Corpus Papyrorum Judaicarum, Volume 3: Late Roman & Byzantine Period

CORPUS PAPYRORUM JUDAICARUM VOLUME

III

CORPUS PAPYRORUM JUDAICARUM VOLUME III EDITED

B Y

VICTOR A. TCHERIKOVER ( 1 8 9 4 - 1 9 5 8 ) PROFESSOR HEBREW

OF ANCIENT

H I S T O R Y IN

UNIVERSITY,

THE

JERUSALEM

ALEXANDER FUKS PROFESSOR OF ANCIENT

HISTORY

AND CLASSICS IN T H E HEBREW UNIVERSITY, JERUSALEM

MENAHEM STERN L E C T U R E R IN J E W I S H H I S T O R Y IN HEBREW

THE

UNIVERSITY, JERUSALEM

WITH EPIGRAPHICAL

AN CONTRIBUTION

BY

DAVID M. LEWIS STUDENT OF CHRIST CHURCH, U N I V E R S I T Y L E C T U R E R IN G R E E K

PUBLISHED

OXFORD EPIGRAPHY

FOR

T H E MAGNES P R E S S , T H E H E B R E W

UNIVERSITY

H A R V A R D U N I V E R S I T Y PRESS CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS

I964

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PREFACE T H E third volume of the Corpus Papyrorum Judaicarum was planned, like the preceding volumes, b y the late Professor Victor A. Tcherikover. As early as 1952, the documents of the late Roman and Byzantine periods up to the Arab conquest, to be published in this final volume, were fixed and divided into sections. The bulk of the material was divided between Tcherikover and Stern, some documents were allotted to Fuks. Some weeks before Professor Tcherikover's death, in January 1958, first drafts of Sections X I I - X I V were discussed with us b y Tcherikover. After Professor Tcherikover's death we went on with the work, revised the entire material, and added some documents, either pub­ lished after 1957, or for other reasons not included in the original plan. Most of these are included in the present Section X V , some in the preceding sections. According to the original plan, Section X V should have comprised select Papyri Magicae. Our only deviation from Tcherikover's original plan was in replacing the Papyri Magicae b y the new documents referred to above. We were always conscious, as in fact was Tcherikover himself, of the basic difference between the magical papyri and the documents of Sections I - X I V . The criteria of inclusion in the C.P.Jud. (see Tcherikover in Vol. I , Introduction, pp. xvii sqq.) failed us here, and it proved that even a reliable selection would be un­ attainable in view of the wide difference of opinion prevailing among competent scholars. Perhaps a special study should be devoted to the magical papyri, as well as to the Biblical papyri, omitted in the original plan. All unsigned commentaries and introductions to sections in this volume are b y Tcherikover. Those signed M . S . are b y Menahem S t e r n ; those signed A. F . are by Alexander Fuks. Several papyri have been revised and com­ mented upon b y Mr. P. J . Parsons, Christ Church, Oxford; they are signed P. J . P. Mr. David M. Lewis was kind enough to add to this volume a contribution devoted to Jewish inscriptions from E g y p t ; it appears as Appendix I . Appendixes I I and I I I , as well as the Indexes to this volume, are b y Mr. D . Rokeah, former pupil of Professor Tcherikover. Many scholars helped with this volume, above all Mr. David M. Lewis, Mr. P. J . Parsons, and Professor J . Schwartz (Strasbourg). Mr. Lewis not only contributed Appendix I, but also read and reread proofs of the book, and was unsparingly helpful in all stages of its production. Mr. Parsons, apart from revising several documents, supplied most of the translations in this volume, and advised us on many points of scholarship. Professor Schwartz placed at our disposal an unpublished document from his private collection (No. 5 1 6 ) , and helped on many points of scholarship in the progress of our work. We gratefully acknowledge our debt to Professor V . Bartoletti (Florence), Dr. J . R e a (Oxford), Professor T . Reekmans (Louvain), Professor B . A. Rees (Cardiff), Mr. C. H. Roberts (Oxford), Mr. T . C. Skeat (London), and

vi

PREFACE

Professor H. C. Youtie (Ann Arbor), who patiently answered many queries concerning both readings and interpretation. Thanks are due also to the Egypt Exploration Society for the permission to reprint from EOS X L V I I I a document before its publication in the series of the Society (No. 5 1 3 ) . Special thanks are due to Mrs. A. Tcherikover who transcribed almost all the papyrological texts in this volume, and whose never abating interest in the pro­ gress of our work was of great help. The Ministry of Education and Culture of the State of Israel, as well as the Institute of Jewish Studies of the Hebrew University and its former Chairman Professor B . Dinur, are to be thanked for their initial grants. To Mr. E . Poznanski, Academic Secretary of the Hebrew University, thanks are due for help and advice on many matters connected with the Corpus. On publication of this final volume we would like to acknowledge our debt to the Oxford University Press and their learned and indefatigable Readers. Finally deep appreciation should be recorded of the assistance given b y the Trustees of the Lucius N. Littauer Foundation, whose generous grants made this publication possible, and particularly b y its Director, Mr. H. Starr, and Professor H. A. Wolf son. We are glad to have been able to bring to completion Professor Tcherikover's undertaking. I t is possible that new finds, such as the recently discovered B a r Kocheba Papyri, will necessitate in future a supplementary volume to the Corpus Papyrorum Judaicarum. M. S. A. F .

