Geniza Lab

Prenuptial agreement in the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe ha-Levi. Join by Amir Ashur. Fragment A (CUL Or.1081 J34) contains 18 lines and fragment B (ENA 4011.14) contains 9 lines; fragment B connects with fragment A in line 17. The man is named Menashshe. The woman is named Banāt bt. Shelomo, aka Sitt al-ʿItra—maybe identical with the widow in ENA 2558.4. Ashur posits that the deed was written before 1127, the year Masliah ha-Kohen entered office and the word reshut begun to appear in such deeds. Lines 11-12 set a date for the marriage, meaning the deed was written prior to the wedding day. The agreement is presented in the first person reducing the probability that it is a betrothal agreement. The fact that the document refers to the bride as 'mamlukatuhu' (his betrothed or his fiancee; fiancee is more probable) shows that the agreement was made after the engagement took place. It is possible that during the engagement no agreement was written or that the agreement was not comprehensive and therefore this agreement was written. Despite the fact that the manuscript is incomplete it is probable that the bride represented herself, despite the fact that her father was alive: the groom testifies that he handed over to the bride the money directly. Moreover, there is no mention of a representative of the bride. The document has not been published or mentioned elsewhere.

Marriage contract between a Rabbanite man Khalfā b. Saʿūd, son of Farajallah b. Nafīs and a divorced Rabbanite woman Fāṭima. The marriage was commemorated upon the agreed sum of 7 dīnārs of Sulṭānī al-jadīd and 400 half Sūlaimānī dirhams.

Legal document in Arabic script, central portion of either a contract or a deed of sale. Dating: Likely Mamluk or Ottoman era. The name of the one of the parties is al-Ḥājj ʿAbd al-Karīm and the amount mentioned is 30,000 dirhams. Needs examination.

Deed of lease for an apartment (ṭabaqa). In Arabic script. Dated: 25 Ṣafar 919 AH = 2 May 1513 CE. Lessee: Manṣūr b. Najīb (b.) Manṣur. Also mentions another merchant Hibatallāh b. Mufaḍḍal. Needs further examination.

Prenuptial agreement, 1100-1127, in the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe.

Segment of a prenuptial agreement, in the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe ha-Levi.

Prenuptial agreement in the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe ha-Levi (dated documents from 1100-1138). It is possible that the agreement reflects special circumstances: the marriage is mentioned in future tense and since there are no betrothal deeds in which the time of marriage is set, it must be assumed that this is a general Prenuptial agreement. However, due to the lacunas in the text it is difficult to ascertain the exact unfolding of events. The condition which forbids the husband to have sexual intercourse (with his wife? With the servant?) is especially intriguing.

Legal document. Apprenticeship agreement. Dated: Thursday, 25 Tishri 1339 (September 1027). Location: Fustat. Written in the hand of Yefet b. David. Bishr b. Efrayim apprentices his son Yosef to the weaver Barhūn b. Yiḥye for a period of four months, for which Yosef is to be paid 15 dirhams a month. By the end of this period, Yosef should have gained competence in working the loom; if not, the apprenticeship is to be renewed for an additional four months and his wage is to be raised to that of an ordinary worker. Barhūn promises to feed Yosef for the entire period, subtracting the cost of maintenance from his wages. He also promises that Yosef will learn the craft. Yosef must have been quite young since it is his father rather than he who makes the contract, but the parties clearly thought that Yosef’s acceptance and understanding of the terms of the contract to have been important, because the contract's conditions were read to him and he agreed with them. The agreement was executed in the court at the synagogue of the Palestinians and signed by Yefet b. David and Shelomo b. Ḥakīm. (Information from Lieberman, "A Partnership Culture", 71-73)

Prenuptial agreement of a previously divorced couple (a husband who re-accepts his divorcée). Eight lines survive on this fragment, probably in the hand of Natan b. Shemuel ha-Ḥaver (documents by him in the years 1128-1153). In the top of the fragment there is a dowry list followed by a list of conditions in Hebrew for future marriage. The husband reaccepts his previous wife, Baqiya. It is possible that this agreement was written to pacify the woman so that she will return to her husband. The conditions regarding his behavior suggest that his violent behavior towards her, or her mother, was the cause of their initial divorce. Lines 1-4 contain the dowry list, and are not transcribed.

