Hebrew word · H1969

הִין

hin

hin

A standard liquid measure, borrowed from Egyptian ḥnw. The Egyptian unit was small, about half a litre. The Israelite hin was clearly much larger. The rabbis reckoned it at 12 logs. Josephus (Antiquities, book 3) equates it to two Attic choes, about 6.5 litres.

Appears 22 times in 19 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) hin

1a) a unit of measure, about 5 quarts (6 l)

1b) a vessel holding a hin of liquid

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Exodus 29:40

Range of meaning

A standard liquid measure, borrowed from Egyptian ḥnw. The Egyptian unit was small, about half a litre. The Israelite hin was clearly much larger. The rabbis reckoned it at 12 logs. Josephus (Antiquities, book 3) equates it to two Attic choes, about 6.5 litres. Many modern estimates put it nearer 3.5–4 litres. A quarter hin is therefore somewhere around 1 to 1.6 litres.

Against the English

Most versions keep 'hin', which is accurate but means nothing to most readers. Some modern paraphrases (such as NLT) convert it to quarts. That helps, but it suggests a precision the evidence doesn't support.

Used elsewhere in the period

Used for oil, wine and water in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Ezekiel (e.g. Ezek 4:11, 'a sixth of a hin' of water as a siege ration). Num 15:4–10 scales the amount with the animal: a quarter hin for a lamb, a third for a ram, a half for a bull.

Where it appears

Exodus · 3

  1. Exodus 29:40 הַהִ֔ין הַהִ֖ין <the> hin

    With the first lamb offer a tenth of an ephah of fine flour, mixed with a quarter hin of oil from pressed olives, and a drink offering of a quarter hin of wine.

    Here: A standard liquid measure. The name was borrowed from Egyptian. A quarter hin was probably about one litre, though the exact size is uncertain.

  2. Exodus 30:24 הִֽין׃ a hin

    500 shekels of cassia—all according to the sanctuary shekel—and a hin of olive oil.

Leviticus · 2

  1. Leviticus 19:36 וְהִ֥ין and a hin of

    You shall maintain honest scales and weights, an honest ephah, and an honest hin. I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.

  2. Leviticus 23:13 הַהִֽין׃ <the> hin

    along with its grain offering of two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil—a food offering to the LORD, a pleasing aroma—and its drink offering of a quarter hin of wine.

    Here: A liquid measure, probably a loanword from Egyptian. A quarter hin is roughly 1 to 1.5 litres.

Numbers · 11

  1. Numbers 15:4 הַהִ֖ין <the> hin

    then the one presenting his offering to the LORD shall also present a grain offering of a tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with a quarter hin of olive oil.

    Here: A liquid measure. A quarter-hin is usually estimated at about 1 litre (roughly a quart). The figure is approximate. The word is probably borrowed from Egyptian.

  2. Numbers 15:5 הַהִ֔ין <the> hin

    With the burnt offering or sacrifice of each lamb, you are to prepare a quarter hin of wine as a drink offering.

  3. Numbers 15:6 הַהִֽין׃ <the> hin

    With a ram you are to prepare a grain offering of two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with a third of a hin of olive oil,

  4. Numbers 15:7 הַהִ֑ין <the> hin

    and a third of a hin of wine as a drink offering, a pleasing aroma to the LORD.

  5. Numbers 15:9 הַהִֽין׃ <the> hin

    present with the bull a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with half a hin of olive oil.

  6. Numbers 15:10 הַהִ֑ין <the> hin

    Also present half a hin of wine as a drink offering. It is a food offering, a pleasing aroma to the LORD.

  7. Numbers 28:5 הַהִֽין׃ <the> hin

    along with a tenth of an ephah of fine flour as a grain offering, mixed with a quarter hin of oil from pressed olives.

    Here: A liquid measure, probably borrowed from Egyptian. A quarter hin is usually estimated at about one litre (roughly a quart), though the exact size of the hin is uncertain.

  8. Numbers 28:7 הַהִ֔ין <the> hin

    The drink offering accompanying each lamb shall be a quarter hin. Pour out the offering of fermented drink to the LORD in the sanctuary area.

  9. Numbers 28:14 הַהִין֩ הַהִ֣ין הַהִ֛ין <the> hin

    Their drink offerings shall be half a hin of wine with each bull, a third of a hin with the ram, and a quarter hin with each lamb. This is the monthly burnt offering to be made at each new moon throughout the year.

Ezekiel · 6

  1. Ezekiel 4:11 הַהִ֑ין <the> hin

    You are also to measure out a sixth of a hin of water to drink, and you are to drink it at set times.

  2. Ezekiel 45:24 הִ֥ין a hin

    He shall also provide as a grain offering an ephah for each bull and an ephah for each ram, along with a hin of olive oil for each ephah of grain.

  3. Ezekiel 46:5 הִ֥ין a hin

    The grain offering with the ram shall be one ephah, and the grain offering with the lambs shall be as much as he is able, along with a hin of oil per ephah.

  4. Ezekiel 46:7 הִ֥ין a hin

    He is to provide a grain offering of an ephah with the bull, an ephah with the ram, and as much as he is able with the lambs, along with a hin of oil per ephah.

  5. Ezekiel 46:11 הִ֥ין a hin

    At the festivals and appointed feasts, the grain offering shall be an ephah with a bull, an ephah with a ram, and as much as one is able to give with the lambs, along with a hin of oil per ephah.

  6. Ezekiel 46:14 הַהִ֖ין <the> hin

    You are also to provide with it every morning a grain offering of a sixth of an ephah with a third of a hin of oil to moisten the fine flour—a grain offering to the LORD. This is a permanent statute.

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