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TRANSLATIONS   OF   EARLY   DOCUMENTS 
SERIES  I 

PALESTINIAN    JEWISH    TEXTS 
(PRE-RABBINIC) 


-f/r 


JEWISH    DOCUMENTS   OF  THE 
TIME   OF   EZRA 


JEWISH   DOCUMENTS  OF 
THE  TIME  OF   EZRA 

TRANSLATED   FROM   THE   ARAMAIC 


BY 

A.   COWLEY 


LONDON: 

SOCIETY    FOR    PROMOTING 
CHRISTIAN      KNOWLEDGE 

NEW    YORK:    THE    MACMILLAN    CO. 
1919 


EDITORS'    PREFACE 

THE  object  of  this  series  of  translations  is  primarily 
to  furnish  students  with  short,  cheap,  and  handy 
text-books,  which,  it  is  hoped,  will  facilitate  the 
study  of  the  particular  texts  in  class  under  com- 
petent teachers.  But  it  is  also  hoped  that  the 
volumes  will  be  acceptable  to  the  general  reader 
who  may  be  interested  in  the  subjects  with  which 
they  deal.  It  has  been  thought  advisable,  as  a 
general  rule,  to  restrict  the  notes  and  comments  to 
a  small  compass;  more  especially  as,  in  most  cases, 
excellent  works  of  a  more  elaborate  character  are 
available.  Indeed,  it  is  much  to  be  desired  that 
these  translations  may  have  the  effect  of  inducing 
readers  to  study  the  larger  works. 

Our  principal  aim,  in  a  word,  is  to  make  some 
difficult  texts,  important  for  the  study  of  Christian 
origins,  more  generally  accessible  in  faithful  and 
scholarly  translations. 

In  most  cases  these  texts  are  not  available  in  a 
cheap  and  handy  form.  In  one  or  two  cases  texts 
have  been  included  of  books  which  are  available 
in  the  official  Apocrypha;  but  in  every  such  case 
reasons  exist  for  putting  forth  these  texts  in  a  new 
translation,  with  an  Introduction,  in  this  series. 

W.  O.  E.  OESTERLEY. 
G.  H.  Box. 


CONTENTS 

PACE 

INTRODUCTION      .......  ix 

Papyrus 
No. 

1.  AGREEMENT  ......          27 

2.  CONTRACT    FOR   CORN        .....  28 

3.  DUPLICATE    OF   NO.    2        .  .  .  .  .29 

4.  FRAGMENT   OF   SIMILAR    CONTRACT       .              .              .  30 

5.  GRANT   OF   BUILDING    RIGHTS      ....  30 

6.  CONVEYANCE             ......  32 

7.  A    CASE    OF  BURGLARY      .....  34 

8.  CONVEYANCE             ......  34 

9.  DEED    AS    TO    REVERSION    OF    PROPERTY    IN    NO.    8  37 

10.  CONTRACT    FOR    A    LOAN    .  .  .  -39 

11.  „  .          40 

12.  LIST   OF  NAMES        .  .  .  .42 

13.  CONVEYANCE             ......  42 

14.  SETTLEMENT    OF   CLAIM    .....  44 

15.  MARRIAGE    CONTRACT         .....  45 

16.  AN    APPEAL    .......  48 

17.  RELATING    TO    SUPPLIES    .              .                            .              .  49 

18.  PART   OF   A    MARRIAGE    CONTRACT         ...  50 

19.  LIST   OF   NAMES        ......  51 


viii  CONTENTS 

Papyrus 

No. 

20.  SETTLEMENT   OF   CLAIM    .  .  .  51 

21.  ORDER    TO    KEEP    THE    (PASSOVER   AND)    FEAST    OF 

UNLEAVENED    BREAD  .  .  .  -53 

22.  LIST   OF   CONTRIBUTORS    TO    TEMPLE    FUNDS  .          54 

23.  LIST   OF    NAMES        ......  59 

24.  ACCOUNT    OF    CORN    SUPPLIED  60 

25.  RENUNCIATION    OF    CLAIM  ....          62 

26.  ORDER    TO    REPAIR    A    BOAT         .  .  .  .65 

27.  PETITION    TO    REBUILD    THE    TEMPLE  .  .          6^ 

28.  ASSIGNMENT   OF    SLAVES  ....          69 

29.  CONTRACT   FOR    A    LOAN   .  .  .  .  .71 

30.  PETITION    TO    BIGVAI          .  .  .  .  .71 

31.  DUPLICATE    OF   NO.    30      .  .  .  .  -75 

32.  ANSWER    TO    NO.    30  .  .  .  -.  -77 

33.  PETITION,    CONNECTED    WITH    NO.    30  •  •          77 

34.  LETTER  ...  78 

35.  CONTRACT  FOR    A    LOAN    .....  79 

36.  FRAGMENT    OF    A    MARRIAGE    CONTRACT          .  .          80 
THE    WORDS    OF   AHIKAR             .....          8l 
THE    BEHISTUN    INSCRIPTION   .....          96 


INTRODUCTION 

THE  Papyri  translated  in  this  volume  were  found, 
probably  all  at  Elephantine,  together  with  others  not 
included  here,  between  the  years  1898  and  1908.  No.  27 
was  published  by  Euting  in  the  Memoires  presentes  .  .  .  a 
I'Academie  des  Inscriptions  (Paris,  1903) ;  No.  n  by 
Cowley  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Arch- 
eology for  1903 ;  Nos.  5,  6,  8,  9,  n,  13-15,  20,  25,  28  by 
Sayce  and  Cowley  in  Aramaic  Papyri  Discovered  at 
Assuan  (London,  1906) ;  the  rest,  published  by  Sachau  in 
Aramdische  Papyrus  .  .  .  (Leipzig,  1911),  are  now  trans- 
lated into  English,  mostly  for  the  first  time.  The  last 
two  publications  contain  excellent  facsimiles.  The  texts 
have  given  occasion  to  a  very  considerable  literature, 
dealing  with  the  many  interesting  questions  which  they 
raise  in  history,  religion  and  language.1 

Documents  on  papyrus,  such  as  these,  have  a  special 
interest,  because  they  preserve  to  us  the  actual  words 
and  writing  of  a  remote  past.  In  fact,  they  are  records 
contemporary  with  the  events  to  which  they  relate,  and 
are  therefore  (like  inscriptions)  first-hand  historical 
evidence,  uncorrupted  by  the  errors  which  inevitably 
appear  when  a  text  is  transmitted  by  repeated  copies 
through  the  centuries.2  Inscriptions  are  also  first-hand 

1  For  fuller  information  the  reader  is  referred  to  a  complete 
edition,  which,  it  is  hoped,  will  be  published  as  soon  as  circum- 
stances permit. 

2  Thus  No.  5  was  rolled  up,  tied  and  sealed  in  471  B.C.,  and 
was  not  opened   again  till    1904  in  the   Bodleian   Library  at 
Oxford. 

ix 


x  INTRODUCTION 

evidence,  but  they  are  as  a  rule  short,  formal,  and  con- 
cerned only  with  the  greater  events  of  history.  Papyri 
not  only  tell  us  of  public  events,  but  also  give  us  an 
insight  into  the  private  life  and  circumstances  of  the  past. 

The  present  texts,  which  are  nearly  all  dated,  cover 
practically  the  whole  of  the  fifth  century  B.C.  (494  to 
circ.  400),  during  which  time  Egypt  was  under  Persian 
rule.  They  are  dated  by  the  regnal  years  of  Darius  I, 
Xerxes,  Artaxerxes  I,  Darius  II,  and  the  Egyptian  king 
Amyrtaeus,  and  have  been  arranged  here  chronologically, 
so  as  to  give  something  of  an  historical  picture.  They 
•emanate  from  a  hitherto  unknown  colony  of  Jews  settled 
in  the  south  of  Egypt  at  Elephantine  and  Syene.  Thus 
they  are  the  earliest  Jewish  documents  in  existence 
(except  one  or  two  inscriptions)  outside  the  Bible,  and 
are  a  valuable  contemporary  illustration  of  the  books 
of  Ezra  and  Nehemiah. 

The  language  in  which  they  are  written  is  Aramaic, 
a  language  distinct  from,  though  closely  allied  to, 
Hebrew  :  not,  as  used  to  be  thought,  a  debased  form 
of  Hebrew,  but  related  to  it  somewhat  as  Italian  is 
related  to  Spanish.  And  this  Aramaic  is,  with  some 
reservations,  the  same  as  that  in  which  parts  of  the 
Book  of  Ezra  are  composed.  We  need  not  here  discuss 
the  reasons  why  that  book  is  written  partly  in  Hebrew 
and  partly  in  Aramaic,  but  it  may  be  pointed  out  that 
if  Ezra  wrote  Aramaic,  this  is  the  sort  of  Aramaic  he 
would  write.  It  was,  in  fact,  like  modern  French,  the 
diplomatic  l  or  international  language  of  that  time  in 
the  East,  and  was  used  by  the  Persian  Government 
in  the  administration  of  the  provinces,  as  we  see  from 
the  version  of  the  Behistun  inscription  (p.  96)  sent  to 

1  Cf.  2  Kings  1 8  2a,  where  the  "  Jews'  language  "  is  Hebrew, 
and  "  Syrian  "  is  Aramaic,  which  an  official  messenger  might 
be  expected  to  use. 


INTRODUCTION  xi 

the  colony  in  Egypt  for  their  information.  Even  long 
before  this  time  it  was  used  in  Babylonia  by  the  royal 
scribes,  as  well  as  in  everyday  business,1  and  Ezra,  as 
a  "  skilled  scribe,"  must  have  been  familiar  with  it. 
It  was  not  because  they  were  Jews  that  Ezra  or  the 
people  of  Elephantine  employed  it.  The  kind  of  writing 
used  in  the  papyri  is  also  that  in  which  Ezra  must  have 
written  his  copy  of  the  Law,  and  from  which  the  modern 
square  Hebrew  character  is  lineally  descended.  Argu- 
ments as  to  the  form  of  the  text  from  his  time  onwards 
must  therefore  be  based  on  this  sort  of  writing  and  not 
on  the  old  Hebrew. 

As  to  the  origin  of  the  colony  whose  existence  is  here 
revealed  to  us,  we  have  no  evidence  in  the  texts  them- 
selves. That  it  was  Jewish,  and  conscious  of  being  so, 
seems  to  be  certain.2  Individual  members  of  it  are 
described  as  Yehudi,  "  Jew,"  the  community  is  called 
"  the  Jewish  force,"  and  the  names  of  the  people  are 
good  Jewish  names  of  the  post-exilic  type,  mostly  ending 
in  -iah*  They  were,  however,  not  the  only  inhabitants 
of  Elephantine,  for  we  find  names  of  various  other 
nationalities,  Babylonian,  Persian,  Egyptian,  Arab,  etc. 
The  Jews  lived  apparently  on  equal  terms  with  the 
people  of  other  races,  doing  business  with  them,  and 
even  intermarrying  without  compunction. 

Probably  the  connexion  between  Judaea  and  Egypt 
was  always  close,  and  Jewish  settlers  in  Egypt  must 
have  become  more  numerous  as  trade  increased;  cf. 
e.g.  Deut.  17 16,  Jer.  44.  But  this  colony  seems  to 
have  had  a  more  definite  origin.  It  was  essentially 
military,  since  it  is  called  the  "  Jewish  force  "  (army 

1  This  is  shown  by  the  Aramaic  "  dockets  "  or  endorsements 
written  in  ink  on  cuneiform  contract-tablets. 

2  Though  Dr.  Hoonacker  has  argued  (Schweich  Lectures,  1914 
(London,  1915))  that  it  was  Samaritan. 

3  No  names  in  -el. 


xii  INTRODUCTION 

or  garrison),  was  divided  into  degalin  (companies  or 
detachments),  and  received  pay  and  rations  from  the 
Government.  It  consisted,  therefore,  originally  of  mer- 
cenaries in  the  employment  of  the  Government.  Now, 
the  writer  of  the  letter  of  Aristeas l  incidentally  mentions 
(§  13)  that  Psammetichus,  King  of  Egypt,  used  Jewish 
mercenaries  in  his  campaign  against  Ethiopia.  This  must 
be  Psammetichus  II  (see  Herodotus  ii,  159),  who  reigned 
from  595  to  590  B.C.,  and  the  statement  agrees  very 
well  with  what  we  gather  from  these  papyri.  After 
the  war  the  soldiers  were  settled  in  the  two  fortresses 
of  Syene  and  Elephantine  as  a  protection  to  the  southern 
boundary  of  the  kingdom.  Possibly  other  Jewish  settlers 
joined  them  there  afterwards.  At  any  rate  they  had 
their  wives  and  families,  who  were  also  reckoned  as 
members  of  a  "  company,"  like  the  men,  and  they  held 
property  and  engaged  in  various  civil  pursuits.  The 
members  of  other  races  were  no  doubt  mercenaries  by 
origin,  enrolled  in  companies  according  to  race,  as  was 
the  case  in  Ptolemaic  times.  We  sometimes  find  a  man 
who  is  called  a  Jew  of  Elephantine  elsewhere  described 
as  an  Aramaean  of  Syene  (but  never  a  Jew  of  Syene), 
which  seems  to  show  that  the  Jews,  as  such,  were 
stationed  at  Elephantine,  while  various  western  Asiatics, 
called  vaguely  Aramaeans,  were  at  Syene.  The  latter, 
as  the  more  important  place,  would  give  its  name  to  the 
whole  district,  including  Elephantine,  just  as  Aramaean 
(=  western  Semite)  might  be  taken  to  include  Jews. 

These  colonists,  then,  were  already  settled  in  the 
south  of  Egypt  at  the  time  when  their  brethren  were 
returning  to  Jerusalem,  and  they  were  developing  inde- 

1  An  account  of  the  origin  of  the  "  Septuagint  "  translation 
of  the  Old  Testament   (and  of  Jewish  religion,   etc.),  written 
perhaps  in  the  first  century  B.C.     See  Charles's  Apocrypha    II 
p.  83,  and  Thackeray's  The  Letter  of  Aristeas  in  this  series. 


INTRODUCTION  xiii 

pendently  as  a  religious  community  during  all  the  con- 
structive, or  re -constructive,  activity  of  Ezra  and 
Nehemiah.  What  was  the  relation  of  this  outlying 
branch  to  the  main  body  of  the  Jewish  people?  To 
pre-exilic  or  post-exilic  Judaism  ?  How  far  was  Jeremiah 
(chap.  44)  justified  in  his  denunciation  of  the  Jews  in 
Egypt?  Did  they  remain  true  to  the  faith  of  their 
pre-exilic  fathers,  or  were  they  influenced  by  the  new 
gospel  of  Ezra  ?  Some  of  these  questions  will  perhaps 
never  be  conclusively  answered.  A  few  only  of  the 
facts  can  be  stated  here,  and  the  reader  may  be  left  to 
form  his  own  conclusions. 

The  religious  and  internal  affairs  of  the  community 
were  directed  by  priests,  as  we  see  from  No.  30  l  and 
frequently,  but  these  priests  (kahanin)  are  never  called 
sons  of  Aaron.  They  acknowledged  the  God  of  the 
Jews,  who  is  called  Yahu,1  the  older  (not  an  abbreviated) 
form  of  the  name  which  we  used  to  pronounce  Jehovah, 
now  generally  written  Yahweh.  They  had  no  scruple, 
as  the  later  Jews  had,  about  writing  or  uttering  the 
name.  But  we  also  find  mention  of  Ishumbethel  and 
'Anathbethel  (No.  22  i24-1-5),  apparently  as  gods  asso- 
ciated with  Yahu,  though  their  relation  to  him  is  obscure. 
Elsewhere  Herembethel  and  'Anathyahu  seem  to  be 
gods,  and  we  find  personal  names  compounded  with 
Bethel  and  Herein,  just  as  others  are  formed  with 
-yah(u).  Whatever  may  be  the  origin  of  the  other 
names,  it  is  probable  that  Bethel  is  the  old  Canaanite 
god  (cf.  Gen.  31 13  in  the  Hebrew),  whom  they  colonists 
had  brought  with  them.  Not  only  so,  but  in  No.  14  5 
a  Jewess  of  good  position  (therefore  presumably  not 
from  ignorance),  in  a  transaction  with  an  Egyptian, 

1  This  spelling  is  used  here  provisionally,  because  it  has  been 
adopted  by  most  writers  on  these  papyri.  It  probably  does 
not  represent  the  true  pronunciation  of  the  name. 


xiv  INTRODUCTION 

takes  an  oath  by  the  Egyptian  goddess  Sati.  Yet  it 
is  evident  throughout  that  they  regarded  Yahu  as  the 
supreme  God,  and  themselves  as  specially  devoted  to 
the  worship  of  Yahu. 

This  worship  was  conducted  in  a  temple — not  merely 
a  synagogue  or  meeting-house,  but  (from  the  descrip- 
tion in  No.  30)  a  building  of  considerable  dignity,  con- 
taining an  altar  on  which  burnt-sacrifice  was  offered  to 
Yahu.  .Now,  according  to  Deuteronomy  (12  5-6,  etc.) 
this  ought  to  have  been  impossible.  The  law  is  very 
definite  :  sacrifice  was  only  to  be  offered  in  the  place 
which  the  Lord  should  choose,  to  put  His  name  there. 
It  is  a  clear  restriction  of  the  earlier  practice  recognised 
in  Exodus  and  frequently  illustrated  in  the  Books  of 
Samuel.1  Was  the  colony,  then,  ignorant  of  Deuter- 
onomy, or  did  it  understand  the  command  to  apply 
only  to  Judaea,  or  was  it  frankly  heretical?  Not  the 
last,  apparently,  for  when  their  temple  was  destroyed 
they  appealed  to  Jerusalem  for  help  to  rebuild  it. 
Clearly  they  saw  no  reason  why  they  should  not  offer 
sacrifices  in  their  local  temple,  just  as  Samuel  sacrificed 
at  Gilgal  (i  Sam.  n  15)  and  others  elsewhere.  Both 
this  practice  and  the  worship  of  other  (subsidiary)  gods 
look  like  a  continuation  of  earlier,  pre-exilic  customs, 
which  became  impossible  in  Judaea  after  the  reforms  of 
Ezra  and  Nehemiah.  It  was  Deuteronomy  which  cen- 
tralised the  religious  life  of  the  people  by  making 
Jerusalem  the  place  where  alone  men  ought  to  worship. 
The  usually  accepted  view  now  is  2  that  Deuteronomy 
was  composed  at  some  time  not  long  before  the  eighteenth 
year  of  Josiah  (621  B.C.),  and  that  his  abolition  of 
"  high  places  "  and  celebration  of  a  great  central  national 
Passover  were  intended  to  emphasise  the  royal  sanction 

1  See  Driver,  Literature  of  the  Old  Testament,  ed.  9,  p.  85. 

2  See  Driver,  ibid.,  p.  86. 


INTRODUCTION  xv 

of  its  enactments.  It  is  not  to  be  supposed,  however, 
that  the  old  practices  could  be  changed  all  at  once, 
especially  as  the  exile  followed  soon  after,  thereby 
breaking  all  continuity.  So  that,  on  this  view,  Deuter- 
onomy failed  in  its  effect  temporarily,  until  its  pro- 
visions could  be  enforced  by  Ezra  and  Nehemiah.  If 
this  view  be  accepted,  it  becomes  intelligible  that  Jews 
who  went  on  foreign  service,  and  were  settled  abroad 
before  (perhaps  long  before)  590  B,c.,  should  have  been 
little  influenced  by  the  new  legislation.  Their  descend- 
ants would  soon  lose  all  memory  of  Josiah's  reforms, 
since  there  was  nothing  to  preserve  that  memory  after 
the  fall  of  Jerusalem  (588).  They  were  as  sheep  with- 
out a  shepherd  in  the  spiritual  desert  of  Egypt.  Their 
national  existence  was  ended,  and  it  is  not  surprising 
or  discreditable  that  they  should  have  organised  them- 
selves as  an  independent  religious  community,  and, 
since  the  temple  at  Jerusalem  was  destroyed,  should 
have  erected  a  temple  of  their  own  at  Elephantine.1 
According  to  the  statement  in  30  l3,  it  was  built  before 
the  Persian  conquest  of  Egypt,  and  when  Cambyses 
came  into  the  country  (in  525)  it  was  already  there, 
and  was  not  injured  by  him. 

Much  more  difficult  to  understand  is  the  complete 
silence  of  these  texts  as  to  some  of  the  fundamental 
facts  of  Jewish  history  and  religion.  One  would  sup- 
pose that  the  colonists  had  never  heard  of  Moses  or 
the  Exodus,  of  Abraham  or  Jacob,  of  David  or  Solomon. 
There  is  not  the  faintest  allusion  to  the  Sabbath,  nor 
to  the  Law.2  Though  there  are  priests,  they  are  not 

1  The  case  of    the    *  Onias-temple '    (about   150   B.C.)   is  on 
a  different  footing,  and  need  not  be  discussed  here. 

2  There  might  have  been  such  an  allusion  in  the  letter  to 
the  High  Priest  Johanan  (30  18),  which  we  do  not  possess.     As 
No.   30  is  addressed  to  Bigvai,  a  Persian,  it  may  have  been 
thought  unnecessary  to  speak  of  the  Law. 


xvi  INTRODUCTION 

called  sons  of  Aaron,  and  there  is  no  mention  of  Levites, 
nor  of  the  tribe  of  Levi,  nor  indeed  of  any  other  tribe. 
Nor  is  there  any  reference  to  any  of  the  festivals — 
except  only  the  Passover  and  Unleavened  Bread  (on 
vwhich  see  below).  All  this  may  be  accidental :  it  may 
be  merely  that  the  texts  are  not  of  a  kind  to  involve 
such  allusions,  and  it  is  always  dangerous  to  argue 
from  silence.  Still,  we  should  expect  a  hint  of  some 
of  these  special  characteristics  of  Judaism  in  so  con- 
siderable an  amount  of  literature.  The  fact  that  there 
is  none  suggests  a  doubt  whether  these  isolated  colonists 
in  the  fifth  century  B.C.  really  knew  anything  of  their 
early  history  and  institutions — and  this  doubt  again 
suggests  a  question  whether  they  had  forgotten  it  all, 
or,  supposing  their  mental  attitude  to  be  that  of  their 
ancestors  in  600  B.C.,  whether  the  ordinary  Jew  of  that 
date,  in  Judaea,  was  equally  uninstructed. 

Even  the  mention  of  the  Passover  does  not  make 
the  case  better,  for  a  special  order  seems  to  have  been 
necessary  for  its  celebration,  and  the  regulations  for 
the  feast  of  Unleavened  Bread,  which  is  connected  with 
it,  have  to  be  explained  to  the  people.  Such,  at  least, 
seems  to  be  the  meaning  of  No.  21.  The  papyrus  is, 
unfortunately,  very  imperfect,  but  there  is  enough  to 
show  that  it  is  an  order  from  the  Persian  king  (Darius  II) 
relating  to  a  festival  of  the  Jews.  The  gaps  can  be 
filled  with  a  certain  amount  of  probability,  since  we 
know  the  approximate  length  of  the  lines,  and  some 
of  the  sentences  can  only  be  completed  in  one  way. 
In  any  case  it  is  an  announcement  by  a  certain  Hananiah 
(a  man  of  importance,  as  appears  elsewhere)  that  an 
order  has  been  sent  by  the  king  to  Arsames  (satrap  of 
Egypt),  and  if  our  conjecture  is  right,  it  was  an  order 
to  celebrate  a  feast.  Then  Hananiah  proceeds  to  give 
instructions,  first  to  reckon  fourteen  days  (the  next 


INTRODUCTION  xvii 

clause  being  lost),  and  then  from  the  I5th  to  the  2ist 
day  of  Nis<m  to  abstain  from  leaven,  etc.  There  can 
therefore  be  no  doubt  that  it  is  the  Passover  which  is 
meant  to  be  kept  on  the  I4th  day  of  Nisan,  and  that 
the  seven  days  following  it  are  the  days  of  Unleavened 
Bread.  The  gap  in  which  the  celebration  of  the  Pass- 
over is  presumably  ordained  is  too  short  to  allow  of 
any  instructions  as  to  the  manner  of  celebrating  it, 
while  the  instructions  for  the  feast  of  Unleavened  Bread 
are  relatively  full.  Thus  it  would  seem  that  the  colony 
knew  about  the  Passover,1  although  they  had  not  kept 
it  regularly,  but  that  the  feast  of  Unleavened  Bread  was 
either  unknown  to  them  or  had  been  entirely  neglected. 

