Biblical and Talmudic units of measurement were used primarily by ancient

Israelites The Israelites (; , , ) were a group of Semitic-speaking tribes in the ancient Near East who, during the Iron Age, inhabited a part of Canaan. The earliest recorded evidence of a people by the name of Israel appears in the Merneptah Stele o ...

and appear frequently within the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' rabbinic writings, such as the

Mishnah The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb ''shanah'' , or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Tor ...

and

Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the ce ...

. 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 An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

, about the exact relationship between measurements in the system and those in other measurement systems. Classical definitions, such as that an ''etzba'' was seven

barley Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley p ...

corns 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 ''The Jewish Encyclopedia: A Descriptive Record of the History, Religion, Literature, and Customs of the Jewish People from the Earliest Times to the Present Day'' is an English-language encyclopedia containing over 15,000 articles on th ...

'' 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 The cubit is an ancient unit of length based on the distance from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger. It was primarily associated with the Sumerians, Egyptians, and Israelites. The term ''cubit'' is found in the Bible regarding ...

(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 The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a British imperial unit and United States customary unit of distance; both are based on the older English unit of length equal to 5,280 Engli ...

(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 Iranian may refer to: * Iran, a sovereign state * Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran * Iranian lan ...

'' 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 The Tosefta ( Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: תוספתא "supplement, addition") is a compilation of the Jewish oral law from the late 2nd century, the period of the Mishnah. Overview In many ways, the Tosefta acts as a supplement to the Mishnah ( ...

(''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

, 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 Book of Chronicles ( he, דִּבְרֵי־הַיָּמִים ) is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Chronicles) in the Christian Old Testament. Chronicles is the final book of the Hebrew Bible, concluding the third se ...

; 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

Pyramid A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilate ...

s 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 The Book of Samuel (, ''Sefer Shmuel'') is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Samuel) in the Old Testament. The book is part of the narrative history of Ancient Israel called the Deuteronomistic history, a series of books ( Jo ...

portray the Temple as having a

Phoenicia Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their his ...

n 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

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

it is 50 ells, but in the

Gemara The Gemara (also transliterated Gemarah, or in Yiddish Gemo(r)re; from Aramaic , from the Semitic root ג-מ-ר ''gamar'', to finish or complete) is the component of the Talmud comprising rabbinical analysis of and commentary on the Mishnah ...

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 Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the ...

the standard estimate for this was 6,480 square cubits, which is roughly equal to a third of an

acre The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial and US customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one chain by one furlong (66 by 660 feet), which is exactly equal to 10 square chains, of a square mile, 4,840 square ...

. "Searah" () - (pl. )

hair Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and fi ...

, 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 In Euclidean geometry, a square is a regular quadrilateral, which means that it has four equal sides and four equal angles (90- degree angles, π/2 radian angles, or right angles). It can also be defined as a rectangle with two equal-length ad ...

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 The Masoretic Text (MT or 𝕸; he, נֻסָּח הַמָּסוֹרָה, Nūssāḥ Hammāsōrā, lit. 'Text of the Tradition') is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) in Rabbinic Judaism. ...

, and the

Septuagint The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond t ...

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 The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the ...

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 The Priestly Code (in Hebrew ''Torat Kohanim'', תורת כהנים) is the name given, by academia,The book of Leviticus: composition and reception - Page 55 Rolf Rendtorff, Robert A. Kugler, Sarah Smith Bartel - 2003 "Research agrees that its r ...

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 Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. According to Ezekiel 45:11 both the ''eipha'' and the ''bath'' were one tenth an ''

homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

'' (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 Judea or Judaea ( or ; from he, יהודה, Standard ''Yəhūda'', Tiberian ''Yehūḏā''; el, Ἰουδαία, ; la, Iūdaea) is an ancient, historic, Biblical Hebrew, contemporaneous Latin, and the modern-day name of the mountainous so ...

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 A gerah () is an ancient Hebrew unit of weight and currency, which, according to the Torah (''Exodus'' 30:13, ''Leviticus'' 27:25, ''Numbers'' 3:47, 18:16), was equivalent to of a standard "sacred" shekel. A gerah is known in Aramaic, and usual ...

'' * 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 Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for '' The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly ...

, it was the heavy ''common'' talent, and its ''mina'' and ''shekel'', that was the normal measure of weight in

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

and

; 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 Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu ( Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pr ...

mandated that the standard coinage would be in single shekels of

silver Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...

; 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 The denarius (, dēnāriī ) was the standard Roman silver coin from its introduction in the Second Punic War to the reign of Gordian III (AD 238–244), when it was gradually replaced by the antoninianus. It continued to be minted in very ...

