Body: | First Century Ritual Purity Stone Vessels (Stoneware)
Introduction:
A. History of ritual purity stone vessels:
1. In the Bible, there is one reference to
stoneware in John 2 and the wedding at Cana:
a. "When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to Him,
"They have no wine." And Jesus said to her, "Woman, what does that
have to do with us? My hour has not yet come." His mother said to the
servants, "Whatever He says to you, do it." Now there were six stone
waterpots set there for the Jewish custom of purification, containing
twenty or thirty gallons each. Jesus said to them, "Fill the waterpots
with water." So they filled them up to the brim. And He said to them,
"Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter." So they took it to
him." (John 2:3-8)
2. "Around 100 B.C. a major shift
occurred in Late Second Temple period Judaism. Pious Jews interpreted
Leviticus 11 and 15 literally and began to replace pottery with chalk stone
vessels which they viewed as insusceptible to ritual impurity. What started
as a small wave grew into a tsunami affecting burial, bathing, and cooking.
Both the material cultural remains and the text of the New Testament bear
witness to these changes." (Dr. Scott Stripling)
3. Stoneware is unique to the first century
and was used for ritual purity by the Jews. Standard pottery could not be
reused and had to be broken after sacred use. Stoneware, the Pharisees
reasoned, could be reused. Pottery is made from formed and fired clay.
Stoneware is a cup or storage pot carved out of a single chunk of stone and
there very expensive until you factor in that it could be reused.
4. The Author has excavated ritual purity
stone vessels at both the City of David in 2008 AD and Khirbet el-Maqatir
in 2011-2016 AD.
5. Stoneware was in use for a short period
of time, it is highly diagnostic in archeological excavations in dating a
locus of a dig square or even the entire site.
B. Biblical Ephraim: Khirbet el-Maqatir: Ai of Joshua, Maqatir of Jesus:
John 11:53-55
1. "So from that day on they planned together to
kill Him. Therefore Jesus no longer continued to walk publicly among the
Jews, but went away from there to the country near the wilderness, into a
city called Ephraim; and there He stayed with the disciples. Now the
Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up to Jerusalem out of the
country before the Passover to purify themselves." (John 11:53-55)
a. The largest amount of ritual stoneware ever excavated from
one site in Israel is at Khirbet el-Maqatir, first century Maqatir where
Jesus withdrew to after healing Lazarus in John 11.
b. This was right before Passover and Jesus would have stayed as
a city where he could be ritually pure.
2. The author has also excavated some of the many
mikveh discovered at Maqatir.
a. Over 100 different fragments including a wash basin and a
whole stone was excavated at Ephraim.
b. Ephraim (Maqatir) fits all the requirements of ritual purity
that Jesus would have been concerned about as a first century Jew.
3. John 11:53-55 has all the essential
elements:
a. Geographically Maqatir fits Ephraim.
b. The timing of Passover and concern for ritual purity mentioned
in the passage fits Maqatir with its stoneware and many mikvoat.
c. It is reasonable guess that Jesus would have used stoneware
for the last supper since it was considered the most holy and sacred
dinnerware of the period AND He had used it at Maqatir (Ephraim) just days
earlier.
C. Types of stone vessels used for ritual purity:
1. Ritual purity items in general
2. Dinnerware: plates, dishes
3. Two handle cups (Khirbet el-Maqatir)
4. Core cups (Rare: City of David)
5. A wide variety of forms roughly similar to
standard pottery in current use.
6. Large storage jars (Cana)
7. Water basins (Khirbet el-Maqatir)
8. Ossuaries (bone boxes for the dead)
I. How Stoneware Vessels are made
1. First century Stone vessel manufacturing
Quarries near Jerusalem:
a. Stoneware was quarried in at least two known locations
just outside Jerusalem.
b. The author has visited both of them.
c. The quarries are littered with thousands of worthless
rock chips in the manufacture of stone vessels with hand chisels.
2. A spinning circular iron hole saw
drilled (lathe) and bored these cores out of chalky, soft limestone.
3. The center cores, pictured below, were
usually discarded but were occasionally made into "core cups".
a. A spinning hole saw extracts the core (usually
discarded) from quarried soft chalk limestone.
b. Rarely a cup is then made from the discarded core.
c. Here is a core cup the author excavated from the City of
David excavation in 2008 AD. Sandy Richard and Mckinny were the actual
couple who discovered it!
II. The communion cups used at the last supper of Jesus and his disciples?
1. The author first proposed in 2013 AD
that Stone vessels were the type of cups used by Jesus in last supper.
a. The author theorized in 2013 AD, that this was the type
of vessel used by Jesus at the Last Supper.
b. We actually have no idea what Jesus used at the last
supper.
c. Steven Rudd made an educated guess based upon the latest
research in Biblical archeology.
d. The Author excavated a beautiful Ritual purity stone cup
at Khirbet el-Maqatir in 2013 AD.
2. Lord's Supper Cup of Jesus "The Holy
Grail"
3. THE CORE CUP: Lord's Supper Cups of
the twelve disciples of Jesus "The Holy Grailettes"
a. Though speculative, it is likely that the 12 communion
cups at the last supper were smaller than Jesus cup.
b. A little fruit of the vine was POURED out from Jesus cup
into each of the 12 apostle's cups.
c. There are several stoneware vessel cup forms that are
excellent candidates for this smaller cup.
d. We propose that the "core cup" was the actual form of
stone vessel used by Jesus at the last supper:
i. Cores are usually discarded at the quarry where the cups were
made.
ii. Cup cores did exist, as proven by the author's excavating
one in the City of David dig in 2008 AD.
iii. Jesus chose the "CORE CUP" because it metaphorically
represented the apostles who, like the core, discarded as worthless, a type
of "the stone the builders rejected".
iv. The cores were "rejected stones" like Jesus, but
occasionally they would be made into a useful cup.
v. Cores were also rare, showing metaphorically how very special
the apostles were.
vi. Speculative yes, but it does make perfect sense and it fits
with the story and known first century ritual purity concerns that Jesus
certainly would have conformed with.
