# spices dried plants that people grind into a powder and put in oil or food to give it a nice smell or flavor. See how you translated this in Exodus 25:6. # five hundred shekels ... 250 shekels "500 shekels ... two hundred and fifty shekels." A shekel is about 11 grams. Translators may use units that people know and round numbers: "5.7 kilograms ... 11.4 kilograms" or "six kilograms ... eleven kilograms" # cinnamon ... cane These are sweet spices.