Geniza Lab

Drafts or records of legal documents. In Judaeo-Arabic. In the hand of Hillel b. ʿEli? Dating: The document on recto refers to a period of time beginning in Av 139[.], which corresponds to 1079–88 CE, which means this was written no later than 1088 CE. The lower document on verso is intriguing. Moshe ha-Kohen b. [...] appears before the court. His wife may be the daughter of the late [...]l ha-Levi, whose name is followed by the abbreviation בסנ גדו (meaning בסנהדרין גדולה). He says that they fought about something, then refers to "isolation" or "private quarters" (? maʿzil), and perhaps to his earnings and his house. Then: "...[that] I would/should buy her a female slave..."

Notes for drawing up legal documents. In Judaeo-Arabic. In the hand of Natan b. Shemuel? On recto: "...the freedwoman (al-maʿtūqa)... and the rest of the furnishings... and the quarter of the... to Sitt al-A[hl?]... the wife of Abū [...]." In the margin: "The giver: Ḥasana bt. Shaʾūl. The [...]: Abū ʿAlī b. al-Ṣabbāgh." Verso includes the details of a deed of sale for a female slave, a black woman named Intijāb. The seller appears to be [...] bt. Ṣadoq, perhaps the wife of Abū l-Faḍl Shela ha-Levi Sar ha-Leviim (who also appears in T-S 10J28.16 in 1157 CE, another slavery-related document). The price is 34.5 (dinars); this is a very large sum, so perhaps there are two slaves being sold (the rest of the line which gives Intijāb's name is effaced). The name of the buyer (al-mushtarī) in the last line might be legible with some effort: Abū l-[...] b. [...].

Fragment of a legal document. Dating: Probably 12th or 13th century. Involves al-Shaykh al-Muhadhdhab Netanʾel ha-Sar ha-Nikhbad. None of the details of the case are preserved. On verso there are remnants of accounts in Arabic script and Greek/Coptic numerals.

Legal or state document in Arabic script. Perhaps an IOU or a receipt. Mentions ʿAbdallāh and various numbers. Needs examination.

Legal fragment. In Judaeo-Arabic. Involving a certain Abū Mūsā and an agent. Much of the text remains, but the content is opaque. Needs examination.

Recto: Legal document. Location: Fustat. Dated: Sunday, 17 [...] 1359 Seleucid, which is 1047/48 CE. Mainly in Judaeo-Arabic. Certifying that [...] b. Khalaf ha-Levi has paid a portion of the early marriage payment to Dalāl bt. Faraj, and that he will come to Fustat and marry her before Purim of the coming year, and if not he will give her a bill of divorce. Mentions the cantor Ḥusayn b. [...] and the parnas Yaʿīsh ha-Kohen. Written and signed by Yefet b. David b. Shekhanya. Also signed by [...] b. Avraham. (Information from Goitein's index card #11876.)

Legal fragment. Appears to be the settlement of a marital dispute between Yūsuf and Sitt al-Ahl. Dating: Mentions the date Shevat 1437 Seleucid, which is 1125/26 CE. In the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe. See also the description for T-S NS 320.57 + ENA 2386.4, which is related. NB: Goitein and Gershon Weiss refer to this fragment as "T-S NS 320.54."

Bill of sale for a female slave. Dating: Perhaps second half of the 11th century or beginning of the 12th century, based on the hand. This is either the final version or an additional draft of the same document as in ENA 4020.11. Seller: Ṣedaqa b. Moshe ha-Levi. Buyer: Yosef b. Shelomo. Slave: Tawfīq. Price: 25 dinars. (Information from OZ, AA, CP, ASE.)

Bill of sale for a female slave. Location: Fustat. Dated: 1469 Seleucid, which is 1157/58 CE, under the authority of the Nagid Shemuel b. Ḥananya. Seller: Sitt al-Dalāl bt. Abū Naṣr, probably [the wife or widow of ...] known as Ibn Saʿdān. Buyer: Abū l-Bayān Moshe ha-Levi the merchant in the Dār al-Ṣarf. Price: 13 dinars. Slave: A Persian woman named Qaḍīb. Signed by: Mevorakh b. Natan he-Ḥaver; Peraḥya b. ʿAdiyya. On verso there is a biblical text.

Legal fragment. From a bill of divorce. Dated 15 Iyyar [..]67 Seleucid. Wife: ʿAmā'im. On verso there is a fragment of text probably attesting that the bill of divorce was delivered into her hands.

