Numbers 5:15 · measurement explained
One tenth ephah of barley meal
The jealousy offering uses barley meal without oil or frankincense, and its quantity is one tenth of an ephah.
Read the verse first
then the man shall bring his wife to the priest, and shall bring her offering for her: one tenth of an ephah of barley meal. He shall pour no oil on it, nor put frankincense on it, for it is a meal offering of jealousy, a meal offering of memorial, bringing iniquity to memory.
World English Bible · engwebp-source-2026-09-12
Modern measurement range
One tenth ephah
2.1–2.3 L
2.22–2.43 US qt · 1.85–2.02 Imp qt
Using the ephah estimate. Ancient jars and regional standards differ. Litres express capacity, not the weight of grain or flour placed in that capacity.
Calculate another amount →The litre result is container capacity. Converting it to a barley mass would require an assumed density not supplied by the text.
What this conversion does—and does not—show
It gives a defensible modern scale for the amount stated in the verse. Ancient standards varied by time and place, so the endpoints are deliberately approximate. A volume is not a food mass, a metal weight is not a modern cash value, and a conversion does not settle a textual, archaeological, or theological debate.
Conversion references: ESV weights and measures ↗, American Bible Society ↗, and Encyclopedia of the Bible ↗. Reference pages accessed October 10, 2026.