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Bible Weights, Measures,and Monetary Values
by Tom Edwards
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A few weeks ago I began writing a helpful computer program that converts weights and measures to various equivalents. For example, if I select ``Ounces'' from one of the main menus, and then input ``128'' at the ``How-many- ounces?''-prompt, I'll be shown the following parallels: 1 gallon, 3.76 liters, 4 quarts, 8 pints, 16 cups, 32 gills, 85.33 jiggers, 128 ponies, 256 tablespoons, 768 teaspoons, 3,628.8 grams, 3,785.472 milliliters, and 56,000 grains. I then thought it would be great to write a similar program for Bible weights and measures.
Unfortunately, after having gone through a few reference books, I soon realized that this wasn't going to be as easy as I had initially assumed. Since then, I've investigated at least 30 various sources with some widely differing in their estimates. The reason being that there are many uncertainties as to the exact weights and measurements that the Bible uses. For instance, a Homer's liquid capacity (though normally seen as a dry measure) has been estimated at these various amounts: 120 gallons (calculated from 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.
Since the Bible refers to some measures in relation to others, such as the ephah and bath having the same capacity, and both of these being one tenth of a homer (Ezek. 45:11), etc., we could come up with some pretty good figures if we just had one to start with that we knew to be exact--but, then again, exact for when and for where would be additional variables to consider. In trying to achieve a close estimate for liquid and dry measures, we can do a little figuring with 1 Kings 7:23-26, where mention is made of the ``sea'' (or laver) that Solomon had built. Its dimensions were 10 cubits from rim to rim (15'); it was ``circular in form'' and 5 cubits high (7.5'). The circumference was 30 cubits (45'). And it had a thickness of 1 handbreath (3''). We are then told that it could hold 2,000 baths. Unfortunately, we are not told whether it was half a sphere or more cylindrical in shape; and something else to consider is that the Bible often speaks in round numbers--rather than giving the precise measurement or number. But going with the information given, we could come up with the following:
1) If it were half-a-sphere, it could contain only about 3 gallons per bath. 2) But if it were a cylinder, about 4.63 gallons per bath. 3) In addition, if it were like a cylinder, but its diameter of 10 cubits were actually 10.4; and its height of 5 cubits were rounded off from 5.4, it would then hold an average capacity of about 5.44 gallons per bath.
Ancient pottery, closely corresponding to our above figure, has been found in Tell Beit Mirsim that is marked "bath'' and has a capacity of about 5 gallons. Also pottery of the Greco-Roman period has revealed a bath to have been 5.68 gallons. As we consider this along with the estimate of Solomon's sea, perhaps it is better to go with the lower figure rather than the 7 or 8-plus gallons per bath for our estimate; and for this reason, the following metrology chart will consider the bath at about 5.8 gallons (22 liters); and the dry measure of the ephah to be of the same capacity--for according to Ezekiel 45:11, they were both to be 1/10 of a homer. This we will, therefore, also use as the basis for the other dry and liquid measures. Some of the linear measures, on the other hand, are easier to approximate because they were based on body parts. For instance, the digit (or the finger) was about .75''; the handbreath or palm was 4 fingers or about 3''; the span was from the tip of the thumb to the tip of the little finger when both are stretched as far apart as possible--about 9''; and the cubit, which extended from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger was about 18''. More of these linear measurements will be shown in the chart.
But though there were several that the Hebrews used, it appears that there were none they had for square areas. When 1 Samuel 14:14 speaks of ``half a furrow in an acre of land,'' acre is really used to express how much a team of oxen could plow in a day--and, actually, a little less than one of our acres. An area was also defined by how much grain could be sown in a certain amount of time; and in addition, areas were also described by the length of sides or by the diameter or circumference of circular areas. An alternative scale for some measurements, referred to as the "Natural or Popular Unit of Measurement," was used to define, for example, the ``log.'' This was a liquid measure holding the equivalent of about 0.65 pint and was likened to the same measure as that of water displaced gs are placed into it. It was also under this same category that we find another way of evaluating the finger-width by placing 7 barleycorns side by side.
