Introduction

Was Sepphoris a Jewish city in the first century C.E.? Mark Chancey and Eric Meyers put forth their view earlier in this issue (“How Jewish Was Sepphoris in Jesus’ Time?”). One of their key pieces of evidence is the presence in the city of a number of stepped pools, which they claim are mikva’ot, Jewish ritual baths. But is that what they really are? In “They’re Not Ritual Baths,” Israeli scholar Hanan Eshel argues that many of these pools may have been used simply for ordinary bathing. Meyers defends his interpretation in “Yes, They Are,” and compares the Sepphoris examples with known mikva’ot at other sites. Eshel appends a final note to the discussion in “We Need More Data.”