scales, weight

Boyd’s Bible Dictionary:

The standard of Hebrew weights and measures was kept in the sanctuary

(Lev. 19:35-36³⁵Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in meteyard, in weight, or in measure. ³⁶Just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin, shall ye have: I am the Lord your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt. (Leviticus 19:35‑36)). A copy of said standard was kept in the household (Deut. 25:13-16¹³Thou shalt not have in thy bag divers weights, a great and a small. ¹⁴Thou shalt not have in thine house divers measures, a great and a small. ¹⁵But thou shalt have a perfect and just weight, a perfect and just measure shalt thou have: that thy days may be lengthened in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. ¹⁶For all that do such things, and all that do unrighteously, are an abomination unto the Lord thy God. (Deuteronomy 25:13‑16)). The destruction of the ancient standard with the tabernacle led to the adoption of the various weights and measures of such countries as the Hebrews happened to be subject to or in commercial interaction with. Hence the subject of Hebrew weights and measures is full of perplexity and uncertainty. See various weights and measures under their respective headings.

	Avoirdupois
	Pounds	Ounces	Drams
Gerah (1/20 of a shekel)			0.439
Bekah (½ of a shekel)			4.390
Shekel			8.780
Maneh or pound (60 shekels)	2	0	14.800
Talent, kikkah (50 maneh)	102	14	4.000
Talent of lead (Zech. 5:7), "weighty piece" (margin)
Talent (Rev. 16:21): if Attic = about 55 lbs.
Pound, λίτρα (John 12:3; 19:39): about 12 oz. avoirdupois

	£	s.	d.
Gerah (1/20 of a shekel)	0	0	1.5	Ex. 30:13
Bekah, beqa (½ of a shekel)	0	1	3	Gen. 24:22
Shekel	0	2	6	Gen. 23:15
Dram (daric, a Persian gold coin) about	1	2	0	1 Chron. 29:7
Maneh or pound, 60 shekels	7	10	0	Ezek. 45:12
Talent of Silver	375	0	0	Ezra 7:22
Talent of Gold	6000	0	0	Ex. 25:39

	£	s.	d.
Mite, λεπτόν	0	0	3/32	Mark 12:42
Farthing, κοδράντης	0	0	3/16	Matt. 5:26
Farthing, άσσάριον	0	0	¾	Matt. 10:29
Penny, δηνάριον	0	0	7¾	Matt. 20:2
Piece of silver, δραχμή	0	0	7¾	Luke 15:8-9
Tribute money, δίδραχμον	0	1	3½	Matt. 17:24
Piece of money, στατήρ	0	2	7	Matt. 17:27
Pound, μνά	3	4	7	Luke 19:13-25
Talent (Roman), τάλαντον	193	15	0	Matt. 18:24
Piece of silver, άργύριον	0	2	6	Matt. 26:15
Money, άργύριον	indefinite			Matt. 25:18

Measure	Conversion		Example
Caph	0.552	pints
Log (1.3 caphs)	0.718	pints	Lev. 14:10-24
Cab (4 logs)	2.872	pints	2 Kings 6:25
Hin (12 logs)	1.077	gallons	Ex. 29:40
Bath, Ephah (72 logs)	6.462	gallons	1 Kings 7:26
Cor, Homer (720 logs)	64.620	gallons	Ezek. 45:14

Pot, ξέστης	0.960	pints	Mark 7:4,8
Measure, βάτος	7.500	gallons	Luke 16:6
Firkin, μετρητής	8.625	gallons	John 2:6
Measure, κόρος	64.133	gallons	Luke 16:7

Measure	Conversion		Example
Log	0.718	pints
Cab (4 logs)	2.872	pints	2 Kings 6:25
Omer (1.8 cabs)	5.169	pints	Ex. 16:16,36
Tenth deal (tenth of an Ephah)	5.169	pints	Ex. 29:40
Measure, seah (6 cabs)	2.154	gallons	1 Sam. 25:18
Ephah (18 cabs)	6.462	gallons	Lev. 5:11
Half Homer, lethek (90 cabs)	4.040	bushels	Hos. 3:2
Homer, chomer (180 cabs)	8.081	bushels	Lev. 27:16

Measure, χõινιξ	2.000	pints	Rev. 6:6
Bushel, μόδιος	2.000	gallons	Matt. 5:15
Measure, σάτον	2.875	gallons	Matt. 13:33

Measure	Conversion		Example
Finger or Digit, etsba	0.7584	inches	Jer. 52:21
Handbreadth or Palm (4 digits), tephach	3.0337	inches	1 Kings 7:26
Span, zereth (3 palms)	9.1012	inches	Ex. 28:16
Cubit, ammah, πήχυς (2 spans)	18.2025	inches	Gen. 6:15
Fathom, όρυιά (4 cubits)	6.0675	feet	Acts 27:28
Reed, qaneh (6 cubits)	9.1012	feet	Ezek. 40:3-8
Furlong, στάδιον (400 cubits)	606.7500	feet	Luke 24:13
Sabbath-day's journey (2000 cubits)	3033.7500	feet	Acts 1:12
Mile, μίλιον (3200 cubits)	4854.0000	feet	Matt. 5:41
Acre: as much land as a yoke of oxen would plow in a day			1 Sam. 14:14

