Manna per person per day (Exodus 16:16) — ≈2.3 quarts (2.2 L)
1 ephah
Standard commercial unit — about a bushel (22 L). Ruth gleaned "about an ephah" (Ruth 2:17)
1 homer
A donkey load — the largest dry measure. Hosea buys his wife back for 15 shekels + 1.5 homers of barley (Hosea 3:2)
Dry Volume Units
Convert
Amount
Unit
Key Liquid Measures in Context
1 hin
Oil and wine measure for offerings — about 1 gallon (3.67 L)
6 stone jars
Wedding at Cana (John 2:6): "two or three baths each" = ≈32–48 gallons (120–180 L) of water turned to wine
1 bath = 1 ephah
The bath is the liquid equivalent of the ephah — same volume for wet and dry
Liquid Volume Units
Convert
Amount
Unit
Purchasing Power — NT Period (1st Century AD)
1 denarius
1 day's wage for a laborer (Matthew 20:2) — the Parable of the Vineyard workers
2 denarii
The Good Samaritan's payment to the innkeeper — 2 days care for the injured man
30 silver pieces
Judas's payment (Matthew 26:15) — likely shekels, the same as a slave's price
1 talent
≈ 20 years wages. The Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25) involves astronomical sums — intentionally so
New Testament Currency (Roman)
All conversions are scholarly estimates — ancient weights were not standardized and varied by region and era. Purchasing power comparisons are approximations based on comparative wage data.