Span

The distance between the tip of the thumb and the tip of the little finger of an outstretched hand, about half a cubit.

About Span

A hand measurement equaling one-half cubit (Exodus 28:16; 39:9).

See Weights and Measures.

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The object itself Article

Form, use in ancient daily life, and how translators render the term.

Key References

Exodus 28:16

It must be square when folded over double, a span long and a span wide.

1 Samuel 17:4

Then a champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out from the Philistine camp. He was six cubits and a span in height,

Isaiah 40:12

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or marked off the heavens with the span of his hand? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on a scale and the hills with a balance?

All Scripture References (5)

Exodus (2)
Exodus 28:16

It must be square when folded over double, a span long and a span wide.

Exodus 39:9

It was square when folded over double, a span long and a span wide.

1 Samuel (1)
1 Samuel 17:4

Then a champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out from the Philistine camp. He was six cubits and a span in height,

Isaiah (1)
Isaiah 40:12

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or marked off the heavens with the span of his hand? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on a scale and the hills with a balance?

Ezekiel (1)
Ezekiel 43:13

These are the measurements of the altar in long cubits (a cubit and a handbreadth): Its gutter shall be a cubit deep and a cubit wide, with a rim of one span around its edge. And this is the height of the altar: