Biblical weights and measures
Conversions | ||
Bible | American/British | Metric |
Weight | ||
talent | 75 pounds | 34 kilograms |
mina | 1.25 pounds | 0.6 kilogram |
shekel (2 bekas) | 2/5 ounce | 11.5 grams |
pim (2/3 shekel) | 1/3 ounce | 7.6 grams |
bekah (10 gerahs) | 1/5 ounce | 5.5 grams |
gerah | 1/50 ounce | 0.6 gram |
Dry Capacity | ||
cor (homer) (10 ephahs) | 6 bushels | 220 liters |
lethek (5 ephahs) | 3 bushels | 110 liters |
ephah (10 omers) | 3/5 bushel | 22 liters |
seah (1/3 ephah) | 7 quarts | 7.3 liters |
omer (1/10 ephah) | 2 quarts | 2 liters |
cab (1/18 ephah) | 1 quart | 1 liter |
Liquid Capacity | ||
bath (1 ephah) | about 6 gallons | about 22 liters |
hin (1/6 bath) | 4 quarts | 4 liters |
log (1/72 bath) | 1/3 quart | 0.3 liter |
Length | ||
Common cubit | 18 inches | 0.5 meter |
Hebrew short cubit | 17.5 | 44.5 cm |
Egyptian cubit | 17.6 | 44.7 cm |
Hebrew long cubit | 20.4 inches | 51.8 cm |
Babylonian long cubit | 19.8 inches | 50.3 cm |
Egyptian long cubit | 20.6 inches | 52.3 cm |
Royal cubit | 19.8 to 20.6 inches | approx. 52 cm |
span | 9 inches | 23 centimeters |
handbreadth | 3 inches | 8 centimeters |
measure | varies | varies |
mile (Roman) | 1,618 yards | 1,479.4992 meters |
Note: These conversions of weights and measures are based upon the best, conservative information available to us from ancient sources. It is not possible to be precise and some ancient measures definitely vary.
SEE:
- bath
- bekah
- cab
- coin
- cor
- cubit
- deal
- ephah
- gerah
- handbreadth
- homer
- maneh
- measure
- mile
- omer
- pieces
- seah
- shalish of land
- shekel
- talent
- tenth deal
- Money in Bible times
Article Version: April 27, 2022