SIJ 688

Siglum: SIJ 688
Transliteration: l ġṯ bn {k}hl bn ---- w w{g}[----] b- rʾy n[]{ṣ}{ʿ} m- ʿs²b w {ʾ}{s²} mʿn mʿzy w gls¹ s¹nt nzz ʾl yhd w wgd ʾṯr hn- ʾḫyr f qll ʾl -h h- ʿ{m}r f h bʿls¹mn rw{ḥ}
OCIANA
Translation: By Ġṯ son of Khl son of ---- and he...... at the appearance of ... green pasture. And ... a shelter of goats. And he set (it) up the year of the expulsion of the people of the Jews. And he found the traces of the excellent (people) and he examined (them). Verily he is the builder. And, O Bʿls¹mn, [grant] relief.
OCIANA
Language and Script: Safaitic

Interpretation

Apparatus Criticus: SIJ 688: {q}ṯ for ġṯ; {s²}hl for khl; b- rʾy n{ṣ}{ʿ} for b- rʾy n[]{ṣ}{ʿ}; w {ʾ}[]s² for w {ʾ}{s²}; {h-} ʾḫyr for hn- ʾḫyr; qnn ʾn -h for qll ʾl -h. Macdonald 1995: 285 and n. 4: s¹nt nzz ʾl yhd "the year the Jews were removed".
Commentary: The first two names are more or less clear on the photographs and Winnett's readings are impossible. The third name seems to consist of 4 letters but it is difficult to read any of them with confidence. See E.M. Smallwood “The Jews under Roman rule” (Leiden 1981) p. 96-97 for a discussion). Note the expression prosdokías toû laoû ʾIoudaíwv ("the expectation of the people of the Jews") in Acts 12.11 is not an equivalent to ʾl Yhd since here it almost certainly refers to 'the people' (the crowd as opposed to their leaders as it does in 12.4 to which it refers back.

[MHED] Macdonald, M.C.A. Herodian Echoes in the Syrian Desert. Pages 285-290 in S. Bourke & J.-P. Descoeudres (eds), Trade, Contact, and the Movement of Peoples in the Eastern Mediterranean. Studies in Honour of J. Basil Hennessy. (Mediterranean Archaeology. Supplement, 3). Sydney: Mediterranean Archaeology, 1995.
[SIJ] Winnett, F.V. Safaitic Inscriptions from Jordan. (Near and Middle East Series, 2). Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1957.

Updated 16 Sep, 2024 by OCIANA

OCIANA. 'SIJ 688.' OCIANA. 16 Sep, 2024. https://ociana.osu.edu/inscriptions/20915. Accessed: 17 Jun, 2025.