SS 2

Interpretation

Commentary: The text is carved on a fine limestone relief showing the god Baʿal-Šamīn in the centre with Aglibōl on his right and Malakbēl on the left. There are five Palmyrene graffiti (SS 1, 2, 4, 5, 7), one Greek (SS 6) and one Safaitic (SS 3). SS 2 is carved at the very top of the stone between Baʿal-Šamīn and Malakbēl. For the bibliography on the relief and an excellent photograph see Dentzer-Feydy & Teixidor 1993: 144–145, no. 153 (but note that the transliteration of the Safaitic inscription, SS 3, contains a misprint in the second name). The first two names are also found in the Safaitic graffito (SS 3), in the form rfʾl bn twfn. The relationship between the two lines in SS 2 is not clear. Starcky (1949: 36, no. 2) inserts a [b][r] at the beginning of line 2, but there is no space for it on the stone and it seems unlikely that the author would have forgotten to carve it. It remains unexplained.

Associated Inscriptions: Palmyrene SS.3 (which contains the same two names) and Palmyrene SS 1, 4, 5, and 7; Greek SS 6

Dentzer-Feydy, J. & Teixidor, J. Les antiquités de Palmyre au Musée du Louvre. Paris: Réunion des Musées Nationaux, 1993.
[PAT] Hillers, D.R. & Cussini, E. Palmyrene Aramaic Texts. (Publications of The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon Project). Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996.
[SS] Starcky, J. Appendice. Les inscriptions. Pages 35-41 in H. Seyrig, Antiquités syriennes, 41: Nouveaux monuments palmyréniens de Baalshamîn. Syria 26, 1949: 29-41, pls 2.

Site: Said to have come from Wādī Miyāh, not far from Biʾr Wereb [Biʾr ʿUrayb ?], Ḥimṣ (Ḥomṣ) Governorate, the area around Palmyra, Syria

Updated 26 Nov, 2024 by Ahmad Al-Jallad