Ancient Hebrew Units

Biblical and Talmudic units of measurement were used primarily by ancient Israelites and appear frequently within the Hebrew Bible as well as in later rabbinic writings, such as the Mishnah and Talmud. These units of measurement continue to be used in functions regulating Jewish contemporary life. The specificity of some of the units used and which are encompassed under these systems of measurement (whether in linear distance, weight or volume of capacity) have given rise, in some instances, to disputes, owing to the discontinuation of their Hebrew names and their replacement by other names in modern usage.

Note: The listed measurements of this system range from the lowest to highest acceptable halakhic value, in terms of conversion to and from contemporary systems of measurement.

Contemporary unit conversion

While documentation on each unit's relation to another's is plentiful, there is much debate, both within Judaism and in academia, about the exact relationship between measurements in the system and those in other measurement systems. Classical definitions, such as that an ''etzba'' was seven barleycorns laid side by side, or that a ''log'' was equal to six medium-sized eggs, are also open to debate.
Nevertheless, the entire system of measurement bears profound resemblance to the Babylonian and the ancient Egyptian systems, and is currently understood to have likely been derived from some combination of the two.''Jewish Encyclopedia'' Scholars commonly infer the absolute sizes based on the better-known Babylonian units' relations to their contemporary counterparts.

Length and distance

The original measures of length were clearly derived from the human body — the finger, hand, arm, span, foot, and pace — but since these measures differ between individuals, they are reduced to a certain standard for general use. The Israelite system thus used divisions of the digit or fingerbreadth (Hebrew: אצבע, ''etzba''; plural ''etzba'ot''), the palm or handbreadth (Hebrew: טפח, ''tefakh''; plural ''tefakhim''/''tefakhim''), which is equal to four fingerbreadths,''Mishnah with Maimonides' Commentary'', (ed. Yosef Qafih), vol. 1, Mossad Harav Kook: Jerusalem 1963, ''Kila'im'' 6:6 . 127(Hebrew) the span (Hebrew: זרת, ), the ell or cubit (Hebrew: אמה, ''Amah'', plural ''Amot''),''Mishnah with Maimonides' Commentary'', (ed. Yosef Qafih), vol. 3, Mossad Harav Kook: Jerusalem 1967, ''Middot'' 3:1 . 291(Hebrew) the mile (Hebrew: מיל, ''mil''; plural ''milim''), and the parsa (Hebrew: פרסה, ''parasa''). The latter two are loan words into the Hebrew language, and borrowed measurements - the Latin ''mille'', and Iranian '' parasang'', respectively; both were units of itinerant distance, and thus varied according to terrain and stride length, and, in the case of the ''parasang'', also on the speed of travel.

The Israelite measurements were related as follows:
* 1 palm andbreadth() = 4 digit (''etzba'ot'') Tosefta (''Kelim Baba-Metsia'' 6:12–13)
* 1 span () = 3 palms ()
* 1 ell ubit() = 2 spans (), or 6 palms andbreadthsref name="ToseftaKelim" />
* 1 mil () = 2000 ells ubits()
* 1 parasang () = 4 mils ()

Discrepancies of ell

The biblical ''ell'' is closely related to the cubit, but two different factors are given in the Bible; Ezekiel's measurements imply that the ell was equal to 1 cubit plus 1 palm (''Tefah''), while elsewhere in the Bible, the ell is equated with 1 cubit exactly. Ezekiel's ell, by which he gave measurements in his guided vision through a future Jerusalem Temple, is thus one sixth larger than the standard ell, for which an explanation seems to be suggested by the Book of Chronicles; the Chronicler writes that Solomon's Temple was built according to "cubits following the first measure", suggesting that over the course of time the original ell was supplanted by a smaller one. The Egyptians also used two different ells, one of which — the ''royal'' ell — was a sixth larger than the common ell; this ''royal'' measurement was the earlier of the two in Egyptian use, and the one which the Pyramids of the 3rd and 4th Dynasties seem to be measured in integer multiples of.'' Peake's commentary on the Bible''

