Topic
Span
4 passages cited, from 2 classic reference works.
These works date from 1896–1915 and are in the public domain. They reflect the Protestant scholarship of their time: their history, archaeology and dates can be out of date, and where they interpret, other traditions read the text differently. The verses are shown in the King James Version, the wording these works were written against.
The verses
The passages the works cite, those cited by more of them first.
- Exodus 28:16ISBE · Nave About nine or ten inches
Foursquare it shall be being doubled; a span shall be the length thereof, and a span shall be the breadth thereof.
- Exodus 39:9ISBE · Nave About nine or ten inches
It was foursquare; they made the breastplate double: a span was the length thereof, and a span the breadth thereof, being doubled.
- 1 Samuel 17:4ISBE
¶ And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.
- Lamentations 2:20ISBE
¶ Behold, O LORD, and consider to whom thou hast done this. Shall the women eat their fruit, and children of a span long? shall the priest and the prophet be slain in the sanctuary of the Lord?
In the reference works
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915) · 4 references
(zereth; spithame): A measure of length equal to half a cubit or about 9 in. (Ex 28:16; 39:9; 1Sa 17:4, etc.). La 2:20 the King James Version is a mistranslation; see the Revised Version (British and American).
See WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.
In the topical indexes
Texts: International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915); Nave's Topical Bible (1896), from the CrossWire SWORD modules (public domain). Verse references were parsed from the works' own markup and checked against the KJV verse list.