Palestinian Ketubah (Damascus)

This fragmentary Palestinian ketubah, dated from the creation of the world (A.M. or Anno Mundi), would have been written at the stage of marriage known as the nisu’in, the second step in the two-part wedding process according to Jewish law. The document contains a detailed list of items that Hiba bat Jonah brought into her marriage to Eli ben Wuhayb. The name Hiba was rare for a Jewish woman. The signatures at the bottom of the document are written in both Hebrew characters and, surprisingly, Arabic ones.