Original Word: כֹּר
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: kor
Pronunciation: kor
Phonetic Spelling: (kore)
KJV: cor, measure Aramaic the same
Word Origin: [from the same as H3564 (כּוּר - Furnace)]

1. (properly) a deep round vessel, i.e. (specifically) a cor or measure for things dry

cor, measure

From the same as kuwr; properly, a deep round vessel, i.e. (specifically) a cor or measure for things dry -- cor, measure. Aramaic the same.

see HEBREW kuwr

כֹּר noun [masculine] kor, a measure (usually dry), = חֹמֶר (Ezekiel 45:14 compare Ezekiel 45:11) (Late Hebrew כּוֺר, Aramaic כּוֺרָא, hence, as loan-words, Greek κόρος, Arabic Frä²⁰⁷; √ dubious; כרה, Lag^{Or. ii. 30}, compare Id^{BN 40, 156}; כרר, Nö^{ZMG 1886, xi, 734}; Dl^{Prol. 113} compare Assyrian kâry, and derived from כור (but see now kâru Dl^{HWB 349})); — סֹלֶת ׳כ 1 Kings 5:2; קָ֑מַח ׳כ v.1 Kings 4:2; of חִטִּים v.1 Kings 5:25 a; plural כֹּרִים of ׳ח and שְׂעֹרִים2Chron 2:9 (twice in verse); 2Chronicles 27:5; הַכֹּר as liquid measure (of oil) Ezekiel 45:14. See further Benz^{Archaeology 183 ff.} Now^{Archaeology i. 203, and, on capacity}, see III. חֹמֶר f. above; in 1 Kings 5:25 b read בַּת שֶׁמֶן for ᵑ0 ׳כֹּר שׁ (compare ᵐ5. and 2 Chron 2:9).

[כּוֺר] noun [masculine] kôr, a measure of wheat (Biblical Hebrew כֹּר); — plural absolute כּוֺרִין Ezra 7:22.

Overview

In the Old Testament the כֹּר (kor) functions as a standard large‐volume measure for grain, flour, wine, and oil. Every inspired use of the term turns the reader’s attention to issues of royal provision, covenant blessing, stewardship, and prophetic expectation. Because the kor was one of the largest units in Israel’s system of capacity, its appearance in the narrative or prophetic text often signals abundance or heavy obligation. Nine passages use the word, spanning the United Monarchy, the divided kingdom, the post-exilic community, and Ezekiel’s eschatological vision.

Ancient Near Eastern Background

Texts from Ugarit, Phoenicia, and Mesopotamia testify to similar measures (akkadian kurru, “heap, pile”), showing that Israel’s kor fit within a broader commercial language shared by its neighbors. Trade treaties and tribute lists across the region employed the measure, enabling Solomon, Hiram of Tyre, and later Persian officials to negotiate in mutually intelligible terms. This common standard promoted inter-regional commerce and underscored Israel’s place among the nations (compare 1 Kings 5:11).

Occurrences and Narrative Settings

1. Solomon’s daily palace provisions, “thirty cors of fine flour and sixty cors of meal” (1 Kings 4:22) showcase the extraordinary prosperity God granted the king, fulfilling promises first hinted at in Deuteronomy 28.
2. Annual diplomatic payments: “Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand cors of wheat as food for his household, and twenty thousand cors of pressed oil” (1 Kings 5:11). The repeated reference (the verse is noted twice in the textual tradition) marks the stability of covenant friendship between Israel and Tyre.
3. When Solomon’s temple project is retold for Judah, “twenty thousand cors of wheat” and “twenty thousand baths of oil” appear again (2 Chronicles 2:10), reinforcing continuity between Kings and Chronicles.
4. Royal taxation under Jotham of Judah includes “one hundred talents of silver, ten thousand cors of wheat, and ten thousand cors of barley” from the Ammonites (2 Chronicles 27:5). The kor here quantifies vassal tribute, illustrating how kingship could be a channel of blessing to the faithful and a burden to the rebellious.
5. Artaxerxes’ decree permits Ezra to draw up to “one hundred talents of silver, one hundred cors of wheat, one hundred baths of wine, one hundred baths of oil, and salt without limit” (Ezra 7:22). The kor legitimizes Jewish worship supplies under Persian rule; the Persian king himself acknowledges Yahweh’s house.
6. Ezekiel’s temple vision prescribes for the prince “one‐tenth of a homer, or one‐tenth of a cor (for ten baths are a homer)” of oil (Ezekiel 45:14). The kor anchors the vision in historical reality while pointing ahead to an orderly future worship economy.

Economic and Agricultural Context

A single kor represented roughly enough wheat to feed a large extended household for several months. In subsistence economies that measured production in handfuls, a kor signaled serious wealth. Farmers delivered tithes and taxes in such units; royal storehouses stockpiled countless kors to stabilize the nation against famine (see Joseph’s policy in Genesis 47 for conceptual precedent).

Royal Administration and Tribute

Solomon’s and Jotham’s administrations used the kor both for domestic provisioning and for foreign policy. Diplomatic gift-exchange in kors of grain or oil forged alliances (1 Kings 5) and demonstrated covenant faithfulness. At the same time, the kor served as a yardstick of accountability: when kings departed from God’s law, the abundance implicit in the kor turned into an oppressive levy (cf. 1 Samuel 8:15 for the principle).

Worship and Offerings

Ezra’s authorization to receive up to one hundred kors of wheat shows that temple worship required large‐scale logistical support. By specifying the kor, Scripture highlights the tangible cost of maintaining sacrificial ministry and underscores God’s provision through even pagan authorities. Ezekiel’s future temple likewise integrates the kor in its economy, teaching that worship in every era must be resourced adequately and proportionately.

Prophetic and Eschatological Significance

Ezekiel 45 projects the kor into an ideal messianic administration. The precise fractions (one-tenth of a kor) preach fairness, holiness, and transparency in the coming kingdom. The measure itself becomes a vehicle for righteousness: just weights and measures anticipate a restored society where “the prince will provide the burnt offerings” (Ezekiel 45:17).

Practical Ministry Implications

1. Stewardship: Churches and families should track resources with clarity comparable to biblical standards.
2. Generosity: The kor narratives encourage believers to give lavishly for worship and for partnership in gospel work, imitating Solomon’s and Ezra’s examples.
3. Justice: Leaders are reminded that large assessments (the modern equivalent of many kors) must never oppress but should facilitate covenant blessing.

Christological Reflections

Solomon’s overflowing storehouses prefigure the greater Son of David, Jesus Christ, whose kingdom knows no lack. Where Solomon distributed thirty kors daily, Christ multiplies loaves for thousands with even greater ease (John 6). The kor thus becomes a shadow of the fullness of grace believers receive in Him—“from His fullness we have all received, grace upon grace” (John 1:16).

Key References

1 Kings 4:22; 1 Kings 5:11; 2 Chronicles 2:10; 2 Chronicles 27:5; Ezra 7:22; Ezekiel 45:14

הַכֹּ֔ר הכר כֹּ֖ר כֹּ֤ר כֹּר֙ כֹּרִ֖ים כֹּרִ֣ין כֹּרִים֙ כר כרים כרין hak·kōr hakKor hakkōr kō·rîm kō·rîn kor kōr koRim kōrîm koRin kōrînInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts