Charles Ellicott Commentary Genesis 23:16

"And Abraham hearkened unto Ephron. And Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver which he had named in the audience of the children of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, current [money] with the merchant." — Genesis 23:16 (ASV)

Abraham weighed ... current money with the merchant.

Shekel literally means "weight," and money was not coined until long afterwards. In the last clause, by inserting money, our version antedates facts. According to the Hebrew, it was the silver that was current with the merchants. The metal was probably made into small bars, marked by the refiner to indicate their quality. Abraham weighed out to Ephron about 200 ounces of silver in bars of the quality usual in trade.