An ancient Hebrew unit of length, a variety of cubit (units based on the
distance from the human elbow to the fingertips). Ammāh
is usually
translated into English as cubit. = 6 tophach. 
The most probable value is 444 millimeters (17.47 inches), although a large
number of scholars prefer mm.
The most concrete evidence is a tunnel dug by Hezekiah, the King of Judah (late 8th early 7th centuries bce) and described in 2 Kings 20:20 and 2 Chronicles 32:30. This tunnel still exists, and an inscription on the wall, discovered in 1880 and now in the Istanbul Museum, states in part:
...and the water flowed from the spring toward the reservoir for 1,200 cubits, and the height of the rock above the head(s) of the quarrymen was 100 cubits.1
Several modern measurements of the length of the tunnel have been made, but dividing these by 1200 does not necessarily give a precise length for the 'ammāh. First, "1200" sounds like a measurement that has been rounded off. As the tunnelers seem to have followed a natural cleft in the rock, working from both ends, and the tunnel is serpentine rather than straight, it is highly unlikely that the tunnel's length could have been preplanned to such a neat figure. The "1200" is an approximation, and we have no way of knowing how approximate it is. Second, we have no way of knowing where the ancient measurement began and ended. Even the modern measurements vary, G got, X got
A second line of evidence relies on the dimensions of ancient buildings. Especially where they were not constrained by adjacent structures, ancient builders tended to build in round numbers.
ammah is derived from earlier models. The word itself is clearly related to the Akkadian ammatu (cubit) Egyptian and Babylonian cubits
1. W. F. Albright, translator.
The Siloam Inscription.
in James B. Pritchard, editor.
Ancient Near Eastern Texts: Relating to the Old Testament. 3rd ed. with
supp.
Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1969.
| Passage | King James | Revised Standard Version |
|---|---|---|
| Deuteronomy 3:11 | cubit of a man | cubit |
| 1 Samuel 17:4; Genesis 7:20; Esther 7:19; 2 Kings 14:13; Nehemiah 3:13; Jeremiah 52:21 | cubit | cubit |
| Ezekiel 40:5 and 43:13, 518 mm (20.38 inches) | the cubit is a cubit and an hand breadth | cubit |
R. B. Y. Scott.
The Hebrew Cubit.
Journal of Biblical Literature, vol. 77, no. 3, pages 205-214
(September 1958).
A number of web sites have photographs of Hezekiah's tunnel, including:
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