The Relationship between Roman and Local Law in the Babatha and Salome Komaise Archives: General Analysis and Three Case Studies on Law of Succession, Guardianship and Marriage (Studies on the Texts of the Desert of Judah)

471 Pages·2007·2.69 MB·English

by  Jacobine G. Oudshoorn

Th e Relationship between Roman and
Local Law in the Babatha and
Salome Komaise Archives
OUDSHOORN_f1_i-xiv.indd i 6/29/2007 7:54:45 PM
Studies on the Texts of the
Desert of Judah
Edited by
Florentino García Martínez
Associate Editors
Peter W. Flint
Eibert J.C. Tigchelaar
VOLUME LXIX
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Th e Relationship between
Roman and Local Law
in the Babatha and
Salome Komaise Archives
General Analysis and Th ree Case Studies on
Law of Succession, Guardianship and Marriage
by
Jacobine G. Oudshoorn
LEIDEN • BOSTON
2007
OUDSHOORN_f1_i-xiv.indd iii 6/29/2007 7:54:45 PM
Th is book is printed on acid-free paper.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Oudshoorn, Jacobine G.
Th e Relationship between Roman and local law in the Babatha and Salome
Komaise archives : general analysis and three case studies on law of succession,
guardianship, and marriage / by Jacobine G. Oudshoorn.
p. cm. — (Studies on the texts of the desert of Judah ; v. 69)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-90-04-14974-8 (hardback : alk. paper)
1. Jewish law—History—Sources 2. Roman law—History—Sources. 3. Domestic
relations (Jewish law) 4. Domestic relations (Roman law) 5. Dead Sea scrolls.
6. Manuscripts, Hebrew (Papyri) I. Title. II. Series.
KB197.2.093 2007
340.5'3948—dc22
2007026970
ISSN: 0169-9962
ISBN: 978 90 04 14974 8
Copyright 2007 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, Th e Netherlands.
Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Hotei Publishing,
IDC Publishers, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers and VSP.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated,
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Fees are subject to change.
printed in the netherlands
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CONTENTS
Preface .................................................................................................. xi
List of Abbreviations ........................................................................... xiii
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
Introduction ........................................................................................ 3
I. Th e Texts ....................................................................................... 5
Th e archives ................................................................................... 5
Th e Babatha archive ................................................................ 5
Babatha and her family ........................................................... 7
Th e Salome Komaise archive .................................................. 12
Salome Komaise and her family ............................................ 15
Legal implications of the documents
Women’s archives ...................................................................... 17
Continuity and change: obtemperare legibus nostris
Traianus conpulit imperator? ............................................. 19
‘Reichsrecht und Volksrecht’ and confl ict of law .................. 25
Previous treatment of legal issues in relation to
present study ......................................................................... 31
II. Th e Treatment
Terminology ................................................................................... 43
a. the meaning of law or legal system ................................... 43
b. Jewish law at the time of the archives .............................. 44
c. Roman law at the time of the archives ............................. 50
Method ........................................................................................... 53
Sources ........................................................................................... 55
Note on extent of legal detailing ................................................. 56
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vi contents
PART ONE
THE LAW BEHIND THE DOCUMENTS:
EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL EVIDENCE
Introduction to part I ......................................................................... 59
Chapter One: Language .................................................................... 63
I. Language and Law .................................................................. 63
Greek as language used in legal documents .......................... 64
Roman vs. indigenous courts? ............................................ 73
Greek vs. Aramaic? .............................................................. 78
Choice of language is choice of law? ...................................... 84
II. Conclusions .............................................................................. 88
Chapter Two: Language and References to Law ........................... 93
I. Case Studies .............................................................................. 93
P.Yadin 2 and 3: a Jew amongst Nabataeans ....................... 93
P.Yadin 6: Jews conducting business in Nabataean .............. 97
P.Yadin 8 and 9: diff erent yet the same ................................. 107
P.Hever 60 and 12: Aramaic where Greek is expected ........ 115
P.Yadin 5, 17: depositing ‘according to the law of deposit’ ... 117
P.Yadin 11: loan from a Roman centurion ........................... 156
P.Yadin 21–22, 23–24: a sale without capacity to dispose? 168
II. Conclusions .............................................................................. 181
Overview ................................................................................... 181
Chronological development ................................................. 184
Th e use of languages against the background of
the parties ......................................................................... 184
References to law in the documents ................................... 186
Law behind the documents ..................................................... 186
Chapter Th ree: A New Approach to Understand the
Relationship between Roman and Local Law in the Archives ... 188
