Legal document: JTS Marshall Case MS 8229

Description

Prenuptial agreement of a previously divorced couple (a husband who re-accepts his divorcée). Eight lines survive on this fragment, probably in the hand of Natan b. Shemuel ha-Ḥaver (documents by him in the years 1128-1153). In the top of the fragment there is a dowry list followed by a list of conditions in Hebrew for future marriage. The husband reaccepts his previous wife, Baqiya. It is possible that this agreement was written to pacify the woman so that she will return to her husband. The conditions regarding his behavior suggest that his violent behavior towards her, or her mother, was the cause of their initial divorce. Lines 1-4 contain the dowry list, and are not transcribed.