Stepped Pools Research Articles

Miller, Stuart S. At the Intersection of Texts and Material Finds: Stepped Pools, Stone Vessels, and Ritual Purity among the Jews of Roman Galilee. Göttingen: V&R Academic, 2015. 342 pp.

Article Miller, Stuart S. At the Intersection of Texts and Material Finds: Stepped Pools, Stone Vessels, and Ritual Purity among the Jews of Roman Galilee. Göttingen: V&R Academic, 2015. 342 pp. was published on October 1, 2022 in the journal Studies in Judaism, Humanities, and the Social Sciences (volume 4, issue 1).

Archaeology, Epigraphy, Philology

Archaeology, Epigraphy, Philology Christopher T. Begg, William J. Urbrock, John R. Spencer, Thomas Hieke, Victor H. Matthews, and Fred W. Guyette Christopher T. Begg Catholic University of America William J. Urbrock University of Wisconsin Oshkosh John R. Spencer John Carroll University Thomas Hieke Johannes Gutenberg Universität Mainz Victor H. Matthews Missouri State University Fred W. Guyette Erskine College and Seminary 196. [The Chalk Vessel Assemblage from Shuʿafat] Yonatan Adler, "Ritual Purity in Daily Life after 70 CE: The Chalk Vessel Assemblage from Shuʿafat as a Test Case," JSJ 52 (2021) 39-62. Chalk vessels became common at Jewish sites throughout the Southern Levant beginning in the late 1st cent. b.c.e., apparently because Jews considered stone to be impervious to ritual impurity. It is commonly thought that a drastic decline in this phenomenon occurred after 70 c.e. as a direct result of the temple's destruction—on the assumption that the central motivation for Jews' observance of the purity regulations was to ensure that they could participate in the temple cult. This assumption is reconsidered here in light of an impressive assemblage of chalk vessels recently unearthed at Shuʿafat that was occupied during the brief 70–132 c.e. interwar period. The character of this assemblage, which I present here in a preliminary fashion, suggests that both the use and production of chalk vessels continued unabated for decades after 70 c.e., this contradicting the notion that the chalk vessel industry was reliant on a functioning temple and that observance of the purity laws was inexorably linked with the Jerusalem cult. [Adapted from published abstract—C.T.B.] Google Scholar 197. [Stepped Pools; Chalk Vessels] Yonatan Adler, "Watertight and Rock Solid: Stepped Pools and Chalk Vessels as Expressions of Jewish Ritual Purity," BARev 41 (1, 2021) 44-51. Analyzing geographic distribution patterns that "manifest boldly along ethnic lines," A. defends against recent challenges the "rather broad scholarly consensus" that stepped pools and chalk vessels are best interpreted as reflections of Jewish adherence to pentateuchal ritual purity laws. Illustrated.—W.J.U. Google Scholar 198. [A BA Tomb at Tell Qsubi on the Middle Euphrates in Syria] Sawssan Alachkar and Yasser Showhan, "Découverte d'une tombe du Bronze ancien à Tell Qsubi (Moyen-Euphrate, Syrie)," Syria 96 (2017) 273-92. An EBA tomb was discovered in 2009 at Tell Qsubi on the right bank of the Euphrates, 59 km west of Deir ez-Zor. Dug into the bedrock on the edge of the tell, the tomb consists of an access shaft and a chamber divided into three parts, which contained a few [End Page 64] human bones and 204 ceramic vessels, but no other grave goods. This article focuses on the large, previously unpublished pottery assemblage from the tomb. A typological and stylistic study of the assemblage enabled us to divide the component pottery into various ceramic categories and morphological types. The predominant category, we determined, is Simple Ware, with only a few instances of Black Euphrates Ware and a single example of Combed Wash Ware. Our chronological analysis of the assemblage, based on comparisons with other sites in the region, indicates that the assemblage can be attributed to the EME 4-5 (2450–2100 b.c.) period. The tomb itself can be classified as a shaft grave, a type which is well documented for the Middle Euphrates region. Its discovery extended the distribution area of such tombs along the Euphrates valley further to the south. [Adapted from published abstract—C.T.B.] Google Scholar 199. [Funerary Complex of Sarenput II] José M. Alba Gómez, "The Funerary Chambers of Sarenput II and the Destruction of His Outer Coffin," Middle Kingdom Palace Culture, 16-44 [see #789]. The funerary complex of Sarenput II is one of several rock-cut tombs built at Elephantine for the powerful local rulers who lived there during the Middle Kingdom Era. The tomb, now numbered QH31 has been the subject of several studies. Wallis Budge first published details of the funerary chambers in 1886, but the team undertaking the work did not completely excavate the complex. Budge himself did...

The Imperial Cult Meets Judaism

ABSTRACTExcavations conducted in the first half of the twentieth century at Samaria-Sebaste uncovered an Augusteum, surrounded by additional Roman-period structures. A compelling hypothesis is that these buildings served as a royal compound belonging to Herod himself, although until now archaeological remains connecting the structures specifically to Herod have been lacking. Here I will examine the function and historical significance of eight stepped pools discovered throughout this compound. I will argue that these pools should be regarded as Jewish ritual immersion pools that date to the time of Herod the Great or his successors. This suggestion will lead us to explore the obvious question: How could Jewish ritual baths have coexisted in such close quarters with a pagan temple? I will suggest that this ostensibly surprising juxtaposition of ritual structures has much to teach us about the pervasiveness and tenacity of Jewish adherence to Torah Law at this time.

