Jacobson D.1.4

Interpretation

Commentary: Previously unpublished. On h lt -m see King 1990: §C.8. ʾḥylt would appear to be a previously unattested deity, or perhaps more likely an epithet of lt (see Jacobson A.16.1, B.1.5, D.23.4, etc.). It is unclear what ʾt signifies here. It is possible that it is the second person singular independent personal pronoun (< ʾnt), which would suggest that ʾḥylt was an epithet of Lt. On the other hand, the only other inscription in which it occurs so far, Jacobson B.1.4 begins h ltm w ʾt ḏs²ry hb l- mqṭ... would mean "O Lt and you Ḏs²ry give to Mqṭ ...", which would be a unique way of addressing a deity in Hismaic. In the case of Jacobson B.1.4, then, it would be easier to regard ʾt as yet another vocative particle, though we cannot explain its etymology. On the other hand, this explanation would not work for the present inscription since "O Lt O ʾḥylt" makes little sense. The question remains open.

[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 [Unpublished]. 1990.

Updated 16 Sep, 2024 by OCIANA