An ephah was the basic measurement of capacity that the Israelites used when measuring volumes of grain. It was equal to about thirty-seven litres (Leviticus 6:20; Ruth 2:17; 1 Samuel 17:17). Over the years the word ‘ephah’ became also the name of the container people used to measure the grain (Leviticus 19:36; Amos 8:5; Zechariah 5:6-9). (For fuller details of the system that Israelites used to measure capacity see MEASUREMENT.)