An “exceptional archeological document, the likes of which but a few exist.”

Miriam bas Yaakov's receipt for her kesubah, written some 2,000 years ago, sheds light on the post-Second Beis Hamikdash era

Copyright 2009 by Hamodia 

By Yehudah Marks

Copyright 2009 by Hamodia 

Scientists are examining a rare 2,000-year-old document - seized by police from Palestinian thieves - that sheds light on the language, script and lifestyle of the Bayis Sheini period.

Police arrested two Pale­ stinians for stealing the document from the Judea Desert and attempting to sell it for millions of dollars.

The rare document is written on papyrus paper in ancient Hebrew script, which is characteristic of the Bayis Sheini period.

It was written by Miriam bas Yaakov, probably a widow, declaring to her brother-in-law, a brother of her former husband Shaul, that she received all the money promised in her kesubah.

Dr. Chagai Misgav, of Hebrew University, told Hamodia that details in the document reveal much about the way Jews wrote documents in those times. It is dated for Kislev, arba lechurban Yisrael, year four to the destruction of Israel, which Misgav says means the churban of the second Beis Hamikdash.

"This is interesting, since in all other documents written at that time, the year is dated to the rule of the Roman Caesar at the time," says Misgav. "However, since this is not a regular document but a receipt, they didn't write it according to the regular customs but instead wrote the date according to the churban Beis Hamikdash."

Indeed, the Rambam in hilchos Gerushin writes that in those days they would usually write the date on a get according to the years of the king, although there were some who had the custom to refer to the number of years since the churban Beis Hamikdash.

Amir Ganor, director of the Unit for the Prevention of Antiquities Theft in the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), believes that four years after churban Yisrael alludes to the fall of Bar Kochba.

"Since we don't have any other evidence of the Jews dating after the churban Beis Hamikdash yet we have found coins and other evidence of them counting to the years of the Bar Kochba rebellion, this document may be dated to four years after the fall of Bar Kochba," Ganor told Hamodia.

"The exact date of the document may never be known, but what is certain is that we are dealing with rare historic evidence regarding the Jewish people in their country from 2,000 years ago."

In the 15-line document, one can read the name of the settlement in which the widow resided, Misalev, as well as names of other people and families, the names of a number of ancient settlements from the second Beis Hamikdash and legal wording that relates to the kesubah.

The papyrus is incomplete and was in all likelihood rolled up. It is apparent that pieces of it crumbled, mainly along its bottom part. The holes along the left part of the document probably attest to the damage that was caused to it over time. The document measures six inches by six inches (15x15 cm).

"Until now, almost no historic scrolls or documents from this period have been discovered in proper archaeological excavations," Ganor said.

"Much can be learned from this document about the names of people, their surnames and the locations of settlements in Israel during this period."

The IAA said the document was an "exceptional archeological document, the likes of which but a few exist," adding that similar scrolls had been sold worldwide for as much as $10 million.

The IAA believes that the document is authentic, but will only know for certain after it returns from a series of laboratory tests.

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