Concise Bible Dictionary:

In the Old Testament money was weighed. The first recorded transaction in scripture is that of Abraham buying the field of Ephron the Hittite for four hundred shekels of silver, which Abraham “weighed” to Ephron (Gen. 23:15-16¹⁵My lord, hearken unto me: the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver; what is that betwixt me and thee? bury therefore thy dead. ¹⁶And Abraham hearkened unto Ephron; and Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver, which he had named in the audience of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, current money with the merchant. (Genesis 23:15‑16)). The shekel here was a weight. Judas Maccabaeus, about B. C. 141, was the first to coin Jewish money, though there existed doubtless from of old pieces of silver of known value, which passed from hand to hand without being always weighed. Herod the Great coined money with his name on it; and Herod Agrippa had some coins; but after that the coins in Palestine were Roman.

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The following tables must be taken approximately only: the authorities differ.

WEIGHTS.

The principal weights in use were as follows with their approximate equivalents:—

900006

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It must be noted that there are two shekels mentioned in the Old Testament: one according to the “king’s weight,” probably the standard shekel used for all ordinary business (Ex. 38:29²⁹And the brass of the offering was seventy talents, and two thousand and four hundred shekels. (Exodus 38:29); Josh. 7:21²¹When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it. (Joshua 7:21); 2 Sam. 14:26²⁶And when he polled his head, (for it was at every year's end that he polled it: because the hair was heavy on him, therefore he polled it:) he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels after the king's weight. (2 Samuel 14:26); Amos 8:5⁵Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit? (Amos 8:5)); and another called the “shekel of the sanctuary,” of which it is said in Exodus 30:13¹³This they shall give, every one that passeth among them that are numbered, half a shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary: (a shekel is twenty gerahs:) an half shekel shall be the offering of the Lord. (Exodus 30:13); Leviticus 27:25²⁵And all thy estimations shall be according to the shekel of the sanctuary: twenty gerahs shall be the shekel. (Leviticus 27:25); Numbers 3:47⁴⁷Thou shalt even take five shekels apiece by the poll, after the shekel of the sanctuary shalt thou take them: (the shekel is twenty gerahs:) (Numbers 3:47) and Numbers 18:16¹⁶And those that are to be redeemed from a month old shalt thou redeem, according to thine estimation, for the money of five shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary, which is twenty gerahs. (Numbers 18:16), “the shekel is 20 gerahs,” implying perhaps that the common shekel was different. Michaelis says that the proportion was as 5 to 3, the business shekel being the smaller.

This seems confirmed by the word maneh in the following passages. By comparing 1 Kings 10:17¹⁷And he made three hundred shields of beaten gold; three pound of gold went to one shield: and the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon. (1 Kings 10:17) with 2 Chronicles 9:16¹⁶And three hundred shields made he of beaten gold: three hundred shekels of gold went to one shield. And the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon. (2 Chronicles 9:16) it will be seen that a maneh equals 100 shekels (probably, for the word “shekels” has been added by the translators); whereas in Ezekiel 45:1¹Moreover, when ye shall divide by lot the land for inheritance, ye shall offer an oblation unto the Lord, an holy portion of the land: the length shall be the length of five and twenty thousand reeds, and the breadth shall be ten thousand. This shall be holy in all the borders thereof round about. (Ezekiel 45:1)2 The maneh equals 60 shekels, because the latter would be shekels of the sanctuary. The passage in Ezekiel is obscure, but the sense appears to be that three weights (20, 25, and 15 shekels) should be their maneh, which makes, as in the above table, a maneh = 60 shekels. Some modern tables give the maneh as equal to 50 shekels, from the supposition that this is what is meant in Ezekiel 45:12¹²And the shekel shall be twenty gerahs: twenty shekels, five and twenty shekels, fifteen shekels, shall be your maneh. (Ezekiel 45:12) in the LXX. The maneh is translated “pound” “1 Kings 10:17¹⁷And he made three hundred shields of beaten gold; three pound of gold went to one shield: and the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon. (1 Kings 10:17); Ezra 2:69⁶⁹They gave after their ability unto the treasure of the work threescore and one thousand drams of gold, and five thousand pound of silver, and one hundred priests' garments. (Ezra 2:69); Neh. 7:71-72⁷¹And some of the chief of the fathers gave to the treasure of the work twenty thousand drams of gold, and two thousand and two hundred pound of silver. ⁷²And that which the rest of the people gave was twenty thousand drams of gold, and two thousand pound of silver, and threescore and seven priests' garments. (Nehemiah 7:71‑72)).

