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
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

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.

Winnett, F.V. Safaitic Inscriptions from Jordan. (Near and Middle East Series, 2). Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1957.
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].
Baramki, D.C. Al-nuqūš al-ʿarabiyya fī l-bādiyyat al-sūriyya. Al-Abhath 17, 1964: 317-346 [Arabic section].