© 2009 Jan Herca (license Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0)
¶ Hebrew units
¶ Units of length
For the Hebrews, the thumb is the first form of measurement and is called etzbagh or “inch.” A thumb is also equal to six grains of barley, which was a very primitive way of counting grain. The thickness of the little finger was also another measure and was called ziith.
Four fingers were called tefahl tefach, plural tefahiml tefachim. This measurement is very often translated in the scriptures as “hand span”, but it must be understood that it is a short palm. The Latin equivalent was the palmus, with four digits (7.3925 cm). There were other measurements somewhat larger than this “short palm” or “smaller palm”. One was a measurement with the palm extended that was called zzit (sit), which was greater than four fingers. Another was the zereth, which is the distance between the tip of the thumb and the little finger with the palm extended to the maximum, and which was equal to twelve fingers, that is to say that the zereth or “larger palm” was equivalent to three “smaller palms”. The zereth, moreover, was already significant because it was half a cubit (Ez 43:13, Is 40:12, 1 Sam 17).
Bricks were usually designated by their length. There were two types in particular: a brick with a length of a palm-length or zereth, and this dimension was called lebana, the width of this brick being half a lebana; then there was a square brick of a palm-length and a half, and this measurement was called ariahh.
The ama or emah, plural emathaim, or six tefahiml, which is frequently translated as “cubit”, is a very common measure, mentioned in the measurements of Noah’s ark (Gn 6:15) and of the sacred tabernacle (Ex 25ff). This ama, as we see, can be interpreted as two zereth or two “handspans”, and therefore equivalent to a cubit. Solomon’s temple also always referred to this measure (1 Re 6ff). It was a measure in widespread use even in nations beyond the Hebrew one.
However, there is a point to be made about the “cubit.” There were two kinds of cubits: one was the “legal cubit” and the other the “common cubit.” The “legal cubit” was an exact measurement, six tephahhim or “handspans.” The “common cubit” covered only five “handspans,” that is, the usual length of a man’s arm from the elbow to the tip of his fingers, and since each man might not have the same arm length, it was somewhat variable.
The cubit, whether legal or not, was a widely used measure in different parts of the world and adopted various names. Not only amah, emah or emoth, but also atsila, which the Romans renamed axilla, or gomed, gerima, garmida, or kal. It has always been an easily reproducible and widely used measure everywhere.
A cane or kane, plural kanim, was another larger measure. It measured six emoth and a zereth in length, that is, six and a half legal cubits, and was sometimes also called zzalil (Ez 40:3; 41-42).
The kumah was the name given to the measure of the height of the erect human man, and was estimated to be about three emoth to the head, having one more amah if the hands are stretched towards the sky.
These were the most common length measures for measuring small lengths. In some trades, however, other specific measures were used. For example, stonemasons and architects used gazith stones. In the collection of sheaves, the hhabilah was used, which was more a measure of the thickness of the bundle than of length. There were also other stones that marked dimensions such as the pizzla or the morbia, the latter being three emoth long.
For surveying purposes, the cubit or similar measure was not very practical, which is why other measures were often used. One frequently mentioned is the pagham or “sole of the foot”, plural paghamim. It was also called regel and was estimated to be equivalent to two tephahhim. The sorah_ was in turn four emoth wide. The Latins called this measure porca.
Another measure similar to this one is the tsaghad, sometimes called pezzigha, which could be considered the “step.” But this measure was the least reliable. Some men take much longer steps than others (2 Sam 6:13).
Among the longest measures of length is the berath, translated as “mile.” It is mentioned a few times in the scriptures (Gn 35:16, Gn 48:7, 2 Re 5:19). The rabbis used to say that this mile was roughly equal to one thousand emoth. The mile is sometimes also called a cherub or erub, the maximum distance that could be walked on the Sabbath.
