[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
Re: orion-list Essenes at Qumran: A Reality Check
Rochelle,
[snip]
> In ANT Josephus claims that the Essene community numbered 4,000 people.
> 4,000 people will need a minimum of *128,000* liters of water per day
> just to survive. This figure does NOT include water for washing or for
> cooking or for livestock or for agriculture.
But didn't Josephus say that the Essenes lived in "every city"?
The impression I get from his passages is not one of 4,000 people
at a permanent retreat in the desert. This is one of the main
reasons I reject Qumran as an Essene site (but only one, and a
fairly minor one). So while I agree with your conclusion, I think
your line of argument breaks down here.
Of course, Pliny is another matter, but as I recall, he doesn't
actually mention a number, does he?
Dave Washburn
http://www.nyx.net/~dwashbur
"No study of probabilities inside a given frame can ever
tell us how probable it is that the frame itself can be
violated." C. S. Lewis
For private reply, e-mail to "Dave Washburn" <dwashbur@nyx.net>
----------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe from Orion, e-mail to majordomo@mscc.huji.ac.il with the
message: "unsubscribe Orion." Archives are on the Orion Web site
and at http://www.mail-archive.com/orion%40panda.mscc.huji.ac.il/. For
more information on the Orion Center, visit our web site,
http://orion.mscc.huji.ac.il.