The Aramaic and Egyptian Legal Traditions at Elephantine: An Egyptological Approach (The Library of Second Temple Studies, 64)

This is a study of the interrelationships between the formulary traditions of the legal documents of the Jewish colony of Elephantine and the legal formulary traditions of their Egyptian counterparts. The legal documents of Elephantine have been approached in three different ways thus far: first, comparing them to the later Aramaic legal tradition; second, as part of a self-contained system, and more recently from the point of view of the Assyriological legal tradition. However, there is still a fourth possible approach, which has long been neglected by scholars in this field, and that is to study the Elephantine legal documents from an Egyptological perspective. In seeking the Egyptian parallels and antecedents to the Aramaic formulary, Botta hopes to balance the current scholarly perspective, based mostly upon Aramaic and Assyriological comparative studies. Contents 6 List of Tables 10 Acknowledgments 11 Abbreviations 15 Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION: THE EGYPTOLOGICAL APPROACH TO THE STUDY OF ARAMAIC LEGAL FORMULAE 20 Chapter 2 THE ELEPHANTINE COMMUNITY AND ARAMAIC LAW 27 2.1. The Study of the Aramaic Legal Documents: State of the Question 38 2.2. Legal Practices at Elephantine 51 2.2.1. Personal Status 51 2.2.2. Jewish and Aramaean Scribes at Work 54 2.2.3. The Framework of the Documents 63 2.2.4. Transfer of Property 75 2.2.5. Obligations 77 2.2.6. Family Law 78 2.2.7. Litigation 79 2.3. Legal Traditions in Contact: Methodological Considerations 80 2.3.1. The Evolution of Legal Systems 82 2.3.2. The Pilgrimage of Legal Formulae 84 2.3.3. Levels of Analysis 84 Chapter 3 THE EGYPTIAN FORMULARY TRADITION 91 Chapter 4 CHALLENGING THE CONSENSUS: THE (omitted) CLAUSE 100 4.1. The Legal Function of the (omitted) Clause 102 4.2. The Origins of the (omitted) clause 109 Chapter 5 THE ‘WITHDRAWAL’ AND RELATED FORMULAE IN THE ARAMAIC LEGAL TRADITION 115 5.1 The Use of (omitted) in the Aramaic Legal Documents from Elephantine 115 5.1.1. (omitted) in Transfer 123 5.1.2. (omitted) in Litigation: Documents of Release after Litigation 139 5.1.3. The Use of (omitted) in North West Semitic 152 Chapter 6 THE USE OF w(omitted)y IN THE EGYPTIAN LEGAL TRADITION 156 6.1. The Untold Story: Legals Uses of w(omitted)y before the Assyrian Conquest 156 6.1.1. Withdrawal Formula in the Coffin Texts 157 6.1.2. Removal from Office and Name 158 6.1.3. Demand for Release: The Tomb Robberies Papyri of the 20th Dynasty 159 6.1.4. Transfer: The Endowment Stela of Ioureot 160 6.2. The Uses of wy in the Saite and Persian Periods (664–332 BCE) 161 6.2.1. The Use of wy in Transfers 164 6.2.2. The Use of wy in Litigation 176 6.2.3. Wy in Release of Obligations 181 6.2.4. Wy in Marriage, Divorce, and Inheritance Settlements 183 6.2.5. The Use of wy in Withdrawal from Object 185 6.2.6. Functional Equivalents in the Hieratic Formulary Tradition 186 6.3. Further Developments of wy-Based Formulae in the Ptolemaic Period 187 6.3.1. Initial Withdrawal Clause in sh n wy in Transfers of Property 188 6.3.2. Withdrawal Clause in sh n wy after Litigation 188 6.3.3. Initial Withdrawal Clause in Release from Obligation 188 6.3.4. A Quitclaim by Party B Formulated by Party A in Divisions 190 6.3.5. A Complement of the Waiver of Suit Clause 190 6.3.6. A Complement of a Consent-Quitclaim Clause 190 6.3.7. Release of Wife in Divorce Documents 192 6.3.8. Quitclaim by Husband in Divorce Documents 192 6.3.9. A Defension Clause 192 6.3.10. A Withdrawal Clause at the End of a sh db(omitted) hd 192 6.3.11. Withdrawal Formula in the Transfer Clause in the sh db(omitted) hd 193 6.3.12. The wy Formula in Release of Prisoners 193 6.4. Summary 194 Chapter 7 A COMPARISON OF THE ARAMAIC AND EGYPTIAN USES OF WITHDRAWAL FORMULAE 199 7.1. The Legal Metaphor and the Legal Term 200 7.2. Legal Formulae 201 7.2.1. Withdrawal from Object 205 7.2.2. Withdrawal from Name 209 7.2.3. Withdrawal from Office 209 7.2.4. Withdrawal from Person 210 7.2.5. To Cause to Release Land 212 7.2.6. Summary 212 7.3. Legal Clause 213 7.3.1. Withdrawal Formula in the Initial Release Clause 213 7.3.2. Withdrawal Formula within the Release Clause after Performance 213 7.3.3. Withdrawal Formula within the Transfer Clause 215 7.3.4. Withdrawal Formula within the Waiver of Suit Clause 216 Chapter 8 RECONSIDERING THE ORIGINS OF ARAMAIC AND DEMOTIC LEGAL FORMULAE 218 WORKS CITED 223 INDEX 253 A study of the interrelationships between the legal formulary traditions of the legal documents of the Jewish colony of Elephantine and the legal formulary traditions of their Egyptian counterparts