Geniza Lab

Marriage contract (ketubba). Dated: Tuesday, 17 Elul 16[29?] Seleucid, which would be 1318 CE. (Goitein suggests 1292–97 CE, but that does not seem possible.) Under the reshut of the Nagid Avraham b. David (Avraham II) Maimonides. If indeed this is from 1318 CE, it might be the latest known mention of Avraham II as Nagid. Groom: Shemuel b. Shela ha-Talmid. Bride: Muwaffaqa bt. Yeshuʿa, a widow. No dowry mentioned. 5+20=25. Information in part from Goitein's index card.

Ketubba. Dating: Drawn up under the authority of the Nagid Yiṣḥaq Sholal (d. 1524). Groom: Yaʿaqov b. Yosef b. Yaʿqov. Bride: Raḥma/Ruḥama bt. Yosef, a divorcee from a previous betrothal. Cf. T-S Misc.28.71 (dated 1492 CE). (Information from Goitein's index card.)

Ketubba. 16 lines preserved. Dating: Probably 13th century. (See Goitein's index card for further information.)

Receipt in Arabic and Hebrew script for a purse full of coins from Nahray b. Nissim to Mūsā b. Abī l-Ḥayy in Alexandria.

Small part from a legal document, mentioned: יאשיהו. Written by Nathan b. Shmuel ha-Haver (Date: 1128-1154)

end of a legal document signed by: [...] Mevorakh, Hillel b. Zadoq, Hiyya b. Ishaq, Frihuna b. Yeshu'a Probably from 1150–1160.

Legal document. On parchment. In the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe. Involves [...] b. Ṣadaqa ha-Zaqen and an Abū l-Riḍā. Mentions the port of ʿAkka and somebody who drowned in the Indian Ocean. Med Soc III, IX, C, 4, n. 48. Acre was taken by the Crusaders in 1104. (Information from Goitein's attached notes.)

Bill of divorce (geṭ). Dated: Kislev 1100 CE. Signed by Ḥillel b. ʿEli and Ḥalfon b. Menashshe. Husband: Shela b. Yehuda. Wife: [...] bt. Avraham. (Information from Goitein's index card.)

A draft of few line of an opening formula of a legal document written by Nathan b. Shmuel ha-Haver (Date: 1128-1154)

Inventory of silver vessels and expensive fabrics belonging to the two Rabbanite synagogues in Fustat, which were given to Maḥfūẓ, the beadle of the Jerusalemite synagogue. Dated: Av 1470 Seleucid, which is 1159 CE. The right side of this document is TS Misc.28.51 and the left side is TS NS J296. NB: This was previous listed as "Responsum of a Babylonian Gaon" on PGP. (Seems ro be written by Meir b. Hillel b. Zadoq. AA)

Court document. Declaration of a ban of excommunication against anyone who owes money in any form to Abū l-Khayr al-Ṣayrafī known as Ibn Khalfa and does not hand it over to his son Abū Saʿīd, and against anyone who has relevant testimony and does not bring it to the attention of the court. "He will be cursed to the God of Israel etc., after the Torah scroll is dressed in black and the shofar is blown." There is the beginning of a postscript perhaps stating that anyone owed money by Abū l-Khayr should also come forward. On verso there is a very similar document but wiht stronger curses.

Legal document. Location: Fustat. Dated: Thursday, 9 Adar 1373 Seleucid, which is 1062 CE (this appears on verso). Involving Hiba b. Avraham and his wife. He may be pawning the items of her dowry. Needs further examination.

Power of attorney. In Hebrew. Dating: 16th century. Ḥayyim b. Yisra'el Moshe ha-Levi appoints his son Yisra'el ha-Levi as his representative in all of his cases in Miẓrayim, especially the one involving Avraham b. Menaḥem Ashkenazi and the maintenance of the young boy Yeḥiel. Information from Avraham David via FGP.

Legal document. Dated: Probably [16]11 Seleucid, which is 1299/1300 CE, under the authority of the Nagid Avraham (II) Maimonides. (Avraham I served 1204–37, which does not match any Seleucid date ending with 11; the handwriting is also consistent with a date ca. 1300 CE—it is quite similar to T-S 13J4.13). Seems to be a power of attorney in which the virgin girl Jalāl appoints somebody as her agent for something.

Agreement regarding a marital match, Malij, 1492 CE (1803 Seleucid). Corrected in comparison with Goitein's notes and with microfilm copy (Z.F.)

Multifragment. 25 fragments, most of them legal, almost all of them in the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe. See Goitein's index card.

P1: Legal document in the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe. Probably a partnership agreement.

P10: Legal document in the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe. Only a couple of lines are preserved. Refers to Rosh ha-Qehillot and Abū Saʿd.

P12 + P13: Legal document in the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe. Involves: silk merchandise, some of it in the form of twisted silk yarn ("maftūl"); parties named Ḥalfon, Avraham, and Ḥakam; possibly a business loss and a dispute and a resolution, which involves one of them stating that he will never enter the opponent's house. Interestingly, this document was edited and the pronouns were switched around (first person to third person and vice versa).

P14: Legal document in the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe. Refers to a hijri date; a period of 12 months; a tax farmer (ḍāmin) and Abū ʿAlī; and a partnership (sharika). Likely a join with P15.