Aramaic Adoption Contract
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Object Label
This document originates in the archive of Ananiah and Tamut, members of a Jewish family living on Elephantine Island in the fifth century B.C.. This contract allows a man named Uriah to adopt a boy named Jedaniah and thus free him from slavery. Adoption was one legal method used to free slaves in ancient Egypt.
Caption
Aramaic. Aramaic Adoption Contract, October 22, 416 B.C.E.. Papyrus, ink, 47.218.96a: Largest Fragment #1: 13/16 × 1 3/4 in. (2 × 4.5 cm) 47.218.96a: Largest Fragment #2: 1 × 1 3/16 in. (2.5 × 3 cm) a: Small Box of Fragments: 1 3/4 x 4 1/16 x 4 1/16 in. (4.5 x 10.3 x 10.3 cm) b: Glass: 15 1/2 x 17 1/16 in. (39.3 x 43.3 cm) b: Object: 11 5/8 x 13 3/4 in. (29.5 x 35 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Bequest of Theodora Wilbour from the collection of her father, Charles Edwin Wilbour, 47.218.96a-b. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)
Culture
Title
Aramaic Adoption Contract
Date
October 22, 416 B.C.E.
Period
Persian Period
Geography
Place found: Elephantine, Egypt
Medium
Papyrus, ink
Classification
Dimensions
47.218.96a: Largest Fragment #1: 13/16 × 1 3/4 in. (2 × 4.5 cm) 47.218.96a: Largest Fragment #2: 1 × 1 3/16 in. (2.5 × 3 cm) a: Small Box of Fragments: 1 3/4 x 4 1/16 x 4 1/16 in. (4.5 x 10.3 x 10.3 cm) b: Glass: 15 1/2 x 17 1/16 in. (39.3 x 43.3 cm) b: Object: 11 5/8 x 13 3/4 in. (29.5 x 35 cm)
Credit Line
Bequest of Theodora Wilbour from the collection of her father, Charles Edwin Wilbour
Accession Number
47.218.96a-b
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