https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110630282-008 Renate Egger-Wenzel Did Judith Go to the Miqweh? Abstract: The two bathing scenes in the book of Judith are clearly connected, and compose a unit (Jdt 10:3; 12:8–9). Both episodes refer to a full-body immer- sion (περικλύζομαι, βαπτίζω) at twilight, which has to be concluded before dawn according Jewish sources. As the text uses the typical terminology “de- scending” into the house for a bath in the first place, and “ascending” from spring water in the second for purity reasons (καθαρά), with a prayer being uttered, it is most likely that the author meant to convey the idea that Judith was running a miqweh at home. This would explain the otherwise highly ques- tionable use of precious liquid under the circumstances of a siege when water was rationed. The book’s author describes his main character Judith within a proto-Pharisaic setup. A Jewish audience would have appreciated the cultic- ritual hints in the text, but the Hellenistic or Roman reader would have under- stood the bathing scenes as profane ones and considered the heroine as obses- sive about her diet. Keywords: bath; immersion; miqweh; stepped pool; pure/purity 1 Introduction Already when I wrote my article “Judith’s Path from Grief to Joy” in 2010 I was puzzled about a note in Jdt 10:3: “she washed herself, all around the body, with water” (NETS). The heroine Judith indulges herself with a generous bath while in Bethulia, “the cisterns were emptied out, and they were unable to drink their fill of water for a single day, for they were giving them to drink in measure. And their infants lost heart, and the women and the young men failed from thirst, and they were falling in the streets of the city and in the passages of the gates, and there was no longer strength in them” (Jdt 7:21–22). What is going on here? Does Judith, who is described as an exceedingly God-fearing woman (ἐφοβεῖτο τὸν θεὸν σφόδρα, Jdt 8:8), secretly keep water in order to indulge herself with- out feeling any responsibility for the inhabitants of her town? On the contrary, a high degree of communal responsibility is indicated by her decision to take a || It is a great privilege for me to contribute to this Festschrift in honor of Prof. Stefan C. Reif on the occasion of his 75th birthday, an outstanding scholar, long time member of the ISDCL’s advisory board and dear friend. Angemeldet | renate.egger@sbg.ac.at Autorenexemplar Heruntergeladen am | 05.09.19 18:44