In getting back to more archeological findings that help us to determine approximations for our chart, at Yale University there is a Babylonian weight, 25.5 cm long, 12.2 cm high, and 13 cm wide. It has a weight of 5.37 kg (11.84 pounds) and is used for 10 minas--which means, according to this, that one mina would be 1.18 pounds; and this weight is almost entirely intact--having lost only a minimal amount of its initial weight through breakage. As you'll see in the chart, we will use the figure of 1.26 pounds for the mina. Also found at Tell Beit Mirsim were 17 shekel-weights that averaged 11.53 grams a shekel, or, in other words, .40355 ounce. Zondervan's Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible speaks of three standards for the shekel: 1) the temple shekel (.351 oz.; depreciated to .345 oz), 2) the ordinary shekel (.408 oz; depreciated to .401 oz.), and the heavy shekel (.457 oz.). Our chart will list the ordinary shekel at .403 ounce. According to tablets from Tell el-Amarna, Babylonian values were standard throughout the ancient Middle East in the 15 century B.C., and their weight-values were based on a sexagesimal system. They had their mina, shekel, and talent of both the ``heavy standard'' and the ``light.''
Turning to the Old Testament, it is the shekel, and not the mina, that is the ``more usual unit.'' ``Down to NT times, Hebrews continued to use the 252 grains, heavy gold Babylonian shekel (approximately $10) for weighing against Hebrew gold'' (Harper's Bible Dictionary). Consider also these following Babylonian values from Harper's Bible Dictionary: 1 ox = 1 maneh (mina) or 15 silver shekels or 2 tons of barley or 270 pints of barley or 265 pints of dates. 1 sheep = 225 pints of barley or 265 pints of dates. 1 silver shekel = 2.5 pints of oil or 10 pints of barley. (I double-checked this because the barley appears to have had more value than the dates when trading for a sheep than for an ox. Why? Maybe a typographical error in the book.)
In addition, the Baghdad Museum contains the Eshnunna Law Code which includes price controls of about 1800 B.C. It shows that at that time one bushel of grain was the equivalent of 1 silver shekel (c. 1/4 oz. of white metal), and that the hire for a donkey and his driver cost 40 quarts of grain (For how long was not mentioned, but I assume this hiring to be for the day). Another weight marked ``Pim'' has also been discovered. This, too, was used as a measuring weight; and it weighs in at about 112 grains (0.256 oz.)--about two- thirds of a shekel. For the chart, we will be using 0.268 oz. for its weight. It is said that the Babylonians even used a type of ``check'' made from clay tablets a thousand years before the first coins. After the period of the conquest, Phoenician money and weights also became common among the Hebrews. The Phoenician shekel (standard, silver), weighing at 224 grains was 1/15th the value of the heavy Babylonian shekel. It is said that the sanctuary shekel, which Jesus also paid, was ``the Phoenician Hebrew coin.'' We need to keep in mind that when we read about shekels and talents in the Old Testament, it is not referring to particular coins of money. Rather, it is referring to weights--such as of gold or silver. The talent, for example, being the heaviest Hebrew weight used for metals: 1 talent weighing about 75.6 pounds; and since there are 3,000 shekels in a talent, the weight for 1 shekel would be 0.4032 ounce. The mina was the equivalent of 50 shekels, so there was also 60 minas in a talent; thus, 1 mina weighed 1.26 pounds. Naturally, the value of gold and silver did not remain constant over the years; nor did the ratio between the two. From one particular source, it appears that gold had been 15 times greater in value than silver. But this, too, has varied. The Bible also speaks of talents of lead (Zech. 5:7), bronze (Exod. 38:29), brass, and iron (1 Chron. 29:7).
Abraham had once bought a field from Ephron the Hittite for 400 shekels of silver (Gen. 23:15,16). Using the figure given in our chart, this would be about 10.07 pounds of silver; and if the value of silver at that time were about 64 cents a shekel, this would be around $256--which when we consider that 2,000 years later the average daily wage for a laborer was 16 cents, the price for Ephron's property seems pretty steep. Working 300 days a year, it would take a laborer of the apostle Paul's day, 5.33 years to gross $256. Though metals were probably used earlier, this account of Abraham is not only the first time the term ``shekels'' is used in the Bible, but also the first occurrence in the Scriptures of a metal being used to buy something.