The  important  point,  about  which  there  can  be  no 
question,  is  that  the  order  was  sent  by  the  Persian 
king.  It  was  a  curt  command,  and  the  details  were 
added  by  the  messenger,  who  was  a  Jew.  If,  then, 
Darius  could  be  induced,  for  whatever  reasons,  to  issue 
a  special  edict  concerning  a  single  religious  observance 
in  an  obscure  colony  of  Jews,  we  need  not  question 
the  authenticity  of  the  letter  of  Artaxerxes  in  Ezra  7  12, 
dealing  with  the  much  more  important  matter  of  Ezra's 
mission.  In  neither  case  need  we  suppose  that  the 
details  are  due  to  the  king  himself.  In  the  papyrus 
they  certainly  are  not,  and  in  Ezra  7  12  one  can  imagine 
the  king,  when  once  his  consent  had  been  obtained, 
saying,  "  Very  well,  then,  give  the  man  an  order  for 
what  he  wants."  The  order  would  then  be  drawn  up 
by  the  Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs,  probably  advised 
by  Ezra  himself,  and  sealed  by  the  king's  seal-bearer. 
Granted  the  initial  good-will  of  the  king,  there  is  nothing 
improbable  about  the  rest. 

Prof.  E.  Meyer  begins  his  book  on  these  papyri  with 

1  There  is  also  a  reference  to  it  on  an  ostracon   (inscribed 
potsherd)  of  this  date,  not  included  in  the  present  volume. 
B 


xviii  INTRODUCTION 

the  remark  :  "  Judaism  is  a  creation  of  the  Persian 
Empire." l  This  is  perhaps  an  over-statement,  but 
there  can  be  no  doubt  that,  humanly  speaking,  the 
reconstruction  of  Judaism  (and  therefore  the  modern 
development  of  it)  was  greatly  helped  and  strengthened 
by  the  good- will  of  the  Persian  kings.  There  was  first 
the  original  edict  of  Cyrus,  then  the  respect  shown  by 
Cambyses  for  the  temple  at  Elephantine  (30  14),  then 
the  help  given  by  Artaxerxes,  and  lastly  this  order  of 
Darius.  The  good-will  is  manifest  :  the  reason  of  it 
is  not  so  clear.  It  may  have  been  due  to  a  real  religious 
sympathy  between  the  worshippers  of  Auramazda  and 
the  people  of  the  God  of  heaven,  or  it  may  have  been 
part  of  an  enlightened  policy  of  toleration,  or  the  Jews 
in  Babylonia  may  have  made  themselves  so  useful  and 
powerful  as  to  be  able  to  gain  concessions  by  their 
influence,  or,  since  we  know  from  numerous  cuneiform 
contracts  of  their  great  commercial  activity,  they  may 
have  become  rich  enough  to  be  able  to  bribe  the  neces- 
sary officials.  However  we  account  for  the  fact,  it  is 
clear  from  the  Books  of  Ezra  and  Nehemiah  that  their 
work  could  never  have  been  successful  under  a  Govern- 
ment which  was  either  hostile  or  neutral. 

Such  are  some  of  the  larger  questions  raised  by  the 
new  texts.  Many  details  may  also  be  gathered  from 
them  incidentally  as  to  the  daily  life  of  the  colonists  : 
as  to  the  legal  procedure  (which  is  in  the  main  Baby- 
lonian, not  Egyptian),  the  commissariat  and  pay  of  the 
garrisdn,  the  Government  offices  and  officials,  the  rela- 
tions existing  between  Jews  and  other  inhabitants,  the 
right  of  the  colonists  to  hold  real  property,  the  customs 
relating  to  marriage,  divorce  and  inheritance,  the  con- 
tributions to  the  temple  expenses,  the  situation  of  the 

1  Der  Papyrusfund  von  Elephantine  (Leipzig,  1912).  See  also 
his  Entstehung  des  Judentums  (Halle,  1896). 


INTRODUCTION  xix 

houses,  the  position  of  women,  the  attitude  of  the 
Egyptian  priests,  and  other  matters.  The  relative 
values  of  the  money  may  be  made  out  best  from  No.  15. 
It  is  always  described  as  k'saph,  "  silver"  (there  is  no 
mention  of  gold  in  this  connexion),  and  it  is  reckoned 
by  the  "  royal  weight."  The  commonest  denomination 
is  the  shekel.  Ten  shekels  are  a  karash  (or  karsha,  a 
Persian  name),  also  called  a .  "  ten  "  ('asarta}.  The 
shekel  itself  is  subdivided  into  quarters  (R  for  rib'a), 
and  each  quarter  into  10  jiallurm  (a  Babylonian  name), 
so  that  40  hallurin  make  I  shekel.  The  quality  of 
the  silver  is  sometimes  described  as  "  pure,"  but  more 
often  as  "  2  R  to  the  10,"  indicating  an  alloy  of  J  in 
every  10,  i.  e.  I  in  20,  or  5  per  cent.  Rarely  we  find 
minae  and  talents,  but  usually  the  transactions  are  not 
concerned  with  such  large  amounts.  In  the  latest 
documents  we  have  the  Greek  stater  =  2  shekels. 

The  collection  consists  for  the  most  part  of  business 
documents  and  letters  or  reports.  There  are,  however, 
two  texts  of  a  literary  character,  namely,  considerable 
fragments  of  the  story  of  Ahikar,  and  parts  of  a  trans- 
lation of  the  Behistun  inscription.  The  facts  about  the 
former  may  best  be  studied  in  Conybeare,  Rendel  Harris 
and  Lewis,  The  Story  of  Ahikar  (2nd  ed.,  Cambridge, 
1913),  and  in  Charles's  Apocrypha,  ii,  p.  715  (Oxford, 
1913),  by  the  same  editors.  The  story  was  evidently  very 
popular,  for  it  exists  in  several  versions,  besides  forming 
the  basis  of  other  stories.  Recently  it  was  recognised 
that  Ahikar  was  the  same  as  the  Achiacharus  in  Tobit 
14  10,  who  was  Tobit's  nephew  (ibid.,  i 22).  No  early 
(*'.  e.  pre-Christian)  recension  of  the  story  was  known, 
however,  until  the  discovery  of  these  papyri.  Although 
the  papyrus- text  is  not  dated,  there  can  be  no  doubt 
(judging  from  the  appearance  of  the  writing)  that  it 
belongs  to  the  same  period  as  the  majority  of  the  dated 


xx  INTRODUCTION 

documents,  namely,  the  latter  part  of  the  fifth  century 
B.C.,  say  about  420.  Therefore,  if  the  Book  of  Tobit 
is  to  be  dated  about  230  B.C.,1  there  is  no  difficulty 
about  the  allusions  to  Ahikar.  It  is  also  probable  that 
the  author  of  Tobit  read  the  story  in  this  (or  a  similar) 
Aramaic  form,  for  we  cannot  suppose  that  it  was 
confined  to  Elephantine. 

The  story,  however,  was  not  originally  composed 
in  420  B.C.,  nor  was  Aramaic  the  original  language 
of  it,  nor  was  it  Jewish  in  origin,  for  there  is  no 
trace  of  Judaism  in  the  papyrus-text.  There  is  good 
reason  to  believe  that  it  was  first  composed  in  the 
Babylonian  language,  about  550  B.C.,  was  afterwards 
translated  into  Persian,  and  thence  into  Aramaic.  Thus, 
since  Aramaic  was  an  international  language,  it  became 
accessible  to  all  the  East. 

In  the  later  versions,  Syriac,  Arabic,  Armenian,  which 
grew  out  of  the  original  draft,  the  book  is  divided  into 
four  parts  :  (i)  the  introduction  down  to  the  adoption 
of  Nadin;  (2)  the  maxims  by  which  he  was  educated; 
(3)  the  rest  of  the  narrative,  including  Nadin's  treachery, 
the  restoration  of  Ahikar  and  an  episode  in  Egypt; 
'(4)  the  maxims  by  which  Nadin  was  punished.  In  the 
papyrus  (of  which  only  a  part  is  preserved,  and  even 
that  is  much  injured)  the  whole  of  the  narrative  seems 
to  have  preceded  the  whole  of  the  maxims.  The  story 
is  more  simply  and  briefly  told  than  in  the  later  ver- 
sions. It  is  continuous  up  to  the  point  at  which 
Nabusumiskun  reports  to  the  king  that  he  has  killed 
Ahikar,  then  it  breaks  off,  and  we  cannot  say  how 
much  more  of  the  story  the  papyrus  originally  con- 
gained.  The  maxims,  no  doubt,  followed  the  end  of  the 
narrative,  but  they  have  very  little  in  common  with 

1  See    Simpson's    Introduction    to    the    book,    in    Charles'*; 
Apocrypha,  I,  p.  185. 


INTRODUCTION  xxi 

those  of  the  later  versions.  Of  special  interest  is  their 
occasional  resemblance  to  parts  of  Ben  Sira  (Ecclesias- 
ticus)  and  the  biblical  Proverbs.  This  is  not  due  to 
direct  borrowing  on  either  side.  They  are  part  of  that 
common  stock  of  popular  "  wisdom  "  so  abundant  in 
the  East,  which  was  collected,  revised  and  enlarged 
over  and  over  again  by  successive  authors  of  "  wisdom 
literature,"  sometimes  anonymously,  sometimes  under 
a  traditional  name.  Thus  we  have  the  Proverbs  of 
"  Solomon,"  including  the  "  words  of  Agur  "  (Prov.  30  x), 
and  the  "  words  of  King  Lemuel "  (31  x).  They  might 
equally  well  have  included  some  of  the  words  of  Ahikar. 
The  story  was  composed  for  the  purpose  of  conveying 
a  moral  lesson — the  punishment  due  to  ingratitude — (as 
Tobit  14  10  shows),  just  as  the  Books  of  Esther,  Ruth, 
Judith  and  Tobit  each  inculcate  a  particular  lesson,  and 
the  proverbs  seem  only  occasionally  to  have  any  con- 
nexion with  it.  The  latter  are  translated  here  as  far 
as  possible,  but  the  point  of  some  of  them  is  quite  lost, 
and  some  are  too  much  broken  to  give  any  sense.  They 
are  much  more  difficult  than  the  narrative. 

The  other  literary  piece  is  part  of  a  translation  of 
the  great  inscription  of  Behistun,  famous  as  having 
formed  the  basis  of  the  decipherment  of  cuneiform 
writing.  The  inscription  was  engraved  about  510  B.C. 
to  commemorate,  in  three  languages,  the  means  by 
which  Darius  Hystaspes  consolidated  his  power.  At 
the  end  of  it,  in  an  obscure  passage,  the  king  alludes 
to  "  inscriptions  in  another  manner  "  which  he  "  sent 
into  all  lands."  This  is  generally  taken  to  mean  that 
copies  of  the  great  inscription  were  disseminated  in  the 
provinces.  A  fragment  of  such  a  copy,  on  stone,  ir. 
cuneiform  Babylonian,  was  recently  found  at  Babylon.1 

1  Published  by  Weissbach,  in  Wiss.  Veroffentl.  d.  Deutschen 
Or.  Gesellschaft,  1903. 


xxii  INTRODUCTION 

But  for  transmission  abroad  some  more  portable  form 
was  required,  such  as  this  papyrus.  The  version  was 
no  doubt  made  soon  after  510  B.C.,  and  is  therefore 
the  earliest  specimen  of  a  translation  in  any  but  cunei- 
form writing.  This  papyrus,  however,  cannot  be  the 
actual  document  issued  by  Darius  Hystaspes.  The 
writing  is  of  about  the  same  date  as,  e.  g.,  the  Ahikar 
fragments,  say  430  B.C.,  and  there  are  omissions  in  it 
which  show  clearly  that  it  was  copied  from  a  text 
which  had  become  worn  out  and  partly  illegible. 
Although  it  is  so  much  broken  that  hardly  a  line  is 
complete,  there  is  enough  to  show  that  it  is  as  a  rule 
a  close  translation,  following  the  Babylonian  original 
(not  the  Persian),  so  that  the  gaps  can  usually  be  filled 
by  merely  translating  the  Babylonian  text  into  Aramaic. 
In  some  places,  however,  the  Aramaic  must  have 
diverged  from  the  Babylonian.  There  are  also  among 
the  smaller  fragments  some  which  evidently  belonged 
to  a  duplicate  copy  or  copies.  Thus  it  seems  that  the 
official  translation  of  the  great  inscription,  which  prob- 
ably reached  Elephantine  a  few  years  before  500  B.C., 
became  worn  out  in  course  of  time,  and  that  these 
Jews  had  sufficient  interest  in  it  as  history  to  make 
at  least  two  copies  of  it,  omitting  what  they  could  not 
read.  If  only  Darius  had  thought  good  to  engrave  this 
Aramaic  version,  with  the  others,  on  the  rock  at  Behistun, 
how  much  labour  and  time  would  have  been  saved  in 
the  decipherment  of  cuneiform  !  He  might  very  well 
have  done  so  (see  above,  p.  x),  but  his  advisors  prob- 
ably regarded  Aramaic  as  the  writing  suitable  for  pen 
and  ink,  and  not  to  be  used  for  monumental  purposes. 

The  original  texts  of  the  inscription  may  best  be 
studied  in  King  and  Thompson,  The  Sculptures  and 
Inscriptions  of  Darius  the  Great  (London,  1907). 

In  general,  the  value  of  these  records  for  students  of 


INTRODUCTION  xxiii 

early  Christianity  is  parallel  to  that  of  the  apocryphal 
books.     They  mark  a  stage  in  religious  development. 
We  have  come  gradually  to  recognise  that  the  primitive 
Church  had  its  roots  in  the  Judaism  of  the  first  cen- 
turies B.C.  and  A.D.     The  character  of  Judaism  at  that 
date  has  been  well  illustrated  by  Box  from  Rabbinical 
sources  and  by  Charles  from  the  study  of  apocryphal 
literature.     But  it  is  also  evident  that  religious  develop- 
ment, whether  you  ascribe  it  to  revelation  or  to  the 
natural  growth  of  the  human  mind,  is  a  gradual  pro- 
cess.   The  religion  of  Judaea  in  the  time  of  Christ  was 
not  the  same  as  that  of  the  book  of  Judges.     A  thousand 
years  had  fashioned  it  in  a  thousand  ways,  and  anything 
which  throws  light  on  the  process  is  as  instructive  as 
it  is  interesting.     Much  has  been  done  by  the  careful 
analysis  of  the  Old  Testament  text,  but  hitherto  the 
external  evidence  has  been  very  slight.     For  this  reason 
the  present  texts  are  of  first-rate  importance.     At  the 
present  time  the  daily  life  of  the  practising  Jew  is  one 
continuous  religious  exercise  :   there  is  a  din,  a  religious 
rule,  for  every  act.     In  the  business  documents  of  this 
collection,  on  the  contrary,  we  see  a  people  whose  daily 
life  appears  to  be  wholly  uninfluenced  by  religious  con- 
siderations, and  who  seem  to  be  quite  unconscious  of  any 
religious  past.     In  the  Ahikar  story  we  have  a  sample  of 
the  literature  they  read.     It  may  have  been,  and  almost 
certainly  was,  of  entirely  foreign  origin.     There  is  nothing 
Jewish  about  it,  and  the  proverbs  are  as  different  as 
can  be  from  the  high  standard  of  collections  like  the 
Pirke  Aboth.     Yet  such  documents  as  No.  30  show  that 
they  held  to  one  essential  fact — the  worship  of  Yahu — 
regarding  the  interruption  of  it  as  a  national  calamity. 
They  may  have  been  less  spiritually  minded  than  the 
main  body  of  their  contemporaries  in  Judaea,  but  it 
seems  likely  that  they  had  remained  at  much  the  same 


xxiv  INTRODUCTION 

level  as  their  forefathers  of  the  sixth  century  B.C.  There 
could  have  been  no  natural  religious  development  among 
a  people  such  as  these  colonists  appear  to  be.  Nothing 
short  of  an  earthquake  could  make  the  dry  bones  live. 
It  was  in  the  shock  of  Ezra's  reforms  that  modern 
Judaism  was  born,  and  the  system  of  morality  in  which 
Christianity  was  afterwards  planted.  As  the  rabbis 
said,  "  the  Law  was  forgotten,  and  Ezra  restored  it." 

One  other  point.  The  existence  of  this  colony, 
unsuspected  fifteen  years  ago,  shows  that  the  Diaspora, 
or  Dispersion  of  the  Jews  (i  Peter  I1),  had  already 
begun  several  centuries  before  the  Christian  era.  Be- 
sides the  colony  at  Elephantine,  there  was  a  settlement 
at  Abydos,  and  no  doubt  others  elsewhere.  The  use 
of  Aramaic,  which  was  common  all  over  the  East, 
came  easily  to  the  Jews  abroad,  and  eventually  became 
their  natural  language.  (Though  there  are  Hebraisms 
in  these  documents,  there  is  not  a  single  text  composed 
in  Hebrew.)  Probably  intercourse  between  the  colonists 
and  the  mother-country  helped  to  establish  Aramaic  in 
Judaea,  as  we  find  it  in  the  time  of  Christ.  But  the 
important  thing  is  that  these  outlying  settlements,  with 
their  common  language  and  common  belief  in  a  revived 
Judaism,  were  there  as  a  field  prepared  for  the  scattered 
seed  of  Christianity.  The  records  of  this  colony  show 
us  an  earlier  type  of  the  communities  so  often  men- 
tioned in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  (2  5>  9~n).  They  are 
therefore  not  merely  of  antiquarian  interest.  They 
reveal  the  rock  whence  we  are  hewn,  and  appeal  to  our 
human  sympathy  with  the  difficulties  of  a  people  seek- 
ing God  in  their  darkness,  if  haply  they  might  feel  after 
Him  and  find  Him,  though  He  is  not  far  from  each 
one  of  us. 

***** 

In  the  following  translations  the  numerous  gaps  have 


INTRODUCTION  xxv 

been  filled  up  as  far.  as  possible,  in  order  to  show  the 
general  sense.  Otherwise  several  of  the  texts  would  at 
first  sight  appear  meaningless.  These  restorations  have 
been  made  with  great  care  and  after  much  thought, 
but  the  reader  must  be  careful  to  distinguish  them  from 
the  true  text/  and  must  not  regard  them  as  having  any 
authority  in  themselves.  Many  of  them  are  indeed 
certain,  for  reasons  to  be  given  in  the  larger  edition; 
others  rest  only  on  my  personal  view  as  to  the  connexion 
of  thought. 

Restorations  are  printed  in  italics. 

Where  single  letters  are  restored  with  certainty,  they 
are  often  not  indicated,  to  avoid  too  much  complication. 

Words  inserted  for  clearness,  owing  to  difference  of 
idiom  between  the  two  languages,  are  put  in  parentheses 
(thus). 

Proper  names  found  in  the  Old  Testament  have  been 
spelt  as  in  the  Revised  Version,  though  this  causes 
some  inconsistencies. 

Where  the  vocalisation  of  a  name  is  unknown  its 
consonants  only  are  printed,  in  capitals. 

When  unknown  words  have  to  be  reproduced  some- 
times to  show  the  form  of  a  sentence,  the  consonants 
are  printed  in  small  capitals. 

The  dates  of  the  kings  mentioned  are  added  here  for 
convenient  reference  : 

Cambyses,  530-522. 

Darius  I,  522-486. 

Xerxes,  486-465. 

Artaxerxes  I,  465-424. 

Darius  II,  424-404. 

Artaxerxes  II,  404-358. 

Amyrtaeus,  the  Egyptian,  about  405-399. 


ARAMAIC  PAPYRI 


No.  i. 
Agreement,  dated  494  B.C.     (Sachau,  p.  113.) 

1  On  the  2nd  day  of  the  month  Epiphi  of  the  27th 

year  of  King  Darius,  said  Sallua  daughter  of 

2  Koniah  and  Yethoma  her  sister  to  Yeha'or  daughter 

of  Shelomim,  We  have  given  to  you  half 

3  the  share  which  was  granted  to  us  by  the  king's 

judges  and  Ravaka  the  commander,  in  exchange 
for  half  the  share  which 

4  accrued  to  you  with  Ne'ehebeth.     Hereafter,  on  a 

future  day,  we  shall  not  be  able  to  sue  you  in  the 
matter  of  this  your  share, 

5  and  say,  We  did  not  give  it  to  you;   nor  shall  a 

brother  or  sister  (of  ours),  son  or  daughter,  relative 

6  or  alien  be  able  to  sue  you ;   and  whoever  shall  sue 

you  in  the  matter  of  this  your  share  which  we 
have  given  you,  shall  pay  to  you 

7  the  sum  of  5  karash  and  the  share  remain  yours. 

8  Witnesses  : 

9  Hosea  b.  Hodaviah. 

10  Shelomim  b.  Azariah. 

11  Zephaniah  b.  Maki. 

1.  i.     Darius  I,  since  Darius  II  did  not  reign  so  long.     Year  27 
is  more  probable  than  17. 

27 


28  JEWISH  DOCUMENTS  OF 

No.  2. 

Contract  for  supplying  Corn  to  the  Garrison. 
483  B.C.     (Sachau,  p.  99.) 

1  On   the    28th  of   the    month   Paophi  in   the    2nd 

year   of    King   Xerxes   in  the   city  of   Yeb,   said 
Hosea 

2  b.  Hodaviah  and  Ahiab  b.  Gemariah  to  Espemet 

b.  Peffonith  the  sailor  and  X  ...  son 

3  of  Hanani,  the  carpenter,  saying,  You  have  delivered 

to  us  bar/^y 

4  8  (?)  and  beans,  n  ardabs  to  44  (?)  ardabs  of  barley 


5  total  barley  and  beans  together  55  ardabs 

6  ...  ii  men  of  the  company  of  Betheltakem  every 

5  ardabs  for  the  ration  of 

7  2  men,  to  each  man  2  ardabs  of  barley  and  2  G 

.  .  .  also  ii  men 

8  of  the  company  of  Nabushalliv,  2  men  to  5  ardabs 

of  barley;  we  have  accepted  it 

9  and  our  heart  is  content  therewith.     We  will  convey 

the  corn 

10  to  these  troops  of  the  company  of  Betheltakem  and 

of  the  company  of  Nabushalliv  as 

11  written  in  this  document.     We  will  render  an  account 

before  the  company  commander  and  the  authorities  of 

12  Government   House   and  before   the   clerks  of   the 

treasury  (and)  they  shall  give  out  the  corn  which 
you  have  delivered 

13  to  us  to  be  conveyed  to  those  men  who  are  described 

above  ;  and  if  we  do  not  deliver  all  that  is 

14  yours  in  full  at  Government  House  and  before  the 

clerks  of  the  treasury,  as  aforesaid 

15  we  shall  be  liable  to  you  in  the  sum  of  100  karash, 

pure  (?)  silver  as  we  swear  by  Yahu 


THE  TIME  OF  EZRA  29 

16  the  God,  and  you  have  a  right  to  our  payment  from 

Government  House  and  the  brick  house  (?)  and  all 
that  is 

17  ours  you  have  a  right  to  seize  until  you  are  in- 

demnified in  full  for  the  corn  as  aforesaid,  and  no 
suit  shall  lie. 

