Geniza Lab

Draft of a letter from Qayrawān to Yosef b. Yaʿaqov b. ʿAwkal (Fustat), ca. 1010. Mentions consignments of laque and possibly other goods as well (the letter is damaged). Describes a campaign in Qayrawān to raise funds for the Babylonian Academies and the negotiations linked to this campaign. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 2, p. 581.)

Deed, drawn up in a Jerusalem court in the hand of Shelomo b. Yehuda, October 1036.

Account, private, written by Nahray b. Nissim. Dating: ca. 1061 CE. Nissim b. Ishaq, for whom the account was made, is probably ha-Tahirti. Mentions silk and lacquer and other goods from Sicily, as well as pearls that were exported to Sicily, as well as transactions in Tripoli. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 2, #281 and Shelomo Simonsohn, The Jews in Sicily, 1997, 275.) VMR. EMS.

Informal note in Arabic script inquiring whether certain goods have arrived, and asking for a letter in return. This may be connected to Nahray b. Nissim's accounts in Judaeo-Arabic on recto.

Letter or letters. There is the end of one letter, in Arabic script, immediately followed by the beginning of another, in Judaeo-Arabic with biblical quotations (or possibly this is a prolonged postscript). The writer mentions his heartsickness and praying for the addressees over the Torah scroll in Kanīs al-Shāmiyyīn and in Cairo.

Biblical verses.

Arabic script (VMR)

Arabic script (VMR)

Accounts in Arabic script. Reused for Hebrew piyyuṭ. Needs examination.

Late responsum, published שרידי תשובות מחכמי האימפריה העות'מאנית (עורכים: גליק, שמואל), עמ' 167-235 (data from FGP) Hebrew and Aramaic. AA

See PGP 11432

See PGP See PGP 11432

Account of Nahray b. Nissim for three bales sent from Busir to Fustat, ca. 1045-1096.

Informal note addressed to Abū Isḥāq. In Judaeo-Arabic, written uncharacteristically with complete vowels and diacritics, shedding light on the pronunciation of Egyptian Judaeo-Arabic. (T-S Ar.3.4 is similar.) Seems to be asking for a 'long Syrian/Levantine pen.' Reused for Hebrew jottings (though it's also possible that these came first, since they are partially cut off on recto). For some recent studies of Judaeo-Arabic phonetics based on Geniza documents, see: -Geoffrey Khan, "Vocalised Judaeo-Arabic Manuscripts in the Cairo Genizah" -Nadia Vidro, "Arabic Vocalisation in Judaeo-Arabic Grammars of Classical Arabic" -Marijn van Putten, "A Judaeo-Arabic Letter in Early Phonetic Judaeo-Arabic Spelling: T-S 13J8.7" -Nick Posegay, "A Judaeo-Arabic Biblical Glossary as a Source for Arabic Historical Dialectology"

Two fragments of a dowry list (taqwīm). In Judaeo-Arabic. Includes a female slave named Waṣl ("Union") valued at 13 dinars. Delayed marriage payment (muʾakhkhar): 60 dinars (or 20? Goitein read ס instead of כ, but this is not certain. Possibly the fragment was better preserved at the time, or he deduced that 60 was the more likely alternative based on her socioeconomic status). (Information in part from Goitein’s index card.)

Small piece of an account written by Abū Zikrī Kohen. (Information from Goitein’s index card)

Letter from an unknown writer, in Skopje (אישקופייה), to Sha'ul b. David, in Salonika. In Ladino. Needs examination for content.

Responsum by RADBAZ concerning immersion of women in the Nile. Published Glick, Sridei Teshuvot, p. 275-289. See also TS K25.222.

See PGP 15882

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic (FGP). Interesting family letter. The writer had been very worried about the recipient and vowed not to [...] until a reassuring letter came in his hand. Alludes to some conflicts and also to people who have behaved well toward the writer. One of them made [her?] a damask gown (jūba ṣiqlāṭūn). Mentions several names: Umm Abu l-Ḥasan who just gave birth, the ghulam of Ya'aqov, Ibn Ḥātim (?), Marwan, and someone who is "in danger from the earthquakes that we......" ASE.