The smaller of the Egyptian ells measured , but the standard Babylonian ell, cast in stone on one of the statues of King Gudea, was 49.5 cm (19.49 in), and the larger Egyptian ell was between 52.5 and 52.8 cm (20.67 and 20.79 in). The Books of Samuel portray the Temple as having a Phoenician architect, and in Phoenicia it was the Babylonian ell which was used to measure the size of parts of ships. Thus scholars are uncertain whether the standard Biblical ell would have been 49.5 or 52.5 cm (19.49 or 20.67 in), but are fairly certain that it was one of these two figures. From these figures for the size of a Biblical ell, that of the basic unit — the finger-breadth (''Etzba'') — can be calculated to be either 2.1 or 2.2 cm (0.83 or 0.87 in); Rav Avraham Chaim Naeh approximates at 2 cm (0.79 in); Talmudic scholar Chazon Ish at 2.38 cm (0.94 in). The ''mile'' (''Mil'') is thus about 963 or 1146 meters (3160 or 3760 ft) — approximately six or seven tenths of a mile, and significantly shorter than the modern statute or land mile of 5280 ft or 1760 yd (approximately 1.6 km).

The precise width of the ''etzba'' (finger) has been a subject of controversy among halakhic authorities. The best known are those of the Rav Chayim No'eh and Chazon Ish.

See also Rabbi Chaim P. Benish's "Midos V'Shiurei Torah" where he brings an alternative view in understanding the ''Rambam'' and therefore suggests that the , according to the ''Rambam'', is 0.748–0.756 in (1.90–1.92 cm). This affects the other measurements in the following ways: 2.99–3.02 in (7.59–7.67 cm); 8.98–9.07 in (22.81–23.03 cm); 17.95–18.14 in (45.59–46.08 cm).

Alternatively, according to some early authorities a is two instead of three.

Talmudic additions

To the somewhat simple system of distance, the Talmud adds a few more units, namely the double palm (Hebrew: חסיט, ), the pace (Hebrew: פסיעה, ), the cord (Hebrew: חבל, ), the stadium (Hebrew: ריס, ), the day's journey (Hebrew:דרך יום, ), and an undetermined quantity named the (Hebrew: גרמידא). The ''stadium'' appears to have been adopted from Persia, while the ''double palm'' seems to have been derived from the Greek .
The relationship between four of these ''additional'' units and the earlier system is as follows:
* 1 double palm () = 2 palms ()
* 1 pace () = 1 ell ()
* 1 stadium () = 1600 palms ( mile) (). Others say that 1 stadium was equivalent to 470–500 cubits.
* 1 day's journey (''derekh yom'') = 10 parasangs (''parasa'')

The other two additional units are more ambiguous. The ''garmida'' is mentioned repeatedly but without its size being indicated; it is even sometimes treated as an area, and as a volume. The ''cord'' is given two different definitions; in the Mishnah it is 50 ells, but in the Gemara it is only 4 ells.

Area

The Israelite system of measuring area was fairly informal; the biblical text merely measures areas by describing how much land could be sown with a certain volume measure of seed, for example the amount of land able to be sown with 2 ''seah''s of barley. The closest thing to a formal area unit was the yoke ( ) (sometimes translated as ''acre''), which referred to the amount of land that a pair of yoked oxen could plough in a single day; in Mesopotamia the standard estimate for this was 6,480 square cubits, which is roughly equal to a third of an acre.

"Searah" () - (pl. ) hair, square of a

"Adashah" () - (pl. ) lentils, of a

"Geris" () - (pl. ) hulled fava bean, a circle with a diameter of about 2 centimeters (0.8 in)

"Amah al amah" () - (pl. ) square cubit 0.232 to 0.328 m² (2.50-3.53 ft²)

"Beit rova" () - (pl. ) space of 10.5 cubits x 10.5 cubits for sowing of a ''kav''. Area varies between 24 to 34.5 m² (258–372 ft²)

"Beit seah" () - (pl. ) space for sowing a 576 to 829.5 m² (689-992 yd²)

"Beit kor" () - (pl. ) space for sowing a of seed, or what is 30 in volume; the area needed is appx. 1.73 to 2.48 hectares (4.27-6.15 acres), or about 23,000 m² in area.