CONTENTS PREFACE

v

L I S T OF PLATES

xi

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS EXPLANATORY NOTE S E C T I O N X I I : V A R I O U S D O C U M E N T S F R O M A.D. 117 to 337 451. A fragment 452a. An account from an estate, mentioning the Feast of Tabernacles 4526. An account from the Oxyrhynchite nome 453. An application for a lease 454. A sale of plots of land in a Jewish street 455. Complaint of theft 456. A fragment 457. The Sabbath 458. A fragment of an account 459. From a report of sitologoi 460. The Jewish tax at Karanis 461. From a list of payments 462. Pollia Maria the younger 463. Fragment of a camp record 464. A list of names 465. A list of Roman soldiers 466. A list of names 467. Sheep sold for a Jewish feast 468. A sale of a plot of land and a house in a Jewish street 469. A business letter 470. From an agricultural survey 471. A list of peasants 472. Receipts for delivery of crops to the granary 473. A deed of enfranchisement 474. Receipts for rent 475. From a list of night guards 476. A list of persons 477. An official letter 478. From lists of names from Karanis 479. A business letter to a banker 480. A receipt of chaff

xiii xvii 3-42 4 5 7 8 10 12 13 14 16 16 17 18 19 23 23 25 27 27 29 30 31 31 32 33 36 38 39 39 40 41 42

viii

CONTENTS

SECTION X I I I : THE SAMBATHIONS 481. From census lists and accounts from Philadelpheia 482. Return of sheep and goats 483. Greek supplement to Demotic deed of sale 484. A contract 485. A census return 486. From private letters of a Roman officer 487. A notification of death 488. A deed of loan 489. Lists from Theadelpheia 490. A sale of a Phrygian slave girl 491. An application for a lease 492. Tax rolls from Karanis 493. A list of house-property 494. From a survey of land-property 495. Application to strategos 496. Sambathis, the goddess 497. Lists of names from Karanis 498. Various small fragments 499. A business letter

43-87 56 57 58 61 62 64 65 66 67 72 73 74 77 78 79 81 82 84 87

SECTION X I V : VARIOUS DOCUMENTS OF T H E BYZANTINE PERIOD 88-105 500. From an account of wine 88 501. A list of persons 88 502. A list of names 89 503. The end of a document 90 504. An account 90 505. A letter alluding to the arrival of a Jew from Alexandria 91 506. A receipt 93 507. Letter from Kosmas 94 508. A sale of wine with deferred delivery 95 509. From an account 98 510. From a list of payments 99 5 1 1 . Lease of a workshop 99 512. A contract to guarantee the quality of sold wine 101 513. A deed of divorce between Samaritans 102 514. A Samaritan mentioned in an account 105 SECTION X V : VARIOUS DOCUMENTS OF T H E LATE ROMAN AND B Y Z A N T I N E P E R I O D S 515. A fragment concerning Jews in anachoresis 516. Fragment of a document concerning Jews 517. Application for lease

106-21 106 107 108

CONTENTS

ix

518. The Sambathions 519. A fragment of a discourse on athletics and theatrical performances

110 116

520. A fragment of Graeco-Egyptian prophecy bearing on Jews

119

I N D E X TO T H E D O C U M E N T S IN V O L . I l l

122-33

I N D E X OF SOURCES

134-7

A P P E N D I X I: T H E J E W I S H I N S C R I P T I O N S OF E G Y P T

138

I I : P R O S O P O G R A P H Y O F T H E J E W S IN E G Y P T

167

I I I : P L A C E S O F J E W I S H H A B I T A T I O N IN E G Y P T

197

LIST OF PLATES I. No. 49. Ostrakon: Receipt for Wine-tax. 161 B.C. (O. Strassb. 10 = inv. Gr. 501) No. 1 1 5 . Ostrakon. 2nd century B.C. ? (O. Strassb. 590 = inv. Gr. 151) Both by courtesy of Professor J . Schwartz. I I . No. 1 4 1 . Letter from Herakles to Ptolemy. First half of 1st century B . C . (PIFAO 104; a revised text now in Remondon, Chr. d'lEg. xxxv, i960, 254 = S B 9564) B y courtesy of M. F . Daumas, Directeur de lTnstitut Francais d'Archeologie Orientale du Caire. I I I . No. 159&. Acta Appiani. Earlier 3rd century A.D. (P. Oxy. 33 verso = British Museum inv. 2435 verso) B y courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum. IV. No. 437. Letter from Eudaimonis to Apollonios. A.D. 116 ? (P. Giss. 24 = inv. 98) B y courtesy of the Giessen Universitatsbibliothek, through its director Dr. J . Schawe and Professor Dr. H. G. Gundel. V. No. 438. Jewish Victories in the Hermoupolite District, A.D. 1 1 6 / 1 7 . (Wilcken Die Bremer Papyri 1 = Staatsbibliothek Bremen Papyrus P. 40) B y courtesy of the Bremen Staatsbibliothek and Dr. Bruch. VI. No. 520. A fragment of Graeco-Egyptian prophecy bearing on Jews. 3rd century A . D . (PSI 982) B y courtesy of the Bibliotheca Medicea Laurenziana and Professor V. Bartoletti.

