What Is bekan (Biblical Hebrew)?
A bekan is an old Hebrew unit of weight that appears in the Bible. It means half of a shekel. People in ancient Israel used it to measure silver and other precious metals.
Today, the bekan is not used in daily life. It is important for Bible study, history, and archaeology because it helps us understand prices and offerings in ancient times.
Definition
A bekan is a small unit of weight from the Bible. It belongs to the Hebrew system of weights.
- Main idea One bekan equals one half of a shekel.
- Type of unit It is a unit of mass, not of length or time.
- What it measured Mostly silver, gold, and temple offerings.
Scholars do not fully agree on the exact weight in grams. Most place it in this range.
- 1 shekel is often estimated around 11 to 14 grams.
- So 1 bekan is about 5.5 to 7 grams, around the weight of a small coin.
History / Origin
The word bekan comes from the Hebrew word often written as beka or bekaʿ. It appears in the Hebrew Bible, especially in laws about offerings for the holy tent and later the temple.
In ancient Israel, people did not have paper money. They used weighed pieces of metal. Silver was very common. To keep things fair, they used standard weights like gerah, shekel, bekan, mina, and talent.
The bekan was important when people paid a set tax or gift to support the holy place. Each person was told to give a bekan of silver, which is half a shekel, using the special temple standard called the shekel of the sanctuary.
Over time, the old Hebrew weight system stopped being used in daily trade. Later empires introduced new coins and measures. However, the bekan stayed known through Bible texts and through weights found by archaeologists.
Symbol & Abbreviation
In ancient times, there was no single written symbol for the bekan like modern units such as g for gram.
Today.
- There is no official international symbol.
- Bible and history books often just write the word beka or bekan in full.
- Some scholars may use short forms such as bk in notes or charts, but this is not standard everywhere.
When you write about this unit, it is clearest to use the full word bekan and then explain that it is half a shekel.
Current Use Around the World
The bekan is not used in modern shops, science, or normal money systems. Its use today is mostly in study and research.
- Bible study Teachers and students use the bekan to understand offerings and taxes mentioned in the Old Testament.
- History and archaeology Experts use this unit when they study ancient weights, coins, and trade in the region of Israel and its neighbors.
- Language and culture It appears in discussions about Hebrew words and about how people lived in Bible times.
Outside of these areas, people almost never use the bekan. Modern countries use units like grams, kilograms, and ounces instead.
Example Conversions
Because we do not know the exact ancient standard, every conversion is an estimate. Many scholars work with a shekel around 11 grams, so a bekan is about 5.5 grams. Others use a slightly higher value. Below are simple examples using common estimates.
| Bekan | Shekel | Approx grams | Approx ounces |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 bekan | 0.5 shekel | about 5.5 g to 7 g | about 0.19 oz to 0.25 oz |
| 2 bekan | 1 shekel | about 11 g to 14 g | about 0.39 oz to 0.49 oz |
| 10 bekan | 5 shekels | about 55 g to 70 g | about 1.94 oz to 2.47 oz |
To compare, a modern metal coin like a United States quarter weighs about 5.7 grams. So one bekan is close to the weight of one small coin.
Related Units
The bekan is part of a larger Hebrew weight system. Here are the main related units.
- Gerah A very small unit. Many scholars take 20 gerah as 1 shekel. So 10 gerah is 1 bekan.
- Shekel The basic unit of weight and also the name of a coin. 1 bekan equals 0.5 shekel.
- Mina A larger unit. Often taken as 60 shekels. That would be 120 bekan.
- Talent A very large unit used for big amounts of metal. Often taken as 60 minas, so many thousands of bekan.
These units help us read ancient lists of silver and gold and see how big or small those amounts really were.
FAQs
Is a bekan money or weight
A bekan is mainly a unit of weight. People used that weight to measure silver or gold for payments, offerings, and taxes. So it is linked to money but is not a coin by itself.
How many grams are in one bekan
We do not know the exact number. Most experts say 1 bekan is about 5.5 to 7 grams. This is based on ancient weights that have been found and on written records.
How is a bekan related to a shekel
The bekan is defined as half of a shekel. So.
- 1 bekan equals 0.5 shekel.
- 2 bekan equal 1 shekel.
Is the bekan still used today
No. The bekan is not used in modern trade or science. It survives only in Bible translations, commentaries, and in academic work on ancient Israel and nearby cultures.
Why is understanding the bekan important
Knowing what a bekan is helps readers understand how much people were asked to give in the Bible. It also helps historians compare ancient prices and wages with modern values in a careful way.
Can I convert bekans directly to modern money
No simple rule can do this. A bekan is a unit of weight, not value. To guess money value, you must choose a metal, such as silver, find its price today, and then multiply by the weight of the bekan. This can only give a rough idea, not an exact match to ancient buying power.
