Weights and Measures of the Bible

Biblical units of length, weight, volume, and money were never standardized the way modern metric or imperial systems are — they varied by period (patriarchal vs. monarchic vs. Second Temple), by region, and sometimes by whose court set the standard (note the repeated Old Testament concern for a “just” or “perfect” weight, e.g. Lev 19:36, Deut 25:13-15, Prov 11:1 — cheating with weights was a live temptation because there was no central mint enforcing them). Every modern equivalent below is therefore an approximation, usually derived from archaeological finds (inscribed weight-stones, jar capacities) and cross-checked against ratios given in Scripture itself (e.g. Ezek 45:11 — “the ephah and the bath shall be of one measure… the tenth part of an homer”). Use these figures for conceptual scale, not engineering precision — but the scale itself is often the whole theological point: a debt of 10,000 talents vs. 100 denarii, a widow’s two mites that are worth almost nothing yet are “all her living.”

Interpretive Notes Before Using This Table

• “Common” vs. “royal/long” cubit — Egypt and some ANE contexts used a longer “royal cubit” (~20.4-21 in / ~52 cm); most biblical measurements assume the shorter “common cubit” (~18 in / ~45 cm) unless the text specifies otherwise.
• Money before coinage — Through most of the Old Testament, “money” is weighed precious metal (silver, sometimes gold), not minted coins — hence phrases like “current money with the merchant” (Gen 23:16) and the constant pairing of money-words with weight-words (shekel literally means “weight”). Actual minted coinage (as in the Gospels — denarius, drachma, stater) belongs to the Persian/Greek/Roman periods.
• Ezekiel’s maneh puzzle — Ezek 45:12 gives a notoriously difficult accounting: “the shekel shall be twenty gerahs: twenty shekels, five and twenty shekels, fifteen shekels, shall be your maneh” — 20+25+15 = 60 shekels to the maneh, which doesn’t match the more common 50-shekel mina used elsewhere in the ancient Near East. Commentators differ on whether this reflects a distinct sanctuary standard, a scribal/textual issue, or an intentional adjustment; it’s flagged here rather than smoothed over.
• Round numbers are common — Ancient measurement language often rounds generously (a “day’s journey,” “about” so many cubits); don’t force false precision onto phrases the text itself treats loosely.

Length / Distance

Unit	Hebrew / Greek	Modern Equivalent	Key Reference
Finger (digit)	Heb. etsba	~0.75 in / 1.9 cm	Jer 52:21 (pillar thickness)
Handbreadth (palm)	Heb. tophach	~3 in / 7.6 cm (1/6 cubit)	Exod 25:25; Ps 39:5
Span	Heb. zereth	~9 in / 23 cm (1/2 cubit)	1 Sam 17:4 (Goliath’s height in cubits and a span)
Cubit (common)	Heb. ammah; Gk. pēchys	~18 in / 45 cm	Gen 6:15; Rev 21:17
Cubit (royal/long)	Heb. ammah (long)	~20.4-21 in / ~52 cm	Ezek 40:5 (used for the temple vision)
Reed	Heb. qaneh	~9 ft / 2.7 m (6 long cubits)	Ezek 40:5; 41:8
Fathom	Gk. orguia	~6 ft / 1.8 m	Acts 27:28
Furlong / Stadion	Gk. stadion	~600 ft / 185 m (1/8 Roman mile)	Luke 24:13; Rev 21:16
Roman Mile	Gk. milion	~1,620 yds / 1.48 km (≈0.92 statute mi)	Matt 5:41 (“go with him a mile”)
Sabbath Day’s Journey	—	~0.57 mi / ~0.9 km (2,000 cubits, rabbinic limit)	Acts 1:12

Weight / Mass

Unit	Hebrew	Modern Equivalent	Key Reference
Gerah	Heb. gerah	~0.57 g (1/20 shekel)	Exod 30:13 — “a shekel is twenty gerahs”
Beka	Heb. beka	~5.7 g (1/2 shekel)	Exod 38:26
Shekel	Heb. sheqel — literally “weight”	~11.4 g (~0.4 oz)	Exod 30:13; Exod 21:32
Mina / Maneh	Heb. maneh	~570 g (~1.25 lb); 50 shekels standard, though Ezek 45:12 implies 60	Ezek 45:12
Talent	Heb. kikkar — literally “circle/round loaf” (shape of a cast ingot)	~34 kg (~75 lb); 60 minas / 3,000 shekels	2 Kings 5:23 (Naaman’s two talents of silver)

Volume — Dry Measures

Unit	Hebrew	Modern Equivalent	Key Reference
Cab (kab)	Heb. qav	~1.2 L (~1 qt)	2 Kings 6:25
Omer	Heb. omer	~2.3 L (~2 qt); 1/10 ephah	Exod 16:36 — “an omer is the tenth part of an ephah”
Seah	Heb. se’ah	~7.3 L (~2 gal); 1/3 ephah	Gen 18:6 (Sarah’s “three measures of fine meal”)
Ephah	Heb. ephah	~22 L (~5 gal / 3/5 bushel)	Ruth 2:17; Ezek 45:11
Homer / Cor	Heb. chomer / kor	~220 L (~58 gal / 6.5 bushels); 10 ephahs	Ezek 45:11, 14

Volume — Liquid Measures

Unit	Hebrew	Modern Equivalent	Key Reference
Log	Heb. log	~0.3 L (~10 fl oz); 1/12 hin	Lev 14:10
Hin	Heb. hin	~3.7 L (~1 gal)	Exod 29:40
Bath	Heb. bath	~22 L (~5.75 gal) — same volume as an ephah	Ezek 45:11 — “the ephah and the bath shall be of one measure”

Money

Old Testament — weighed silver/gold (pre-coinage)

Values below reuse the weight units above, since “money” was literally weighed metal until well into the exile/post-exilic period.

