Textbook of Aramaic Documents from Ancient Egypt

Textbook of Aramaic Documents from Ancient Egypt, often referred to as TAD or TADAE, is a four volume corpus of Aramaic inscriptions written during the period of ancient Egypt, written by Bezalel Porten and Ada Yardeni.[1]

Originally envisaged to be the Corpus Papyrorum Aramaicarum, following the Corpus Papyrorum Judaicarum, it grew to incorporate all Aramaic inscriptions from the region, not just on papyrus, so the title was changed – this time borrowing from J. C. L. Gibson's 1971 Textbook of Syrian Semitic Inscriptions.[1]

Each of volumes 1-3 contains 40-50 texts (vol. 1 letters (A); vol. 2 contracts (B); vol. 3 literary texts (C)), and volume 4 contains 478 texts, including D1-5: 216 papyrus fragments; D6: 14 leather; D7-10: 87 ostraca. The collection does not include the Saqqarah papyri[a] and most of the Clermont-Ganneau ostraca.[b][4][5]

It is the standard reference textbook for the Aramaic Elephantine papyri and ostraca, as well as other examples of Egyptian Aramaic, which together provide the primary extant examples of Imperial Aramaic worldwide.[6]

Concordance edit

Name Discovered Date Location TAD Cowley (C) Grelot Other ref Museum number
Adon Papyrus 1942 600s BCE A1.1 KAI 266
Hermopolis Aramaic papyri 1945 400-500 BCE University of Cairo A2.1 28 Bresciani-Kamil 4[7]
A2.2 26 Bresciani-Kamil 2[7]
A2.3 25 Bresciani-Kamil 1[7]
A2.4 27 Bresciani-Kamil 3[7]
A2.5 29 Bresciani-Kamil 5[7]
A2.6 30 Bresciani-Kamil 6[7]
A2.7 31 Bresciani-Kamil 7[7]
Private Letters 1906-08 400-500 BCE Egyptian Museum A3.1 54 - Sachau 39 Pap. No. 3456 = J. 43493
A3.2 55 - Sachau 40 Pap. No. 3457 = J. 43494
Padua Aramaic papyri 1815-19 (published 1960) Museo Civico di Padova A3.3 14 Aramaic Papyrus 1
A3.4 Aramaic Papyrus 2
1906-08 Egyptian Museum A3.5 41 - Sachau 13 Pap. No. 3437 = J. 43474
A3.6 40 16 Sachau 14 Pap. No. 3438 = J. 43475
A3.7 39 15 Sachau 12 Pap. No. 3436 = J. 43473
A3.8 42 17 Sachau 16 Pap. No. 3440 = J. 43477
Wilbour Aramaic papyrus 1893 Brooklyn Museum A3.9 Kraeling 13[8] Brooklyn Museum 47.218.151
1970 Egyptian Museum of Berlin A3.10 P. Berlin 23000
1959 Museo Archeologico di Firenze A3.11 Inv. n. 11913
Jedaniah Communal Archive Passover Letter 1906-08 419 - 407 BCE Egyptian Museum of Berlin A4.1 21 96 Sachau 6 P. 13464
Egyptian Museum A4.2 37 97 Sachau 10 Pap. No. 3434 = J. 43471
A4.3 38 98 Sachau 11 Pap. No. 3435 = J. 43472
Egyptian Museum of Berlin and Egyptian Museum of Cairo A4.4 56+34 100 Sachau 15 Berlin P. 13456 + Pap. No. 3439 = J. 43476
Strasbourg Aramaic papyrus 1898 Bibliothèque Nationale et Universitaire (Strasbourg) A4.5 27 101 Aram. 2
1906-08 Egyptian Museum of Berlin A4.6 66 P. 13445
Temple Reconstruction Letter A4.7 30 102 Sachau 1 P. 13495
Egyptian Museum A4.8 31 102 Sachau 2 Pap. No. 3428 = J. 43465
Egyptian Museum of Berlin A4.9 32 103 Sachau 3 P. 13497
Egyptian Museum A4.10 33 104 Sachau 5 Pap. No. 3430 = J. 43467
Official (semi-official) Letters Maspero Saqqara Aramaic papyrus 1902 436 - 300s BCE Académie des Inscriptions A5.1 Inscriptions 5-7
