Geniza Lab

Bill of divorce (geṭ). In the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe ha-Levi. Husband: name missing. Wife: Sitt al-Banāt bt. Nuʿmān ha-Kohen. Dated: Tammuz 14[.]3 Seleucid, meaning 1413 (=1102 CE), 1423 (=1112 CE), 1433 (=1122 CE), or 1443 (=1132 CE). ENA 972.4 is another bill of divorce for the same woman, dated 1124 CE, so the most likely date for the current document may be 1122 CE. Recto is signed by [...] b. Shemuel he-Ḥaver and the attestation that the wife received the geṭ on verso is signed by Natan [b. Shelomo?] ha-K[ohen]. AA. ASE.

Responsa, Miscellaneous; recto: unidentified Judaeo-Arabic text; verso: geonic responsum concerning a bailee who attempts to cheat the depositors heirs (Hebrew + Aramaic). (Info from FGP)

Draft of the qinyan formula of a legal deed. Seems to be in the hand of Shelomo b. Eliyyahu. AA

Very faded and damaged letter, from Yosef b. Ya'aqov to Avraham b. Hasan(?)

Legal document. In the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe. Fragment (bottom only). Concerning a woman whose husband has traveled. This document evidently asserts some of her rights owed by him. Three copies were made. Dated: Iyyar 14[..] Seleucid, under the reshut of Maṣliaḥ Gaon (or at least Rosh Yeshivat Gaon Yaʿaqov). Location: Fustat. Witnesses: Menashshe b. Yaʿaqov ha-Kohen; [...] b. Yehosef ha-Ṣadiq; [...] b. Yehosef Kohen Ṣedeq; [...] b. בסג(?); Natan b. Shemuel ha-Ḥaver. (Information in part from Moshe Yagur.)

Minute fragment, only few words are preserved. Written by Halfon b. Menashshe Halevi (Date: 1100-1138)

Fragment of a legal deed. Written by Halfon b. Menashshe ha-Levi (dates: 1100–38 CE). Probably a deed of a gift, involving Abū l-Jūd, Ṣedaqa, and Abū Saʿd. A third of a total is mentioned. If someone violates the terms, there is a 100-dinar fine to the poor in Fustat.

Fragment from the lower right corner of an agreement between a husband, Abū ʿAlī Yefet b. Yeshuʿa ha-Kohen, and wife, Sitt al-Ḍiyāʾ. The text is fragmentary but is seems that the husband takes upon himself to travel before he will have a child. Written by Halfon b. Menashshe ha-Levi under the authority of Masliah Gaon. Dating: 1127–38 CE.

Legal document. Fragment of a prenuptial agreement written by Halfon b. Menashshe ha-Levi. Dating: 1100–38. The wife is permitted to leave her house only with her husband's consent, except for visits to the bathhouse and her family. See the discussion in Ashur, "Engagement and Betrothal," p. 121, n. 12. AA

Two fragments of a letter written by Yefet b. Menashshe to his brother Halfon.

See PGP PGPID 24351

Letter. a letter referring to a tax matter involving this place גנדאריה; it is therefore probably a place of settlement (Golb, Topography, 131). Mahalla is crossed out and Sunbat is written above. The letter was sent to נתן בן שמואל as evident from the address.

Fragment of a court record dealing with inheritance of Abu Ishaq al-Mahali al-'Attar Avraham Halevi. It seems that the wife of the deceased is demanding what was promise her in the ketubah. A warehouse and apartment are mentioned. Written by Halfon b. Menashshe Halevi (Date: 1100-1138). AA

Small fragment of a letter written by Ḥalfon b. Menashshe ha-Levi (100–38 CE) on behalf of a woman. Mentions rent and possibly not wanting to evict someone.

Legal document in the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe ha-Levi (dates: 1100–38 CE). Two fragments, probably an indirect rather than direct join. Concerns a guarantee (or possibly a tax farm, ḍamān) and a commercial partnership. One of the parties is Ṣedaqa (called 'al-muḍmin,' the guarantor) and the other is Abū l-[...]. They divide Egypt into areas of activity: one may sell goods in Upper Egypt (al-Ṣaʿīdayn, meaning "the two Ṣaʿīds"—it is unclear what the second Saʿīd is), and if he tries to sell in New Cairo, he will owe a fine of 50 dinars. AA. ASE.

List of about 50 names in the hand of Natan b. Shemuel, including an Ibn al-Lebdi. (Information from Goitein's index card.)

Minute fragment of a legal deed, only few words, mostly cut into half.

Late account

Fragment of a letter. There is reference to the son of Moses, may the holy be blessed- so it might be Maimonides, and Avraham Maimuni is intended. Also Hibbat Allah is mentioned. AA

Court record, probably regarding a debt, between Abu S'aid Nethanel b. Zedaqa and Mevorakh the banker b. Shiloh. It seems that Adu Sa'd's wife is demanding jewelries and 10 dinars, but the text is fragmentary. AA