| DESCRIPTION | |
|---|---|
| Language: | Aramaic |
| Medium: | Papyrus |
| Size: | 13.5 cm high 12 cm wide |
| Length: | 12 lines of writing |
| Date: | 54/55 CE |
| Place of Discovery: | caves of Wadi Murabbacat, Judean desert |
| Date of Discovery: | 1951 |
| Current Location: | Rockefeller Museum? |
| Inventory no.: | papMur II 18 (Papyrus Murabbacat II 18) |
| TRANSLITERATION (Adapted from Milik 1961:100-104) |
TRANSLATION
by K. C. Hanson (Adapted from Milik 1961:100-104)
1) [. . . . . . ŠN]T TRTYN LNRWN QSR |
. . . . . . year two of Nero (as) Caesar,
|
2) BSWYH 'YTWDY 'BŠLWM BR HNYN MN SWYH |
in Siwayah, I, Abishalom bar Hanin from Siwayah consent. |
3) BNPH MNYH cMY 'NH ZKRYH BAR YHWHNN BR H[. . .] |
In his presence it was confirmed with me: I, Zekariah bar Yehohanan bar H...
|
4) YTB BKSLWN KSP ZUZIN cS[RY]N [. . .] |
residing in Keslon, (having received loan of) tw[en]ty silver zuz.
|
5) 'NH [. . . .] L' DY ZBYNT cD ZM[N'] |
I [will repay . . . and if] I do not repay within this term, |
6) DNH 'PRWcNK BHMŠ W'PŠR BTM[YMWT'] |
it will be repaid to you plus a fifth and it will be repaid in [full],
|
7) WŠNT ŠMTH DH WHN KN L' 'cBD TŠLWM[T'] |
even though this is a year of release. And if I still do not perform, payment
|
8) LK MNKSY WDY 'QNH LQWBLYK |
belongs to you from my property; and whatever I will acquire (is) for your
receipt. |
9) [ZK]RYH BR YHWH[NN] cL NPŠH |
Zekariah bar Yehohanan, on his own.
|
10) [KT]B YHWSP B[R . . .] M'MRH |
Yehosef bar [. . . has wr]itten by dictation.
|
11) YHWNTN BR YHWHN' ŠHD
|
Yehonathan bar Yehohanan, witness.
|
12) YHWSP B[R Y]HWDN cD
|
Transliteration of special characters
Yehosef ba[r Ye]hudah, witness.
| |
| DISCUSSION QUESTIONS |
|
1. Who is the lender/creditor? Who is the borrower? 2. What are the possible reasons for no term of the loan being stipulated? 3. What is the function of the 1/5? 4. What is the "year of release"? Why does the contract include reference to it? 5. What is the relevance of Deut 15:7-11 to this contract? 6. What is the significance of Jesus' teaching on debt and debt release? See Matt 6:12; 18:27-34; Luke 6:34-36. 7. Compare the rabbinic regulations regarding the prosbul in Mishnah Shebi'ith 10.1-9. How do these regulations relate to this document? What about the regulations in Baba Metzia 1.6, 9.13? |
| SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY |
|
Hanson, K. C. and Douglas E. Oakman. Palestine in the Time of Jesus:
Social Structures and Social Conflicts. Minneapolis: Fortress Press,
1998 (pp. 119-20, 152-53). Llewelyn, S. R. (with R. A. Kearsley). New Documents Illustrating Early Christianity. Volume 7: A Review of the Greek Inscriptions and Papyri Published in 1982-83. Macquarie University: Ancient History Documentary Research Centre, 1994. Milik, J. T. Les grottes de Murabba`ât. Vol 2. P. Benoît, J. T. Milik, and R. de Vaux. With Contributions by G. M. Crowfoot, E. Crowfoot, A. Grohmann. Discoveries in the Judaean Desert, 2. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1961. Murphy-O'Connor, Jerome. "Wadi Murabbaat: Archaeology." In Anchor Bible Dictionary 6:863-64. Ed. D. N. Freedman. New York: Doubleday, 1992. Oakman, Douglas E. "The Ancient Economy." In The Social Sciences and New Testament Interpretation, 126-43. Ed. R. L. Rohrbaugh. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson, 1996. Oakman, Douglas E. "Jesus and Agrarian Palestine: The Factor of Debt." In SBL 1985 Seminar Papers, 57-73. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1985. Oakman, Douglas E. Jesus and the Economic Questions of His Day. Studies in the Bible and Early Christianity 8. Lewiston/Queenston: Edwin Mellen, 1986. O'Brien, Julia M. "Wadi Murabbaat: Texts." In Anchor Bible Dictionary 6:864. Ed. D. N. Freedman. New York: Doubleday, 1992. Yaron, R. "The Murabbacat Documents." Journal of Jewish Studies 11 (1960):158-??. |
Return to Palestine in the Time of Jesus WebPage
Return to K. C. Hanson's HomePage
Last Modified: 25 April 2002