anoint them without their approval but does not say that they avoid oil altogether.4 Yigael Yadin noted that although the Essenes refrained from oiling their bodies on an everyday basis, anointing with new oil was part of the ritual of the Feast of the Firstfruits of Oil.5 The Essenes’ attitude must be due to purity concerns, despite the fact that Josephus attributes it to a preference for being unwashed.6 I believe that Josephus did this in order to present the sectarians’ lifestyle as an ascetic