Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

CUBIT

The basic unit of linear measurement in ancient Israel and other ancient Near Eastern societies.

As Heb. ʾammâ (“forearm,” “cubit”) suggests, the cubit originated as the distance between the elbow and the fingertips. Subdivisions of the cubit included the span, the hand, and the finger. The actual length of the cubit varied according to date and region, with Egyptian and Mesopotamian societies each employing two cubits — a long and a shorter one. Reference in 2 Chr. 3:3 to “cubits of the old standard” suggests that also in Israel more than one cubit was in use. Ezek. 40:5; 43:13 may have a longer cubit in mind, referring as they do to a cubit that is a cubit and a hand in length.

Many attempts have been made to determine the precise value of each cubit, with varying results. Some scholars have used the 1200 cubits mentioned in the Siloam inscription and the length of the tunnel itself to calculate the length of the Israelite cubit. The probability, however, that 1200 is a round number, plus the uncertainty as to how closely the present tunnel preserves its original length, combine to make this method unreliable. A better approach is that of Gabriel Barkay, who compares measurements of Iron Age rock-cut tombs in the Jerusalem area to arrive at estimates of 52.5 cm. (20.67 in.) and 45 cm. (17.71 in.) for the long and short cubit, respectively. These results suggest that the long Israelite cubit corresponded most closely with the long Egyptian cubit of seven hands and that the shorter Israelite cubit was six hands in length.

Bibliography. G. Barkay, “Measurements in the Bible — Evidence at St. Etienne for the Length of the Cubit and the Reed,” BARev 12/2 (1986): 37.

Brian P. Irwin

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

CUBIT

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)