Another intermediate measure would be the ruzz or rizz (plural rizzim or ruzzim) or seventy kanim, that is, about 450 cubits, or according to some other mentions, 266 paces. A mile or berath is usually estimated to contain seven and a half rizzim, but this mile is surely the “big mile” of almost four miles that is usually called parazza or else the calculations would not add up.
| Hebrew Name | Translation | Value | Conversion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unidades pequeñas | |||
| tefahl/tefahiml | palmo minor | 1 | 7 cm |
| pagham/paghamim | pie | 2 | 15 cm |
| zereth/zerethim | palmo major | 3 | 22 cm |
| emoth/emathaim | codo | 6 | 44 cm |
| Unidades grandes | |||
| male/male | cane | 39 | 3 m |
| ruzz/ruzzim | media milla | 2,730 | 202 m |
| berath/berathim | milla | 6,000 | 443 m |
| parazza/parazzim | mile wide | 20.472 | 1513 m |
¶ Capacity units
The oldest unit is the sato or zzeah or seah (plural zzeim or seim), which was already used in the time of Abraham (Gn 18:6). The chicken egg was always a widely used unit, called ghachal. The kab (plural kabim) was a measure for liquids equivalent to 24 eggs, about 1.2 liters today. The fourth part of the kab was the robeagh (which was translated as quartum in Latin), also called log if it was to speak of liquids (or sextarium in Latin). The sato was 6 kabim, that is, about 7.2 liters. The sato is also related to the dimensions of length when it was assured that 50 square cubits of land produced a sato of seed. The sato is also implied in that modio or seah spoken of by the prophet Elisha, as told in the book of Kings. A seah was apparently a very exact measure made with a type of jar that had a mark in its center to be able to measure half (2 Re 7:1,16). This half of the sato or three kabim was a popular measure even in the time of Jesus as attested by the gospel of Matthew (Mt 13:33). It was a very reasonable amount of flour to make the bread necessary for a family for one day.
An epha or ephi or epha (plural ephim) contains three zzeim or satos, and therefore 18 kabim. Ruth the Moabite is what she got after gleaning and threshing the field and is sometimes translated as three modii (satos) (Ruth 2:17). The epha is the most popular measure of capacity since ancient times for large quantities and in buying and selling (1 Sam 17:17 and Is 5:10). It was used in other places. The Chaldeans called it chaila.
Since the ephah was a very popular measure and had an official jar for measuring it, many measures arose from it. The gomer is one-tenth of the ephah (Ex 16:32-36). This measure was very popular as a measure of the daily amount necessary for the sustenance of a person, and was used for manna in the desert and later for other products under the name of bundle or manipulus (Lv 23:10-11). For the Chaldeans this measure was referred to as halah or haltha.
Larger measures of capacity include the chor or coro, which was 30 satos, that is, 180 kabim or ten ephahs. These were the measures that kings often used to speak of large-scale production (1 Ki 4:22; 5:11).
Sometimes the translation complicates the identification of the measures because there was one called a homer (similar to gomer) but this homer was equivalent to a chor and its tenth part was usually called a bath. Therefore, as Ezekiel states, the ephah and the bath would be the same, or at least they should be, as the prophet admonished (Eze 45:11). The homer and the bath were used for liquids and the chor and the ephah for dry matter, but they were practically identical in volumes. The homer is also often called a “donkey’s load.” Sometimes this homer or chorus was too much for a donkey, so there was also another measure, called lethech or letekh, half the chorus, which was also called “a donkey’s load.”
There were other, less well-known measures, based on the capacity of similar baskets and vessels, such as the zzal or canistrum, the basket probably from Mt 14:20, called in Syriac chupha; the mispal, equivalent to lethech; or the kalzzatra, a leather vessel with capacity for four kabim.
A unit widely used for wine and oil was the hin, which was twelve quarters or logim, that is, three kabim or the equivalent of that measure when speaking of measuring grain, also very frequent, which was half a sato. It is not uncommon to find this measure in the Bible (Ex 29:40; 30:24, Lv 23:13, Nm 15:4-10; 28:5-7, Ez 4:11).
Other less common and difficult to measure measures were the cado, which was translated as jug, and which was equivalent to the amount of liquid that a woman was able to transport (Gn 24:15, Jue 7:16, 1 Re 18:34). There was also another small measure called in Hebrew mesurah (usually translated as “measure”) which is what Ezekiel was commanded to drink from one day to the next (Ez 4:11), and the tharvvad, a large tablespoon, as well as the zzizz, another kind of ladle, and the kortob, a very small measure with three-fifths of an egg. Based on vessels and not on spoons we have evidence of a kephiza (a kind of hundredth of a cor), a kantar or kankan (or pitcher), the anbag, the teni, the selahhath, the thvman or thamnetha (an Aramaic word), the tharkab (of two kabim), the sargas, the garba, the hhabiahh and others.
