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Re: orion-list a real reality check



I don't want to hog the discussion so I will be brief. Josephus says that
only Essenes were eligible to participate in the Essene meal. If this is
true, and I think it is as it makes perfect sense in the larger context, I
therefore wonder what sort of facilities, if any, they had for non-Essene
guests. Would such guests even have been welcome? Their recruits received
the shovel early on in their initiation, so they too would not have needed
a latrine.

As I wrote in a previous communication a year or more ago, when someone
finds a hoard of shovels at Qumran all with the remains of fecal matter, I
will gladly announce that I was wrong and not try to evade the obvious
conclusion. Finding a latrine puts the shoe on the other foot.

Al

avigdor horovitz wrote:

> Dear Al,
> Excuse me for putting in my two cents in this discussion, but I don't
> follow your conclusion. Although the Essenes would have used their shovel
> to cover their excrement, what would someone paying a visit do? Wouldn't
> any Essene community have to have a guest bathroom?
> Victor

For private reply, e-mail to "Albert I. Baumgarten" <baumgaa@mail.biu.ac.il>
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