1906-08 Egyptian Museum A5.2 16 18 Sachau 7 Pap. No 3431 = J. 43468
Turin Aramaic Papyrus 1824 Musco Egizio di Torino A5.3 70 CIS II 144 Prov. 645
Memphis Serapeum Aramaic papyrus 1862[9] Egyptian Museum A5.4 76 CIS II 151 Pap. No. 3654 = J. 59204
Maspero Elephantine Aramaic papyrus 1902 A5.5 80 RES 248 Académie des Inscriptions 2-4
The Letters of Arsames and his Colleagues 1906-08 427 - 400 BCE Egyptian Museum A6.1 17 60 Sachau 4 Pap. No. 3429 = J. 43466
A6.2 26 61 Sachau 8 Pap. No. 3432 = J. 43469
1933 (published 1954) Bodleian Library A6.3 64 Driver 3 + Frag 7.1[10] Pell. Aram. VII
A6.4 62 Driver 2 + Frag 9.6[10] Pell. Aram. IV (bottom left) + XII
A6.5 63 Driver 1 and 1a[10] Pell. Aram. VI
A6.6 Driver Frag. 5[10]
A6.7 66 Driver 5[10] Pell. Aram. IV
A6.8 65 Driver 4[10] Pell. Aram. II
A6.9 67 Driver 6[10] Pell. Aram. VIII
A6.10 68 Driver 7[10] Pell. Aram. I
A6.11 69 Driver 8[10] Pell. Aram. XIII
A6.12 70 Driver 9[10] Pell. Aram. III
A6.13 71 Driver 10[10] Pell. Aram. IX
A6.14 72 Driver 11[10] Pell. Aram. V
A6.15 73 Driver 12[10] Pell. Aram. XIV
A6.16 74 Driver 13[10] Pell. Aram. X
Mibtahiah archive B2.1 5 32 Sayce-Cowley A
B2.2 6 33 Sayce-Cowley B
B2.3 8 34 Sayce-Cowley D
B2.4 9 35 Sayce-Cowley C
B2.5 48 - Sachau 38
B2.6 15 38 Sayce-Cowley G
B2.7 13 36 Sayce-Cowley E
Quit Claim B2.8 14 37 Sayce-Cowley F
B2.9 20 39 Sayce-Cowley H
B2.10 25 40 Sayce-Cowley J
B2.11 28 41 Sayce-Cowley K
Anani archive B3.1 10 4 Sachau 28
Mika cedes property to Anani b. Azariah Brooklyn Museum B3.2 42 Kraeling 1+18[8]
Anani b. Azariah marriage to Tamut B3.3 43 Kraeling 2[8]
Bagazusht and Ubil sell house to Anani b. Azariah B3.4 44 Kraeling 3[8]
Gift from man to wife B3.5 45 Kraeling 4[8]
Emancipation of female slave B3.6 46 Kraeling 5[8]
Father-daughter adjoining house B3.7 47 Kraeling 6[8]
Ananiah son of Haggai marriage B3.8 48 Kraeling 7+15[8]
Slave adoption B3.9 49 Kraeling 8[8]
Father-daughter gift B3.10 50 Kraeling 9[8]
Father-daughter house donation B3.11 51 Kraeling 10[8]
Sale contract B3.12 53 Kraeling 12[8]
Grain loan B3.13 52 Kraeling 11[8]
B4.1 49 1 Sachau 44
B4.2 11 3 Sayce-Cowley L
B4.3 3 - Sachau 26
B4.4 2 54 Sachau 25
B4.5 29 6 Sachau 29
B4.6 35 7 Sachau 35
B5.1 1 2 Sachau 30
B5.2 65,3+67,3
B5.3
B5.4 47 - Sachau 37
B5.5 43 8 Sachau 33
B6.1 Kraeling 14[8]
B6.2 36 - Sachau 9
B6.3 46 - Sachau 31
B6.4 18 5 Sachau 34
B7.1 45 11 Sachau 36
B7.2 7 9 Sachau 27
B7.3 44 10 Sachau 32
B7.4 59 Sachau 47
Lepsius Aramaic papyrus 1849 B8.5 69 CIS II 149
Literary Texts Story of Ahikar 1906-08 Egyptian Museum of Berlin and Egyptian Museum of Cairo C1.1 (+3.7) Sachau 49-52, 54-59 Berlin P. 13446A-H, K-L + Pap. No. 3465 = J. 43502
Blacas papyri 1825 British Library C1.2 71 CIS II 145 Pap. 106
Historical Texts Behistun papyrus 1906-08 Egyptian Museum of Berlin C2.1 (+3.13) Sachau 61-62 P. 13447
Accounts 1880s (published 1915) Egyptian Museum C3.1 RÉS 1791 Pap. No. 3466 = J. 36499
Göttingen papyrus 1884 (published 1974) Göttingen State and University Library C3.2 Cod.Ms.or.var.1,xx
1906-08 Egyptian Museum C3.3 52 - Sachau 22 Pap. No. 3445 = J. 43482
