Esk. 020

Kootstra 2016, 171: lm flṭ ḥl{l} b-{d}dn {ʾ}ḫr h-ḥwl, trans. 'By Flṭ {he was a soldier} at/against {Ddn} {in the last part of} the year (?)' 

Eskoubi 1999, 64: l- mʿl w ḥll b ddn ʾḫr h- ḥwl, trans. 'By Mʿl and he camped at Dadān at the end of the year'

The tenth letter is poorly executed; Eskoubi (1999) read it as a d, which was followed by Kootstra (2016), but it bears no resemblance to the clear d that follows. Thus, Hayajneh (2023)'s reading as q is most defensible; in fact, it can hardly be anything else. Eskoubi (1999), followed by Kootstra (2016), read the 12th glyph as an n, but this is impossible based on the photograph. While there is some damage at the top of the letter that could be interpreted as a backstroke, it is much thinner than the main glyph and is not connected to it (see enhanced photo). The letter is identical to the r attested later in the inscription. Hayajneh's (2023) reading as qdr is therefore secure. As such, this text provides the first, and to date only, direct reference to the Arabian tribal federation qdr in the ANA inscriptions, known otherwise from cuneiform and biblical sources. See Hayajneh (2023) for a brief discussion on the text's historical context.

Hayajneh translates the phrase ḥll b- as encamped in + toponymy, here Qdr. But this translation seems unlikely as the phrase ḥll b- ddn is attested in the vicinity of Taymāʾ, where its author was clearly not at Dadān at the moment of writing. Kootstra's (2016) interpretation of ḥll as 'to serve as a soldier' with b- meaning 'against' is compelling as much of the Taymanitic graffiti is martial. The general meaning of ḥll across Arabia, however, has to do with camping. I would suggest keeping this meaning, until clearer evidence to the contrary appears, but following Kootstra's martial interpretation of the text; Flṭ here records camping against qdr, in a military sense.