What Does “Pound” Mean in the Bible?
Measure
A Roman measure of weight: about 330 grams, a little less than 12 ounces.
It can mean
- In John 12:3: the Roman pound, about 330 grams.
- Today: the pound used in the United States weighs about 454 grams (16 ounces). And the British pound is also a currency.
Where it appears in the Bible
John 12:3
What the Bible says
John 12:3
Mary therefore took a pound of ointment of right spikenard, of great price, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment.
Douay-Rheims Bible (Challoner revision), public domain.
Source: Britannica, “libra” and “pound”; RAE, “libra”