“... Pre-baptismal fasting was intended both as an act of penitence and a break with idolatry which freed the candidate from the power of demons. Fasting was practiced at Qumran, as in Rabbinic Judaism, but there is no evidence in either case that it was linked with purification by water. Such evidence is available from Jos. and As., which is a work of Jewish proselyte propaganda and may have been linked to the Essene movement. The original simple instruction concerning fasting has been expanded by the Christian redactor, and his concern for the pre-baptismal fast is evidenced in other early Christian writings. ...”