Lexical Summary
shaqal: To weigh, to measure, to balance
Original Word:שָׁקַל
Part of Speech:Verb
Transliteration:shaqal
Pronunciation:shah-KAHL
Phonetic Spelling:(shaw-kal')
KJV: pay, receive(-r), spend, X throughly, weigh
NASB:weighed, pay, weigh, actually weighed, receive, spend, weighs
Word Origin:[a primitive root]
1. to suspend or poise (especially in trade)
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
pay, receive, spend, weigh
A primitive root; to suspend or poise (especially in trade) -- pay, receive(-r), spend, X throughly, weigh.
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origina prim. root
Definitionto weigh
NASB Translationactually weighed (1), pay (4), receive (1), spend (1), weigh (3), weighed (10), weighs (1).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
(Late Hebrew
id.; Arabic
be heavy,
heaviness, weight,
load, Old Aramaic
weigh, Aramaic ,
(weigh), pay,
shekel, but also (Old Aramaic, Zinjirli) , Lzb
382;
lift up; Assyrian
ša‡@âlu,
weigh,
ši‡lu (apparently) = ; Ethiopic
hand up, weigh; Phoenician
weight; compare Frä
202, also Greek ( ) Lag
M ii. 357 Lewy
Framdw. 118 f.; — on connection of meanings compare
weigh transitive and intransitive = German
wägen, wiegen, also
heave, heavy, heft (=
weight, obs. or colloq.)); —
Perfect3masculine singular2 Samuel 14:26;Isaiah 40:12;Imperfect3masculine singularExodus 22:16, suffixJob 31:6, etc.;Infinitive absoluteJob 6:2; constructEsther 4:7;Participle activeIsaiah 33:18;2 Samuel 18:12 read perhapspassive , see infra, —
weigh, human subject, accusative of thing2 Samuel 14:26;Isaiah 46:6 ( of scale); figurative, subjectIsaiah 40:12 also (accusative of person)Job 31:6 (both with of scale); compare Infinitive absolute below
;weigh precious metals intrusted to one, personEzra 8:25,Ezra 8:26, accusative of thing omittedEzra 8:29 ( of superior).
weigh out a price (i.e. pay): accusative of silverExodus 22:16 (E),1 Kings 20:39;Zechariah 11:12;Jeremiah 32:10 ( of scale),Isaiah 55:2 (with ,in exchange for); + personJeremiah 32:9;Genesis 23:16 (P); +2 Samuel 18:12 (read perhaps , so We KitKau Bu Buhl),Esther 3:9,Esther 4:7
be weighed:
Perfect3masculine singular , subject of thingEzra 8:33 (passive of QalEzra 8:25f.);Imperfect3masculine singular figurative (+ QalInfinitive absolute),Job 6:2.
be weighted out, as price,Job 28:15.
[] ( Syriac; Biblical Hebrew , ); —
Perfect2masculine singular (WCG 224)Daniel 5:27thou hast been weighed, of scales.
Topical Lexicon
Concrete Monetary TransactionsFrom the patriarchal era onward the verb expresses the decisive moment when silver is placed on the scales to complete a purchase. Abraham “weighed out to Ephron the price”—four hundred shekels of silver—for the cave of Machpelah (Genesis 23:16). Centuries later Jeremiah records the same practice when he redeemed his cousin’s field: “I weighed out the silver to him, seventeen shekels of silver” (Jeremiah 32:9). Between these book-ends the term punctuates Israel’s economic life: bride-price obligations (Exodus 22:17), military ransoms (1 Kings 20:39), compensation for royal protection (2 Samuel 18:12), and the routine collection, transport, and verification of temple funds in the days of Ezra (Ezra 8:25-33). Weighing money, not simply counting it, safeguarded accuracy and honesty in a world without minted coinage.
Integrity and Accountability
Because weighed silver could be verified publicly, the action became a matter of moral transparency. When Ezra entrusted vessels and offerings to the returning exiles, everything was “weighed” before departure and “weighed” again on arrival so that “the total was recorded” (Ezra 8:33-34). The procedure guarded both the donors’ gifts and the carriers’ reputation. By contrast, Haman’s malicious offer to “weigh out ten thousand talents of silver” for the destruction of the Jews (Esther 3:9) demonstrates how the same mechanism could finance wicked schemes. Scripture therefore links honest scales with righteousness and false balances with sin (Proverbs 11:1); the verb underlines this ethical tension.
