Honest Scales

The people are commanded to use honest scales, just dry and liquid measures, and a fixed standard for larger and smaller units. The chapter briefly defines the relation between ephahs, baths, homers, shekels, gerahs, and minas so that no one can exploit ambiguity for gain. Justice in measures becomes a concrete expression of covenant righteousness.

Y¹⁰ou must use honest scales, a just ephah, and a just bath. ¹¹The ephah and the bath shall be the same quantity so that the bath will contain a tenth of a homer, and the ephah a tenth of a homer; the homer will be the standard measure for both. ¹²The shekel will consist of twenty gerahs. Twenty shekels plus twenty-five shekels plus fifteen shekels will equal one mina.