a measure used among the ancients. The Hebrews call it אמא, the
mother of other measures: in Greek ϖῆχυς. A cubit originally was the
distance from the elbow to the extremity of the middle finger: this is
the fourth part of a well proportioned man’s stature. The common cubit
is eighteen inches. The Hebrew cubit, according to Bishop Cumberland and
M. Pelletier, is twenty-one inches; but others fix it at eighteen
inches. The Talmudists observe, that the Hebrew cubit was larger by one
quarter than the Roman. Lewis Capellus and others have asserted that
there were two sorts of cubits among the Hebrews; one sacred, the other
common; the sacred containing three feet, the common containing a foot
and a half. Moses assigns to the Levites a thousand sacred cubits of
land round about their cities, Num. xxxv, 4; and in the next verse he
gives them two thousand common ones. The opinion, however, is very
probable, that the cubit varied in different districts and cities, and
at different times, &c.
mother of other measures: in Greek ϖῆχυς. A cubit originally was the
distance from the elbow to the extremity of the middle finger: this is
the fourth part of a well proportioned man’s stature. The common cubit
is eighteen inches. The Hebrew cubit, according to Bishop Cumberland and
M. Pelletier, is twenty-one inches; but others fix it at eighteen
inches. The Talmudists observe, that the Hebrew cubit was larger by one
quarter than the Roman. Lewis Capellus and others have asserted that
there were two sorts of cubits among the Hebrews; one sacred, the other
common; the sacred containing three feet, the common containing a foot
and a half. Moses assigns to the Levites a thousand sacred cubits of
land round about their cities, Num. xxxv, 4; and in the next verse he
gives them two thousand common ones. The opinion, however, is very
probable, that the cubit varied in different districts and cities, and
at different times, &c.