Geniza Lab

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Yemeni hand? Very damaged and faded. Dating: 12th century. Some of the names mentioned are related to India Book II, such as Yaʿaqov al-ʿAdanī and Maḍmūn. In fact it may be addressed to Maḍmūn ("...yā Maḍmūn lā talūmūnā ʿalā..."). Also mentions the names Sulaymān and Manṣūr. At least part of the letter concerns a shipment of silk. AA. ASE.

fragmentary letter.

Fragmentary letter, A certain Yosef is mentioned.

Very damaged fragment from a letter. There is probably a fragment from another letter attached to it. Might connected with T-S NS 183.87

Very damaged fragment of a letter with fragments of other letters attached to it. Might connected with T-S NS 183.86.

commercial lists in Arabic on recto- need examination

Very faded list of commodities referring to measurements and prices (info from FGP)

Legal notes for drawing up a bill of sale of a female slave. In the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe ha-Levi. Dating: 1100–38 CE. Abū Naṣr [...] b. Ṣadaqa ha-Kohen and [...]t b. Yeshuʿa are the seller and buyer, but it is not clear which is which. The slave is named Ikhtiṣār, she is black, and she has reached maturity.

Jottings in the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe ha-Levi. The top line names a dead person and 'his sister Fākhira.' The next lines give weights of various substances such as boxthorn (khawlān), opium (afyūn), and something black.

Fragment of commercial letter written on vellum

Fragment of a letter written by Yefet b. Menashsh, probably to his brother dealing with business issues. Abu Said and ben Ghulayb are mentioned.

Legal document concerning a deceased person (perhaps related to a dispute over the inheritance) and making reference to an orphan, a widow, and a mother. The document also mentions an agent ('wakil', recto line 9), a cantor ('hazzan', recto line 11), the Iraqi synagogue (recto line 12), the Nagid (recto line 18), and a Gaon (verso line 2). (No other information or index cards)

Legal notes in the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe. The main document on recto mentions a roofed market (saqīfa) and numerous other landmarks. There are additional notes probably for other documents on verso, one of which is dated 524 AH (1129/30 CE).

Legal fragment in the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe. Containing references to a sum of 10 dinars, a qāḍī (judge), the feast of Purim, and the year 1142 Seleucid (1130/31 CE). Likely an indirect join with T-S NS 173.78.

Very damaged fragment from a note written by Halfon b. Menashshe Halevi (Date: 1100-1138). Only few words have preserved.

Legal fragment. In the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe? Deed of gift, or possibly a power of attorney appointing Abu l-Faḍl to collect the money and/or goods mentioned. Mentions 17 dinars which is the balance of the value of the rubʿ (house or compound), a box (ṣundūq), implements for silk weaving, and six combs (Amshāṭī, 'comb-maker', was a common Jewish family name of well-to-do people). (Information in part from Mediterranean Society, IV, 225; also Goitein index cards.)

From Yiṣḥaq b. Simha al-Nisaburi to Nethanel 'ha-Sar'. Written by Ḥalfon b. Menashshe (ca. 1100-1138). Mentions 20 dinars, 'imara (repairs), and a piece of anbar (ambergris). (Information from Goitein index cards and typed text)

Bill of sale for the purchase of a house by Maḥrūz. Constructed from three fragments: T-S NS 184 52, T-S NS 184 55 and T-S NS 184 56. Location: Fustat. Dating: 1131–32 CE.

Will in which a woman is donating a house for religious and charitable purposes while she stayed in an apartment she had acquired. Written by Ḥalfon b. Menashshe (ca. 1100-1138). (Information from Mediterranean Society, III, p. 327)

Legal proceedings whereby two friends of Avraham b. Yiṣḥaq testify to the court of how Avraham betrothed his cousin, Sitt al-Ahl b. Yosef Lebdi. Apparently When Yosef Lebdi was alive, Avraham and his mother lived in the Lebdi residence. When both Lebdi and Avraham's mother died, Avraham sought to marry Lebdi;s daughter so that he would still be tied to the great merchant's house. He came to Sitt al-Ahl's house, with two male friends and a certain prominent member of the community to try to secure the match. Lebdi's widow, Sitt al-Ahl's mother, tried to stall and wait until Sitt al-Ahl's older brother, now the man of the house, came back from his journey. Avraham, however, did not want to leave empty handed and pressured the widow to agree. Sitt al-Ahl was summoned and she agreed to the match. Avraham betrothed Sitt al-Ahl with two rings, one of gold and one of silver, and gave her five dinars. All this was done in the presence of her mother and her younger brother. The betrothal was carried out in November 1118 and the court record is from January 1120. Friedman rightly notes that the record was made after it became clear that Sitt al-Ahl was not intending to marry Avraham and, indeed, the court ruled that she is legally Avraham's wife and required a formal bill of divorce. The story can also be read as how a young relative could pressure and almost bully his female cousin to agree to a marriage by coming into her house with two young male friends, while only her widowed mother and young brother were in the house.