Brooklyn Museum 47.218.92
Bequest in Contemplation of Death
TAD B.3.10
Metadata
- Collection
- Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, New York, USA | Brook (Public)
- Genres
-
- Legal (Content)
- Contract
- bequest
- will
- deed
- conveyance
- ספר בי זי כתב PN (Ancient)
- Language
- Aramaic
- Script
- Aramaic
- Find Type
- Unprovenanced: Explorer Aquisition
- Acquired
- Charles Wilbour [1893]
- Created by
- James D. Moore
- Material
- papyrus
- Text Direction Side 1
- perpendicular (⟂) to the material's lines
- Text Direction Side 2
- parallel (∥) to the material's lines
- Updated by
- James D. Moore, 2026-01-18
- Date (Composition in text)
- Babylonian 24.viii Art 1 [Persian, 5th cent. BCE]
- Date (Metadata)
- Gregorian 25.11.-404 [Persian, 5th cent. BCE]
- Date (Other date in text)
- Egyptian 29.xii Art 1 [Persian, 5th cent. BCE]
- References
-
- Lepper, Verena M. et al. . ERC 307765.
- Porten, Bezalel and Yardeni, Ada 1986. TAD B.03.10.
“Localizing 4,000 Years of Cultural History. Texts and Scripts from Elephantine Island in Egypt. ERC Grant ID: 637692,” n.d. TBA.
Porten, Bezalel, and Ada Yardeni. Textbook of Aramaic Documents from Ancient Egypt. 4 vols. Jerusalem: Hebrew University, 1986.
Textual Notes
The center of the contract uses strange langauge and spellings. It seems to me that Haggay the writer may be using a form document to copy from and that form document comes from a Babylonian writer. סב for old rather עטיק, and the spelling as though it were a loan from שב, the lack of ו in ימינ and other features are curious and not in Haggay's other contracts. the use of זנא, which seems to have confused Haggay.
r 3: Note that the same writer spells תרי רסי as דרירסי in Brooklyn Museum 47.218.88 ln. 3
r 4: זנה was begun at the end of the line, then errased and moved to line r 5.
r 5: not the extended tail of נ on זנה, probably to disambiguate it from other letters.
r 8: The first word is a marginal insertion, with an א written slightly above the work to save the word break.
r 16: illegible errasure under ומשחתה. Note that both זנא is in error and spelled uniquley.
Text and Translation
Choose alternative texts and translations from the filter. Click individual words in a text for more details.
James Moore
James Moore
On the 24th of Marcheshvan, that is ⸢da⸣y 2⸢9⸣ of Mesore, year 1 of Artaxerxes the king, then said ˁAnanî son of ˁAzaryah,
a lḥn-servitor to Yahô the god at Fort Elephantine, to lady Yahôyišmaˁ his daughter, saying: I considered you (f.s.) in my lifetime and gave
to you (f.s.) part of my house which I bought with silver and its value I gave/paid. I gave \it/ to you (f.s.), the southern room that is east of
the large room belonging to me, half the courtyard—that is half the Egyptian ẖyt, half the stairway, and \under/ from it is the ration house.
This is the measurement of the house which I gave Yahôyišmaˁ my daughter in affection; this is the measurement of the house which I, ˁAnanî,
gave to Yahôyišmaˁ my daughter: from bottom-to-top, 8 and one-half cubits by the measuring rod; and from east to west,
7 cubits by the measuring rod. In area, 98 cubits by the measuring rod and half the courtyard and half the stairway and
the \ration/ (7) house (8) is its half . (8) And indeed the boundaries of the house which I, ˁAnanî, gave Yahôyišmaˁ my daughter: east of it is the wall
of the retaining-wall which the Egyptians built, that is the "divine way". Above it the house of the shrine of the god adjoins it wall by wall (parallel or adjacently [?])
Under from it (is) the wall of the stairway and the house of Ḥôr son of Peṭeˀesê, a gardener of Ḥnum the god, adjoins that stairway.
West of it (is) the wall of the large room. It is yours (m.s.). You (f.s.) have right to it, (to) this house, \its/ measurement
and boundaries are written in this document. I, ˁAnanî son of ˁAzaryah, gave it to you (m.s.) in affection: a renovated (13) lower (12) house,
containing beams, 3 windows in it, (and) one shutting and opening door in it. Moreover, you have right to the ẖy\t/,
that is the courtyard, the right to shore up dilapidat(ion) and its beam in the half of yours (m.s.). Moreover, you (m.s.) have right to go out
through the gate of (the) ẖyt, that is the courtyard. Moreover, you (f.s.) have right to half the stairway to go up and down. This
<this> (is) the house which its boundaries and measurements are written and whose words are written in \this/ document. I, ˁAnanî, gave it to Yahôyišmaˁ
my daughter at my death in affection. Just as she supported me while I (was in) old age—I was unable to be in authority and she supported me—Moreover, I
gave (it) to her at my death. No son of mine or daughter of mine, partner-in-chattel of mine or partner-in-land or guarantor of mine shall be able to file (against) you (f.s.) lawsuit
or litigation, or file (against) your (f.s.) children after you (f.s.), or lay charge against you (f.s.) to prefect or lord, or against your (f.s.) children after you (f.s.). Whoever shall file (against) you (f.s.) a lawsuit
or litigation or lay charge against you (f.s.) or against your (f.s.) children shall give to you (f.s) a penalty(-payment) of silver, 30 karsh by the stone(-weight)s of the king, refined silver, and you (f.s.),
Yahôyišmaˁ, likewise have right and your (f.s.) children have right after you (f.s.) and to whomever you love you shall give (it). Moreover, they shall not be bring out
against you (f.s.) a new or old document, instead it is this document which I made for you (that) is valid. Wrote Haggay son of Šemaˁyah (23) this (22) document
in Fort Elephantine at the instruction of ˁAnanî son of ˁAzaryah, the lḥn-servitor of Yahô the god. The witnesses herein: (2nd hand) witness Hôšayah son of
Yatôm, (3rd hand) Zakkûr son of Šillem, (4th hand) witness Natan son of Yahôˀûr, (5th hand) witness Hôšayah son of Natan;
(6th hand) witness Mešullam son of Maˁuzaˀ, (7th hand) Piltî son of Yaˀûš, (8th hand) Yašobyah son of Yedanyah,
(9th hand) witness Haggay son of Mardû.
Document (sealing) of a house which ˁAnanî son of ˁAzaryah the lḥn-servitor wrote for Yahôyišmaˁ his daughter.
Moore, James D.. 'Brooklyn Museum 47.218.92.' DEAPS. 12 Dec, 2025. https://deaps.osu.edu/text_objects/11914. Accessed: 20 Jan, 2026.