But we should point out that Genesis 13:2 does speak of Abraham as having been ``rich in livestock, in silver and gold''--prior to this purchase. As we see in the New Testament, with the exception of ``talent'' in Revelation 16:21 and ``mina'' (``pound,'' KJV) in John 12:3 and 19:39 being used for weights, talent and pound are referring to money rather than emphasizing the weight. It appears, though, that the talent was a little heavier in New Testament times than in the Old Testament era. Some have placed it at about 90 pounds, and when comparing Revelation 16:21 in the King James Version with the New American Standard, the ``weight of a talent'' in the former is ``about one hundred pounds'' in the latter. The Jewish "talanton'' (talent) has been spoken of as being ``large and heavy, more like a cannonball...It's hardly surprising that a lazy person might prefer to bury it, or pack it up and put it away.'' This is, apparently, an allusion to the Lord's parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30.
The oldest extant coins are some of the electrum staters of Lydia, which date back to about B.C. 720. It is said that they remained in circulation until the time of Croesus, who on becoming king in B.C. 568, set out to develop a new coinage system for Lydia, which would use pieces of gold and silver, and do away with the electrum. He is thus attributed with having made the first gold coins (561-546 B.C.). The first Greek silver coins are said to have been made in Aegina in B.C. 670-660. In the Bible, the oldest coin mentioned is the ``dram'' (or ``daric''), which is most likely of Persian origin, around B.C. 538. It weighed about 130 grains. It is thought that the Hebrew people became introduced to the use of coins during their captivity, and then brought back their usage with them when they returned to their homeland around 536 B.C. The Jewish silver shekels and half-shekels have been assumed by some to have been first made during the time of Ezra, about B.C. 458; but as stated in Smith's Bible Dictionary, ``it is more probable that they were issued under Simon Maccabaeus, B.C. 139, and copper coins were struck by the Asmonaean and Herodian family.''
Harper's Bible Dictionary points out evidence from Beth-zur that it was not Simon Maccabaeus, but rather his son John Hyrcanus, who was ``the first of the Maccabees to mint bronze coins.'' Harper's B.D. also speaks of three specific times when Jewish coins were minted: 1) during the Maccabean period (166-63 B.C.), 2) During the first revolt against Rome (A.D. 66-70); and 3) during the second revolt (A. D. 132-135). Turning to the New Testament period, the ``thirty pieces of silver'' that Judas was paid for betraying Jesus could have very well been the ``Tyrian tetradrachmas,'' which would be the equivalent of about $25--the price of a slave (Exodus 21:32). During the time of Christ, with the different moneys floating about, it was necessary to have the money- changers because the Romans would accept only their own standard coins for when paying taxes, such as the silver denarius, which was the most-used coin of the early New Testament times. It was the equivalent of a day's wage, about 16 cents, and was also the same in value as the Greek drachma (``shilling''). (Other Roman coins will be listed below.) It was these Roman coins that the Jews had to pay their taxes with; but when it came to giving money to the temple treasury, Roman coins were not allowed. Thus, we see the need for the money-changers--though not for their evil ways.
Of all the liquid and dry measures of the Old Testament, only three of these are found mentioned in the New Testament, though under new names. Unfortunately, all three of them--while different in capacity--have been translated as simply ``measures'' in the King James Version; but in the Greek, they are 1) ``batos,'' the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew ``bath''; 2) ``koros,'' the Greek equivalent for the Hebrew ``kor''; and 3) ``saton,'' the Greek equivalent for the Hebrew ``seah.'' Also, just as their Old Testament counterparts have been placed at different capacities, this, too, is true of these. Some people will use the same capacity as their Old Testament equivalents. Others, however, have about doubled the size of the Greek ``batos'' to 10.4 gallons (in comparison to the Hebrew ``bath'' of 5.8 gallons). And this they have also done with the Greek ``saton'' by estimating its capacity to have been 12 dry quarts (when its Hebrew counterpart ``seah'' is shown at about 6.66 dry quarts). In addition, some have placed the New Testament ``koros'' to have been somewhere between 11 to 17 bushels, whereas, its Hebrew twin ``kor'' is just 6.25 bushels. Though we can't be dogmatic in this, we'll attribute to these Greek equivalents, the same as their Old Testament counterparts. In closing, let me just say that I am glad that salvation is not based on knowing the exact amount of gallons in a homer or how many bushels in an ephah, etc.--but I wanted to be able to share with you some estimates to help you have a better idea of these things than, perhaps, you did before. I hope you'll find this a handy, little reference chart.
With these following measurements, bear in mind that some were able to be more accurately determined than others (and many of them I've slightly rounded off, such as in calling a homer "58.2 gallons," though I calculated it and the other liquid measures using "58.1174"--the equivalent of 220 liters--as the basis), so though we cannot think of them all as being precise figures, they will still give us a pretty good idea in evaluating Bible weights, measures, and monetary values.
