In Sotah 34a, the weight of the stones at the Jordan from Joshua 4:3 is given as “about forty se’a.” Some (for instance Steinsaltz) use this in the discussion of the cluster of grapes brought back by Joshua and Caleb (Numbers 13:23) to state the cluster weighed “480 se’a.”
First, isn’t se’a a volume? Also, if you calculate the weight of the stones by using the density of, say, water, barley, or grapes, you obtain... quite high weights for the stones (to say nothing of the grapes). What is one to make of this passage? What does se’a mean in this context?
