What does ephah mean?
An ephah is an ancient Hebrew unit of dry measure, used throughout the Hebrew Bible for quantifying grain and other dry goods such as flour and roasted kernels. Equivalent to roughly one bushel, or about 22 litres, it served as a standard household and commercial measure in ancient Israel: Ruth famously gleaned 'about an ephah of barley' in the fields of Boaz, and sacrificial offerings were frequently specified in tenths of an ephah of fine flour. The word survives today almost exclusively in biblical translations, religious scholarship, and archaeological discussion of ancient weights and measures, so encountering it outside those contexts is rare. It carries no figurative meaning in modern English, and its interest lies largely in what it reveals about daily life, agriculture, and ritual practice in the ancient Near East.
nounAn ancient Hebrew unit of dry measure for grain, equal to about one bushel (roughly 22 litres). The word is encountered almost exclusively in biblical contexts and translations of the Hebrew scriptures.
- An ancient Hebrew unit of dry capacity used for measuring grain and other dry goods, equivalent to about one bushel or approximately 22 litres.
"The farmer brought an ephah of barley to the temple as his offering."
"Ruth gleaned in the field until evening and beat out what she had gathered, about an ephah of barley."
"The priest was allotted a tenth of an ephah of fine flour for the daily grain offering."
Regular pluralisation; the plural is rare, as references usually concern a single measure.
"The storehouse held several ephahs of threshed grain."
An ephah of grain was roughly what a person could carry — about 22 litres of barley, enough to feed a household for days.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of ephah
The word ephah comes directly from Hebrew ʾēp̄āh, the native name for this dry measure, which entered English through early modern Bible translation. It belongs to a family of ancient Hebrew and Mesopotamian measures that includes smaller units such as the omer and larger ones such as the homer and kor, with which it stood in fixed ratios. Its usage in English has remained tied to scriptural contexts since its introduction.
How ephah is actually used
A specialised term found chiefly in Bible translations, religious commentary, and discussions of ancient Near Eastern metrology. In modern English it appears almost only when referring to the biblical measure.
Easily confused with ephah
Alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet, whereas an ephah is an ancient Hebrew dry measure of grain.