Greek word · G4568

σάτον

saton

seah

A Greek form of the Aramaic sa'tā, Hebrew seah, a dry measure equal to one third of an ephah. Ancient estimates vary. Josephus says one saton equals one and a half Roman modii, about 13 litres (Antiquities 9.85). Others reckon about 7–8 litres.

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

σάτον, -ου, τό

(Aram. סָאתָא = Heb. סְאָה), [in LXX: Haggai 2:17 (16)* ;]

a Hebrew measure (= about a peck and a half): Matthew 13:33, Luke 13:21.†

(AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Matthew 13:33

Range of meaning

A Greek form of the Aramaic sa'tā, Hebrew seah, a dry measure equal to one third of an ephah. Ancient estimates vary. Josephus says one saton equals one and a half Roman modii, about 13 litres (Antiquities 9.85). Others reckon about 7–8 litres. Three seahs make about one ephah, roughly 20–40 litres of flour.

Against the English

"Three measures" (KJV, BSB, ESV, WEB) keeps the number but hides the size. NIV's "about sixty pounds" shows the size but loses the echo of "three seahs". NASB's "three pecks" (1995) puts it in an English unit.

Used elsewhere in the period

Genesis 18:6, 'three seahs of fine flour' (shelosh se'im qemaḥ solet), which Sarah bakes for the three visitors who turn out to be the LORD. An ephah of flour also appears when Gideon entertains the angel (Judg 6:19) and when Hannah brings Samuel to the sanctuary (1 Sam 1:24). The same measure appears in the parallel at Luke 13:21.

Where it appears

Matthew · 1

  1. Matthew 13:33 σάτα measures

    He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and mixed into three measures of flour, until all of it was leavened.”

    Here: A word borrowed from Aramaic for the Hebrew seah, a dry measure. Estimates run from about 7 to 13 litres per seah. The word itself points to a Semitic, Palestinian setting.

Luke · 1

  1. Luke 13:21 σάτα measures

    It is like leaven that a woman took and mixed into three measures of flour, until all of it was leavened.”

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.