cubit

The Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek that is translated as “cubit” or into a metric or imperial measurement in English is translated in Kutu, Kwere, and Nyamwezi as makono or “armlength.” Since a cubit is the measurement from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger, one armlength (measured from the center of the chest to the fingertips) equals two cubits or roughly 1 meter. (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

In Klao it is converted into “hand spans” (app. 6 inches or 12 cm) and “finger spans” (app. 1 inch or 2 cm) (Source: Don Slager)

Translation commentary on 1 Kings 6:17

For this whole verse the Masoretic Text reads “and forty cubits was the house, that is, the nave in front of me.” Probably a copyist dropped a letter here, so that the Masoretic Text reads “in front of me” (lifnay in Hebrew) instead of “in front of it” (lifnayw in Hebrew). Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament gives a {C} rating to the Masoretic Text, but the note in the full study edition of Traduction œcuménique de la Bible correctly states that the Masoretic Text here is “incomprehensible.” In translation it will almost certainly be necessary to add the words the inner sanctuary after “in front of,” as in Revised Standard Version (similarly the Latin Vulgate, Good News Translation, and most translations). As in the previous verse, the inner sanctuary refers to “the Most Holy Place.”

The nave, or room in front of the Most Holy Place, was twice the length of the Most Holy Place (see the comments on verse 3).

Forty cubits is equivalent to about 20 meters or 60 feet.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .