Sabbath Day's Journey (sabbath)

Biblical (Hebrew)Historical unit (no longer in standard use)Approximate value

About 2,000 cubits (roughly 1.08 km), the distance a person could walk on the Sabbath according to rabbinic tradition.

1 Sabbath day's journey = 1,080 meters (approximately).

Approximate value. Standards for the Sabbath day's journey varied by place and period, so this converter uses the most commonly cited value. Treat results as estimates, not exact figures.

1 Sabbath day's journey = 1,080 meters

About the Sabbath day's journey

Jewish law limits how far a person may travel from a town on the Sabbath, and that limit is the techum shabbat. It is set at 2,000 cubits beyond the settlement boundary, the same distance known as a biblical mile. The phrase Sabbath day's journey is the traditional English name, and the distance was also used to measure the spacing of towns in the Herodian era, for instance Sepphoris to Tiberias at 18 such miles.

The metric value depends on the cubit chosen. Taking a cubit of 46 to 60 cm gives a range of about 960 m to 1,152 m, and the figure used here, about 1.08 km, comes from the 54 cm rabbinic cubit. That is about two thirds of an English statute mile, or roughly six Greek stadia. Most authorities reckon it at about 18 minutes of walking, while Maimonides gave 20 to 24 minutes. An eruv techumin can add a second mile to the permitted limit.

Sources: Wikipedia: Sabbath day's journey (biblical mile); Wikipedia: Cubit

Sabbath Day's Journey conversion chart

1 Sabbath day's journey expressed in every other length unit:

Unit1 Sabbath day's journey
Meters1,080
Kilometers1.08
Centimeters108,000
Millimeters1,080,000
Inches42,519.68504
Feet3,543.307087
Yards1,181.102362
Miles0.6710808876
Micrometers1,080,000,000
Nanometers1,080,000,000,000
Nautical Miles0.5831533477
Pixels (CSS)4,081,889.764
Light-years1.141560901×10⁻¹³
Picometers1.08×10¹⁵
Femtometers1.08×10¹⁸
Decimeters10,800
Hectometers10.8
Decameters108
Thou42,519,685.04
Points3,061,417.323
Picas255,118.1102
Twips61,228,346.46
Astronomical Units7.219354092×10⁻⁹
Light-seconds0.000003602492228
Light-minutes6.004153714×10⁻⁸
Light-hours1.000692286×10⁻⁹
Parsecs3.500041633×10⁻¹⁴
Megaparsecs3.500041633×10⁻²⁰
Angstroms10,800,000,000,000
Fathoms590.5511811
Cable Lengths5.831533477
Leagues0.2236936292
Nautical Leagues0.1943844492
Furlongs5.368647101
Chains53.68647101
Rods214.745884
Links5,368.647101
Hands10,629.92126
Barleycorns127,559.0551
Palms14,173.22835
Spans4,724.409449
Cubits2,362.204724
Ells944.8818898
US Survey Feet3,543.3
US Survey Miles0.6710795455
Stadia5.625
Roman Inches43,902.43902
Roman Feet3,648.648649
Roman Cubits2,432.432432
Roman Paces729.7297297
Roman Stadia5.837837838
Roman Miles0.7297297297
Roman Leagues0.4864864865
Greek Feet3,375
Royal Cubits2,057.142857
Egyptian Palms14,400
Egyptian Fingers57,600
Khet20.57142857
Biblical Cubits2,000
Sun35,640
Shaku3,564
Ken594
Jō356.4
Chō9.9
Ri (Japanese)0.275
Fen (Chinese)324,000
Cun (Chinese)32,400
Chi (Chinese)3,240
Zhang (Chinese)324
Li (Chinese)2.16
Vershoks24,296.96288
Arshins1,518.56018
Sazhens506.1867267
Versts1.012373453
Lignes478,759.68
Pouces39,896.64
Pieds Du Roi3,324.72
Toises554.12
Lieues0.27706
Varas1,292.020577
Leguas0.1938030865
Wa (Thai)540
Sen (Thai)27
Scandinavian Mil0.108

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