Volume

The Israelite system of powder/liquid volume measurements corresponds exactly with the Babylonian system. Unlike the Egyptian system, which has units for multiples of 1, 10, 20, 40, 80, and 160 of the base unit, the Babylonian system is founded on multiples of 6 and 10, namely units of 1, 12, 24, 60, 72 (60 plus 12), 120, and 720. The basic unit was the ''mina'', which was defined as 1 sixtieth of a ''maris'', which itself was the quantity of water equal in weight to a light royal talent; the ''maris'' was thus equal to about 30.3 litres, and hence the ''mina'' is equal to about 0.505 litres. In the Israelite system, the term ''log'' is used in place of the Babylonian ''mina'' but the measurement is otherwise the same.

Although they both use the ''log'' as the basic unit, the Israelites differentiated their systems of volume measure between dry and liquid states.

Dry measure

For dry measurement, or what is simply a measure of capacity rather than of weight, the smallest unit of which is the ''beitza'' (egg), followed by the ''log'' (לג), (followed by the ''kab'' (קב), followed by the ''se'ah'' (סאה), followed by the ''ephah'' (איפה), followed by the ''lethek'' (לתך), and finally by the ''kor'' (כור). The ''lethek'' is mentioned only once in the Masoretic Text, and the Septuagint translates it by the Greek term ''nebeloinou'', meaning ''wine-skin''. These measurements were related as follows:
* 1½ ''eggs'' = Quarter of a ''log'', s.v. הלכות חלה (also used for a cup of wine)
* 6 ''eggs'' (''beitza'') = 1 ''log''
* 4 ''log'' (24 eggs) = 1 ''kab''
* 6 ''kab'' (144 eggs) = 1 ''se'ah''
* 3 ''se'ah'' (432 eggs) = 1 ''ephah''
* 5 ''ephah'' = 1 ''lethek''
* 2 ''lethek'' = 1 ''kor''

The '' kezayit'' is, by different sources, considered equal to a ''beitza'', of a ''beitza'', or not directly related to the other units of volume.

The '' omer'', which the Torah mentions as being equal to one-tenth of an ''ephah'', is equivalent to the capacity of 43.2 eggs, or what is also known as one-tenth of three ''seahs''. In dry weight, the ''omer'' weighed between 1.560 kg to 1.770 kg, being the quantity of flour required to separate therefrom the dough offering. In the Torah, it is the Priestly Code which refers to the ''omer'', rather than to the ''se'ah'' or ''kab''; textual scholars view the Priestly Code as one of the later sources of the Torah, dating from a period when Egypt and Assyria had much more direct influence over Israel.

According to Ezekiel 45:11 both the ''eipha'' and the ''bath'' were one tenth an '' homer'' (חומר ''HOMeR'', not be confused with the ''omer''). Boadt notes the word ''homer'' comes from the Hebrew for an "ass." "It is one ass-load."

Liquid measure

For liquid measure, the main units were the '' Log'', ''Hin'', and ''Bath'', related as follows:
* 1 ''Log'' = 4 ''Revi'ith'' (, )
* 1 ''Hin'' = 12 ''Logs''
* 1 ''Bath'' = 6 ''Hin''

The ''Bath'', equal to 72 ''Logs'', is thus the liquid equivalent of the ''Ephah'', also equal to 72 ''Logs''. The liquid equivalent of the ''omer'', which appears without a special name, only being described as the tenth part of a bath, is as much of an awkward fit as the ''omer'' itself, and is only mentioned by Ezekiel and the Priestly Code; scholars attribute the same explanation to it as with the ''Omer'' — that it arose as a result of decimalisation. The Omer is mentioned as a tenth of an ephah in Exodus 16:36, before the Priestly code.

According to Herbert G. May, chief editor of two classic Bible-related reference books, the bath may be archaeologically determined to have been about 22 liters (5.75 US gal) from a study of jar remains marked 'bath' and 'royal bath' from Tell Beit Mirsim.
Based on this, a Revi'ith would measure (approx.) 76 ml. Or 2.7 fluid oz.

Talmudic additions

In Talmudic times many more measures of capacity were used, mostly of foreign origin, especially from Persia and Greece, which had both held dominance over Judea by the time the Talmud came to be created. The definitions for many of these are disputed. Those that were certain (disputed) fractions of the ''Kab'' include, in increasing order of size, (עוכלא), (תומן), and (קפיזא). Those that were larger, in increasing order of size, included the ''modius'' (מודיא), ''geriwa'' (geriwa), ''garab'' (גרב). Of unidentified size were the (אדרב), the (כונא), and the (קמץ); the latter two of these were said to equate to a ''handful''. Some dry measures were used for liquids as well, e.g. ''se'eh''. The ''kortov'' (קורטוב) was used for very small amounts (1/64 of a ''log'').

