Ephah

The ephah was the standard Hebrew unit of dry measure, equivalent to one-tenth of a homer and approximately equal to a bath in liquid measure. Estimates of its capacity vary among scholars, with figures ranging from roughly 3.5 to 8 gallons (approximately 13 to 30 liters), with most modern calculations settling around 5.8 gallons (22 liters). The ephah served as the basic unit for measuring grain, flour, and other dry commodities in commerce and cultic offerings.

The Law required that the ephah be just and true, with the dishonest use of an undersize ephah explicitly condemned in Leviticus 19:36, Deuteronomy 25:14, Proverbs 20:10, and the prophets Amos and Micah. Zechariah's vision of a woman seated in an ephah-basket represents wickedness being removed from the land and transported to Babylon—the ephah serving as a container large enough for symbolic narrative purposes. The grain offerings at the sanctuary were frequently measured in tenths of an ephah, making it a unit with both civic and sacrificial significance in Israelite life.