18  Written  by  Hosea  at  the  dictation  of  Ahiab. 

19  Witnesses  :  Ki'  b.  Iskishu ;  Nushku-idri  b.  N  .  .  . 
20.  Dukal  b.  Abijah ;  Shuri  b.  Kadu  ;  Ata-idri  b.  .  .  . 

21  Asradata  b.  Jonathan ;  Shabbethai  b.  Nabda. 

22  (Endorsement.)     Deed  which  Hosea  and  Ahiab  wrote 

for  Espemet. 

1.  i.     Yeb  is  the  Egyptian  name  of  Elephantine. 
1.  4.    ardab,  a  corn-measure  of  about  a  bushel  and  a  half. 
1.  16.     "  the  brick  house  "  is  supplied  from  No.  3.     The  precise 
meaning  is  uncertain. 
The  ends  of  the  lines  are  lost. 


No.  3. 
A  Duplicate  of  No.  2.     (Sachau,  p.  106.) 

1  On  the  28th  of 

2  b.  Hodaviah  and  Ahiab 

3  property-holders  in  Elephantine  to  Espemet  .  .  . 

4  to  us  barley 

5  lentils,  20  ardabs 

6  total  barley  and  lentils 

7  to  5  (?)  men 

8  lentils,  i  (?)  ardab 

9  this  corn  Syene 

10  in  this  deed  and  shall 

11  the  company,  and  the  officers 

12  the  corn  which  you  gave 

13  in  full  at  Government  House 

14  which  you  delivered  to  us 


30  JEWISH  DOCUMENTS  OF 

15  which  does  not  belong  to 

16  treasury 

17  the  god,  silver 

1 8  and  the  brick- house  ( ? )  and 

19  mine  ( ? )  and  you  have  a  n'ght  to  seize 

20  as  afojesaid,  and 

21  Written  by  Hosea  at  the  hands  (?)  of  Ahiab. 

22  Witnesses  :  Shuri  b.  Kadu 

23  Nushku-idri  b.  Nabm/w 

24  Bagadato  b.  ISMSHD  .  .  . 

Only   the   beginnings   of   the   lines    remain.     They    are    not 
restored,  in  order  to  show  better  the  connexion  with  No.  2. 

No.  4. 

A  small  Fragment,  apparently  connected  with 
Nos.  2  and  3.     (Sachau,  p.  136.) 

i they  made  for  me 

2 s,  and  also  for 

3 he  prepared,  also 

4 what  you  wish  with  it 

5 we  have  found  barley 

6 here.     Now 

7 Espemet 

8 since  we 

No.  5. 

Grant  of  Building  Rights.     471  B.C. 

(Sayce  and  Cowley,  A.) 

1  On  the  i8th  of  Elul,  that  is  the  28th  day  of  Pahons, 

year  15  of  King  Xerxes,  said 

2  Koniah  b.   Zadok,  an  Aramaean  of  Syene,  of   the 

detachment  of  Warizath,  to  Mahseiah  b.  Yedoniah, 
an  Aramaean  of  Syene, 


THE  TIME  OF  EZRA  31 

3  of  the  detachment  of  Warizath,  saying  :   I  came  to 

you  and  you  have  given  to  me  the  gateway  of 
your  house  to  build 

4  i  portico  (?)  there.     This  portico  is  yours.     It  adjoins 

my  house  at  its  upper  corner. 

5  This  portico  shall  adjoin  the  side  of  my  house  from 

the  ground  upwards,  from  the  corner  of  my  house 
at  the  upper  end  to  the  house  of  Zechariah. 

6  To-morrow  or  on  any  later  day  I  have  no  power  to 

restrain  you  from  building  above  (or  upon)  this 
portico  of  yours. 

7  If  I  restrain  you,  I  will  pay  you  the  sum  of  5  karash, 

royal  weight,  pure  silver,  and  the  portico  is  yours 

8  assuredly.     If  Koniah  dies  to-morrow  or  on  a  later 

day  no  son  or  daughter,  brother  or  sister, 

9  relative  or  stranger,   soldier  or  citizen,  shall  have 

power  to  restrain  Mahseh  or  his  son  from  building 
above 

10  this  portico  of  his.     Whoever  restrains  one  of  them 

shall  pay  him  the  sum  aforesaid,  and  the  portico 

11  is  yours  assuredly,  and  you  have  the  right  to  build 

above  it  upwards,  and  I  Koniah  have  no  power 

12  to  speak  to  Mahseh  saying  :  This  gateway  is  not  yours, 

and  you  shall  not  go  out  (by  it)  into  the  street  which 

13  is   between   us   and   the    house   of   Peft'onith,    the 

boatman.     If  I  restrain  you,  I  will  pay  you  the 
sum  aforesaid. 

14  And  you  have  the  right  to  open  this  gate  and  go 

out  into  the  street  which  is  between  us. 

15  Pelatiah  b.  Ahio  wrote  this  document  at  the  dictation 

of  Koniah.     Witnesses  thereto  : 

16  Witness  Mahseh  b.  Isaiah.     Witness  Satibarzanes  b. 

Mithrili. 

17.  Witness    Shemaiah    b.    Hosea.     Witness    Phrata- 
phernes  b.  Artaphernes. 


32  JEWISH  DOCUMENTS  OF 

18  Witness    Bagadata    b.    Nabukudurri.     Nabu-ili    b. 

Darga. 

19  Witness  Bentirash  b.  Rahamrea'  (?).     Witness  Shal- 

lum  b.  Hoshaiah. 

20  (Endorsement.)     Deed  (relating  to)  the  portico  which 

he  built,  which  Koniah  wrote  for  Mahseh. 

1.  4.     "  portico  "  :  the  meaning  is  uncertain.     A  covered  way  ? 
The  upper  corner  is  on  the  south.     So  perhaps  in  1.  n  ? 
L  1 6.     "  Mithrili,"  or  perhaps  Atharili. 


J       No.  6. 
Conveyance.     465  B.C.     (Sayce  and  Cowley,  B.) 

1  On  the  i8th  of  Chisleu,  that  is  the  7th  day  of  Thoth, 

in  year  21,  the  beginning  of  the  reign  when 

2  King  Artaxerxes  sat  on  his  throne,  said  Dargman  b. 

Harshin  the  Khorasmian,  whose  station 

3  is  fixed  in  Yeb  the  fortress,  of  the  detachment  of 

Artabanu,  to  Mahseiah  b.  Yedoniah,  a  Jew  who 
(lives)  in  the  fortress  of  Yeb, 

4  of  the  detachment  of  Warizath,  saying  :   You  have 

sworn  to  me  by  the  God  Yahu  in  Yeb  the  fortress, 
you  and  your  wife 

5  and  your  son,  three  in  all,  about  my  land  in  regard 

to  which  I  lodged  a  complaint  against  you  before 

6  Damidata  and  his  colleagues  the  judges,  and  they 

imposed  upon  you  an  oath  to  me,  to  swear  by 
Yahu  in  regard  to  this  land, 

7  that  it  was  no  longer  the  land  of  Dargman,  mine, 

that  is   (belonging  to)   me.     Now  these   are   the 
boundaries  of  this  land 

8  in  regard  to  which  you  swore  to  me  :   My  house,  of 

me  Dargman,  is  to  the  East  of  it,  and  the  house 
of  Koniah  b.  Zadok, 


THE  TIME  OF  EZRA  33 

9  Jew,  of  the  detachment  of  Athroparan,  to  the  West 

of  it,  and  the  house  of  /^aniah  b.  Uriah, 
10  Jew,  of  the  detachment  of  Warizath,  at  the  lower 

end  of  it,  and  the  house  of  Espemet  b.  Peft'onith, 
n  boatman  of  the  cataract,  at  the  upper  end  of  it. 

You    have    sworn   to   me   by    Yahu,    and    have 

satisfied 

12  my  mind  about  this  land.     I  shall  have  no  power 

to  institute  suit  or  process  against  you,  I  and  my 
son  and  my  daughter, 
I2a  brother  and  sister  of  mine,  relative  and  stranger, 

13  concerning  this  land,  (against)  you  and  your  son  and 

your  daughter,  brother  and  sister  of  yours,  relative 
and  stranger. 

14  Whoever  sues  you  in  my  name  concerning  this  land, 

shall  pay  you  the  sum  of  20  (twenty)  karash  royal 
standard, 

15  at  the  rate  of  2  R  to  the  ten,  and  the  land  is  assuredly 

yours,  and  you  are  quit  of 

16  all    claim    that    they    may   bring   against    you    in 

regard  to   this  land.     Ethan  b.  Aba  wrote  this 
deed 

17  in  Syene  the  fortress,  at  the  dictation  of  Dargman. 

Witness,  Hosea  b.  Petekhnum.     Witness, 

18  Gadol    b.    Yigdal.     Witness,    Gemariah    b.    Ahio. 

Meshullam  b.  Hosea. 

19  Sinkasid    b.    Nabusumiskun.     Witness,    Hadadnuri 

the  Babylonian. 

20  Witness,  Gedaliah  b.  Ananiah. 

21  Witness,  Aryisha  b.  Arusathmar. 

22  (Endorsement.)     Deed  of  renunciation  written 

by  Dargman  b.  Harshin  for  Mahseiah. 

1.  12  a  is  written  between  the  lines. 
1.  22.   The  space  is  where  the  deed  was  tied  and  sealed. 
C 


34  JEWISH  DOCUMENTS  OF 

No.  7. 
A  Case  of  Burglary.     461  B.C.     (Sachau,  p.  103.) 

1  On  the  i8th  of  Paophi,  in  the  4th  year  of  Artaxerxes 

the  king,  in  Yeb 

2  the  fortress,  said  Malchiah  b.  Joshibiah,  Aramaean, 

holding  property  in  Yeb 

3  the  fortress,  of  the  detachment  of  Nabukudum,  to 

P^rataphernes  b.  Artaphernes  of  the  detachment 

4  of   Nabukudurri,   saying  :   You   declared  to  me   (or 

concerning  me)  in  Nepha  that  you  entered  my  house 

5  by  force,  and  struck  my  wife,  and  removed  goods 

from  my  house  by  force, 

6  and  took  them  for  yourseli.     I  have  made  a  petition 

and  the  appeal  to  the  gods 

7  has  been  laid  upon  me  by  the  court,  on  me  Malchiah, 

that  I  should  challenge  you  by  Herembethel 

8  the  god,  before  4  judges  (?),  thus  :   "  I  did  not  enter 

your  house  by  force, 

9  and  did  not  strike  your  wife,  and  did  not  take  goods 

from  your  house  by  force." 

10  And  if  /  challenge  you  before  these  judges  (?)  /  am 
entitled  also  to  challenge  .  .  .  (the  rest  is  lost). 

1.  i.     Probably  Artaxerxes  I.     If  it  is  Artaxerxes  II  the  date 
will  be  400  B.C. 
1.  4.     "  Nepha  "  seems  to  be  a  place-name.     Cf.  20  4. 

\      NO.   8. 

Conveyance.     459  B.C.     (Sayce  and  Cowley,  D.) 

1  On  the  2ist  of  Chisleu,  that  is  the  1st  day  of  Mesore, 

the  6th  year  of  Artaxerxes,  the  king,  said  Mahseiah 

2  b.  Yedoniah,  a  Jew  holding  property  in  Yeb  the 

fortress,  of   the   detachment  of   Haumadata,   to 
Mibtahiah,  spinster  (?), 


THE  TIME  OF  EZRA  35 

3  his  daughter,  as  follows  :   I  give  to  you  for  my  life- 

time and  after  my  death  a  house  and  land  of  mine. 

4  Its  measurement  is  :  its  length  from  the  lower  to 

the   upper   end    13   cubits   and    I    handbreadth; 
width  from  East 

5  to  West  II  cubits  by  the  measuring-rod ;  its  bound- 

aries, at  the  upper  end  of  it  the  house  of  Dargman 
b.  Harshin 

6  adjoins  it ;  at   the   lower  end  of  it   the   house   of 

Koniah  b.  Zadok ;  East  of  it  the  house  of  Yezan  b. 

7  Uriah,  your  husband,  and  the  house  of  Zechariah 

b.  Nathan;  West  of  it  the  house  of  Espemet  b. 
Peft'onith 

8  boatman  of  the  cataract.     This  house  and  land  I 

give  to  you  for  my  life-time  and  after  my  death ; 

9  you  have  full  rights  over  it  from  this  day  for  ever, 

and  your  children  after  you.     To  whom 

10  you  wish  you  may  give  it.     There  is  no  other  son 

or  daughter  of  mine,  brother  or  sister,  or  other 

11  woman  or  man  who  has  rights  over  this  land,  except 

you  and  your  children  for  ever.     Whoever 

12  shall  institute  against  you  suit  or  process,  against 

you  or  son  or  daughter  of  yours  or  anyone  belong- 
ing to  you  on  account  of  this  land 

13  which  I  give  to  you,  and  shall  appeal  against  you 

to  governour  or  judge,   shall  pay  to  you  or  to 
your  children 

14  the  sum  of  10  (that  is,  ten)  kerashin,  royal  weight, 

at  the  rate  of  2  R  to  the  ten,  and  no  suit  or  process 
(shall  lie), 

15  and  the   house  is  your  house  assuredly  and  your 

children's  after  you ;  and  they  shall  have  no  power 
to  produce  against  you 

16  any  deed  new  or  old  in  my  name  concerning  this 

land  to  give  it  to  anyone  else.    Any  deed 


36  JEWISH  DOCUMENTS  OF 

17  which  they  produce  against  you  will  be  forged.     I 

shall  not  have  written  it  and  it  shall  not  be  accepted 
by  the  court 

18  while  this  deed  is  in  your  hand.     And  further,  I, 

Mahseiah  will  not  to-morrow  or  on  any  other  day 
take  it  away 

19  from  you  to  give  it  to  others.     This  land  is  yours. 

Build  (on  it)  or  give  it  to  whom  you  will. 

20  If  to-morrow  or  on  any  other  day  I  institute  against 

you  suit  or  process,  and  say  I  did  not  give  it  to 
you, 

21  I  will  pay  you  the  sum  of  10  kerashin,  royal  weight, 

at  the  rate  of  2  R  to  the  ten,  and  no  suit 

22  or  process  (shall  lie),  but  the  house  is  your  house 

assuredly,  and  (if)  I  go  into  court  I  shall  not  win 
my  case  while  this  deed  is  in  your  hand. 

23  There  is  also  a  deed  of  renunciation  which  Dargman 

b.  Harshin  the  Khorazmian  wrote  for  me  concerning 

24  this  land,  when  he  laid  claim  to  it  before  the  judges 

and  I  took  an  oath  to  him  and  swore  to  him 

25  that  it  was  mine,  and  he  wrote  and  gave  me  a  deed 

of  renunciation.    This  deed  I  give  to  you. 

26  You  are   to   take   charge   of   it.     If   to-morrow  or 

another  day  Dargman  or  his  son  should  lay  claim 

27  to  this  house,  produce  this  deed  and  in  accordance 

with  it  contest  the  case  with  him.     'Atharshuri 

28  b.  Nabu-zira-ibni  wrote  this  deed  in  Syene  the  fortress 

at  the  dictation  of  Mahseiah.     Witnesses  hereto  : 

29  witness,  Gemariah  b.  Mahseiah.     Witness,  Zechariah 

b.  Nathan. 

30  Witness,  Hosea  b.  Pelaliah.     Witness,  Zechariah  b. 

Meshullam.     Witness,  Ma'uziah  b. 

31  Malchiah.     Witness,  Shemaiah  b.  Yedoniah.     Wit- 

ness, Yedoniah  b.  Mahseiah. 

32  Witness,  Nathan  b.  Ananiah.     Zaccur  b.  Zephaniah. 


THE  TIME   OF  EZRA  37 

33  Witness,   Hosea  b.   Re'uiah.      Witness,  Mahseh    b. 

Isaiah. 

34  Witness,  Hosea  b.  Yigdal. 
(Endorsement :) 

35  Deed  of  a  house  which  Mahseh  b.  Yedom'flA  gave 

36  to  Mibtah  daughter  of  Mahseh. 

1.  23.     The  deed  is  No.  6. 

11-  33.  35.  36.     Mahseh  is  a  shortened   form  of    Mahseiah    (as 
Mibtah  is  of  Mibtahiah)  with  the  divine  name  -iah  omitted. 


No.  9. 

Deed  relating  to  the  Reversion  of  the  Property  in 
No.  8.     459  B.C.     (Sayce  and  Cowley,  C.) 

1  On  the  21 st  of  Chisleu,  that  is  the  ist  of  Mesore,  the 

6th  year  of  Artaxerxes  the  king,  said  Mahseiah 

2  b.   Yedoniah  Jew,   of  Yeb,   of   the   detachment  of 

Haumadata,  to  Jezaniah  b.  Uriah,  of  the  same 
detachment 

3  as  follows  :  There  is  the  land  of  I  house  belonging 

to  me,  west  of  your  house,  which  I  have  given  to 
Mibtahiah 

4  my  daughter,  your  wife,  and  I  have  written  for  her 

a  deed  concerning  it.     The  measurement  of  this 
house  is  13  cubits  and  a  hand-breadth 

5  by  n,  by  the  measuring-rod.     Now  I,  Mahseiah,  say 

to  you,  lay  out  this  land  and  rear  cattle  on  it  (?), 

6  and  dwell  on  it  with  your  wife,  but  you  have  no 

power  to  sell  this  house,  or  to  give  it 

7  as    a    present    to    others;  but    your    children    by 

Mibtahiah  my  daughter  have  power  over  it 

8  after  you.     If  to-morrow  or  another  day  you  lay 

out  this  land  and  then  my  daughter  divorces  you 

9  and  goes  away  from  you,  she  has  no  power  to  take 

it  or  give  it  to  others,  but  your  children  by 


38  JEWISH  DOCUMENTS  OF 

10  Mibtahiah  have  power  over   it  in  return  for  the 

work  which  you  have  done.     If  you  put  her  away 

11  from  you,  half  the  house  '^fiall  be  hers  to  take,  and 

as  to  the  other  half  you  liave  power  over  it  in 
return  for 

12  the  development  which  you  have  made  in  this  house. 

And   again   as   to    that   half,    your   children   by 
Mibtahiah 

13  have   power  over  it  after  you.     If   to-morrow  or 

another  day   I   should  institute   suit  or  process 
against  you 

14  and  say  I  did  not  give   you  this  land  to  develop, 

and  did  not  draw  up  this  deed  for  you,  I 

15  will  pay  you  the  sum  of  10  kerashin  by  royal  weight, 

at  the  rate  of  2  R  to  the  ten,  and  no  suit  or 
process  (shall  lie). 

16  'Atharshuri   b.   Nabu-zira-ibni   wrote    this   deed   in 

Syene  the  fortress  at  the  dictation  of  Mahseiah. 
Witnesses 

17  hereto  : 

Witness,  Hosea  b.  Pelaliah.     Witness,  Zechariah  b. 
Nathan. 

18  Witness,  Gemariah  b.  Mahseiah.    Witness,  Zechariah 

b.  Meshullam. 

19  Witness,  Ma'uziah  b.  Malchiah.     Witness,  Shemaiah 

b.  Yedoniah. 

20  Witness,  Yedoniah  b.  Mahseiah.     Witness,  Nathan 

b.  Ananiah.     Witness,  Zaccur  b.  Zephaniah. 

21  Witness,    Hosea    b.    Re'uiah.     Witness,    Mahseh  b. 

Isaiah. 

22  Witness,  Hosea  b.  Yigdal. 

The  deed  was  evidently  drawn  up  at  the  same  time  as  No.  8, 
since  the  scribe  and  witnesses  are  the  same  in  both. 

1.  5.  "  rear  cattle  "  is  uncertain.  The  land  is  distinguished 
from  the  house. 


THE  TIME  OF  EZRA  39 


No.  10. 
Contract  for  a  Loan.     456  B.C.     (Sachau,  p.  108.) 

1  On  the  7th  of  Chisleu,  that  is  the  4th  day  of  the 

month  Thoth,  the  gth  year  of  Artaxerxes 

2  the    king,    said    Yehohan   daughter   of    Meshullak, 

spinster  (?),  of  Yeb  the  fortress,  to  Meshullam  b. 

3  Zaccur,  Jew,  of  Yeb  the  fortress,  as  follows  :  You 

have    given    to    me    as   a   loan   the    sum   of    4 
shekels, 

4  that  is  four,  by  royal  weight,  at  interest,  which  shall 

be  due  from  me 

5  at  the  rate  of  2  hallurin  per  shekel  per  month,  being 

at  the  rate  of  8  hallurin 

6  for  each  month.     If  the  interest  is  added  to  the 

capital,  it  shall  pay  interest  like  the  capital, 

7  both  alike,  and  if  there  come  a  second  year  and  I 

have  not  paid  you  your  money 

8  and  interest  on  it  as  written  in  this  deed,   you, 

Meshullam,  and  your  children  have  the  right 

9  to  take  for  yourself  any  security  which  you  may 

find  of  mine  in  the  brick-  house,  whether  silver  or 
gold, 

10  bronze  or  iron,  male  or  female  slave,  barley,  spelt 

or  any  food  that  you  may  find  of  mine, 

11  till  you   have   full   payment   of   your   money  and 

interest  thereon,  and  I  shall  have  no  power  to 
say  to  you  that  I  have  paid  you 

12  your  money  and  the  interest  on  it  while  this  deed 

is  in  your  hand,  nor  shall  I  have  power  to  lodge 
a  complaint 

13  against  you  before  governour  or  judge  on  the  ground 

that  you  have  taken  from  me  any  security  while 
this  deed 


40  JEWISH  DOCUMENTS  OF 

14  is  in  your  hand.     If  I  die  without  paying  you  this 

money  and  interest  thereon, 

15  my  children  are  to  pay  you  this  money  and  interest 

thereon.     If 

16  they  do  not  pay  you  this  money  and  interest  thereon, 

you  Meshullam  have  a  right 

17  to  take  for  yourself  any  food  or  security  that  you 

may  find  of  theirs  until  you  have  full  payment 

18  of  your  money  and  interest  thereon,  and  they  shall 

have  no  power  to  lodge  a  complaint  against  you 
before  governour 

19  or  judge  while  this  deed  is  in  your  hand.     Even 

if    they   go    to    law    they    shall    not    win    their 
case 

20  while  this  deed  is  in  your  hand.     Nathan  b.  'Anani 

wrote  this  deed 

21  at  the  dictation  of  Yehohan.     Witnesses  hereto  : 
Witness,  Oshea'  b.  Gilgal. 

22  Hodaviah  b.  Gedaliah.     Ahio  b.  Pelatiah.     Agur  b. 

Ahio. 
(Endorsement  :) 

23  Deed  of  money  lent  (?),  which  Yehohan  daughter  of 

Meshullak  wrote 

24  for  Meshullam  b.  Z&ccur. 