| Hebrew Name | Translation | Value | Conversion |
|---|---|---|---|
| clothed/clothed | room | 1/4 | 30 cl |
| log/logim | log (sector) | 1/4 | 30 cl |
| kab/kabim | middle | 1 | 1.2 l |
| gomer/gomerim | gomer | 1.8 | 2.16 l |
| medium saturated | 3 | 3.6 l | |
| hin | hin | 3 | 3,6 l |
| seah/seahim | sato | 6 | 7,2 l |
| eph/ephim | ephá | 18 | 22 l |
| bath/bathim | bath | 18 | 22 l |
| lethech/lethechim | lethech | 90 | 108 l |
| chor/chorim | heart 180 | 216 l | |
| homer/homerim | homer | 180 | 216 l |
¶ Weight units
The fundamental unit for Hebrew weight was the “sacred shekel of the Sanctuary,” that is, the weight of the silver shekel with which payments were made at the temple, and which had the weight of half a Roman ounce, that is, about 13.7 g. [1] The scriptures are littered with references to weights using this shekel as a unit (such as Jdg 8:25 and 1 Chr 8:15).
The rest of the weights considered by the Hebrews are based on this “shekel”, as is the case of the half shekel or the gerah (1⁄20 of the shekel), whose weights were used to quantify quantities of other metals or products.
To designate a very large weight, the Hebrews used the kichar or kikkar (pl. kikkarim), which is usually translated as talent. It was a flat and wide weight (from which it gets its name since kikkar means “plain”), and was the typical Hebrew word to designate a cake of bread or dried figs. The value of this talent seems to have been anciently 3,000 shekels, that is, about 40 kg, but this is difficult to specify because in ancient times the shekel was not a very specific weight, and when weight was established the talent was not in very general use. The talent, however, is a frequently repeated measure in the Old Testament when referring to shipments that kings made to others (for example, 2 Kings 18:14).
| Hebrew unit | Conversion |
|---|---|
| half a shekel | 6.85 g |
| shekel | 13.70 g |
| talent | 20 to 40 kg |
¶ Roman units
The Romans weighed, counted and measured in pounds, aces and feet respectively, all divided into twelve units (for example, an ace = twelve unciae). Undoubtedly, the Romans opted for the decimal system (still in force and used since the early days of Ancient Egypt, 5000 years ago) in order to be able to count with the fingers of both hands (one is one finger, five is an open hand and ten is two crossed hands, IVX). The use of the duodecimal system was used in Mesopotamia, possibly because of the fact that it was counted with the phalanges of the fingers, because it is a number divisible by 2, 3, 4 and 6 and, perhaps, because it is associated with the twelve lunar cycles.
In the forum of Roman cities, the “mensa ponderaria” was kept under religious guard, with the standards for comparing the measures and weights used in commercial transactions.
¶ Units of area and length
Surface measurements were the acta geodesic (equivalent to half a day’s work) and the jugerum (from jugum = yoke, which was equivalent to a full day’s work). An actus was equivalent to 120 square feet. Although theoretically they were surface measurements, in reality they were more like work measurements.
The Roman system of length measurements had the following units, in order of size:
- digitus, o dedo, que equivale a 18,481 mm o a 1⁄16 pies.
- palmus is not actually related to the palm (which would be the measurement between the ends of the thumb and little finger with the hand extended), but rather to the Castilian coto, which is the width of the palm of the closed hand without the thumb, and was equivalent to 4 fingers, 7.3925 cm or ¼ feet.
- pes, or foot, comprising 16 digitus or 4 palmus, that is, 29.57 cm. The archetype of the Roman foot is deposited in the temple of Juno Moneta.
- palmipes, or palm-foot, which was equivalent to 20 fingers or 5 palmus, that is, 36.9625 cm or 5⁄4 feet.
- cubitus or ulna, similar to the elbow, which was equivalent to 6 palmus, 44.355 cm or 3⁄2 feet.
- gradus, which was equivalent to 40 digitus, 10 palmus, that is, 73.925 cm or 5⁄2 feet. It is a measure similar to the “step” of later times.
- passus, actually a double step, was the distance between two steps of the same foot while walking. It was equivalent to 2 gradus, 20 palmus, 5 feet or 1.4785 m.
