A scribal error in the Gnomon: A proposed correction to BGU V 1210

Abstract

This article proposes a correction to line 242 of papyrus BGU V 1210, the Gnomon of the Idios Logos. Substituting the accusative for the dative οὐικαρίοις, the vicarii of imperial slaves become objects of the infinitive κθᾶσται rather than the group to which the prohibition to buy things apply. Thus, instead of reading lines 241 and 242 separately, as it has traditionally been done, the two lines must be read together as two parts of a set of regulations. They limit the actions of imperial slaves, that is the Kαισαριανοῖ of line 241, who are barred from buying goods auctioned off by the fiscus, purchasing vicarii, and marrying freedwomen. Read together, the two lines can be interpreted as a measure limiting imperial slaves’ opportunities to increase their peculium by either taking advantage of the confiscation of private property by the fiscus or buying vicarii.