The unit of currency in modern-day Israel has the same name as the unit of currency used in Israel in ancient time. What is it?

The name of Israel's modern currency reaches back thousands of years, connecting the country's present to its ancient past. Long before coins were invented, this term referred not to a piece of money but to a specific unit of weight, typically for silver or gold. The name itself is derived from the ancient Hebrew root word "shaqal," which means "to weigh." This system of weighing precious metals for transactions was a fundamental part of commerce throughout the ancient Near East.

References to this unit of weight appear in ancient texts, including the Hebrew Bible. One of the most famous examples is Abraham purchasing a burial plot for his wife Sarah, a transaction completed by weighing out "four hundred shekels of silver." Over time, the practice evolved, and rulers began minting actual coins with a standardized weight and value, which also carried this historic name.

When the modern state of Israel was established, its currency was initially the Israeli pound. In 1980, the government decided to replace the pound with a currency that had deeper historical and cultural roots, reviving the ancient name. Due to hyperinflation, that currency was itself replaced in 1985 by the New Israeli Shekel, which remains the official currency of Israel today, linking modern commerce to an ancient system of value.