1906-07 (published 1974) Egyptian Museum of Berlin C3.4 P. Berlin 23103
1917 Egyptian Museum C3.5 p. 318 Aimé-Giron Pap. No. 3656 = J. 59209
1966-72 (published 1983) Egyptian Antiquities Service C3.6 Segal 47 Register No. 5881
Ahigar erased text 1906-08 Egyptian Museum of Berlin and Egyptian Museum of Cairo C3.7 (+1.1) Sachau 49-52, 54-59 Berlin P. 13446A-H, K-L + Pap. No. 3465 = J. 43502
1926 Egyptian Museum C3.8 Aimé-Giron 5-20, 24, 39 Pap. No. 3470, 3471, 3472, 3474 J. 50053, 50054, 50055, 50057
1906-07 (published 1988) Egyptian Museum of Berlin C3.9 105 Kraeling 13 P. Berlin 23128–32, 23134
Bresciani papyrus 1940 (published 1971) Egyptian Museum C3.10 Pap. No. 3484 = J. 72527
1966-72 (published 1983) Egyptian Antiquities Service C3.11 Segal 20+19 Register No. 2212 + 2195
Louvre Aramaic papyrus 1826 (published 1863) Louvre C3.12 72 CIS II 146 AF 7991
Memorandum from verso of the Behistun papyrus 1906-08 Egyptian Museum of Berlin C3.13 (+2.1) 61–63, 64,21 + 68,5 Sachau 61-62 Berlin P. 13447 verso
1906-08 Egyptian Museum C3.14 24 55 Sachau 19 Pap. No. 3442 = J. 43479 + 43479A
1906-08 Egyptian Museum of Berlin C3.15 22 89 Sachau 18 P. 13488 + Nos. 64 and 76 of 96 Frags. + P. Berlin 23101
1893 (published 1953) Brooklyn Museum C3.16 - Kraeling 17[8] Brooklyn Museum 47.218.153
unknown Egyptian Museum C3.17 Aimé-Giron 78+77 Pap. No. 3476 = J. 59202
1966-72 (published 1983) Egyptian Antiquities Service C3.18 Segal 45 Register No. 2201
1827 (published 1869) Vatican Museum C3.19 73 CIS II 147 Inv. No. 22955
1966-72 (published 1983) Egyptian Antiquities Service C3.20 Segal 57 Register No. 2215
1862 (published 1887) Egyptian Museum C3.21 75 CIS II 150 Pap. No. 3653 = J. 59203
1966-72 (published 1983) Egyptian Antiquities Service C3.22 Segal 48 Register No. 1560
C3.23 Segal 87 Register No. 5891
C3.24 Segal 106 Register No. 5666
1880s Egyptian Museum C3.25 78 CIS II 153 Pap. No. 3478 = J. 60144
1924-25 C3.26 Aimé-Giron 87 Pap. No. 3469 = J. 50052
Harrow papyrus 1880s (published 1923) Harrow School Museum C3.27 83
1906 Bodleian Library C3.28 81 MS. Heb. a. 5 (P)
unknown Museo dell'Istituto di Studi del Vicino Oriente, Università di Roma C3.29 Pap. Levi Della Vida
Lists 1913 Egyptian Museum C4.1 p. 317 Aimé-Giron Pap. No. 3655 = J. 59208
1926 C4.2 Aimé-Giron 46 + 50 + 25 + 47; 26, 30, 33, 61, 75 Pap. No. 3473, 3474 = J. 50056. 50057
1966-72 (published 1983) Egyptian Antiquities Service C4.3 Segal 53 Register No. 1558
1906-08 Egyptian Museum C4.4 12 56 Sachau 17 Pap. No. 3441 = J. 43478
C4.5 19 57 Sachau 21 Pap. No. 3444 = J. 43481
C4.6 23 58 Sachau 20 Pap. No. 3443 = J, 43480
C4.7 51 - Sachau 23 Pap. No. 3446 = J. 43483
C4.8 53 59 Sachau 24 Pap. No. 3447 = J. 43484
Vatican papyrus 1827 (published 1884) Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana C4.9 74 CIS II 148 Papiro Borgiano Aramaico 1
Other Chester ostraca British Museum D7.13 KAI 271, CIS II 138 E14219
Dream ostracon D7.17 KAI 270, CIS II 137
Serapeum Offering Table D20.1 KAI 268
Saqqara Aramaic Stele D20.3 KAI 267
Carpentras Stele D20.5 KAI 269
Ankh-Hapy stele D20.6 KAI 272

