OCIANA
Online Corpus of the Inscriptions of Ancient North Arabia

BES20 162

Text Information

Siglum
BES20 162
Transliteration
{l} nk{ḥ} b[n] {s¹}r bn {ʾ}{ẓ}my bn s¹lm {h-} dr
Translation
{Nkḥ} son of {S¹r} son of {ʾẓmy} son of S¹lm was here

Interpretation

Commentary
The beginning of the inscription is difficult to read. The reading is clarified when compared with the genealogy of BES20 168. nk{ḥ}: The third letter looks very much like a ṭ. Given the similarity between this inscription and the genealogy of BES20 168, it seems likely that the author either got confused between the shape of a ḥ and a ṭ, or the letter has been vandalised. b[n]: The author has forgotten the n of bn. {ʾ}{ẓ}my: The bottom of the apparent ʾ is difficult to see, but upon close inspection it seems to have a fork at both the top and bottom. The following letter consists of two diagonal lines, which is probably a ẓ. {h-}: This letter looks like a ḏ, but must be a h from the context. Upon close inspection, it seems that the upper prong is either a mistake or added by a vandal.

Associated Drawings
Human figure with hands in the air and fingers spread. The line of the person's body and a second line coming from the right hand arm run diagonally and curve to the bottom of the stone. The end of them cannot be seen as it is covered by dirt.

  • 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
Date Found
2020
Current Location
In situ
Subject
Genealogy
Script
Safaitic
Old OCIANA ID
#0057215
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