The SBL Study Bible Quotes

“Because people inhabit a physical world, they need to measure the height, width, length, volume or capacity, and worth of various items within that world. For example, one does not begin construction of a building without knowing its planned width, length, and height. Likewise, those who grow their own food need to know how much grain their family members require and how much seed is likely to produce that amount of food. This reality was just as true for the world of the Bible as it is today. Readers of the biblical text will encounter numerous references to measurements; some are fairly well understood, and some are obscure. Although we cannot be certain about modern equivalencies in every case, the following tables provide reasonably reliable approximations of the most common biblical measurements.”
― Society of Biblical Literature, The SBL Study Bible