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No. 38 — Mauziah's letter recommending Zeho and Hor

The Jewish garrison of Elephantine · a new plain-English translation from the Aramaic

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1| To my lords Jedaniah, Uriah and the priests of Yahu the God, {Ma}ttan son of Jashobiah and Neriah son of […],

2| your servant Mauziah. The welfare of [my] lord[s may the God of Heaven at all times seek after abundantly, and] may you {be} in favor {before}

3| the God of Heaven. Now, when Vidranga the chief came to Abydos, he imprisoned me on account of one refiner's stone which

4| they found stolen in the hands of the merchants. At last Zeho and {Hor}, servants of Anani, exerted themselves with Vidranga

5| and Harnufi, under the protection of the {God} of Heaven, until they rescued me. Now see, they are coming there to you. You, look after them:

6| whatever they want, and whatever matter Zeho and Hor ask of you, stand by them in such a way that a bad thing

7| they may not find in you. {y-h-y} … {Kh}num is {against} us from the time that Hananiah was in Egypt until now.

8| And whatever you do for Hor, you do it for [the two of the]m. Hor is a servant of Hananiah. Give freely from our houses

Reverse| (Reverse)

9| goods, and in proportion to what is in your hand, {whatever it amounts to}, give. {What} I lack is {one} with you. For this reason I am sending to you. He

10| said to me: "Send a letter ahead of [th]em." Losses: a {deposit} is set to his account in the house of Anani. Whatever you do

11| for him will not be concealed from Anani.

12| To my lords Jedaniah, Uriah [and] the priests and Jews of the gar[rison], {Mauziah son of Zeho}

Cite a passage by its number: every paragraph here has its own anchor (for example https://openscriptorium.com/read/elephantine/038-no-38-mauziah-s-letter-recommending-zeho-and-hor#p1), and the bracketed reference numbers link the same way.

An original translation made in 2026 by Scriptorium Press, working directly from the Aramaic text (never from another English translation), in one consistent modern voice. Free to read, download, and listen — no accounts, no paywalls.

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