(1) On the twentieth of Adar, the second year (of Arses), the accession year of [D]arius, the king, in Samar[ia the citadel, which is in Samaria the province.]
(2) [Hananiah son of Beyadel sold] a certain Yehohanan son of Sheilah, this slave of his, without defect, [to Yehonur son of Laneri for 35 shekels of silver,] (3) the stipulated price, the full price. [Th]is sum of 35 sh(ekels) Hananiah [has received from Yehonur. . . . He will be a slave] (4) of his and of his sons after him in perpetuity Yehonur has authority over the [said] Yeh[ohanan in perpetuity. . . And this bond] (5) they concluded between them: If I, Hananiah son of Beyadel [enter into litigation with you, Yehonur. . . , or if someone else enters into litigation with you,] (6) Yehonur, or with your sons after you, I Hananiah, and my sons after me [will clear (the slave) . . . or, if I change (what is written) on this bond, which I concluded] (7) with you, you Yehonur, in these terms, [and say] to you, you Yehonur, [that 'Yehohanan, this slave, I did not sell you, and the sum of 35 shekels] (8) I have not received from you, then, the sum of 35 shekels, which [you, Yehonur,] gave [me, I, Hananiah, will return to you and will give it.] (9) And afterward, I, Hananiah, am liable; [I] will pay you, you Yehonur, [and your sons after you 7 silver minas of silver. . . . You will take possession of] (10) 7 silver minas of silver without litigation and without liabilities. Over the said Yehohanan [I, Hananiah,] do not [have authority But you, Yehonur, (and your sons] after you [have authority] (11) as stipulated in this bond <which> they concluded between them be[fore PN. . . . The witnesses who] (12) affix their seals are trustworthy.
Douglas M. Gropp, The Samaria Papyri from Wadi Daliyeh (vol. 2 of Wadi Daliyeh;
DJD 28; Oxford: Clarendon, 2001), 35; Jan Dusek, Les manuscrits arameens du Wadi Daliyeh et la Samarie vers 450-332 av. J.-C. (CHANE 30; Leiden: Brill, 2007), 118. 1214 1215 1216
The very few Yehud ostraca and seal impressions, and the Ketef Jericho papyrus. As far as we know, Judea, Samaria, and Idumea each had at least one temple of Yaho. Temples of other deities are only attested in Idumea (ostracon AL 83).1217
Thus the fifth-fourth centuries BCE were a time of revival. Jerusalem emerged as capital of Yehud, due to the efforts of Nehemiah. The synthesis of the Israelite traditions was brought to the community of Yehud by Ezra. Both came from the eastern Diaspora, whose influence did not cease with Alexander. Indeed, the growing importance of the Jewish high priest and the loss of a local governor may have been the major political change that the young Greek conqueror introduced.1218
Figure 12.4. Lachish letter. The Lachish letters found in the gate area of Lachish stratum 2 describe the political circumstances in Judah on the eve of the Babylonian invasions in 586 BC.
World History
