Topical Bible: Cubit

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Easton's Bible Dictionary

Hebrews `ammah; i.e., "mother of the arm," the fore-arm, is a word derived from the Latin cubitus, the lower arm. It is difficult to determine the exact length of this measure, from the uncertainty whether it included the entire length from the elbow to the tip of the longest finger, or only from the elbow to the root of the hand at the wrist. The probability is that the longer was the original cubit. The common computation as to the length of the cubit makes it 20.24 inches for the ordinary cubit, and 21.888 inches for the sacred one. This is the same as the Egyptian measurements.

A rod or staff the measure of a cubit is called in Judges 3:16 gomed, which literally means a "cut," something "cut off." The LXX. and Vulgate render it "span."

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary

1. (n.) The forearm; the ulna, a bone of the arm extending from elbow to wrist.

2. (n.) A measure of length, being the distance from the elbow to the extremity of the middle finger.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

CUBIT

ku'-bit ('ammah; pechus): The standard for measures of length among the Hebrews. They derived it from the Babylonians, but a similar measure was used in Egypt with which they must have been familiar. The length of the cubit is variously estimated, since there seems to have been a double standard in both countries, and because we have no undisputed example of the cubit remaining to the present time. The original cubit was the length of the forearm, from the elbow to the end of the middle finger, as is implied from the derivation of the word in Hebrew and in Latin (cubitum). It seems to be referred to also in Deuteronomy 3:11: "after the cubit of a man." But this was too indefinite for a scientific standard, and the Babylonians early adopted a more accurate method of measurement which passed to the nations of the West. They had a double standard, the so-called royal cubit and the ordinary one. From the remains of buildings in Assyria and Babylonia, the former is made out to be about 20, 6 inches, and a cubit of similar length was used in Egypt and must have been known to the Hebrews. This was probably the cubit mentioned by Ezekiel 40:5 and perhaps that of Solomon's temple, "cubits after the first measure" (2 Chronicles 3:3), i.e. the ancient cubit. The ordinary cubit of commerce was shorter, and has been variously estimated at between 16 and 18 or more inches, but the evidence of the Siloam inscription and of the tombs in Palestine seems to indicate 17, 6 inches as the average length. See WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. This was the cubit of six palms, while the longer one was of seven (Ezekiel 40:5). The cubit mentioned in Judges 3:16 is from a different word in Hebrew (gomedh) and was probably shorter, for Ehud girded it on his thigh under his clothing.

The New Testament references are Matthew 6:27 Luke 12:25, "Which of you. can add a cubit unto the measure of his life?"; John 21:18, "about two hundred cubits off"; Revelation 21:17, "the wall thereof, a hundred and forty and four cubits."

H. Porter

Greek

4083. pechus -- the forearm, ie a cubit
... the forearm, ie a cubit. Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine Transliteration: pechus
Phonetic Spelling: (pay'-khoos) Short Definition: a cubit Definition: a cubit ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/4083.htm - 6k

Strong's Hebrew

520. ammah -- an ell, a cubit
... 519, 520. ammah. 521 . an ell, a cubit. Transliteration: ammah Phonetic
Spelling: (am-maw') Short Definition: cubits. Word Origin ...
/hebrew/520.htm - 6k

1574. gomed -- a short cubit (from elbow to knuckles of clenched ...
... 1573, 1574. gomed. 1575 . a short cubit (from elbow to knuckles of clenched
fist). Transliteration: gomed Phonetic Spelling: (go'-med) Short Definition: cubit ...
/hebrew/1574.htm - 6k

521. ammah -- a cubit
... 520, 521. ammah. 522 . a cubit. Transliteration: ammah Phonetic Spelling:
(am-maw') Short Definition: cubits. ... cubit. (Aramaic) corresponding to 'ammah -- cubit ...
/hebrew/521.htm - 6k

Library

The Altar. The Rings. The Laver.
... The altar was, on every side, two-and-thirty cubits; after the ascent of one cubit,
it was so straitened, that it was less by one cubit in the whole square ...
/.../lightfoot/from the talmud and hebraica/chapter 34 the altar the.htm

The Court Itself.
... From the Chel, he went up into the Court of the Women, twelve
steps,"whereof every step was half a cubit in height. Along the ...
/.../lightfoot/from the talmud and hebraica/chapter 33 the court itself.htm

Appendix 1 Massecheth Middoth
... 9. And there was a place there, a cubit by a cubit, and a slab of marble, and a
ring was fastened on it, and the chain with the keys were hung thereon. ...
/.../edersheim/sketches of jewish social life/appendix 1 massecheth middoth.htm