Cf.  No.  ii. 
1.  6.     "  added  to  the  capital,"  i.  e.  because  it  is  not  paid. 


No.  II. 

Contract  for  a  Loan.     About  455  B.C. 

(Sayce  and  Cowley,  L.) 

I  Said  X  b.  Y  to  Z  b.  Yathma  as  follows :  You  have 
given  me  the  sum  of  ' 


THE  TIME  OF  EZRA  41 

2  4  shekels  by  the  weight  of  Ptah,  at  the  rate  of  I  shekel 

to  10,  and  interest  shall  be  due  from  me  at  the 
rate  of  2  hallurin 

3  for  the  sum  of  I  shekel  per  month,  till  the  day 

when  I  repay  it  to  you,  so  that  the  interest  on 

4  your  money  shall  be  8  hallurin  each  month.     Any 

month  in  which  I  do  not  give  you 

5  interest,  it  shall  be  (added  to  the)  capital  and  shall 

bear  interest.     I  will  pay  it  to   you  month  by 
month 

6  out  of  my  salary  which  they  give   me   from  the 

treasury,  and  you  shall  write  me  a  receipt  for 
all 

7  money  and  interest  which  I  pay  to  you.     If  I  do 

not  pay  you  all 

8  your  money  and  the  interest  thereon  by  the  month 

of  Thoth  in  the  Qth  year,  your  money  shall  be 
doubled  (?) 

9  and  the  interest  on  it  which  is  outstanding  against 

me,  and  interest  shall  be  due  from  me  month  by 
month 

10  until  the  day  when  I  repay  it  to  you.     Witnesses  : 

11  'Ukban  b.  Shemesh-nuri. 

12  Kozri  b.  Yeha-dari. 

13  Mahseiah  b.  Yedoniah. 

14  Malchiah  b.  Zechariah. 

15  Gemariah  b.  Ahio  wrote  the  deed  before  the  witnesses 

who(se  names)  are  upon  this  deed. 

The  beginning  is  lost,  with  the  date. 

1  2.  "  the  weight  of  Ptah  "  is  the  native  Egyptian  standard, 
not  the  royal  weight,  as  usually.  This  indicates  a  time  of  revolt 
against  the  Persians,  i.  e.  either  about  455  or  400.  The  names 
require  the  earlier  date,  as  some  of  them  occur  in  other  deeds 
about  that  time. 

1.  8.  "  doubled,"  or  perhaps  "  counted  as  one  sum,"  capital 
and  interest  together. 

1.  13.     Yeha-dari  or  Yah-hadari,  an  unusual  name. 


42  JEWISH  DOCUMENTS  OF 

No.  12. 
List  of  names,  undated.     (Sachau,  p.  71.) 

1  Haggai  b.  Nathan. 

2  Harman  b.  Oshea'. 

3  Oshea'  b.  Yathom. 

4  OsheaVb.  Hodav. 

5  Shamua*  b.  Haggai. 

6  Nathan  b.  Neraiah. 

7  Menahem  b.  Posai. 

8  Yeosh  b.  Azaniah. 

9  Bethel'akab  b.  Achar. 
10.  Total  9  men. 

ii  Nabu'akab(?)b. 

A  similar  list  is  No.  19.  The  purpose  of  these  lists  is  not 
evident.  The  names  suggest  a  date  about  450  B.C. 

1.  ii  is  written  upside  down.  The  name  occurs  in  No. 
26  23,  28. 

No.  13. 

Conveyance  of  a  House.     447  B.C. 

(Sayce  and  Cowley,  E.) 

1  On  the  3rd  of  Chisleu,  that  is  the  loth  day  of  the 

month  Mesore,  year  19  of  Artaxerxes  the  king, 
said  Mahseiah  b. 

2  Yedoniah,  Aramaean  of  Syene,  of  the  detachment 

of  Warizath,  to  Miphtahiah  his  daughter  as  follows : 
I  give  you  the  house 

3  which  Meshullam  b.  Zaccur  b.  Atar,  Aramaean  of 

Syene,  gave  me  for  its  price,  and  wrote  a  document 
for  me  about  it, 

4  and  I  give  it  to  Miphtahiah  my  daughter  in  return 

for  the  goods  which  she  gave  me  when  I  was 
inspector  (?)  in  the  fortress.     I  borrowed  (?) 


THE  TIME  OF  EZRA  43 

5  them  and  did  not  find  money  and  goods  to  pay  you. 

Consequently  I  give  you  this  house 

6  in  return  for  those  your  goods  of  the  value  of  5 

kerashin,  and  I  give  you  the  original  document 
which 

7  the  said  Meshullam  wrote  for  me  about  it.    This 

house  I  give  to  you  and  I  resign  all  claim  to  it. 
It  belongs  to  you  and  to  your  children 

8  after  you  and  to  whomsoever  you  please  you  may 

give  it.  I  have  no  power,  I  or  my  children  or 
my  descendants  or  any 

9  other  man,  to   bring  against  you   suit  or  process 

in  the  matter  of  this  house  which  I  give  you,  and 
have  written  the  document  for  you 

10  about  it.     Whoever  raises  against  you  suit  or  process, 

(whether  it  be)  I  or  a  brother  or  sister,  relative 
or  strange,  soldier  or  citizen, 

11  shall  pay  you  the  sum  of  10  kerashin,  and  the  house 

is  assuredly  yours.  Moreover  no  other  man  shall 
produce  against  you  a  document 

12  new   or  old,    other   than   this  document  which  I 

have  written  and  given  to  you :  whoever  pro- 
duces against  you  such  document,  I  have  not 
written  it. 

13  Moreover  note,   these   are   the   boundaries  of   this 

house  :  At  the  upper  end  of  it  is  the  house  of 
Yeos/j  b.  Penuliah,  at  the  lower  end  of  it  is 

14  the  temple  of  the  God  Yahu,  at  the  east  of  it  is  the 

house  of  Gadol  b.  Oshea'  and  the  street  between 
them, 

15  on  the  west  of  it  is  the  land  of  ....  b.   Palto, 

priest  of  the  gods  Khnum  and  S0ti(?).  This 
house 

16  I  give  you  and  resign  all  claim  to  it.     It  is  yours 

for  ever.    To  whomsoever  you  wish,  give  it. 


44  JEWISH  DOCUMENTS  OF 

17  Nathan  b.   Ananiah  wrote  .this  document  at  the 

direction  of  Mahseiah  and  the  witnesses  hereto. 
Mahseiah  signed  for 

18  himself  (?). 

Mithrasari  (?)  b.  Mithrasari  (?),  and  Satibarzanes  b. 
Atharili,  silversmith. 

19  Witness,  Barbarib.  Dargi,  silversmith  of  the  place  ( ?). 

Witness,  .  .  .  .  b.  Shemaiah. 

20  Zaccur  b.  Shallum. 
(Endorsement :) 

21  Document        concerning  Mahseiah  b.  Yedoniah  and 

Miphtahi&h  his  daughter. 

1.  4.  "  inspector  "  is  uncertain.  "  I  borrowed  "  :  others  take 
this  as  a  name. 

1.  14.  This  is  the  first  mention  of  the  temple.  See  further 
No.  30. 

1.  18.  "  for  himself,"  etc.  :  the  writing  is  hasty  and  not  very 
legible.  Atharili,  or  perhaps  Mithrili  :  cf.  No.  5  16. 

1.  19.  "  of  the  place  "  is  strange.  It  may  be  a  name  "  of 
Athra." 


No.  14. 

Settlement  of  Claim.     441  B.C. 

(Sayce  and  Cowley,  F.) 

1  On  the  I4th  of  Ab,  that  is  the  iQth  day  of  Pahons, 

year  25  of  Artaxerxes  the  king,  said  Pi 

2  b.  Pahi,  builder,  of  Syene  the  fortress,  to  Mibtahiah 

daughter  of  Mahseiah  b.  Yedoniah 

3  Aramaean  of  Syene,  of  the  detachment  of  Warizath 

(as  follows)  •  In  accordance  with  the  action  which 
we  took  at  Syene,  let  us  make  a  division  concern- 
ing the  money 

4  and  corn  and  garments  and  bronze   and  iron,  all 

goods  and  possessions,  and  the  marriage -document. 
Then  an  oath 


THE  TIME  OF  EZRA  45 

5  was  imposed  on  you  and  you  swore  to  me  concerning 

them  by  the  goddess  Sati  and  my  heart  was  content 

6  with  that  oath  which  you  took  to  me  concerning  those 

your  goods  and  I  renounce  all  claim  on  you  from 

7  this  day  for  ever.     I  have  no  power  to  institute 

against  you  suit  or  process,  you  or  son 

8  or  daughter  of  yours  in  the  matter  of  those  your 

goods  concerning  which  you  have  sworn  to  me. 
If  I  institute  against  you 

9  suit  or  process,  or  my  son  or  daughter  sue  you  in 

the  matter  of  that  your  oath,  I,  Pi,  or  my  son 

10  will  pay  to  Mi&tahiah  the  sum  of  5  kerashin,  royal 

weight,  without  suit  or  process, 

11  and  I  renounce  all  suit  and  process. 

12  Petisi  b.  Nabunathan  wrote  this  document 

in  Syene  the  fortress,  at  the  direction  of  Pi  b.  Pahi. 
Witnesses  hereto  :  Nabure'i  b.  Nabunathan. 

13  Luhi  b.  Mannuki.     'Odnahar  b.  Duma.     Nabure'i  b. 

Vashtan. 
(Endorsement :) 

14  Deed  of       quittance  which  Pi  wrote  for  Mibtahiah. 

Probably  a  settlement  on  the  dissolution  of  Mibtahiah's 
marriage  with  Pi,  who  would  have  been  her  second  husband. 
This  seems  to  be  indicated  by  his  giving  up  the  marriage-deed 
in  1.  4. 

1.  5.  She  swore  by  the  Egyptian  goddess,  because  Pi  was  an 
Egyptian.  None  of  the  witnesses  have  Jewish  names.  Perhaps 
she  was  not  recognised  by  the  community  as  long  as  she  was 
married  to  an  Egyptian. 

1.  14.     "  quittance  "  may  be  a  term  for  divorce. 

No.  15. 

Marriage  Contract.     About  441  B.C. 

(Sayce  and  Cowley,  G.) 

i  On  the  25th  (?)  of  Tishri  that  is  the  6th  day  of  the 
month  Epiphi  year  .  .  .  of  Artaxerxes  the  king, 


46  JEWISH  DOCUMENTS  OF 

2  said  Ashor  b.  Zeho,  builder  to  the  king,  to  Mahseiah, 

Aramaean  of  Syene,  of  the  detachment  of 

3  Warizath,  as  follows  :   I  came  to  your  house  that 

you  might  give  me  your  daughter  Miphtahiah  in 
marriage. 

4  She  is  my  wife  and  I  her  husband  from  this  day 

for  ever.     I  have  given  you  as  the  price 

5  of  your  daughter  Miphtahiah  the  sum  of  5  shekels, 

royal  weight.     It  has  been  received  by  you  and 
your  heart  is  content 

6  therewith.     You   have   delivered  to  your  daughter 

Miphtahiah  into  her  hand  for  the  cos/  of  furniture 
i  karash  2  shekels  royal 

7  weight,  of  the  standard  of  2  R  to   10.     You  have 

delivered  to  her  into  her  hand  i  woollen  robe, 
new,  striped, 

8  dyed  on  both  sides,  (whose)  length  was  8  cubits  by  5, 

worth  the  sum  of  2  kerashin  8  shekels, 

9  royal  weight ;  i  closely-woven  (shawl)  new,  (whose) 

length  was  8  cubits  by  5,  worth 

10  the  sum  of  8  shekels  royal  weight ;  another  woollen 

robe,  finely  woven,  (whose)  length  was 

11  6  cubits  by  4,  worth  the  sum  of  7  shekels ;  i  mirror 

of  bronze,  worth 

12  the  sum  of  i  shekel  2  R ;  i  tray  of  bronze,  worth 

the  sum  of  i  shekel  2  R  ;   2  cups  of  bronze, 

13  worth  the  sum  of  2  shekels ;  i  bowl  of  bronze,  worth 

the  sum  of  2  R ;   total  money 

14  and  value  of  goods  being  the  sum  of  6  kerashiri 

5  shekels  20  hallurin,  of  the  standard  of  2  R  to  10, 
royal  weight. 

15  I  have  received,  and  my  heart  is  content  therewith, 

i  couch  of  reeds  with  4  supports  ( ?) 

16  of  stone;  i  PK  of  SLK;   2  ladles,  holding  (?)   8  H; 

i  MS'N  knife  (?) ;  i  cosmetic  box  of  ivory  new. 


THE  TIME  OF  EZRA  47 

17  To-morrow  or  another  day  (if)  Ashor  should  die  and 

there  is  no  child  male  or  female 

18  belonging  to  him  by  M.iphtahia.h  his  wife,  Miphtahiah 

has  a  right  to  the  house 

19  of  Ashor,  his  goods  and  his  chattels  and  all  that  he 

has  on  the  face  of  the  earth, 

20  all  of  it.     To-morrow  or  (another)  day  (if)  Miphtahiah 

should  die  and  there  is  no  child  male  or  female 

21  belonging  to  her  by  Ashor  her  husband,  Ashor  shall 

inherit  her  goods 

22  and  her  chattels.     To-morrow  or  another  day  (if) 

Miphtahiah  should  stand  up  in  the  congregation 

23  and  say,  I  divorce  Ashor  my  husband,  the  price  of 

divorce  (shall  be)  on  her  head ;   she  shall  return  to 

24  the  scales  and  weigh  out  to  Ashor  the  sum  of  7 

shekels  2  R  and  all  that  she  has  taken 

25  into  her  hand  she  shall  give  up,  both  shred  (?)  and 

thread,  and  she  shall  go  away  whither  she  will, 
without 

25  suit  or  process.     To-morrow  or  another  day    (if) 
Ashor  should  stand  up  in  the  congregation 

27  and  say,  I  divorce  my  wife  Miphtahiah,  her  price 

shall  be  forfeited,  but  all  that  she  received 

28  into  her  hand,  she  shall  give  up,   both  shred  (?) 

and  thread,  on  one  day  at  one   time,  and  she 
shall  go 

29  away  whither  she  will,  without  suit  or  process.     But 

if  he  should  rise  up  against  Miphtahiah 

30  to  drive  her  out  from  his,  Ashor's,  house  and  his 

goods  and  chattels,  he  shall  give  her 

31  the  sum  of  20  kerashin,  and  the  provisions  of  this 

deed  shall  be  annulled,  as  far  as  she  is  concerned. 
And  I  shall  have  no  right  to  say 

32  I  have  another  wife  besides  Miphtahiah  and  other 

children  than  the  children  whom 


48  JEWISH  DOCUMENTS  OF 

33  Miphtahiah   shall   bear   to    me.     If   I   say   I   have 

children  and  wife  other  than 

34  Miphtahiah  and  her  children,  I  will  pay  to  Miphtahiah 

the  sum  of  20  kerashin,  royal  weight, 

35  and  I  shall  have  no  right  to  take  away  my  goods 

and  chattels  from  Miph/flMah;   and  if  I  remove 
them 

36  from  her  [erasure]   I  will  pay  to  Miphtahiah  the 

sum  of  20  kerashin,  royal  weight. 

37  Nathan  b.  Ananiah  wrote  this  deed  at  the  direction  of 

Ashor  and  the  witnesses  hereto  : 

38  Penuliah  b.  Jezaniah :  .  .  .  iah  b.  Uriah  :  Menahem 

b.  Zaccur : 

39  Witness,  Re'ibel  (?)  b.  ... 

The  number  of  the  year  is  lost,  but  since  the  two  sons  by  this 
marriage  were  old  enough  to  be  parties  to  a  case  in  421,  they 
must  have  been  born  somewhere  about  440  B.C.,  and  the  date 
of  the  contract  must  be  as  given  above. 

This  was  Mibtahiah's  third  marriage,  if  we  are  right  about 
the  meaning  of  No.  14. 

11.  6,  7.  "  You  have  delivered  "  is  probably  the  meaning,  but 
the  first  person  ("  I  have  ")  would  have  the  same  form. 

11.  15.  16.  The  meaning  of  some  of  the  words  in  this  list  is 
unknown. 

1.  16.     "  8  H,"  probably  a  measure  here,  not  hallurin. 

1.  23.  "  on  her  head,"  etc.  :  the  translation  is  uncertain, 
though  the  general  meaning  is  clear. 


No.  16. 

An  Appeal  to  a  Higher  Court.     About  435  B.C. 

(Sachau,  p.  41.) 

i to  Ars«mes(?)  andtoMegaphernes 

b.  WSHI  .... 

2  this  field  our  detachment  owned  from  the  24th  year 

to  the  3ist  year  of  Artaxerxes  .  .  . 

3  also  I  was  examined  before  TRWH  and  the  court, 

and  I  stated  before  the  court  . 


THE  TIME   OF  EZRA  49 

4  the  field  I  ploughed  but  the  produce  I  did  not  receive 

from  them.     These  judges  .... 

5  ...  and  a  wrong  was  done  to  me,  and  I  stated 

before  TRWH  and  the  court  .... 

6  ...  from  the  year  24  to  the  year  31,  and  Mega- 

phernes  and  Nephayan  and  Mannuki,  the  3  judges, 
went  up  to  Syene  and  took  with  them  (?).... 

7  ...  the  assessors  (?)  of  Nephayan,  commander  of 

the   garrison   of   Syene,   and   the   judges  of   the 
province,  how  .... 

8  I  (?)  before  my  lord  have  sent  saying  "A  wrong 

was  done  to  me,"  and  now  .... 

9  ask  TRWH  and  the  court  about  this,  (and)  let  wrong 

not  be  done  to  me,  and  .... 

1.  3.     "  TRWH,"  probably  a  name. 

1.  7.     Nephayan  was  commander  in  No.  30  (408  B.C.).     If  the 
date  here  is  right,  he  must  be  a  different  person. 


No.  17. 

Relating  to  Supplies  for  the  Garrison  (?). 
428  B.C.     (Sachau,  p.  34.) 

1  To  our  lord  Arsames,  your  servants  Achaemenes  (?) 

and  his  colleagues,  Bigdan  (?)  and  his  colleagues, 
and  the  notaries  of  the  province ;  the  welfare  of 
our  lord  may  the  gods  seek 

2  abundantly  at  all  times.     And  now  you  have  paid 

us  for  all  the  contribution  assuredly  which  we 
gave  in  the  province  at  (?)  the  place  which 
is  ... 

3  ...  plainly  set  forth,  each  item  month  by  month 

they  were  sending  to  me.  Also  a  written  document 
was  given  to  us.  Now  .  .  . 

4 and  we  will  ,  ;  . 

r> 


50  JEWISH  DOCUMENTS  OF 

5  ........  our  lord  Arsames your  ser- 
vants Achaemenes  (?)  and  his  colleagues  the 
recorders  in  .... 

6 which  we  pay.  Haru?  and 

his  colleagues  the  notaries  of  the  province,,  all  3 
vilains  (?), 

7  ...  the  servant  (?)  of  SYN'BS  the  recorder,  their 
colleague,  in  the  igth  of  Marheshwan  in  the  37th 
year  of  Artaxerx^s,  to  them. 

1.  6     "  all  3  vilains  "  is  added  below  the  line.     The  word 
occurs  in  No.  30  7,  etc.,  but  its  meaning  is  uncertain. 


No.  18. 

End  of  a  Marriage  Contract.     About  425  B.C. 

(Sachau,  p.  126.) 

i Meshull&k  b.   Ui\  a  deed  of  divorce. 

And  Yehohan  daughter  of  Meshullak  shall  have 
no  right  to  say  to  him 

2  and  to  Sallua  her  daughter,  As  I  gave  these  goods 

and  the  money  which  are  set  forth  in  this  deed, 
as  a  free  gift  to  you,  now  I  desire 

3  to  take  them  away.     If  she  says  so,  she  is  liable, 

no  heed  shall  be  paid  to  her.     Ma'uziah  b.  Nathan 
b.  Ananiah  wrote 

4  this  deed  at  the  direction  of  Hoshaiah  and  Y^hohan 

and  the  witnesses  hereto.     Witness,  Heremnathan 
b.  Bethelnathan  b.  Zeho ; 

5  Witness,    Haggai   b.    Penuliah;    witness,   Yeosh  b. 

^aniah;  witness,  Bethelnathan  b.  Jonathan. 

1.  4.  Note  the  names  Heremnathan  and  Bethelnathan  formed 
with  Herem  and  Bethel,  as  Jonathan  is  formed  with  Yahu. 
Zeho  is  an  Egyptian  name,  as  in  No.  15. 


THE  TIME  OF  EZRA  51 

No.  19. 
List  of  Names.     About  420  B.C.     (Sachau,  p.  92.) 

i 

2  Ba'adiah  b.  A  .... 

3  Oshea'  b.  Uriah  (?). 

4  WKYN  b.  Shallum  b.  .  .  . 

5  Meshullam  b.  Shemaiah. 

6  Shemaiah  b.  Shallum. 

7  Menahem  b.  Meshullaw. 

8  Haggai  b.  Jezaniah. 

9  Agiri  b.  Ash  .  .  . 

ro  Nathan  b.  Hodaviah. 

No.  20. 

Settlement  of  a  Claim.     420  B.C. 

(Sayce  and  Cowley,  H.) 

1  In  the  month  of  Elul,  that  is  Paym,  4th  year  of 

Darius  the  king  at  that  time  in  Yeb  the  fortress, 
said 

2  Menahem  and  Ananiah  bo/A  sons  of  Meshullam  b. 

Shelomem,  Jews  of  Yeb  the  fortress,  of  the  detach- 
ment of  Iddinnabu, 

3  to  Yedoniah  and  Mahseiah,  both  sons  of  Asho'r  b. 

Zeho  by  Mibtahiah  daughter  of  Mahseiah,  Jews 

4  of  the  same  detachment,  as  follows  :  We  sued  you 

in  the  court  of  NPA  before  Damandin  the  governour 
(and)  Widrang 

5  the  commander  of  the  garrison,  saying  :  There  are 

goods,  garments  of  wool  and  cotton,  vessels  of 
bronze  and  iron,  vessels  of  wood 

6  and  ivory,  corn,  etc.,  and  we  pleaded  saying  :  Ashor 

your  father  received   (these)  from  Shelomem   b. 
Azariah,  and  also 


52  JEWISH  DOCUMENTS  OF 

7  said  "  They  are  on  deposit."     They  were  deposited, 

but  he  kept  possession  and  did  no!  return  (them) 
to  him,  and  therefore  we  sue  you. 

8  Then  you  were  examined,  and  you  Yedoniah  and 

Mahseiah,  sons-  of  Ashor,  satisfied  us  concerning 
these  goods, 

9  and  we  were  satisfied  therewith.     From  this  day  for 

ever  I  Menahem  and  Ananiah,  we  renounce  all 
claim  on  you. 