Reviews edit

Volume 1 edit

  • Williamson, H. G. M. (1987). [Review of Textbook of Aramaic Documents from Ancient Egypt 1: Letters, by B. Porten & A. Yardeni]. Vetus Testamentum, 37(4), 493–493. https://doi.org/10.2307/1517566
  • Lipiński, E. (1988). [Review of Textbook of Aramaic Documents from Ancient Egypt ('wsp t’wdwt ’rmywt mmşrym h’tyqh), newly copied, edited and translated into Hebrew and English by..., 1. Letters. Appendix: Aramaic Letters from the Bible, by B. Porten & A. Yardeni]. Orientalia, 57(4), 434–436. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43077597
  • Kaufman, S. A. (1988). [Review of Textbook of Aramaic Documents from Ancient Egypt. Vol. 1. Letters, by B. Porten & A. Yardeni]. Journal of Near Eastern Studies, 47(4), 289–290. http://www.jstor.org/stable/544888
  • Grelot, P. (1988). [Review of Textbook of Aramaic Documents from Ancient Egypt, Newly Copied, Edited and Translated into Hebrew and English, I. Letters. Appendix: Aramaic Letters from the Bible. 34 × 24, by B. Porten & A. Yardeni]. Revue Biblique (1946-), 95(2), 294–299. http://www.jstor.org/stable/44088910

Volume 2 edit

  • Lipiński, E. (1990). [Review of Textbook of Aramaic Documents from Ancient Egypt ('wsp t’wdwt ’rmywt mmşrym h’tyqh), newly copied, edited and translated into Hebrew and English by..., 2. Contracts. Vol. 1: text, copies in reduced size (LIV-191 p.); vol. 2: copies (37 foldouts), by B. Porten & A. Yardeni]. Orientalia, 59(4), 552–554. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43075793
  • Grelot, P. (1990). [Review of Textbook of Aramaic Documents from Ancient Egypt, by B. Porten & A. Yardeni]. Revue Biblique (1946-), 97(2), 270–276. http://www.jstor.org/stable/44089014
  • Segal, J. B. (1992). [Review of Textbook of Aramaic Documents from Ancient Egypt, II, Contracts, by B. Porten & A. Yardeni]. The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, 78, 344–344. https://doi.org/10.2307/3822102

Volume 3 edit

  • Joseph A. Fitzmyer, S. J. (1995). [Review of Textbook of Aramaic Documents from Ancient Egypt, 3: Literature, Accounts, Lists, by B. Porten & A. Yardeni]. Journal of the American Oriental Society, 115(4), 710–711. https://doi.org/10.2307/604758
  • Grelot, P., & YARDENI, A. (1996). [Review of Textbook of Aramaic Documents from Ancient Egypt. Literature. Accounts. Lists (Texts and Studies for Students), by B. PORTEN]. Journal for the Study of Judaism in the Persian, Hellenistic, and Roman Period, 27(3), 351–355. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24660077

Volume 4 edit

  • Gianto, A. (2000). [Review of Textbook of Aramaic Documents from Ancient Egypt. Newly Copied, Edited and Translated into English. 4: Ostraca and Assorted Inscriptions (Texts and Studies for Students), by B. Porten & A. Yardeni]. Biblica, 81(3), 443–445. http://www.jstor.org/stable/42614297
  • Dion, P.-E. (2000). [Review of Textbook of Aramaic Documents from Ancient Egypt. Newly Copied, Edited and Translated into Hebrew and English, Vol. 4: Ostraca and Assorted Inscriptions, by B. Porten & A. Yardeni]. Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, 318, 77–79. https://doi.org/10.2307/1357731

Work edit

Previous corpuses edit

  • Clermont-Ganneau, Charles Simon (1878). "Origine Perse Des Monuments Araméens d'Égypte (Notes d'archéologie orientale) Premier Article". Revue Archéologique. 36. Presses Universitaires de France: 93–107. ISSN 0035-0737. JSTOR 41735287.
  • Sayce and Cowley, Aramaic Papyri Discovered at Assuan, (London, 1906)
  • Arthur Ungnad, 1911, Aramäische Papyrus aus Elephantine
  • Eduard Sachau, 1911, Aramäische Papyrus und Ostraka aus einer jüdischen Militär-Kolonie zu Elephantine
  • Arthur Ernest Cowley, 1923, Aramaic papyri of the fifth century B.C
  • Noël Aimé-Giron, 1931, Textes araméens d'Égypte
  • Grelot, Pierre (1972). Documents araméens d'Égypte. Littératures anciennes du Proche-Orient (in French). Éditions du Cerf.

