Geniza Lab

Accounts of a merchant. Mentioning goods such as pepper (filfil), oil (dihn), cumin (kammūn), bitumen (qifār), brazilwood (baqqam), sugar and syrup (sukkar wa-sharāb). Mentioning names such as Abū Naṣr, Abū 'Alī, al-Shaykh al-Itrābulsi, and Abū l-Qāsim. ASE.

Arabic poems transcribed into Judaeo-Arabic. A version of the second of them is still circulating in online forums, attribution unclearتغيرت الايام وانقلب الدهرو ~ وصار خيار الناس ليس لهو قدرووصار اخم الناس يعلو خيارهم ~ فما اصبح الايام وما اعجب الدهرو. In the hand of Nāṣir al-Adīb al-ʿIbrī.

Fragment of a Judaeo-Arabic letter, probably early 13th century. Topics include: the arrival of Hilāl and his maternal uncle; a dispute over 900 dirhams, leading to a legal testimony in which the writer and Abu l-'Ala and al-Mawla al-Najib and Rabbi Anatoli Shemuel and al-Shaykh al-Akram all signed; the arrival of Abu l-[...] who delivered something important; the 15th of Tammuz when Hilel/Hilāl arrived; [...] al-Hasid; "the matter of the sāqiyah"; the prices are stable, except the armies [...]; and "the Franks have no building" (?). ASE.

On one of the four pages: two lists of materia medica in Arabic, each headed by a basmala, perhaps medical prescriptions. Ingredients include sarcocolla (anzarūt) and white tragacanth (kathīrāʾ abyaḍ). On the other three pages: an unusual mix of Judaeo-Arabic and Hebrew poetry. Across from the prescriptions are lines in Judaeo-Arabic. On the other side of the fragment, the right page starts in Judaeo-Arabic and ends in Hebrew. The left page consists of very short lines with the first half in Hebrew and the second half in Judaeo-Arabic. This page is signed David b. Moshe ha-Levi and dated 22 Iyar 1565 Seleucid, which is 1254 CE. ASE

List of piyyutim cited by their incipits. Each item has been crossed through. Headed "fahrasat raḥamim." Information from Baker/Polliack catalogue.

Recto: piyyut. Verso: writing exercises in Hebrew characters, featuring a lot of alephs, the words shalom and al-hamdu, and the first verse of Psalms. ASE.

Recto: probably accounts of a merchant, mentioning people, goods, and quantities, but very difficult to read. Verso: four lines in Arabic, headed by a basmalah. "Wednesday the 7th of Jumada al-Akhir min ........" and "Sunday the 11th of Jumada al-Akhir min al-.... arba'ah ........" Then two more lines probably in Judaeo-Arabic. ASE.

Probably accounts, mentioning dates, quantities, and names.

Recto: astrology, mentioning ṣāḥib al-ṭāliʿ several times. Verso: a continuation of recto, transitioning into a formulary for a spell of some kind that involves burying something. ASE.

Private account by Barhun b. Salah ha-Tahirti. Most details are about expenses for shipping flax. Mentions other goods, mainly camphor, which was bought in a price that is about a third of the regular price. Also mentions expenses for packages, shipments, taxes, and bribe. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 3, #336) VMR

Narrow vertical sliver from the middle of a page, containing obscure Hebrew phrases with several biblical quotations. Significance unclear. ASE.

Probably accounts of a merchant. Difficult to read.

Account of household expenses. In Judaeo-Arabic, Arabic script, and Greek/Coptic numerals. Meat, vegetables and produce (colocasia, sesame oil, coriander, pepper, date, chickpeas, hiera, radish), bath, bleaching of clothing (by the qaṣṣār, laundryman), and baking of bread. Mentions names such as al-ʿArīf; Fuḍayl; Abū l-ʿAlāʾ; Mufaḍḍal. (Information in part from Goitein’s index card).

Bifolium in Judaeo-Arabic that largely consists of translations of morbid passages from the bible and rabbinic literature, including Job 14:2 and the "putrid drop" (tipah seruḥah = nuṭfah muntinah) of Avot 3:1. Needs further examination. ASE.

Bifolium from Mitzrayim, 1790–92 CE, apparently from a ledger of betrothal and marriage contracts. About nine are preserved, complete with names, and trousseau lists, and values of marriage gifts. The currency used is the riyal (ריאליס). There is also a lovely illustration of three birds. ASE.

Upper part of a late letter in very colloquial Judaeo-Arabic. Dated "16 Shevat" with Arabic numerals. The addressee seems to be Yizhaq al-M[...] and the writer חומן דובשו (??). Mordekhai Kohen is also named in the opening section. The text mentions al-fallāḥīn, laylat al-ʿīd. Needs further examination. ASE.

Bifolio. Three of the four pages: mercantile accounts in Judaeo-Arabic. The hand might be known. One page lists an expense of at least 1 1/4 dinars on a doctor. The fourth page is a recipe or prescription in Arabic script. Take roasted onion, tamarind fruit (ṣubbāra), seed of the Roman nettle (ḥabb al-qurrayṣ), possibly dirt (? wasakh al-ḥajar), yeast (khamīra), cucumber (khiyār), and boiled chard. All this should be ground up and boiled in chard water and coriander water until it comes together (ḥattā yanʿamil). It should then be applied to a kerchief (khirqa) and applied to the spot (yulṣaq ʿalā l-mawḍiʿ). The next two lines are undeciphered (the words لطخ/stain and بقر/cow appear). It ends, like a medical prescription, with "Beneficial if God wills" and "Diet: boiled spinach." The purpose is not exactly clear. Needs further examination.

List of materia medica with cryptic terms or abbreviations. The nature is unclear. AA

Explication of homophones in several poems by Moshe Ibn Ezra, in the hand of Moshe b. Levi ha-Levi.

Large state document in Arabic script. Join by Nadia Vidro. In between the lines and on verso, there is a Kufan grammatical work (see Vidro, FOTM April 2012 and Vidro and Kasher, JSAI 2014.) Might not be a continuous join. Needs examination for content.