Old Testament. Civilized life requires the existence of a measurement system accepted by the members of a community, tribe, nation or country. Therefore, since ancient times, measures were established that served to facilitate the exchange of goods, the measurement of distances, sizes, weights, capacities, etc. When it came to building cities, or other engineering works, such as roads, bridges and canals, the need was even more pressing. At first, measures were used that were guided by well-known elements of natural life. The palm of the hand, a day’s journey, or a grain of seed could serve as basic measuring elements. There are, then, measurements taken by reference to parts of the human body, utensils, average load that an animal could carry, etc. But quite precise calculation methods were also developed.
Archaeologists have found that as early as the time of Ur Nammu, king of Ur, around 2050 BC, p. and m. fixed for commercial businesses. A hymn to a deity of the time denounces those who cheated by substituting weights. The same can be read in the code of †¢Hammurabi. The law of Moses was very careful to demand fairness in this matter of measurements (“You shall not have a large weight and a small weight in your bag, nor will you have a large ephah and a small ephah in your house. You shall have an exact and just weight; an accurate and just ephah.” you will have† ). The prophets denounced those who practiced injustice with p. and m. (†œHear this, you who exploit the needy … saying: When will the month end, and we will sell the wheat … and we will reduce the measure, and we will raise the price, and we will misrepresent the balance…?† ).
Israel, p. and m. they were used with names from Mesopotamia (seah, shekel), others from Egypt (efa, hin) and others from Canaan. However, one must be careful because the measures, despite using the same name in different regions, are not always identical. It is also the case that there were measures that were identified with certain localities. Archaeologists have found, for example, “Carchemish weights”. All this must be taken into account to understand that the equivalences with today’s measurements are not exact. Archeology has been discovering in the Middle East a large number of instruments that were used to measure things: wooden rods, stone rods, containers with marks that indicate measurement, weights, etc. But it has not been possible to identify exactly if the ones found really correspond to the words used in the Scriptures.
much difficulty in establishing the equivalences with today’s measurements, because since the days of the second †¢temple the measurements used in the Bible ceased to be used. The translators preferred to identify them with those used in their time, which was done without much precision.
Lenght measures. These were generally established following the average size of human limbs.
The elbow. The space from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger was equal to one cubit. That is why it is said that King †¢Og’s bed had a length “of nine cubits, and its breadth four cubits, according to a man’s cubit” (Deu 3:11). Scholars have tried to establish equivalencies with the measurements of current systems. In approximate terms, the Israelite cubit was about 44.5 cm. This was the cubit used in the measurements of Solomon’s †¢temple.
The major or real elbow. It was 55.1 cm. The prophet Ezekiel, who writes under the Persian domination, when the use of Mesopotamian measures prevailed, uses this royal cubit (Ez. 40).
Finger. It was the smallest subdivision of the elbow, equivalent to about 1.85 cm. “The pillars” had “a cord twelve cubits” around them, “and four fingers thick, and hollow” (Jer 52:21).
The grey hair. It was an instrument and, also, a measure. It was equal to about six cubits. In Eze 40:5 we read: “…and the measuring reed that the man had in his hand was six cubits† (about 2.7 m).
The span. It was the distance between the tip of the little finger and the tip of the thumb, when the hand was fully opened. It was also equivalent to half a cubit, or about 22.5 cm. Goliath “was six cubits and a span tall” (1Sa 17:4).
The smallest span. The distance covered by four fingers of the hand, taken by the base, or about 7.5 cm. The table in the †tabernacle had †a molding around it, less than a handbreadth wide† (Exo 25:25).
Rope. A cord was used in Israel to measure lengths, when ordering land and buildings. We find several expressions that refer to it, such as hevel that appears in Amo 7:17 (†œ… your land will be divided by lots† ). Another expression is hevel middah, according to Jer 31:39 (“And the measuring line will go out further”). These and other similar usages point to a string used for measuring. Thus, in Ps 16:6 (“The ropes have fallen to me in delightful places, and the inheritance that has fallen to me is beautiful”). Ezekiel has a vision in which a man appears who † œhad a flaxen cord in his hand, and a measuring reed † (Eze 40:3). Zechariah sees the same thing (Zech 2:1).
the league This measure, equivalent to a distance of 5,572 m, is used in Spanish translations for expressions that say in Hebrew kivrat `erez, which means “a short distance”, which could be covered, more or less, in about two hours (Gen 35 :16; 2Ki 5:19).
Long distances were roughly measured by the distance an arrow shot could travel. Thus, Hagar, when his son lacked water, † œwent and sat opposite, at a distance of a bowshot † (Gen 21:16). Longer distances were expressed in terms of the days it took to cover them. Laban “set three days’ journey between himself and Jacob” (Gen 30:36).
