זה יתנו. הֶרְאָה לוֹ כְּמִין מַטְבֵּעַ שֶׁל אֵשׁ וּמִשְׁקָלָהּ מַחֲצִית הַשֶּׁקֶל וְאוֹמֵר לוֹ כָּזֶה יִתְּנוּ (תלמוד ירושלמי שק' א'): זה יתנו THIS SHALL THEY GIVE — He (God) showed him (Moses) a kind of fiery coin the weight of which was half a shekel and said to him, “Like this shall they give” (Midrash Tanchuma, Ki Tisa 9).
העבר על הפקדים. דֶּרֶךְ הַמּוֹנִין מַעֲבִירִין אֶת הַנִּמְנִין זֶה אַחַר זֶה, וְכֵן כֹּל אֲשֶׁר יַעֲבֹר תַּחַת הַשָּׁבֶט (ויקרא כ"ז), וְכֵן תַּעֲבֹרְנָה הַצֹּאן עַל יְדֵי מוֹנֶה (ירמיהו ל"ג): העבר על הפקדים [EVERY ONE] THAT PASSETH AMONG THEM THAT ARE MUSTERED — Scripture uses the expression כל העבר על הפקדים instead of merely saying כל הפקדים because it is the practice of those who count animate beings to make these pass before them one after the other, counting them as they pass. Similar are: (Leviticus 27:32) “whatever passeth (יעבר) under the rod”; (Jeremiah 33:13) “the flock shall pass again (תעברנה) under the hands of him that counteth them”.
מחצית השקל בשקל הקדש. בְּמִשְׁקַל הַשֶּׁקֶל שֶׁקָּצַבְתִּי לְךָ לִשְׁקֹל בּוֹ שִׁקְלֵי הַקֹּדֶשׁ, כְּגוֹן שְׁקָלִים הָאֲמוּרִין בְּפָרָשַׁת עֲרָכִין וּשְׂדֵה אֲחֻזָּה: מחצית השקל בשקל הקדש THE HALF OF A SHEKEL AFTER THE SHEKEL OF HOLINESS – i. e. after the weight of the shekel which I have appointed for you as the standard by which to weigh the shekels used for sacred purposes, as, for instance, those shekels mentioned in the section dealing with estimating things dedicated to the Sanctuary and with “fields of possession” so dedicated (Leviticus ch. 27).
עשרים גרה השקל. עַכְשָׁו פֵּרֵשׁ לְךָ כַּמָּה הוּא: עשרים גרה השקל A SHEKEL IS TWENTY GERAHS — Having stated that it must be a holy shekel it now tells you exactly how much it is.
גרה. לְשׁוֹן מָעָה; וְכֵן בִּשְׁמְוּאֵל (א' ב'), יָבוֹא לְהִשְׁתַּחֲוֹת לוֹ לַאֲגוֹרַת כֶּסֶף וְכִכַּר לָחֶם: גרה in Hebrew denotes what is called a מעה, a coin of small value, in Aramaic. And in this sense we find it in the book of Samuel (I Samuel 2:36) “[every one that is left] shall come and crouch to him for a piece of (אגורת) silver and a morsel of bread” which the Targum renders by למעה דכסף.
עשרים גרה השקל. שֶׁהַשֶּׁקֶל הַשָּׁלֵם אַרְבָּעָה זוּזִים, וְהַזּוּז מִתְּחִלָּתוֹ חָמֵשׁ מָעוֹת, אֶלָּא בָאוּ וְהוֹסִיפוּ עָלָיו שְׁתוּת וְהֶעֱלוּהוּ לְשֵׁשׁ מָעָה כֶסֶף, וּמַחֲצִית הַשֶּׁקֶל הַזֶּה שֶׁאָמַרְתִּי לְךָ יִתְּנוּ תְּרוּמָה לַה' (בכורות ה'): עשרים גרה השקל A SHEKEL IS TWENTY GERAHS — For a full shekel is four zuz and a zuz was originally five meahs (consequently a shekel was twenty meahs or gerahs); only that they increased it (the zuz) by one sixth and so raised its value to six meahs of silver. Now THE HALF OF THIS (the original) SHEKEL of which I have spoken to you SHALL THEY GIVE AS A HEAVE OFFERING TO THE LORD.