BES20 77

Text Information

Siglum
BES20 77
Transliteration
l bḥrs¹h bn ddʾl h- bkrt w h rḍw flṭ -h m- b{r}{k}t s¹nt yrd -h
Michael C.A. Macdonald
Translation
By Bḥrs¹h son of Ddʾl is the she-camel and, O Rḍw, deliver him by means of {Brkt} the year he will (have to) go there
Michael C.A. Macdonald
Language and Script
Safaitic 1

Interpretation

Commentary

m-: The preposition m(n)- seems, in certain situations, to refer to the means by which the deliverance is done. For example, SafDict translates C 5108 as "O ʾlt, deliver him by means of fertile land" (h ʾlt flṭ-h mn- ʿḏʾt).

b{r}{k}t: The r seems to have been altered by the addition of a middle line and the k changed by the addition of a curved flourish to the horizontal line to the left and the corner on the right. Following Macdonald (1992: 27–30), Brkt 'was an important area in the seasonal migrations of the nomads who wrote the Safaitic inscriptions', probably the the permanent lake at Qaṣr Burqūʿ.

yrd -h: Prefix congugation of wrd, taking a direct object (-h) referring to Brkt. This prayer should look towards an unspecified future time, suggesting that Rḍw will deliver the supplicant from drought by providing access to the perennial waters at Brkt during the very year a journey there becomes necessary.

Editio Princeps
OCIANA
Field Collector
BES20 team

Technique
Incised and chiselled
Direction of Script
Curving boustrophedon

Associated Signs
Cartouche: The author seems to have already drawn the cartouche before the inscription, as he had to extend it to include the part of the inscription following bkrt
Associated Drawings
She-camel (bkrt) referred to in inscription

  • [SafDict] Al-Jallad, A. & Jaworska, K. A Dictionary of the Safaitic Inscriptions. Leiden: Brill, 2019
  • [BES20] Inscriptions recorded during the Badia Epigraphic Survey 2020 and published here
  • [NAEN] Macdonald, M.C.A. North Arabian Epigraphic Notes I. Arabian archaeology and epigraphy 3, 1992: 23-43.
Site
Wādī al-Mismā al-Šarqī, c. 52 km north-west of Al-Ruwayšid, Al-Mafraq Governorate, Jordan
Date Found
2020
Current Location
In situ
Subjects
Drawing, Genealogy, Isolated Prayer, Movement, Place-name, Topographic features, Watering
Old OCIANA ID
#0057128
Download Image
Updated 17 Apr, 2025 by Ahmad Al-Jallad

Cite this Site

Al-Jallad, Ahmad. 'BES20 77.' OCIANA. 17 Apr, 2025. https://ociana.osu.edu/inscriptions/23405. Accessed: 17 Jun, 2025.