SHEIKH or SHAYKH, an Arabic title of respect. Strictly it means a venerable man, of more than 5o years of age. It is specially borne by heads of religious orders, chiefs of tribes and headmen of villages. Every village, however small, every separate quarter of a town, has a sheikh in whom is lodged the executive power of government—a power loosely defined, and of more or less extent according to the personal character and means of the individual who wields it. (For the Sheikh ul-Islam see MUFTI.) SHEKEL, originally a Jewish unit of weight (A of a mina, and of a talent) and afterwards a coin of the same weight (Heb. shakal, to weigh). The Biblical references to shekels must refer to uncoined ingots. In the time of Josephus it seems that the light shekel weighed from 210 to 210.55 grains; the heavy shekel was twice that amount, corresponding to is. 41d. and 2S. 9d. re spectively in English silver. Jewish shekels were first coined by Simon the Hasmonean, probably in 139-138 B.C. These bear in
scriptions in the archaic Hebrew and various emblems, such as the cup or chalice, the lily branch with three flowers, the candle stick, the citron and palm branch and so forth. They never bear the portraits of rulers or figures of animals. A later series of shekels, belonging to the Roman period, are tetradrachms, "which came from the mints of Caesarea and Antioch and were used as blanks on which to impress Jewish types." Hence in Matt. xvi. the temple tax of half a shekel is called a didrachm (2 drams). In 2 Samuel xiv. 26 we read of "shekels of ter the King's weight." The Hebrews divided the shekel into 20 parts, each of which was called a gerah. (See also NUMISMATICS.) See articles in Ency. Bibl. col. 4,442, and Hastings' Dict. of the Bible, ii. 417 seq.; F. W. Madden, Coins of the Jews (1881) ; T. Reinach, Jewish Coins (19o3).