Biblical Archaeology Review

See Aaron Demsky, “Discovering a Goddess,” BAR 24:05 and W.W. Hallo, K.L. Younger, eds., The Context of Scripture, II (Leiden: Brill, 2000), p. 164.

Illustrated in K. Langer, M. Hirmer, Egypt, Architecture, Sculpture, Painting, 3rd ed. (London: Phaidon, 1961), plate 136.

See, for a fresh survey, Kenneth Kitchen, On the Reliability of the Old Testament, 2002 (in press), Chapter 4.

See Meyers, Meyers and Hoglund, “Sepphoris (S|ippori), 1996,” Israel Exploration Journal 47, no. 3–4 (1997), p. 267, fig. 2.

The term otzar (related to otzer) was used in the late Second Temple period for a storehouse (e.g., an otzar of wood, etc.) and was not applied to mikva’ot until the Middle Ages.

See, e.g., Torat Kohanim (Sifra), Shemini, 9. Several passages in the Mishnah examine the problem of how much drawn water disqualifies a mikveh that has less than the required 40 seahs of “living water” from a spring or lake. See, e.g., Mishnah Mikva’ot 2.4.

According to Eshel, “Living water … must come directly from a river or a spring or from rainwater that flows into the pool.” According to Meyers, “Rainwater … was a major source of living water.” Both Eshel and Meyers incorrectly regard rainwater as “living water.” BAR 26:04.

As Meyers points out, estimates of 40 seahs vary from 60 to 250 gallons. The quantity of water in a seah varied from region to region, according to rabbinic literature; a Jerusalem seah was different from a desert seah (Mishnah Terumah 7.1).

Eric M. Meyers, Carol L. Meyers and Kenneth G. Hoglund, “Sepphoris (S\ippori), 1994,” Israel Exploration Journal 45, no. 1 (1995), p. 69. See also Eric M. Meyers, “Sepphoris on the Eve of the Great Revolt (67–68 C.E.): Archaeology and Josephus,” in Galilee Through the Centuries, Confluence and Cultures, ed. Eric M. Meyers (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1999), p. 109–122.

Seven royal stewards are mentioned in the Bible, six of them by name.