The warranty clause (1)

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Aramaic deeds of sale include a warranty clause to guarantee the buyer against any future legal challenges to his acquisition. This clause, which appears consistently in all Aramaic deeds of sale, obligates the seller to take care of any such challenges in order to protect the buyer’s ownership rights. One characteristic feature of the warranty clause is to express this obligation through a legal metaphor using a term meaning ‘to clean’. Thus, should a claim arise, the seller must ‘clean’ the property of that claim. Here is an example from an Aramaic deed of sale from Elephantine dating to 451 BCE:

TAD B3.2, 8-9:
“If brother or sister, near or f(a)r, institute (suit) against you regarding this hyrˀ, I shall cleanse (it) and give (it) to you.”

The warranty clause has its roots in cuneiform legal traditions, as similar clauses, also using this ‘cleaning’ metaphor, are attested in cuneiform deeds of sale. Their distribution, however, is notably restricted to so-called peripheral areas, including Old Assyrian deeds of sale from Anatolia, OB Susa, Nuzi, Alalakh IV, and Middle Assyrian deeds from Ashur. Here is an example from an Old Assyrian deed of sale:

šumma mamman ana PN(P) itūwar PN(S) ubbabšu
“If anyone turns against Purchaser (regarding this sale), Seller shall clear it.”

The warranty clause also occurs in Neo- and Late-Babylonian deeds of sale, though this is likely due to Aramaic influence and thus indicates a reversing of the direction of influence. Through Aramaic, this clause would later find its way into later Greek and Arabic legal traditions as well.

Source (list of abbreviations)
TAD B3.2, 8-9

Bibliography

Andrew D. Gross

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