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS Ostraca W i l b o u r = C . P r e a u x , Les ostraca grecs de la Collection Charles-Edwin Wil­ bour au Musee de Brooklyn, 1 9 3 5 . B G U = A e g y p t i s c h e U r k u n d e n a u s den P. A b e r d . = Catalogue of Greek and Latin staatlichen Museen zu Berlin: Griechische papyri and ostraca in the possession of the Urkunden, 1 8 9 5 - . University of Aberdeen, ed. E . G . Turner, BL = F . Preisigke, F . Bilabel, M . A . D a v i d , 1939B . A . v a n Groningen, E . Kiessling, P . A b i n n . = The Abinnaeus Archive, col­ Berichtigungsliste der griechischen Papylected a n d re-edited b y H . I . Bell, V . rusurkunden aus Agypten, 1 9 1 3 , 1 9 2 2 , Martin, E . G . T u r n e r a n d D . v a n B e r chem, 1 9 6 2 . I93L 3 3 , I95 Cavenaile, CPL = R . Cavenaile, Corpus P . A m h . = B . P . Grenfell a n d A . S . H u n t , Papyrorum Latinarum, 1 9 5 8 . The Amherst Papyri, 1900-1. CI J — Corpus Inscriptionum Judaicarum, P. A n t . — The Antinoopolis Papyri, vol. i ed. J . B . F r e y , 1 9 3 6 , 1 9 5 2 . ed. C . H . R o b e r t s , 1 9 5 0 ; vol. vied. J . W . B . Ghedini. Lett. Crist. — G . Ghedini, Lettere B a r n s and H . Zilliacus, i 9 6 0 . P. B a d . = F . Bilabel, Veroffentlichungen cristiane dai papiri greci del III e IV secolo, 1 9 2 3 . aus den badischen Papyrussammlungen, ILS — H . Dessau, Inscriptiones latinae 1923, 1924. selectae, 1 9 3 5 . P. Berlin Zilliacus = Vierzehn Berliner T . K a l e n , Berl. Leihg. = Berliner Leihgabe griechische Papyri, ed. b y H . Zilliacus, griechischer Papyri hsg. vom griechischen 1941. Seminar der Universitdt Uppsala durch P . B o u r . = P . B o u r i a n t = Les papyrus T. Kalen, 1 9 3 2 . Bouriant, ed. P . Collart, 1 9 2 6 . K n u d t z o n , Bakchiastexte = E . J . K n u d t z o n , P . Cairo M a s p . = J . Maspero, Papyrus Bakchiastexte und andere Papyri der grecs d'epoque byzantine, 1 9 1 1 - 1 6 . Lunder Papyrussammlung, 1946. P . Col. = Columbia Papyri, Greek series, M . Chr. = L . Mitteis and U . Wilcken, 1929-. Grundzuge und Chrestomathie der PapyP. Cornell = W . L . W e s t e r m a n n a n d C . J . ruskunde, ii. 2 , 1 9 1 2 . K r a e m e r , j r . : Greek Papyri in the Library Meyer, Gr. Texte = P . M . Meyer, Griechische of Cornell University, 1 9 2 6 . Texte aus Agypten, 1 9 1 6 . P C Z = C . C . E d g a r , Zenon Papyri, 4 vols. Meyer, Jur. Pap. = P . M . Meyer, (Catal. gen. des A n t i q . e g y p t . du Musee Juristische Papyri, 1 9 2 0 . du Caire, 7 9 ) , 1 9 2 5 - 3 1 . Musurillo = H . A . Musurillo, The Acts of P . D e m . Berlin = W . Spiegelberg, Demothe Pagan Martyrs, Acta Alexandrinotische Papyri aus den kgl. Museen zu Berlin, 1 9 0 2 . rum, 1 9 5 4 . P. E n t . = O. Gueraud, ENTEY3EIE, O. A s h m . , O. Bodl., O. C a m b . , O. Flind. 1931-2. P e t . = J . G . T a i t , Greek Ostraka in the P . F a m . T e b t . = A Family-archive from Bodleian Library at Oxford and Various other Collections, 1 9 3 0 . Tebtunis, ed. b y B . A . v a n Groningen, 1 9 5 0 . O. Bodl., see O. A s h m . P . F a y . = P . F a y . O. = B . P . Grenfell, O. Deissm. = P . M . M e y e r , Griechische A . S. Hunt, D . G . Hogarth, Fayum Texte aus Agypten, 1 9 1 6 , p p . 1 0 7 - 2 0 5 . Towns and their Papyri, 1 9 0 0 . O G I S = W . Dittenberger, Orientis Graeci P . F l o r . = G . Vitelli a n d D . Comparetti, Inscriptiones selectae, 1 9 0 3 - 5 . Papiri greco-egizii: Papiri Fiorentini, O. Mich. = L . A m u n d s e n , Greek Ostraka in 1905-15the University of Michigan Collection, P. F o u a d = Les papyrus Fouad I, ed. A . I. PAPYRI,

OSTRAKA,

AND I N S C R I P T I O N S

I Q

8

1935O. Oslo = Ostraca Osloensia. Greek Ostraca in the Norwegian Collections, ed. b y L . Amundsen, 1 9 3 3 .