Mass and money

The Babylonian system, which the Israelites followed, measured weight with units of the ''talent'', ''mina'', '' shekel'' (Hebrew: שקל), and '' giru'', related to one another as follows:
* 1 ''shekel'' = 24 ''giru''
* 1 ''mina'' = 60 ''shekels'' (later 100 zuz)
* 1 ''talent'' = 60 ''mina''

In the Israelite system, the ratio of the ''giru'' to the ''shekel'' was altered, and the ''talent'', ''mina'', and ''giru'', later went by the names ''kikkar'' (ככר), ''litra'', and ''gerah'' (גרה), respectively; ''litra'' being the Greek form of the Latin ''libra'', meaning ''pound''.
The Israelite system was thus as follows:

* 1 ''shekel'' = 20 ''gerah''
* 1 ''litra'' = 60 ''shekels''
* 1 '' kikkar'' = 60 ''litra''

There were, however, different versions of the ''talent''/''kikkar'' in use; a ''royal'' and a ''common'' version. In addition, each of these forms had a heavy and a light version, with the heavy version being exactly twice the weight of the lighter form; the light ''royal'' talent was often represented in the form of a duck, while the heavy ''royal'' talent often took the form of a lion. The ''mina'' for the heavy ''royal'' talent weighed 1.01 kilograms (2.23 lbs), while that for the heavy ''common'' talent weighed only 984 grams (2.17 lbs); accordingly, the heavy ''common'' shekel would be about 15.87 grams (0.56 oz). According to Josephus, it was the heavy ''common'' talent, and its ''mina'' and ''shekel'', that was the normal measure of weight in Syria and Judea; Josephus also mentions an additional unit – the ''bekah'' – which was exactly half a shekel.

Gradually, the system was reformed, perhaps under the influence of Egypt, so that a ''mina'' was worth only 50 shekels rather than 60; to achieve this, the shekel remained the same weight, while the weight of the standard ''mina'' was reduced. Moses mandated that the standard coinage would be in single shekels of silver; thus each shekel coin would constitute about 15.86 grams (0.51 troy ounces) of pure silver. In Judea, the Biblical shekel was initially worth about 3⅓ denarii, but over time the measurement had enlarged so that it would be worth exactly four denarii.

*"Pruta" (pl. ) - a copper coin (Hebrew פרוטה prutah) - 22 mg (0.34 troy grains)
*"Issar" (pl. ) - a Roman copper coin ( As) - 177 mg (2.732 troy grains)
*"Pundion" (pl. ) - a Roman copper coin ( Dupondius) - 349 mg (5.4 troy grains)
*"Ma'ah" (pl. = "money") - a silver coin, (Hebrew ''gerah'') - 699 mg (10.8 troy grains)
:In Hebrew it is called a Gerah (as in twenty gerah is a Shekel, Exodus); (litt. grain; also gram derives from it).

*"Dinar" (pl. ''Dinarim'') - a Roman silver coin ( Denarius (pl. '' denarii'', (Hebrew '' Zuz'', pl. ''zuzim'') - 4.26 grams (0.137 ozt)
:In Hebrew, a silver Dinar was called a "Zuz" to avoid confusion with the gold Dinar.

*"Shekel" (pl. ''shkalim'') - a Jewish silver coin ( Shekel, (Hebrew שקל) - 14 g
:Moses instituted it as the standard coinage. From 8.39 to 15.86 grams (0.27-0.51 troy ounces) of pure silver (Chazon Ish).
*:
*" Pim" - a weight discovered by archaeologists in the form of the pim weight. About 7.6 grams, or shekel.
*"Sela" (pl. ''selo'im'') - a silver coin ( tetradrachm) - 17.1 grams (0.55 ozt) (a ''sela'' equals two shekel).