Legal document concerning a marriage contract, bridal gifts and rights to a property, mentioning the name Abū Saʿd. (Information from CUDL.) A general prenuptial agreement. The hand recalls the hand of Natan ha-Kohen b. Shelomo, but it is probably written by a different scribe. The document appears to be a draft, or a template for a prenuptial agreement, since it is missing important details, like the name of the bride. Similarly, the ending 'and peace' was common in letters and not in legal documents, and may suggest that the template was sent to one of the sides after they requested to preview it. It is also possible that a Rabbi or the conductor of the marriage sent it to a higher legal authority to obtain his approval.

A general prenuptial agreement in the hand of Natan ha-Kohen b. Shelomo. Goitein suggests that this document was written before 1134, the year that Ṣedaqa al-Ramli, the grandfather of the bride, passed away (Med. Soc. 3:154). The agreement was held between the groom and the father of the bride and there is no mention that she appointed her father as her representative or any expression of her consent. In addition, the time of marriage is not set and it is possible that this matter has been decided earlier or was subject to later negotiations. In addition, the deed is without dates or signatures, which are usually found in deeds of betrothal or engagement. Perhaps this is a general agreement appended to another agreement or it might be a draft. Translated to English in Goitein, 3:154. Med. Soc.

Fragment of a general prenuptial agreement in the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe ha-Levi. The agreement contains remarkable conditions that favor the woman: the bride demanded to live separately from her husband's sisters. In addition, the husband vows to behave well toward his wife and not to beat her. The husband also vows not to forbid the wife from leaving the home. The wife received as a gift a part of her mother's house and the husband vows that her mother will be allowed to live with them. The husband must transfer the rent paid for his wife's share of her mother's house to his mother-in-law for five years. The wife may do as she pleases with her wealth and the husband has no right to it. There is also a special condition that specifies that the groom must provide any medical and burial expenses for his mother-in-law.

Prenuptial agreement between a Karaite bridegroom and a Rabbanite bride, stipulating a fine to be paid to the Rabbanite and Karite poor by the bridegroom Abu Sa'id, scion of a family of Karaite bankers, should he break any of the stipulations of the contract.

Pre-marital contract containing a stipulation allowing the bride to opt out of a patrilocal household even without proof she had been mistreated: “Whenever she hates living with his father and mother, he must lodge her wherever she chooses.” Egypt, twelfth century. (Eve Krakowski, “Female adolescence in the Cairo Geniza documents,” PhD diss., The University of Chicago, 2012, 202, 206-7) EMS

Prenuptial agreement in the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe ha-Levi. (Ashur, "Engagement and Betrothal documents", 42, no.144). VMR

Legal deed for real estate, Mamluk period, with lots of archival process. 710s-750s AH

Record of a marriage contract mentioning a marriage gift of 5 dinars and payment of 10 dinars at termination of the marriage. The words of the first and third lines are written in very large letters. Drafted in Fustat ca. 1100-1138. (Information from Mediterranean Society, III, p. 397)

End of a document recording a sale, in which an unnamed male is released from obligations concerning some goods he offered his uncle for sale of any future restitution claimed by the uncle. Verso has four lines an unrelated account in Arabic.

Prenuptial contract of Moshe ha-Kohen b. Yosef and the daughter of Shemarya ha-Kohen, stipulating the details agreed upon for the marriage. Dated ca. 1220. (Information from Mediterranean Society, III, p. 403)

Prenuptial agreement. The groom, Abū l-Barakāt, commits to not marrying a second wife or acquiring a female slave. Also mentions [...] b. Yefet.