In What decade was the measurement span used?

Answer 1

Span is referenced in The Bible as a unit of measure for the height of the giant Philistine, Goliath of Gath, in 1 Samuel 17. He was reportedly 6 cubits and a span in height. That would have made him one tall customer indeed, as a cubit is held to be equal to 45.72 centimeters and a span is approximately 22.3 centimeters, or the distance across a man's outstretched hand. This would have made Goliath 296.62 centimeters, or 2.9662 meters, or, for you American readers, that's about 9 feet, 8 1/2 inches tall. As to the decade in which span was used as a unit of measurement, I would have to guess that it most likely predates the incident between David and Goliath. So sometime around 2000 years ago, give or take 1500 years. Of course humans have been measuring things since before Christ was born so I imagine the span may have enjoyed a long, long lifespan on the Unit of Measurement circuit. In that case, there were many, many decades that make up the correct answer to this question and I don't see the point in conjecturing precisely what all of those decades may have been.