Term	Modern Equivalent (silver weight)	Key Reference
Shekel of silver	~11.4 g silver	Exod 21:32 — “thirty shekels of silver” (price set for a gored slave — the same figure Judas is later paid, Matt 26:15, a deliberate echo)
Pieces of silver (unspecified)	Typically assumed to be shekels unless context indicates otherwise	Gen 37:28 (Joseph sold for 20 pieces of silver)

New Testament — actual minted coinage

Coin	Origin	Modern Concept	Key Reference
Lepton (“mite”)	Jewish, bronze/copper	Smallest coin in circulation — a tiny fraction of a day’s wage	Mark 12:42 — the widow’s two mites, “which make a farthing”
Quadrans (“farthing”)	Roman, bronze	1/64 denarius	Mark 12:42 (used by Mark to gloss the lepton for a Roman audience)
Assarion (“penny”/“farthing”)	Roman, bronze	1/16 denarius	Matt 10:29 (“two sparrows sold for a farthing”)
Denarius (“penny”)	Roman, silver	One day’s wage for a laborer	Matt 20:2; Matt 18:28 (“an hundred pence”)
Drachma (“piece of silver”)	Greek, silver	Roughly one day’s wage, comparable to a denarius	Luke 15:8 (the lost coin)
Didrachma (“tribute money”)	Greek, silver	Two drachmas — the annual temple tax per person	Matt 17:24
Stater (“piece of money”)	Greek, silver	Four drachmas — exactly covered the temple tax for two people	Matt 17:27 (the coin in the fish’s mouth)
Mina (“pound”)	Greek/Roman	100 drachmas — a substantial sum, roughly 3-4 months’ wages	Luke 19:13 (Parable of the Minas/Pounds)
Talent	Greek/Roman (money, not weight-only)	6,000 denarii — about 20 years’ wages for a day laborer	Matt 18:24; Matt 25:15 (Parable of the Talents)

Area (Bonus Category)

Unit	Hebrew	Modern Concept	Key Reference
Yoke (of land)	Heb. tsemed	The area a yoke of oxen could plow in one day — no fixed modern figure, but conceptually similar to the English “acre” (originally also a plowing-day measure)	1 Sam 14:14; Isa 5:10

Notable Passages Where the Math Matters

Getting the scale right isn’t trivia — in several key passages the numbers themselves carry the theological point:

• Matt 18:23-35 (Parable of the Unforgiving Servant) — The first servant owes 10,000 talents (Matt 18:24) — roughly 200,000 years’ worth of a laborer’s wages, an intentionally absurd, uncollectable sum representing humanity’s debt of sin. The second servant owes him 100 denarii (Matt 18:28) — about 100 days’ wages, a real but entirely payable amount. The forgiven servant’s refusal to forgive a debt a tiny fraction the size of his own is the entire point of the parable, and it only lands if the numbers are felt, not just read.
• Luke 15:8-10 (The Lost Coin) — The woman’s ten “pieces of silver” are drachmas, each worth roughly a day’s wage — not pocket change, but a meaningful fraction of a household’s liquid savings, which is why she lights a lamp and sweeps the whole house for one.
• Mark 12:41-44 (The Widow’s Mites) — Her two lepta together “make a farthing” (a quadrans) — the smallest possible unit of currency, a fraction of a single denarius/day’s wage. Jesus’ point (“she of her want did cast in all that she had,” v44) depends on knowing this was the smallest coin conceivable, not a modest gift.
• Matt 17:24-27 (Temple Tax / Coin in the Fish) — The didrachma tax is two drachmas per person; the stater Peter finds is worth exactly four drachmas — precisely enough for Jesus and Peter together, no more, no less.
• Exod 21:32 / Matt 26:15 (Thirty Pieces of Silver) — Thirty shekels was the fixed compensation for a gored slave under the Law. Judas is paid the exact price of a slave for betraying Jesus — a detail the Gospel writers almost certainly intend readers to catch.
• Gen 6:15 / Rev 21:15-17 (Massive Structures in Cubits) — The ark (300 x 50 x 30 cubits ≈ 450 x 75 x 45 ft) and the New Jerusalem (12,000 furlongs per side, wall 144 cubits, Rev 21:16-17) only register as the enormous structures they’re meant to be once converted to a felt modern scale.

Word Studies

Term	Language	Strong’s #	Meaning
Ammah (אַמָּה)	Hebrew	H520	Cubit; also literally “mother” — the forearm as the “mother measure”
Sheqel (שֶׁקֶל)	Hebrew	H8255	Shekel; from shaqal, “to weigh” — the unit is named directly for the act of weighing
Ephah (אֵיפָה)	Hebrew	H374	Dry measure, likely an Egyptian loanword
Kikkar (כִּכָּר)	Hebrew	H3603	Talent; literally “circle” or “round loaf” — describing the shape of a cast metal ingot
Talanton (τάλαντον)	Greek	G5007	Talent — originally a unit of weight, by New Testament times also the largest unit of money
Dēnarion (δηνάριον)	Greek	G1220	Denarius — Roman silver coin, standard day’s wage
Lepton (λεπτόν)	Greek	G3016	“Small, thin, peeled” — the smallest coin, hence “mite”
Drachmē (δραχμή)	Greek	G1406	Drachma — Greek silver coin, roughly equal to a denarius

Related

See Time-Reckoning in the Bible for the companion reference on day/night divisions, the calendar, and the watches of the night.