BES20 52

Siglum: BES20 52
Transliteration: l ẓnn bn hʿwḏ bn yʿlb {b}{n} s¹lm w wg{m} ʿl- ḥbb f ḥbb w ḫrṣ bʾs¹
Translation: By Ẓnn son of Hʿwḏ son of Yʿlb {son of} S¹lm and he grieved for one loved one after another and kept watch in a state of despair

Interpretation

Commentary: {b}{n}: The bn before s¹lm looks very much like a w, but from the context it almost certainly reads as bn. s¹lm: The l seems to curve at one end, which makes it look like a r. This is probably due to an incline in the rock, causing the line to curve as it was carved. This reading is supported by the attestation of a lineage in RWQ 77 that includes the following three generations: hʿwḏ bn yʿlb bn s¹lm. wg{m}: The m of wgm is difficult to read and seems to be a thin compressed shape. Despite this, it is very unlikely that this reads as anything other than wgm due to the context. ʿl- ḥbb f ḥbb: Use of f to express a sequence. Literally 'for a loved one then a loved one', expressing that one loved one died soon after another. bʾs¹: Throughout the inscription, there is little distinction between the style of the letters b and r. The bs tend to be more angular, as is the case in the second ḥbb, but note that the second b of the first ḥbb is not angular at all. Given the context, it would make more sense to have the word bʾs¹ here than rʾs¹. The reading given here takes bʾs¹ as a masculine singular participle of the verb bʾs¹, to despair, forming an adverb of circumstance. See Al-Jallad 2015: 178.

Al-Jallad, A.M. An Outline of the Grammar of the Safaitic Inscriptions. (Studies in Semitic Languages and Linguistics, 80). Leiden: Brill, 2015.
Inscriptions recorded during the Badia Epigraphic Survey 2020 and published here

Site: Wādī al-Mismā al-Šarqī, c. 52 km north-west of Al-Ruwayšid, Al-Mafraq Governorate, Jordan