Biblical and Talmudic Units of Measurement - Volume and Capacity - Dry Measure

Dry Measure

For dry measurements, the smallest unit was the egg (Hebrew: Bezah), then came the Log (לג), Kav (קב), Se'ah (סאה), Ephah (איפה), Letek (לתך), and Kor (כור). The Letek is mentioned only once in the masoretic text, and the Septuagint translates it by the Greek term nebeloinou, meaning wine-skin. These measurements were related as follows:

• 6 Eggs (Bezah) = 1 Log
• 4 Log = 1 Kav
• 6 Kav = 1 Se'ah
• 3 Se'ah = 1 Ephah
• 5 Ephah = 1 Letek
• 2 Letek = 1 Kor

The smaller unit the Ke'zayit is, by different sources, considered equal to 1/2 a bezah, 1/3 of a bezah, or not directly related to the other units of volume.

The Omer, which the Torah mentions as being equal to one tenth of an Ephah, is an awkward fit into this system (it constitutes 1.8 Kabs and 0.3 Se'ah), and it is evident that it wasn't originally present, but is instead a result of decimalisation, perhaps under the influence of Egypt or Assyria, which both had decimal systems. In the Torah, it is the Priestly Code which refers to the Omer, rather than to the Se'ah or Kav; textual scholars view the Priestly Code as one of the later sources of the Torah, dating from a period when Egypt and Assyria had much more direct influence over Israel. However, the Omer is mentioned as a tenth of an ephah in Exodus 16:36, before the Priestly code.

Use of the Omer to collect manna is easily explained by Egyptian influence as the Israelites were leaving Egypt after 400 years, regardless of how one views the Exodus.