substances. Their number and volume show that they could hold enough water to fill a Jewish immersion pool used for ceremonial purification. Although Pharisees forbade storing such water in jars (immersion pools required rainwater or flowing water, not water drawn from a container), some Jews were probably less strict. Jewish people also poured water over their hands to purify them; though such large jars would not have been suitable for direct pouring, water could be drawn from them. In any case,