Bataille, O. G u e r a u d , P . J o u g u e t , a n d others, 1 9 3 9 . P. Giess. = O . E g e r , E . K o r n e m a n n , a n d P . M . M e y e r , Griechische Papyri im

xiv

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

Museum des oberhessischen Geschichtsvereins zu Giessen, 1 9 1 0 — 1 2 . P . G o t h . = H . Frisk, Papyrus grecs de la Bibl. Municipale de Gothembourg, 1 9 2 9 . P . Gron. = Papyri Groninganae, ed. b y A . G . Roos, 1 9 3 3 . P. H a m b . = P . M . Meyer, Griechische Papyrusurkunden der Hamburger Staatsund Universitdtsbibliothek, 1911-24. P . l a n d . = Papyri Iandanae, ed. K . K a l b fleisch, 1 9 1 2 . P . L i p s . = L . Mitteis, Griechische Urkunden der Papyrussammlung zu Leipzig, 1 9 0 6 . P . L o n d . = F . G . K e n y o n a n d H . I . Bell, Greek Papyri in the British Museum, 1893-1917. P . Merton = H . I . Bell a n d C . H . Roberts, Catalogue of the Greek Papyri in the Col­ lection of W. Merton, 1 9 4 8 - . P . Mich. = Michigan Papyri, 1931. P . Mich. Zen. = C . C . E d g a r , Zenon Papyri in the University of Michigan Collection, I93i-

P . Oslo = Papyri Osloenses, ed. S . E i t r e m , L . Amundsen, 1 9 2 5 - . P . O x y . = The Oxyrhynchus Papyri, ed. B . P . Grenfell, A . S . H u n t , and others, 1898-. P . Phil. = J . Scherer, Papyrus de Philadelphie, 1 9 4 7 . P . Princet. = Papyri in the Princeton Uni­ versity Collections, v o l . i ed. A . C . J o h n ­ son and H . B . v a n Hoesen, 1 9 3 1 ; vol. ii ed. E . H . K a s e , 1 9 3 6 . P . R a i n e r = Mitteilungen aus der Papyrus­ sammlung der Nationalbibliothek in Wien {Papyrus Erzherzog Rainer). N e u e Serie Ii ( 1 9 3 2 ) , ed. H . Gerstinger; Iii ( 1 9 3 9 ) ed. H . Oellacher. P . Rendel H a r r i s = The Rendel Harris Papyri of Woodbrooke College, Birming­ ham, ed. J . E . Powell, 1 9 3 6 . P . Ross. Georg. == Papyri Russischer und Georgischer Sammlungen, hsg. von G . Zereteli, bearbeitet v o n G . Zereteli, O. K r u g e r , P . J e r n s t e d t , 1 9 2 5 - 3 5 . P . R y l . = Catalogue of the Greek Papyri in the John Rylands Library, Manchester, 1911-. P . S . A . A t h e n . = Papyri Societatis Archaeologicae Atheniensis, ed. G . A . Petropoulos, 1939P S I = G . Vitelli a n d others, Pubblicazioni della Societd italiana per la ricerca dei Papiri greci e latini in Egitto: Papiri greci e latini, 1 9 1 2 - .

P.

S t r a s s b . = F . Preisigke, Griechische Papyrus der kaiserlichen Universitatsund Landesbibliothek zu Strassburg, 1906—20. P . T e b t . = The Tebtunis Papyri, ed. b y B . P . Grenfell, A . S . H u n t , J . G . S m y l y , E . J . Goodspeed, 1 9 0 2 - 3 8 . P . T h e a d . = Papyrus de Thdadelphie, ed. b y P. Jouguet, 1 9 1 1 . P . V a r s . = Papyri Varsovienses, ed. G . Manteuffel, 1 9 3 5 . P . V i n d . B o s w . = Einige Wiener Papyri, ed. E . Boswinkel, 1 9 4 2 . P . W u r z b . = U . Wilcken, Mitteilungen aus der Wurzburger Papyrussammlung, 1934S B = F . Preisigke a n d F . Bilabel, Sammelbuch griechischer Urkunden aus Agypten, vols. 1 - 2 , 1 9 1 3 - 2 2 ; vol. 3 , 1 9 2 6 - 7 ; vols. 4-5. I93i~ . 1952. S E G = Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum, 1 9 2 3 - . S P = A . S . H u n t a n d C . C . E d g a r , Select Papyri, 1932-4. U P Z = U . Wilcken, Urkunden der Ptolemaerzeit, 1922-. W . Ghr. = L . Mitteis a n d U . Wilcken, Grundzuge und Chrestomathie der Papyruskunde, i. 2 , 1 9 1 2 . W O = Wilcken, Ostr. = U . Wilcken, Grie­ chische Ostraka aus Agypten und Nubien, 1899. 8

2.

