Endnote 7 – Yes, They Are
Estimates for how many gallons equal 40 seahs vary from 60 gallons, according to Eshel, to 125 to 250 gallons, according to Rabbi Meir Posen of London, a specialist in ritual baths (see “Die Mikwe als Grundlage jüdischen Lebens,” in Georg Hensberger, ed. Mikwe: Geschichte und Architektur jüdischer Ritualbäder in Deutschland [Frankfurt am Main: Jüdisches Museum der Stadt Frankfurt am Main, 1992], pp. 1–9). Rabbi Posen states that 1,000 liters equals 40 seahs, or 250 gallons (p. 4). E.P. Sanders (Jewish Law from Jesus to the Mishnah [Philadelphia: Trinity Press International, 1990], pp. 214–231; equivalencies for the seah are discussed on p. 215) reports that the modern equivalent of 40 seahs ranges from 250 to 1,000 liters of water, which is based on the ancient dispute over the volume in 1 square cubit by 3 cubits (Sanders, Jewish Law, pp. 215–220, n. 31, 36 and 47 on pp. 355–56).