Error in Logos about weights and measures. Which is correct?

Timothy Pintello

Hi Logos,

I was going through the Gospel of Luke, and I came to Luke 13:21 where Jesus stated that a woman put some yeast in to 3 sata of flour. When trying to figure out what 3 sata were in modern measurements I came upon a discrepancy between the Biblical Units and Measurements Infographic (Lexham Press. (2009). Logos Bible Software Infographics. Lexham Press) and your Weights and Measures Converter. The two sources have significant differences between their modern equivalents for Dry Goods measurements. I have listed them below. I am wondering which one is correct. There are also discrepancies for Liquid measures, but the discrepancies are not as large. Additionally, there are small discrepancies in the Weight measures, but they only reach a significant difference once you get to the larger weights.

Infographic

Cab = 1 liter

Omer = 2 liters

Seah = 7.3 liters

Ephah = 22 liters

Lethek = 110 liters

Cor/Homer = 220 liters

Weights and Measures Converter

Omer = 1.5 liters

Seah = 4.5 liters

Ephah = 15 liters

Lethek = 75 liters

Cor/Homer = 150 liters

Regards,

Timothy Pintello

Justin Gatlin

Measures shifted some over time, which complicates things a lot.

"Understanding of biblical measures has increased greatly over the last two hundred years; yet one should still exercise much caution. The ancients themselves were probably not excessively precise in their measures as compared to modern practices. Moreover, ancient societies had various measuring norms, probably reflecting local customs (cf. the American gallon and the British imperial gallon; the land mile and the nautical mile). Indeed, caution should not only be exercised in determining the capacity or length of a measure, but also in using the mention of a particular measure in a passage to draw certain literary conclusions (e.g., the existence of a redactor or some perceived source) or to conclude other factors (e.g., the date or provenance of the passage). M. Powell (ABD 6:898–905), for instance, asserts that OT passages mentioning the סְאָה probably reflect Babylonian influence, and that Gen 18:6, in particular, probably reflects postexilic redaction. Powell’s claims, however, are clearly contradicted by seventh-and eighth-century Heb. inscriptions—without the influence of Babylon or a redactor—that mention the סְאָה (Aharoni, Arad Inscriptions 55:4; 56:2; 60:1, 2; and especially, 75:1, 7). In fact, these inscriptions suggest that the סְאָה probably existed for centuries in Israel before the eighth century. While there still exist many problems, thus the need for caution, the understanding of biblical measures is quite good, and it will only improve.
Israel derived their measures of capacity from Egyptian (הִין, אֵיפָה, קַב), Mesopotamian (סְאָה, כֹּר), and WestSem. (חֹמֶר, לֹג, etc.) sources. This may explain why ancient Israel had a hybrid system, including decimal and sexigesimal measures. These measures generally take their names from containers, e.g., the אֵיפָה basket in Zech 5:6–10 (cf. Eng., cup, bushel, etc.). Originally, these measures were probably divided into liquid measures (בַּת, הִין, לֹג) and dry measures (חֹמֶר / כֹּר, לֵתֶךְ, אֵיפָה, סְאָה (?),עֹמֶר, קַב); however, at least by the late seventh or early sixth century (Aharoni, Arad Inscriptions, 2:5; cf. Ezek 45:10–14) Israel began to merge their liquid and dry measures into one system of measure.
Biblical and postbiblical sources furnish information concerning ratios between the measures of capacity. Exod 16:36 states that an עֹמֶר is a tenth of an אֵיפָה Ezek 45:11 makes an אֵיפָה a tenth of a חֹמֶר. The Mishnah (Menaḥot 7:1) defines the סְאָה as a third of an אֵיפָה. The Vulgate translation of Hosea 3:2 explains the לֵתֶךְ as a half of a חֹמֶר, consistent with the BTalm. (Šebuʿot 43a; Baba Meṣiʿa 80a, b). The Jerusalem Talmud (Termot 47b) equates the קַב to four לֹג and twenty-four לֹג to a סְאָה; thus, a קַב is a sixth of a סְאָה."

Willem VanGemeren, ed., New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology & Exegesis (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1997), 383–384.

"Calculating the precise capacity of these measures or estimating their modern equivalents is always problematic. The BTalm, for instance, clearly recognizes three different norms for measures of capacity: the measure of the wilderness (the biblical or Mosaic measure); the measure of Jerusalem, which exceeded the wilderness measure by a sixth; the measure of Sepphoris, which exceeded the Jerusalem measure by a sixth (ʿErubin 83a; cf. Mish. Menaḥot 7:1; Segre, 362). Moreover, the Talmud suggests that there were other regional variations (Ḥullin 12b). The OT itself also suggests competing norms of measure for biblical Israel. Deut 25:13–16 speaks of substituting a small אֵיפָה for a large אֵיפָה. Ezek 45:11 may reflect the realigning the capacity of the בַּת to the capacity of the אֵיפָה. Archeological data also confirms varying biblical capacity norms in Albright’s discovery of eighth-century containers with the inscriptions בּת and בת למלך (bath and royal bath); thus there may have been standard and royal baths. Josephus, whose testimony of biblical measures is contradictory at times, mentions capacities of baths that are almost twice the size of Albright’s “royal bath.” Biblical Israel, therefore, may have had a standard, royal, and double bath! Certainly, various norms of capacity may explain laws against the unscrupulous who exploit the unsuspecting by selling them a small אֵיפָה for the price of a large אֵיפָה (Deut 25:14). Differing norms of capacity also occur in Mesopotamian measures of capacity (RLA 7 § IV 5, 498; § IV A. 3, 500, etc.)."

Willem VanGemeren, ed., New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology & Exegesis (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1997), 384–385.

MJ. Smith

Please clarify Biblical Units and Measurements Infographic and Weights and Measures Converter — Logos Community