PERIODICALS

Aeg. — Aegyptus: Rivista italiana di egittologia e di papirologia, 1920—. AJPh = American Journal of Philology, 1880-. Ann. d. Serv. = Annales du Service des Antiquites de l'£gypte, 1899-. Ann. Inst. Phil. Hist. Orient. Slav. = Annuaire (Institut de philologie et d'histoire orientates, Universile libre de Bruxelles), 193 2 - . Arch. — Archiv fur Papyrusforschung, 1900-. Archiv Orientdlni = Archiv Orientdlni, 1929-. Berl. Phil. Woch., see Phil. Woch. BIFAO — Bulletin de ITnstitut francais d'Archeologie orientate, 1 9 0 1 - . BSAA = Bulletin de la Societe archiologique d'Alexandrie, 1904-. Byzantina and Metabyzantina —A Journal of Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies, 1946-.

L I S T OF A B B R E V I A T I O N S Byz. Zeitschr. = Byzantinische Zeitschrift, i892-. Chr. d'£g. — Chronique d'£gypte, 1925-. Classica et Mediaevalia — Revue danoise de philologie et d'histoire, 1938-. CP — Class. Phil. — Classical Philology, 1906-. CR = Classical Review, 1 8 8 7 - . Denkschr. A had. Wien = Denkschriften der kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften, phil.-hist. Klasse, 1 8 5 0 - . Eos = Commentarii Societatis Philologae Polonorum, 1894-. *Emorr)fix>v a mistaken omission in the original, braces { } a superfluous letter or letters, double square brackets [[ ]] a deletion.

PART III

LATE ROMAN AND BYZANTINE PERIODS

SECTION XII

VARIOUS DOCUMENTS FROM A.D. 117 TO 3 3 7 T H I S section, like the others composed of 'various documents', lacks inner unity. I t contains fragments of various lists and accounts, official documents, private and official letters, and the like. The comparative scarcity of documents (forty-four during a period 220 years long) is striking evidence of the breakdown of the Egyptian J e w r y after the crushing of the revolt of A . D . I 1 5 - 1 7 . Only at the end of the period is a Jewish community (in Oxyrhynchos) again recorded, and so we may suppose that during the third century the Jews started gradually to recover from the heavy blow they were struck at the beginning of the second century. Y e t traces of their renewed activity are scarce; the new political and cultural atmosphere, created b y the triumphant Christian Church, was b y no means favourable to Jews. See on this question above, Vol. I, pp. 96 sqq. The main difficulty with regard to the inclusion of documents in this section was the search for a criterion to distinguish between Jewish and Christian docu­ ments. I t is obvious that no strict criterion could be established, and we have to limit ourselves to some general considerations. First we may remark that private letters, so numerous in this epoch, are all written in almost the same manner, with no difference whether their authors were pagans, Jews, or Christians. Ghedini (in his Lettere Cristiane, published in 1923, and in his article Taganesimo e Cristianesimo', published in 1936 in the Atti del IV Congresso, cf. Cavassini, Aegyptus, xxxiv, 1954, 266) included a considerable number of letters in his list of Christian letters of the third and fourth centuries; yet Bell, in his article in HTR xxxvii, 1944, 185 sqq., has clearly shown that the evidence for the great majority of these letters is b y no means convincing; in fact, such idioms as Xapis TO) dea>, irapa rq> Kvpia) 0€tp, iav 6 Oeos deXet, deov OeXovros and the like are both Christian and pagan, and, consequently, do not prove anything. According to Bell (op. cit. 198), there exist from the rise of Christianity to the beginning of the reign of Diocletian only four certain and three probable Christian letters, all others being more or less doubtful. I t is obvious that it is even more difficult to distinguish between Christian and Jewish letters, since the phraseology of the Septuagint is common to both groups. I have felt some hesitation about three letters published b y Ghedini in his Lettere Cristiane: nos. 30 ( = P . Lips. 1 1 1 ) , 31 (— P. Lond. in. 244, no. 1244), and 32 ( = P. land. ii. 14), because of their using the idiom &eds "Y^LOTOS for God; no. 31 reveals, in addition, some hebraisms or aramaisms. Y e t '0e6s "Yiffiaros' was used b y pagans as well as b y Jews (Tn fact, we are on a religious frontier', see Roberts, Skeat, and Nock, HTR x x i x , 1936, 65), and the hebraisms (if they are really such) might easily have been used by a Christian as well as by a J e w . The only private letter included in this section is No. 469, but my decision was based not on the style of this letter, which does not differ from the general tenor of all other letters of this kind, but on the name Eissak ( = Isak) recorded in it.