4. PROVEN: 13 MULTIPLE COMMUNION CUPS:
a. We know there were 13 cups (as opposed to one) because
Jesus told the disciples to pour a little grape juice from His cut into
each of their own individual cups.
b. How silly and unbiblical are those who will not partake of
the Lord's Supper with more than one cup and refuse to have fellowship
with Christians who follow the actual example of Jesus by using multiple
cups.
c. Both Juice and Blood were Poured
d. Without multiple cups, no juice was poured and the
metaphor doesn't work.
e. If no juice was poured, then Jesus' blood wasn't
poured!
f. "Take my cup and DIVIDE it among yourselves"
g. "My cup is POURED OUT for you is My blood"
h. Luke's Triple Communion Sequence: Lk 22
i. Setup: "Pour out" Jesus' Juice into 12 cups v17
ii. Eat Bread v19
iii. Drink Juice v 20
III. Stone Wash Basin: Last Supper foot washing basin?
1. The author theorized in 2013 AD, that this was
the type of vessel used by Jesus at the Last Supper.
a. We actually have no idea what Jesus used at the last supper.
b. Steven Rudd made an educated guess based upon the latest
research in Biblical archeology.
2. The Author excavated this Ritual Purity Stone
Basin at Khirbet el-Maqatir in 2013 AD.
a. It was found in about 20 fragments in Cav1 and each piece
was recorded three dimensionally by Square Supervisor Abigail Leavitt who
also fitted the pieces together.
b. The fragments were taken to Orna Cohen who restored the
entire vessels to its present museum standard condition.
c. The author is seen transporting the stoneware ritual purity
washbasin from Orna Cohen's studio back to the excavation headquarters
where it was delivered to the IAA to be used as a model show piece at the
Israel Museum.
IV. Miracle at Cana and the six stone water pots:
1. In the Bible, there is one reference to stoneware in
John 2 and the wedding at Cana:
a. "On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee,
and the mother of Jesus was there; and both Jesus and His disciples were
invited to the wedding. When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to
Him, "They have no wine." And Jesus said to her, "Woman, what does
that have to do with us? My hour has not yet come." His mother said to
the servants, "Whatever He says to you, do it." Now there were six
stone waterpots [Greek: hydria] set there for the Jewish custom of
purification, containing twenty or thirty gallons each. Jesus said to them,
"Fill the waterpots with water." So they filled them up to the brim.
And He said to them, "Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter."
So they took it to him. When the headwaiter tasted the water which had
become wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had
drawn the water knew), the headwaiter called the bridegroom, and said to
him, "Every man serves the good wine first, and when the people have
drunk freely, then he serves the poorer wine; but you have kept the good
wine until now." This beginning of His signs Jesus did in Cana of
Galilee, and manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him. After
this He went down to Capernaum, He and His mother and His brothers and His
disciples; and they stayed there a few days." (John 2:1-12)
2. See also the synagogue at Cana
3. The same word for water pot in John 2 is also used in
John 4:28: "So the woman left her waterpot [Greek: hydria], and went into
the city and said to the men," (John 4:28)
4. Most noteworthy is the 6 unused stoneware pots used for
the miracle of the water into wine. It is most likely that the wedding took
place in one of the adjoining buildings as part of the Synagogue complex.
Why would six huge and very expensive stoneware pots be there in the first
place and why were they not being used in the wedding catering? The answer
is likely that they were in an adjoining storage room of the synagogue near
the banquet hall.
Miracle at Cana Wedding:
6 Large Stone Jars: The 20-30 gal. ceremonial stoneware pots were not being used for catering the wedding, indicating they were inside the Cana synagogue or an adjoining building where the pots were stored. Stoneware was excavated at the first century synagogue at Kh. Qana (Cana).
See also the synagogue at Cana
V. The Elaborate Stoneware Ossuary of Joseph son of Caiaphas high priest
1. Caiaphas was the Jewish high priest from
18-36 AD
a. He is known chiefly for his involvement in the arrest of
Jesus as described in the New Testament.
b. "Then those who had seized Jesus led him to Caiaphas the high
priest, who the sates and the elders had gathered." (Matthew 26:57)
2. The Caiaphas family burial cave was
discovered in southeastern Jerusalem.
a. This is the most elegant of the 12 ossuaries found inside
b. The full name of the deceased - "Joseph son of Caiaphas"
appears twice.
c. The name and the chest's elaborate decorations suggest that
this was indeed the ossuary of the Caiaphas from the New Testament.
3. Made of soft chalk limestone with an
Aramaic inscription.
4. Located in the Israel Museum in
Jerusalem
VI. The stone bathtub of Herod the Great from Herodium:
1. The recent excavations at Herodium have
produced amazing things including:
a. The long sought after tomb of Herod hidden in the side of
the hill.
b. Elaborate rooms with colour frescos
c. A sold stone bathtub like use by Herod the Great.
2. See also the Synagogue at Herodium:
By Steve Rudd: Contact the author for comments, input or corrections.
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