LINEAR MEASURES
(from the Old and New Testaments)
MEASURES LENGTH EQUIVALENTS
Finger (Digit) .75'' 1.91 cm
Handbreath 3.00" .25 foot; 4 fingers; 7.62 cm
Span 9.00'' .75 foot; 3 handbreaths;
12 fingers; 22.86 cm
Cubit (Roman, NT) 17.5'' 44.45 cm
Cubit (Egyptian) 17.72'' 45.01 cm
Cubit (Hebrew, OT) 18.00'' 1.5 feet; 2 spans; 6 handbreaths;
24 fingers; 45.72 cm
Cubit (Ezekiel's) 20.50'' 52.07 cm
Cubit (Royal Egyptian) 20.67'' 52.50 cm
Cubit (Hebrew Long) 20.67'' 52.50 cm
Cubit (Babylon. Royal) 20.81'' 52.86 cm
Pace 1 yard .91 m; 2 cubits; 4 spans;
12 handbreaths; 36 inches
Fathom 6 feet 1.83 m; 2 paces; 4 cubits;
8 spans; 24 handbreaths
Reed 9 feet 1.5 fathoms; 2.74 m; 3 paces;
6 cubits; 12 spans
Furlong (stadion) 202 yards 184.71 m; 606 U.S. Feet; 625
Roman Feet (1 ft. = 11.66")
Sabbath Day's Journey 1,000 yards 914.4 m; 2,000 cubits;
3,000 feet
Mile 4,858 feet 4,800 Greek feet; 5,000 Roman
feet (1 ft. = 11.66'')
A ``Little Way'' 6,250 yards 3.75 Roman miles; 30 furlongs;
5,715 m
Day's Journey
(in company) 10 miles 16.09 kilometers; 16093 m
(when alone) 20 to 30 miles 32.19 to 48.28 kilometers
WEIGHTS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
NAME WEIGHT EQUIVALENTS
Gerah .020 oz. 1/60,000 talent; 1/1,000 mina;
1/20 shekel; 1/10 bekah; .57 g
Bekah .201 oz. 1/6,000 talent; 1/100 minah;
1/2 shekel; 5.70 g; 10 gerahs
Pim .268 oz. 2/3 shekel; 7.60 grams; 117.25 grains
Shekel .403 oz. 1/3000 talent; 1/50 minah; 2 bekahs;
11.42 g; 20 gerahs
Mina 1.26 lbs. 1/60 talent; 20.16 oz.; 50 shekels;
100 bekahs; 1,000 gerahs
Talent 75.6 lbs. 60 minas; 3,000 shekels; 6,000 bekahs;
60,000 gerahs
WEIGHTS IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
NAME WEIGHT EQUIVALENTS
Pound (Roman litra) 12 oz. .75 U.S. pound; 340.2 g
Talent 90 pounds
LIQUID MEASURES IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
NAME CAPACITY EQUIVALENTS
Log 10.33 oz. 1/720 kor; 1/72 bath; 1/12 hin;
.31 liter; .32 quart; .65 pint
Kab (Cab) 1.29 quarts 1/18 bath; .32 gallon; 1.22 liters;
2.58 pints; 41 oz.
Hin .97 gallons 1/6 bath; 3.67 liters; 3.87 quarts;
7.75 pints; 12 logs
Bath 5.81 gallons 1/10 homer; 1 ephah; 22 liters;
23.25 quarts; 46.49 pints
Homer (Kor) 58.12 gallons 1.85 barrels; 10 baths; 60 hins;
220 liters; 232.47 quarts
DRY MEASURES IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
NAME CAPACITY EQUIVALENTS
Cab (kab) 2.22 dry pints 1/180 homer; 1/18 ephah;
1.11 dry quarts; 1.22 liters
Omer 4 dry pints 1/100 homer; 1/10 ephah; 1/4 peck;
2 dry quarts; 2.2 liters
Seah 6.66 dry quarts 1/30 homer; 1/3 ephah; 7.33 liters;
13.32 dry pints
Ephah .62 bushels 1/10 homer; 10 omers; 18 kabs;
19.98 dry quarts; 22 liters
Lethech 3.12 bushels 1/2 homer; 5 ephahs; 12.49 pecks;
99.89 quarts; 110 liters
Cor (Kor) 6.25 bushels same as ``homer''; 220 liters
Homer 6.25 bushels 1 "donkey load"; 10 ephahs;
24.97 pecks; 199.78 dry quarts.
