These terms were based on natural units of measurement that could be easily applied. Measures are given in ascending order, with their approximate imperial and metric equivalents.
Finger (1/4 handbreadth): about 3/4 inch (about 1.85 centimetres)
Jeremiah 52:21 The finger was 1/4 handbreadth and was the smallest subdivision of the cubit. This is its only mention in Scripture.
Each pillar was eighteen cubits tall and twelve cubits in circumference; each was hollow, four fingers thick.
Handbreadth (4 fingers): about 3 inches (about 8 centimetres)
Exodus 25:25 parallel Exodus 37:12 The handbreadth was the width of the hand at the base of the four fingers. See also 1 Kings 7:26 parallel 2 Chronicles 4:5; Psalm 39:5 The handbreadth is here used figuratively of the shortness of human life; Ezekiel 40:5
And make a rim around it a handbreadth wide and put a gold molding on the rim.
Span (half a cubit): about 9 inches (about 23 centimetres)
Exodus 28:16 parallel Exodus 39:9 The span was the width of the outstretched hand from thumb to little finger. See also 1 Samuel 17:4 Goliath's height is given in the Hebrew as “six cubits and a span”; Psalm 90:10 The span is here used figuratively of the shortness of human life; Ezekiel 43:13
It must be square when folded over double, a span long and a span wide.
Cubit (2 spans): about 18 inches (about 0.5 metre)
Exodus 25:10 parallel Exodus 37:1 The cubit was the distance from the fingertip to the elbow, and was used to measure height, size, depth and distance. See also Genesis 7:20 The Hebrew describes the depth of the water as “fifteen cubits”; Exodus 27:9–18 parallel Exodus 38:9–15; 1 Kings 6:2–3 parallel 2 Chronicles 3:3–4; 1 Chronicles 11:23 The Hebrew describes the man as “five cubits tall”; Ezekiel 40:5, Ezekiel 45:1–6, Ezekiel 47:3–5; John 21:8 The Greek text describes the distance as “about two hundred cubits”; Revelation 21:17
And they are to construct an ark of acacia wood, two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high.
Reed (6 cubits): about 10 feet (about 3 metres)
Ezekiel 41:8 Originally a measuring instrument, the reed became a recognised measure of six cubits (the rod). See also Ezekiel 40:3, Ezekiel 40:5–7; Revelation 11:1, Revelation 21:15–16
I saw that the temple had a raised base all around it, forming the foundation of the side rooms. It was the full length of a rod, six long cubits.
Mile
Matthew 5:41 The Greek word for “mile” here is “milion”, a transliteration of the Roman measurement “mille passuum”, “a thousand paces”. See also Luke 24:13 The measurement in the Greek is “sixty stadia”. Eight stadia were about one mile (about 1480 metres); John 6:19 The measurement in the Greek is “twenty-five or thirty stadia”; John 11:18 The measurement in the Greek is “fifteen stadia”.
and if someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.
Related themes
Dictionary of Bible Themes © 1999 Martin Manser, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Bible Aquifer. Formatted for this site, with Scripture from the Berean Standard Bible.