Originally, an ell was a unit of measurement approximately the length of a cubit (approximately the length of a man’s arm from the elbow, or about 18 inches – the word ‘ell’ comes from the Latin for arm, or ‘ulnia’).
The biblical ell is closely related to the cubit, but two different factors are given in the Bible; Ezekiel’s measurements imply that the ell was equal to 1 cubit plus 1 palm (Tefah), while elsewhere in the Bible, the ell is equated with 1 cubit exactly.
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