Lost in Time: The 1900-Year-Old Ketubah Unearthed in a Cave

In the year 121 CE, approximately fifty years after the destruction of the Second Temple, Yeshuah ben Yosef and Babatha stood beneath the chuppah. Their wedding took place in the town of Mahoza, now within the borders of the Kingdom of Jordan, atop a cliff east of the Dead Sea. One of their relatives had the honor of reading the ketubah, and the celebration was lavish and grand. Babatha was a wealthy woman, having inherited date palm plantations in Ein Gedi from her parents, and she earned a substantial income from them.

Babatha was one of the many thousands of Jews living in that region during the era of the Tannaim, a period marked by great sages like Rabbi Akiva, Rabbi Ishmael, Rabbi Meir, and Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. Why is she of interest to us today? Due to an historical tragedy, which we will explore further, all of Babatha's personal possessions, including a large document case containing her ketubah, were preserved. It is the oldest known ketubah, and it offers insights into the laws and customs of ketubahs during the time of the Tannaim, even before the Mishnah was written. Notably, the amount of her ketubah was one hundred mana, as determined by the Mishnah.

Babatha and Yeshuah joyfully had a son, whom they named Yeshuah, after his father. Sadly, the father passed away shortly thereafter. Adding to Babatha's sorrow was a legal battle that ensued between her and the father's family over custody of the child, child support, and the husband's inheritance. We learn about all this from Babatha’s document case, which was miraculously preserved as is. For nearly nineteen hundred years, this case lay beside Babatha's remains in a place where even jackals and wolves could not reach!

You'll be glad to know that Babatha later remarried Yehuda ben Elazar, a wealthy man from Ein Gedi, nicknamed Katushion, who had extensive business interests in the area. She moved to live in Yehuda ben Elazar's spacious house, along with his second wife, Miriam bat Ba’ayan. Their additional daughter was named Shlomtzion. Everything seemed promising.

Rumors reached the inhabitants of the Dead Sea Valley about a major Jewish revolt at Betar against the Romans, but this did not disturb their everyday peace. That is, until a clear day in 135 CE, 65 years after the destruction of the Temple, a Roman military unit was dispatched to annihilate the Jews of Ein Gedi. It turned out that Jewish rebels, including a family member, Miriam bat Ba’ayan’s brother, Yonatan ben Ba’ayan, a well-known rebel, lived there.

Babatha and her well-connected family knew in advance about the impending attack and left for a hiding place known only to them, early in the morning. A convoy of about twenty prominent figures from Ein Gedi climbed the cliff now known as "Nahal Hever". Babatha took her document case, proving her various legal rights, a few pieces of jewelry, cosmetics, and, of course, the house key, in a large wicker basket. At the top of the cliff, they tied a rope to a rock and rappelled down to a small crevice midway up the cliff. Once everyone was inside the cave, they released the rope, and no person or animal, except perhaps vultures, could reach them. They felt secure.

However, it seems that the sky-borne creatures revealed their whereabouts, or an anonymous informer followed them. After the Romans massacred the people of Ein Gedi, they reached the top of Nahal Hever and posted themselves there. The voices of the soldiers made it clear to those trapped in the cave that there was no escape. The soldiers did not dare to rappel down in front of the cave, as they might have been stabbed while hanging helplessly. Instead, they waited until those in the cave perished of starvation before leaving.

For about 1900 years, twenty skeletons awaited discovery in the cave now known as the "Cave of Letters", along with their belongings and Babatha’s wicker basket. It was in 1960 that the archaeologist and chief of staff, Yigael Yadin, discovered the cave. The archaeological findings were thoroughly studied, and the remains were given a proper burial by the Chief Rabbinate at the "Rebels' Graves" on the cliff in Nahal Hever.