List or table: T-S Ar.30.129

Description

Accounts and other jottings in a mixture of Judaeo-Arabic and Arabic script. Right side of recto: calculations in Greek/Coptic numerals. Upper left of recto: list of sums owed to a certain Abū Saʿd, including 25 dirhams for two jizya payments (13 and 11 wariq dirhams respectively) and one onion (1 dirham). In turn, Abū Saʿd owes the debtor 7.5 dirhams "for the wage of three weeks," meaning the debtor owes him a total of 17.5 dirhams. Based on this note and on the "beautiful hand," Goitein suggests that the scribe was a teacher who received 2.5 dirhams weekly for teaching a son (of Abū Saʿd?) or an orphan. The fact that he borrowed money for two capitation tax payments also suggests a poor man dependent on the community. Lower left of recto: a jingle about glory (ʿizz): "He who glorifies seeks glory; the glorious one has glory; there is no glory for the glorifier if he glorifies without glory." Right side of verso: an undeciphered phrase in Arabic script written out twice. Left side of verso: Further notes in Judaeo-Arabic about the sums owed to Abū Saʿd, including 13 wariq dirhams to be repaid "by such and such a date" as well as 1 dirham for the onion and another 2 dirhams and another 11 dirhams, "equaling 25" (though this actually seems to come out to 27). The phrase "such and such a date" suggests that these are notes for drawing up a debt contract. Underneath there is a note in Arabic script concerning the same debts. "He (i.e., Abū Saʿd) owes 7.5 for the wage of three weeks. The remainder owed to him is 17 wariq dirhams [...] by such and such a date." Lastly there are four more lines in Arabic script, which might contain a prayer: الحمد لله على ما اولاني(؟) علي من نعمته. . . . على كل ظلم . . . .كتب(؟) . . . خطه(؟) . . . في اول الورقة(؟) والسلام