- decempeda or pertica, equivalent to 10 pies, 2,957 m, 2 passus, 4 gradus and 8 palmipés.
- actus vorsus, o furrow of 24 passus, 35,489 mo 120 pies.
- stadium, or stadium, which comprises 125 passus, that is, 184.81 m.
- millia passus, which gave rise to the mile. Its name comes from the fact that it is 1,000 passus, that is, 1,478.5 m or 5,000 feet.
- leuca or league, which was equivalent to 1,500 passus, 7,500 feet, or 2,222 m.
For measurements of length the pertica or the actus vorsus were used. The actus vorsus squared, multiplied by two, gave the iugerum.
| Roman unit | Latin name | Feet | Meters | Miles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unidades pequeñas | ||||
| Dedo | digitus | 1⁄16 | 18,481 mm | |
| Palm minor | palmus | ¼ | 7.3925 cm | |
| Pie romano | pes/pedis | 1 | 29,5700 cm | 1⁄5.000 |
| Palmo-pie | palmipes | 5⁄4 | 36,9625 cm | |
| Codo | cubitus o ulna | 3⁄2 | 44,3550 cm | |
| Paso simple | gradus | 2,5 | 0,7405 m | 1⁄2.000 |
| Paso doble | passus | 5 | 1,4810 m | 1⁄1.000 |
| Dos pasos | decempeda o pertica | 10 | 2,9570 m | 1⁄500 |
| Unidades grandes | ||||
| Groove | arctus vorsus | 120 | 35,489 m | |
| Estadio romano | stadium | 625 | 185,125 m | ⅛ |
| Roman milla | thousands of miles | 5,000 | 1,481 m | 1 |
| Roman League | leuca | 15,000 | 4,443 m | 3 |
¶ Capacity units
The table summarizes the units that were in common use in ancient Rome:
| Roman unit | Latin name | Value | Conversion |
|---|---|---|---|
| cochlearia | cochlearia | ¼ ciato | 1.14 cl |
| ciato | cyathus | ⅓ square | 4.56 cl |
| salad acetabalum | ¼ hemina | 6.84 cl | |
| square | quartarii | of the acetabulum | 13.68 cl |
| hemina | hemina | ½ sextario | 0.2734 l |
| sextario | sextarius | ⅙ leave | 0.5468 l |
| congio | congius | ¼ sesquimodio | 3.2810 l |
| half a day | semodii | ½ a lot | 4.3770 l |
| a lot | more | 8.7500 l | |
| six hundred and fifty | sequismodius | 3⁄2 modios | 13.1250 l |
| ánfora o cuadrantal | anphorae | 3 modios | 26,2500 l |
The congius, the sextarius, and the cyathus were measures of liquids, and the last two were also used for solids.
¶ Weight units
Initially the measure was the pound divided into twelve parts, called ounces, and the ounce in turn was divided into 24 scruples.
The weights were also brought into line with the Greeks and four Roman pounds became worth three Attic minas.
The ounce (symbol: oz) is a unit of mass used since ancient Rome to weigh goods and other items more accurately, especially if their weight was less than a Roman pound. The ounce is still commonly used in English-speaking countries, and was formerly more widely used throughout Europe. It was approximately equivalent to 27.4 g.
The word ounce comes from the Latin ūncia, derived in turn from the Proto-Indo-European *oinoko- (from which único also derives), a suffixed form of the root *oino- (from which uno also derives). The ūncia was the fractional unit used by the Romans, who used duodecimal fractions; that is, it meant “one twelfth”. In the monetary context, the uncia was the coin with a value corresponding to 1⁄12 of an as. On the other hand, the ounce of weight was 1⁄12 of a pound (note that the 16-ounce pound is later than the 12-ounce pound). The English words ounce and inch are also derived from ūncia.
| Roman unit | Conversion |
|---|---|
| scruple | 1.14 g |
| ounces | 27.40 g |
| libra | 328,80 g |
¶ References
-
Benito Arias Montano, Hebrew Antiquities. Exegetical Treatises, Publications of the University of Huelva.
-
Various authors, Encyclopedia of the Bible, Editorial Verbo Divino, p. 244-246.
¶ Notes
On this currency see the document «Monetary system and cost of living in the time of Jesus». ↩︎