Letter: ENA 2808.58

Letter ENA 2808.58

Shelfmark: ENA 2808.58

Primary Language: Judaeo-Arabic

What's in the PGP

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Description

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Addressed to "our master" with regards to "our master David." Dating: likely late 12th or early 13th century (paleographic dating). Much of verso (the first page) consists of blessings and complaints about the evils of fate which is "bitterer than colocynth" (ʿalqam). He fell off his riding animal. He arrived in Malīj before the holiday and it seems he was able to collect some money there as payment for a circumcision. On recto (the second page) the sender apologizes for not presenting himself in person; his excuse is a debt that he owes in Cairo. Then he gets to the point: he wants to get married, and he is seeking approval from the addressee, "for I have no father or lord or master except for you, and I cannot even move without your permission."

Collection: Jewish Theological Seminary Library
Historical shelfmarks: ENA 2808, f. 58; ENA 2808, fol. 58
Input date: In PGP since 2017

How to cite this record:: Jewish Theological Seminary Library, ENA 2808.58. Available online through the Princeton Geniza Project at https://geniza.princeton.edu/documents/12377/ (accessed November 7, 2025).