Bath (biblical) (bath)

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

About 22 L, the same size as the dry ephah, estimated from excavated jars. Values differ between sources.

1 bath (biblical) = 22 liters (approximately).

Approximate value. Standards for the bath (biblical) varied by place and period, so this converter uses the most commonly cited value. Treat results as estimates, not exact figures.

About the bath (biblical)

Bath is the English form of the Hebrew word bat, the liquid measure of ancient Israel. It served for oil, wine and water, and the prophet Ezekiel gives its place in the system: the bath and the dry ephah were equal, and each was a tenth of a homer. Later rabbinic tables count it as 72 log, or six hin, which fixes its rank among the smaller liquid units.

Its absolute size rests on archaeology rather than on any written definition. Herbert May studied storage jars from Tell Beit Mirsim marked bath and royal bath, and arrived at roughly 22 litres, the figure used here. Other reconstructions run higher, and sources that build on later Talmudic eggs and fingers produce quite different results, so the value should be read as an estimate with a wide margin. In modern terms a bath is about the contents of a 20 litre water cooler bottle.

Sources: Wikipedia: Bath (unit); Wikipedia: Biblical and Talmudic units of measurement

Bath (biblical) conversion chart

1 bath (biblical) expressed in every other volume unit:

More Biblical (Hebrew) units

• omer (volume)
• hin (volume)
• homer (volume)
• biblical cubit (length)
• Sabbath day's journey (length)
• shekel (biblical) (weight & mass)
• Hebrew talent (weight & mass)
• jubilee (time)

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