10  From  this  day  for  ever  we  shall  have  no  power,  and 

our  sons  and  our  daughters  and  our  brothers  and 
any  man  related  to  us  or  a  freeman  of 

11  the    city   shall    have    no    power   to    bring    against 

you,  Yedoniah  and  Mahseiah,  suit  or  process, 
nor  shall  they  have  the  power  to  sue  your 
sons 

12  or  your  brothers  or  any  one  of  yours  on  account  of 

goods  and  money,  corn,  etc.,  belonging  to  Shelomem 
b.  Azariah.  If  we 

13  or  our  sons  or  our  daughters  or  anyone  of  ours,  or 

the  sons  of  Shelomem  b.  Azariah,  sue  you  or  sue 
your  sons  or  your  daughters 

14  or  any  one  of  yours,  or  whomsoever  they  shall  sue 

about  it,  he  shall  pay  you  or  your  sons,  or  whom- 
soever they  sue,  a  fine 

15  of  the  sum  of  ten  kerashin,  royal  weight,  at  the  rate 

of  2  R  to  i  karash,  and  he  assuredly  has  no 
claim  on  these  goods 

16  about  which  we  sued,  and  no  suit  or  process  (can  lie). 
Ma'uziah  b.  Nathan  wrote  this  deed  at  the  direction 

of  Menahem  and  Ananiah  both 

17  sons  of  Meshullam  b.  Shelomem.     Witness,  Menahem 

b.  Gadol. 

Gadol  b.  Berechiah. 
Menahem  b.  Azariah. 


THE  TIME  OF  EZRA  .       53 

18  Witness,  Hodaviah  b.  Zaccur  b.  Oshaiah. 
(Endorsement :) 

19  Deed          which  Menahem  and  Ananiah  both  sons  of 

Menahem  b.  Shelomem  wrote 

for  Yedoniah  and  Mahseiah  both  sons  of  Ashor  b. 
Zeho. 

1.  4.     "NPA":  as  in  7*?     The  precise  sense  of  the  following 
words  is  uncertain. 

1.   19.    Menahem  is  a  mistake  for  Meshullam. 


No.  21. 

Order  to  keep  the  (Passover  and)  Feast  of 
Unleavened  Bread.     419  B.C.     (Sachau,  p.  36.) 

1  To  my  brethren, 

2  Y^oniah  and   his  colleagues  the   Jewish  gam'.sow, 

your    brother    Hanam'aA.     The    welfare    of    my 
brethren  may  the  gods  seek. 

3  Now  this  year,  the  5th  year  of  King  Darius,  word 

was  sent  from  the  king  to  Arsawes,  saying  : 

4  In  the  month  of  Tybi  (?)  let  there  be  a  Passover  for 

the  Jewish  garrison.     Now  you  accordingly  count 
fourteen 

5  Days  of  the  month  Nisan  and  keep  the  Passover,  and 

from  the  I5th  day  to  the  2ist  day  of  Nisan 

6  (Are)  seven  days  of  Unleavened  bread.     Be  clean  and 

take  heed.     Do  no  work 

7  On  the  i^th  day  and  on  the  zist  day.     Also  drink  no 

beer,  and  anything  at  all  in  which  there  is  leaven 

8  Do  not  eat,  from  the  i$th  day  from  sunset  till  the 

2ist  day  of  Nis#w,  seven 

9  Days,  let  it  not  be  seen  among  you  ;  do  not  bring  (it) 

into  your  dwellings,  but  seal  (it)  up  during  those 
days. 


54  JEWISH  DOCUMENTS  OF 

10  Let  this  be  done  as  Darius  the  king  commanded. 
(Address  :) 

11  To  my  brethren  Yedoniah  and  his  colleagues 

the  Jewish  garrison,  your  brother 


1.  2.     The  envoy  Hananiah  was  a  person  of  high  position. 
1.  7.     "  beer,"    because    it  was   fermented,   therefore   of   the 
nature  of  leaven.     Wine  was  required  for  the  Passover. 
1.  9.     "  seal  it  up  "  :  i.e.  put  it  away  under  lock  and  key. 


NO.   22. 

Names    of    Contributors    to    Temple    Funds,  in 
Seven  Columns.     419  B.C.     (Sachau,  p.  73.) 

I     On  the  3rd  of  Phamenoth,  5th  year.     This  is  (a 

list  of)  the  names  of  the  Jewish  garrison  who 

gave  money  for  Yahu  the   God,  man  by  man 
•  *       the  sum  of  2  shekels  : 
2 — Meshu//£weth  dawgAter  of  Gemarj'ah  b.  Mahseiah, 

the  sum  of  2  sh. 

3 — Zaccur  b.  Hodavia.h  b.  Zaccur,  the  sum  of  2  sh. 
4 — Seram^  daughter  of   Hoshea  b.  Harman,  the  sum 

of  2  sh. 
5— All  3..  • '•  • 
6 — Hoshtfa  b.  Bethelnuri,  he  (gave  (?))  the  sum  of  2  sh. 

for  himself  (?). 
7 — Hoshziah  b.  Nathan  b.  Hoshaiah  b.  Hananifl/z  the 

sum  of  2  sh.  for  himself  ( ? ) . 
8 — Nabu  ....  6.  ....  ah,   the   sum  of   2   sh.   for 

himself  (?). 
9     nani    b.    KTL,    the    sum   of    2    sh.    for 

himself  (?). 

10     b.    Yeho  .  ...  the    sum    of    2    sh.    for 

himself  (?). 

11     b.  Nehebeth  daughter  of  Mahseh,  the  sum  of 

2  sh.  for  himself  (?  ). 


THE  TIME  OF  EZRA  55 

12  Nathan  b.  Anani  b 

13     i  daughter  of  Zebadiah  .... 

14  

15  daughter  of  Peluliah  .... 

16 daughter  of 

17  i  b 

18  daughter  of 

19  All  of  the  company  of  Siniddin. 

20  The  company  of  Nabu'akab  : — -Shallum  b.  Mena- 

hem  .... 

Col.  ii. 

21 — Meshullam  b.  Samuah,  sum  of  2  sh.  for  himself  (?). 

22 — Palti  b.  Michah,  sum  of  2  sh.  for  himself  (?). 

23 — Malchiah  b.  Yathom  b.  Hadadnuri,  sum  of  2  sh. 

f or  himself  (?). 

24,  20 — Shelemiah  b.  Jashub,  sum  of  2  sh.  for  himself  ( ?). 
25 — Gadol  b.  Meshullam  b.  Mibtahitf  A,  sum  of  2  sh.  for 

himself  (?). 
26 — Menahem  b.  Hazul,  that  (is)  the  son  of  Shema^A, 

sum  of  2  sh.  for  himself  (?). 
27 — Simak  b.  Meshullam,  he  (gave)  the  sum  of  2  sh.  for 

himself  (?). 
28 — Gadol  b.  Samuah,  he  (gave)  the  sum  of  2  sh.  for 

himself  (?). 
29 — Meshullam  b.  Haggai  b.  Hazul,  sum  of  2  sh.  for 

himself  (?). 

30 — Hazul  b.  Haggai  b.  Hazul,  sum  of  2  sh.  for  him- 
self (?). 

31  All  of  the  company  of u. 

32     .  .  .  .  2  sh. 

33  .  • .  sum  of  2  sh. 

34    

35  • 

36 


56                  JEWISH  DOCUMENTS  OF 
37     sum  of  2  sh. 

38  

Col.  iii. 

39 — Shillem  b.  Hodav  sum  of  2  sh. 
40 — Hori  b.  VNH  sum  of  2  sh. 
41 — Shamua'  b.  Shillem  sum  of  2  sh. 
42 — Mattan  b.  YedomV*/*,  sum  of  2  sh. 

43 — Uriah  b ,  sum  of  2  sh. 

44 — Anam  b 

45 — Zac 2 

46 — Anani 

47 — Hoshefl  b.  Nathun  sum  of  2  sh. 
48,  20 — b 2 

49     b.  N 2  sh. 

50     2  sh. 

51  ....  b  ....  b.  Joshibiah  .... 

52     2  sh. 

53     2  sh. 

54  •  •  -« 

55     2  sA. 

56     Hoshea,  sum  of  2  sh. 

57     Yehotal,  sum  of  2  sh. 

58     /Inani,  sum  of  2  sh. 

59     Joshibiah  .  .  . 

60     

Col.  iv. 

61 — Hoshea  b.  SGRI,  sum  of  2  sh. 
62 — Menahem  b.  Mattan,  sum  of  2  sh. 
63 — Nathun  b.  Haggai,  sum  of  2  sh. 
64 — Haggai  b.  Micha,  sum  of  2  sh. 
65 — Mahseh  b.  Uri,  sum  of  2  sh. 
66 — Shallum  b.  Zecharia,  sum  of  2  sh. 
67 — Menahem  b.  Zecharia,  sum  of  2  sh. 


THE  TIME  OF  EZRA  57 

68,  40 — Meshullak  b.  Uri,  sum  of  2  sh. 

69 — Pamut  b.  SGRI,  sum  of  2  sh. 

70 — Anani  b.  Ma'uzi,  sum  of  2  sh. 

71 — -#oshea  b.  Menahem,  sum  of  2  sh. 

72 — Haggai  b.  Huria,  sum  of  2  sh. 

73 — Menahem  b.  Uri  b.  Meshullak,  sum  of  2  sh. 

74     

75     sum  of  2  sh. 

76     Mattan,  sum  of  2  sh. 

77     b.  Mattan,  sum  of  2  sh. 

78  Peww/iah  b.  Menahem  b.  Pusi,  sum  of  2  sh. 
79 — Hon  b.  Menahem  b.  Pusi,  sum  of  2  sh. 

80 — Peluliah  b.  #oshea,  sum  of  2  sh. 
81— Menahemeth  daughter  of  'Anani  b.  'STH,  sum  of  2  sh. 
82 — Meshullemeth  daughter  of  ....  ah,  sum  of  2  sh. 
Sister  of  Maath  and  S  .  .  .  (?). 

Col.  v. 

83 — -Mephatteah  daughter  of  TSTZ,  sum  of  2  sh. 

84 — Yehoshama'  daughter  of  Nathan,  sum  of  2  sh. 

85 — Shabith  daughter  of  Hori  b.  Shillem,  sum  of  2  sh. 

86 — Re'ia  daughter  of  Neri,  sum  of  2  sh. 

87 — Yehoshama'  daughter  of  Meshullam,  sum  of  2  sh. 

88,  60 — Mephatteah  daughter  of  Shillem,  sum  of  2  sh. 

89 — Yahmol  daughter  of  Palti  b.  Yeosh,  sum  of  2  sh. 

90 — Abihi  daughter  of  Oshea,  sum  of  2  sh. 

91 — Nehebeth  daughter  of  Mahseh,  sum  of  2  sh. 

92 — Yehohan  daughter  of  Yigdal,  sum  of  2  sh. 

93 — Meshullemeth  daughter  of  Zephalia,  sum  of  2  sh. 

94 

95  Mena#£meth  daughter  of sum  of  2  sh. 

96  Nehebeth  daughter  of  Z  ...  sum  of  2  sh. 

97  Yahmol  daughter  of  Shillem,  sum  of  2  sh. 

98, 70 — Yehoshama'  daughter  of  Hoshea  b.  Zaccur,  sum 
of  2  sh. 


58  JEWISH  DOCUMENTS  OF 

99 — Yehoshama'  daughter  of  Haggai,  sum  of  2  sh. 
loo — Abihi  daughter  of  Nathun,  sum  of  2  sh. 

Col.  vi. 

101 — Yehohan  daughter  of  Gedaliah,  sum  of  2  sh. 
102 — Salluah  daughter  of  Neri,  sum  of  2  sh. 
103 — Yehotal  daughter  of  Yislah,  sum  of  2  sh. 
104 — Ab'osher  daughter  of  Hoshea,  sum  of  2  sh. 
105 — Yeho'alai  daughter  of  Immanuiah,  sum  of  2  sh. 
IO6 — Mephatteah  daughter  of  Zephaliah,  sum  of  2  sh. 
107 — Nehebeth  daughter  of  Zaccur,  sum  of  2  sh. 
108,  80 — Menahemeth  daughter  of  Yedoniah  b.  'Anathi, 

sum  of  2  sh. 

109 — Meshullam  b.  Ma'uzi,  sum  of  2  sh. 
no — Meshullemeth  daughter  of  Penuliah,  sum  of  2  sh. 
in — Nathun  b.  Pelaliah  b.  Nathun,  sum  of  2  sh. 
112 — Hazul  daughter  of  Hodaviah,  sum  of  2  sh. 

113 — Nathan,  sum  of  2  sh. 

114     Zebadiah  .  .  .  .  2  sh. 

115 — b.  Nathan  b h,  sum  of  2  sh. 

116 — b.  Shillem  b h,  sum  of  2  sh. 

117— YtfAoshama'  daughter  of  Kon,  sum  of  2  sh. 

118 — Re'uiah  b.  Uri,  sum  of  2  sh. 

119,  90 — Meshullam  b.  Shemaiah,  sum  of  2  sh. 

Col.  vii. 

120  The  money  which  was  paid  on  that  day  into  the 

hand  of 

121  Yedoniah  b.  Gemariah  in  the  month  of  Phamenoth, 

(was) 

122  the  sum  of  31  kerashin  8  shekels. 

123  of  which  12  k  6  sh  for  Yahu, 

124  7  kerashin  for  Ishumbethel, 

125  the  sum  of  12  kerashin  for  'Anathbethel. 


THE  TIME  OF  EZRA  59 

126 — Micaiah  b.  Yehoyishma',  sum  of  2  sh. 
127 — Oshea'  b.  Nathan  b.  Hodaviah,  sum  of  2  sh. 
128 — Ahio  b.  Nathan  b.  'Anani,  sum  of  2  sh. 
129 — Azariah  b.  Hazul,  sum  of  2  sh. 
130 — Joshibiah  b.  BerechiaA,  sum  of  2  sh. 

131     2  .  . 

132 — .  .  .  .  h  daughter  of  Ki  .  .  .  .,  sum  of  2  sh. 

(Reverse  :) 

133 — Megaphernes  b.  VSHI,  sum  of  2  sh.  for  ANDM  (?). 
134— VSHI  b.  ZDMR,  sum  of  2  sh.  for  himself  (?). 

135 — Haggai  b.  Miphtahiah,  sum  of  2  sh.  for  .  .  .  (?). 

1.  i.     "  5th  year,"  probably  of  Darius  II. 

1.  2.     Women  are  counted  as  belonging  to  the  garrison. 

1.  5  no  doubt  originally  mentioned  the  company  (centuria) 
to  which  they  belonged.  Cf.  11.  19,  31. 

1.  6.  "he  (gave  ?)  "  and  ''  for  himself  "  :  the  meaning  is  quite 
uncertain,  here  and  elsewhere. 

1.  24.  The  "  20  "  in  the  margin  is  the  number  of  names  so 
far.  In  1.  48  the  "  20  "  must  represent  a  new  numeration. 

I.  117.     "  Kon,"  a  short  form  of  Koniah. 

II.  120-125   give  the  total  receipts  so  far,  showing  that  42 
names  are  lost.     The  assignment  of  the  money  leaves  2  shekels 
over. 

I.  121.     Yedoniah  was  the  head  of  the  community.     Cf.  30  *. 

II.  124,  125.     Ishumbethel    (if  that  is  the  right  vocalisation) 
and  'Anathbethel   are  apparently  divinities  worshipped    along 
with  Yahu.     See  Introduction,  p.  xiii. 

1.  126  begins  a  supplementary  list. 

11. 133,  134.  These  two  contributors  have  Persian  names.  The 
meaning  of  ANDM  is  uncertain. 


No.  23. 

List  of  Names.     Probably  about  420  B.C. 

(Sachau,  p.  90.) 

1  Ahio  b.  Nathan. 

2  Nathan  b.  Ma'uziah. 

3  Hurb.  Benaiah(P). 


60  JEWISH  DOCUMENTS   OF 

4  Mahseh  b.  Yehotal. 

5  Hanan  b.  Pekhnum. 

6  Shallum  b.  H  .  .  ,  . 

7  Palti  b.  Mattan(P). 

8,  10  Kushi  b.  Azzur.  10. 

9  Petekhnum  b.  Hori. 

10  Re'uiah  b.  Zechariah. 

11  Menahem  b.  Mattan. 

12  Pekhnum  b.  Zaccur. 

13  Haggai  b.  Micaiah. 

14  Didi  (?)  b.  Uri  b.  Mahseh. 

15  Sheva  b.  Zechariah. 

1.  8.  The  "  10  "  in  the  margin  shows  that  two  lines  are  lost  at 
the  beginning.  The  "  10  "  on  the  other  side  belongs  to  another 
column,  now  lost. 


No.  24. 

Account  of  Corn  supplied.     Probably  420  B.C. 

(Sachau,  p.  86.) 

1  Ration  of  Petemut  (  ?)  b.  ISMN,  barley  ardab  i. 

2  „  ZBIS.  b.  Nebushalliv,         „  „  „ 

3  „  Haggai  b.  Shemaiah,         „  „  „ 

4  „  ISMN  b.  Ap',  „  ,,  „ 

5  „  Petisi  b.  Zaphruth,  „  „  „ 

6  „  —  Zeho  6.  ZPHR  .  .  for  him  „  ,,  ,,...(?). 

7  (?)  „     Samuah  ......  „       „     „   and   2 

quarters. 

8  „        Hor  ...... 

9  »        ........ 

10  „  —  ..............  2(?). 

11  ,,        .......  Nathan,  barley  ardab  i. 

12  ,,        .......  AHLBNI,  barley  ardab  i. 

13  ,,        Hur    b.     Nurshavash,   barley  ardab  I. 

14  „        Shamashgiriya  b.  Belbani,  ,,         „      „ 


THE  TIME  OF  EZRA  61 

15  „        VRD  b.  Zuthi. 

16  (?)  „        Hur  b.  Y'ULU,  barley  ardab  I  and 

2  quarters. 

17  »        b-  Abihu,  „          „      „ 

18  „        PHRI,  „          „      „ 

Cf.  No.  2.     The  persons  named  are  no  doubt   members  of 
the  garrison,  though  not  all  Jews. 

Col.  ii. 

19 barley  ardab  I  .  .  .  (?). 

20 

21 100. 

22 barley  ardab  I. 

23 barley  ardab. 

24 

25 b.  PTNTU,  barley  ardab  i. 

26  ...  nkl  b.  Uri,  barley  ardab  i. 

27  ....  Total  persons  54,  including 

28  total  persons  2  at  ij  ardabs  of  barley  each,  =  barley 

ardabs  3. 

29  total  persons  22  at  i  ardab  of  barley  each,  =  barley 

ardabs  22. 

30  total  persons  30  at  2  J  ardabs  of  barley  each,  =  barley 

ardabs  75. 

31  ...  total  cost  amounting  to 

32  ....  barley  ardabs  100. 

1.  27.     "  Total  persons  54,"  therefore  about  half  the  original 
number  of  lines  is  lost. 

Col.  iii. 

33  Total  output  of  what  was  Slivered  to  the  garrison 

of  Syene  from  the  .  .  . 

34  that  is  the  2oth  day  of  the  month  Mehir  in  the  4th 

year,  to  the 


62  JEWISH  DOCUMENTS  OF 

35  20th  of  Mehir  in  the  $th  year.     What  was  delivered 

as  food  .  .  .  which 
36 brought  from  the  .district  of  Thebes  by  the 

hand  of  Onophris, 

37  ...  .  .  .  b.  BR'VH,  and  'Edri  b.  A  .  .  . 

38  Barley  ardobs  1446,  G  2,  H  4. 

39  And  of  corn(?)  of  TSTRS,   the   ration  which  was 

given  out  to  the  garrison 

40  from  (?)  1019. 

41 1252,  G  i,  H  .  .  . 

42  And  what was  given  as  a  ration   to   the 

garrison  ....  from 

43  T&TRS,  ardabs  1690. 

44 Mehir,  year  .... 

45 and  from  .  .  . 

46 xxy6  .... 

Col.  3  seems  to  be  a  summary  of  supplies  for  the  year. 
1.  34.     "  the  4th  year,"  probably  of  Darius  II,  judging  from 
the  writing. 

1.  39.     "  T§TRS,"  the  southern  province,  as  in  No.  27  '. 


No.  25. 

Renunciation  of  Claim.     416  B.C. 

(Sayce  and  Cowley,  J.) 

1  On  the  3rd  of  Chisleu,  year  8,  that  is  the  I2th  day 

of  Thoth,  year  9  of  Darius  the  king,  at  that  date 
in  Yeb 

2  the  fortress  said  Yedoniah  b.  Hoshaiah  b.  Uriah, 

Aramaean  of   Yeb   the   fortress,   before   Widrang 
commander  of  the  garrison 


THE  TIME  OF  EZRA  63 

3  of  Syene,  to  Yedoniah  b.  Nathan  and  Mahseiah  b. 

Nathan,  his  brother,  their  mother  being  Mibtahiah 
daughter  of  Mahseiah  b.  Yedoniah,  before 

4  Widrang  commander  of  the  garrison  of  Syene,  as 

follows  :  I  withdraw  (my  claim)  against  you  on 
the  house  of  Jezaniah  b.  Uriah.  These  are  its 
boundaries  : 

5  at  the  upper  end,   the   house  of  Ho  sea  b.   Uriah 

adjoins  it;  at  the  lower  end  of  it,  the  house  of 
Hazul  b.  Zechariah  adjoins  it ; 

6  at  the  lower  end  and  above,  there  are  open  windows ; 

on  the  east  of  it,  is  the  temple  of  the  God  Yahu, 
and  the  highway 

7  of  the  king  between  them;  on  the  west  of  it,  the 

house  of  Mibtahiah  daughter  of  Mahseiah,  which 
Mahseiah  her  father  gave  her, 

8  adjoins    it.     This    house,    whose    boundaries    are 

described  above,  is  yours,  Yedoniah  and  Mahseiah 
both 

9  sons   of    Nathan,    for    ever,    and   your   children's 

after  you.  To  whom  you  will,  you  may  give 
it.  I  shall  have  no  power,  I  Yedoniah,  or  my 
sons 

10  or  female  or  male  dependant  of  mine,  I  shall  have 

no  power  to  set  in  motion  suit  or  process  against 
you,  nor  shall  we  have  power  to  sue  son  or  daughter 
of  yours, 

11  brother  or  sister,  female  or  male  dependant  of  yours, 

or  any  man  to  whom  you  may  sell  this  house,  or 
to  whom  you  may  give  it  as  a  gift, 

12  on  behalf  of  me,  Yedoniah,  or  on  behalf  of  my  sons 

or  dependants  female  or  male.  If  I,  Yedoniah, 
sue  you,  or  you  are  sued  by 

13  a  son  of  mine  or  daughter  or  female  or  male  depen- 

dant, on  ray  behalf  or  on  behalf  of  my  sons,  (or 


64  JEWISH  DOCUMENTS  OF 

anyone)  except  a  son  or  daughter  of  Jezaniah  b. 
Uriah, 

14  or  (if)  they  sue  son  or  daughter,  or  female  or  male 

dependant  of  yours,  or  a  man  to  whom  you  may 
sell  or  to  whom  you  may  give  as  a  gift 

15  this  house,  or  whoever  shall  bring  a  claim  against 

you,  shall  pay  you  a  fine  of  the  sum  of  ten  kerashin, 
that  is  10  kerashin  at  the  rate  of 

16  2  R  to  i  karash  by  royal  weight,  and  the  house  is 

assured  to  you  for  ever  and  to  your  sons  after 
you,  failing 

17  any  sons  of  Jezan  b.  Uriah,  without  question. 
Ma'uziahb.  Nathan  wrote  (this  deed)  at  the  direction 

of  Yedoniah  b.  Hosea  and  the  witnesses 

18  hereto 

Menahem  b.  Shallum  : 
Mahseiah  b.  Yedoniah  : 
Menahem  b.  Gado/  b.  Ba'adiah  : 
Yedoniah  b.  Meshullam  : 

19  Yislah  b.  Gadol : 
Gadol  b.  Berechiah : 
Jezaniah  b.  Penuliah : 
Ahio  b.  Nathan. 
(Endorsement :) 

20  Deed          of  renunciation,  which  Yedoniah  b.  Hosea 

wrote  concerning  the  house  of  Jezaniah  b.  Uriah, 

21  for  Yedoniah  b.  Nathan  and  Mahseiah  his  brother, 

both  of  them. 


