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CUBIT
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THE CUBIT.
Many years ago, (1904), a retired pastor, Mr. Caldecott, who
was interested in Old Testament measurements, particularly the
different estimates of the cubit, had become certain that the cubit
was in fact a 'threefold' measurement. He took up the reading of
cuneiform scripts and, to further his work, studied the Senkerah
tablet which had long been a mathematical puzzle for many people
and his observations there convinced him his ideas were valid.
His studies led him to another relic of Babylon, the statue of
the king of Gudea.
This king held in his lap a measuring stick drawn to a scale
which had defied explanation by standard measurements and when he
applied his theory of the 'threefold' cubit, which he was certain
the Senkerah tablet had revealed to him, the scale of Gudea helped
him to establish the length of the three cubits and their
relationship to one another. They proved have the same ratio as
that which exists between the three sides of a right-angle
triangle, that is, three, four, and five, a measuring device known
to be used by early builders even before the Egyptians. There, in
his hands, was a single measuring tool which any one of three
different artisans could use on the same project either for their
own task or in order to determine its suitability to 'fit-in' with
another artisan's work on the same building.
He calculated these measurements to be 14.40 inches, 10.80
inches, and 18 inches and, as one can see, these conform to the
three, four, five proportions of the right angle triangle. It is
also easy to see how convenient such a measuring device would be
for it was capable of being used by every artisan working together
on any construction by merely turning it to the side applicable to
their work.
It must be added that his idea of a 'threefold cubit' was
ridiculed by many of his contemporaries, but it is an intriguing
and provocative thought and helps us to understand why there are so
often different lengths given to the cubit by expositors of the
Scriptures, and further it gives better understand of the terms
used by Ezekiel in his vision of the Temple.
1. The 'cubit'. Ezekiel 40:9.
2. The 'cubit and a hand breadth'. Ezekiel 43:13.
3. The 'great cubit'. Ezekiel 41:8.
A further interesting fact is that the word cubit in its 14th
Century form was from the Latin word cubitum meaning 'elbow' and
this together with the fact that the Hebrew word for 'cubit' is
ammah, the 'forearm below the elbow', gives a picture of a triangle
again if one extends the arm and raises the forearm.
Of course it is rare today to find a 'weight' or a 'length'
which has three different values with each having the same name and
some might even find the thought absurd. However the fact is, that
in our times there have been 'dry' and 'wet' measurements of the
same name with each having different capacities, and even today the
Apothecaries fluid ounce is 2.84123 centilitres, the Avoirdupois
ounce is 28.350 grams, and the Troy ounce is 31.1035 grams.
Different quantities yet named by the same name.
Perhaps the easiest comparison for us today would be the
'dollar' because the American Dollar differs in value from the
Australian Dollar and they both in turn are different from the New
Zealand Dollar.
Nurserymen still sell a 'yard of pinebark'.
The million in America is different from the million in
Australia and some liquid measures, by the same name in the U.S.A.
and here, do not have the same quantities in them, because our
litre measures .220 gallons and the U.S.A. litre measures .264
gallons.
All this becomes even more interesting when his estimate of the
length of the cubit on one side, (14.40 inches), is converted to
millimetres because it corresponds to, within a fraction, of the
sidereal year of 365.25636 days. More intriguing still is that this
number in millimetres, converts to 14.38 inches! 2/100 of an inch
less than the measurement he assumed!
The sidereal year is the length of time it takes for the earth
to make a complete revolution around the sun in relation to a fixed
star.
Surely it is too much to be just a co-incidence and reminds one
of those insights God gave Job about creation and the universe
itself because not only is it a measurement of length but it may
also fix forever the actual time taken for the passage of a year.
His measurement of 10.80 inches for the other side of the
cubit, when converted to centimetres is likewise within a fraction
of the sidereal month of 27.32166 days, and this number converts
back to 10.76 inches. 4/100 of an inch less than his measurement!
The sidereal month is the time it takes for the moon to make a
complete revolution around the earth in relation to a fixed star.
It seems conclusive that they were indeed measurements given
by God, and that any difference at all in measurement, slight
though it is, is 'human error' on the part of the investigator, and
due to the difficulty in obtaining the same accuracy in inches as
that which can be ascertained by the metric system.
All becomes even more real when it eventuates that the Hebrew
word for 'great' in describing the cubit in Ezekiel 41:8 is the
word used for 'joining', and on looking at it again one can see
that it is obvious the line from the end of the shorter measurement
to the end of the longer one, could so be described as it obviously
joins the two.
It cannot be considered conclusive of course because the
numbers do not correspond exactly to the measures science has given
us but if it is correct, (and his measurements were fractionally
wrong), here is a further instance of how God hides another truth
in His Word for us to discover and delight in!
The patriarchs had in their hand, the exact time of the
sidereal year and the sidereal month centuries before the mind of
man had even thought of discovering it for themselves, something
which they could not have measured accurately then, (to that degree
of accuracy), and only possible to us from comparatively recent
times.
God had given another tremendous revelation to the 'ancients'
similar to those given to Noah, Solomon, David, Ezekiel, and
others, especially Job, long before science, 'so called,'
discovered them.
Some so obvious now that scientific research has revealed them
it is hard to understand how they were not discovered before.
But. Now they have been, how any unbeliever could dismiss them
so readily.