, but over time the measurement had enlarged so that it would be worth exactly four denarii. *"Pruta" (pl. ) - a

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pink ...

coin (Hebrew פרוטה

prutah Prutah (Hebrew: פרוטה) is a Hebrew term, possibly derived from Aramaic. It refers to a small denomination coin. History Antiquity The prutah was an ancient copper Jewish coin with low value. A loaf of bread in ancient times was worth about ...

) - 22 mg (0.34 troy grains) *"Issar" (pl. ) - a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

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

coin, (Hebrew ''

'') - 699 mg (10.8 troy grains) :In Hebrew it is called a

Gerah A gerah () is an ancient Hebrew unit of weight and currency, which, according to the Torah (''Exodus'' 30:13, ''Leviticus'' 27:25, ''Numbers'' 3:47, 18:16), was equivalent to of a standard "sacred" shekel. A gerah is known in Aramaic, and usual ...

(as in twenty gerah is a Shekel,

Exodus Exodus or the Exodus may refer to: Religion * Book of Exodus, second book of the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible * The Exodus, the biblical story of the migration of the ancient Israelites from Egypt into Canaan Historical events * E ...

); (litt.

grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit ( caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legum ...

; also gram derives from it). *"Dinar" (pl. ''Dinarim'') - a Roman silver coin (

Denarius The denarius (, dēnāriī ) was the standard Roman silver coin from its introduction in the Second Punic War to the reign of Gordian III (AD 238–244), when it was gradually replaced by the antoninianus. It continued to be minted in very ...

(pl. ''

'', (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 The gold dinar ( ar, ﺩﻳﻨﺎﺭ ذهبي) is an Islamic medieval gold coin first issued in AH 77 (696–697 CE) by Caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan. The weight of the dinar is 1 mithqal (). The word ''dinar'' comes from the Lat ...

. *"Shekel" (pl. ''shkalim'') - a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

silver coin ( Shekel, (Hebrew שקל) - 14 g :

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 Pim weights were polished stones about 15 mm (5/8 inch) diameter, equal to about two-thirds of a Hebrew shekel. Many specimens have been found since their initial discovery early in the 20th century, and each one weighs about 7.6 grams, compa ...

. 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 The Hebrew calendar ( he, הַלּוּחַ הָעִבְרִי, translit=HaLuah HaIvri), also called the Jewish calendar, is a lunisolar calendar used today for Jewish religious observance, and as an official calendar of the state of Israel ...

is a

lunar calendar A lunar calendar is a calendar based on the monthly cycles of the Moon's phases ( synodic months, lunations), in contrast to solar calendars, whose annual cycles are based only directly on the solar year. The most commonly used calendar, t ...

synchronised with the seasons by intercalation, i.e. a

lunisolar calendar A lunisolar calendar is a calendar in many cultures, combining lunar calendars and solar calendars. The date of Lunisolar calendars therefore indicates both the Moon phase and the time of the solar year, that is the position of the Sun in ...

. 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 A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscil ...

''), with

Canaan Canaan (; Phoenician: 𐤊𐤍𐤏𐤍 – ; he, כְּנַעַן – , in pausa – ; grc-bib, Χανααν – ;The current scholarly edition of the Greek Old Testament spells the word without any accents, cf. Septuaginta : id est Vetus T ...

ite origins, but after the

Babylonian captivity The Babylonian captivity or Babylonian exile is the period in Jewish history during which a large number of Judeans from the ancient Kingdom of Judah were captives in Babylon, the capital city of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, following their defeat ...

, 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 Shabbat (, , or ; he, שַׁבָּת, Šabbāṯ, , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical stori ...

) 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 In Abrahamic religions, the Sabbath () or Shabbat (from Hebrew ) is a day set aside for rest and worship. According to the Book of Exodus, the Sabbath is a day of rest on the seventh day, commanded by God to be kept as a holy day of rest, as ...

, 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 ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical commandm ...

, speaking of the relative hour, states that there are always 12 hours between the break of

dawn Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the appearance of indirect sunlight being scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc has reached 18° below the observer's ...

and sunset, so these measurements are averages. For example, in the summer, a day time hour is much longer than a night time hour.

Notes

References

Citations

Bibliography

* *.

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
{{DEFAULTSORT:Biblical And Talmudic Units Of Measurement

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

Hebrew Bible topics Torah Talmud Jewish law Systems of units Religion in ancient Israel and Judah Ancient Israel and Judah

Contemporary unit conversion

Length and distance

Discrepancies of ell

Talmudic additions

Area

Volume

Dry measure

Liquid measure

Talmudic additions

Mass and money

Time

Year

Week

Day

See also

Notes

References

Citations

Bibliography

Further reading

External links