Personal Valuation and Self-Assessment
Job turns the imagery inward. “Oh that my grief were weighed… it would outweigh the sand of the seas” (Job 6:2-3); later he pleads, “Let Him weigh me in honest scales, and God will know my integrity” (Job 31:6). What is normally done for silver and gold he applies to motives and suffering. The concept prepares the way for prophetic declarations that the Lord Himself “will weigh the mountains in scales” (Isaiah 40:12) and ultimately judge hearts (Proverbs 21:2).
Divine Measurement versus Idolatrous Folly
Isaiah contrasts the incomparable Creator, who effortlessly “weighs the mountains,” with idol-makers who must “weigh out silver on the scales” before a smith can fashion a powerless god (Isaiah 46:6). The same verb unmasking pagan futility also magnifies divine sovereignty.Zechariah 11:12 further exposes the tragic irony when the shepherd’s wages are “weighed out… thirty pieces of silver,” a sum later echoed in the betrayal of Jesus Christ (Matthew 26:15), binding the prophetic past to redemptive fulfillment.
Prophetic and Eschatological Hints
Isaiah 55:2 issues an invitation: “Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy?” The vocabulary of weighing and spending becomes a call to evaluate eternal priorities. Similarly,Isaiah 33:18 envisions the day when scribes who once “weighed” tribute will marvel that oppressive taxation has vanished, prefiguring messianic peace.
Practical Ministry Implications
1. Financial stewardship: The recurrent emphasis on accurate weighing challenges believers to handle resources with scrupulous honesty, whether giving, receiving, or accounting for funds in the local church.
2. Self-examination: Job’s plea to be weighed by God encourages regular spiritual assessment, taking seriously the Lord’s righteous scales rather than human opinion.
3. Gospel proclamation: The contrast between measured silver for idols and the incalculable worth of redemption (1 Peter 1:18-19) sharpens evangelistic messaging—no earthly sum can purchase salvation.
4. Social justice: Since improper weights oppress the vulnerable, advocating for fair economic practices aligns with the character of the God who demands honest scales.
Conclusion
Across twenty-two occurrences the verb paints a picture of tangible and spiritual evaluation. Whether sealing land deeds, funding worship, or exposing sin, the act of weighing reminds readers that every transaction—monetary or moral—takes place before the One who “will bring every deed into judgment” (Ecclesiastes 12:14).
Forms and Transliterations
אֶשְׁקוֹל֙ אשקול וְשָׁקַ֤ל וְשָׁקַל֙ וַיִּשְׁקְל֥וּ וַיִּשְׁקֹ֤ל וָֽאֶשְׁקֲלָה־ וָאֶשְׁקֲלָ֨ה וָאֶשְׁקֹ֥ל וָאֶשְׁקֳלָ֣ה ואשקל ואשקלה ואשקלה־ וישקל וישקלו ושקל יִ֝שָּׁקֵ֗ל יִשְׁקְלֵ֥נִי יִשְׁקֹ֑לוּ יִשְׁקֹ֔ל יִשָּׁקֵ֣ל ישקל ישקלו ישקלני לִ֠שְׁקוֹל לשקול נִשְׁקַ֣ל נשקל שָׁק֣וֹל שֹׁקֵ֔ל שֹׁקֵ֤ל שקול שקל תִּשְׁקְל֡וּ תִּשְׁקֽוֹל׃ תִשְׁקְלוּ־ תשקול׃ תשקלו תשקלו־ ’eš·qō·wl ’ešqōwl eshkOl liš·qō·wl Lishkol lišqōwl niš·qal nishKal nišqal šā·qō·wl šāqōwl shaKol shoKel šō·qêl šōqêl tiš·qə·lū ṯiš·qə·lū- tiš·qō·wl tishkeLu tishKol tišqəlū ṯišqəlū- tišqōwl vaeshkaLah vaeshKol vaeshkoLah vaiyishkeLu vaiyishKol veshaKal wā’ešqălāh wā’ešqălāh- wā’ešqōl wā’ešqolāh wā·’eš·qă·lāh wā·’eš·qă·lāh- wā·’eš·qo·lāh wā·’eš·qōl way·yiš·qə·lū way·yiš·qōl wayyišqəlū wayyišqōl wə·šā·qal wəšāqal yiš·qə·lê·nî yiš·qō·lū yiš·qōl yiš·šā·qêl yishkeLeni yishKol yishKolu yishshaKel yišqəlênî yišqōl yišqōlū yiššāqêl
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