Job knew, amongst many other fascinating things!
'The Earth was round and 'turned as clay to the potter's seal'.
Job 38:14.
Arcturus was a moving star. 'Canst thou guide Arcturus with his
sons?' Job 38:32.
The 'Treasures of the snow.' Job 38:22.
But to return to the cubit and the length of the cubit.
There seems to be no 'common' ground of agreement between
scholars for the length of the 'cubit' itself. From Wm. Lamb's
book, 'The Great Pyramid Witness', the figure is between 25.081713
inches and 25.101165 inches because on page 9 he equates 764 feet
with 365.242 cubits and on page 10,486 feet with 232.520 cubits.
Mr. Caldecott assumes it is 18 inches, because of the
measurements of the triangle, namely 10.80 and 14.40. that is twice
10.80 plus 14.40, divided by 2=18.
If his figures are wrong and the shorter length is 10.76 inches
with the longer length at 14.38 inches the figure is 17.95, that
is, twice 10.76 plus 14.38, divided by 2=17.95.
*************************
The book, 'Aids to Bible Understanding' has, quote, 'The Siloam
inscription gives 1,200 cubits as the length of the water tunnel
built by King Hezekiah and according to the most accurate
measurement this tunnel is 533.1 metres or 1,749 feet long. When
taken at face value these figures yield a cubit of 44.4cm or 17.49
inches, and cubit measuring sticks found in Egypt show a cubit of
17.7 inches, (45cm), and 20.67 inches, (52.5cm).'
The Dictionary of the Bible. James Hastings. 1950, gives this
measurement of the conduit as 537.6 metres, or 1200 cubits, and
this converts to a cubit of 17.64 inches. He states that Josephus
apparently does not specifically disagree with the Roman-Attic
cubit measure of 44.4cm-44.5cm which is 17.76 inches and that
Rabbinical tradition allowed that 144 medium sized barley-corns
laid side by side was a cubit and that a test on those lines
resulted in a cubit of 17.77 inches and Julian of Ascalon assumes
it as 4.73cm or 18.62 inches.
Some of the 'various' measurements for the 'cubit' are.
Bush 17.50 Quest for Noah's Ark
Hastings 17.64 Dictionary of the Bible
Archaeology 17.70 Egyptian measuring stick
Roman-Attic 17.76
Rabbinical 17.77
This study 17.95 Sidereal time & 3-fold cubit
Caldecott 18.00
Nevin 18.00
Josephus 21.00
Lamb 25.10
********************
FURTHER NOTES
Sidereal time is that time taken for the sun or moon to
make a complete revolution of the planet it encircles in
relation to a fixed star used for reference.
Solar time in the case of the earth, is the time taken for
the earth to make one revolution around the sun between one vernal
equinox to another.
Solar time in the case of the moon, is that time taken for
the moon to make one revolution around the earth and return to
the same longitude.
Lunar time is the time taken by the moon between two new
moons, 29 days 12 hours 44 minutes and 2.864 seconds.
******************
CONVERSION UNITS
1 inch = 2.540cm.
1 foot = .3048 metres
1 metre = 3.2808 cm.
1 cm. = .39370 inches
DAY
Sidereal 24 hrs 3 mins 56.5 secs
Solar 24 hrs 56 mins 4.1 secs
Calendar 24 hrs 0 mins 3.0 secs
MONTH
Sidereal 27.32166 = 10.7565376
Solar 27.32158 = 10.7565061
YEAR
Sidereal 365.25636 = 14.3801429
Solar 365.24219 = 14.379585
******************
A book written by Wm. Lamb called, 'The Great Pyramid
Witness', has that, quote, 'The length of the baseline was 365.242
cubits, the length of the solar year.
He suggests it showed that the builders knew exactly the
length of the solar year, about which men generally did not have
till thousands of years later, and it is right here where the
strangest feature of this wonderful monument becomes evident. The
builders fixed the base line to be exactly 365.242 of these sacred
cubits, (Hebrew sacred cubits), which is exactly the number of days
of our solar year, including the extra day every fourth year, and
also allowing precisely for the periodical dropping of a leap year
at the proper intervals.' End of quote.
One very interesting feature mentioned by Wm. Lamb is the
fact the height had need to be determined before the pyramid
was constructed so that each stone would be cut at the correct
angle to achieve the ultimate height in reference to the design
because if it was not done the construction would have to be
modified during building.
This pre-determined precision is apparent if the height of
the pyramid is divided into twice the base length because it
results in the number 3.14159, the number by which the circle is
squared. Showing that the value of 'pi' was quite well known even
before Abraham's time for it was built around 2000-2700 B.C.
There are some difficulties in reconciling the measurements
given in this article and other sources however and they arise
because the measurements, given by the various authorities
regarding the height and base length of the Pyramid, all differ
and, even though it is only a slight difference, these would have
to be verified before anything conclusive could be assumed.
Some of those measurements are as follows.
Lamb. The World's Prof. Green The Quest
last Sydney for the
Mysteries Past
Height 486 ft. 480.9 ft.
148.29m. 146m. 146.6 m.
232.520cub.
Base 764 ft. 754.584 ft. N.230.25m.
232.867m 230 metres. S.230.45m.
365.242cub. E.230.39m.
W.230.36m.
Inclination 51.52 degrees. Variance in length 17-20cm.
****************