The discovery of a stone weight that is heavier than the amount written on it was recently announced in Jerusalem. The ancient weight was discovered in the northern part of the City of David and is 2700-years-old, dating to the First Temple period. It is 14mm (0.55 in.) in diameter and 12 mm (0.47 in.) high and made of reddish limestone. Engraved on its surface are two parallel lines, indicating it is a two gerah weight (0.944 g or 0.033 oz. in modern measurements). It’s real weight, however, is 3.61 g (0.127 oz.), more than three times its stated weight. Archaeologists believe it is a weight that was used by traders to cheat people. The gerah was a small weight used by the ancient Israelites, and was 1/20th of a shekel (Ex. 30:13). The Bible condemns the use of “unequal weights” in numerous passages. In the time of Moses, God told his people, "You shall not have in your bag two kinds of weights, a large and a small. You shall not have in your house two kinds of measures, a large and a small. A full and fair weight you shall have, a full and fair measure you shall have, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you. For all who do such things, all who act dishonestly, are an abomination to the LORD your God.” (Deut. 25:13-16). Hundreds of years later, in the time of the prophet Micah, God said, “Shall I acquit the man with wicked scales and with a bag of deceitful weights?” (Micah 6:11). The recently discovered weight is evidence of the corruption that was spoken against.
UPDATE: Some have suggested this weight may indeed be an eight-gerah weight, as the symbol for an eight-gerah weight is similar to that of two-gerah weight – two parallel lines that are horizontal instead of vertical. However, most published eight-gerah weights are around 10-20 % heavier than this particular weight, so it is still possible the weight was used fraudulently in the marketplace. (Source: https://coinweek.com/ancient-coins/tempest-over-a-cheaters-weight/)
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