Geniza Lab

A draft of a beginning of a letter

Letter in Arabic script. Approximately 8 lines from near the top are preserved. Written in a chancery-esque hand and in an elevated register. The sender and presumably the addressee are Jewish, since he swears by the Torah. The sender conveys his worry (hamm) and describes how he read a letter to its end and mentions his distress over the cutting-off of the correspondence (inqitāʿ al-mukātaba). He says he must resort to an oath to clear his name before the addressee (وقد احتجت الان الى يمين في الوسط(؟) لتبرؤ ساحتي عندك والله العظيم وحق التوراة...). Reused for Hebrew literary text (recto). Join: Alan Elbaum.

Letter sent to a woman. In Arabic script. Small fragment (upper right piece of recto, some of the address preserved on verso). Dating: 11th or 12th century. The preamble ends with a calendar date and a ṣalwala. The sender leads with something about his (or her) late mother (anā wa-wālidatī raḥimahā Allāh), then refers to the addressee's benefaction (ان تتفضلي كما لم تزل عوائد...).

Private letter, mostly contains blessings

A letter sent to a dayyan informing him about what was agreed upon in Cairo. He mentioned that Sar ha-sarim Nagid ha-Negidim (titles usually kept for Mevurakh b. Saadya, was in office 1094-1111) has arrived and asked for an answer regarding R. Masliah. It is less likely that Masliah b. Shlomo Gaon is referred here (He arrived to Egypt around 1127), however this assumption should be taken as an option and required further examination.

Very damaged Arabic letter- needs examination.

Letter in the hand of the professional scribe Shelomo b. Shemuel b. Seʿadya (fl. early 13th century). In Judaeo-Arabic. Possibly a draft. He is reporting on his progress completing various commissions. He has "fulfilled the rights..." of "the noble Majlis," and he has sent with the Parnas Abū l-Najm 18 quires (kurrās/karārīs) out of the two volumes (al-juzʾayn) in his possession. He has had difficulty in buying parchment for the purpose which he had previously mentioned to the addressee. He asks 'Sayyidnā' to send an advance of 25 dirhams toward the price of the quires (the remainder of the price of the two volumes to be paid upon completion). The only reason he has not finished before Rosh Hashana is that he has been exerting himself trying to find parchment. There follows another similar update on a different project. On verso there is liturgical text (the birkat ha-mazon for weekdays) in the same hand. ASE

Documentary; recto: legend of Eldad the Danite; verso: letter, possibly of the geonic period (Data from FGP)

On verso few numbers and a letter to Elya Prianty from his brother Arye(?). Late

A very faded late letter in a cursive script

specimen letters for various occasions, in a late hand. (Data from FGP)

Very damaged letter. In Judaeo-Arabic. The text is rubbed and hard to read, but the letter seems to be of a private or family nature. The hand has some Maghrebi features. Various reports are given. Mentions al-Fuqqāʿī, al-ghilmān, Abū l-Maʿānī. Greetings to the sender's mother-in-law. At the end, "my longing for you is a fire that scorches... the heart from the intensity of the pain." There is an address, but it is almost completely rubbed out.

See PGP 4281

Two fragments from a letter, which is still not complete. Mentions setting sail from Alexandria. Involves the shipment of 100 jars of oil from Alexandria, the associated expenses, and the writer's diligence and setbacks. בן כושך is mentioned. This was a famous Karaite family, see Goiten, Med. Soc. III, p. 11, 428 n. 64. India Book IV/B p. 355. On verso there is Hebrew literary text. .

Arabic: personal letter (recto) - needs examination; Judaeo-Arabic: part of a letter (verso) (data from FGP)

Probably part of an Arabic letter - needs examination

Verso: Letter fragment in Judaeo-Arabic. Not much of the content is preserved.

A draft or a copy of the beginning of TS 10 j 15 23 addressed to Sitt al-Fadila. (data by Oded Zinger)

A small note of request by a poor and sick man

The main text here is a fragment from a letter, mostly torn and partially faded. Might be by the same hand of VII,92.1 from 1339 (אתרנ) On the left side of the page, in a different hand, a note with ethical guidance.