The conversion of various Biblical Weights and Measurements have been a topic of debate since ages and therefore we will cover various Biblical units like Money, Time, Length, Weight, Dry and Liquid Measures.
Learn the Biblical Weights and Measurements
Some of the ancient forms of Biblical Weights and Measurements are ephahs, baths, fingers, spans, homers, cubits and seahs.
It is due to the archaeologists of the globe that have been able to determine their approximate weight and size measurements.
Length Wise Biblical Weights
| Finger | 0.73 inches | 1.85 cm | Jeremiah 52.21 |
| Handbreadth (4 fing.) | 2.92 inches | 7.4 cm | Exodus 25:25 |
| Span | 9 inches | 22.86 cm | Exodus 28:16 |
| Cubit | 18 inches | 45.72 cm | Matthew 6:27 |
| Long Cubit | 21 inches | 53.34 cm | Ezekiel 40:5 |
| Fathom | 6 feet | 1.829 meters | Acts 27:28 |
| Reed (6 long cubits) | 10.5 feet | 3.20 meters | Ezekiel 40:5 |
| Furlong (KJV) | 1/8 mi., 660 ft. | 201.168 meters | Revelation 14:20 |
| Stadion | 607 feet | 185 meters | Luke 24:13 |
| Sabbath day’s journey | 2,000 cubits, | 914.4 meters | Acts 1:12 |
| Day’s journey | 20 miles | 32.187 km | 1 Kings 19:4 |
Biblical Weights
| Gerah (1/20 shekel) | 0.0201 ounce | 0.57 grams | Ezekiel 45:12 |
| Beka (1/2 shekel) | 0.201 ounce | 5.70 grams | Genesis 24:22 |
| Pim (2/3 shekel) | 0.268 ounce | 7.60 grams | 1 Samuel 13.21 |
| Shekel (20 gerahs) | 0.402 ounce | 11.4 grams | Exodus 30:23 |
| Mina (50 shekels) | 1.256 pounds | 0.57 kg | Ezra 2:69 |
| Talent (60 minas) | 75.4 pounds | 34.2 kg | Ezra 8:26 |
Biblical Liquid Measures
| Log | 0.33 quarts | 0.31 litres | Leviticus 14:10 |
| Cab (4 logs) | 1.32 quarts | 1.25 liters | 2 Kings 6:25 |
| Hin (12 logs) | 0.98 gallon | 3.7 liters | Numbers 15:4 |
| Bath (6 hins) | 5.8 gallons | 22 litres | Isaiah 5:10 |
| Homer (10 baths) | 58 gallons | 220 litres | Ezekiel 45:11 |
| Cor (10 baths) | 58 gallons | 220 liters | Ezekiel 45:11 |
| Metretes (NT) | 10.4 gallons | 39.4 liters | John 2:6 |
| Bath (NT) | 8.7 gallons | 33 litres | Luke 16:6 |
Biblical Dry Measures
| Cab (1/18 ephah) | 1.1 dry quarts | 1.2 litres | 2 Kings 6:25 |
| Omer (1/10 ephah) | 2.0 dry quarts | 2.2 litres | Exodus 16:36 |
| Seah (1/3 ephah) | 6.7 dry quarts | 7.3 litres | 2 Kings 7:1 |
| Ephah (10 omers) | 0.624 bushels (5 dry gals.) | 22 litres | Ruth 2:17 |
| Lethech (5 ephaths) | 3.12 bushels (25 dry gals.) | 110 litres | Hosea 3:2 |
| Homer (10 ephaths) | 6.24 bushels (50 dry gals.) | 220 litres | Leviticus 27:16 |
| Cor (10 ephaths) | 6.24 bushels (50 dry gals.) | 220 litres | Ezekiel 45:14 |
| Cor (NT) | 10 bushels (93 dry gals.) | 350 litres | Luke 16:7 |
Biblical Weights and Measurements
| Litra (Roman Pound) | 12 ounces | 340 grams | John 19:39 |
Money-wise List of Biblical Weights
| Denarius | Day’s wage | Matthew 20:2 | |
| Drachma | Est. 0.035 oz. silver | Est. 1 gram silver | Luke 15:8 |
| Didrachma | Est. 0.07 oz. silver | Est. 2 grams silver | Matthew 17:24 |
| Talent, silver | Approx. 75.4 lb. | Approx. 34.24 kg | Ezra 8:26 |
| Talent, gold | Approx. 75.4 lb. | Approx. 34.24 kg | 1 Kings 9:28 |
Time Wise List of Biblical Measurements
| Sunrise | 6 AM | 06:00 | Mark 16:2 |
| First hour | 7 AM | 07:00 | |
| Second hour | 8 AM | 08:00 | |
| Third hour | 9 AM | 09:00 | Matthew 20:3 |
| Fourth hour | 10 AM | 10:00 | |
| Fifth hour | 11 AM | 11:00 | |
| Sixth hour | Noon | 12:00 | Matthew 27:45 |
| Seventh hour | 1 PM | 13:00 | John 4:52 |
| Eighth hour | 2 PM | 14:00 | |
| Ninth hour | 3 PM | 15:00 | Acts 3:1 |
| Tenth hour | 4 PM | 16:00 | John 1:39 |
| Eleventh hour | 5 PM | 17:00 | Matthew 20:6-9 |
| Sunset | 6 PM | 18:00 | Luke 4:40 |
| First watch of night | 6 PM – 9 PM | 18:00 – 21:00 | Lamentations 2:19 |
| Second watch | 9 PM – midnight | 21:00 – 00:00 | Luke 12:38 |
| Third watch | Midnight – 3 AM | 00:00 – 03:00 | Luke 12:38 |
| Fourth watch | 3 AM – 6 AM | 03:00 – 06:00 | Matthew 14:25 |
Video: Lost Cubit Measurement in the Light-Life(R) Tools
How to measure Noah’s ark in cubits?
