On Weights and Measures

Background of 'On Weights and Measures'

• Compiled in 392 AD in Constantia by Epiphanius of Salamis
• Written at the request of a Persian priest, sent by the Roman emperor in Constantinople
• Syriac version is the only complete copy that has survived
• Partial translations in Armenian and Georgian also exist
• Two manuscripts preserved at the British Museum in London

Synopsis of Part One

• Dated 47 years after the destruction of Jerusalem
• Epiphanius names four major translations of the Hebrew Bible
• Description of the translation process by the seventy-two translators
• Description of the canonical books of the Hebrew Bible
• Books of Ruth and Judges were joined together, as well as Ezra and Nehemiah

Prominent Figures

• Description of Aquila (Onkelos) and his relation to Hadrian
• Description of Symmachus (Sūmkos) and his conversion to Judaism
• Symmachus underwent a second circumcision and became a disciple of Rabbi Meir
• Symmachus belonged to the fifth generation of Rabbinical teachers
• Emperor Hadrian's journey through Palestine after the destruction of Jerusalem

Weights and Measures

• Epiphanius provides a treatise on the known weights and measures
• Equivalent weights for the denarius among the Hebrews
• Distinction between different Hebrew terms for handfuls
• Discussion of Hebrew, Greek, and Roman weights and measures
• Detailed information on various measurements used in his time

Geography of Palestine, Asia Minor, and the Levant

• Mention of several cities and places of renown
• Mount Ararat, Aṭaṭ, and the threshing floor of the thorn bush
• Description of Abarim, Aviʿazar, Carmel, Akko, Anathoth, Azekah, Bethel, Ophrah, Carthage, Rekem, Jaffa, Jerusalem, and more
• List of Roman emperors from Constans to Honorius during Epiphanius' time
• Differences in Epiphanius' regnal years compared to other sources

On Weights and Measures - Wikipedia Data Sources