Home › Spine › TM 25650
One text, 2 sources · Trismegistos-Text 25650

Letter from a son to his father about a woman's childbirth and reconciliation TM 25650ArsinoitesI

The same ancient text or artifact as recorded by 2 records across 2 independent projects, recognised as one entity by its TM-Text identifier. View on Trismegistos →

Private letter from a son to his father, asking him to travel with a pregnant woman in late Mecheir or mid-Phamenoth so she can give birth where the writer is, and mentioning a reconciliation, the father's pay and a man occupied with the arabarchy. It closes with greetings and a postscript; it dates to the 1st century AD from the Arsinoite nome.

In English machine translation

[column 1] […] [column 2] […] with her own people concerning her, saying: "See, I have satisfied him and he has taken her up-country (?)." She was eager (?) to come up, so that she might ask you to take her in, but she has no opportunity, for the arabarchy has kept him occupied and he is about to settle the affairs left to him; so far he was intending to send his brother with a good voyage, so that he might ask you, since he himself is busy. And I said to him: "I will write to my father, first about her childbirth, the more pressing matter, and then also about the reconciliation." Therefore I ask you, father, first to embark with her at the very end of Mecheir or in the middle of Phamenoth, so that she may arrive here in time to give birth, which is necessary, and also because of your pay; for Theon gave instructions, saying that he receives it first of all, and it is necessary for him to be present. Everything has been prepared for her sufficiently for the delivery, and they also ask, lord, his mother, that she may give birth [deleted] and […] I ask you, father, that from her […] the little one […] and the elder one, the one of [column 3] Herakl[…] […] and not […] and […] […] and he is coming. Greet Cornelia and Severus and Ision and Soterichos and Dioskoros. I pray for your health, father. Year 13, Tybi 20. I was displeased about the horse. Do not think that I neglect writing to you; we have no one by whom to send.

The arabarchy was a customs and tax office on goods crossing Egypt's eastern frontier; the sense of several damaged phrases (e.g. 'etēganizeto') is uncertain. The opsōnion is a wage or ration allowance, possibly military pay.

Working translation of the DDbDP edition, made with Claude Opus 5.5 from the edition and the catalogue records shown below. It has not been reviewed by a papyrologist: check the edition before citing. Restorations follow the edition; […] marks lost text and (?) an uncertain reading.

DDbDP-text Full record →

bgu.2.665

Papyri.info — DDbDP (Duke Databank of Documentary Papyri) — text · I · Arsinoites

[1] [… ? lines lost …] [2] […]της μετὰ τῶν ἰδίων περὶ αὐτῆς λέγων ὅτι ἰδοὺ ἐπληροφόρησα αὐτὸν καὶ ἦρκε αὐτὴν ἄνω ἐτηγανίζετο ἀναβῆναι, ὅπως σε παρακαλέσῃ εὐλαβεῖν αὐτὴν, εὐκαιρίαν δὲ οὐκ ἔχει ἀπέσχηκε γὰρ ἡ ἀραβαρχία καὶ μέλλει ἐκπλέκειν τὰ καταλειφθέντα αὐτῷ ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον ἔμελλε …