Religious and Local Identifications in the Jewish Marriage Contract From Fifth-Century Antinoopolis

This paper re-examines the Ketubba of Cologne, a famous Aramaic marriage contract from fifth-century Egypt. The central question is how the language in this contract relates to the different identifications of those who were involved in drafting it. By combining a sociolinguistic and comparative socio-historical approach, this chapter will offer new insights in the socio-historical background against which this document was written. It will show that the Ketubba of Cologne is a carefully crafted document that seeks a middle ground between Jewish interests, on the one hand, and Graeco-Egyptian legislation, on the other. I will argue that this combination of religious customs and local praxis was deliberately pursued because both social affiliations were considered important.