Geniza Lab

Recto and verso: Poetry in Judaeo-Arabic in the hand of Nāṣir al-Adīb al-ʿIbrī. Apparently on the subject of the eye diseases induced by love, but it is quite faded, so this awaits confirmation. This is one of the fragments that he signs (אנא אלאדיב אלעברי אלדי אסמי נאצר פי כל אלאשגאל לי כלאם גיד נאדר....)

Recto: Petition in Arabic script. Draft. Dating: Probably Mamluk-era. The sender asks to be excused from having to go up to the dike. Reused for Judaeo-Arabic poetry in the hand of Nāṣir al-Adīb al-ʿIbrī (d. after 1298).

Recipe or prescription, probably. In Judaeo-Arabic.

Letter addressed to a brother. In Judaeo-Arabic. Very rudimentary hand and spellings (e.g., ושׁעא for والساعة and אלה for both الله and الى and נדרכם for نظركم; also שׁ for س and שׂ for ش). The sender mentions fear on account of the addressee and plans to travel to Ibrāhīm and "visit the country" (nazūr al-bilād) "if we live till next year." The last line of recto tells the addressee not to worry about something (ולא תשגל קלבך יאכי מן גהת ל . . . ). Regards to various people on verso. Mentions Eliyya and 50 dinars.

Betrothal register from a court book, 1023. From the same ledger: ENA 4010.28, ENA NS 8.15, and Bodl. MS heb. c 13/21.

Letter addressed to a cantor. In Judaeo-Arabic. Fragment (upper left corner). The sender greets the entire congregation. Mentions [al-Shaykh] al-Sadīd Zikrī. There are prayers for God to reconcile the addressee with his opponent and to spare them from baseless hatred (sinʾat ḥinam).

Legal document . Damaged legal deed, probably a bill of release, written by the hand of Yosef b. Shemuʾel (ca. 1180’s-1210) Judeo-Arabic, Aramaic. AA GP)

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Ibn Maymūn is mentioned in the first line. The sender thanks the addressee and conveys sympathy. Deals with business transactions; Abū l-Ḥajjāj; wool; half of the house of Ibn Sabra; legal proceedings in both Jewish and Muslim courts (וכאתבתה עליהא באליהוד ואלמסלמין); someone's wife; business in pepper and coral; Abū l-Manṣūr. (Information in part from Goitein's note card.)

Calendrical calculations. In Judaeo-Arabic. Referring to the year 629 AH, which is 1231/32 CE.

Legal document. A fragment from a bill of loan. Late (15th-17th century) Hebrew. AA

Letter from a certain Abū l-Khayr, probably in Minyat Zifta, to a certain Shemuel. In Judaeo-Arabic. Fragmentary (only the upper margin of recto and the address are preserved). He sent the letter with Abū ʿAlī.

Letter fragment. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Perhaps 13th or 14th century, but this is a guess. The sender bemoans his or her wretched fate: "My son died in a foreign land... my son-in-law was slaughtered... do not ask, my brother, about our debts... if I could have written this with my tears, I would have done so." The name Hārūn appears on verso.

Commercial account. Late.

Business accounts. In Judaeo-Arabic. Listing many goods and their values.

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Fragmentary (horizontal strip cut from the middle section). Concerning the sender's efforts to 'liberate' an estate/inheritance from the diwan.

Letter fragment. In Judaeo-Arabic. Legible phrases: "...idol worship... I have no way to... all kinds of death... he behaved excessively... and peace. וחי בהם (Leviticus 18:5)... in a good place..." On verso there are calendrical writings.

Letter fragment, possibly. Contains only blessings for a certain elder in Hebrew.

Letter fragment. In Judaeo-Arabic. Portions of the last 8 lines are preserved. Includes the phrase "I would have made him vow." Regards to all of "aṣḥābunā" present with the addressee. The name Yehuda b. Moshe b. Yiṣḥaq appears in the penultimate line.

Letter fragment. In Judaeo-Arabic. Mentions having sent quires containing "Purim" (piyyutim? the book of Esther?)

Business accounts in Judaeo-Arabic. The hand may be known. Dating: Probably 11th or 12th century. There are a few lines of Arabic script, perhaps from a document that was reused.