Overview
The Bible addresses measures across 41 verses, drawn from both the Old and New Testaments. These passages cluster most in Ezekiel, Exodus and Leviticus. Closely related themes include Weights, Dishonesty, Honesty and Antediluvians. Figures whose stories touch this theme include Og, Goliath, David and Jesus.
Key Bible verses about measures
Old Testament
Genesis
And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits.
A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it.
Exodus
Now an omer is the tenth part of an ephah.
And thou shalt make unto it a border of an hand breadth round about, and thou shalt make a golden crown to the border thereof round about.
Foursquare it shall be being doubled; a span shall be the length thereof, and a span shall be the breadth thereof.
And with the one lamb a tenth deal of flour mingled with the fourth part of an hin of beaten oil; and the fourth part of an hin of wine for a drink offering.
Leviticus
But if he be not able to bring two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, then he that sinned shall bring for his offering the tenth part of an ephah of fine flour for a sin offering; he shall put no oil upon it, neither shall he put any frankincense thereon: for it is a sin offering.
And on the eighth day he shall take two he lambs without blemish, and one ewe lamb of the first year without blemish, and three tenth deals of fine flour for a meat offering, mingled with oil, and one log of oil. of the: Heb. the daughter of her year
And the priest shall take some of the log of oil, and pour it into the palm of his own left hand:
Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in meteyard, in weight, or in measure.
Deuteronomy
For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of giants; behold, his bedstead was a bedstead of iron; is it not in Rabbath of the children of Ammon? nine cubits was the length thereof, and four cubits the breadth of it, after the cubit of a man.
Thou shalt not have in thine house divers measures, a great and a small. divers: Heb. an ephah and an ephah
But thou shalt have a perfect and just weight, a perfect and just measure shalt thou have: that thy days may be lengthened in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
Job
Psalms
LORD, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am. how: or, what time I have here
Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah. at: Heb. settled
Thou feedest them with the bread of tears; and givest them tears to drink in great measure.
Isaiah
Yea, ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, and the seed of an homer shall yield an ephah.
Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it.
Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? a measure: Heb. a tierce
Jeremiah
For I am with thee, saith the LORD, to save thee: though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet will I not make a full end of thee: but I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished.
And the measuring line shall yet go forth over against it upon the hill Gareb, and shall compass about to Goath.
Ezekiel
Thou shalt drink also water by measure, the sixth part of an hin: from time to time shalt thou drink.
Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, behold, I will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem: and they shall eat bread by weight, and with care; and they shall drink water by measure, and with astonishment:
And he brought me thither, and, behold, there was a man, whose appearance was like the appearance of brass, with a line of flax in his hand, and a measuring reed; and he stood in the gate.
The ephah and the bath shall be of one measure, that the bath may contain the tenth part of an homer, and the ephah the tenth part of an homer: the measure thereof shall be after the homer.
Concerning the ordinance of oil, the bath of oil, ye shall offer the tenth part of a bath out of the cor, which is an homer of ten baths; for ten baths are an homer:
New Testament
John
People in the Bible and measures
Biblical figures whose stories intersect with this theme.
In the Bible dictionary
Studying measures for yourself
- Begin with Genesis 6:15, then read the passages below in canonical order.
- Compare how Ezekiel, Exodus and Leviticus each treat the theme.
- Consider the lives of Og, Goliath and David and how their stories intersect with it.
- Widen the study to related themes: Weights, Dishonesty, Honesty and Antediluvians.
Frequently asked questions
What does the Bible say about measures?
The Bible addresses measures across 41 verses, drawn from both the Old and New Testaments. These passages cluster most in Ezekiel, Exodus and Leviticus. Closely related themes include Weights, Dishonesty, Honesty and Antediluvians. Figures whose stories touch this theme include Og, Goliath, David and Jesus.
How many Bible verses are about measures?
The Bible references measures in 41 verses (King James Version).
Where does the Bible first mention measures?
In canonical order, the first of these passages is Genesis 6:15: “And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits.”
Which people in the Bible are associated with measures?
Og, Goliath, David and Jesus.
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