The Hebrew word ephah (H374) denotes a standard dry measure used in ancient Israel, approximately equivalent to 3/8 of a bushel or about 22 liters. It served as a benchmark for measuring grain, flour, and other dry commodities in daily commerce, sacrificial offerings, and legal fairness.
In Mosaic law, the ephah was tied directly to covenantal integrity. God commanded Israel to use accurate, honest measures (Leviticus 19:36), making the ephah a symbol of justice and truthfulness. False ephahs were condemned by the prophets as a form of social oppression (Amos 8:5; Micah 6:10–11). In Zechariah's vision, a woman sitting inside an ephah represented the iniquity being removed from the land (Zechariah 5:6–10), suggesting the measure also carried symbolic weight in prophetic imagery. The requirement for honest weights connected marketplace behavior to worship of a holy God.