God orders Noah to construct a 300-cubit long ark that has 50 cubits’ width and 30 cubits’ height.
After comparing and reading various Biblical Weights and Measurements, it can be deduced that 1 cubit is equal to 18 inches approximately.
So, let’s calculate how to measure Noah’s ark in cubits step-wise;
Step 1: Length of the Noah’s Ark
300 cubit = 300*18 = 5400 inches = 450 feet = 137 meters approximately.
Step 2: Height of the Noah’s Ark
30 cubit = 30*18 = 540 inches = 37.5 feet = 11.5 meters approximately.
Step 3: Width of the Noah’s Ark
50 cubit = 50*18 = 900 inches = 75 feet = 23 meters approximately.
Thus, by converting the Biblical Weights and Measurements we can see that the ark is 37.5 feet high, 75 feet wide and 540 feet long.
However, this suddenly raises a lot of questions like if these dimensions are sufficient enough to carry two of each species for all the quantum state mechanics like physicists, theologians and science fiction writers across the globe.
Ancient Biblical Measurements of Volume using Pottery
According to Edwards and other ancient texts, pottery offers the best ideas to the archaeologists for determining the volume capacities of various biblical units of measurement.
Pottery named “Bath” that was excavated in Jordan, Tell Beit Mirsim, could hold 5 gallons which quite similar in dimension to some of the other excavations in the Roman era with the handling capacity of approximately 5.68 gallons.
Various scholars have often equated the liquid measure to the dry measure. Ezekiel 45:11 equates ephah to the bath.
It suggests that the best estimate for the volume would be around 5.8 gallons or 22 litres. Ergo, a homer equals roughly 58 gallons.
So this theory when applied to Sarah mixing up three “seahs” of flour, it can be deduced that nearly 5 gallons of flour were used to make bread for the 3 angel visitors of Abraham.
There must have been amply of remains to feed their family lest angels have endless cravings.
Significant Biblical Sayings
Genesis 6:14-15
“Make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch. This is how you are to make it: the length of the ark three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits.”
Ezekiel 45:11
“The ephah and the bath shall be of the same measure, the bath containing one-tenth of a homer, and the ephah one-tenth of a homer; the homer shall be the standard measure.”
How to do Biblical measurements using body parts?
With the progress and development of ancient civilizations across the globe, people started looking at quick, easy and simple ways for biblical weights and measurements.
They started using body parts by sizing them to various artifacts as per traditional and modern measurement guidelines and then came up with the following conclusions;
A Span = Approximate width of the 4 fingers or extended thumb = 9 inches
A Finger = Approximate width of an adult human finger = 3 quarter of an inch
A Palm = Size across the human hand = 3 inches
How to calculate Biblical weights for volume?
Although several attempts have been made in the history to accurate the length, weight and height measurements by various scholars across the world, yet very little has been done in the field of biblical volume measurements.
For example, in a paper named “Bible Weights, Measures, and Monetary Values,” Tom Edwards transcribes about how many estimations are for a dry measure known as a “homer“.
Here is what he says:
“For instance, Homer’s liquid capacity (though normally seen as a dry measure) has been estimated at these various amounts: 120 gallons (calculated from a footnote in New Jerusalem Bible); 90 gallons (Halley; I.S.B.E.); 84 gallons (Dummelow, One Volume Bible Commentary); 75 gallons (Unger, old edit.); 58.1 gallons (Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible); and about 45 gallons (Harper’s Bible Dictionary). And we need to also realize that weights, measurements, and monetary values often varied from one place to the next, and from one-time period to another.”
Ezekiel 45:11 labels an “ephah” as being one-tenth of a homer. But is that one-tenth of 120 gallons, or 90 or 84 or 75 or what?
In some versions of Genesis 18: 1-11, when 3 angels come to visit, Abraham teaches Sarah to make bread utilizing three “seahs” of flour, which Edwards labels as one-third of an ephah, or 6.66 dry quarts.
Conclusion
The maintenance of Biblical weights and measures was a critical job during Biblical times.
God himself openly instructed his folks to be truthful when they merchandised and not try to fraud each other (specifically those who were outsiders).
People Also Ask (FAQs)
How much is a measure of flour in the Bible?
As per the Biblical Weights and Measurements table, a floor measures three and a bit omer, which is 1/10th of an ephah. Thus, 3 measures would be 30 ephahs or 66 L.
What is Cubit in the Bible and how to measure it?
The cubit is the space between the elbow and the tip of the middle finger. As per the modern conversion of Biblical measurements, its length is 1750 ft.