Seah
/ˈsiː.ə/noun
An ancient Hebrew unit of dry measure, approximately one-sixth of an ephah.
Did you know?In the Hebrew Bible, three seahs of flour appear in Abraham’s hospitality story, a quantity later rabbinic tradition equated with one-sixth of an ephah.
Etymological Timeline
Biblical Hebrew
Hebrew
סְאָה (səʾāh)
“A dry-measure unit, traditionally one-sixth of an ephah.”
Second Temple Period
Aramaic
סָאָה (sāʾā)
“A measure of grain or other dry goods, continuing the Hebrew term.”
Rabbinic Antiquity
Mishnaic Hebrew
סְאָה (seʾah)
“A standardized dry measure used in legal and agricultural discussions.”
Late Antiquity
Greek
σαά (saa)
“A transliterated Hebrew measure appearing in Greek biblical and scholarly contexts.”
Early Modern English
English
seah
“An English biblical and historical term for the ancient Hebrew dry measure.”
Modern English
English
seah
“A biblical unit commonly estimated at roughly 7–8 liters, though exact ancient capacity remains debated.”