Babatha | |
|---|---|
 Pouch that contained Babatha's document. Leather, Cave of the Letters, Nahal Hever (132–135 CE). Israel Museum, Jerusalem | |
| Born | c. 104 CE Maḥoza |
| Spouse(s) | Jesus bar Jesus (c. 120–c. 124) Judah Eleazar Ketushyon (c. 125–130) |
| Children | 1 |
| Father | Shimon bar Menachem |
Babatha bat Shimʿon, also known as Babata (Jewish Palestinian Aramaic: בבתא, romanized: babbaṯā, lit. 'Pupil (of the eye)'; c. 104 – after 132) was a Jewish woman who lived in the town of Maḥoza at the southeastern tip of the Dead Sea in what is now Jordan at the beginning of the 2nd century. In 1960, archaeologist Yigael Yadin discovered a leather pouch containing her documents in what came to be known as the Cave of Letters, near the Dead Sea. The documents found include such legal contracts concerning marriage (ketuba), property transfers, and guardianship. These documents, ranging from 96 to 134, depict a vivid picture of life for an upper-middle class Jewish woman during that time. They also provide an example of the Roman bureaucracy and legal system under which she lived.