OCIANA
Online Corpus of the Inscriptions of Ancient North Arabia

BES20 188

Siglum
BES20 188
Transliteration
l {k}s¹ṭ bn tm bn s²ḥl bn tm bn {m}{f}n{y} {b}{n} {n}{ʿ}{m}{n} ---- {w} wgm ʿl- ʿqrb trḥ -h ʾḫt -h w ʿl- ḥ{g}n{t} {w} {h} l{t} ----
Translation
By Ks¹ṭ son of Tm son of S²ḥl son of Tm son of {Mfny} {son of} {Nʿmn} and he grieved for ʿqrb [and] it saddened him [and for] his sister and for {Ḥgnt} {and} {O} {Lt} ----

Interpretation

Commentary
A large section of the stone is covered by dirt, so the inscription is difficult to read clearly. Variations on this genealogy are well attested, which allows one to present a possible reading for two names in the genealogy (mfny and nʿmn) that are very difficult to see in the photographs. A number of inscriptions (BES20 89, 147; WH 248, 792; C 1989) present the lineage s²ḥl bn tm bn mfn{y} bn nʿmn bn whb bn s¹b. MSTJ 22 presents a similar lineage to this inscription, possibly written by the same author, with the addition of two ancestors (ks¹ṭ bn tm bn ṣʿd bn tm bn s²ḥl bn tm bn mfny). Upon close inspection of the photographs, what can be seen of the letters corresponds very closely with the names mfny and nʿmn. The inscription mentions that the author is grieving for ʿqrb, seemingly using a slightly different formula to other inscriptions by members of the same lineage. BES20 187, probably by the brother of the author of BES20 188, makes use of the formula wgm ʿl- ʿqrb w trḥ -h (he grieved for ʿqrb and it [ʿqrb's death] made him grieve). This is also attested in KRS 7. This inscription, however, does not seem to have a w between ʿqrb and trḥ -h. The author seems to have forgotten the w. The verb trḥ is probably the II Form, where according to Lane (302b) tarraḥa-hu means "it made him sorrowful". Following trḥ -h, one would expect w ʿl to continue the list of people for whom the author is grieving. Instead the author moves straight to ʾẖt -h. Nevertheless, following this, the author returns to placing w ʿl between the names. Note that the -h of ʾẖt -h could refer to either the author or ʿqrb. ʿqrb has also been found as a female name, see for instance Damascus Museum 25834.2. The end of the (visible) inscription is difficult to make sense of. It is not entirely clear whether what has been read as {w} {h} should actually read ʿl-, introducing another name. One would argue that this is unlikely upon close inspection of the text. If one were to read the letters as ʿl-, there would not be a w as one would expect, however, as mentioned previously, the author did do this earlier in the inscription. The small circular letter does seem to have a line through the centre of it and the line possibly as a fork at one end. This would give the start to a prayer to Lt. If this is the case, the rest of the inscription must be on another side of the stone.

Associated Inscriptions

  • Lane, E.W. An Arabic-English Lexicon, Derived from the Best and Most Copious Eastern Sources. (Volume 1 in 8 parts [all published]). London: Williams & Norgate, 1863-1893.
  • Macdonald, M.C.A. & Harding, G.L. More Safaitic Texts from Jordan. Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 21, 1976: 119-133.
  • [Inscriptions in Corpus Inscriptionum Semiticarum Pars V].
  • [Safaitic Inscriptions in Winnett and Harding 1978 (WIFSC)].
  • 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
Subjects
Deity, Genealogy, Grieving
Script
Safaitic
Old OCIANA ID
#0057249
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