Geniza Lab

Description from T-S 12.502 (PGPID 7245): Court record. In the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe. Dated: Av 1434 Seleucid, which is 1123 CE. Fictive sale of a house, i.e., a debt credited under the deed of a sale of a house. "In a Muslim court a woman sold half her house (l. 6) to a man for 25 dinars (l. 7). The two parties came to terms that if the woman returns the sale money in full to the buyer after 26 months (l. 13), the house would be returned to her; the contract was signed in 1123 (l. 4) and was to expire in 1125 (l. 5). It is also stated that during this time, the buyer agrees not to collect any rent from her (l. 7) and not to charge her any interest (ribbit) (l. 8); only the purchase money invested (raʾsmāl) (l. 13) should be paid back. It was also agreed that the two undertook to be prompt in reversing the deal; i.e., the woman should pay the sum due a week or less before the deadline (l. 10). If the remittance of the mentioned sum is overdue, the man could refuse to return the house to her (l. 11). No signatures are preserved." (Information from Gershon Weiss.) See also Goitein's index card. Description from T-S 12.82 + T-S 12.553 (old PGPID 7264): Legal document. In the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Ca. 1123 CE, based on the appearance of the same couple as in T-S NS 323.19 and BL OR 12299.12 + T-S 8.123. The husband is Elʿazar/Manṣūr b. Yefet/Ḥasan ha-Kohen, and his wife is Sitthum aka Sitt al-Jamīʿ bt. ʿOvadya. In the present document, Elʿazar's son Hillel is also mentioned. Elʿazar is apparently entrusting his affairs to his wife, and there is a reference to the eventuality of his death (l. 5). Goitein and Gershon Weiss believed T-S 12.553 to be a join with T-S NS 323.19 (which involves the same couple), but this is not certain. (Goitein and Weiss did not know about BL OR 12299.12 + T-S 8.123 or that T-S 12.502 and T-S 12.553 were from the same document.) Joins by Alan Elbaum (T-S 12.82 + T-S 12.553) and Oded Zinger (T-S 12.502 + {T-S 12.82 + T-S 12.553})