4

S E C T I O N X I I : NOS. 4 5 1 - 4 8 0

Another difficulty arises with regard to names. The Hebrew name has been up till now our principal criterion for distinguishing between Jewish and nonJewish papyri. In the Byzantine age this criterion is no longer valid, since Christians begin to call themselves b y Biblical names. I t is of great importance to establish when this process started. W e can state roughly that in the third century (let us say, before A . D . 312) the process had not yet begun, that in the fifth century it is in vogue everywhere, and that the fourth century is the period of transition. I t has been proposed above (Vol. I, pp. xvii-xviii) to consider the year A . D . 337 (the death of Constantine) as a conventional limit: all Biblical names before this date to be considered as Jewish, after it as Christian. In fact, the chronological limits of this section were fixed according to this principle. Y e t it is obvious that this principle cannot be applied rigorously. Some Biblical names, especially those which were connected with the New Testament (such as Petros, Paulos, and Joannes), were used b y Christians as early as the third century. True, only clerics started bearing these names then; yet there is no means of establishing when non-ecclesiastics also began to use Biblical names. I n consequence, a number of documents included in this section, on the basis of Biblical names mentioned in them, must be considered as dubious. Such are Nos. 469, 476, 477, 480 (the name Isak), Nos. 472a, 4726, 474 (Joannes), Nos. 470, 479 (Josepos), No. 478 (Enoch), Nos. 473,475 (Jakob). I am inclined, nevertheless, to consider all these persons rather as Jews than as Christians, since almost all of them are men of the lower classes of society (field-hands, and the like) and it would seem that Christianity, b y the end of the third and the beginning of the fourth centuries, had not yet made great progress in its penetration from the urban centres like Alexandria into the Egyptian villages. See for the spreading of Christianity in Egypt G. Meautis, 'LTntroduction du Christianisme en Egypte', Rev. de thiol, et de phil. N . S . ix, 1921, 169 sqq.; Bell, 'Evidences of Christianity in Egypt during the Roman period', HTR xxxvii, 1944, 185 sqq.; C. H. Roberts, 'Early Christianity in Egypt', JEA xl, 1954, 92 sqq.; Rees, 'The Transition to Christianity', JEA xxxvi, 1950, 86 sqq.; and the general surveys of Harnack, Mission und Ausbreitung des Christentums*, ii, 1924, 705 sqq., and Lietzmann, Geschichte der alien Kirche, ii, 1936, 283 sqq.

No. 4 £ i . A fragment Sesphtha (Oxyrhynchite district). P. Rendel Harris 142 (Powell).

A.D. 126.

A fragment from an abstract of registered receipts from the village of Sesphtha in the nome of Oxyrhynchos. In 1. 16 the Hebrew name Onias is recorded (cf. also No. 4 5 3 , 1 . 21).

16

[rrjs [Arflrpos 'HpaKXelas *Oviov. TO Se kara\i€.vov

(Translation.) . . . of (their) mother Herakleia daughter of Onias; and the agreed (price) . . .

V A R I O U S D O C U M E N T S F R O M A.D. 117 T O 3 3 7

No.

5

An account from an estate, mentioning the Feast of Tabernacles

4.52a.

Edfu (?). 13 x 16-5 cm. (the main fragment). Second century A.D. Bulletin de la Faculte des Lettres de Strasbourg, xl, 1961, p. 205, no. 300 (Schwartz).

The following document belongs to the second column of the recto of a papyrus many fragments of which are preserved. The papyrus is to be dated on palaeographic grounds in the second century A.D. It looks like an account from an estate and it in­ cludes various items relating to workers, cattle, and water-conduits. Among the names mentioned (Greek, Roman, and Egyptian) there are some which are obviously Jewish: Ismael, Simon, and Annaios, and perhaps Jesous (cf. 'Irfaovros in 1.17). Since Annaios is the father of Pesouris, we have to think of the latter also as a Jew. Ismael furnishes most of the sums mentioned; sometimes he does it directly and sometimes through people who seem to be his agents. Apart from the Jewish names the papyrus has considerable interest for us owing to the mention of the iravwxls of the Feast of Tabernacles. Recto Col. I I , F r . 1 IJapd ElofJLarjAov Sid

Xapiraovos 7 r

vSprjyov {&P-) Trapd IovXiov Kepjxaros {&P-) P Trapd *Iap,ar]Xov ware ipydraus (op.) £p>7) Trapa KaTrircovos dpaft(x)v(cx)v) Qpx( ) (S/o.) f) Sid BajKis Kal Ilaaiov Kal IIea[o\vpLS Avvaiov Trapa 'IafjLarjXov i^P-) P Sid EiyLOivos K [ C H ] Ilaaiov {&P-) P VTrep dpvcbv a . [ . ] . a r t o v {&P-) i

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. . Kal vSprjycov [.. .]a>s . . o/xotco? aAA^? . a . a . . [ fca irapd 'Iojj,ar}Xov Sid AvXov K 8 Trapa * IopLar]Xo\y\ Sid Ilaaiov .. Trapa epyarcov Ky Sid AfjLapdvrov rfj Travvv\j(i\o(C) rrjs aK7]vo7T7]yias ,

1

{&P-) H ].(Sp.). i^P-) P

{&P') P {&P-) 7 (Sic6j8.) (S/o.) p 17

Irj]aovros v[ ] IJaTTLpiov [

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Fr. 2 Tra]p[d Tr]apd [...]../> [.].[ jSaeicov €K[

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S E C T I O N X I I : NOS. 4 5 1 - 4 8 0

6

]iov (Bp.) j8 (rerpco/?.) }pav ( ) (hp.) JB ] (hp.) flTj

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I . 1. 'IafiayXov.