1.  i.  Year  8  in  the  Jewish  reckoning,  which  began  the  year  in 
the  spring  (Nisan),  =  year  9  in  the  Egyptian  reckoning,  which 
began  the  year  in  the  previous  December  (Thoth). 

1.  3.     Nathan  =  Ashor.     See  No.  20  3. 

1.  4.     "  before  Widrang,"  etc.  :  repeated  from  1.  2  by  an  error. 

1.  13.     "  except  "  :   the  meaning  is  not  quite  certain. 

1.  17.  The  same  scribe  who  wrote  Nos.  18  and  20.  His  father 
wrote  Nos.  10,  13. 


THE  TIME  OF  EZRA  65 

No.  26. 
Order  to  Repair  a  Boat.     412  B.C.    (Sachau,  p.  44.) 

1  From  Arsames  to  Wahiprimahi  :   Now  the  boat  of 

Pesmesnith  and  his  colleagues  the  boatmen  of  the 
fortifications  is  worn  out  as  reported 

2  to  us  by  Mithradates  the  boatman  as  follows  :  Thus 

says  Pesmesnith the  boatmen  of 

3  the  fortifications  say  thus  :  The  boat  of  which  we 

have  charge,  it  is  time  to  do  its  repairs.  There- 
upon I  sent  word  as  follows  :  Let  the  specification 

4  be  drawn  up  accurately  and  sent  to  the  accountants 

of  the  treasury.  They  with  the  commanders 
Shemsillek  and  his  colleagues  are  to  inspect  this 
boat 

5  and  make  a  report  on  it  (?),  and  let  the  arsenic  (?) 

which  is  required  (?)  by  the  specification,  paint  (?) 
and  the  rest  be  sent,  and  let  the  accountants  give 
all  the  materials 

6  and  let  its  repairs  be  done  immediately,  and  the 

rest  about  which  word  was  sent  to  them  from  me. 
Thereupon  they  sent  and  thus  said  their  messengers  : 
On 

7  the  beach  which  is  in  front  of  the  fortress,  "between 

its  fortifications  Mithradates  the  boatman  showed 
us  the  boat.  We  report  that  by  Pesmesnith 
and , 

8  both  boatmen  of  the  fortifications,  it  is  described 

accurately,  and  we  have  reported  to  ShemsiFek 
and  his  colleagues  the  commanders,  (and)  Shemu  b. 

9  Kanufi,  head  of  the  carpenters,  of  SPYT,  and  they 

said  thus  :  It  is  time  to  make  its  repairs.    This  is 
the  specification  (of)  what  is  required  (?)  to  do  its 
repairs : 
E 


66  JEWISH  DOCUMENTS  OF 

10  Cedar  and  AR  wood,  new,   (each)  plank  10  cubits 

80  cubits  by  3  hand-breadths,  among 

them  ribs  (?)  of  12  cubits; 

11  boards  (?)  15,  each  of  20  cubits;   a  S'BL,  70  cubits; 

HNN  for  the  hold  (?)3;  a  sail  (?)forthe  mast  (?),  i; 

12  planks  for  the  HL  of  60  cubits;   a  PHTMUNI  for  the 

P'R'R,  i  of  2  cubits ;  APSI  under  the  HL,  5 ;  nails 
of  bronze  and  iron, 

13  200;   planks  of  cedar,  seasoned  (?),  strong,  TMIS,  20 

cubits ;  the  equivalent  of  all  of  it,  both  sound  ( ? ) 
and  broken,  he  is  to  bring  to  the  treasury; 
sails  (?)  of 

14  cotton,  thick,  180  kerashin;  awnings  (?),  250  kera- 

shin ;   planks  of  cedar,  new ;   2  HNN,  each  5  cubits 

15  3  hands  by  3  hands;  for  the  HL,  nails  of  bronze, 

150,  each  3  hands,  275, 

16  each  10  finger-breadths ;   total  nails,  425 ;  plates  of 

bronze,  20  cubits;   nails  for  them,  200 ; 

17  planks  of  cedar,  seasoned  (?  ),  Egyptian  (?)  govern- 

ment, i  talent  10  minae  in  all;  add(?)  sulphur, 
10  kerashin,  and  arsenic  for  the  painting  (?),  100 
kerashin ; 

18  and   they   shall  add   to   the   planks  which  are  (?) 

supplied,  to  the  board  in  length  each  3  hands 
clear  (?),  and  to  the  breadth  and  thickness  2 
fingers ;  and  to 

19  the  SIM,  in  length  each  3  hands  clear  (?),  and  to  the 

breadth  2  fingers;  and  to  the  planed  boards  (?) 
and  HNN  in  length  each  i  hand ;  and  to 

20  the  S'BL,  the  wood  for  the  HL,  the  rows  of  TMIS,  in 

length  each  3  hands  clear  (?  ),  and  to  the  breadth 
i  finger.  The  sails  (?)  of  cotton,  the  awning  (?), 

21  the  arsenic,  the  sulphur,  are  to  be  supplied  by  Persian 

weight.  Let  word  be  sent  that  these  materials 
are  to  be  delivered  to  Shemu  b.  Kanufi,  head  of 


THE  TIME  OF  EZRA  67 

22  the  carpenters,  of  SPYT,  for  the   purpose  of   the 

repair  of  this  boat,  and  let  him  do  (it)  at  once, 
according  to  the  order  issued.  Now  Arsames  says 
as  follows  :  You  are  to  act 

23  in  accordance  with  this  which  the  accountants  say, 

according  to  the  order  issued.  'Anani,  secretary, 
drafted  the  order.  Nabu'akab  wrote  (it). 

24  Wahprimahi 

25  According  to  the  order  issued wrote  .  .  . 

26 

27  From  Arsames,  which  he  .... 

28  Nabu'akab    wrote    the    document   on   the    I3th  of 

Tebeth,  in  the  I2th  year  of  Dariws  the  king  .... 

The  translation  is  very  difficult  owing  to  the  many  technical 
terms  of  unknown  meaning. 

1.  i.     Arsames  was  the  satrap  of  Egypt. 

1.  9.  "  SPYTKN  "  :  an  adjective  formed  from  a  place-name. 
Cf.  1.  22. 

1.  17.     "  Egyptian  government  "  is  very  doubtful. 


No.  27. 

Petition  to  Arsames  (?).     About  410  B.C. 

(Sachau,  p.  26.) 

1  ...  we   should  be   injured  (?).     When(?)   detach- 

ments of  the  Egyptians  rebelled,  we  did  not  leave 
our  posts, 

2  and  nothing  disloyal  was  found  in  us.     In  the  I4th 

year  of  King  Darius,  when  our  lord  Arsames 

3  went  away  to  the  king,  this  is  the  crime  which  the 

priests  of  the  god  Khnub  committed  in  the  fortress 
of  Yeb 

4  in  concert  with  Waidrang  who  was  governour  here, 

after  giving  him  money  and  valuables :  there  is 
a  part 


68  JEWISH  DOCUMENTS  OF 

5  of  the  king's  stores  which  is  in  the  fortress  of  Yeb, 
(this)  they  wrecked,  and  they  built  a  wall  in  the 
midst  of  the  fortress  of  Yeb  . 


6  Now  this  wall  is  built  in  the  midst  of  the  fortress. 

There  is  a  well  which  is  built 

7  withm   the  fortress,   and  it   never  lacks  water  to 

supply   the   garrison,   so   that(?)   if  it  is  super- 
vised ( ?  )  they  would  be 

8  (able   to  get)  water  to   drink  in  this  well.     Those 

priests    of    Khnub    stopped    up    this    well.      If 
enquiry 

9  be  made  of  the  magistrates,  officers  (and)  police  who 

are  set  over  the  province  of  TSTRS 

10  it  will  be  made  known  to  your  lordship  in  accordance 

with  what  we  say.     Moreover  we  are  innocent 

11  of  this  damage  to  the  stores  which  were  in  the  fortress 

o/Yeb 

12  .....  thus  we  are  free  from  blame,  and  anything 

13  harmful  of  this  kind  has  not  been  found  in  us,  but 

the  priests  will  not  allow 

14  us  to  bring  meal-offering  and  incense 

15  and  sacrifice  to  offer  there    to   Yahu   the   God  of 

heaven 

16 

17 but  they  made  there  a  fire  ( ? ) 

18  and  the  rest  of  the  fittings  they  took  for  themselves, 

all  of  it. 

19  Now  ii  it  please  your  lordship,  let  the  injury  be  very 

much  remembered 

20  which  was  done  to  us,  us  of  the  Jewish  garrison. 

21  //  it  please   your  lordship  let   an   order  be   given 

according  to 

22  what  we  state.     If  it  please  your  lordship,  let  word  hr 

sent 


THE  TIME   OF  EZRA  69 

23  that  they  shall  not  injure  anything  which  is  ours 

24  and  to  build  the  altar  (?)  of  ours  which  they  destroyed. 

Very  imperfect,  especially  at  the  end,  on  the  reverse. 

The  petition  is  evidently  an  earlier  appeal  relating  to  the 
events  described  in  No.  30. 

1.  7.  "  supervised  "  :  the  word  occurs  in  13  4,  but  its  meaning 
is  very  doubtful. 


No.  28. 

Assignment  of  Slaves.     410  B.C. 

(Sayce  and  Cowley,  K.) 

1  On  the  24th  of  Shebat,  year  13,  that  is  the  Qth  day 

of  Athyr,  year  14  of  Darius  the  king  in  the  fortress 
of  Yeb, 

2  said  Mahseiah  b.  Nathan  (and)  Yedoniah  b.  Nathan, 

in  all  2,  Aramaeans  of  Syene,  of  the  detachment 
of  Wamath,  as  follows  :  We  have  agreed 

3  together  and  have  divided  between  us  the  slaves  of 

Mibtahiah  our  mother,  and  note,  this  is  the  share 
which  comes  to  you  as  a  share — you,  Yedoniah — , 

4  Petosiri  by  name,  whose  mother  is  Tebo,  a  slave. 

A  yod  is  marked  on  his  arm  at  the  right  of  a 
marking  in  the  Aramaic  language,  thus, 
5 .  "  Mtbtahiah's."  Note  also,  this  is  the  share  which 
comes  to  me  as  a  share — me,  Mahseiah — ,  Belo 
by  name,  whose  mother  is  Tebo,  a  slave.  A 
yod 

6  is  marked  on  his  arm  at  the  right  of  a  marking  in 

the  Aramaic  language  thus,  "  Mibtahiah' s."  You, 
Yedoniah,  are  master  of  Petosiri, 

7  this  slave,  who  has  come  to  you  as  a  share,  from 

this  day  for  ever,  and  your  children  after  you,  and 
to  whom  you  will  you  may  give  (him).  I  shall 
have  no  power, 


70  JEWISH  DOCUMENTS  OF 

8  I  Mahseiah,  son  or  daughter  of  mine,  brother  or 

sister  of  mine,  or  any  dependant  of  mine,  to  move 
the  court  against  you  or  against  your  children  in 
the  matter  of  Petosiri 

9  by  name,  the  slave  who  has  come  to  you  as  a  share. 

If  we  move  the  court  against  you  in  the  matter, 
we  Mahseiah  or  my  children,  or  (if)  we  sue  son 

10  or  daughter  of  yours  or  dependant  of  yours  in  the 

matter  of  Petosiri  this  slave  who  has  come  to  you  as 
a  share,  then  we  will  pay  to  you  a  fine  of  standard 

11  money  ten  kerashin,  royal  weight,  and  we  renounce 

all  claim  against  you  and  your  children  as  regards 
this  Petosiri 

12  who  has  come  to  you  as  a  share.    He  belongs  to  you 

and  your  children  after  you,  and  to  whom  you 
will  you  may  give  (him)  without  question.  Also 
as  to  Tebo 

13  by  name,  the  mother  of  these  lads,  and  Lilu  her 

daughter,  whom  we  do  not  yet  divide  between  us, 
when  it  is  time  we  will  divide  them 

14  between  us,  and  we  will  each  take  possession  of  his 

share,  and  we  will  write  a  deed  of  our  partition 
between  us,  and  (there  shall  be)  no  dispute. 
Nabutukulti  b.  Nabu-zira-ibni  wrote 

15  this  deed  in  the  fortress  of  Yeb  at  the  direction  of 

Mahseiah  and  Yedoniah  his  brother.  Witnesses 
thereto  :  Menahem  b.  Gadol; 

16  Witness    Hanan    b.    Haggai;  Witness    Nathan    b. 

Yeho'or;  Witness  Shallum  b.  Nathan. 
(Endorsement :) 

17  Deed  of       assignment  of  a  slave,  Petosiri.     Written 

by  Mahseiah  b.  Nathan  for  Yedoniah  b.  Nathan 
his  brother. 

1.  4.     Yod,  i.  e.  the  Aramaic  letter  Y.     The  meaning  of  the 
mark  is  obscure.     The  slaves  all  have  Egyptian  names. 


THE  TIME  OF  EZRA  71 

No.  29. 

Contract  for  a  Loan.     About  409  B.C. 

(Sachau,  p.  61.) 

1  In  the  month  of  Mesore,  year  16  (?)  of  Darius  the 

king,  in  Yeb  the  fortress  said  Nathan  (?)  b.  Hosea, 
Aramaean  of 

2  Syene,  of  the  detachment  of  Nabukudurri,  to  Yislah 

b.  Gadol,  Aramaean  of  Syene,  of  the  detachment 

of as  follows  :  There   is  to   your  credit 

against  me 

3  the  sum  of  one  kanzsA,  four  shekels  the  balance  ( ? )  of 

5  (?)  minae  which  were  due  from  me  as  part  of  the 
amount 

4  of  the  value  of  the  house  (?)  of  M 

I  Nathan  declare  that  I  will  pay  you  this  sum, 

5  one  karash,  four,  by the  month  of  Pahons, 

year  17  of  Darius  the  king 

6 and  if  I  do  not  pay  (and)  give  you  this 

sum  of  one  karash  four  shekels 


The  end  is  lost.     It  probably  contained  provisions  similar  to 
those  in  No.  u. 


No.  30. 

Petition  to  the  Governour  of  Judaea.     408  B.C. 

(Sachau,  p.  3.) 

1  To    our   lord    Bigvai,    governour   of    Judaea,    your 

servants  Yedoniah  and  his  colleagues,  the  priests 
who  are  in  Yeb  the  fortress.     The  health 

2  of  your  lordship  may  the  God  of  Heaven  seek  after 

exceedingly  at   all   times,   and  give   you   favour 
before  Darius  the  king 


72  JEWISH  DOCUMENTS  OF 

3  and  the  princes  of  the   palace   more   than  now  a 

thousand  times,  and  may  he  grant  you  long  life, 
and  may  you  be  happy  and  prosperous  at  all 
times. 

4  Now   your   servant    Yedoniah   and    his   colleagues 

depose  as  follows  :  In  the  month  of  Tammuz  in 
the  I4th  year  of  Darius  the  king,  when  Arsames 

5  departed  and  went  to  the  king,  the  priests  of  the 

god  Khnub,  who  is  in  the  fortress  of  Yeb,  (were) 
in  league  with  Waidrang  who  was  governour  here, 

6  saying  :   The  temple  of  Yahu  the  God,  which  is  in 

the  fortress  of  Yeb  let  them  remove  from  there. 
Then  that  Waidrang, 

7  the  reprobate,  sent  a  letter  to  his  son  Nephayan 

who  was  commander  of  the  garrison  in  the  fortress 
of  Syene  saying  :  The  temple  which  is  in  Yeb 

8  the  fortress  let  them  destroy.    Then  Nephayan  led 

out  the  Egyptians  with  the  other  forces.  They 
came  to  the  fortress  of  Yeb  with  their  weapons, 

9  they  entered  that  temple,  they  destroyed  it  to  the 

ground,  and  the  pillars  of  stone  which  were  there 
they  broke.  Also  it  happened,  5  gate -ways 

10  of  stone,  built  with  hewn  blocks  of  stone,  which 

were  in  that  temple,  they  destroyed,  and  their 
doors  they  set  up  (?),  and  the  hinges 

11  of  those  doors  were  bronze,  and  the  roof  of  cedar 

wood,  all  of  it,  with  the  rest  of  the  furniture  and 
other  things  which  were  there, 

12  all  of  it  they  burnt  with  fire,  and  the  basons  of  gold 

and  silver  and  everything  that  was  in  that  temple, 
all  of  it,  they  took 

13  and  made  their  own.     Already  in  the  days  of  the 

kings  of  Egypt  our  fathers  had  built  that  temple 
in  the  fortress  of  Yeb,  and  when  Cambyses  came 
into  Egypt 


THE  TIME  OF  EZRA  73 

14  he  found  that  temple  built,  and  the  temples  of  the 

gods  of  Egypt  all  of  them  they  overthrew,  but  no 
one  did  any  harm  to  that  temple. 

15  When  this  was  done,  we  with  our  wives  and  our 

children  put  on  sack-cloth  and  fasted  and  prayed 
to  Yahu  the  Lord  of  Heaven, 

16  who  let  us  see  (our  desire)  upon  that  Waidrang,  the 

abominable.  They  tore  off  the  anklets  from  his 
legs,  and  all  the  riches  he  had  gained  were 
destroyed,  and  all  the  men 

17  who  had  sought  to  do  evil  to  that  temple,  all  of 

them,  were  killed  and  we  saw  (our  desire)  upon 
them.  Also  before  this,  at  the  time  when  this 
evil 

18  was  done  to  us,  we  sent  a  letter  to  your  lordship 

and  to  Johanan  the  high  priest  and  his  colleagues 
the  priests  who  are  in  Jerusalem,  and  to  Ostanes 
the  brother 

19  of    'Anani,    and    the    nobles    of    the    Jews.     They 

have  not  sent  any  letter  to  us.  Also  since  the 
month  of  Tammuz  in  the  I4th  year  of  Darius  the 
king 

20  till   this   day   we   wear   sack-cloth  and   fast.     Our 

wives  are  made  widow-like,  we  do  not  anoint 
ourselves  with  oil 

21  and  we  drink  no  wine.     Also  from  that  (time)  till 

(the  present)  day  in  the  I7th  year  of  Darius 
the  king,  neither  meal-offering,  incense,  nor 
sacrifice 

22  do  they  offer  in  that  temple.     Now  your  servants 

Yedoniah  and  his  colleagues  and  the  Jews,  all  of 
them  inhabitants  of  Yeb,  say  as  follows  : 

23  If  it  seem  good  to  your  lordship,  take  thought  for 

that  temple  to  build  it,  since  they  do  not  allow 
us  to  build  it.  Look  upon  your 


74  JEWISH  DOCUMENTS  OF 

24  well-wishers  and  friends  who   are   here   in  Egypt, 

(and)  let  a  letter  be  sent  from  you  to  them  con- 
cerning the.  temple  of  the  God  Yahu 

25  to  build  it  in  the  fortress  of  Yeb  as  it  was  built 

before,  and  they  shall  offer  the  meal-offering  and 
incense  and  sacrifice 

26  on  the  altar  of  the  God  Yahu  on  your  behalf,  and 

we  will  pray  for  you  at  all  times,  we,  our  wives, 
our  children,  and  the  Jews, 

27  all  who  are  here,  if  they  do  so  that  this  temple  be 

re-built,  and  it  shall  be  a  merit  to  you  before 
•  Yahu  the  God  of 

28  Heaven  more  than  a  man  who  offers  to  him  sacrifice 

and  burnt-offerings  worth  as  much  as  the  sum  of 
a  thousand  talents.  As  to  gold,  about  this 

29  we   have   sent   (and)   given  instructions.     Also   the 

whole  matter  we  have  set  forth  in  a  letter  in  our 
name  to  Delaiah  and  Shelemiah  the  sons  of 
Sanballat  governour  of  Samaria. 

30  Also  of  all  this  which  was  done  to  us  Arsames  knew 

nothing.  On  the  20th  of  Marheshwan  the  I7th 
year  of  Darius  the  king. 

This  must  be  a  copy  or  draft  of  the  letter  actually  sent. 

1.  i.  Bigvai  =  Bagoas  in  Josephus,  Ant.  10  7,  where  loannes 
(=  Johanan  in  1.  18)  is  also  mentioned  as  High-Priest. 

1.2.     "  seek  after  "  :   the  regular  formula  in  human  greetings. 

L  7.  "  reprobate  "  does  not  seem  very  suitable,  but  no  better 
meaning  has  been  suggested.  The  word  occurs  several  times. 

1.  10.  "  set  up  "  is  difficult.  Possibly  "  lifted  them  off  their 
hinges  "  ( ?)  or  "  stood  them  against  the  wall  "  to  burn  them. 

1.  13.     "  when  Cambyses  came  into  Egypt  "  in  525  B.C. 

1.  16.  "  the  abominable,"  lit.  "  dog-like."  It  may  be  "  the 
dogs  tore  off,"  after  he  was  killed.  But  the  sentence  is  obscure. 

1.  19.  "  They  have  not  sent,"  because  they  disapproved  of  the 
temple  ? 

1.  24.     "  to  them,"  i.  e.  to  the  Egyptians. 

1.  26.     "  on  your  behalf,"  though  he  was  a  non- Jewish  official. 

1.  28.     "  As  to  gold,"  as  bakhshish. 

1.  30.  "  Arsames  knew  nothing,"  and  so  was  not  to  blame. 
He  was  away  at  the  time,  Cf.  11.  4,  5. 


THE  TIME  OF  EZRA  75 

No.  31. 

A  Duplicate  of  No.  30.     Same  date. 

(Sachau,  p.  23.) 

1  To  our  lord  Bigvai,  governour  of  Judcea,  your,  servants 

Yedoniah  and  his  colleagues  the  priests  .  .  . 

2  God  of  Heaven  seek  after  at  all  times.     May  he  give 

you  favour  before  Darius  .  .  . 

3  May  he  grant  you  long  life,  and  may  you  be  happy 

and  prosperous  at  all  times.     Now  your  servant 
Yedoniah  .  .  . 

4  Year  14  of  Darius  the  king,  when  Arsames  departed 

and  went  to  the  king  .  .  . 

5  The  fortress.     They  gave  money  and  valuables  to 

Waidrang  the  governour  who  was  here,  saying  .  .  . 

6  let  them  remove  from  there.     Then  that  Waidrang, 

the  reprobate,  sent  a  letter  to  his  son  Nephayan, 
who  .  .  . 

7  of  Yahu  the  God,  which  is  in  the  fortress  of  Yeb, 

let  them  destroy.    Then  that  Nephayan  led  out 
the  Egyptians  .  .  . 

8  their  weapons.    They  went  into  that  temple.    They 

destroyed  it  to   the  ground,   and  the   pillars  of 
stone  .  .  . 

9  5  great  gate-ways,  built  of  hewn  stone,  which  were 

in  that  temple  .  .  . 

10  those,  of  bronze,  ancl  the  roof  of  that  temple,  all  of 

it  of  cedar  wood,  with  the  rest  .  .  . 

