Homer

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

Ten baths, roughly 220 L. The largest biblical dry and liquid measure.

1 homer = 220 liters (approximately).

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

About the homer

Largest of the common biblical capacity measures, the homer, also called the kor, served for bulk grain and for liquids such as oil. Ezekiel states that the ephah and the bath were each a tenth of it, and rabbinic tables put it at ten ephah, or thirty seah. It is also easy to mix up with the omer, a unit more than a hundred times smaller despite the similar spelling in English.

Reference works usually quote about 220 litres, which follows directly from ten baths of 22 litres each. That figure is only as firm as the bath estimate beneath it, so a homer should be taken as a rough order of magnitude rather than an exact capacity. For comparison, 220 litres is a little more than a standard 200 litre oil drum, so a homer was in effect a large cask or a heavy load of grain.

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

Homer conversion chart

1 homer expressed in every other volume unit:

More Biblical (Hebrew) units

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

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