C 4981

Siglum: C 4981
Alternative Sigla: Dunand 964
Transliteration: l kʿm{h} bn ----{y} bn ʾbyn w wl{h} f wlh ʿl- ʾs²yʿ -h f hy ʾlt ḥyy l- ḏ s¹ʾr
OCIANA
Translation: By {Kʿmh} son of ----{y} son of ʾbyn and {he was distraught} over and over again for his companions and so O ʾlt [grant] life to him who remains
OCIANA
Language and Script: Safaitic

Interpretation

Apparatus Criticus: C: [f]{n}y for ----{y}; f h yʾlt ḥyy l- ḏ s¹ʾr " and O Yʾlt life to the one who leaves [it] unimpaired"
Commentary: There is no justification on the copy for C's restoration of the second name as [f]{n}y. C suggests that w wlh f wlh could be due to dittography but this seems unlikely given the different conjunctions used. Literally it means "he was distraught and then he was distraught", which we have translated as "he was distraught over and over again", presumably every time one or more of his companions died or was in trouble. On the vocative particle hy see Al-Jallad 2015: 158–159, and for the meaning of of s¹ʾr see Al-Jallad 2015: 339–340.

Al-Jallad, A. An Outline of the Grammar of the Safaitic Inscriptions. (Studies in Semitic Languages and Linguistics, 80). Leiden: Brill, 2015.
[C] Ryckmans, G. Corpus Inscriptionum Semiticarum: Pars Quinta, Inscriptiones Saracenicae Continens: Tomus I, Fasciculus I, Inscriptiones Safaiticae. Paris: E Reipublicae Typographeo, 1950–1951.

Site: On the right bank of Wādī Ġarz, near the track from Ǧabal al-ʿArab [formerly Ǧabal al-Drūz ] to al-Namārah, Al-Suwaydāʾ (al-Sweidah) or Rif Dimašq Governorates, Syria

Updated 16 Sep, 2024 by OCIANA