SIJ 281

Siglum: SIJ 281
Transliteration: l wdmʾl bn trṣ bn ʾs¹ bn hʾ{b} w s²ty {w} {w}l{d} s¹nt mrd gḥrb {h-} s¹l{ṭ}n
Translation: By Wdmʾl son of Trṣ son of ʾs¹ son of {Hʾb} and he spent the winter [here] {and} {helped [the animals] give birth} the year Gḥrb revolted against {the} government

Interpretation

Apparatus Criticus: SIJ 281:(h-) wr(d) for {w} {w}l{d}; mḥrb for gḥrb.
Commentary: The last letter of the fourth name has been hammered over and looks at first sight like a k. However the projecting straight line may not be part of the original letter and what is left looks like a b, rather than a r. The second word of the statement is exceptionally carelessly written even by the standards of this text. The sign after the y of s²ty cannot be resolved into h- w as in Winnett's reading. It seems to have been written originally as a ṭ and the tops of the verticals have been joined to make what can only be a w. The next letter is also a w though of a quite different shape and the sign after that cannot be a r as read by Winnett and Jamme since it is a simple vertical line with no hooks. The final letter of the word is also doubtful but d seems the most likely reading. It is difficult to read the large elipse immediately after mrd as a m (compare the m of mrd) and it must be a g. Although sense would seem to demand a h- before s¹lṭn the letter looks more like a k. Finally the ṭ of s¹lṭn lacks one vertical. There are three or four letters some of which are partially obliterated by later hammering in the space between trṣ and s²ty.

Winnett, F.V. Safaitic Inscriptions from Jordan. (Near and Middle East Series, 2). Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1957.