The Bible contains many references to weights and measures that were used in ancient times. While we use different standard systems today, like the metric system and imperial system, it can be helpful to understand the biblical units in terms of our modern equivalents. This gives us a better sense of the quantities and dimensions described in the Bible.
Length
Cubit
The cubit was a standard unit of length in the ancient Near East, including ancient Israel. It was based on the length of a man’s forearm. There were several cubit measurements, but the two most common were the royal cubit and the standard cubit.
The royal cubit was approximately 20.4 inches or 52 centimeters. This was likely the cubit referenced in Ezekiel 40:5 when measuring the temple: “And behold, there was a wall all around the outside of the temple area, and the length of the measuring reed in the man’s hand was six cubits, each being a cubit and a handbreadth in length.” (ESV)
The standard cubit was around 17.5 inches or 44 centimeters. For example, this was the unit used to describe the dimensions of Noah’s ark in Genesis 6:15: “This is how you are to make it: the length of the ark 300 cubits, its breadth 50 cubits, and its height 30 cubits.” (ESV)
Span
The span or handbreadth was one-half of a cubit, around 9 inches or 22 centimeters. This was the smallest unit of length used. Exodus 28:16 refers to using a span to measure parts of the priestly garments: “It shall be square and doubled, a span its length and a span its breadth.” (ESV)
Stadium
The stadium (plural stadia) originated as a Greek unit of length. There were several variations, but the one adopted by the Romans was about 607 feet or 185 meters. This is the stadium likely referred to in the New Testament, such as Luke 24:13 describing the walk to Emmaus: “That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem.” (ESV) Seven miles is approximately equivalent to 11 stadia.
Sabbath day’s journey
This was the distance one was permitted to travel on the Sabbath under Jewish law. It was defined as 2,000 cubits, which is roughly half a kilometer or 0.3 miles. Acts 1:12 mentions this distance: “Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away.” (ESV)
Area
Acre
The acre originated as an English unit of land area. The modern acre is defined as 43,560 square feet, or about 4,047 square meters. This is close to the estimated size of the ancient Israelite acre, which was derived from the area that a pair of oxen could plow in a day.
In the Old Testament, the acre (Hebrew: tsemed) was used to describe areas of land, like in Isaiah 5:10: “For ten acres of vineyard shall yield but one bath, and a homer of seed shall yield but an ephah.” (ESV)
Homer
The homer was the largest unit of dry capacity in ancient Israel. Estimates for its equivalent volume range from 200 to 500 US gallons, or 750-1900 liters. It was used in reference to grains, flour, or liquids like wine or oil.
An example is Exodus 16:36: “(An omer is the tenth part of an ephah.)” (ESV) Scholars believe one homer contained roughly 10 ephahs or 10 omers.
Liquid Volumes
Bath
The bath was a liquid measure equal to about 22 liters or 5.8 US gallons. It is mentioned in Isaiah 5:10 in reference to the yield of vineyards per acre. 1 Kings 7:26 states the temple’s Sea of cast metal held 2,000 baths:
“It was a handbreadth thick, and its brim was made like the brim of a cup, like the flower of a lily. It held two thousand baths.” (ESV)
Hin
The hin was about one-sixth of a bath, around 3.7 liters or 1 US gallon. It is referenced in Exodus 29:40 regarding quantities of flour, wine, and oil for offerings:
“And with the first lamb a tenth measure of fine flour mingled with a fourth of a hin of beaten oil, and a fourth of a hin of wine for a drink offering.” (ESV)
Log
The log was one-twelfth of a hin, or about 0.3 liters or one-third of a quart. Leviticus 14:10 prescribes its use in temple cleansing rituals:
“And on the eighth day he shall take two male lambs without blemish, and one ewe lamb a year old without blemish, and a grain offering of three tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, and one log of oil.” (ESV)
Dry Volume
Cor
The cor was a dry measure equal to approximately 390 liters or 440 quarts. It was used for items like grain or flour. One example is in 1 Kings 4:22:
“Solomon’s provision for one day was thirty cors of fine flour and sixty cors of meal.” (ESV)
Ephah
