The Jewish garrison of Elephantine · a new plain-English translation from the Aramaic
Date| 18 Kislev, that is day 7 (partly restored) of Thoth, year 21, the beginning of the reign when King Artaxerxes sat on his throne
1| On the 18th of Kislev, that is d[ay] 7 (partly restored) of Thoth, year 21, the start of the reign, when
2| Artaxerxes the king being seated on his throne, said Dargman son of Harshin, a Khwarazmian whose domicile
3| is in Elephantine the fortress, attached to the detachment of Artabanu, to Mahseiah son of Jedaniah, a Jew who is in the fortress of Elephantine,
4| of the detachment of Varizath, saying: You sw[or]e to me by Yahu the god in Elephantine the fortress, you and your wife
5| and your son, all 3, concerning my land, about which I brought complaint against you before
6| Damidata and his fellow judges; and they laid on you an oath for me, to be sworn by Yahu about that land,
7| that it was not land of Dargman's, mine. See, as for me: see also the boundaries of that land
8| about which you swore to me: my house, ⸢mine,⸣ Dargman's, is east of i[t], and the house of Konaiah son of Zadok,
9| a Jew of the detachment of Atrofarna, is west of it, and the house of [Jeza]niah son of Uriah,
10| a Jew of the detachment of Varizath, is below it, and the house of Espemet son of Peftuauneith,
11| boatman of the rough waters, is above it. You swore to me by Yahu and satisfied
12| my heart concerning that land. I shall not be able to bring suit or action against you, I or a son or a daughter of mine,
13| ⸢a brother or a sister of mine, near or far⸣ of mine, concerning that land, against you or a son or a daughter of yours, a brother or a sister of yours, near or far.
14| Whoever sues you in my name ⸢concerning⸣ that land shall pay you silver, 20 karsh, that is twenty, by the
15| royal weights, silver at 2 r. per ten, and the land remains yours all the same, and you are clear of
16| any suit that they may bring against you concerning that land. Ithan son of Abah penned
17| this document at Syene the fortress, as Dargman dictated. Witness: Hoshea son of Petekhnum. Witness:
18| Gaddul son of Igdal. Witness: Gemariah son of Ahio. Meshullam son of Hoshea.
19| Sinkashid son of Nabusumiskun. Witness: Hadadnuri the Babylonian.
20| Witness: Gedaliah son of Ananiah.
21| Witness: Ariyaisha son of Arvastamar.
22| (Endorsement) Deed of renunciation that [Dargman] son of Harshin wrote for Mahseiah.
Cite a passage by its number: every paragraph here has its own anchor (for example https://openscriptorium.com/read/elephantine/006-no-6-dargman-renounces-his-claim-to-land-after-mahseiah-s-oa#p1), and the bracketed reference numbers link the same way.
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