אַמָּה

From the study of Isaiah 6:4

Range of meaning

ʾammāh normally means 'forearm, cubit' (a measure of length). Here it must be a technical building term, and lexicons guess at it: 'pivots' or 'sockets' (the stone cups a door turned in), 'foundations', or 'doorposts.' sap means 'threshold, sill' (also, in a different word, 'basin').

Against the English

KJV/YLT 'posts'; WEB, ESV, NASB 'foundations of the thresholds'; BSB/NIV 'doorposts and thresholds' (two items rather than 'the X of the thresholds'); NLT 'to its foundations.' All are reasonable guesses at a rare word. No version can be certain.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Septuagint has 'the lintel' (the beam over the door), and the Vulgate has 'the lintels of the hinges.' So ancient translators were already unsure. 'Keepers of the threshold' (šōmerê hassap) were high-ranking temple officers (2 Kgs 12:9; 22:4; 25:18; Jer 35:4; 52:24), which shows how important the temple threshold was.

From the study of Exodus 26:2

Range of meaning

The forearm, and from that the standard unit of length, measured from elbow to fingertip. Israel knew a common cubit of about 44.5 cm (17.5 in) and a longer 'cubit and a handbreadth' (Ezek 40:5; 43:13), about 52 cm, comparable to the Egyptian royal cubit of 52.3–52.5 cm.

Against the English

English versions mostly keep 'cubit'. Paraphrases such as the NLT convert it to feet. That helps readers picture the size, but it hides the fact that the text uses a body-based standard unit, and it imposes a precision the ancient unit did not have.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Siloam Tunnel inscription (about 700 BC) gives the tunnel as 1,200 cubits. The measured tunnel (about 533 m) implies a cubit of about 44.4 cm. Egyptian cubit rods show the royal cubit. Deut 3:11 speaks of 'the cubit of a man', a standard forearm.

From the study of Deuteronomy 3:11

Range of meaning

The ammah (cubit) is the forearm from elbow to fingertip. It was the standard unit of length, about 44–45 cm for the common cubit. A longer 'royal' or sacred cubit (about 52 cm) is also attested; Ezekiel 40:5 and 43:13 specify 'a cubit and a handbreadth'. 'By the cubit of a man' specifies the ordinary human forearm.

Against the English

KJV/WEB 'after the cubit of a man' and YLT 'by the cubit of a man' preserve the phrase. BSB and NLT drop or convert it, and NLT gives modern feet.

Used elsewhere in the period

Other units are qualified in a similar way: 'shekel of the sanctuary' and 'king's weight' (2 Sam 14:26). Deuteronomy 3:11 is the only place the phrase 'a man's cubit' occurs.