The word bekah occurs in Exodus 38:26²⁶A 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. (Exodus 38:26): it signifies “half,” and is “half shekel” in Exodus 30:13¹³This they shall give, every one that passeth among them that are numbered, half a shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary: (a shekel is twenty gerahs:) an half shekel shall be the offering of the Lord. (Exodus 30:13).

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MONEY.

If the weights in the foregoing list be approximately correct, and silver be taken at 5/- per ounce, and gold at £4 per ounce Troy, the money value will be about

900007

With respect to “Piece of money” (Gen. 33:19¹⁹And he bought a parcel of a field, where he had spread his tent, at the hand of the children of Hamor, Shechem's father, for an hundred pieces of money. (Genesis 33:19); Job 42:11¹¹Then came there unto him all his brethren, and all his sisters, and all they that had been of his acquaintance before, and did eat bread with him in his house: and they bemoaned him, and comforted him over all the evil that the Lord had brought upon him: every man also gave him a piece of money, and every one an earring of gold. (Job 42:11)) and “Piece of silver” (Josh. 24:32³²And the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, buried they in Shechem, in a parcel of ground which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for an hundred pieces of silver: and it became the inheritance of the children of Joseph. (Joshua 24:32)) qesitah, Gesenius compares Genesis 33:19¹⁹And he bought a parcel of a field, where he had spread his tent, at the hand of the children of Hamor, Shechem's father, for an hundred pieces of money. (Genesis 33:19) with Genesis 23:16¹⁶And Abraham hearkened unto Ephron; and Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver, which he had named in the audience of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, current money with the merchant. (Genesis 23:16) and supposes the weight to equal 4 shekels.

900008

The Greek word ἀργύριον is the common word for “silver,” and “money,” as l’argent in French. “Piece of silver” in the AV is always ἀργύριον, except in Luke 15:8-9⁸Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it? ⁹And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbors together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost. (Luke 15:8‑9), where it is δραχμή.

The above gives no idea of the purchasing value of these sums, which often varied. A penny (δννάριον) was the usual daily wages of a working man: its purchasing value then must have been considerably more than it is now.

Liquid Measure

900009

Dry Measure

900010

Long Measure

900011

The above measures are calculated from the cubit being the same as the Hebrew ammah and the Greek πῆχυς, which latter is found in Matthew 6:27²⁷Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? (Matthew 6:27); Luke 12:25²⁵And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit? (Luke 12:25): John 21:8⁸And the other disciples came in a little ship; (for they were not far from land, but as it were two hundred cubits,) dragging the net with fishes. (John 21:8); Revelation 21:17¹⁷And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel. (Revelation 21:17). This may be called the short cubit (perhaps not the shortest: See CUBIT). In Ezekiel 41:8⁸I saw also the height of the house round about: the foundations of the side chambers were a full reed of six great cubits. (Ezekiel 41:8) is the expression, “a full reed of six great cubits.” The “great cubit” is supposed to be a cubit and a handbreadth. This would make Ezekiel’s reed to be about 10.618 feet. By adding a sixth to any of the above measurements they will correspond to the great cubit. There can be no doubt, however, that the “furlong” and the “mile” were Greek measures.

Though all these reckonings are only approximate, they help to throw light upon many passages of scripture. Thus Isaiah 5:10¹⁰Yea, ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, and the seed of an homer shall yield an ephah. (Isaiah 5:10) shows that there is a curse resting upon the fields of a covetous man. In Revelation 6:6⁶And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine. (Revelation 6:6) the quantities prove that the time then spoken of will be one of great scarcity.

Strong’s Dictionary of Hebrew Words:

Number:

6425 (find all occurrences in KJV Bible)

Transliteration:

pelec

Phonic:

peh’-les

Meaning:

from 6424; a balance

KJV Usage:

scales, weight

From Manners and Customs of the Bible:

Deuteronomy 25:13¹³Thou shalt not have in thy bag divers weights, a great and a small. (Deuteronomy 25:13). Thou shalt not have in thy bag divers weights, a great and a small.

1. The marginal reading for “divers weights” is “a stone and a stone,” which is a literal rendering of the Hebrew. See also Proverbs 11:1; 16:11¹A false balance is abomination to the Lord: but a just weight is his delight. (Proverbs 11:1)
¹¹A just weight and balance are the Lord's: all the weights of the bag are his work. (Proverbs 16:11). Weights were no doubt originally made of different-sized stones, from which fact eben, a stone, was used to signify a weight, even after other materials were used for weights. We have the word “stone” in our own language to denote a weight of a certain size, and the Germans use the corresponding word stein for a similar purpose.

2. Oriental peddlers still have, as in ancient times, two sets of weights, one for buying and the other for selling. Allusion is made to this species of dishonesty in Proverbs 20:10¹⁰Divers weights, and divers measures, both of them are alike abomination to the Lord. (Proverbs 20:10) and in Micah 6:11¹¹Shall I count them pure with the wicked balances, and with the bag of deceitful weights? (Micah 6:11).