H6894 H6894
a dry measure of capacity equal to approximately 2 liters, one-sixth of a seah
The qab was a Hebrew unit of measurement used for dry goods. BDB notes it equals four log or one-sixth of a seah, roughly equivalent to 2 liters in modern terms. The word appears only once in Scripture, during the desperate siege of Samaria when food became so scarce that even a quarter-qab of dove droppings sold for silver—a vivid detail illustrating the extremity of famine conditions.
Senses
1. sense 1 — A standardized Hebrew dry measure used in commerce and daily life, approximately 2 liters by volume. The sole biblical reference (2 Kings 6:25) occurs in a harrowing famine narrative where even tiny fractions of this measure became precious commodities, showing how measurement units grounded the ancient economy even in collapse. 1×
AR["الْقابِ"]·ben["কব"]·DE["der-kab"]·EN["the-kab"]·FR["le-kab"]·heb["ה-קב"]·HI["हक्काव"]·ID["-kab"]·IT["il-kab"]·jav["kab"]·KO["칋"]·PT["o-kab"]·RU["каба"]·ES["el-cab"]·SW["kabu"]·TR["kab"]·urd["قب"]
Related Senses
H8033 1. There (locative adverb) (835×)H7760a 1. put, place, set physically (444×)H8064 1. heavens / sky (329×)H5439 1. around, all around (spatial) (319×)H4057b 1. wilderness, desert region (270×)H3220 1. sea, body of water (269×)H0520a 1. cubit (unit of length) (246×)H0127 1. ground, land (territory) (210×)H3383 1. Jordan River (proper noun) (183×)G1093 1. earth, the world (176×)H5800a 1. forsake, abandon (Qal active) (166×)H8121 1. sun (celestial body) (133×)H7126 1. offer, present sacrificially (122×)H6828 1. north, cardinal direction (120×)H2351 1. outside, exterior space (119×)H5104 1. river, stream (119×)H7341 1. width, breadth (101×)G1563 1. there (95×)H7126 2. draw near, approach (95×)G2281 1. sea, large body of water (91×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† קַב n.[m.] ḳab (NH id.; Syriac ܩܰܒܳܐ; Talm קַבָּא);—a measure of capacity, BH only dry measure, רֹבַע הַקַּב 2 K 6:25 1/4 ḳab; on size of קַב = 4 לֹג = 1/6 סְאָה = 1/3 הִין = c. 2 litres v. NowArch. i. 202 f. BenzArch. 182.