Geniza Lab

Letter, probably. In Judaeo-Arabic. Very faded.

Informal note from Bū Naṣr. In Judaeo-Arabic. Mentions something that happened yesterday at the clinic (dukkān al-ḥakīm); the sender may be expressing remorse for what happened; and he wants to meet with the addressee or perhaps somebody else immediately.

Letter addressed to a 'father.' In Judaeo-Arabic. Fragment (upper right corner). The addressee is a physician: al-ḥakīm al-sadīd... [...] al-ʿulamāʾ sayyid al-fuhamāʾ... None of the substance of the letter is preserved. On verso there are a few words in Arabic script and pen trials in Hebrew script.

Legal document. The beginnings of 8 lines are preserved. Involves 3 dinars, a druggist, and someone named Ṭāhir.

List(s) of names. Memorial list?

Distribution list for public charity. In Judaeo-Arabic, transitioning to Arabic script on verso. Dating: Perhaps ca. 13th century, but that is a guess. There are markings next to many of the names, perhaps indicating whether or what they received. There are numerous diminutive forms and some interesting profession names. The beneficiaries include: Abū Yaʿqūb; Barhūn; Abū Zikrī; גזוק; Mūsā; Abū Sahl; Ibn al-ʿAjamī; Surayr; Ṣudayqa; Buraykāt and his mother; מגא; אשוימי; the ear cleaner (munaqqī al-adhān); Ibn Sulaymān; the sons of the killed man; the Kohen; al-maʿārīf; Fuḍayl; Mawhūb; al-jār and his mother; the disabled man (al-muqʿad); the teachers; the blind; Isḥāq; Sulaymān; the Lādhiqī; the Baʿalbakkī; Maḥfūẓ; al-Ramādī; the brother of the disabled man; Khallūf b. al-Dabbāgh; the Baghdadi; the philosopher. The total sum distributed may be given in Arabic script at the bottom left of verso.

Bifolio from a ledger of business accounts in Judaeo-Arabic. Commodities include: camphor, civet, cardamom, clove, wood, brazilwood, and mattresses. People include: Khayr b. Jazīl; Ibn Hārith; and Avraham al-Madīnī (=the Palermitan).

Tiny fragment from the beginning of a letter addressed to multiple people. There are only three words (אטאל אללה בקאהם).

Accounts in Judaeo-Arabic and Hebrew numerals. Dated: Muḥarram 959 AH (נטץ), which is December 1551–January 1552 CE. Mentions pepper and ḥawāla (money transfer).

Legal document. Fragment (lower part only). In the hand of Efrayim b. Shemarya. Possibly a marital reconciliation agreement ("...and she will not overstep again...") between Moshe b. Yiṣḥaq and Mubāraka bt. Yosef. There are 7 witnesses: Shelomo b. Seʿadya; Ḥasan b. Yiṣḥaq; Yefet b. Ṭoviyya ha-Levi; Khalaf b. Sahl; Hillel b. Sahl; Yeshuʿa b. David the cantor; Shelomo b. Kathīr. Several of these witnesses appear in other documents from approximately the 1020s and 1030s CE.

Legal document(s) in the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe. Mentions jewelry changing hands and the court in Cairo.

Legal document. Fragment (upper left corner). Dated: 1470 Seleucid, which is 1158/59 CE, under the authority of the Nagid Shemuel b. Ḥananya. In which Sitt al-Dār bt. Daniel makes a declaration about something that concerns Abū l-Waḥsh.

Draft of a marriage contract (ketubba) from the of the Nagid Avraham Maimonides. There are numerous other jottings in Hebrew script, Arabic script, and Greek/Coptic numerals.

Legal fragment. In the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe. Mentions a man and his cousin (ibn ʿamm); 51 dinars; and something granted to the orphan daughter of Avraham. Dated: [142]8, [143]8, or [144]8 Seleucid, which correspond to 1116/17, 1126/27, or 1136/37 CE.

Detailed accounts for construction expenses. In Judaeo-Arabic. There may be more such documents from the same scribe in Gil, Pious Foundations.

Verso: Letter addressed to a certain Abū l-Faraj. In Judaeo-Arabic. The writer has been sick ever since he last saw the addressee, and his illness has already cost him nearly 3 dinars for syrups and other things. He then reports on the books he has sent. He has sent Alfāẓ al-Miqraʾ, "and its purchase is on the one with the Rayyis, 1/2 dinar and a ḥabba." He has sent a volume of tafsīr for 10 dirhams. He apologizes in case the addressee doesn't actually need that one. He mentions ʿAyyāsh and Ḥananel.

Recto: Legal document. In Hebrew. Involves someone named Shelomo and various sums of money. Signed by Mevorakh b. David, Khalaf b. Seʿadya, and Thābit b. Yefet. Mevorakh b. David also signed T-S 13J6.31 in 1039 CE and T-S Ar.18(1).133 in 1039–49 CE. The document was subsequently torn in half vertically, and verso was reused for a letter (see separate record).

Letter from a certain Esther to her son. In Hebrew. Dating: Likely 16th century. Regards to and from various people, including Doña Miryam. Mentions wine from Crete. Possibly with Esther's own signature.

Tiny fragment of a legal document. Location: Fustat. Signed: [Avraham b. Shemaʿya ha-Ḥaver descendant] of Shemaʿya Gaon (active ca. 1100). Nothing else is preserved.

Legal document or letter. A few words in Judaeo-Arabic. li-waladihā... qabaḍa... ʿanhā dīnārayn... maʿraqa