Did Judith Go to the Miqweh?

The two bathing scenes in the book of Judith are clearly connected, and compose a unit (Jdt 10:3; 12:8-9). Both episodes refer to a full-body immersion (περικλύζομαι, βαπτίζω) at twilight, which has to be concluded before dawn according Jewish sources. As the text uses the typical terminology “descending” into the house for a bath in the first place, and “ascending” from spring water in the second for purity reasons (καθαρά), with a prayer being uttered, it is most likely that the author meant to convey the idea that Judith was running a miqweh at home. This would explain the otherwise highly questionable use of precious liquid under the circumstances of a siege when water was rationed. The book’s author describes his main character Judith within a proto-Pharisaic setup. A Jewish audience would have appreciated the culticritual hints in the text, but the Hellenistic or Roman reader would have understood the bathing scenes as profane ones and considered the heroine as obsessive about her diet.