Biblical and Talmudic units of measurement were used primarily by ancient Israelites and appear frequently within the Hebrew Bible as well as in later rabbinic writings, such as the Mishnah and Talmud. These units of measurement continue to be used in functions regulating Orthodox Jewish contemporary life, based on halacha. The specificity of some of the units used and which are encompassed under these systems of measurement (whether in linear distance, weight or volume of capacity) have given rise, in some instances, to disputes, owing to the discontinuation of their Hebrew names and their replacement by other names in modern usage.
Note: The listed measurements of this system range from the lowest to highest acceptable halakhic value, in terms of conversion to and from contemporary systems of measurement.
Unit conversion
Archaeological
While documentation on each unit's relation to another's is plentiful, there is much debate, both within Judaism and in academia, about the exact relationship between measurements in the system and those in other measurement systems. Classical definitions, such as that an etzba was seven barleycorns laid side by side, or that a log was equal to six medium-sized eggs, are also open to debate.
Nevertheless, the entire system of measurement bears profound resemblance to the Babylonian and the ancient Egyptian systems, and is currently understood to have likely been derived from some combination of the two. Scholars commonly infer the absolute sizes based on the better-known Babylonian units' relations to their contemporary counterparts. and thus is one sixth larger than the standard amah. An explanation for this discrepancy seems to be suggested by the Book of Chronicles, which states that Solomon's Temple was built according to "cubits following the first measure", suggesting that over the course of time the original amah was supplanted by a smaller one.
The smaller of the Egyptian cubits measured , but the standard Babylonian cubit, cast in stone on one of the statues of Gudea, was 49.5 cm (19.49 in), and the larger Egyptian cubit was between 52.5 and 52.8 cm (20.67 and 20.79 in). who approximates the etzba at 2 cm (0.79 in), and Chazon Ish at 2.38 cm (0.94 in). A third opinion, in Rabbi Chaim P. Benish's "Midos V'Shiurei Torah", provides an alternative understanding of the Rambam and suggests that the , according to the Rambam, is 0.748–0.756 in (1.90–1.92 cm).
In the below tables, the range of values shown is that between the calculations of Naeh and Chazon Ish. The archaeological estimate is in the middle of this range.
Length and distance <span class="anchor" id="Length"></span>
The original measures of length were derived from the human body—the finger, hand, arm, span, foot, and pace—but since these measures differ between individuals, they are reduced to a certain standard for general use.
The Hebrew Bible mentions the palm or handbreadth (; plural '), the span (), and the cubit or ell (; plural amot). In later periods, more measures are recorded: the digit or fingerbreadth (; plural etzba'ot),
- 1 span () = 3 palms ()
- 1 cubit [ell] () = 2 spans (), or 6 palms [handbreadths]
- 1 mil () = 2000 cubits [ells] ()
- 1 parasang () = 4 mils ()
{| class="wikitable"
! Name (plural)
! Hebrew name (plural)
! Translation
! English equivalent
! SI equivalent
|-
| Etzba (Etzba'ot)
|
| thumb-breadth
| 0.79–0.94 in
| 2.0–2.38 cm
|-
| Tefach (Tefachim)
|
| hand-breadth
| 3.16–3.76 in
| 8.02–9.55 cm
|-
| Zeret (Zarot)
|
|span
| 9.48–11.28 in
| 24.08–28.65 cm
|-
| Amah (Amot)
|
| cubit
| 18.96–22.56 in
| 48.16–57.30 cm
|-
| Mil (Milin)
|
| mile
| 0.598–0.712 mi
| 0.963–1.146 km
|-
| parasa (parsa'ot)
|
| parasang
| 2.41–2.85 mi
| 3.87–4.58 km
|}
Talmudic additions
To the somewhat simple system of distance, the Talmud adds a few more units, namely the double palm (), the pace (), the cord (), the stadion (), the day's journey (), and an undetermined quantity named the (). The stadion appears to have been adopted from Persia, while the double palm seems to have been derived from the Greek .