|
A bekah for every man, that is, half a shekel, after the shekel of the sanctuary, for every one that went to be numbered, from twenty years old and upward, for six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty men. And of the hundred talents of silver were cast the sockets of the sanctuary, and the sockets of the vail; an hundred sockets of the hundred talents, a talent for a socket. exodus 38:26-27 - kjv |
What are they talking about? Shekels, homers, baths, and cubits are all foreign to most people. There is even a measurement called a "measure". That sounds like the lead in for an Abbott and Costello skit. It's almost enough to drive a person to start reading the NIV. Taking a chance on becoming NIV positive is nothing to fool around with. With that in mind, here is a chart of Biblical weights and measures.
WEIGHTS
beka 1/2 shekel(10 gerahs) 88.14 grains 5.711 g
gerah 8.81 grains 0.570 g
mina (50 shekels) 20.148 oz 571.175 g
pim 3/4 shekel(1 1/2 bekas) 0.25 oz 7.0 g
pound (Hebrew mina) 20.148 oz 571.175 g
pound (Latin libra) 0.719 lb 325.707 g
shekel(2 bekas) 176.29 grains 11.423 g
talent (60 minas) 75.558 lb 34.227 kg
talent (Hebrew talent) 75.558 lb 34.227 kg
MEASURES
DRY MEASURES of CAPACITY
ephah, measure (3 seahs) 20.878 qt 22.986 L
homer, measure, cor(2 lethechs) 6.524 bu 229.892 L
kab (4 logs) 1.159 qt 1.276 L
lethech(5 ephahs) 3.262 bu 114.946 L
log (1 1/4 kab) 20.5 cu. in .33 L
measure (3 1/3 omers) 6.959 qt 7.661 L
omer (1/10 epah, 1 4/5 kabs) 2.087 qt 2.297 L
seah (3 1/3 omers, 6 kabs) .25 cu ft 7.33 L
LIQUID MEASURES of CAPACITY
bath (6 hins, 3 seahs) 6.073 gal 22.986 L
hin (3 kabs, 12 logs) 1.012 gal 3.830 L
kab (4 logs) 1.349 qt 1.276 L
log (1/12 hin) 0.674 pt 0.318 L
measure,cor (10 baths) 60.738 gal 229.893 L
seah (6 kabs, 2 hins) 2.0 gal 7.33 L
MEASURES of LENGTH
cubit (2 spans) 6-7 palms 17.49 in. 44.424 cm
finger (digit) 1/12 span 0.728 in. 1.849 cm
gomedh 3 3/4 palms, 1 1/4 spans 12.0 in. 30.0 cm
handbreadth (4 fingers) 2.915 in. 7.404 cm
palm (handbreadth) 4 fingers 3.0 in. 7.5 cm
span (3 handbreadths) 8.745 in. 22.212 cm
MEASURES of CAPACITY
measure (Hebrew bath) 6.073 gal 22.986 L
measure (Hebrew cor) 6.524 bu 229.892 L
measure (Hebrew seah) 6.959 qt 7.661 L
measure 10.3 gal 38.985 L
quart 0.98 dry qt 1.078 L
bushel (Latin modius) 7.68 dry qt 8.455 L
pot (Latin sextarius) 0.96 dry pt 0.528 L
1.12 fluid pt 0.529 L
MEASURES of LENGTH
cubit 6-7 palms, 2 spans 18 in. 45 cm
fathom 4 cubits. 8 spans 72 in. 182 cm
furlong 606 ft 184 m
---------