AH 023

Siglum
AH 023
Alternative Sigla
U 042 (lines 3–10)
Transliteration
ʾmtʿ----
bnt ʿt{k}----
t / h- ẓll / ----
dṯ[ʾ] -h / b- ṯr----
ḏ / nḏr / ʾb {-h} ----
l- ḏġbt / ʾ----
[f] rḍ -hm w ʾḫ-
rt -[h]m
OCIANA
Translation
ʾmtʿ----
daughter of {ʿtk----}
the ẓll-ceremony ----
her {crops of the season of the later rains} at Ṯr ----
in fulfilment of a vow by {her} father
to Ḏġbt ----
{and so} favour them and {their}
posterity
OCIANA
Language and Script
Dadanitic

Interpretation

Apparatus Criticus
TEXT Line 3. Abū l-Ḥasan: h- ṭll rather than h- ẓll; Sima (his line 5): hẓll{h} (interpreted as a dual verb) Line 4. Abū l-Ḥasan: dṯh for dṯ[ʾ] -h. TRANSLATION Line 2. Abū l-Ḥasan thinks that the t of the word bnt belongs to the following name, see commentary. Line 3. h- ẓll, Sima (his lines 5–6): 'the subterranean water-channel'. Line 4. dṯ[ʾ] -h, Abū l-Ḥasan: 'his spring harvest'; Sima: 'his spring field'. Line 5. Sima (his line 7) restores a [m] to make the enclitic personal pronoun plural. Line 7. Sima (his line 9): 'and may he be pleased with him'. DISCUSSION Hidalgo-Chacón Díez 2014: 18, for the place name Ṯr. Hidalgo-Chacón Díez 2016: 128, for the divine name Ḏġbt.
Commentary
We have followed Abū l-Ḥasan (followed by Farès-Drappeau D 150) in regarding the two lines above ʾmtʿ as a separate inscription, AH 022. This is because it is difficult to make sense of the text if AH 022 and 023 are combined, as in U 042. If AH 023 is taken on its own, its subject is clearly a woman, which would explain the final t at the beginning of line 3 as the final letter of the 3rd person feminine singular of a verb in the suffix conjugation which is needed to govern the substantive h-ẓll. It would also explain the 3rd person singular (rather than plural) enclitic pronouns on dṯ[ʾ] and ʾb. The 3rd person plural suffixes in lines 7 and 8 would then refer to ʾmtʿ---- and her father. In line 4, Abū l-Ḥasan reads ʾmtʿ---- bn tʿtk---- making ʾmtʿ---- a man. While there are a few rare instances of names formed with ʾmt- being apparently born by men (see Al-Najem & Macdonald 2015, TM.IA.021/2–3, TM.IA.026/2), it is normally an element in theophoric names born by women. We therefore prefer to read bnt tk----. On the photograph a clear ʾ can be seen following the word-divider after ḏ-ġbt. In line 8, the final letter is clearly a m on the photograph, which suggests that the h of -hm was accidentally omitted.

Editio Princeps
OCIANA

Technique
Incised
Direction of Script
Horizontal line right to left

Associated Inscriptions
It is to the right of U 041

  • [AH] Abū ʾl-Ḥasan, Ḥ.ʿA.D. Qirāʾah li-kitābāt liḥyāniyyah min ǧabal ʿakmah bi-minṭaqat al-ʿulā. Al-Riyāḍ: Maktabat al-malik fahd al-waṭaniyyah, 1997. pp 104–106 Plate 3
  • Hidalgo-Chacón Díez, M. del C. Place names in the Dadanitic inscriptions of al-ʿUḏayb. Adumatu 30, 2014: 15-30
  • Hidalgo-Chacón Díez. M. del C. The divine names at Dadan: a philological approach. Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies 46, 2016: 125–136
  • [U] Sima, A. Die lihyanischen Inschriften von al-ʿUḏayb (Saudi-Arabien). (Epigraphische Forschungen auf der Arabischen Halbinsel, 1). Rahden/Westf.: Leidorf, 1999. pp 17 Plate 9a, 10b, 11a
Site
The oasis of al-ʿUlā, Al-Madīnah Province, Saudi Arabia
Current Location
In situ
Subjects
Agriculture, Deity, Genealogy, Isolated Prayer, Place-name, Relatives, Religion, Season, Women
Old OCIANA ID
#0033110
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Updated 08 Jan, 2025 by OCIANA

Cite this Site

OCIANA. 'AH 023.' OCIANA. 08 Jan, 2025. https://ociana.osu.edu/inscriptions/13749. Accessed: 08 Jul, 2025.