Dead Sea documents reveal 2,000-year-old Jewish family tale
The epic story of an ancient Jewish family has been told for the first time after new techniques were used to analyse documents found in a Dead Sea cave.
The story of an ancient Jewish family has been told for the first time in 2,000 years after a university professor used new techniques to examine documents found in a Dead Sea cave.
The remarkable tale of how Shim‘on ben Menahem purchased a date-palm orchard on the southern shores has been revealed after four legal papyri dated 94-90 AD were examined at the University of Gloucestershire.
Ben Menahem bought the orchard in Maoza from a Nabatean woman in remarkable circumstances just weeks after a high Nabatean official tried and failed to acquire the property, explained Professor Philip Esler.
Shim‘on later gave the orchard to his daughter, Babatha, who kept these four papyri – written in Aramaic – to prove her title to the orchard and hid them, with 30 other legal documents, in a cave by the Dead Sea.
Along with other Jews, Babatha later sought refuge in this cave from the Romans at the end of the Second Jewish Revolt in 135 AD.
That Babatha’s legal documents and other possessions were found in the cave by Israeli archaeologists suggests, sadly, that she was captured by the Romans and either killed or sold into slavery.
“Retelling the tale of Babatha’s orchard has meant exploring the way of life in villages in Nabatea and Judea at the end of the first century AD,” said Esler, who has detailed the story in a new book, called ‘Babetha’s Orchard.’
“Women had important social and economic roles, law was practised to a very high standard and Jews and Nabateans got on well. The Romans must have captured Babatha, but her archive of legal documents survived. In retelling the story, I aim to honour the memory of two remarkable individuals: Babatha and Shim‘on, her father.”
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
