Geniza Lab

Business accounts in Judaeo-Arabic. Dated: Rabīʿ al-Awwal 981 AH = Av 5333 AM, which is 1573 CE.

Legal contract concerning the synagogue of the Mustaʿrib congregation in 1544

Legal deed In Judaeo-Arabic. Dated: Tammuz 5353 AM = Shawāl 1001 AH, which is 1593 CE. It seems to be the copy of a reconciliation agreement between al-Faqīr (the writer?) and Shemeul the son of the late Ḥayyim Turiya(?). Two other names are mentioned. There are accounts underneath, with western Arabic numerals.

More accounts in Judaeo-Arabic. Dated: Tishrei 5354 AM = Muharram 1002 AH, which is 1593 CE, a few months after the records on recto.

Marriage contract (ketubba). Location: Yemen. Dated: Shevat 2005 Seleucid, which is 1694 CE. Groom: Dā'ūd b. Yosef al-Ḥamāmī (or al-Ḥammāmī) al-Ḥaḍrī. Bride: Simḥa, a virgin.

Letter from a fattore (agent) to his employer.

Accounts in Judaeo-Arabic. Late.

Legal fragment. Mentions a ḥerem stam and coral and various sums of money. Signed by Yiṣḥaq b. Shemuel.

Accounts in Judaeo-Arabic in a late hand from the 16th-19th centuries. The names of many Muslim economic actors are listed and accompanied with alphanumerical figures, namely: Ramaẓān ben Abd Raḥman, Aḥmed ben Khalil, Muḥammad Azb'ani. On the verso this listing format continues with the names Muḥammad Jalīl (perhaps Celil in Turkish), Naṣr [e-]Din, and other individuals. MCD.

Letter fragment sent to Fustat. In Judaeo-Arabic with the address in Arabic script. Dating: Liikely 11th century. Little of the content remains. A man named Abū ʿAlī Ḥasan b. al-Tarkash(?) is mentioned.

Letter from Yeshuʿa the bookseller to an unknown addressee. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Likely 13th century, but this is a guess. The writer has been endeavoring to sell the manuscript on behalf of Sayyidnā, but it is impossible to find a buyer. It seems that he has an offer of 120 dirhams, so he writes to ask if he should sell it for that price; if not, he is going to return it, because he has worn himself out. The other manuscripts are also not selling well.

Letter from Yosef to Netanel ha-Talmid ha-vatiq ha-ḥakham ve-ha-navon. In Judaeo-Arabic. Only the formulaic introduction and good wishes for the holiday are preserved.

Legal document. In Hebrew. Dated: Elul 5376 AM, which is 1616 CE. Binyamin b. Shoshan transfers all of the debts owed him to the ownership of the court. Scribed and signed by Moshe ha-Levi Porekh(?). Also signed by Yehuda Castro. Underneath: "This is the body of the prozbul." There follows a more fleshed out version of the same document, also giving the name of the debtor (Me'ir something). The date in the addendum is slightly different.

Accounts in Judaeo-Arabic. Late. There are at least some Romance or Ladino words, such as קאסטר.

Accounts in Judaeo-Arabic.

Prayer. In Judaeo-Arabic. Probably late.

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic (FGP). Late. Very faded. Jerusalem may appear in the address.

Bill of divorce (get). All names and dates are missing. Verso: A note in Judaeo-Arabic concerning a debt of 13[...] somethings. The handwriting and format of geṭ is extremely similar to T-S 13J6.28 (14th century); the handwriting of the scribe who reused each document for accounts is also extremely similar.

Official correspondence in Arabic script. Opening of the letter, starting with an ʿalāma (al-ḥamdu lillāhi kathīra?) in a thick pen. In the position of the tarjama it seems to read, "Our brother the qāʾid Abū Muḥammad [...] b. Yūsuf." The tarjama is followed by a basmala and the beginning of the correspondence ([Kitābī] aṭāl-Allahu baqāka wa adāma). On verso a liturgical or biblical text (parashat sheqalim?).

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic (FGP). Little of the content remains.