Keluaran 38:24

38:24 All the gold that was used for the work, in all the work of the sanctuary ¹  (namely, ²  the gold of the wave offering) was twenty-nine talents and 730 shekels, ³  according to the sanctuary shekel.

Keluaran 38:26

38:26 one beka per person, that is, a half shekel, ⁴  according to the sanctuary shekel, for everyone who crossed over to those numbered, from twenty years old or older, ⁵  603,550 in all. ⁶ 

[38:24]  ¹ tn These words form the casus pendens, or independent nominative absolute, followed by the apodosis beginning with the vav (ו; see U. Cassuto, Exodus, 469).

[38:24]  ² tn Heb “and it was.”

[38:24]  ³ sn There were 3000 shekels in a talent, and so the total weight here in shekels would be 87,730 shekels of gold. If the sanctuary shekel was 224 grs., then this was about 40,940 oz. troy. This is estimated to be a little over a ton (cf. NCV “over 2,000 pounds”; TEV “a thousand kilogrammes”; CEV “two thousand two hundred nine pounds”; NLT “about 2,200 pounds”), although other widely diverging estimates are also given.

[38:26]  ⁴ sn The weight would be about half an ounce.

[38:26]  ⁵ tn Heb “upward.”

[38:26]  ⁶ tn The phrase “in all” has been supplied.