The Jews of Elephantine in Their Own Words

Numerous legal and other documents from Jews residing in Egypt, written in Aramaic on papyrus and ostraca, have been found. They date to the fifth century BCE and relate to the life of members of a Jewish military colony in the service of the Persian Empire at Elephantine. This island is located in the Nile, in the far south of Egypt, across from the settlement of Syene (modern Aswan) on the mainland, where there was a sister colony, ethnically more diverse, known as “the Syenian troop.” The Elephantine colony may go back several centuries to the time of the Assyrian Empire. The Jews at Elephantine had a temple for YHWH, maintained certain Jewish religious practices, and were in contact with Jerusalem. Many are identifiable as Jews by their Hebrew names and in several instances, they are explicitly called Jews (although more often they are called “Aramaeans of Syene,” like their confreres on the shore). The legal documents deal with loans, real estate, marriage, adoption, and a variety of other subjects. Labels at the end of the documents, visible on their outside when they are folded, indicate their legal nature and the names of the parties to the transaction.