The ephah was about one-tenth of a cor, or around 22 liters or 20 dry quarts. It was referenced frequently for grain offerings like in Leviticus 23:13:
“And the grain offering with it shall be two tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, a food offering to the Lord with a pleasing aroma, and the drink offering with it shall be of wine, a fourth of a hin.” (ESV)
Omer
The omer was one-tenth of an ephah, approximately 2 liters or 2 dry quarts. Exodus 16:16 mentions this measure in reference to gathering manna:
“This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Gather of it, each one of you, as much as he can eat. You shall each take an omer, according to the number of the persons that each of you has in his tent.’” (ESV)
Seah
The seah was one-third of an ephah, about 7 liters or 4 dry quarts. This is seen in 2 Kings 7:1:
“Then Elisha said, “Hear the word of the Lord: thus says the Lord, Tomorrow about this time a seah of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, at the gate of Samaria.”” (ESV)
Weights
Talent
The talent was the largest unit of weight, equivalent to about 75 pounds or 34 kilograms. There are numerous references to talents of metals like gold and silver, including 1 Kings 20:39:
“As the king passed, he cried to the king and said, “Your servant went out into the midst of the battle, and behold, a soldier turned and brought a man to me and said, ‘Guard this man; if by any means he is missing, your life shall be for his life, or else you shall pay a talent of silver.’” (ESV)
Shekel
The shekel was the most common unit of weight, originally equivalent to 11 grams or about 0.4 ounces. Exodus 38:29 mentions a half-shekel offering:
“The bronze from the offering was 70 talents and 2,400 shekels.” (ESV)
Based on these conversions, one talent would contain 3,000 shekels.
Gerah
The gerah was one-twentieth of a shekel, or about 0.6 grams. Exodus 30:13 prescribes using gerahs to calculate the sanctuary shekel:
“Each one who is numbered in the census shall give this: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs), half a shekel as an offering to the Lord.” (ESV)
Pim
The pim was two-thirds of a shekel or 7.6 grams. This term is uniquely found in 1 Samuel 13:21:
“…and the charge was a pim for the plowshares and the mattocks, and a third of a shekel for sharpening the axes and for setting the goads.” (ESV)
Beka
The beka was half a shekel, around 5.7 grams. Exodus 38:26 records its use for the temple tax:
“A beka a head (that is, half a shekel, by the shekel of the sanctuary), for everyone who was listed in the records, from twenty years old and upward, for 603,550 men.” (ESV)
Money
Shekel
As mentioned above, the shekel was initially a unit of weight. By the first century AD, coins called shekels were used as currency. Luke 15:8-9 refers to a woman having ten silver coins, translated as ten drachmas. Drachma was the Greek coin similar in weight to the Jewish silver shekel.
Talent
The talent also came to be used as a unit of money, likely because talents of precious metals served as currency before official coins. For example, Matthew 18:24 references a man owing ten thousand talents – a huge sum of money.
Denarius
The denarius was a Roman silver coin that took its name from the Latin word for “containing ten.” It was equal to the daily wage for a common laborer as referenced in the New Testament, like in Matthew 20:2:
“After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.” (ESV)
Drachma
The drachma was a Greek coin containing about one-fifth of an ounce of silver. In the Romans provincial system, it was equivalent to the denarius. Luke 15:8-9 contains a reference to ten drachmas.
Mite
The mite (lepton in Greek) was the smallest and least valuable coin in circulation in ancient Israel. It took 128 mites to equal a denarius. The widow’s offering of two small coins in Mark 12:42 was referring to two mites.
Other Measurements
A few other measurements are mentioned occasionally in the Bible, though their precise equivalents are difficult to determine:
- Finger (thickness) – Jeremiah 52:21
- Handbreadth – Exodus 25:25
- Reed (for measuring) – Ezekiel 40:5
- Rod (for scourging) – 2 Corinthians 11:25
Understanding the original units and dimensions used in the Bible provides added depth when we read Scripture. While not always exact, we can get a general sense of the quantities involved when these ancient measurements are converted to modern equivalents. This information allows us to visualize what was being described and gain insight into the biblical world.