HH 1

Siglum
HH 1
Transliteration
l ḥyn bn ʿq{d}t ḏ- ʾl kmy w n{ṣ}b w ḏbḥ w ḥll w ḫrṣ {ʾ}s²yʿ -h ḍbʾn f h lt w ds²r [s¹][l]m w qb{l}{l} {f} {h} {l}t {r}w[ḥ] w {ġ}nmt
OCIANA
Translation
By Ḥyn son of {ʿqdt} of the lineage of Kmy and he erected [a cult stone] and sacrificed and returned to a profane condition and watched for his companions who had been raided, and so O Lt and Ds²r [grant] {security}, and {a reunion of loved ones} {and then} {O} {Lt} [grant] {relief} and {booty}
OCIANA
Language and Script
Mixed Safaitic/Hismaic

Interpretation

Commentary
The third letter of the second name is probably a d of the type found occasionally in Hismaic where the stem is extremely short and the loop very large, see the script table in King 1990: 720 and the examples in KJA 26, KJB 79, KJC 241, etc. The only other typical Hismaic letter form is the ḍ formed of two concentric circles, but this is also found in some Safaitic inscriptions. In the case of other letters, where there would be differences between their forms in Safaitic and Hismaic, ḥ ḏ s², they have their Safaitic forms Hayajneh's interesting interpretation of the verb ḥll here as "to return to a profane condition" could be seen to be supported by Chelhod's interpretation of the ḥaram/ḥalāl process in relation to sacrifice. He writes: "The very basis of sacrifice consists of liberating the dangerous element [derived from contact with the divine in a religious ceremony] and giving it back to the holy power, either by the shedding of blood — the liquid soul of the victim ... — or by total destruction as in the sacrifice of first-fruits.... Rather than considering sacrifice as a gift, it would be more exact in the majority of cases to think of it as a voluntary restitution [to the deity of the dangerous sacral element which the human had acquired while performing religious acts]" (1964: 57, and see pp. 50–57). However, it must be admitted that out of the 88 Safaitic inscriptions (so far) which contain the word ḏbḥ ("he sacrificed"), in only one other is the word immediately followed by w ḥll (SSWS 274: Genealogy w ḏbḥ w ḥll f h lt s¹lm). AWS 27 is the only other text in which ḏbḥ and ḥll occur together, but there they are a long way away from each other: Genealogy w ḏbḥ w rʿy f h lt w ds²r s¹lm w ġnmt w ḥll w h lt ʿwr mn ʿwr h- s¹fr. It thus seems to us, that while this is an interesting interpretation, the rapid changing of subjects which is typical of Safaitic inscriptions would make "and he camped" an equally plausible translation. The word ḍbʾn is a passive participle acting as an asyndetic relative clause or adnominal phrase, see Al-Jallad 2015: 189. For the interpretation of qbll see Al-Jallad 2015: 333.

  • Al-Jallad, A. An Outline of the Grammar of the Safaitic Inscriptions. (Studies in Semitic Languages and Linguistics, 80). Leiden: Brill, 2015.
  • [SSWS] Al-Ṣuwayrikī [Al-Sweerky], M.ʿA. Dirāsat nuqūš ṣafawiyyah ǧadīdah min šamāl wādī sārah fī šamāl al-urdun. Unpublished MA thesis, Yarmouk University. 1999.
  • [AWS] ʿAlūlū [Alulu], Ġ.M.Y. Dirāsat nuqūš ṣafawiyyah ǧadīdah min wādī al-sūʿ ǧanūb sūriyyah. Unpublished M.A. thesis, Yarmouk University. 1996.
  • Chelhod, J. Les structures du sacré chez les Arabes. (Islam d'hier et d'aujourd'hui, 13). Paris: Maisonneuve & Larose, 1964.
  • [HH] Hayajneh, H. Ancient North Arabian Inscriptions, Rock Drawings, and Tribal Brands (wasms) from the Šammāḫ/ʾAyl (ʾĒl) Region, Southern Jordan. Pages 505–541 in MacDonald, B., Clark, G., Herr, L., Quaintance, S., Hayajneh, H. and Eggler, J. The Shammakh to Ayl Archaeological Survey, Southern Jordan (2010–2012). (American Schools of Oriental Research Archaeological Reports, 24). Boston, MA: American Schools of Oriental Research, 2016.
  • [AMJ] King, G.M.H. Early North Arabian Thamudic E. A preliminary description based on a new corpus of inscriptions from the Ḥismā desert of southern Jordan and published material. Ph.D thesis, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, 1990. [Unpublished]. 1990.
Site
Šammāḫ/Ayl, Maʿān Governorate, Jordan
Current Location
In situ
Subjects
Deity, Genealogy, Isolated Prayer, Lineage, Raiding, Religion, Watch (keeping)
Old OCIANA ID
#0052449
Download Images
Updated 16 Sep, 2024 by OCIANA

Cite this Site

OCIANA. 'HH 1.' OCIANA. 16 Sep, 2024. https://ociana.osu.edu/inscriptions/18260. Accessed: 25 Jun, 2025.