11  they  burnt  with  fire,  and  the  basons  of  gold  and  of 

silver  and  every  thing  .  .  . 

12  they  made.    Already  in  the  day  of  the  kings  of  Egypt 

our  fathers  had  built  that  temple  in  Yeb  .  .  . 

13  He  found  that  built,  and  the  temples  of  the  gods 

of  the  Egyptians  all  of  them  they  overthrew,  but 
no  one  did  any  .  .  . 


76  JEWISH  DOCUMENTS   OF 

14  was  done,  we  with  our  wives,  and  our  children  have 

been  wearing  sack-cloth,  fasting  .  .  . 

15  let  us  see  (our  desire)  on  that  Waidrang,  the  abomin- 

able.   They  tore  off  his  anklets  from  his  legs  and 
all  ... 

16  sought   to   do   evil   to   that   temple,   all   of    them, 

were  killed  and  we  saw  (our  desire)  upon  them. 
Also  .  .  . 

17  to  us,  we  sent  a  letter  about  this  ...  to  your  lord- 

ship and  to  Johanan  .  .  . 

18  and  to  Ostanes  the  brother  of  'Anani,  and  the  nobles 

of  Judaea.     A  letter  .  .  . 

19  Year  14  of  King  Darius  till  this  day  we  wear  sack- 

cloth  .  .  . 

20  we  do  not  anoint  ourselves  with  oil  and  we  drink 

no  wine.     Also  from  that  time  till  this  .  .  . 

21  meal-offering,   incense    nor   sacrifice   do    they  offer 

in  that  temple.     Now  .  .  . 

22  and  the  Jews  all  of  them,  citizens  of  Yeb,  say  as 

follows  :   If  it  seem  good  to  your  lords/up,  take 
thought  .  .  . 

23  allow  us  to  build  it.     Look  upon  your  well-wishers 

and  friends  who  are  here  .  .  . 

24  concerning  the  temple  of  the  God  Yahu  to  build  it 

in  the  fortress  of  Yeb  as  ... 

25  and   the    sacrifice   we    will    offer   on    the    altar  of 

the    God    Yahu    on   your*  behalf,    and   we    will 
pray  .  .  . 

26  and  all  the  Jews  who  are  here,  if  you  do  so  that 

this  temple  be  re-built  .  .  . 

27  Heaven,  more  than  a  man  who  offers  to  him  sacrifice 

and  burnt-offerings  worth  the  sum  of  a  thousand 
talents.     As  to  ... 

28  matter,  we  have  sent  a  letter  in  our  name  to  Delaiah 

and  Shelemiah  the  sows  of  .  .  . 


THE  TIME  OF  EZRA  77 

29  all  that  was  done  to  us  Arsames  knew  nothing.     On 
the  20th  of  Marheshwan  the  i/th  year  .  .  . 

The  ends  of  all  the  lines  are  lost. 


No.  32. 

Answer  to  No.  30.     About  408  B.C. 

(Sachau,  p.  28.) 

1  Memorandum  from  Bigvai  and  Delaiah.     They  said 

2  to  me  :  Let  it  be  an  instruction  to  you  in  Egypt 

to  say 

3  to  Arsames  about  the  altar-house  of  the  God  of 

4  Heaven,  which  was  built  in  the  fortress  of  Yeb 

5  formerly,  before  Cambyses, 

6  which  Waidrang,  that  reprobate,  destroyed 

7  in  the  I4th  year  of  Darius  the  king, 

8  to  rebuild  it  in  its  place  as  it  was  before, 

9  and  they  may  offer  the  meal-offering  and  incense 

upon 

10  that  altar  as  formerly 

11  was  done. 

1.  2.     "to  me  "  :   the  messenger,  not  named. 
1.  9.     Note  that  animal  sacrifice  is  not  mentioned.     Inten- 
tionally ? 

No.  33. 

A  further  Petition,  connected  with  No.  30. 
About  407  B.C.     (Sachau,  p.  31.) 

1  Your  servants  Yedoniah  b.  Gemariah  by  name,  I. 

2  Ma'uzi  b.  Nathan  by  name,  i. 

3  Shemaiah  b.  Haggai  by  name,  i. 

4  Hosea  b.  Yathom  by  name,  i. 

5  Hosea  b.  Nathun  by  name,  i,  total  5  men, 


78  JEWISH  DOCUMENTS  OF 

6  Syenians  who  hold  property  in  the  fortress  of  Yeb, 

7  say  as  follows  :  If  your  lordship  is  favourable 

8  and  the  temple  of  Yahu  the  God  which  we  had  (?) 

be  rebuilt  (?) 

9  in  the  fortress  of  Yeb  as  it  was  formerly  built, 

10  and  sheep,  oxen  (and)  goats  are  not  offered  as  burnt- 

sacrifice  there, 

11  but  incense,  meal-offering  and  drink-offering  only, 

12  and  (if)  your  lordship  gives  orders  to  that  effect,  then 

13  we  will  pay  to  your  lordship's  house   the  sum  of 

....  and  also 

14  a  thousand  ardabs  of  barley. 

This  may  have  been  sent  to  Bigvai  after  receipt  of  his  answer, 
No.  32.     Or  it  may  be  addressed  to  Arsames. 

1.  10.     They  seem  to  agree  not  to  offer  animal  sacrifice. 


34 
A  Letter.     Probably  about  407  B.C. 

(Sachau,  p.  63.) 

i,  2 khnum,    now  these  are 

the  names  of  the  women  who  -were  found 

3  at  the  gate  in  Thebes  (?  )  and  were  taken  prisoners : 

Kami,  wife  of  Hodar,  Asirshuth,  wife  of  Hosea, 
Pelul,  wife  of  Yislah,  Re'ia 

4  Zebia,  daughter  of  Meshullam,  Yekhola  her  sister. 

These  are  the  names  of  the  men  who  were  found 
at  the  gate  in  Thebes  ( ?  )  and  were  taken  prisoners  : 

5  Yedonia  b.  Gemariah,  Hosea  b.  Yathom,  Hosea  b. 

Nathum,  Haggai  his  brother,  Ahio  b.  Mahseiah(^). 
They  have  left  (?) 

6  the  houses  which  they  had  entered  in  Yeb,  and  the 

property  which  they  had  taken  they  have  restored 
indeed  to  the  owners  of  it,  but  they  remembered  (?) 
......  the  sum  of 


THE  TIME  OF  EZRA  79 

7  120  kerashin.  Moreover  they  will  have  no  further 
authority  here.  Peace  be  to  your  house  and  your 
children  till  the  Gods  let  us  see  (our  desire)  upon 
them. 

This  seems  to  refer  to  violence  done  at  the  time  of  the 
destruction  of  the  temple. 

1.5.  Cf.  the  names  in  No.  33.  "They,"  i.e.  the  Egyptian 
rioters. 

No.  35. 

Contract  for  a  Loan.     About  400  B.C. 

(Sachau,  p.  128.) 

1  On  the  2ist  (?)  of  Pfiamenoth,  year  5  of  Amyrtaeus 

the  king  at  that  time 

2  said   Menahem  b.   Shalom,   Aramaean  of   Yeb   the 

fortress,  of  the  detachment  of  Nabukudurri, 

3  to  Sallufl  daughter  of  Sawuah,  as  follows  :  You  have 

a  claim  on  me  for  the  sum  of  2  shekels, 

4  that  is  the  sum  of  I  stater,  being  part  of  the  money 

and  goods  which  are  (prescribed)  in  the  deed 

5  of  your  marriage.     I,  Menahem,  will  give  it  and  pay 

you  in  full  by 

6  the  3Oth  of  Pharmuthi,  year  5  of  King  Amyrteeus. 

// 1  have  not 

7  paid  off  and  given  to  you   this  sum  of  2  shekels, 

that  is  i  stater, 

8  by  the  said  day  which  is  written  above,  and  it  come 

to  the  ist  (?)  of  Pahons, 

9  this  your  money,  the  sum  of  2  shekels  that  is  the 

sum  of  i  stater,  shall  be  doubled  (?), 
10  and  I  will  give  you,  Sallua,  your  money  and 

your  money 
ii if  I  sue  you  or  sue  your  son  .... 

1.  i.  Amyrtaeus  is  the  Egyptian  who  rebelled  against  Persia 
shortly  before  400  B.C. 

1.  9.     The  end  is  too  fragmentary  to  be  restored.     Cf.  No.  n. 


8o  JEWISH  DOCUMENTS 

No.  36. 

Part  of  a  Marriage  Contract.     No  date. 

(Sachau,  p.  49.) 

1  new,  21  (?).... 

2  5  cubits  3  hands  by  3  (cubits)  and  4  hands,  worth 

the  sum  of  3  shekels ;  I  .  .  .  new,  7  cubits 

3  by  4  and  a  span,  worth  the  sum  of  4  shekels  20 

kallurin ;  I  .  .  .  new,  of  wool,  worth  the  sum  of 

4  10  hallurin ;  I  cup  of  bronze  worth  the  sum  of  15  (?) 

hallurin  ;  T  bowl  of  bronze  .... 

Cf.  No.  15. 


The    Words    of   Ahikar. 

Col.  i.     (Sachau,  p.  148.) 

1  These  are  the  words  of  one  named  Ahikar,  a  wise 

and  ready  scribe,  which  he  taught  to  the  son  o/ 
his  sister,  whom  he  brought  up. 

2  For  he   said   "  Surely  he   shall  be   a  son  to   me." 

Before  his  words  Ahikar  had  become  great  and  had 
been  counsellor  of  all  A  ssyria 

3  and  bearer  of  the  seal  of  Senacherib  king  of  Assyria, 

and  he  said:   7  indeed  had  no  sons  and  on  my 
counsel 

4  and  words  Senacherib  king  of  Assyria  used  to  {rely). 

Then  S  mac  he  rib  king  of  Assyria  died  and  there 
arose 

5  his   son   named   Esarhaddon   and   became   king   in 

Assyria  instead  of  Senacherib  his  /ather.     At  that 
time  I  said 

6  "  I  am  old  and  who  shall  be  to  me  a  son   after   me 

to  do  my  service?  and  who  shall  be 

7  scribe  and  bearer  of  the  seal  to  Esarhaddon  the  king, 

as  I  was  to  Senacherib, 

8  king  of  Assyria  ?"     Then  I,  Ahikar,  took  Nadin,  as  he 

was  called,  the  son  of  my  sister,  and  brought  him  up, 

9  and  taught  him  and  showed  great  kindness  to  himt 

and  set  him  in  the  gate  of  the   palace  with  me 
before  the  king  among 

10  his  courtiers.     I   brought   him  before   Esarhaddon 

king  of  Assyria,  and  he  told  him  whatever 

11  he  asked  him.     Then  Esarhaddon  king  of  Assyria 

loved  him  and  said  "  Long  life  be  to  Ahikar, 
F  81 


82  JEWISH  DOCUMENTS  OF 

12  the  wise  scribe,  counsellor  of  all  Assyria,  who  set 

up  as  his  son,  when  he  had  no  son,  the  son  of  his 
sister." 

13  When  the  king  of  Assyria  had  thus  spoken,  I  bowed 

down  and  made  obeisance,  I  Ahikar,  before  Esar- 
haddon  king  of  Assyria. 

14  And  in  after  days  /,  Afrikar,  when  I  saw  the  face  of 

Esarhaddon  king  of  Assyria  favourable,  I  answered 

15  and  said  before  the  king  "  I  served  Senacherib  the 

king  your  father  who  was  king  before  you 
16 and  now  behold 

The  name  is  spelt  here  Ahikar  in  deference  to  custom.  It 
would  be  pronounced  Ahuyakar  in  Babylonian,  Ahyekar  in 
Aramaic.  Cf.  Greek  'Ax«$xaP°s- 

1.  i.  "  scribe  "  is  a  man  learned  in  the  law,  a  councillor. 
The  ends  of  this  and  the  following  lines  are  difficult  to 
restore.  Possibly  the  papyrus  is  not  correctly  pieced  together. 

1.  1 6  is  missing.     Otherwise  the  text  is  continuous. 

Col.  ii.     (Sachau,  p.  151.) 

17  I  am  old.     I  cannot  work  in  the  gate  of  the  palace 

and  do  my  service  to  you.      „ 

18  Behold,  my  son,  Nadin  by  name,  is  full-grown.    Let 

him  take  my  place  as  scribe  and  counsellor  of  all 
Assyria,  and  let  him 

19  be  seal-foarer   to   you.     My  wisdom  also   and   my 

counsel    I    have    taught    him."     Then    answered 
Esarhaddon 

20  king  of  Assyria  and  said  to  me,  "  So  indeed  it  shall 

be.     Your  son  shall  be  scribe  and  seal-bearer  to  me 

21  in  your  stead.     He  shall  do  your  service  for  me." 

Then  I,  Ahikar,  when  I  heard 

22  the  promise  given,  went  away  to  my  house  and  was 

resting  in  my  house.     And  this  my  son 
£3  whom  I  had  brought  up  and  set  in  the  gate  of  the 
palace  before  Esarhaddon,  king  of  Assyria,  among 


THE  TIME  OF  EZRA  83 

24  his  courtiers,  I  thought  "  He  will  seek  my  good  in 

return  for  that  which  I  have  done  for  him."     Then 

25  the  son  of  my  sister  whom  I  had  brought  up,  imagined 

against  me  evil  and  said  in  his  heart, 

26  "  Surely  such  words  as  these  can  I  say,  l  This  Ahikar, 

the  old  man,  who  was  seal-bearer 

27  to  Senacherib  the  king  your  father  has  corrupted  the 

land  against  you,  for  he  is  a  counsellor  and  a  skilful 

28  scribe  and  by  his  counsel  and  words  all  Assyria  was 

(guided).'     Then  Esarhaddon 

29  will  be  greatly  troubled  when  he  hears  words  like 

these  which  I   shall  speak  to  him,   and  will  kill 
Ahikar."     Then 

30  when  my  son  who  was  not  my  son,  had  devised  this 

falsehood  against  me  ..... 


1.  31  is  lost.     It  must  have  related  how  he  told  his  story  to 
the  king. 

Col.  iii.     (Sachau,  p.  153.) 

32  Then  was  £sarhaddon  king  of  Assyria  filled  with 

rage  and  said 

33  "  Let  there  come  to  me  Nabusumiskun  one  of  the 

officers  of  my  father,  who  ate  the  bread  of  my 
father."- 

34  The  king  said,  "  You  are  to  seek  Ahikar  wherever 

you  may  find  him 

35  and  kill  him.     Even  if  this  Afeikar,  the  old  man,  is 

a  skilful  scribe 

36  and  counsellor  of  all  Assyria,  why  should  he  corrupt 

the  land  against  us?  "    Then  when 

37  the  king  of  Assyria  had  thus  spoken,  he  appointed 

with  him  2  other  men  to  see  how 

38  he  would  act.    This  Afafrusumiskun  the  officer  went 

away  riding  on  a  swift  horse, 


84  JEWISH  DOCUMENTS  OF 

39  and  those  men  with  him.     Then  after  three  more 

days  indeed 

40  he,  with  other  men  who  were  with  him,  found  me 

while  I  was  walking  among  the  vineyards. 

41  And  when  this  Afa&usumiskun  the  officer  saw  me  then 

he  rent  his  clothes,  lamenting, 

42  and  said,  "Are  you  he,  the  skilful  scribe,  giver  of 

good  counsel,  who 

43  was  a  righteous  man  and  by  whose  counsel  and  words 

all  Assyria  was  (guided)  ? 

44  The  son  whom  you  brought  up,  whom  you  set  in  the 

gate  of  the  palace,  has  injured  you(?);   he  has 
ruined  you,  and 

45  an  evil  return  is  it."     Then  I,  Ahikar,  indeed  was 

afraid.     I  answered  and  said  to  Nabusurm's&ww 

46  the  officer,  "  (Yes,  and]  also  I  am  that  Ahikar  wl 

formerly  saved  you  from  an  undeserved  death 

47  when  Senacherib  the  father  of  this  Esarhaddon,  tl 

king,  was  angry  with  you 

48  to  kill  you.     Then  I  took  you  to  my  house.     There 

I  was  supporting  you 

Col.  iv.     (Sachau,  p.  155.) 

49  as  a  man  (deals)  with  his  brother,  and  I  hid  you 

from  him.     I  said,  '  I  have  killed  him/  until  in 
after  time  and  many  days 

50  after,   I  brought  you  before   king  Senacherib  and 

took  away  your  offences  before  him,  and  he  did 
you  no  evil. 

51  Moreover  king  Senacherib  was  well  pleased  with  me 

that  I  had  kept  you  alive  and  had  not  killed  you. 
Now 

52  according  as  I  did  to  you,  so  do  also  to  me.     Do 

not  kill  me.     Take  me  to  your  house  un//7  other 
days. 


THE  TIME  OF  EZRA  85 

53  King  Esarhaddon  is  kind  as  one  friend  to  another. 

He   will  remember  me   and  desire   my  counsel. 
Then  you 

54  shall  bring  me  to  him  and  he  shall  let  me  live/' 

Then  answered  Nabusumiskun  the  officer  and  said 
to  me,  "  Fear  not.     Surely 

55  you  shall  live,  Ahikar,  father  of  all  Assyria,  by  whose 

counsel   king    Senacherib   and   all   the    army   of 
Assyria 

56  were  (guided)."     Then  Nabusumiskun  the  officer  said 

to  his  companions,  those  two  men  who  were  with 
him, 

57  "  Hearken  indeed,  and  listen  to  me,  and  I  will  tell 

you  my  counsel,  and  it  is  a  good  counsel 

58  exceedingly."     Then    answered  those   two   men   and 

said  to  him,  "  Tell  us  indeed,  Nabusumiskun  the 
officer, 

59  what  you  think,  and  we  will  listen  to  you."    Then 

answered  Nabusumiskun   the  officer  and   said   to 
them,  "  Hear  me  : 

60  indeed  this  Ahikar  was  a  great  man  and  bearer  of 

the  seal  to  king  Esarhaddon,  and  by  his  counsel 
and  words 

6 1  all  the  army  of  Assyria,  were  (guided).     Let  us  not 

kill  him  undeservedly.     A  slave,  a  eunuch  of  mine, 
I  will  give  to  you. 

62  Let   him  be   killed  between   these   two   mountains 

instead  of  this  Ahikar,  and  whew  it  is  heard,  the 
king  will  send  other  men 

63  after  us  to  see  the  body  of  this  Ahikar.    Then  they 

will  see  the  body  of  this  eunuch  my  slave, 

Col.  v.     (Sachau,  p.  157.) 

64  until    afterwards    Esarhaddon    the    king    remembers 

Ahikar  and  desires  his  counsel,  and  grieves 


86  JEWISH  DOCUMENTS  OF 

65  over  him,  and  the  heart  of  Esarhaddow  the  king  shall 

turn  and  he  shall  say  to  his  officers  and  courtiers 

66  '  I  will  give  you  riches  as  the  number  of  the  sand  if 

you  find  Ahikar.'  '      And  this  counsel 

67  seemed  good  to   his  companions,   those   two  men. 

They  answered  and   said    to    Nabusumiskun,   the 
officer, 

68  "Do  according  as  you  think.     Let  us  not  kill  him, 

but  you  shall  give  us  that  slave, 

69  the  eunuch,  instead  of   Ahikar  here.     He   shall  be 

killed  between  these  two  mountains." 

70  At  that  time   it  was  reported  in   the   country  of 

Assyria,  saying,  "Ahikar  the  scribe  of  Esarhaddon 

71  the    king    is    killed."     Then    Nabusuwz's&ww,    that 

officer,  took  me  to  his  house  and  hid  me,  also 

72  he  sustained  me  there  as  a  man   (deals)  with  his 

brother,  and  said  to  his  servants,  "  Let  bread  and 
water 

73  be  carried  to  my  lord."     So  he  gave  me  .  .  . 

74  abundant  sustenance  (?)  and  goods  in  plenty.    Then 

Nabusumiskun,  that  officer, 

75  went   to   Esarhaddon   the    king  and   said  to   him, 

"  According  as  you  commanded  me,  so  have  I  done. 

76  I  went  and  found  that  Ahikar  and  killed  him."    And 

when  king  Esarhaddon 

77  heard  this  he   asked  the   two  men  whom  he  had 

appointed  with  Nabusumiskun  and  they  said,  "  So 
it  was,  as 

78  he  says."    Then  as  long  as  king  Esarha^ow 

1.  64.     The  text  is  continuous  from  col.  iv,  though  the  con- 
nexion is  loose. 

1.  78.    The  narrative  breaks  off  here. 


THE  TIME  OF  EZRA  87 

Col.  vi.     (Sachau,  p.  160  .) 

79  What  is  stronger  than  wine  foaming  in  the  press  ? 

80  The  son  who  is  trained  and  taught,  and  on  whose 

feet  the  fetter  is  put  shall  prosper. 

81  Withhold  not  thy  son  from  the  rod,  if  thou  canst 

not  keep  him  from  wickedness. 

82  If  I  smite  thee,  my  son,  thou  wilt  not  die,  and  if 

I  leave  (thee)  to  thine  own  heart  thou  wilt  not  live. 

83  A  blow  for  a  slave,  rebuke  for  a  maid,  and  for  all 

thy  servants  discipline.     A  man  who 

84  Buys  a  licentious  slave  (or)  a  thievish  maid  brings 

anxiety  into  his  house,  and  disgraces 

85  The  name  of  his  father  and  his  offspring  with  the 

reputation  of  his  wantonness.     The  scorpion  finds 

86  Bread  and  does  not  eat  in  order  that  he  may  live, 

but  it  is  too  good  for  him  to  taste. 

87 thou  hast  done the  blood  of  the 

hind  .  .  . 

88  The  lion  devours  ( ? )  the  hart  in  the  secrecy  of  (his) 

den  (?),  and  he  ... 

89  And  will  shed  his  blood  and  eat  his  flesh :   so  is  the 

contact  of  men.     From  fear  of  the  lion 

90  The  ass  left  his  burden  and  will  not  carry  it.     He 

shall  bear  shame  before  his  fellow  and  shall  bear 
a  bwden  which  is  not  his, 

91  And  shall  be  laden  with  a  camel's  load.    The  ass 

made  obeisance  to  the  she-ass  from  love  of  her, 
and  the  birds  .  .  . 

92  Two  things  are  goodly  (?),  and  of  three  there  is 

pleasure  to  Shamash :  one  who  drinks  wine  and  gives 
it  (to  others),  one  who  restrains  (?)  wisdom  .  .  . 

93  And  he  hears  a  word  and  does  not  reveal  it.    Behold. 

this  is  precious  before  Shamash.     But  one  who 
drinks  wine  and  does  not  give  it  to  others 


88  JEWISH  DOCUMENTS  OF 

94  And  his  wisdom  goes  astray who  sees?  .  .  . 

Thou    hast   placed peoples 

the  gods  .  .  . 

The  "  proverbs  "  begin  with  this  column. 

I.  79.     "  wine  foaming  "  has  been  generally  taken  as  "  an  ass 
braying  "  (cf.  Syriac,  No.  8),  but  "  in  the  press,"  if  right,  makes 
this  impossible. 

II.  80-85.     Cf.  Nos.  22-26  in  the  Syriac. 

1.  92.  Note  the  numerical  maxim,  common  in  wisdom- 
literature. 

1.  93.  "  Shamash,"  the  Babylonian  god,  the  judge  of  right 
and  wrong,  rather  than  "  the  sun."  So  in  1.  171. 

Col.  vii.     (Sachau,  p.  163.) 

