The Enigma of the Biblical Bath and the System of Liquid Volume Measurement during the First Temple Period

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.

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