10222. A shekel of twenty gerahs. That this signifies all things of good, is evident from the signification of “twenty,” as likewise being all things, and the remains of good, as also what is holy. (That it denotes all things and hence what is full, see n. 9641; also the remains of good, n. 2280; and what is holy, n. 4759, 7842, 7903.) For when said of the Lord, “twenty” signifies what is His own, which is what is Holy itself (n. 4176); which shows why a shekel contained twenty gerahs or oboli, and why it is called a “shekel of holiness” in this and other passages (as Leviticus 27:3; Numbers 3:47, 50; 7:13, (Numbers 7:13) 19, 25, 31, 37, 49, 55, 61, 67, 73; 18:16). That the shekel was a weight both of silver and of gold, see Genesis 24:22; Exodus 38:24; Ezekiel 4:10; 45:12.

4176. These twenty years have I served thee in thy house. That this signifies His own, is evident from the signification of “twenty,” as being the good of remains (see n. 2280), and which when predicated of the Lord denotes that which He acquired to Himself (n. 1906), thus His own; and from the signification of “serving,” as being when predicated of the Lord His own power (n. 3975, 3977).