1. Numbers 3:47 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

What is the significance of five shekels as redemption price?

Numbers 3:47 (ESV)

47 you shall take five shekels per head; you shall take them according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel of twenty gerahs),

This was the standard price of a slave in Egypt and Mesopotamia.1 By God’s stipulating this amount as the redemption price, Israel is reminded of their redemption from slavery in Egypt.