Philip F. Esler
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- March 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780198767169
- eISBN:
- 9780191821349
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198767169.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion in the Ancient World, Biblical Studies
In 1961 archaeologists discovered a family archive of legal papyri in a cave near the Dead Sea where their owner, the Jewish woman Babatha, had hidden them in 135 CE at the end of the Bar Kokhba ...
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In 1961 archaeologists discovered a family archive of legal papyri in a cave near the Dead Sea where their owner, the Jewish woman Babatha, had hidden them in 135 CE at the end of the Bar Kokhba revolt. This book analyses the oldest four of these papyri to argue that underlying them is a hitherto undetected and surprising train of events concerning how Babatha’s father, Shim‘on, purchased a date-palm orchard in Maoza on the southern shore of the Dead Sea in 99 CE that he later gave to Babatha. The central features of the story, untold for two millennia, relate to how a high Nabatean official had purchased the orchard only a month before, but suddenly rescinded the purchase, and how Shim‘on then acquired it, in enlarged form, from the vendor. Teasing out the details involves deploying the new methodology of archival ethnography, combined with a fresh scrutiny of the papyri (written in Nabatean Aramaic), to investigate the Nabatean and Jewish individuals mentioned and their relationships within the social, ethnic, economic, and political realities of Nabatea at that time. Aspects of this context which are thrown into sharp relief by this book include: the prominence of wealthy Nabatean women and their husbands’ financial reliance on them; the high returns and steep losses possible in date cultivation; the sophistication of Nabatean law and lawyers; the lingering effect of the Nabateans’ nomadic past in lessening the social distance between elite and non-elite; and the good ethnic relations between Nabateans and Jews.Less
In 1961 archaeologists discovered a family archive of legal papyri in a cave near the Dead Sea where their owner, the Jewish woman Babatha, had hidden them in 135 CE at the end of the Bar Kokhba revolt. This book analyses the oldest four of these papyri to argue that underlying them is a hitherto undetected and surprising train of events concerning how Babatha’s father, Shim‘on, purchased a date-palm orchard in Maoza on the southern shore of the Dead Sea in 99 CE that he later gave to Babatha. The central features of the story, untold for two millennia, relate to how a high Nabatean official had purchased the orchard only a month before, but suddenly rescinded the purchase, and how Shim‘on then acquired it, in enlarged form, from the vendor. Teasing out the details involves deploying the new methodology of archival ethnography, combined with a fresh scrutiny of the papyri (written in Nabatean Aramaic), to investigate the Nabatean and Jewish individuals mentioned and their relationships within the social, ethnic, economic, and political realities of Nabatea at that time. Aspects of this context which are thrown into sharp relief by this book include: the prominence of wealthy Nabatean women and their husbands’ financial reliance on them; the high returns and steep losses possible in date cultivation; the sophistication of Nabatean law and lawyers; the lingering effect of the Nabateans’ nomadic past in lessening the social distance between elite and non-elite; and the good ethnic relations between Nabateans and Jews.
Tiziana J. Chiusi
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- July 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780198844082
- eISBN:
- 9780191879739
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198844082.003.0007
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE
The article discusses two documents from the archive of the Jewish woman Babatha: P. Yadin 21 and 22, dated to 130 CE. They are interrelated contracts, referring to the fruits from date orchards ...
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The article discusses two documents from the archive of the Jewish woman Babatha: P. Yadin 21 and 22, dated to 130 CE. They are interrelated contracts, referring to the fruits from date orchards which were in Babatha’s possession, but were to be harvested by Simon. So far, most studies have sought to prove that these contracts were based on Jewish law and hence specific to this region. This article attempts to understand them from a Roman perspective. In the categories of Roman law, what is at issue is an emptio rei speratae. The fact that no money is involved is remarkable in the light of debates between Sabinian and Proculian jurists which were still not resolved in the time of Gaius. P. Yadin 21 and 22 are evidence for the practical application of the Sabinian doctrine. Clearly, the scribe who wrote the documents attempted to phrase a common business transaction in the terms of Roman law, to make it actionable before a Roman court.Less
The article discusses two documents from the archive of the Jewish woman Babatha: P. Yadin 21 and 22, dated to 130 CE. They are interrelated contracts, referring to the fruits from date orchards which were in Babatha’s possession, but were to be harvested by Simon. So far, most studies have sought to prove that these contracts were based on Jewish law and hence specific to this region. This article attempts to understand them from a Roman perspective. In the categories of Roman law, what is at issue is an emptio rei speratae. The fact that no money is involved is remarkable in the light of debates between Sabinian and Proculian jurists which were still not resolved in the time of Gaius. P. Yadin 21 and 22 are evidence for the practical application of the Sabinian doctrine. Clearly, the scribe who wrote the documents attempted to phrase a common business transaction in the terms of Roman law, to make it actionable before a Roman court.
Kimberley Czajkowski
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- January 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780198777335
- eISBN:
- 9780191823053
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198777335.003.0002
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, World History: BCE to 500CE
This chapter presents the legal documents and transactions that we find in the archives at greater length, and introduces the reader to the people we encounter in these documents. This takes the form ...
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This chapter presents the legal documents and transactions that we find in the archives at greater length, and introduces the reader to the people we encounter in these documents. This takes the form of separate overviews of the Babatha and Salome Komaise archives. The chapter then tackles a series of case studies that have proved particularly contentious in previous scholarship: namely, the three marriage contracts (of Babatha, Shelamzion, and Salome Komaise) and the two litigation cases which Babatha attempted to bring before the Roman governor’s court. These case studies are placed in the context of past scholarship and the traditional approach, while being re-examined from the multi-legalism perspective.Less
This chapter presents the legal documents and transactions that we find in the archives at greater length, and introduces the reader to the people we encounter in these documents. This takes the form of separate overviews of the Babatha and Salome Komaise archives. The chapter then tackles a series of case studies that have proved particularly contentious in previous scholarship: namely, the three marriage contracts (of Babatha, Shelamzion, and Salome Komaise) and the two litigation cases which Babatha attempted to bring before the Roman governor’s court. These case studies are placed in the context of past scholarship and the traditional approach, while being re-examined from the multi-legalism perspective.
