Geniza Lab

Letter from an unknown writer, in Damascus, to Abū l-Ḥasan, in Aleppo. In Arabic script. The writer reports that his brother Ismāʿīl arrived in Acre, and they traveled together to Damascus, where they spent the holidays in the house of Hilāl. If they hear good news from Aleppo, they will travel to Aleppo, but until now the news from Aleppo has been bad (lines 7 and 13), and they are thriving in Damascus. The distance between Damascus and Aleppo is 20 days' travel. Mentions Ibn Mufaḍḍal. The next three lines have to do with the honey that the writer had deposited with Abū l-Ḥasan. It is not clear what he wants. He indicates that he wants to collect either the honey or its price (fa-innī muṭālibuka bihi). He also writes that he intended for the addressee to hide it (an tastatira bihi), and if the addressee was unable to do so (wa-inna min ḥaythu an lā waqaʿa satruhu), the writer will not grant him a credit for it (mā aḥtasibu laka minhu). He urges the addressee to look after the boy until the writer and Hilāl can come and get him or until they can send somebody to get him. They have been delayed on account of "the fear of the water"—of the rainy season? Hilāl sends regards to his father and paternal aunt and her sons. A postscript was then added stating that the Rūmī (Byzantine) died. (Information from Ṣabīḥ ʿAodeh, "Eleventh Century Arabic Letters of Jewish Merchants from the Cairo Geniza" (PhD diss., Tel Aviv University, 1992.) ASE.

Letter(s) of appeal for charity. Likely drafts. In Arabic script. The one on recto is addressed to Abū Manṣūr and the one on verso is addressed to al-Rayyis.

Informal note from Abū Naṣr to Menaḥem. In Arabic script. It seems that the sender is urgently ordering medicinal powder for dysentery (safūf al-zaḥīr) and other materia medica "for we need them."

Letter addressed to Sitt Ghazāl, in Fustat. In Arabic script. The writer reports on his bad fortune since parting from the addressee(s) ("we went out naked and hungry. . . and I had no resort. . . and I saw no alternative to traveling"). He visited Sālim, who had divorced his wife who had borne him a daughter, and who did not give her even a little bit of support. The rest of the letter should be legible with effort. Complete; 20 lines on recto, 12 lines on verso, plus address. Information from Goitein's note card.

List. In Arabic script. Each entry is headed with an elongated horizontal line from the word above. Needs examination. The fragment also contains three columns of a literary text in Arabic script retelling the conquests of Joshua b. Nun. This narrative ends with a second-person address, perhaps directed at the person for whom the account was written: "wa-ʿlam dhālik wa-ʿmal bi-ḥasabihi. . ."

Business letter from Ṭayyib b. Majjānī to Abū l-Ḥasan ʿAwda b. Ismāʿīl b. ʿAwda. In Arabic script. Dating: Second half of the 11th century. Sabih Aodeh calls it a draft but does not explain his reasoning. The letter is quite damaged. There is a prolonged opening conveying longing for the addressee, and perhaps condolences ("In all of His judgments there is justice"). The writer reports that the price of olive oil is 20 ratls for 1 dinar. Bearers: Al-Muḥsin b. Ibrahīm al-Miṣrī al-Anṣārī(??); al-Ḥusayn b. Najā [al-Anṣārī]. The latter (along with Tāhir b. Najā, likely his brother) is known from several other Geniza letters, e.g., ENA 1822a.6 (Gil, Palestine, III, #493). See Aodeh's footnote for further references. The document was reused for Hebrew biblical/liturgical text. Same cluster: CUL Or.1080 5.5, T-S NS 327.11, and T-S Ar.38.91.

Document in Arabic script, calligraphic. Table layout. At least two of the entries contain numbers (159; 1/2 + 1/4). The last contains the word al-tawqīʿ. On verso the name Surūr b. Sabra appears in Hebrew script. Needs further examination.

Legal document in Arabic script. Needs examination.

Document in Arabic script. Needs examination.

Accounts, probably, in Arabic script. There is at least one word in Hebrew script as well. Needs examination.

Documents in Arabic script. Recto is a letter. Needs examination.

Letter from Musāfir b. Wahb (aka Araḥ b. Natan) to Abū l-Faḍl Hibatallāh Rosh ha-Qehillot. In Arabic script, with one line of the address in Hebrew. Dating: Early 12th century. Frenkel states that only the address has survived, but there are also five lines preserved of the main text on recto and additional text in the upper margin. This part awaits transcription. (Information in part from Frenkel.)

Fragment in Arabic script. Unidentified. Probably a literary text. Isolated words and phrases are legible: bi-l-malik Hārūn... ʿalaykum... alladhī... al-mustariqīn al-samʿa (this is what the shayāṭīn do)... al-khafaqān.

Letter in Arabic script. Needs examination. On verso there are a few lines of accounts.

State receipt? In Arabic script. وصل الى بيت المال المعمور...

Literary text in Arabic script. One of the text blocks is headed "Nuskha Kitāb Ṣidāq (=dowry?)," and a conventional introduction follows. On the other side (penultimate line), Quran 59:21 is quoted.

Letter fragment in Arabic script. The writer's name may appear between lines 2 and 3 (ʿabduhu Khalaf....?). Needs examination for content. On verso there is a copy of the beginning of the ʿAmida in very rudimentary Hebrew.

Recto: Letter from Abū Saʿīd to (his brother?) Sibāʿ and Munajjā and Abū l-ʿAlā'. In Arabic script. Unclear if the text on verso is part of the same letter or another letter. Needs examination.

Business accounts in Arabic script, with some Hebrew mixed in (e.g. the name of the month Tevet).

Letter from Muḥammad Jāwīsh(?). In Arabic script. Dating: Ottoman era. Asking the addressee (al-ʿāmil bi-Miṣr al-Qadīma?) to return the burda(?) that he took from ʿAṭiyya and asking the amir to send approximately 20 heads of sheep (ghanam).