Approximate elbow value
1 real cubit or length 55, 1 cm
short elbow 44.5 cm
span greater 22, 5 cm
minor span 7, 4 cm
finger 1, 85cm
volume measurements. For these, patterns were also established with reference to organs of the human body.
The fist. The expression “a fist full of fine flour” (Lev 2:2; Lev 5:12) was actually equivalent to the amount that could be taken with three fingers of the hand.
The handful. There was also the “handful” (“And he will take from it a handful of fine flour”), equivalent to what could fit in the palm of the hand.
way of measuring was using widely known receptacles, as in the case of Elkanah, who brought to the †¢tabernacle some calves, flour †œand a vessel of wine† (1Sa 1:24). Naturally, this type of measurement was not very precise.
the homer. It was equivalent to the load that a donkey could carry. The word †œheaps† , which appears in Num 11:32, is a translation of †œhomer† (†œ…and they gathered quails; the one that least gathered ten heaps† ). †œ…the bato has the tenth part of the homer, and the tenth part of the homer the ephah† (Eze 45:11). About 220 liters.
The chorus. This measure was equal to the homer, but was used for aggregates (“Solomon’s provision for each day was thirty cors of fine flour”).
The bat. It was equal to a tenth of a homer. This measure was used for liquids, especially water, oil and wine (“The thickness of the sea was less than a span… and two thousand baths could fit in it”).
the hin. It was equivalent to one sixth of a bato. It was used to measure water, oil, and wine (“…and his drink offering shall be wine, the fourth part of a hin† ). It was equivalent to about 3.7 liters.
The log. It was equal to one twelfth of a hin. The lump offering to be made by a purified leper included “a log of oil” (Lev 14:10)
the ephah It was the same as the bat. It was used for aggregates, such as wheat, barley, etc. It was divided into ten omeres (“And an omer is the tenth part of an ephah”).
The gomer. The portion that corresponded to each Israelite of the manna that God sent daily was an omer (“… an omer per head† ).
he seah Term that is equivalent to †œmeasure† or †œportion† . It was commonly used in domestic life. According to the rabbis, it was equal to a third of an ephah (“Then Abraham went…and said to him: Take quickly three measures of fine flour…† ). About 7.3 liters.
head According to the rabbis, this measure was equal to one-sixth of a seah (“And there was a great famine in Samaria … so much so that the head of an ass was sold for eighty pieces of silver, and one-fourth of a head of pigeon dung for five pieces of silver† ).
It is possible that some foods were prepared in terms of fixed portions, so when details of them are given, they are spoken of in that sense, without mentioning volume (“Then Abigail took … two hundred loaves, two skins of wine, five stewed sheep, five measures of roasted grain, a hundred bunches of raisins, and two hundred loaves of dried figs, and he loaded them all onto donkeys† ). Archaeologists have been able to estimate the metric equivalents of the measurements mentioned in the OT using found vessels or containers that have markings indicating their capacity.
TA volume measurements, with approximate metric equivalents.
1 log 0.3 liters
cab 1, 2 liters
gomer 2, 2 liters
hin 3, 6 liters
seah 7, 3 liters
ephah, I beat 22 liters
homer 220 liters
surface measurements. The zemed was the area that two oxen could plow in one day. Jonathan and his pageant killed twenty men † œin the space of half an acre of land † (1Sa 14:14). A piece of land was also measured by the number of seeds needed to sow it († œ… your estimate will be according to the sowing of it; a homer of sowing barley will be valued at fifty shekels of silver †).
rectangular areas indicated the measurements of the sides (“… five cubits in length, and five cubits in breadth† ; “And he measured the court, a hundred cubits in length, and a hundred cubits in breadth, it was square† ). For circular areas, it was measured “from edge to edge,” that is, what we now call diameter (“He also made a sea of cast iron, which was ten cubits from edge to edge, entirely round† ).
Measures of weight. Among the Semitic peoples stone weights were used and, exceptionally, metal. The little ones were placed in a bag, and the bag was hung on the scale. The basic measures were the talent, the largest of those used in the Bible, the shekel (shekel=weight) and the gera. “The registered ones of the congregation” brought “one hundred talents and one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five shekels” of silver, “half a shekel per head,” according to Exo 38:25-26. The talent was divided into three thousand shekels. Becá, pim and kesita are also mentioned.
the gera. Originally, this word pointed to a carob seed, as it was used in the form of a coin. “The shekel is twenty geras” (Exo 30:13). Approximate equivalence: 0.57 gr.
Scholarship. The term appears in Gen…