878
B29:2–6). That houses were freely bought and sold is evident from
a private letter of the last quarter of the fifth century, wherein Hosea
advises Óaggus to sell two houses, apparently to pay offa fifty-shekel
debt (EPEB9:4–6). A recurrent feature in the transfer clauses of the
house of Anani was a brief description of the property, showing how
it was rundown when bought and built up over the years, with court-
yard, windows, beams, and doors (EPEB37:4–5, 40:3–4, 43:12–13,
44:2–3). When available, pedigree was also cited: “the house of "pwly”
(EPEB37:4), “which I bought from "wbyl... and Bagazushta” (EPE
B38:3), “which I bought for money and its value I gave” (EPEB43:3),
“which we bought for silver from Bagazushta...that is the house
of Ynbwly” (EPE45:4–5); and from one of the house documents of
Mahseiah: “which Meshullam... gave me for its value and a doc-
ument he wrote for me about it” (EPEB29:3). Failure to cite pedi-
gree in another of Mahseiah’s documents (EPEB25) was tantamount
to a confession of adverse possession. A regular feature in the “house
documents,” as they were labeled in the external endorsements, was
identification of the house by its four neighbors. Unlike the demotic
documents, which regularly cited the southern boundary (upstream)
first, the order in the Aramaic documents varied according to cir-
cumstances.^12 Some documents also cited the measurements of the
conveyed property (EPEB25:4–5, 38:5–8, 40:4, 45:6–8).6.3 Several clauses or sub-clauses were part of the transaction sec-
tion, namely, Satisfaction, Withdrawal, and Investiture. Upon receipt
of payment the seller stated, “our heart was satisfied herein that
there did not remain to us (incumbent) upon you (any) of the price”
(EPEB45:6), or simply, “our heart was satisfied with the payment
you gave us” (EPE B37:6–7). There was to be no more quibbling
over price; payment was final and in full.^13 Satisfaction led to with-
drawal from the property in favor of the new owner (lit., “we are
far from it from this day and forever”: EPE B37:11).^14 The seller
then affirmed the buyer’s complete rights to the property, his rights
and those of his children, his right to give it away, and his right to
sell it (EPEB45:22–24). In other words, he passed on to him com-(^12) TADB, p. 177.
(^13) See the major work on this clause, with its origins in Sumerian and its con-
tinuation in the demotic documents, by Muffs, Studies.. .; and the strictures of
Yaron, Review of Muffs, Studies.. ., and Westbrook, “His Heart is Satisfied...”
(^14) See Botta, Interrelationships...
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