WDum 3

Siglum
WDum 3
Alternative Sigla
WTI 23
Transliteration
h rḍw w nhy w ʿtrs¹m s¹ʿd -n ʿl- wdd -y
OCIANA
Translation
O Rḍw and Nhy and ʿtrs¹m help me in the matter of my love
OCIANA
Language and Script
Dumaitic

Interpretation

Commentary
Winnett identified the script of three inscriptions from near Sakākā as "Jawfian" (Winnett & Reed 1970: 69, 80) which Macdonald suggested would be better labelled "Dumaitic" (2000: 33). However, given that only three graffiti in this script have been found, and that the only differences between Dumaitic and Taymanitic lie in the shape of ḍ (WDum 1–3), a possible ḏ (WDum 2) and z (WDum 1). The script of these three texts may therefore be Taymanitic with these three idiosyncratic letter shapes. It should be noted that that the three deities here occur in the list of six deities which the Assyrian king Sennacherib took from Adumatu (Dūmah, mediaeval and modern Dūmat al-Ǧandal) and which were returned by his son Esarhaddon. These were: Atarsamain (da-tar-sa-ma-a-a-in = ʿtrs¹m here), Dāya (dda-a-a), Nuḫāya (dnu-ḫa-a-a = nhy here), Ruldāwu (dru-ul-da-a-a-ú = rḍw here), Abirillu (da-bi-ri-il-lu), and Atarqurumâ (da-tar-qu-ru-ma-a) "the gods of the Arabs" (dingir.meš ša lú.a-ri-bi). See Leichty 2011: 19. It should be noted that there is so far no mention of Dāya, Abirillu, and Atarqurumâ in the Ancient North Arabian inscriptions. This is one of the few occasions on which the 1st person singular enclitic pronoun on a noun (wwd-y) is shown in the otherwise severely consonantal Ancient North Arabian scripts. For others see Macdonald 2004: 506–507.

Editio Princeps
WT! 23

Associated Inscriptions
WDum 1-2

  • Leichty, E. The Royal Inscriptions of Esarhaddon, King of Assyria (680–669 BC). with a contribution by G. Frame. (The Royal Inscriptions of the Neo-Asyyrian Period, 4). Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2011.
  • Macdonald, M.C.A. Ancient North Arabian. Pages 488-533 in R.D. Woodard (ed.), The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World's Ancient Languages. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004.
  • [W.Dad] Winnett, F.V. & Reed, W.L. Ancient Records from North Arabia. with contributions by J.T. Milik and J. Starcky. (Near and Middle East Series, 6). Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1970. No. 23
Site
Sakākā, Al-Ǧawf (Al-Jawf) Province, Saudi Arabia
Date Found
1962
Current Location
In situ
Subjects
Deity, Isolated Prayer
Old OCIANA ID
#0051940
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Updated 16 Sep, 2024 by OCIANA