Health and the Origins of the Miqveh

Abstract Use of rock-cut stepped pools for immersion in harvested rainwater is first attested in Judean source material of the second century BCE and on archaeological record shortly thereafter. As argued here, the practice became widespread due to the impact of Greco-Roman ideas about health and well-being. Immersion of the body in water was seen in the Greek medical tradition as a beneficial activity; it balanced the humors, opened harmful blockages in the skin membrane, and helped facilitate unction. Once these ideas became widespread in Judea, local purification rituals followed, and began incorporating immersion in water. The rabbinic dichotomy between purification and cleansing was likely irrelevant for most Judeans in the late Second Temple period, who probably also saw immersion as beneficial for personal hygiene. For this reason, stepped pools nearly disappear from archaeological record with the rise of public bathhouses, which offered the convenience of large and well-maintained immersion pools in exchange for a fee.

At the Intersection of Texts and Material Finds: Stepped Pools, Stone Vessels, and Ritual Purity among the Jews of Roman Galilee

At the Intersection of Texts and Material Finds: Stepped Pools, Stone Vessels, and Ritual Purity among the Jews of Roman Galilee

At the Intersection of Texts and Material Finds: Stepped Pools, Stone Vessels, and Ritual Purity among the Jews of Roman Galilee by Stuart S. Miller

Reviewed by: At the Intersection of Texts and Material Finds: Stepped Pools, Stone Vessels, and Ritual Purity among the Jews of Roman Galilee by Stuart S. Miller Eyal Regev At the Intersection of Texts and Material Finds: Stepped Pools, Stone Vessels, and Ritual Purity among the Jews of Roman Galilee Stuart S. Miller Journal of Ancient Judaism Supplement 16. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2015. Pp. 342. ISBN 978-3-525-55069-4 Miller's book discusses the literary and archeological aspects of purity practices, mainly bodily immersion and ritual baths (miqva'ot). It focuses on the Galilee in Late Antiquity, particularly on the city of Sepphoris. Chapters One ("Misleading Use of Terminology: The "miqveh", "bet tevilah" and other "Ritual Baths"") and Two ("The Evolving, Non-Monolithic "Ritual Bath"") deal with the terminology of miqveh and the problem of identifying a miqveh in the material record. It is argued that the rabbinic miqveh is not always a manmade stepped pool since it is also possible to bathe in natural waters. Chapter Three ("Pre-Rabbinic, Non-Rabbinic, and Rabbinic Ritual Immersion Practices in the Making") explores the different types of ritual baths [End Page 517] and modern scholarly attempts to relate them to specific groups, sects, and movements. Miller includes ritual baths with a split staircase, which elsewhere this reviewer has identified with priests or priestly maintenance of purity, and ritual baths with an adjacent pool (o'tzar), which I have identified with the halakhah of the Pharisees ("Ritual Baths of Jewish Groups and Sects in the Second Temple Period," Cathedra 79 (1996): 3–21 and Cathedra 83 (1997): 169–76 [Hebrew]). Chapter Four ("Did the Author of P. Oxyrhynchus 840 Know What a "Miqveh" Was?") deals with the so-called uncanonical gospel (P. Oxy. 840), which is dated to the third or fourth century ce(?). Miller compares its references to immersion with rabbinic notions of purity and favors the view that the priest's reproach of Jesus' immersion-purification is directed not against rabbinic purity practices but rather against Jewish-Christian purity practices. Miller also demonstrates that Jews and Christians alike understood and appreciated the life-giving properties of water and regarded them as a divinely bestowed. Chapter Five ("Further Observations on Stone Vessel Finds and Ritual Purity in Light of Talmudic Sources") diverges from the main theme of ritual baths to stone vessels, which, according to rabbinic halakhah (rules), were not susceptible to impurity. These vessels are found in large numbers in Jewish sites throughout the Israel from the early first century ce to the mid-second century. Miller reviews rabbinic legal texts and criticizes the view that stone vessels were used mainly because they are not defiled. Rather he regards these vessels as an outcome of a functional development of the stone vessels industry, which also produced ossuaries for burial. To support this view Miller refers to stone vessels found in Khirbet Qumran, even though several Qumran scrolls insist that stones or vessels made of stone are capable of impurity. Chapter Six ("The Stepped Pools of the Western Acropolis at Sepphoris") is a survey of the findings of ritual baths in Sepphoris, a city that Miller treated in a separate study (Studies in the History and Traditions of Sepphoris, 1984). He now concludes that the construction and arrangement of the Sepphoris baths did not follow rabbinic prescriptions. Chapter Seven ("Understanding the Pools: Biblical Perceptions of Purity and Habitus of the Jews of 'Eres Israel") discusses biblical perceptions of purity and their impact on Jewish practices. Miller maintains that Jews observed purity laws not because they were regulated by priests or rabbis but because they were biblically derived. Chapter Eight ("Domestic Judaism and the 'Well-Ordered Bayit': Who bathed/Immersed in the Stepped Pools at Sepphoris and Why?") is perhaps the most important chapter in this book. Miller shows that rabbinic laws of purity mainly concern household practices, such as hand washing before eating and immersion related to sexual halakhic practices. In other words, the domestic environment, rather than the synagogue, was the space most affected by the spiritual properties of water. The domestic aspect of purity laws and practices corresponds well with the fact that most of...