(Translation.) From Ismaelos, b y Chariton, for water-conduit, 8o dr. From Julius, in small change (?), ioo dr. From Ismaelos, for the workmen, 248 dr. F r o m Kapiton, in earnest-money for Ark . . . ( ? ) , 8 dr. B y Bokis and Pasias and Pesouris son (sons?) of Annaios, from Ismaelos, 100 dr. 19th. B y Simon and Pasias, 100 dr. F o r lambs . . ., 5 dr. 1 ob. And for waterconduits . . ., 40 dr. Likewise for another . . . . . . . dr. 21st. F r o m Ismaelos, b y Aulos, 100 dr. 24th. F r o m Ismaelos, by Pasias, 100 dr. From 23 workmen, 3 dr. 2 ob. B y Amarantos, on the pannychis of the Feast of Tabernacles, 100 dr Iesous . . ., 48 dr. . . . Papirios . . . . (Fr. 2) From . . . From . . . 2 dr. Cost of beam . . ., 2 dr. 4 ob. Likewise for another . . ., 2 dr. From Ismaelos b y . . ., 48 dr. From Dionysia . . ., 20 dr. From Ismaelos . . ., 20 dr. . . th. B y . . ., 20 dr. . . ., 40 dr. . . . 1. ElafiayXov—a common name among Jews both in E g y p t and in Palestine. Cf. Nos. 13. 2 ; 120. 1 . Ismael may have been a tenant of the estate. 5. A t the beginnings of lines 5, 9, 10, 1 1 , 14, and 28 two dots are written in the papyrus in an ink different from that of the rest of the account. 15 sq. On -navvvxis as connected with Greek cults cf. Ziehen, RE xviii (2) (1949), 629 sqq. The word is never used in the Septuagint, but it occurs in the writings of Philo. Cf. De Cherubim, 92; Legatio ad Gaium, 12, and De vita contemplativa, 83. Though in the first passage the mention of Trawvx&es is followed by dirpenets rjSoval, in the third passage -navvvxis is used in connexion with the ascetic com­ munity of the Therapeutae, much admired by the philosopher: fierd Se TO oetirvov rrjv Upav dyovoi iravvvxioa. dyerai Se 17 irawvxls TOV rpoirov TOVTOV avioravrai iravres ddpoot, Kal Kara peoov TO ovp-Ttoaiov Svo yCvovrai TO npcorov x°P°h ° H-* dvop&v, 6 Se ywaiKciv. Cf. also Eusebius, Historia ecclesiastica, vi. 3 4 : if i7ju.€0a rrjs iordr-qs rod Ildoxa iravwxtoos. It is no accident that a -navvvxl-s is mentioned in connexion with the Feast of Tabernacles. This festival was considered to be one of the greatest Jewish festivals (cf. ant. viii. 100; The Book of Jubilees, xvi. 20 sq.) and the Mishna, Tosefta, and both the Talmuds testify to the extreme joy and illuminations characteristic of the nights of that festival, as celebrated in the Temple of Jerusalem. Among the various features of the festival the fact is stressed that the celebrants used to pass the nights of the festival without sleep. Cf. b. Sukkah 53 ( i r K I * 6 r U X W H TP* n n & » DTIB& lTVlttD ru ^) and the parallel passages. Some features of the Feast, though not its irawvxioes, as it seems, induced pagan writers to connect this Jewish festival with the cult of Dionysos (cf. Plutarch, Quaestiones convivales 671 D ; Tacitus, Historiae, v. 5. 5. See also Biichler, RE J xxxvii, 1898, 181 sqq.). v

1

For the importance of the Festival of Tabernacles in the Diaspora cf., e.g., the well-known inscrip­ tion from Berenike (REG Ixii, 1949, 283: « u ovXXoyov rijs oK-qvoTrrfylas). See also Schiirer, iii. 142 sqq., and in general Moore, Judaism in the First Centuries of the Christian Era, ii. 43 sqq. 26. For the name Dionysia cf. No. 143 and CI J 1532 (neither certainly Jewish). M. S .

V A R I O U S D O C U M E N T S F R O M A.D. 117 T O 3 3 7

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No. 4.52b. An account from the Oxyrhynchite nome Oxyrhynchite nome.

18-5 x 9 cm.

Second century A.D.

