Hebrew Measurement Units in Scripture — Leviticus 27

In biblical-era Israelite society, units of dry and liquid volume were essential for everyday commerce and sacrificial regulations. The basic units were the cor and the bath—each roughly equivalent to the load a donkey could carry at one time—around which a variety of measurement systems were built, giving us insight into the economic activity and religious practices of the period.

Hebrew Measurement Units in Scripture — Leviticus 27

In Hebrew society, the basic unit for measuring dry volume (grain and similar commodities) was the cor, also called the homer—the amount a donkey could carry at one time—while the basic unit for liquid volume was the bath.

1. Dry Volume

Period	Name	Equivalent	Volume (liters)	Notes
Jewish	cor (cor)	10 ephahs	220	also rendered “measure”
	homer (homer)	10 ephahs	220
	omer (omer)	1/10 ephah	2.2	also called “issaron”
	log (log)		0.3
	cab (cab)		1.2
	ephah (ephah)	1/10 homer	22
	seah (seah)	1/30 homer	7.3	also spelled “se’ah”
Roman	xestes (xestes)		0.67	also rendered “pot”
	choinix (choinix)		1	also rendered “quart”
	modios (modios)		8.8	also rendered “bushel”
	saton (saton)		13	also rendered “bushel”

2. Liquid Volume Measures

Period	Name	Equivalent	Volume (Liters)	Notes
Jewish	Bath (bath)	1/10 homer	22	also called ‘mal’
	Kor (kor)	10 baths	220	also called ‘homer’
	Hin (hin)	1/6 bath	3.6
	Cab (cab)		1.2
	Log (log)	1/12 hin	0.3
Roman	Xestes (xmestes)		0.67	also called ‘pot’
Roman	Metretes (metertes)		38.6	also called ‘jar’

Originally published in Korean at bible2u.com