Legal Complaint (Hormshīr, Iran)

‘Azariah ben Abraham and Sa‘dan ben Daniel

1021

About This Entry

This Judeo-Persian document, one of the oldest Persian texts written in Hebrew characters, records the testimony of ‘Azariah ben Abraham and Sa‘dan ben Daniel regarding a complaint by one Ḥannah that her son-in-law Daniel sold some pearls that did not belong to him. The presiding judges ruled in Ḥannah’s favor and demanded that Daniel repay to compensate for the property he had taken. This document serves as evidence that Daniel did indeed reimburse Ḥannah. The words put in the participants’ mouths, however, are likely formulaic and cannot be taken as a literal rendering of the events. The many Hebrew words and phrases in this text are italicized.

It was thus before us witnesses, whose signatures are written below this record: In Hormshīr [Ahwāz] town, which [is] among those of Khūzistān, which stands on the river Ulay, in the month of Shebaṭ, year 1332 according to the [Seleucid] era of documents [1021 CE], there were present before us Ḥannah, daughter of Israel, son of Jacob, may he rest in Paradise, and she cited Daniel, son of Reuben, [son] of ‘Azariah, known as “Baby.” And this Ḥannah bat Israel said thus: “This Daniel ben Reuben, my son-in-law, has gone without my order and without my desire and taken out of the purse of my brothers, who are in Egypt, six pairs of pearls and sold them for twenty-five dinars. And this purse was the property of my brothers Sahl and Joseph and Sa‘īd, sons of Israel, son of Jacob, may he rest in Paradise.” And the elders said to him: “You did wrong; you did this, that you laid hands on property other than your own, and you are in a state of lawlessness through this that you have done.” And he answered: “I did it of necessity, [obliged] by my heart, for I was in great difficulty.” And the elders said to him: “It is incumbent upon you, Daniel ben Reuben, to make recompense for it and to ask forgiveness from the owners of the property.” And this Daniel ben Reuben said: “The thing which [belongs] to me is available to these [men], Sahl and Joseph, and Sa‘īd, sons of Israel, son of Jacob, may he rest in Paradise, and I am content before you elders that you write it and rectify [the matter] against me, in that it became right, since I was agreeable. It is [so] that, in recompense for these pearls which I took, under their hands [as] recompense [there are] these dinars. I sold them and took twenty-five genuine sultani dinars.” And he was agreeable, and we took the property acquired from the hands of this Daniel, son of Reuben, [son] of ‘Azariah, known as “Baby,” in [the form of] clothing. It is proper to take property [so] acquired—by the laws of Sinai and the words at Horeb—with his approval and at his request. And this Daniel, son of Reuben, [son] of ‘Azariah, abandoned all claim [on it] to the end of all actions of protest. And he wrote [this] and gave it into the hand of Ḥannah, daughter of Israel, son of Jacob, may he rest in Paradise, that it may be for her a discharge and a proof.

‘Azariah ben Abraham ben ’Ammar

Sa‘dan ben Daniel ben Sa‘dan.

Source: Oxford Bodleian Library MS Heb. B 12/24.

Translated by Jes P. Asmussen.

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Notes

Words in brackets appear in the original translation.

Credits

‘Azariah ben Abraham and Sa‘dan ben Daniel, “A Legal Document,” trans. Jes P. Asmussen, from In Queen Esther's Garden: An Anthology of Judeo-Persian Literature, ed. Vera Basch Moreen (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 2000), 24–25. Used with permission of the publisher.

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 3: Encountering Christianity and Islam.