said, Blessed be thou of the LORD, my son.
He said to his mother, “The eleven hundred pieces of silver that were taken from you, about which you uttered a curse, and also spoke it in my ears, behold, the silver is with me. I took it.” His mother said, “May Yahweh bless my son!”
Judges 17:3: counted in the KJV only
And when he had restored the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, his mother said, I had wholly dedicated the silver unto the LORD from my hand for my son, to make a graven image and a molten image: now therefore I will restore it unto thee.
He restored the eleven hundred pieces of silver to his mother, then his mother said, “I most certainly dedicate the silver to Yahweh from my hand for my son, to make a carved image and a molten image. Now therefore I will restore it to you.”
Song of Solomon 8:11: counted in the World English Bible only
Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon; he let out the vineyard unto keepers; every one for the fruit thereof was to bring a thousand pieces of silver.
Solomon had a vineyard at Baal Hamon. He leased out the vineyard to keepers. Each was to bring a thousand shekels of silver for its fruit.
Isaiah 7:23: counted in the World English Bible only
And it shall come to pass in that day, that every place shall be, where there were a thousand vines at a thousand silverlings, it shall even be for briers and thorns.
It will happen in that day that every place where there were a thousand vines at a thousand silver shekels, shall be for briers and thorns.
Verses with shekel on our topic pages
2 verses that use shekel in the World English Bible are in our topic collections.
then the man who lay with her shall give to the lady’s father fifty shekels of silver. She shall be his wife, because he has humbled her. He may not put her away all his days.
On: What Does the Bible Say About Sex Before Marriage? 26 Verses
When I saw among the plunder a beautiful Babylonian robe, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, then I coveted them and took them. Behold, they are hidden in the ground in the middle of my tent, with the silver under it.”
Common questions
How many times is shekel in the Old Testament and the New Testament?
In the King James Version, counting every form, 139 of the 139 uses are in the Old Testament and 0 in the New Testament. Shekel appears in 17 books of the 66 in the King James Version. Numbers has the most (62), then Exodus (19) and Leviticus (14).
Where is shekel first mentioned in the Bible?
The first use in the King James Version is Genesis 23:15: "My lord, hearken unto me: the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver; what is that betwixt me and thee? bury therefore thy dead." The last is Amos 8:5.
More word counts: talent, leprosy, circumcision, rainbow, flood, famine, plague, olive, or all 484 words.
Counted by Bible Says About from the full public-domain text of the King James Version (1769 edition) and the World English Bible. Verse text only: headings and psalm titles are left out. A word is a run of letters: a hyphenated name like Beer-sheba counts as two, and an apostrophe stays inside its word (LORD'S is one). Matching ignores capital letters. Data compiled 2026-10-22.