Length and Distance
The original measures of length were clearly derived from the human body — the finger, hand, arm, span, foot, and pace — but since these measures differ between individuals, they are reduced to a certain standard for general use. The Israelite system thus used divisions of the fingerbreadth(Hebrew: אצבע, Etzba; plural etzba'ot), palm (Hebrew: טפח, Tefah/Tefach; plural Tefahim/Tefachim), span (Hebrew: זרת, Zeret), ell (Hebrew: אמה, Amah, plural Amot), mile (Hebrew: מיל, Mil; plural milin), and parsa (Hebrew: פרסה, Parasa). The latter two are loan words into the Hebrew language, and borrowed measurements - the Latin mile, and Persian Parasang, respectively; the Persian Parasang was approximately (but not exactly) equal to 4 Roman miles.
The Israelite measurements were related as follows:
- 1 palm (Tefah) = 4 fingerbreadths (Etzba'ot)
- 1 span (Zeret) = 3 palms (Tefahim)
- 1 ell (Amah) = 2 spans (Zeret)
- 1 mil (Mil) = 2000 ells (Amot)
- 1 parasang (Parasa) = 4 mils (Milin)
Read more about this topic: Biblical And Talmudic Units Of Measurement
Famous quotes containing the words length and/or distance:
“those far-fet helps be such
As do bewray a want of inward touch,
and sure at length stolen goods do come to light.
But if, both for your love and skill, your name
You seek to nurse at fullest breasts of Fame,
Stella behold, and then begin to indite.”
—Sir Philip Sidney (1554–1586)
“Morality without religion is only a kind of dead reckoning—an endeavor to find our place on a cloudy sea by measuring the distance we have run, but without any observation of the heavenly bodies.”
—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–1882)