Bulletin de la Faculte des Lettres de Strasbourg, xl, 1961, p. 201, no. 299 Recto (Schwartz). One of a group of papyri coming from the Oxyrhynchite nome. It has preserved the middle part of the 3 4 t h column of an administrative roll. Palaeographic criteria sug­ gest the second century as the date of the papyrus, and this conclusion is supported by a comparison of the prices of the different kinds of oil mentioned on the verso of the papyrus (cf. the editor's remarks). The document concerns a village named in the preceding column (the name has not survived). It deals with taxes levied by the rrpaKropes dpyvpiKcbv and distinguishes between SIOLKTJOIS, lepariKa, and 61817 in the same way as P. Ryl. 2 1 3 (a tax account of the late second century from the Mendesian nome). Cf. the introduction to that papy­ rus and Wallace, Taxation, 3 3 1 sq. Among the various items of the account a payment for ipvnopla 'Iov8ala>v occurs (1. 14) under the heading UpariKa.

5

Recto AS arpa]rr)yov opoicos (yiv.) (Bp.) va (ojS.) (17/AicojS.) (rpix) fia[va]yo[/Ae]va eK<j>6pia p.eTprjaopev vpeiv e£ dXXrjXeyyvrjs Kara to rjpiov ev [tco JTTjavvi Kal ^Errelcfj pbrjorl vea Kadapd dSoAa dftcoXa Kal tov Trvpov aKpidov rravTa /ce/coaKivevpeva perrpco AOrjvaiov eKrrjpopcp, tov vptov peTp[ovvTJos e* dXcb15 vcov Kcopuiqs MayScoXcov Mipr) /cat hcocropev vpeiv KaT* lr[o]s VTrep piadcotikov Spaxpas Teaaapas Kal rraihapiois 6p,oicos KaT* eVos" Trvpo[v] € / C T O V , tojv KaT eras Srjpocricov rravTCOv ovtcov rrpds vpas Tas yeovx[ov\s. eKcbvTes Se TrapaScooropev to rj[pi\av Trjs yrjs drro dvarravpaTOS cfjaKoy. (eTovs) it, AvTOKpaTopos Kaioapos Tpaiavov ASpiavov EefiaoTOV &acocf>i /CJ8. (2nd hand) Tpv20 [ci]i err* dpcf)68ov KprjTiKov Kal 'IovSa'CKrjs (Xavpas) Xonrcov ifjeiXcbv TO10 TTCOV fiecKovs Teooapas, cov r) TOTrodeaia Kal TO KaT avepov Sid TT}S KaTaypacf>rjs SeS^AajTai* eivai r e ipov Kal pryre viroKetodai prjSe eTepois itjrjXAoTpicoodaL /card prjSeva Tporrov, dVe^eiv Se pe TT]V T€ipr)v dpyvplov Spaxpas Sio^eiAias" SiaKoalas, Kal fiefiaicboeiv Trdorj fieftaLcbaeL Kal Trapi^eiv KaOapovs d[7ro d]7ro15 \yp\a>i)s Trdorjs Kal rravTos OVTLVOOOVV aXXov. (CTOVS) I £ AvT[oKpaTopos Kalaapos Tpaiavov ASpiavov HeftacrTOV, Oappovdc vy. (2nd hand) MdpKos AVTOJVLOS Spc6p[oKa TOV opKov. Verso : &app(ovdi) vy, icpy(r]VTat) ABpaoTOs Kal d[A]Ao? Tr(apd) MdpKov. (Translation.) Marcus Antonius Dius and however I am styled, former strategos of Alexandria, neokoros of the great Sarapis, to the agoranomoi. I swear the oath customary with Romans that I have sold to Adrastos son of Chairemon and grandson of Adrastos, of the Nilanabatean tribe and the Althean deme, mother Philotera, a citizen, daughter of Origenes, and to Dionysios also called Papontos, mother Taarpaesis daughter of Pertax, from the city of Oxyrhynchos, a minor, his father Horos being known as the son of Tapsois . . ., —to the two of them equally and in common, four bikoi from the remaining open lots which I own in the Cretan quarter and the Jewish street, the position and orientation of which are shown in the conveyance; and that (this land) belongs to me and is neither mortgaged nor alienated to others in any w a y ; and that I have received the price, two thousand two hundred drachmai of silver; and that I will guarantee (the land) with every form of guarantee and deliver it free from every form of property-registration and from anything else

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whatsoever. Y e a r 17 of Imperator Caesar Traianus Hadrianus Augustus, Pharmouthi 1 3 . (2nd hand) I , Marcus Antonius, have sworn the oath. (Verso) Pharmouthi 13, purchase b y Adrastos and another from Marcus. 1 - 2 . The strategos of Alexandria is well attested. (References are to be found in Calderini, Dizionario, 1.193 s.v. (add P. Oslo iii. 84. 8 ) ; for discussion see Jouguet, La Vie municipale, 193 sqq.; Bilabel, RE 2 Reihe, iv. 247 sqq.) Our Dios is probably the same as Aeios yevopevos arpaTqyos rijs ir6\e