Area
The Israelite system of measuring area was fairly informal; the biblical text merely measures areas by describing how much land could be sown with a certain volume measure of seed, for example the amount of land able to be sown with 2 seahs of barley. The closest thing to a formal area unit was the yoke (Hebrew semed) (sometimes translated as acre), which referred to the amount of land that a pair of yoked oxen could plough in a single day; in Mesopotamia the standard estimate for this was 6480 square cubits, which is roughly equal to a third of an acre.
"Searah" (Hebrew ) - (pl. searot) hair, square 1/36 of a giris
"Adashah" (Hebrew ) - (pl. adashot) lentils, 1/9 of a giris
"Geris" (Hebrew ) - (pl. ) split bean, a circle with a diameter of about 20mm
"Amah al amah" (Hebrew ) - (pl. ) square cubit 2,304 cm2 to 3,318 cm2
"Beit rova" (Hebrew ) - (pl. ) space for sowing ΒΌ of a kav 24m2 to 34.56m2
"Beit seah" (Hebrew ) - (pl. ) space for sowing a seah 576 m2 to 829.4m2
"Beit kor" (Hebrew ) - (pl. ) space for sowing a kor 17,280m2 to 24,883m2
Read more about this topic: Biblical And Talmudic Units Of Measurement
Famous quotes containing the word area:
“I am aware of the damp souls of housemaids
Sprouting despondently at area gates.”
—T.S. (Thomas Stearns)
“If you meet a sectary, or a hostile partisan, never recognize the dividing lines; but meet on what common ground remains,—if only that the sun shines, and the rain rains for both; the area will widen very fast, and ere you know it the boundary mountains, on which the eye had fastened, have melted into air.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“Now for civil service reform. Legislation must be prepared and executive rules and maxims. We must limit and narrow the area of patronage. We must diminish the evils of office-seeking. We must stop interference of federal officers with elections. We must be relieved of congressional dictation as to appointments.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)