SIJ 352

Siglum: SIJ 352
Transliteration: l s²ʿ bn qmr bn s²ʿ bn ʾs¹ bn zhr w nfr mn rm w ts²wq l- ʾḫwn -h l- mdbr
OCIANA
Translation: By S²ʿ son of Qmr son of S²ʿ son of ʾs¹ son of Zhr and he escaped from Rm [the Romans] and he longed for his brothers who were in the inner desert
OCIANA
Language and Script: Safaitic

Interpretation

Apparatus Criticus: SIJ 352: qml for qmr; l- ʾḫ wlh “for a brother grieving” for l- ʾḫwn -h. MNH p. 329 and n. 172: on w nfr mn rm - and he escaped from Rm.
Commentary: The last letter of the second name is clearly a r on the photographs. The spaces between bn and zhr and between the z and the h of zhr are due to holes in the rock. Despite Jamme's claims to the contrary the f of nfr is absolutely clear on the photograph (A. 1812) used on SIJ Pl. V. Note that ts²wq here is followed by l- rather than the usual ʾl-. The lower parts of the strokes of the ḫ have been overscored and the left-hand one has been used as the lām of allāh in the Kufic inscription (Baramki 1964 (BNAS) p. 331 no. 8) below. Similarly the n of ʾḫwn has been lengthened to make the second lām of allāh. The difference in patina-colour between the original n and the extension can be seen on the photograph (A. 1812). The final phrase l- mdbr is curious but cannot be read in any other way. Presumably his brothers were in the inner desert.

Baramki, D.C. Al-nuqūš al-ʿarabiyya fī l-bādiyyat al-sūriyya. Al-Abhath 17, 1964: 317-346 [Arabic section].
[MNH] Macdonald, M.C.A. Nomads and the Ḥawrān in the late Hellenistic and Roman periods: A reassessment of the epigraphic evidence. Syria 70, 1993: 303-413. [Reprinted with the same pagination, plus addenda and corrigenda as Article II in M.C.A. Macdonald, Literacy and Identity in Pre-Islamic Arabia, (Variorum Collected Studies Series no. 906), Farnham: Ashgate, 2009].
[SIJ] Winnett, F.V. Safaitic Inscriptions from Jordan. (Near and Middle East Series, 2). Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1957.

Updated 16 Sep, 2024 by OCIANA