* Dinar (pl. or ) - a Roman gold coin ( Aureus) (Hebrew "Dinerei zahav") - 7.99 grams (0.257 ozt) of gold (106.25 grams or 3.416 ozt in silver)
* "Minah" (pl. ) - a silver coin - 424.87 grams (13.66 ozt) - equivalent with ''maneh'' which is 100 '' zuzim''.
* "Kikar" (pl. ''kikarim'') - as a gold weight, equivalent to a talent of gold - 3000 shekel

Time

Year

The Hebrew calendar is a lunar calendar synchronised with the seasons by intercalation, i.e. a lunisolar calendar. There are thus 12 ordinary months plus an extra month that is added in (intercalated) every few years. Some months vary in length by a day, as well. The months originally had very descriptive names, such as ''Ziv'' (meaning ''light'') and ''Ethanim'' (meaning ''strong'', perhaps in the sense of ''strong rain'' - i.e. '' monsoon''), with Canaanite origins, but after the Babylonian captivity, the names were changed to the ones used by the Babylonians. With the Babylonian naming, the intercalary month has no special name of its own, and is merely referred to as '' Adar I'', the following month being ''Adar''/'' Adar II'' (in the Babylonian calendar, it was ''Adar II'' that was considered to be the intercalary month).

Week

The Israelite month was clearly broken up into weeks, since the Genesis creation (and biblical references to Shabbat) describe a seven-day week. The seven-day cycle is not seen as a cycle in nature and is rather a custom biblically originating from .

The modern Hebrew calendar follows a seven-day weekly cycle, which runs concurrently but independently of the monthly and annual cycles. The origin of Hebrew seven day week and the Sabbath, as well as the true meaning of the name, is uncertain. The earliest Biblical passages which mention it (Exodus 20:10 and 24:21; Deut. 5:14; Amos 8:5) presuppose its previous existence, and analysis of all the references to it in the canon makes it plain that its observance was neither general nor altogether spontaneous in either pre-exilic or post-exilic Israel. It was probably originally connected in some manner with the cult of the moon, as indeed is suggested by the frequent mention of Sabbath and New-Moon festivals in the same sentence (Isa. 1:13; Amos 8:5; H Kings 6:23).

The names for the days of the week are simply the day number within the week. In Hebrew, these names may be abbreviated using the numerical value of the Hebrew letters, for example "Day 1, or Yom Rishon".

Day

In addition to "tomorrow" () and "yesterday" (), the Israelite vocabulary also contained a distinct word for ''two days ago'' (). ''Maḥaratayim'' ("the day after tomorrow"), is a dual form of , literally "two tomorrows". In the Bible, the day is divided up vaguely, with descriptions such as ''midnight'', and ''half-night''.) Nevertheless, it is clear that the day was considered to start at dusk.

By Talmudic times, the Babylonian system of dividing up the day (from sunset to sunrise, and sunrise to sunset), into hours (Hebrew: שעה, ''sha'ah''), parts (Hebrew: חלק, '' heleq'', plural ''halaqim''), and moments (Hebrew: רגע, ''rega'', plural ''rega'im''), had been adopted; the relationship of these units was:

* 1 part (''heleq'') = 76 moments (''rega'im'') (each moment, ''rega'', is 0.04386 of a second; 22.8 ''rega'im'' is 1 second)
* 1 hour (''sha'ah'') = 1080 parts (''halaqim'') (each ''heleq'' is 3⅓ seconds)
* 1 day = 24 hours (''sha'ah'')

To complicate matters, Halakha, speaking of the relative hour, states that there are always 12 hours between the break of dawn and sunset, so these measurements are averages. For example, in the summer, a day time hour is much longer than a night time hour.

See also

* Bible code, a purported set of secret messages encoded within the Torah.
* Chol HaMoed, the intermediate days during Passover and Sukkot.
* Chronology of the Bible
* Counting of the Omer
* Gematria, Jewish system of assigning numerical value to a word or phrase.
* Hebrew calendar
* Hebrew numerals
* Jewish and Israeli holidays 2000–2050
* Lag BaOmer, 33rd day of counting the ''Omer''.
* Notarikon, a method of deriving a word by using each of its initial letters.
* Sephirot, the 10 attributes/emanations found in Kabbalah.
* Significance of numbers in Judaism
* Weekly Torah portion, division of the Torah into 54 portions.

Notes

References

Citations

Bibliography

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Further reading

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External links

TorahCalc: Biblical and Talmudic Measurement Converter



Summary table of Biblical & Talmudic units of measurement by Ronnie Figdor

Oxford Biblical Studies Online: Weights and Measures

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