Babatha
Babatha | |
---|---|
Mahoza | |
Spouse(s) | Jesus bar Jesus (c. 120–c. 124) Judah Eleazar Ketushyon (c. 125–130) |
Children | 1 |
Parent |
|
Babatha, also known as Babata (
Life
Babatha was born in approximately 104 CE, probably in Mahoza. The town was part of the
The documents concerning this marriage offer insight to her status in the relationship. In their marriage contract, Judah's debts become part of her liability, indicating a financial equality. Judah accompanied Babatha to Rabba to declare her property in Mahoza to the Roman governor of Arabia during a Roman census, and served as her legal guardian in the process. In 128 CE, a legal document shows that Judah took a loan without interest from Babatha, showing that she had control of her own money despite the union. The loan was apparently to cover the gift Judah gave his daughter on the occasion of her wedding, which she used as a dowry. Judah bequeathed his property in Ein Gedi to Shelamzion that same year, half immediately and half to be inherited upon his death.[1] Upon Judah's death in 130 CE, Babatha seized his estates in Ein Gedi as a guarantee against his debts which she had covered as stated in the marriage contract, as the debts had apparently not been paid by his family. Judah had died owing her 700 denarii, both from the debt he had taken from her in 128 CE and the original dowry. The documents also indicate that he had taken a loan of 60 denarii for a year at 12% interest from a Roman centurion stationed at Ein Gedi. In 131 CE, she was embroiled in a legal battle with Judah's other wife over the possessions of their dead husband.[2][5] The documents also show that a dispute arose between Shelamzion and Judah's orphaned sons over the ownership of a courtyard in Ein Gedi he had gifted to Shelamzion. The sons were represented by an elite Roman woman, Julia Crispina. The dispute was ultimately settled in Shelamzion's favor. Babatha's seizure of her late husband's property was contested by his sons, who were again represented by Julia Crispina in the court of the provincial governor. At one point, Babatha summoned Julia Crispina to court, in spite of her Roman elite status, claiming that a false charge of violence had been made against her.[1]
Other documents of importance concern the
In addition, among the documents in her possession was a record of a sale of a donkey between two brothers, Joseph and Judah, in 122 CE. They are likely to have been Babatha's brothers, and Babatha was probably given the document to hold onto for safekeeping.[1]
The documents were written on her behalf by Eleazar, son of Eleazar, and Yochana, son of Makhouta. Babatha herself was illiterate as declared by Eleazar, who wrote that "she does not know letters."[7]
Death
The latest documents discovered in the pouch concern a summons to appear in an Ein Gedi court as Judah's first wife, Miriam, had brought a dispute against Babatha regarding their late husband's property. Therefore, it is assumed that Babatha was near Ein Gedi in 132 CE, placing her in the midst of the
Notes
Bibliography
- Chiusi, Tiziana J. (2005). "Babatha vs. The Guardians of Her Son: A Struggle for Guardianship – Legal and Practical Aspects of P. Yadin 12-15, 27". In Ranon Katzoff and David Schaps (ed.). Law in the Documents of the Judean Desert. Leiden: Brill Academic.
- Goodman, Martin David (1996). "Babatha". In Simon Hornblower and Antony Spawforth (ed.). The Oxford Classical Dictionary(Third ed.).
- Freund, Richard A. (2004). "A Tale of Two Caves: Babatha and Her-story". Secrets of the Cave of Letters: Rediscovering a Dead Sea Mystery. Humanity Books. ISBN 978-1-59102-205-3. book cite
- Esler, Philip F. (2017). Babatha’s Orchard: The Yadin Papyri and an Ancient Jewish Family Tale Retold. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Further reading
- Friedman, Mordechai A. (1996). "Babatha's "Ketubba": Some Preliminary Observations". JSTOR 27926417.
- Broshi, Magen (1992). "Agriculture and Economy in Roman Palestine: Seven Notes on the Babatha Archive". JSTOR 27926273.
External links
- Video Lecture on Babatha by Henry Abramson (2014)
- Lecture, Henry Abramson: Babatha (First Person Accounts in Jewish History) on YouTube, Jan 2020.
- Babatha's Life and Times
- Bibliography on Babatha
- Transcriptions of some of Babatha's papyri Duke Databank of Documentary Papyri