Shekel in the context of "Tanit"

Thirty pieces of silver was the price for which Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus, according to an account in the Gospel of Matthew 26:15 in the New Testament. Before the Last Supper, Judas is said to have gone to the chief priests and agreed to hand over Jesus in exchange for 30 silver coins and to have attempted to return the money afterwards, filled with remorse.

The Gospel of Matthew claims that the subsequent purchase of the potter's field was fulfilment by Jesus of a prophecy of Zechariah.

The fiscus Iudaicus or fiscus Judaicus (Latin for 'Jewish tax') was a tax imposed on Jews in the Roman Empire after the destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple in AD 70.

The fiscus Iudaicus replaced the traditional half-shekel Temple tax which had been paid annually by Jews for the maintenance of the Temple in Jerusalem. The new tax redirected those funds to the reconstruction of the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus in Rome, which had been destroyed during the Year of the Four Emperors. The redirection of these funds represented a significant humiliation for the Jewish population of the empire. The tax continued even after the Capitoline Temple was rebuilt, contributing to Roman finances and also serving as a deterrent against proselytism and conversion to Judaism.

Bar Kokhba revolt coinage were coins issued by the Judaean rebel state, headed by Simon Bar Kokhba, during the Bar Kokhba revolt against the Roman Empire of 132–135 CE.

During the revolt, large quantities of coins were issued in silver and copper with rebellious inscriptions, all being overstruck over foreign (mostly Roman) coins, when a file was used to remove the designs of the original coins, such as the portrait of the Roman Emperor. The undercoin can clearly be seen on some of the silver coins because they were not filed down so as not to lose the value of the silver. On the bronze coins it is very difficult to see the underlying coin because they were filed down before they were over-struck. In rare instances, the coin cracked when it was overstruck.

Moed (Hebrew: מועד, 'Festivals') is the second Order of the Mishnah, the first written recording of the Oral Torah of the Jewish people (also the Tosefta and Talmud). Of the six orders of the Mishna, Moed is the third shortest. The order of Moed consists of 12 tractates:

1. Shabbat or Shabbath (שבת‎) ("Sabbath") deals with the 39 prohibitions of "work" on the Shabbat. 24 chapters.
2. Eruvin (ערובין) ("Mixtures") deals with the Eruv or Sabbath-bound - a category of constructions/delineations that alter the domains of the Sabbath for carrying and travel. 10 chapters.
3. Pesahim (פסחים) ("Passover Festivals") deals with the prescriptions regarding the Passover and the paschal sacrifice. 10 chapters.
4. Shekalim (שקלים) ("Shekels") deals with the collection of the half-Shekel as well as the expenses and expenditure of the Temple. 8 chapters
5. Yoma (יומא) ("The Day")—also called "Kippurim" or "Yom ha-Kippurim" ("Day of Atonement")—deals with the prescriptions Yom Kippur, especially the ceremony by the Kohen Gadol. 8 chapters.
6. Sukkah (סוכה) ("Booth") deals with the festival of Sukkot (the Feast of Tabernacles) and the Sukkah itself. Also deals with the Four Species (Lulav, Etrog, Hadass, Aravah — Palm branch, Citron, Myrtle, Willow) which are waved on Sukkot. 5 chapters.
7. Beitza (ביצה) ("Egg")—now named after its first word, but originally called Yom Tov ("Holidays")—deals chiefly with the rules to be observed on Yom Tov. 5 chapters.
8. Rosh Hashanah (ראש השנה) ("New Year") deals chiefly with the regulation of the calendar by the new moon, and with the services of the festival of Rosh Hashanah. 4 chapters.
9. Ta'anit (תענית) ("Fasting") deals chiefly with the special fast-days in times of drought or other untoward occurrences. 4 chapters
10. Megillah (מגילה) ("Scroll") contains chiefly regulations and prescriptions regarding the reading of the scroll of Esther at Purim, and the reading of other passages from the Torah and Neviim in the synagogue. 4 chapters.
11. Mo'ed Katan (מועד קטן) ("Little Festival") deals with Chol HaMoed, the intermediate festival days of Pesach and Sukkot. 3 chapters.
12. Hagigah (חגיגה) ("Festival Offering") deals with the Three Pilgrimage Festivals (Passover, Shavuot, Sukkot) and the pilgrimage offering that men were supposed to bring in Jerusalem. 3 chapters.

The Jerusalem Talmud has a Gemara on each of the tractates, while in the Babylonian, only that on Shekalim is missing. However, in most printed editions of the Babylonian Talmud (as well as the Daf Yomi cycle), the Jerusalem Gemara to Shekalim is included.

The Achaemenid Empire issued coins from 520 BC–450 BC to 330 BC. The Persian daric was the first gold coin which, along with a similar silver coin, the siglos (from Ancient Greek: σίγλος, Hebrew: שֶׁקֶל, shékel) represented the first bimetallic monetary standard. It seems that before the Persians issued their own coinage, a continuation of Lydian coinage under Persian rule is likely. Achaemenid coinage includes the official imperial issues (Darics and Sigloi), as well as coins issued by the Achaemenid provincial governors (satraps), such as those stationed in Asia Minor.

The Temple tax (מחצית השקל, lit. 'half shekel') was a tax paid by Israelites and Levites which went towards the upkeep of the Jewish Temple, as reported in the New Testament. Traditionally, Kohanim (Jewish priests) were exempt from the tax.