Ber. P. 23963 a (+) b

Paleography. Compare B/AM x 571. The letters are suprisingly small. Line 1. This is a unique spelling of the name Darius, דריאוש. The Darius inscription (P. 13447) uses דריהוש as do many contracts and letters. The other common spelling is דריוהוש. Rarely it is found as דרוש (TAD B.1.1 [not Eleph.]) or דריוש (B.5.1.1 [Eleph.] and D.22.29 [not Eleph.]). The present spelling with an א resembles variants found in Babylonian sources, which can differ drastically. In them one finds spellings with medial א. For examples within a Judean / NWS context (though not written by Judeans) see mDa-ar-ˀ-muš (BaAr 6 13:2, 23; 15:24) and [mD]a-ri-ˀ-a-muš (BaAr 6 62:16).*1* This unique Aramaic spelling combined with the document’s uniquely small letters, suggests that this is not written by of the typical contract writers known from the Elephantine documents. *1*Reference for both are found in CUSAS 28, indices.