Measure

We use measurements when we purchase a gallon of milk, prepare to hang new window treatments, or glance at our odometer. Measuring and measurements were just as much a part of the biblical world. Commodities like flour, grain, and wine were all measured through the use of containers, and the names of those containers often became the names of the units for measuring wet and dry volume, such as the ephah, omer, bath, and hin.[137] By contrast, the measurement of length was often done in units associated with parts of the body. For example, the cubit was the distance between the tip of the elbow and the tip of the middle finger, and the handbreadth was the width of the hand.[138] When linear measurements were taken, it could be done by using a rope, line, rod, or reed (Isa. 44:13; Zech. 2:1; Rev. 11:1; 21:15).

Body parts helped define length and width measurements such as the handbreadth and cubit.

We make an assumption about measuring today that was not assumed in the past. We expect the measuring cup in our kitchen and the tape measure in our workshop to produce the same results as similar tools in our neighbor’s home. This was not the case even in Egypt, where one-cubit measuring rods were subdivided into segments as small as one millimeter. When we compare Egyptian measuring tools that all claim to reflect a one-cubit standard, we find them to be of slightly different lengths. Perhaps each tool was linked to a particular building project, providing the standard for measuring at that building location.[139] Ropes that were utilized to measure larger distances had some stretch in them, thus providing different results, depending on how hard one pulled them. And given the handmade nature of ceramic containers, these too varied in size from one to another. As long as these differences were not exploited (Amos 8:5; Mic. 6:10–11), everyone seems to have accepted these linear and volume variations as the norm.

Instances of literal measuring in real time are rare in the Bible, which challenges us to find some interpretive value in those cases that refer to measurements being taken. Sometimes people measured because it was necessary to accomplish a divine directive such as providing pastureland for the clergy on the outskirts of their towns or measuring the distance between a murder victim and the town that lay closest to the murder scene (Num. 35:5; Deut. 21:1–3). Measuring could also mark an act of mercy, even though to us it does not seem to be one at first blush. For example, David made the defeated soldiers lie down in a straight line on the ground and then measured them using a length of cord. “Every two lengths of them were put to death, and the third length was allowed to live” (2 Sam. 8:2). Given the fact that most enemy soldiers were executed or mutilated and then enslaved, this grisly measuring actually became an act of mercy.

The Lord directed the Israelites to measure three thousand feet outward from the heart of a Levitical city such as Gibeon. This territory was removed from tribal ownership and reserved as pastureland for the clergy living in that city.

Real-time examples of measuring are very infrequent compared to the measuring that occurs in visions. Ezekiel 40–43 takes the prize for the most sustained description of measuring. With Solomon’s temple in ruins, Ezekiel was given a vision of a man with a linen cord and a measuring rod in hand (Ezek. 40:3). He was then given a tour of a new temple as this man went about measuring the place component by component. Interpretations of this act vary, but we can say two things for sure: (1) Because all the measurements are provided in cubits, we are able to compare the structure in his vision with other structures of Ezekiel’s day, including Solomon’s temple. (2) There is a striking symmetry between various components of the temple. Zechariah also had a vision, though it is reported much more succinctly. In his vision, a man with a measuring line was on his way to measure Jerusalem to determine how wide and long it was (Zech. 2:1–2). Given the importance of relocating a temple on its former foundation, this may well have been an effort to precisely determine the former location of Solomon’s temple in advance of building the second temple.[140] A third vision also included measuring. This time John was given a reed to measure the temple and altar in his vision (Rev. 11:1–2). At the close of Revelation, John saw an angel who measured the city with a gold rod, which illustrated that the New Jerusalem will be perfectly symmetrical, just like the Holy of Holies, where the Lord made his presence known.[141]

Measuring also has a figurative dimension in the Bible. The special, even spectacular nature of something can be emphasized by how immeasurable it is. For example, Isaiah asked, “Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?” (Isa. 40:12; see also Job 11:9; 38:4–5; Jer. 31:37). Jesus urged caution in establishing the standards we use to judge others, for “with the measure you use, it will be measured to you” (Matt. 7:2; Luke 6:38). Finally, Paul cautioned his detractors about the standards they were using to measure themselves: “When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise” (2 Cor. 10:12).