1626. gerah
Lexical Summary
gerah: gerahs

Original Word: גֵּרָה
Part of Speech: Noun Feminine
Transliteration: gerah
Pronunciation: geh-raw'
Phonetic Spelling: (gay-raw')
KJV: gerah
NASB: gerahs
Word Origin: [from H1641 (גָּרַר - drag them away) (as in H1625 (גֵּרָה - cud))]

1. (properly) (like H1620) a kernel (round as if scraped), i.e. a gerah or small weight (and coin)

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
gerah

From garar (as in gerah); properly, (like gargar) a kernel (round as if scraped), i.e. A gerah or small weight (and coin) -- gerah.

see HEBREW garar

see HEBREW gerah

see HEBREW gargar

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
from garar
Definition
a gerah (one-twentieth of a shekel)
NASB Translation
gerahs (5).

Brown-Driver-Briggs
II. גֵּרָה noun feminine a weight, 20th part of shekel, gerah (Assyrian girû, ZehnpfBAS i. 506) — גֵּרָה Exodus 30:13 4t. — Only in definition of שֶׁקֶל, with number עֶשְׂרִים Exodus 30:13; Leviticus 27:25; Numbers 3:47; Numbers 18:16; Ezekiel 45:12.

Topical Lexicon
Monetary Scale in Israelite Covenant Life

The gerah functioned as the smallest unit on the biblical scale of weight-currency. Twenty gerahs made one shekel, fifty shekels equaled one mina, and sixty minas formed a talent. Because the gerah stood at the bottom of that hierarchy, every larger religious or civil payment could be reduced to— and checked against— this base measure. Its modest size enabled even the poorest Israelite to participate in offerings required by God, preserving equity within the covenant community.

Gerah in the Census Offering (Exodus 30:13)

“This is what everyone who is numbered must give: half a shekel, according to the sanctuary shekel, twenty gerahs to the shekel” (Exodus 30:13). Each man, rich or poor, paid an identical half-shekel (ten gerahs) at the census. The gerah therefore became the means by which national atonement money was standardized. No partiality was allowed; the fixed valuation underscored that every life bore equal worth before the Lord, and every life required the same ransom.

Gerah and Valuation of Persons (Leviticus 27:25)

When Israelites vowed persons, animals, or property to the sanctuary, valuations had to be reconciled “according to the sanctuary shekel, twenty gerahs to the shekel” (Leviticus 27:25). By tethering all vows to the gerah standard, God safeguarded against emotional excess or fraudulent devaluation. The practice fostered integrity in worship: a promise offered to God had to be redeemed at the precise rate He prescribed.

Gerah in Redemption of the Firstborn (Numbers 3:47; Numbers 18:16)

For every firstborn male beyond the Levitical substitution, five shekels— one hundred gerahs— were paid to the priests. “Take five shekels for each one, according to the sanctuary shekel” (Numbers 3:47; cf. Numbers 18:16). By attaching redemption to the gerah, the Lord highlighted two realities: first, that every firstborn was His rightful possession from the Passover onward; second, that redemption was attainable and clearly specified. The quantified price anticipated the ultimate, incalculable redemption to be offered by Messiah.

Prophetic Emphasis on Just Weights (Ezekiel 45:12)

Ezekiel envisioned a restored worship economy in which “the shekel will weigh twenty gerahs” (Ezekiel 45:12). In a context denouncing extortionate leaders, the prophet’s reiteration of the gerah-shekel ratio called Israel back to covenantal justice. Right worship required right measurement; fraudulent scales desecrated the sanctuary as surely as foreign idols.

Symbolic and Ministry Implications

1. Precision Reflects Holiness: The gerah testifies that God’s holiness embraces detail. Small things matter because He is exact in both judgment and mercy.
2. Equality at the Crossroads of Wealth: By fixing offerings at multiples of gerahs, Scripture levels social disparities. Worship that honors God never privileges affluence.
3. Anticipation of Ultimate Redemption: Every gerah paid for census, vow, or firstborn pointed beyond itself to the blood price of Jesus Christ— a payment of infinite worth yet offered to all.
4. Ethical Stewardship: Believers today, though not bound to ancient weights, still serve a God who detests dishonest scales (Proverbs 11:1). The gerah challenges churches, businesses, and households to cultivate transparent financial practices.

Faithfulness in Stewardship

The biblical economy taught that even the smallest unit belongs to God. Modern disciples apply the same principle to cents, minutes, and talents. Faithfulness in “little” proves faithfulness in much (Luke 16:10). The gerah thus instructs contemporary ministry to budget, record, and distribute resources with integrity that mirrors the Sanctuary standard.

Christological Foreshadowing

While a gerah could ransom a man numerically, only Christ ransoms eternally. The fixed redemption price in Numbers confronts the sinner with a debt he can calculate but cannot pay spiritually. That very tension readies the heart for “the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or spot” (1 Peter 1:19). In the economy of grace, the smallest coin becomes a witness to the greatest gift.

Forms and Transliterations
גֵּרָ֑ה גֵּרָ֖ה גֵּרָה֙ גרה gê·rāh geRah gêrāh
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Interlinear GreekInterlinear HebrewStrong's NumbersEnglishman's Greek ConcordanceEnglishman's Hebrew ConcordanceParallel Texts
Englishman's Concordance
Exodus 30:13
HEB: הַקֹּ֑דֶשׁ עֶשְׂרִ֤ים גֵּרָה֙ הַשֶּׁ֔קֶל מַחֲצִ֣ית
NAS: is twenty gerahs), half
KJV: [is] twenty gerahs:) an half
INT: of the sanctuary is twenty gerah shekel half

Leviticus 27:25
HEB: הַקֹּ֑דֶשׁ עֶשְׂרִ֥ים גֵּרָ֖ה יִהְיֶ֥ה הַשָּֽׁקֶל׃
NAS: The shekel shall be twenty gerahs.
KJV: twenty gerahs shall be the shekel.
INT: of the sanctuary shall be twenty gerahs become the shekel

Numbers 3:47
HEB: תִּקָּ֔ח עֶשְׂרִ֥ים גֵּרָ֖ה הַשָּֽׁקֶל׃
NAS: (the shekel is twenty gerahs),
KJV: [is] twenty gerahs:)
INT: shall take is twenty gerah shekel

Numbers 18:16
HEB: הַקֹּ֑דֶשׁ עֶשְׂרִ֥ים גֵּרָ֖ה הֽוּא׃
NAS: which is twenty gerahs.
KJV: which [is] twenty gerahs.
INT: of the sanctuary is twenty gerahs which

Ezekiel 45:12
HEB: וְהַשֶּׁ֖קֶל עֶשְׂרִ֣ים גֵּרָ֑ה עֶשְׂרִ֨ים שְׁקָלִ֜ים
NAS: shall be twenty gerahs; twenty
KJV: [shall be] twenty gerahs: twenty
INT: the shekel shall be twenty gerahs twenty shekels

5 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 1626
5 Occurrences


gê·rāh — 5 Occ.

1625
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