Bible Dictionaries
Measurement

Bridgeway Bible Dictionary

Search for…

Enter query below:

or

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z

Prev Entry
Matthew, Gospel of

Next Entry
Media

Resource Toolbox

Print Article

Additional Links

Concordances
Nave Topical Bible
• Measure
Thompson Chain Reference
• Tables of Money, Weights, Measures, Etc
• Measuring Rod
• Measures
Treasury of Biblical Knowledge
• Weights & Measures
Torrey Topical Textbook
• Measures
Dictionaries
American Tract Society
• Measure
Bridgeway Bible Dictionary
• Measurement
Easton's Bible Dictionary
• Measure
Fausset Bible Dictionary
• Weights and Measures
Spurgeon's Illustration Collection
• Progress: Measure of
Holman Bible Dictionary
• Weights and Measures
• Measuring Reed
• Measuring Line
•   (only first 3 shown)
Hastings' BibleDictionary
• Weights and Measures
• Measuring Line, Measuring Reed
• Measures
Hastings' NT Dictionary
• Weights and Measures
• Measures
King James Dictionary
• Measuring
• Measured
• Measure
Morrish Bible Dictionary
• Weights and Measures
• Measures
Hawker's Poor Man's Dictionary
• Measure
People's Bible Dictionary
• Tables of Measures Weights and Money in the Bible
• Measures
Smith Bible Dictionary
• Weights And Measures
• Measures
Vines' Expository Dictionary
• Measure
• Measure
Whyte's Bible Characters
• The Woman Who Took Leaven and Hid It in Three Measures of Meal
Wilson's Bible Types
• Measure
Webster Dictionary
• Measuring
• Measurer
• Measurement
•   (only first 3 shown)
Watson's Theological Dictionary
• Measure
Encyclopedias
1911 Encyclopedia Britannica
• Acre (Measure)
• Compromise Measures of 1850
• Measurement of Time
•   (only first 3 shown)
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
• Measure; Measures
• Measuring Line
• Measuring Reed
•   (only first 3 shown)
Kitto Biblical Cyclopedia
• Measures
• Weights and Measures
McClintock and Strong's Bible Encyclopedia
• Measure
The Jewish Encyclopedia
• Measures
• Weights and Measures
Lexicons
• ܟ݁ܰܝܠܳܐ
• ܟ݁ܝܳܠܬ݁ܳܐ
• ܡܫܽܘܚܬ݂ܳܐ
•   (only first 3 shown)
• ἄμετρος
• ἀναπληρόω
• ἀντιμετρέω
•   (only first 3 shown)
• אֵיפָה
• אַמָּה , אַמָּה
• חֶבֶל חֶבֶל, חֶבֶל, חֵבֶל, חֹבְלִים, , מַחֲלֵב
•   (only first 3 shown)

There is no certainty about present-day equivalents of many of the measurements given in the Bible. These measurements probably varied considerably even in Bible times. (Concerning measurements of weight and the cheating that was common where there were few official standards, see WEIGHTS.)

Measures of capacity for grain and for liquids sometimes had different names. The largest measure of capacity was the homer, or cor, equal to about 370 litres (Leviticus 27:16; 1 Kings 4:22). The homer, or cor, was divided into ten smaller measures. In the case of grain this measure was called an ephah (Judges 6:19; Ezekiel 45:11) and in the case of liquids a bath (Ezra 7:22; Ezekiel 45:11). The grain measure, the ephah, was divided into ten omers (Exodus 16:36). The liquid measure, the bath, was divided into six hins (Leviticus 23:13). A hin was divided into twelve logs (Leviticus 14:10).

People in ancient times, as in the present day, often measured length by calculating according to the span of their fingers, the length of their arms, the distance they could walk in a set time, and so on. The basic measurement of length, the cubit, was the approximate distance from the elbow to the tip of the finger. More exactly, the cubit was about forty-four centimetres or eighteen inches (Exodus 25:23; Deuteronomy 3:11; Revelation 21:17; see CUBIT). Half a cubit was a span, the distance from the tip of the thumb to the tip of the little finger on an outstretched hand (Exodus 28:16; 1 Samuel 17:4). A handbreadth, or four fingers, was the distance across the hand at the base of the four fingers. It was equal to about a third of a span (Exodus 25:25; Jeremiah 52:21).

Longer distances may have been calculated in cubits (Numbers 35:4), but more often they were estimated approximately; for example, the distance a fired arrow might travel (Genesis 21:16), the length of a ploughed furrow (1 Samuel 14:14), or the distance a person could walk in a day (Numbers 11:31; Genesis 30:36). A Sabbath day’s journey was the distance that the Jewish leaders laid down as the maximum a person was allowed to travel on the Sabbath day. It was about one kilometre (Exodus 16:29; Acts 1:12).