Folly of the Arguments Derived by the Heretics from Numbers ...
... Now it was constructed thus: its length [3160] was two cubits and a half, its breadth
one cubit and a half, its height one cubit and a half; but such a number ...
/.../irenaeus/against heresies/chapter xxiv folly of the arguments.htm

Chapter xv.
... "Which of you, by taking thought, [389] can add one cubit unto his stature?
[390] And why take ye thought for raiment?" That is ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/augustine/our lords sermon on the mount/chapter xv 2.htm

The Mystical Meanings in the Proportions of Numbers, Geometrical ...
... And the length of the structure was three hundred cubits, and the breadth fifty,
and the height thirty; and above, the ark ends in a cubit, narrowing to a ...
/.../clement/the stromata or miscellanies/chapter xi the mystical meanings in.htm

Concerning the Tabernacle which Moses Built in the Wilderness for ...
... Cords were also put through the rings, and were tied at their farther ends to brass
nails of a cubit long, which, at every pillar, were driven into the floor ...
/.../josephus/the antiquities of the jews/chapter 6 concerning the tabernacle.htm

After This, Pilate Going into the Temple of the Jews...
... that perhaps He was the God of Israel who said to Moses, [1997] Make to thee the
ark of the covenant, two cubits and a half in length, one cubit and a half in ...
/.../unknown/the gospel of nicodemus /chapter 12 28 after this.htm

The Emperor Constantine Abolishes Paganism and Erects Many ...
... And as the heathens affirmed that it was Serapis who brought up the Nile for the
purpose of irrigating Egypt, because a cubit was usually carried into his ...
/.../chapter xviii the emperor constantine abolishes.htm

After this He Continues as Follows: "They Speak, in the Next Place ...
... the three hundred cubits of its length and the fifty of its breadth contracted,
until the thirty cubits of its height terminated in a top one cubit long and ...
/.../origen/origen against celsus/chapter xli after this he.htm

Thesaurus

Cubit (51 Occurrences)
... The probability is that the longer was the original cubit. The common
computation as to the length of the cubit makes it 20.24 inches ...
/c/cubit.htm - 26k

Acacia-wood (27 Occurrences)
... Exodus 25:10 And they shall make an ark of acacia-wood; two cubits and a half the
length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a ...
/a/acacia-wood.htm - 13k

Weights (14 Occurrences)
... Measures: It was quite natural that men should have found a standard for linear
measures in the parts of the human body, and we find the cubit, originally the ...
/w/weights.htm - 21k

Centre (8 Occurrences)
... Ezekiel 43:13 And these 'are' measures of the altar by cubits: The cubit 'is' a
cubit and a handbreadth, and the centre 'is' a cubit, and a cubit the breadth ...
/c/centre.htm - 9k

Acacia (28 Occurrences)
... Its length shall be two and a half cubits, its breadth a cubit and a half, and
a cubit and a half its height. (WEB JPS ASV DBY NAS RSV NIV). ...
/a/acacia.htm - 16k

Gutter (3 Occurrences)
... Ezekiel 43:13 These are the measures of the altar by cubits (the cubit is a cubit
and a handbreadth): the bottom shall be a cubit, and the breadth a cubit, and ...
/g/gutter.htm - 8k

Foursquare (10 Occurrences)
... Exodus 30:2 A cubit shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof;
foursquare shall it be: and two cubits shall be the height thereof: the horns ...
/f/foursquare.htm - 11k

Rim (18 Occurrences)
... Ezekiel 43:13 These are the measures of the altar by cubits (the cubit is a cubit
and a handbreadth): the bottom shall be a cubit, and the breadth a cubit, and ...
/r/rim.htm - 11k

Shittim (34 Occurrences)
... Exodus 25:10 And they shall make an ark of shittim wood: two cubits and a half shall
be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a ...
/s/shittim.htm - 20k

Span (14 Occurrences)
... SPAN. (zereth; spithame): A measure of length equal to half a cubit or about 9 in. ...
Luke 12:25 Which of you by being anxious can add a cubit to his height? ...
/s/span.htm - 12k

Resources

What are the modern equivalents of biblical weights and measures? | GotQuestions.org

How did Noah fit all the animals on the Ark? | GotQuestions.org

How tall was Goliath? | GotQuestions.org

Cubit: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

Bible Concordance • Bible Dictionary • Bible Encyclopedia • Topical Bible • Bible Thesuarus

