From the Elephantine archives, the first historical documentation of a Jewish woman.

The Jewish woman Mibtahiah’s archive contains 10 documents found in superb condition; they reveal surprising details concerning her life and the options available to Jewish women in this settlement.

Mibtahiah never exercised her option to divorce and seemed to have had good relationships with her father and both husbands. This independent homeowner who could afford to accept a symbolic return of a loan to her father might well be the first Jewish woman for whom we have original documentation.