At the Intersection of Texts and Material Finds: Stepped Pools, Stone Vessels, and Ritual Purity among the Jews of Roman GalileeMillerStuart S. At the Intersection of Texts and Material Finds: Stepped Pools, Stone Vessels, and Ritual Purity among the Jews of Roman Galilee Journal of Ancient Judaism Supplements 16Vandenhoeck & RuprechtGöttingen, 2015, 423, €140.00ISBN 978-3-525-55069-4

At the Intersection of Texts and Material Finds: Stepped Pools, Stone Vessels, and Ritual Purity among the Jews of Roman GalileeMillerStuart S. <i>At the Intersection of Texts and Material Finds: Stepped Pools, Stone Vessels, and Ritual Purity among the Jews of Roman Galilee</i> Journal of Ancient Judaism Supplements 16Vandenhoeck &amp; RuprechtGöttingen, 2015, 423, €140.00ISBN 978-3-525-55069-4

Stepped Pools, Stone Vessels, and other Identity Markers of “Complex Common Judaism”

AbstractThe interpretation of archaeological finds in light of Talmudic evidence has often resulted in simplistic, “one-to-one” correlations that distort our understanding of “Judaism” in Graeco-Roman Palestine. This is especially true of “stepped pools” and stone vessels which, when seen as markers of Jewish ethnicity, need to be understood with the biblical tradition in mind. Biblical notions of purity and holiness further enable us to appreciate the persistence of ritual purity practices after 70 C.E. The subsequent efforts of the rabbis to regulate such practices, especially those pertaining to sexuality and the household, reflect the tenacity of biblical perceptions of purity and holiness especially among commoners, who had their own understanding of their significance. Once it is realized that the boundaries between Jews were not strictly drawn, material finds can be better assessed, and rabbinic Judaism can be properly understood as having evolved out of a biblically derived, “complex common Judaism.”

La città ellenistico-romana di Magdala/Taricheae. Gli scavi del Magdala Project 2007 e 2008: relazione preliminare e prospettive di indagine

This Preliminary Report presents the most valuable achievements and results of the 2007 and 2008 Archaeological Campaigns carried out by the SBF-Magdala Project’s Team in the site of Migdal/Taricheae, on the West coast of the Sea of Galilee. Among the major discoveries of the two seasons of excavations, here illustrated by 42 inedited maps and plans and 140 pictures, are: in the Western Area (H1-3), new residential quarters along a well preserved paved decumanus (USM 5); five plastered and stepped pools (C3, D1, D3, E11, E22) belonging to the thermal bath complex which has been completely excavated, as well as many different water installations and devices (E2-7, E12-13, E21-22a-23-26, C14, D8, E5) to supply or discharge the publicae thermae or to collect, drain, heating, mix, clean or pressurize water for the balnea. This work also concerns a new portion of the paved cardo maximus (V2); some residential buildings (Area I) located next to the urbic aqueduct on arcationes; a castellum aque (A1, A2-3-5); a newly discovered plastered basin, probably equipped with a water wheel device – the noria – (M31); a first-order conduit covered by basaltic slabs (E5-20); a calidarium/ tepidarium with the pilae stacks for the upper floor – the suspensurae – of an hypocaustum, and arranged with clay box-flue tiles – the tubuli – inside the walls (E18-19); a possible praefurnium with remains of a testudo alvei (E30); an aquarium decorated by polychrome sectilia (E27-28). Of great interest is the discovery of a built-in quay (USM 317-USM 328) in the Eastern branch of the quadriporticus (F). This city’s harbour includes: a plastered basin (USM 317-318- 376), an Hasmonean tower with casematte (E32-33-35), built of ashlars stones with dressed margins (USM 328); a limestone masonry staircase; stone ramps – slipways – to haulage the ships (USM 331); and six intact basaltic mooring stones in situ. The above listed remains have been related with other ruins located farther to the East, which were recorded and described in the 1960s as part of the ancient port of Magdala/Taricheae. Written and Archaeological sources, briefly presented in the Summary, enable the outline of the history of the site from the 2nd century BCE to the 4th century CE and from the 4th/5th century CE – with the settlement of a monastic compound after the earthquake of 363 CE – to 1948. In order to contribute to the actual debate on the “Historical Jesus”, in the Conclusions are offered some considerations and remarks regarding the city extension, its urban character, the time of its foundation, its economical profile in the Roman period, the Jewish or Pagan ethos of its inhabitants and the stratigraphical evidences of destruction and abandonment related to the First Jewish War (66-67 CE) described by Flavius Josephus.