Concordance

Cubit (51 Occurrences)

Matthew 6:27
Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
(KJV ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT RSV)

Luke 12:25
Which of you by being anxious can add a cubit to his height?
(WEB KJV ASV DBY WBS YLT RSV)

Genesis 6:16
You shall make a roof in the ship, and you shall finish it to a cubit upward. You shall set the door of the ship in its side. You shall make it with lower, second, and third levels.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV)

Exodus 25:10
"They shall make an ark of acacia wood. Its length shall be two and a half cubits, its breadth a cubit and a half, and a cubit and a half its height.
(Root in WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Exodus 25:17
You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold. Two and a half cubits shall be its length, and a cubit and a half its breadth.
(Root in WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Exodus 25:23
"You shall make a table of acacia wood. Two cubits shall be its length, and a cubit its breadth, and one and a half cubits its height.
(Root in WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Exodus 26:2
The length of each curtain shall be twenty-eight cubits, and the breadth of each curtain four cubits: all the curtains shall have one measure.
(Root in WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Exodus 26:8
The length of each curtain shall be thirty cubits, and the breadth of each curtain four cubits: the eleven curtains shall have one measure.
(Root in WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Exodus 26:13
The cubit on the one side, and the cubit on the other side, of that which remains in the length of the curtains of the tent, shall hang over the sides of the tabernacle on this side and on that side, to cover it.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Exodus 26:16
Ten cubits shall be the length of a board, and one and a half cubits the breadth of each board.
(Root in WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Exodus 27:9
"You shall make the court of the tabernacle: for the south side southward there shall be hangings for the court of fine twined linen one hundred cubits long for one side:
(Root in WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Exodus 27:18
The length of the court shall be one hundred cubits, and the breadth fifty every where, and the height five cubits, of fine twined linen, and their sockets of brass.
(Root in WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Exodus 30:2
Its length shall be a cubit, and its breadth a cubit. It shall be square, and its height shall be two cubits. Its horns shall be of one piece with it.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Exodus 36:9
The length of each curtain was twenty-eight cubits, and the breadth of each curtain four cubits. All the curtains had one measure.
(Root in WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Exodus 36:15
The length of each curtain was thirty cubits, and four cubits the breadth of each curtain. The eleven curtains had one measure.
(Root in WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Exodus 36:21
Ten cubits was the length of a board, and a cubit and a half the breadth of each board.
(Root in WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Exodus 37:1
Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood. Its length was two and a half cubits, and its breadth a cubit and a half, and a cubit and a half its height.
(Root in WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Exodus 37:6
He made a mercy seat of pure gold. Its length was two and a half cubits, and a cubit and a half its breadth.
(Root in WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Exodus 37:10
He made the table of acacia wood. Its length was two cubits, and its breadth was a cubit, and its height was a cubit and a half.
(Root in WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Exodus 37:25
He made the altar of incense of acacia wood. It was square: its length was a cubit, and its breadth a cubit. Its height was two cubits. Its horns were of one piece with it.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Exodus 38:9
He made the court: for the south side southward the hangings of the court were of fine twined linen, one hundred cubits;
(Root in WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Exodus 38:11
For the north side one hundred cubits, their pillars twenty, and their sockets twenty, of brass; the hooks of the pillars, and their fillets, of silver.
(Root in WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Exodus 38:12
For the west side were hangings of fifty cubits, their pillars ten, and their sockets ten; the hooks of the pillars, and their fillets, of silver.
(Root in WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Numbers 35:5
You shall measure outside of the city for the east side two thousand cubits, and for the south side two thousand cubits, and for the west side two thousand cubits, and for the north side two thousand cubits, the city being in the midst. This shall be to them the suburbs of the cities.
(Root in WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV)

Deuteronomy 3:11
(For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of the Rephaim; behold, his bedstead was a bedstead of iron; isn't it in Rabbah of the children of Ammon? nine cubits was its length, and four cubits its breadth, after the cubit of a man.)
(Root in WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV)

Judges 3:16
Ehud made him a sword which had two edges, a cubit in length; and he girded it under his clothing on his right thigh.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV)

1 Kings 6:3
The porch before the temple of the house, twenty cubits was its length, according to the breadth of the house; and ten cubits was its breadth before the house.
(Root in WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

1 Kings 6:6
The nethermost story was five cubits broad, and the middle was six cubits broad, and the third was seven cubits broad; for on the outside he made offsets in the wall of the house all around, that the beams should not have hold in the walls of the house.
(Root in WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

