Aid for Two Benefactors

Late 5th Century BCE

To my lords Jedaniah, Uriah and the priests of YHW the God, Mattan son of Jashobiah and Berechiah son of, . . . from your servant Mauziah.

May the God of Heaven seek after the welfare of my lords [abundantly at all times and] may you be in favor before the God of Heaven.

And now, when Vidranga the Troop Commander arrived at Abydos he imprisoned me…

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About Aid for Two Benefactors

Mauziah, a leader of the Jewish community in Elephantine, informs his fellow leaders that he had been imprisoned on false charges in Abydos (Egypt) by a Persian official, Vidranga, whose actions were frequently harmful to the Elephantine Jews, but he (Mauziah) has been released through the efforts of two Egyptian men then on their way to Elephantine. In this letter, dating to the late fifth century BCE, he asks his colleagues to take care of his rescuers unstintingly.

About Letters from Elephantine (Egypt)

Numerous letters and documents to and from Jews residing in Egypt, written in Aramaic on papyri and ostraca, have been found, most of which date to the fifth century BCE. They come from members of a Jewish military colony in the service of the Persian Empire, located on the island of Elephantine in the Nile River, in the far south of Egypt across from Aswan (ancient Syene), where there was a sister colony, ethnically more diverse, known as “the Syenian troop.” It is possible that the colony goes back several centuries to the time of the Assyrian Empire. Many of the letters are from a communal archive containing correspondence of Jedaniah (Yedaniah), a priest and leader of the community, and his colleagues, during the last quarter of the fifth century BCE. They deal with the social and religious life of the community. Other letters are between private individuals and speak about various personal matters.

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Aid for Two Benefactors

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Aid for Two Benefactors

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