Hebrew Talents to Pounds (talent to lb)

1 Hebrew talent equals 63.49313151 pounds (rounded).

1 Hebrew talent = 63.49313151 pounds

How to convert Hebrew talents to pounds

To convert Hebrew talents to pounds, multiply the number of Hebrew talents by 63.49313151. The factor is rounded to 10 significant digits. To go the other way, multiply pounds by 0.01574973507 (rounded).

pounds = Hebrew talents × 63.49313151

Example: 10 Hebrew talents = 634.9313151 pounds.

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

About these units

Hebrew Talent (talent)

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

About 28.8 kg, the standard talent of the late Second Temple period. The largest biblical weight, used for metals such as gold, silver and bronze.

The Hebrew word kikkar comes from a Semitic root meaning circular, and it described a round mass of gold or silver. English renders it as talent, borrowing the Greek term. The Bible uses it for the largest sums of metal: the tabernacle account lists 29 talents of gold and 100 talents of silver, and Solomon is said to have received 666 gold talents in a year. Hiram of Tyre is also reported to have sent him 120 talents of gold.

Its size is not settled. The figure used here, about 28.8 kg, is the standard talent of the late Second Temple period, counted as 60 maneh. A heavy common talent of the same era is put at about 58.9 kg, a Babylonian talent at about 30.2 kg, and another estimate at about 27.3 kg, so sources do not settle on one value. For scale, 28.8 kg is about 63 pounds, or roughly a large sack of cement.

1 Hebrew talent = 28.8 kilograms (approximately).

Sources: Wikipedia: Talent (measurement); Wikipedia: Shekel; Wikipedia: Mina (unit)

Pound (lb)

US & ImperialCurrent unit

Exactly 0.45359237 kg, divided into 16 ounces. The standard unit of weight in the US and common in the UK.

Why is pound abbreviated lb? The answer is Roman. The English word comes from the Latin libra pondo, roughly the weight measured in libra, and the symbol keeps the first word. The Roman libra was divided into 12 unciae. The avoirdupois pound of 16 ounces came into general use around 1300 and was initially equal to 6,992 troy grains; under Elizabeth I it was redefined as 7,000 grains. The UK's Weights and Measures Act 1878 set the imperial standard pound as a platinum cylinder, and the troy pound was abolished for trade the following year.

Today the pound is defined from the kilogram. The International Yard and Pound Agreement of 1959 fixed it at exactly 0.45359237 kg, and the UK's Weights and Measures Act 1963 wrote the same figure into law. Pounds remain the everyday unit for body weight, groceries and shipping in the United States and are widely used in the UK. The word also survives in odd places: a six-pounder cannon was named for the weight of its shot, not its own.

1 pound = 0.45359237 kilograms (exactly).

Sources: Wikipedia: Pound (mass); NIST Guide to the SI, Appendix B.8 (mass conversions)

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