BODILY FUNCTIONS AND RITUAL PURITY IN THE QUMRAN COMMUNITY, JUDAISM AND ANCIENT ROME

Although the identity of the community who occupied the settlement at Qumran has been the object of much debate, most scholars believe that they were most likely members of the Jewish sect called the Essenes. The Essenes were widely known for their rules concerning ritual purity and several known historical authors mentioned them in their writings, including Josephus and Pliny the Elder.

Eleazer Sukenik, who purchased three of the original seven Dead Sea Scrolls, arrived at the conclusion that the group living at Qumran was indeed the Essenes, based on the descriptions given by the ancient historians Josephus and Pliny the Elder. In his writings, Josephus describes three distinct groups or sects of Jews living during his time: the Pharisees, the Sadducees and the Essenes (Josephus. War 2. 8:2). Likewise from him, we are given the entry requirements for joining the Essene community, which correlate with the entrance requirements stated for those at the Qumran settlement, with some minor discrepancies. For instance, whereas Josephus cites a three year initiation into the group, the Rule of the Community only describes two years.

During the first year of the probationary period, potential members were issued a hatchet, presumably for burying excrement, a loin-cloth, and a white robe. They are allowed to participate in the ritual baths after the first year but not allowed to join in the communal meals. Only after another two years passage and swearing oaths were new initiates allowed to participate in the ritual meals and drinks.

Sukenik also relied heavily on the geographical information given by a Roman aristocrat named Gaius Plinius Secundus, or Pliny the Elder. Pliny gives the location of a community of Essenes resid...

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...e samples provided, there was microscopic evidence of roundworm, tapeworm, whipworm and pinworm present. This discovery indicated that there were indeed human parasites from excrement present in the area. Although there have been Bedouins known to inhabit one of the areas, they are not known to bury their excrement. Therefore, Tabor arrives at the conclusion that this new evidence supported the hypothesis that the sect living at Qumran was indeed an Essene community.

On the contrary, some scholars, such as Jeffrey Emanuel of Harvard University, argue that the presence of what appeared to be a toilet located inside the community disproved the Essene hypothesis. Emanuel also argues that the inconsistencies in the scrolls themselves regarding the placement of the latrines at Qumran serves as further evidence that the inhabitants at Qumran were not Essenes.