Jewish and Biblical Units of Measurement
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Biblical and Talmudic units of measurement. (Discuss) |
 |
This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (October 2006) |
Judaism has its own system of measurement that is consistent from the time of TaNaKh to Mishna and Talmud. The data below is derived from a standard Talmudic student's textbook "The practical Talmud dictionary" by Rabbi Yitzhak Frank, The Ariel Institute, Jerusalem, Israel, 1994.
The precise width of the ehtzba (thumb) is a subject of controversy among halakhic authoritis. The best known is that of the Hazon Ish.
The measurements have lowest and highest acceptable halakhic value in terms of conversion to either metric or Imperial measurements.
Contents |
[edit] Length
| Name (Plural) | Name (Plural) (Heb.) | Translation | Size (Metric) | Size (English) | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Etzba' (Etzba'ot) | (אצבע (אצבעות | fingerbreadth | 2-2.4 cm | 0.79-0.94 in | The latter is the Chazon Ish's). Since all other units are multiples of the etzba', they are accordingly in variance. |
| Tefach (Tefachim) | (טפח (טפחים | handbreadth | 8-9.6 cm | 3.15-3.78 in | |
| Zeret (Zarot) | span | 24-28.8 cm | 9.45-11.34 in | ||
| Amah (Amot) | (אמה (אמות | cubit | 48-57.6 cm | 18.9-22.7 in | |
| Ris () | No ready translation | 139-167 yd | 128-153.6 m | ||
| Mil (Milin) | 1049-1258 yd | 960-1152 m | Time to walk a mil is 18 minutes. | ||
| Parasa (Parsa'ot) | parasang | 2.4-2.88 mi | 3.84-4.608 km | Distance covered by an average man in a day's walk is 10 parsaot. Time to walk a parasa is 72 minutes. |
[edit] Area
"Siarah" (Hebrew ) - (pl. siarot) hair square 1/36 of a giris
"Adashah" (Hebrew ) - (pl. adashot) lentils 1/9 of a giris
"Giris" (Hebrew ) - (pl. ) split bean a circle with a diameter of about 20mm
"Amah al amah" (Hebrew ) - (pl. ) square cubit 2,304cm2 to 3,318cm2
"Bait rova" (Hebrew ) - (pl. ) space for sowing 1/4 of a kav 24m2 to 34.56m2
"Bait seah" (Hebrew ) - (pl. ) space for sowing a seah 576m2 to 829.4m2
"Bait kor" (Hebrew ) - (pl. ) space for sowing a kor 17,280m2 to 24,883m2
[edit] Volume
"Zait" (Hebrew זית) - (pl. )olive; a unit of volume 1/2 of beytza.
"Beytza" (Hebrew ) - (pl. ) egg 0.0576 L to 0.1 L
"Revi'it" (Hebrew ) - (pl. ) 0.086 to 0.15 L
"Log" (Hebrew ) - (pl. login) 0.345 to 0.6 L
When used with "reva" one quarter , this is a liquid measurement. Rova is used for dry measurement.
"Kav" (Hebrew ) - (pl. ) 1.38 to 2.4 L
"Esaron" (Hebrew ) - (pl. ) 2.49 to 4.32 L
When used with "omer" , this is a liquid measurement. Omer is used for dry measurement.
"Seah" (Hebrew ) - (pl. ) 8.29 to 14.4 L
"Bat" (Hebrew ) - (pl. ) 24.88 to 43.2 L
When used with "ephah" , this is a liquid measurement. Ephah is used for dry measurement.
"Bor" (Hebrew ) - (pl. ) cistern 248.83 to 432 L
When used with "homer" , this is a liquid measurement. Homer (heap) is used for dry measurement.
[edit] Coins and weights
"Pruta" copper coin (Hebrew ) - (pl. ) 0.022 g
"Issar" a Roman copper coin (Hebrew ) - (pl. ) 0.177 g
"Pondion" a Roman copper coin (Hebrew ) - (pl. ) 0.35 g
"Ma'ah" litt. 'grain' a silver coin (Hebrew ) - (pl. ) 0.7 g
"Dinar" a Roman silver coin (Hebrew ) - (pl. ) 4.25 g In Hebrew this was called a "Zuz" (Hebrew ) (pl. zuzim) to avoid confusion with the gold Dinar.
"Shekel" a silver coin (Hebrew שקל) - (pl. shkalim) Moshe Rabeinu instituted as the standard coinage. From 8.5 to 16 grams (Chazon Ish) or .51 troy ounces of pure silver. (Main article Shekel)
"Sela" a silver coin (Hebrew ) - (pl. ) 17 g
"Dinar" a gold Roman coin (Hebrew ) - (pl. ) 106.25 g
"Minah" a silver coin (Hebrew ) - (pl. ) 425 g Not to be confused with "maneh" which is 100 "zuzim".
Hebrew to be added. Reformat to tables this area is under construction
