Hebrew word · H5429

סְאָה

se'ah-

seah

A dry measure for grain and flour, one third of an ephah. Modern estimates of the ephah range from about 22 to 36 litres, which makes a seah about 7 to 12 litres. The lower figure is more commonly cited. That is a household's worth of flour for several days.

Appears 9 times in 6 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) seah, a measure of flour or grain

1a) probably equal to 1/3 ephah

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 2 Kings 7:1

Range of meaning

A dry measure for grain and flour, one third of an ephah. Modern estimates of the ephah range from about 22 to 36 litres, which makes a seah about 7 to 12 litres. The lower figure is more commonly cited. That is a household's worth of flour for several days.

Against the English

KJV/YLT "a measure" leaves the amount vague. BSB/WEB/NIV/ESV keep "seah." NLT converts it into modern quarts, which is clear but suggests more precision than the evidence allows.

How it drifted

Older translations used "measure" generically. Readers lose the sense that this is a particular, everyday market unit.

Used elsewhere in the period

Gen 18:6 (three seahs of solet for guests); 1 Sam 25:18; 1 Kgs 18:32. Later rabbinic texts reckon 1 seah = 6 kab, which lets 6:25's "quarter of a kab" be compared with this verse.

From the study of Genesis 18:6

Range of meaning

A dry measure for grain and flour. Later Jewish sources treat three seahs as equal to one ephah. Modern estimates of the ephah, based on inscribed storage jars, are about 22 litres, which makes a seah about 7 litres. Josephus (Antiquities 9.85) gives a larger figure, about 1.5 Roman modii, roughly 12–13 litres. Ancient measures varied, so any figure is approximate.

Against the English

KJV and YLT 'measures' hides how big the amount is. BSB, WEB and ESV keep 'seahs', which is accurate but needs explaining. Some paraphrases add 'large' to show the scale.

How it drifted

'Measures' sounds like cupfuls to a modern reader. The Hebrew names a fixed, sizeable unit.

Used elsewhere in the period

Also in 1 Sam 25:18 (Abigail brings five seahs of roasted grain to David's men) and 2 Kgs 7:1, 16, 18 (price of a seah of fine flour). The parallel 'ephah of flour' appears in other generous meals and offerings: Judg 6:19 (Gideon's meal for the angel) and 1 Sam 1:24 (Hannah). Greek σάτον and Latin satum come from this word. Jesus' parable of the woman who hides leaven 'in three measures (sata) of flour' (Matt 13:33; Luke 13:21) uses the same quantity.

Where it appears

Genesis · 1

  1. Genesis 18:6 סְאִים֙ seahs

    So Abraham hurried into the tent and said to Sarah, “Quick! Prepare three seahs of fine flour, knead it, and bake some bread.”

    Here: A standard measure of grain. Three seahs equal about one ephah, roughly 20 litres of flour or more by older estimates. That is far more than three men could eat.

1 Samuel · 1

  1. 1 Samuel 25:18 סְאִים֙ seahs of

    Then Abigail hurried and took two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five butchered sheep, five seahs of roasted grain, a hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs. She loaded them on donkeys

1 Kings · 1

  1. 1 Kings 18:32 סָאתַ֣יִם two seahs

    And with the stones, Elijah built an altar in the name of the LORD. Then he dug a trench around the altar large enough to hold two seahs of seed.

2 Kings · 6

  1. 2 Kings 7:1 סְאָֽה־ וְסָאתַ֧יִם a seah of, and two seahs

    Then Elisha said, “Hear the word of the LORD! This is what the LORD says: ‘About this time tomorrow at the gate of Samaria, a seah of fine flour will sell for a shekel, and two seahs of barley will sell for a shekel.’”

    Here: A standard measure for grain, a third of an ephah, very roughly 7 litres (some estimates run higher). Here it is quoted like a price in the market.

  2. 2 Kings 7:16 סְאָה־ וְסָאתַ֧יִם a seah of, and two seahs

    Then the people went out and plundered the camp of the Arameans. It was then that a seah of fine flour sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley sold for a shekel, according to the word of the LORD.

  3. 2 Kings 7:18 סָאתַ֨יִם וּֽסְאָה־ two seahs, and a seah of

    It happened just as the man of God had told the king: “About this time tomorrow at the gate of Samaria, two seahs of barley will sell for a shekel, and a seah of fine flour will sell for a shekel.”

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