I. Determining the Applicable Law .......................................... 188
Under Nabataean rule
Language and references to law ......................................... 188
General-specifi c .................................................................... 190
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contents vii
Under Roman rule
Language and references to law ......................................... 193
Formal-substantive .............................................................. 195
II. Conclusions .............................................................................. 204
PART TWO
THE LAW BEHIND THE DOCUMENTS:
CASE STUDIES
Introduction to part II ....................................................................... 209
Chapter Four: Law of Succession .................................................... 213
I. Evidence for Applicable Law of Succession in the
Archives .................................................................................... 214
Son ............................................................................................. 214
Other children/wife in presence of a son ............................... 220
In absence of a son ................................................................... 226
Order of succession based on documentary evidence .......... 237
What law determined the order of succession found
in the documents? ................................................................ 237
II. Discussion of Legal Position of Daughter in Ancient
Eastern Legal Systems ............................................................. 246
Egypt
Evidence from legal code and documents ......................... 246
Conclusions ........................................................................... 250
Mesopotamia ........................................................................... 251
Mesopotamian law anterior to Hammurabi’s Code ........ 251
Old Babylonian law ............................................................. 255
Excursus: the daughter-heir in Athenian law .............. 259
Assyrian laws
a. Old Assyrian ............................................................... 262
b. Middle Assyrian ......................................................... 264
c. Neo-Assyrian ............................................................... 266
Nuzi ....................................................................................... 267
Overview ............................................................................... 271
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viii contents
Anatolia and the Levant ......................................................... 274
Hittite Laws ......................................................................... 274
Emar .................................................................................... 277
Alalakh ................................................................................ 281
Ugarit ................................................................................... 284
Overview ............................................................................. 289
Excursus: Elephantine ............................................................ 290
III. Conclusions ............................................................................. 292
Overview .................................................................................. 292
Conclusions .............................................................................. 294
Chapter Five: Guardianship
I. Guardianship of a Minor
Th e case of Babatha’s son Jesus ............................................. 300
Th e appointment of the guardians ................................... 301
Th e dispute about maintenance ........................................ 319
Th e actio tutelae ................................................................. 330
Contents and formalities ................................................... 336
Excursus: did Babatha win her case? .............................. 344
Th e case of Judah’s nephews .................................................. 346
II. Guardianship of a Woman
Evidence pro and contra ........................................................ 354
Two legal concepts? ................................................................. 366
Th e demands of formal law: the case of P.Yadin 27 .......... 368
III. Conclusions ............................................................................. 372
Chapter Six: Marriage
I. P.Yadin 10: Babatha’s Document: A Real Ketubba?
Structure and most important features of P.Yadin 10 ........ 379
Th e ketubba and its legal implications ................................. 388
Babatha’s sale of the dates ................................................. 389
Babatha’s dispute with Besas ............................................ 391
Babatha’s dispute with Miryam ........................................ 393
Conclusions .............................................................................. 396
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contents ix
II. P.Yadin 18: Shelamzion’s Document: Jewish vs.
Hellenistic?
Structure and most important features of P.Yadin 18 ........ 398
Jewish, Hellenistic, or is it? .................................................... 401
Conclusions .............................................................................. 420
III. P.Hever 65: Salome Komaise’s Document: Premarital
Cohabitation Or Agraphos Gamos?
Structure and most important features of P.Hever 65 ....... 423
Premarital cohabitation? ........................................................ 424
Agraphos gamos ..................................................................... 427
Conclusions: Legal implications of diff erent
interpretations ..................................................................... 432
IV. Conclusions: What Marriage Documents Can Show
Regarding the Development of (Jewish) Law ................... 433
Bibliography ........................................................................................ 439
Indices .................................................................................................. 449
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