Settlement of a Claim

In the month of Elul, that is Payni, year four of Darius the king, then in Elephantine the fortress, Menahem and Ananiah, two sons of Meshullam son of Shelomam, Jews of Elephantine the fortress of the detachment of Iddinnabu, said to Jedaniah and Mahseiah, two sons of Eshor son of Djeho from Mibtahiah daughter of Mahseiah, Jews of the same…

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Two brothers sued two other brothers over items that the grandfather of the first pair had deposited with the father of the second pair, who had never returned them. The defendants were interrogated and satisfied the claimants, presumably by returning or paying for the items. In this document, the plaintiffs acknowledge that they have been satisfied and relinquish any further claim in the matter. This document is from 420 BCE. Although the circumstances are different, the case is reminiscent of the biblical law concerning unreturned deposits in Exodus 22:6–8.

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