Units Of Measure In The New testament
Here is a brief description of some units of measure in the New Testament:
Cubits, as described in both the Old and New Testaments, refers to distance. Remember Moses building the Arc in the Old testament? Or perhaps in the book of Revelation 21:17 where heaven is described as a cube with this unit of measure. A cubit is approximately 17-21 inches, or about the length from your elbow to your middle finger.
A farthing, as used in Matthew 5:26, is described as a penny, but it doesn’t mean the one cent Americans mean when they say penny.Never heard of this before? Get up to speed here. A farthing is worth about 1/4 of today’s penny. So, take a penny, break it up into four pieces, and you have the biblical farthing.
A denarus as described in Matthew 18:28 is about 16 cents. This scripture refers to a few hundred denarii. If 100 pennies equals one dollar, then a few dollars is all a few denarii are.
Mina, reference scripture Luke 19:16, pertains to time and is about three months.
Lastly, the ever popular talent. A parable given by Jesus in Matthew 25:14 shows talents being distributed to three unwitting individuals. One talent is approximately 100 by today’s standards.