1 Kings 6:17
The house, that is, the temple before the oracle, was forty cubits long.
(Root in WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

1 Kings 6:25
The other cherub was ten cubits: both the cherubim were of one measure and one form.
(Root in WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

1 Kings 6:26
The height of the one cherub was ten cubits, and so was it of the other cherub.
(Root in WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

1 Kings 7:24
Under its brim around there were buds which encircled it, for ten cubits, encircling the sea: the buds were in two rows, cast when it was cast.
(Root in WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

1 Kings 7:27
He made the ten bases of brass; four cubits was the length of one base, and four cubits its breadth, and three cubits its height.
(Root in WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

1 Kings 7:31
The mouth of it within the capital and above was a cubit: and its mouth was round after the work of a pedestal, a cubit and a half; and also on its mouth were engravings, and their panels were foursquare, not round.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

1 Kings 7:32
The four wheels were underneath the panels; and the axles of the wheels were in the base: and the height of a wheel was a cubit and half a cubit.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

1 Kings 7:35
In the top of the base was there a round compass half a cubit high; and on the top of the base its stays and its panels were of the same.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

1 Kings 7:38
He made ten basins of brass: one basin contained forty baths; and every basin was four cubits; and on every one of the ten bases one basin.
(Root in WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

1 Chronicles 11:23
He killed an Egyptian, a man of great stature, five cubits high; and in the Egyptian's hand was a spear like a weaver's beam; and he went down to him with a staff, and plucked the spear out of the Egyptian's hand, and killed him with his own spear.
(Root in WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV)

2 Chronicles 3:3
Now these are the foundations which Solomon laid for the building of the house of God. The length by cubits after the first measure was sixty cubits, and the breadth twenty cubits.
(Root in WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

2 Chronicles 4:3
Under it was the likeness of oxen, which encircled it, for ten cubits, encircling the sea. The oxen were in two rows, cast when it was cast.
(Root in WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Ezekiel 40:5
Behold, a wall on the outside of the house all around, and in the man's hand a measuring reed six cubits long, of a cubit and a handbreadth each: so he measured the thickness of the building, one reed; and the height, one reed.
(Root in WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Ezekiel 40:12
and a border before the lodges, one cubit on this side, and a border, one cubit on that side; and the lodges, six cubits on this side, and six cubits on that side.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Ezekiel 40:21
The lodges of it were three on this side and three on that side; and its posts and its arches were after the measure of the first gate: its length was fifty cubits, and the breadth twenty-five cubits.
(Root in WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Ezekiel 40:42
There were four tables for the burnt offering, of cut stone, a cubit and a half long, and a cubit and a half broad, and one cubit high; whereupon they laid the instruments with which they killed the burnt offering and the sacrifice.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Ezekiel 42:4
Before the chambers was a walk of ten cubits' breadth inward, a way of one cubit; and their doors were toward the north.
(Root in WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Ezekiel 43:13
These are the measures of the altar by cubits (the cubit is a cubit and a handbreadth): the bottom shall be a cubit, and the breadth a cubit, and its border around its edge a span; and this shall be the base of the altar.
(Root in WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Ezekiel 43:14
From the bottom on the ground to the lower ledge shall be two cubits, and the breadth one cubit; and from the lesser ledge to the greater ledge shall be four cubits, and the breadth a cubit.
(Root in WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Ezekiel 43:15
The upper altar shall be four cubits; and from the altar hearth and upward there shall be four horns.
(Root in WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Ezekiel 43:17
The ledge shall be fourteen cubits long by fourteen broad in the four sides of it; and the border about it shall be half a cubit; and its bottom shall be a cubit around; and its steps shall look toward the east.
(Root in WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Ezekiel 47:3
When the man went forth eastward with the line in his hand, he measured one thousand cubits, and he caused me to pass through the waters, waters that were to the ankles.
(Root in WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Zechariah 5:2
He said to me, "What do you see?" I answered, "I see a flying scroll; its length is twenty cubits, and its breadth ten cubits."
(Root in WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV)

Subtopics

Cubit

Cubit: A Measure of Distance

Cubit: Who Can Add to his Height

Related Terms

Acacia-wood (27 Occurrences)

Weights (14 Occurrences)

Centre (8 Occurrences)

Acacia (28 Occurrences)

Gutter (3 Occurrences)

Foursquare (10 Occurrences)

Rim (18 Occurrences)