DRY AND LIQUID MEASURES IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
NAME CAPACITY EQUIVALENTS/REFERENCES
Pots (xestes) 1 1/6 pints .55 liters; .58 quarts; 18.67
ounces; used only in Mk. 7:4
Measure (choinin) 1.2 dry quarts .15 peck; 1.32 liters; 2.4 dry
pints; used twice (Rev. 6:6)
Measure (saton) 6.6 dry quarts same as Hebrew ``seah''; used
twice: Matt. 13:33; Lk. 13:21
Bushel (modios) 7.7 dry quarts .24 bushel; .96 peck; 8.48
liters; 15.4 dry pints
Measures (batos) 5.8 gallons same as Hebrew ``bath'' used
only once: Luke 16:6
Firkin (metretes) 10 gallons 37.85 liters; 40 quarts; 80
pints; only used in Jn. 2:6
Measures (koros) 6.25 bushels same as Hebrew ``cor''; used
only once: Luke 16:7
ROMAN CAPACITY MEASURES
NAME CAPACTIY EQUIVALENTS
Quartarius 8.86 cubic inch
Sextarius 35.44 cubic inch 4 quartarii
Congius 212.64 cubic inch .12 cubic foot; 6 sextarii;
24 quartarii
Urna 850.56 cubic inch .49 cubic foot; 4 congii; 24
sextarii; 96 quartarii
Amphora 1,701.12 cubic inch .98 cubic foot; 2 urnae; 8
congii; 48 sextarii
OLD TESTAMENT MONETARY VALUES
NAME VALUE WEIGHTS/EQUIVALENTS
Dram (``daric'') $5.60 130 grains weight; (earliest
coined money Jews used)
Shekel (silver, heavy) $0.64 4 Drachmas (in value); 4 Denarii
(in value); .403 ounce
Shekel (silver, light) $0.32 .201 ounce
Shekel (gold, heavy) $9.60 15 heavy, silver shekels (in
value); .403 ounce
Shekel (gold, light) $4.80 15 light, silver shekels (in
value) .201 ounce
Mina (silver, heavy) $32.00 50 heavy, silver shekels (in
value and weight); 1.26 lbs.
Mina (silver, light) $16.00 50 light, silver shekels (in value
and weight); .63 lb.
Mina (gold, heavy) $480.00 50 gold, heavy shekels (in value
and weight); 1.26 lbs.
Mina (gold, light) $240.00 50 light, gold shekels (in value
and weight); .63 lb.
Talent
(silver, heavy) $1,920.00 60 heavy, silver minas (in value and
weight); 75.6 pounds
Talent
(silver, light) $960.00 60 light, silver minas (in value and
weight); 37.8 pounds
Talent
(gold, heavy) $28,800.00 60 heavy, gold minas (in value
and weight); 75.6 pounds
Talent
(gold, light) $14,400.00 60 light, gold minas (in value
and weight); 37.8 pounds
NOTE: "Heavy'' is also referred to as the ``common.''
As you can see, the "light" is one half the weight of the "heavy"; and we're estimating the gold at 15 times the value of silver.)
NEW TESTAMENT MONEY
NAME VALUE EQUIVALENTS
Mite (lepton) $0.0012 1/8 cent; 1/2 farthing
(1/2 Roman ``quadran'')
Farthing
(quadrans) $0.0024 1/4 cent; 2 "mites" (2 "leptons")
(assaurius) $0.0096 about 1 cent
Penny
(denarion) $0.16 1 Roman denarius; 1 Greek drachma;
daily wage of laborer
Didrachma $0.32 2 Roman denarii; 2 Greek drachmas
Stater
(tetradrachma) $0.64 4 Roman denarii; 4 Greek drachmas
25 drachmas $4.00 1 Roman aureus
Mina (pound) $16.00 100 Roman denarii; 100 Greek drachmas
Talent $960.00 240 Roman aurei
Tom Edwards 713.5 13th Street Ashland, KY 41101 (606) 325-9742 Note: ~References~ **Portions of this website are reprinted from other sources under the Fair Use Doctrine of International Copyright Law, Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 107, as educational material without benefit of financial gain. For more information, see Cornell Law School at http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html
>> other resources for biblical measures on our site
The Coins during the time of Jesus
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