Geniza Lab

Hebrew literary work, reused for drafts of phrases from an Arabic letter.

Judaeo-Arabic poetry.

Judaeo-Arabic poetry in a neat grid in red ink.

Judaeo-Arabic poetry.

Judaeo-Arabic poetry.

Judaeo-Arabic poetry.

Judaeo-Arabic poetry.

Judaeo-Arabic poetry.

Letter in the handwriting of Efrayim b. Shemarya. In Hebrew. Fragment (left side). This document is cited by Roni Shweka as an example of the potential of the Joins Suggestion algorithm to identify unrecognized documents (in the article 'וקרב אותם אחד אל אחד': זיהוי כתיבות יד וצירוף קטעי גניזה באמצעות מחשב). Remains unstudied. Might mostly consist of flattery and blessings for the addressee.

Left side of an Arabic-script letter. Possibly a petition, or simply a letter that draws on petition-like phrases (this hypothesis is supported by the fact that the sender refers to himself with first-person pronouns instead of as "the slave"). Wide line-spacing, in a chancery hand. Refers to 'the building of that which was destroyed(?) and the renewal of that which has passed" (ʿimāra mā dummira(?) wa-tajdīd ma maḍā). Refers to "that which ʿAbdallāh b. Ṭāhir did with your excellency and viziership" (fiʿl ʿAbdallāh b. Ṭāhir maʿa jalālatih wa-wizāratih). Reused for Hebrew piyyut in between the lines on recto and on verso.

Decree. Only part of one line is preserved, mentioning the caliph al-Ḥāfiẓ, "...wa-waliyyihi ʿAbd al-Majīd Abī l-Maymūn al-Imām..."

Biofolium of piyyutim signed by Moshe b. Levi ha-Levi (found by Amir Ashur).

Decree, probably a public copy with gigantic line spacing. Mentions the signature/ʿalāma (khaṭṭ, khuṭūṭ) of two just witnesses (al-shuhūd al-ʿadlayn) and overseers (al-mushārifīn). Also mentions two dīwāns (dīwānayn). "جميعها خطوط المشارفين والشهود العدلين وخطه ليخلد الديوانين ويطالع بم..ها".

Bottom of an official document in Arabic script (ḥamdala and ṣālwala). Nothing else of the original document is preserved. Reused for Hebrew literary text.

"Comedia sobre el casa[mento?] de Ishaq Abinu con Ribca Imenu עה. Repartida en cinco cenas hecha por Franco S[...] del Le(?)." On verso there are doodles.

Two copies of a poem by Avraham ben Yiju, praising Maḍmūn and cursing his enemies. T-S 8J16.23 is written in the hand of Ben Yiju himself, while the AIU fragment is written in the calligraphic square hand of a scribe. The poet signs his name in an acrostic: ABRHM ḤZQ YJW. The poem is about how Maḍmūn's enemies requited his kindness with treachery. But these enemies were ultimately compelled to acknowledge Maḍmūn's titles Sar and Nagid. Dating: ca. 1140–44 CE. (Information from Goitein and Friedman, India Book II.)

Hebrew poems with interesting Judaeo-Arabic headings, including: "I wrote this for you, too, and it was only delayed because of an illness that came over me." Another poem is copied from the composition of Rabbenu Moshe ZL.

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Very faded. The addressee's name appears on verso, perhaps something like Yiṣḥaq b. Maṣliaḥ b. Bahlūl. Dating: 11th or 12th century. The letter is written in an elevated register and is very deferential, but the subject matter is not clear. A certain Yosef is mentioned.

Biblical glossary, mainly in Hebrew but with many Ladino words.

Likely a decree to a lower official, to judge by the sloppy hand. The section toward the end contains inshallāh, then kutiba, with the date ripped off, as is nearly universally the case with decree fragments. The text is mostly not arranged in horizontal lines but is more sporadic, with some sections written in larger script than others. The name ʿAbd al-Malik al-[...] appears in the upper left. One line may mention the end of (salkh) Dhū l-Ḥijja.