The Enigma of the Biblical Bath and the System of Liquid Volume Measurement during the First Temple Period
Year: 2010
Type: article
Abstract: In this paper we claim that during the First Temple period, no organized or fixed system of liquid volume measurements existed in Judah. The biblical bath, which has been understood to be the basic measurement of the system, was not a measurement at all but a well-known vessel – the Judahite storage jar–also known as the lmlk jar. The nēḇel and the kaḏ were two other vessels that had other uses. The lōḡ, hîn, and iśśārôn, which are usually termed "measurements" and considered part of the system of liquid volume measurements, were actually vessels that were part of the official Temple cult during the Second Temple period and were never part of the First Temple economy and administration.
DOI: 10.17613/bgc5t-zth66
Institutions: Tel Aviv University, Mount Holyoke College
Language: English
Subfield: Religious studies
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2220053937