Legal document. Partnership agreement. Dating: 1108. Location: Fustat. Written in the hand of the court clerk Hillel b. ʿEli. An agreement between Abū al-Faḍl Mevorakh b. Abraham Ibn Sabrī and Abū ‘Imrān Moshe b. Mordecai ha-Kohen for a yearlong partnership in a shop selling olives and food commodities. Mevorakh and Moshe invested 80 and 50 dinars, respectively. Moshe seems to be in charge of the shop, garnering two-thirds of the profit and being responsible for two-thirds of the losses. He must prepare a reckoning at the end of the year, without required notarization. However, if the partnership has decreased in value, there is to be a judgment between the partners. The partners are not allowed to quit the partnership before the end of the one-year period, after which they may either renew or terminate it. However, if they decide to terminate, Moshe has two months to return Mevorakh’s investment. Mevorakh, a Parnas, must have been involved in social welfare tasks. Moshe has much autonomy in the shop, taking on “trust in Heaven” that he will not defraud his partner in absentia. (Lieberman, "A Partnership Culture," 257)

Will in which irdabbs of wheat were assigned to the heqdesh (pious trust) and another purpose. (Information from Mediterranean Society, V, p. 543)

Receipt on behalf of the elders of Jerusalem. (Information from Goitein's index cards)

Legal documents, possibly from a court notebook, as there are entries on both sides. Recto: Involves a man and a woman, payments received, a release from further obligations, and a document from the Muslim courts detailing the remaining installments. Written and signed by Avraham b. Natan Av. Also signed by Ṣadaqa b. [...] and Hillel b. Yosef ha-Levi. Verso: Involves a betrothal (ואקנינא מן אל ארוס...). Signed by Avraham b. [...], Mevorakh b. [...] ha-Kohen, and ʿEli b. Yeshuʿa. NB: There may be Goitein notes somewhere that have been misplaced.

Money order of the Qodesh. Dated: 1477 Seleucid, which is 1165/66 CE. Issued by Shemuel b. Seʿadya, for 9.5 dirhams, from the collection of the compound of the Jerusalemites, to Abū Manṣūr b. Avraham al-Dimashqī. (Information from Gil, Documents, pp. 309 #71.) See also Goitein, Med Soc II, App. A, 136. NB: Goitein cites this document as T-S NS 320.32.

Three drafts of legal documents. (a) Recto: פוטיתי bt. Eliyya, the divorcee of Yosef b. Elʿazar and the mother-in-law of Yosef b. Yiṣḥaq appears before the court of David b. Daniel "the Exilarch." Evidently she and Yosef b. Elʿazar are coming to a settlement about the payment that will be due to her on account of the divorce, which may be substantially lower than what was agreed upon in their ketubba. (See Zinger, Women, Gender, and Law (PhD Diss), 143n43.) (b) Verso, main text: Location: Fustat. Dated: Monday, 24 Iyyār 1403 Seleucid, which is 1092 CE. Berakhot b. Moshe, the husband of Jalīla bt. Abū ʿAlī, and Ḥalfon Ibn al-Tūzī, the husband of Jalīla's sister Sumr, sue for their share in the inheritance of the recently deceased Abū ʿAlī. Somehow also involved is Abū ʿAlī's mother known as Ibnat al-Tarshāʾ ("daughter of the deaf woman"), who may have died in Alexandria. (c) Verso, margins: Perhaps a deed of sale for a property; mentions the large sum of 70 dinars. Mostly in Aramaic. (Information in part from Goitein's index card.)

Legal document in the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe (1100–38). Nafisa, the daughter of Kathir, the widow of Yaʿaqov ha-Kohen, sells the female slave Tawfiq, a minor, to the merchant Abu al-Barakat b. Sha'ya for the considerable sum of 18 and three/fourths dinars. (Information from Mediterranean Society, III, 331, 501)

Recto: fragment from a Karaite ketubba for Ghāliyya bt. Yosef b. Abraham and Thābit b. Yaʿaqov. The bride’s father acts as her agent. Dating: ca. 11th century. Verso: unidentified text. (Information from CUDL.) See also Goitein's note card.

Recto: fragment from a Karaite ketubba for Ḡāliyya bat Joseph b. Abraham and Ṯābit b. Jacob. The bride’s father acts as her agent. Ca. 11th century. Verso: unidentified text. (Information from CUDL)

Legal document. Fragment (lower right corner). Dated: [..]99 AM, most likely 4799 AM (=1038/39 CE) or 4899 AM (=1138/39 CE). The document mentions Elʿazar ha-Zaqen and was signed by Yefet b. Yakhin ha-Levi, [...] b. Shabbat, and Mevasser b. Yeḥezqel (according to the qiyyum/validation). Unclear if any details of the case are preserved.