95  Even  to  gods  is  it  precious,  to  it  ior  ever  belongs  the 

kingdom,  in  heaven  it  is  treasured  up,  for  the  lord 
of  holiness  has  exalted  it. 

96  My  son,  do  not  chatter  overmuch  till  thou  reveal 

every  word 

97  which  comes  into  thy  mind,  for  in  every  place  are 

their  eyes  and  their  ears;  but  keep  watch  over 
thy  mouth,  let  it  not  be  thy  destruction  (?). 

98  More  than  all  watchfulness  watch  thy  mouth,  and 

over  what  thou  hearest  harden  thy  heart,  for  a 
word  is  (like)  a  bird,  and  when  he  has  sent  it 
forth  a  man  does  not  re-capture  it  (?  ). 

99  Count  the  secrets  of  thy  mouth,  afterwards  bring 

forth  (advice)  to  thy  brother  for  his  help,  for 
stronger  is  the  ambush  of  the  mouth  than  the 
ambush  of  fighting. 

100  Suppress  not  the  word  of  a  king  :   it  may  be  a 

healing  to  thy  brother.  Soft  is  the  speech  of  a 
king,  (but)  it  is  sharper  and  stronger  than  a 
ft£>o-edged  knife. 

101  Behold  before  thee  something  hard  :   in  presence 

of  a  king  stand  not.     Swifter  is  his  anger  than 
lightning.     Do  thou  take  heed  to  thyself. 


THE  TIME  OF  EZRA  89 

102  Let  him  not  show  it  at  thy  words,  that  thou  go 

away  before  thy  time. 

103  In  presence  of  a  king,  if  (a  thing)  is  commanded 

thee,  it  is  a  burning  fire;  hasten,  do  it;  let  it 
not  kindle  upon  thee  and  hide  (?)  thy  hands,  for 

104  Also  the  word  of  a  king  is  with  wrath  of  heart. 

Why  should  wood  strive  with  fire,  flesh  with  a 
knife,  a  man  with  a  king  ? 

105  I  have  tasted  even  the  bitter  sloe,  and  the  taste 

was  strong,  but  there  is  nothing  which  is  more 
bitter  than  poverty.  Soft  is  the  tongue  of  a  king 

106  But  it  breaks  the  ribs  of  a  dragon,  like  death  which 

is  not  seen.  In  a  multitude  of  children  let  not 
thy  heart  exult,  and  in  the  lack  of  them  be  not 
ashamed. 

107  A  king  is  like  the  merciful  (?)  :  even  his  voice  is 

high :  who  is  he  that  can  stand  before  him, 
except  one  who  is  like  (?)  him? 

108  Glorious  is  a  king  to  see,  like  Shamash,  and  precious 

is  his  sovereignty  to  those  who  walk  on  the  earth 
in  tranquillity. 

109  A  good  vessel  hides  a  thing  within  itself,  but  one 

that  is  broken  lets  it  go  forth. 

no  The  lion  went  near  to  gr^  the  ass  saying,  "  Peace 
be  to  thee."  The  ass  answered  and  said  to  the 
lion 


1.  95.    The  subject  is  probably  "  wisdom." 

I.  96.     "  chatter  overmuch  "  :  the  words  are  indistinct,  but  this 
gives  the  most  suitable  sense.     11.  97-99  are  on  the  same  subject. 

II.  100-108  is  another  group. 

1.  103.     "  kindle  "  :  so  the  text.     Perhaps  it  is  a  mistake. 
1.  107.     "  the  merciful,"  i.  e.  God  ? 

1.  107.     "  except  one  who  is  like  him  "  :    the  phrase  occurs 
several  times,  but  its  meaning  is  doubtful. 

1.  108.     "  Shamash,"  as  in  1.  93.     Or  it  may  be  "  the  sun." 
1.  no.     There  is  a  gap  after  this  line. 


90  JEWISH  DOCUMENTS  OF 

Col.  viii.     (Sachau,  p.  166.) 

111  I  have  lifted  sand  and  carried  salt,  and  there  is 

nothing  which  is  heavier  than  debt. 

112  I  have  lifted  chaff  and  taken  up  bran,  and  there  is 

nothing  which  is  lighter  than  (to  be)  a  sojourner. 

113  A   sword   will   trouble    calm   water   among   good 

shepherds. 

114  A  little  man  when  he  multiplies  his  words,  they 

.....  above    him,    for    the    opening    of    his 
mouth  .... 

115  Gods,  and  if  he  were  beloved  of  (the)  gods  they 

would    put    something   good   in    his    palate    to 
speak. 

116  Many  are  the  stars  of  heaven  whose  names  man 

knows  not  :  so  man  knows  not  men. 

117  There  is  no  lion  in  the  sea,  therefore  they  call  the 


118  The  leopard  met  the  goat  and  she  was  cold.  The 
leopard  answered  and  said  to  the  goat,  "  Come 
and  I  will  cover  thee  with  my  hide." 

1  19  The  goat  answered  and  said  to  the  leopard,  "  What 
hast  thou  to  do  with  me,  my  lord?  Take  not 
my  skin  from  me."  For  he  does  not 

120  Salute    the    kid  except   to    suck   its  blood.    The 

master  (?)  went  to  the  sheep  ..... 

121  I  will  be  silent.    The  sheep  answered  and  said  to 

him,  "  Take  for  thyself  what  thou  wilt  take  from 
us.     We  are  thy  sheep." 

122  For  it  is  not   in  the   power  of   men   to   lift  up 

their  foot  and  to  put  them  down  without  (the) 
gods. 

123  For  it  is  not  in  thy  power  to  lift  thy  foot  and  to 

put  it  down.     If  there  goes  forth  good  from  the 
mouth  of  men,  it  is 


THE  TIME   OF  EZRA  91 

124  And  if  a  curse  shall  go  forth  from  their  mouth, 

(the)  gods  will  curse  them.     If  the  eyes  of  (the) 
gods  are  over  men 

125  A  man  cuts  (?)  wood  in  the  dark  and  does  not  see, 

like  a  thief  who  breaks  into  (?)  a  house  and 
escapes  (?). 

11.  in,  112.     Cf.  Syriac,  Nos.  45,  46. 

1.  114.     Two  words  not  translated,  as  the  meaning  is  unknown. 

1.  117.    The  reading  of  the  omitted  word  is  uncertain. 

I.  120.     "  The  master  "  :  we  might  read  "  the  bear,"  or  "  the 
wolf." 

II.  122,  123.    Two  forms  of  the  same  proverb. 

1.  125.    The  translation  and  point  are  alike  doubtful. 

Col.  ix.     (Sachau,  p.  169.) 

126  Bend  not  thy  bow  and  shoot  not  thy  arrow  at  the 

righteous,  lest  God  come  to  his  help  and  turn  it 

back  upon  thee. 
127 do  thou,  oh  my  son,  gather  every  harvest 

and  do  every  work,  then  thou  shalt  eat  and  be 

filled  and  give  to  thy  children. 
128  //  thou  hast  bent  thy  bow  and  shot  thy  arrow  at 

one  who  is  more  righteous  than  thou,  the  arrow 

is  from  (the)  gods. 
129 do   thou,   oh  my  son,   borrow  corn  and 

wheat  that  thou  mayest  eat  and  be  filled  and 

give  to  thy  children  with  thee. 

130  A  heavy  loan  and  from  a  wicked  man,  borrow 

not,  an^  if  thou  borrow  take  no  rest  to  thy  soul 
till 

131  Thou  pay  back  the  loan.     A  loan  is  pleasant  when 

there  is  need,  but  the  paying  of  it  is  the  filling 
of  a  house. 

132  All  that  thou  hearest  thou  mayest  try  by  thy  ears,  for 

the  beauty  of  a  man  is  his  faithfulness,  and  his 
hatefulness  is  the  lying  of  his  lips. 


92  JEWISH  DOCUMENTS  OF 

133  At  first  the  throne  is  set  up  for  the  liar,  but  at  last 

his  lies  shall  find  him  out,  and  they  shall  spit  in 
his  face. 

134  A  liar  has  his  neck  cut,  like  a  maiden  of  the  south  ( ?) 

who  hides  (?)  (her)  face,  like  a  man  who  makes 
a  curse 

135  Which  came  not  forth  from  (the)  gods. 

136  Despise  not  that  which  is  in  thy  lot,  and  covet  not 

some  great  thing  which  is  withheld  from  thee. 

137  Increase  not  riches,  and  lead  not  (thy)  heart  astray. 

138  He  who  is  not  proud  of  (?)  the  name  of  his  father 

and  the  name  of  his  mother,  let  not  the  sun 
shine  upon  him,  for  he  is  an  evil  man. 

139  From  myself  has  my  curse  gone  forth,  and  with 

whom  shall  I  be  justified  ?  The  son  of  my  body 
has  spied  out  (?  )  my  house,  and  what  can  I  say 
to  strangers? 

140  There  was  a  cruel  witness  against  me,  and  who 

then  has  justified  me  ?  From  my  own  house  went 
forth  wrath,  with  whom  shall  I  strive  and  toil? 

141  Thy  secrets  reveal  not  before  thy  friends,  that  thy 

name  be  not  lightly  esteemed  before  them. 

1.  126.  "  God  "  is  plural  with  a  singular  verb,  as  in  Hebrew, 
but  it  may  be  only  a  scribal  error. 

1.  131.  "  the  filling  of  a  house  "  is  obscure.  Perhaps  it  means 
"  takes  all  that  the  house  contains." 

1.  132.     "  hatefulness,"  i.  e.  what  makes  him  hateful. 

I.  134  is  very  obscure.     "  of  the  south  "  is  very  doubtful. 

II.  139,  140  are  suitable  to  the  second  series  of  sayings  found 
in  the  later  versions. 

Col.  x.     (Sachau,  p.  172.) 

142  With  one  that  is  higher  than  thou,  do  not  go  (?) 

to  quarrelling  (?). 

143  With  one  that  is  a  noble  ( ?)  and  stronger  than  thou, 

contend  nott  for  he  will  take 


THE  TIME  OF  EZRA  93 

144  Of  thy  portion  and  will  add  it  to  his  own. 

145  Behold,  so  is  a  li,ttle  man  who  contends  with  a 

great  man. 

146  Remove  not  wisdom  from  thee,  and  .... 

147  Be   not  over  crafty,    and  let  not  thy  wisdom  be 

extinguished. 

148  Be  not  sweet  lest  they  swallow  thee  up.     Be  not 

bitter,  lest  they  spit  thee  out. 

149  If  thou,  my  son,  wouldst  be  exalted,  humble  thyself 

before  God 

150  Who  humbles  the  lofty  man  and  exalts  the  humble 

man. 

151  How  can  the   lips  of  men  curse   when  (the]   gods 

curse  not? 

152  Better  is  he  that  restrains  .  .  . 

153  Let  not  thy  soul  love  .... 

154  Heal  them,  except  one  who  is  like  him. 

155  My  hands  shall  destroy,  and  .... 

156  God  (?)  shall  turn  back  the  mouth  of  the  unjust  (?) 

and  shall  tear  out  his  tongue. 

157  Good  eyes  shall  not  be  darkened,  and  good  ears 

shall  not  be  stopped,  and  a  good  mouth  will  love 

158  The  truth  and  speak  it. 

Col.  xi.     (Sachau,  p.  174.) 

159  A  man  excellent  in  conduct  and  whose  heart  is  good 

is  like  a  strong  bow  which  is  bent  by  a  strong 
man. 

160  //  a  man  stand  not  with  (the)  gods,  how  shall  he 

be  saved  by  (?)  his  own  strength? 
161 belly  and  that  which  is  like  it,  who 

shall  be  judging  him  (?)? 
162 men,  and  peoples  pass  over  them 

and  do  not  leave  them,  and  their  heart  is  .... 


94  JEWISH  DOCUMENTS  OF 

163  A  man  knows  not  what  is  in  the  heart  of  his  fellow, 

and  when  a  good  man  sees  an  evil  man  he  will 
beware  of  him, 

164  He  will  not  accompany  him  on  a  journey,  and  will 

not  hire  him  —  a  good  man  with  an  evil  man. 

165  The    bramble   sent    to    the    pomegranate    saying, 

"  Bramble  to  Pomegranate,  what  is  the  good 
of  thy  many  thorns  to  him  who  /ouches  thy 
fruit  ?  " 

166  ....  the  pomegranate  answered  and  said  to  the 

bramble,  "  Thou  art  all  thorns  to  him  who 
touches  thee." 

167  The  righteous  among  men,  all  who  meet  him  are 

for  his  help  (?). 

168  The  house  of  wicked  men  in  the  day  of  storm  shall 

be  destroyed  (?),  and  in  calm  (?)  its  gates  shall 
fall  (?),  for  the  spoiling  of 

169  The  righteous  are  they.     My  eyes  which  I  lifted  up 

on  thee  and  my  heart  which  I  gave  thee  in 
wisdom, 

170  Thou  hast  despised  and  hast  turned  my  name  into 

wantonness. 

171  If  the  wicked  take  hold  of  the  skirts  of  thy  gar- 

ment, leave  (it)  in  his  hand.  Then  approach  (?) 
Shamash.  He 

172  Will  take  his  and  give  it  to  thee. 

Col.  xii.     (Sachau,  p.  176.) 

173  God  set  me  up  as  a  righteous  man  with  thee, 


174  My  enemies  shall  die,  but  not  by  my  sword  .... 

175  I  left  thee  in  a  hiding-place  of  cedar,  and  thou  hast 

gone  about  .  .  . 

176  Thou  hast  left  thy  friends  and  hast  honoured  my 

enemies. 


THE  TIME  OF  EZRA  95 

177  Pity  (?)  a  man  who  knows  not  what  he 

178  A  wise  man  speaks,  for  the  opening  of  the  mouth 

of  .... 

(II.  179-183  are  lost.) 

184  .  .  .  The  moth  fell  into 

(/.  185  is  lost.) 

186  Into  a  house  (?)  of  bronze  the  moth  fell  .... 

187  My  soul  knows  not  its  path,  therefore  .... 

188  Hunger  sweetens  what  is  bitter  and  thirst  .... 

189  Let  him  that  is  vexed  be  satisfied  with  bread  and 

the  soul  that  is  poor  be  sated  with  wine. 

190  Men 

This  column  is  very  much  broken,  and  the  rest  is  too  im- 
perfect to  be  translated. 


The  Behistun  Inscription  (1.  50-     ). 
Col.  i.     (Sachau,  p.  187.) 
*  *  * 

1  They  killed  of  them  827  and  took  alive  .  .  .06.    A  second 

time  the  rebel  troops  gathered  together.     They 
went 

2  To  meet  Dadarshish  to  join  battle.     Then  they  joined 

battle  at  the  fortress  called  Tigra,  in  Armenia. 
Auramazda  helped  me  ;  by  the  protection  of 

3  Auramazda  my  army  slew  the  rebels.     On  the  i8th 

of  lyyar  they  joined  battle.    They  slew  of  them 


4  The  rebel  troops  gathered  together.    They  went  to 

meet  Dadarshish  to  join  battle.     Then  they  joined 
battle  at  Huyav  as  it  is  called, 

5  The  fortress  in  Armenia.     Auramazda.  helped  me; 

by  the  protection  of  Auramazda  my  army  slew 
the  rebels.     On  the  gth  of  Sivan 

6  They  joined  battle.     They  killed  of  them  472  and  took 

alive  ...02.    Then  Dadarshish  did  nothing  (further), 
waiting  for  me  in  Armenia. 

7  Thus  says  Darius  the  king,  One  Vaumisa  by  name, 

my  servant,  a  Persian,  to  Armenia  I  sent.     I  said, 
"  Go,  that  army,  the  rebels  who  do  not 

8  Obey  me,  slay  them."    Then  Vaumisa  went  to  Armenia. 

On    (his)    arriving    (there)    the    rebels   gathered 
together.     They  went  to  meet  Vaumisa  to  join 

9  Battle.     Then  they  joined  battle.     He  killed  of  them 

2034. 

96 


JEWISH  DOCUMENTS  97 

10  A    second  time  the   rebel  troops  gathered  together. 

They  went  to  mset  Vaumisa  to  join  battle.  They 
joined  battle.  On  the  jolh  of  lyyar  th?y  }o'med 
battle. 

11  They  killed  of  them  2045  and  took  alive  1578.    Then 

Vawwusa  did  nothing,  waiting  for  me  in  Armenia. 

12  Thus  says  Darius  the  king,   Then  I  went  out  from 

Babylon  and  went  to  Media.  On  arriving  in  Media 
at  a  (city)  named  Kundur  in  Media  that  Phraortes 
with 

13  An  army  came  to  meet  me.     We  joined  battle.     Aura- 

muzda  helped  me,  by  the  protection  of  Auramazda 
I  slew  the  army  of  Phraortes.  On  the  2$th 

14  Of  Marheshwan  (?)  we  joined  battle.     I  killed  of  them 

...5  and  alive  I  took  108010.     Then  that  Phraortes 

15  ....  Then  I  sent  the  army  .  .  . 


1.  i.     The  number  of  the  hundreds  is  lost. 

After  1.  3  and  elsewhere,  the  blank  space  represents  an 
omission.  The  original  was  probably  worn  out  and  illegible  in 
these  places. 

1.  4.  "  Huyav,"  in  the  Elamite  version  "  Uiyama."  M  and  V 
are  interchanged  in  Babylonian. 

1.  14.     Both  numbers  are  broken. 

Col.  ii.     (Sachau,  p.  191.) 

16  Thus  says  Darius  the  king,   Then  the  country  was 

mine.     This  is  what  I  did  in  Parthia. 

17  Thus  says  Darius  the  king,  The  country  called  Margiana 

rebelled.     As  king  over  them  they  made 

18  One  Frada  by  name.     Then  I  sent  (the  man)  named 

Dadarshish,    governour   of  Bactria.     I   said,    Go, 
kill 

19  The  army,  the  rebels.     Then  Dadarshish  joined  battle 

with  the  Marxians.     Auramazda  helped  me. 


98  JEWISH  DOCUMENTS  OF 

20  By  the  protection  of  Auramazda  they  killed  those 

rebels.     On  the  2jrd  of  C/wsleu  they  joined  battle. 

21  They  killed  of  them  55243,  and  took  alive  6972. 

22  Thus  says  king  Darius,  A  certain  man,   Vayazdata. 

by  name,  a  Persian,  dwelt  in  Persia.     He  said, 

23  /  am  Smerdis,  the  son  of  Cyrus.     Then  the  Persian 

army,  as  many  as  (?)  were  in  the  houses  in  the 
neighbourhood  (?)  of  the  fortress, 

24  Rebelled.     They  went  over  to  him.     He  became  king 

in  Persia.     Then   I   sent   the   army,   which  was 
small,  in  Persia, 

25  Which  had  not  rebelled,  and  the  army  of  Media  which 

was  with  me.     Artavarzi  by  name,  a  Persian, 

26  /  sent  at  the  head  of  them.     The  other  army  of  Persia 

and  Media  went  with  me.     Then  Artavam 

27  With  the  army  went  to  the  place  called  Rakha  in 

Persia.     Then   that   Vayazdata.,   who   said,    I   am 
Smerdis  came  (?)  with 

28  The  army  to  join  battle.     They  joined  battle.     Aura- 

mazda helped  me,  by  the  protection  of  Auramazda 

29  My  army  killed  the  army  of  Vayazdata.     On  the  i2th 

of  lyyar  they  joined  battle.     They  killed  of  them 

303- 

30  And  took  alive  .  .  .  Then  that  Vayazdata  went  with 

a  small  force  of  cavalry  before 

31  The  fortress  called  Paishiyauvada.     Then,   with  his 

army,  he  came  to  meet  Artavarzi  to  join 

32  Battle.     They  joined  battle.     My  army  killed  the  army 

of  Vayazdato..     In  the  month  Tishri  (?) 


Col.  iii.     (Sachau,  p.  192.) 

33  They  joined  battle.     They  killed  of  them  .  .  .  and 
took  alive  . 


THE  TIME   OF  EZRA  99 

34  They  took  Vayazdata,  and  the  nobles  who  were  with 

him   they    (also)    took.      Thus   says    king    Darius, 
Then 

35  I  put  10...  to  death,  and  the  nobles  who  were  with 

him  I  crucified  at  a  place  called   Uvadaicaya  in 
Persia 

36  52  (of  them).     This  is  what  I  did  in  Persia. 

37  Thus  says  king  Darius,  That  Vayazdata,  who  said,  I 

am  Smerdis,  had  sent  an  army  to  Arachosia 

38  And  a  certain  man  at  the  head  of  them  to  meet  my 

servant  named  Vivana,  a  Persian,  the  governour 

39  Of  Arachosia,  saying,  Go  to   Vivana  and  the  army 

which  obeys  king  Darius 

40  Kill  (them).     The  army  of  Vayazdata  went  to  meet 

Vivana  to  join  battle.     They  joined  battle 

41  Auramazda  helped  me.     By  the  protection  of  Aura- 

mazda  my  army  killed  the  rebels.     They  killed 

42  Of  them  4570...  and  took  alive  .  .  .  On  the  ijth  of 

Tebeth 

43  They  joined  battle.     Auramazda  helped  me.     By  the 

protection  of  Auramazda  my  army  killed  the  army  of 

44  The    rebels.     They    killed   of    them  3...    and    took 

alive Then  fled 

45  That  man  who  was  in  command  over  them  with  a 

small  force  of  cavalry  and  went 

46  Towards  (?)  Arshada  the  fortress  in  the  province  of 

Arachosia.     Then   Vivana  went  with  the  army  to 
meet  him 

47  To  join  battle.     He  joined  battle.     He  took  him,  and 

killed  the  nobles  who  were  with  him.     The  total  of 
the  killed 

48  And  prisoners  whom  my  army  killed  and  took,  was  .  .  . 

Thus   says   king  Darius,   Then    the   country  was 
mine. 


ioo  JEWISH  DOCUMENTS 

49  This  is  what  I  did  in  Arachosia.     Thus  says  Darius 
the  king  .  .  . 


1.  23.     The  reading  is  uncertain.    "  Neighbourhood  "  :  the  same 
word  is  used  in  the  Babylonian  text,  but  its  meaning  is  doubtful. 
1.32.     "the  month  T  .  .  ."  must  be  either  Tishri or  Tammuz. 
Column  iii.  reads  on  continuously. 

Col.  iv.     (Sachau,  p.  196.) 

50  Thus  says  king  Darius,  Thou,  oh  king,  who  shalt 

be  after  me,  any  man  who  lies 
51 against   liars,   who   are   many,    I   warn 

(thee)  :  .  .  .  .  He  who  lies 
52 make    known    how   it   was    done.     Do 

thou thy  going  (?). 

53 he  says,  Hear  what  PRTR  says. 

54 see  also  before  thee. 

55  •• 

56 lies  .... 

57 this  .  ...  if  thou  hide  not  .  .  . 

58 increase,  and  thy  days  be  long;   but  if 

thou  hide 

59  Thus  says  king  Darius,  These  are  the  men  who  stood 

on  my  side  till  I  had  killed  that  Gaumata 

60  The  Magian,  who  said,  "  /  am  Smerdis."     They  were 

especially  distinguished  in  my  sight. 

6 1  Indaphernes,  by  name,  son  of  Vayaspara  a  Persian  : 

Gaubaruva  son  of  Mardonius  (?) 

62  A  Persian a  Persian 

63 


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C875J  (tr.) 

Jewish  documents  of  the 

time  of  Ezra;    tr.   from  the 

Aramaic