OCIANA
Online Corpus of the Inscriptions of Ancient North Arabia

TA. 09302

Siglum
TA. 09302
Alternative Sigla
Kootstra 2016: 71
Transliteration
ḥ{ṯ}y/fʿl/ḥmd/l- ḥdh/b- ym/b lbd
Translation
{Honoured} be the deed of Ḥmd (done) by itself alone in the day of Blbd

Interpretation

Apparatus Criticus
TRANSLATION: Kootstra: 'Ḥs³y attained glory by guarding the border in the battle of blbd'
Commentary
The fact that there is empty space to the right of the first letter and to the left of the last shows that the inscription is complete. The first and seventh letters while apparently identical to the eleventh, have a small diagonal line below the right side-stroke. The second letter has not been encountered before in exactly this form (but see EskB 246). The nearest examples being the final letter of JSTham 454, the 4th letter of Esk 17 (= ṯ ?); the antepenultimate letter of Esk 21 (= ṯ) and 2 examples in Esk 272. The contexts of these suggest that it is a form of ṯ, though it is not certain. Eskoubi interprets the sign sometimes as ḍ and sometimes as s² even within a single text (e.g. Esk 272). But, as Esk 17, shows the Taymanitic ḍ is similar to the Ancient South Arabian form, and the none of the Taymanitic forms of s² is like this. The translation above is offered tentatively since there are several elements in this text which have not been encountered before in Taymanitic. We have interpreted ḥṯy on the basis of Classical Arabic ḥafiya “to show much honour” (with bi- “to (someone)”) assuming the common ibdāl between [f] and [θ] (cf. for instance Classical Arabic dafaʾiyy and Ancient North Arabian dṯʾ “season of the later rains”, Macdonald (1992: 2–3). Here, I would suggest it is in the suffix-conjugation of the passive, with an optative implication “may it be shown much honour”. We have taken fʿl as the noun (cf. Classical Arabic fiʿl) “an action, a deed” and ḥmd as the name of a group (see TA 9393). We have interpreted lḥdh as l-ḥd-h, on the basis of Nabataean l-ḥwd-why “him alone” (H 9/6, and see Cantineau (1930–1932, i: 65). Ym b-lbd is clear, independent of whether or not the interpretation of the rest of the text is correct. This provides a rare historical reference in the Taymanitic inscriptions. I would suggest that this reference is to an event described in Esk 272.

Provenance
In the east wall of the "temple" (DAI excavations 2005, Area E1, SU 0207)
Original Reading Credit
OCIANA
Original Translation Credit
OCIANA

  • Eskoubi, Kh.M.A. Dirāsāt taḥlīlīyah muqāranah li-nuqūš ṯamūdīyah min minṭaqat rum baina ṯalīṯawāt wa-qīʿān al-ṣanīʿ ǧanūb ġarb taymāʾ. (Silsilat al-Risāʾil al-Jāmiʿah, 26). Riyadh: Dārat al-Malik ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz, 2007. No. 246 pp 434–435
  • Eskūbī [Eskoubi] Ḫ.M. Dirāsah taḥlīliyyah muqāranah li-nuqūš min minṭaqah (rum) ǧanūb ġarb taymāʾ. [English title: An Analytical and Comparative Study of Inscriptions from “Rum” region, South West of Tayma. Riyāḍ: wazīrat al-maʿārif, waqālat al-āṯār wa-l-matāḥif, 1999.
  • Macdonald, M.C.A. The Seasons and Transhumance in the Safaitic Inscriptions. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland 3rd. series, 2, 1992: 1-11.
  • Cantineau, J. Le Nabatéen. (2 volumes). Paris: Leroux, 1930-1932.
  • Kootstra, F. The Language of the Taymanitic Inscriptions and its Classification. Arabian Epigraphic Notes 2, 2016: 67–140
Site
Taymāʾ, Tabūk Province, Saudi Arabia
Current Location
In situ
Subjects
Date (other), Name only
Script
Taymanitic
Old OCIANA ID
#0040128
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