Notes edit

  1. ^ Discovered from 1966-73, the group consists of 202 papyrus fragments and 5 ostraca; none of these are full or almost full texts: Pardee writes “As a matter of connected text, however, this collection is much less important than the groups of texts published by Sayce, Sachau, Cowley, Driver, Kraeling, and Bresciani and Kamil, for there is not a single complete document among these 202 papyri.”[2]
  2. ^ Discovered in the early 20th century, but very few have been published.[3]

References edit

  1. ^ a b Botta, A.F. (2012). ""Mr. Elephantine" Bezalel Porten". In the Shadow of Bezalel. Aramaic, Biblical, and Ancient Near Eastern Studies in Honor of Bezalel Porten. Culture and History of the Ancient Near East. Brill. p. xi-xvi. ISBN 978-90-04-24083-4.
  2. ^ Pardee, D. (1988). [Review of Aramaic Texts from North Saqqâra with Some Fragments in Phoenician, by J. B. Segal]. Journal of Near Eastern Studies, 47(2), 154–156. http://www.jstor.org/stable/544400
  3. ^ Porten, B., & Yardeni, A. (1993). Ostracon Clermont-Ganneau 125(?): A Case of Ritual Purity. Journal of the American Oriental Society, 113(3), 451–456. https://doi.org/10.2307/605393
  4. ^ Gianto, A. (2000). [Review of Textbook of Aramaic Documents from Ancient Egypt. Newly Copied, Edited and Translated into English. 4: Ostraca and Assorted Inscriptions (Texts and Studies for Students), by B. Porten & A. Yardeni]. Biblica, 81(3), 443–445. http://www.jstor.org/stable/42614297
  5. ^ Dion, P.-E. (2000). [Review of Textbook of Aramaic Documents from Ancient Egypt. Newly Copied, Edited and Translated into Hebrew and English, Vol. 4: Ostraca and Assorted Inscriptions, by B. Porten & A. Yardeni]. Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, 318, 77–79. https://doi.org/10.2307/1357731
  6. ^ Cook, Edward (2022). Biblical Aramaic and Related Dialects: An Introduction. Cambridge University Press. p. 3-7. ISBN 978-1-108-78788-8. Imperial Aramaic (IA) [Footnote: Other names: Official Aramaic, Reichsaramäisch. Because many of the surviving texts come from Egypt, some scholars speak of "Egyptian Aramaic."]… As noted, the documentation of IA is significantly greater than that of Old Aramaic; the hot and dry climate of Egypt has been particularly favorable to the preservation of antiquities, including Aramaic texts written on soft media such as papyrus or leather. The primary, although not exclusive, source of our knowledge of Persian-period Aramaic is a large number of papyri discovered on the island of Elephantine… All of the Egyptian Aramaic texts have been collected and reedited in the Textbook of Aramaic Documents from Ancient Egypt… This is now the standard text edition… Outside of Egypt, Aramaic texts written primarily on hard media such as stone or pottery have been discovered, including texts from Palestine, Arabia, Asia Minor, Iraq (Babylon), and Iran (Persepolis). A recent discovery, of uncertain provenance, is a relatively large collection of documents, now in a private collection, consisting mainly of the correspondence of the official Akhvamazda of Bactria dating from 354 to 324 BCE (Nave & Shaked 2012). They are similar in some ways to the Arshama archive published by Driver; the find-spot was no doubt Afghanistan.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Edda Bresciani; Murād Kāmil, 1966, Le lettere aramaiche di Hermopoli, Memorie (Accademia nazionale dei Lincei. Classe di scienze morali, storiche e filologiche)., ser. 8 ;, v. 12, fasc. 5.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Kraeling, Emil G.H. (1953). The Brooklyn Museum Aramaic Papyri: New Documents of the Fifth Century B.C. from the Jewish Colony at Elephantine. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-405-00873-3.
  9. ^ Bargès, J.J.L. (1862). Papyrus égypto-araméen appartenant au Musée égyptien du Louvre (in French). Duprat.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Driver, G.R.; Mittwoch, E. (1968). Aramaic Documents of the Fifth Century B.C. Zeller.