MA 4
Text Information
- Siglum
- MA 4
- Transliteration
- l s²qq bn s²hyt bn ʾs¹ bn ḥg bn s²bḥr bn grmʾl bn ʿbṭ bn ʿzhm bn mrʾ bn ʿrs¹ bn rġs¹ bn s²hr bn rṭḫ bn ʿwḏ bn whbʾl w byt b- ʾbl w wrd l- ġdf f h bʿls¹mn rwḥ w s¹lm w mḥlt l- ḏ yʿwr h- s¹fr
- Translation
- By s²qq son of S²hyt son of ʾs¹ son of Ḥg son of S²bḥr son of Grmʾl son of ʿbṭ son of ʿzhm son of Mrʾ son of ʿrs¹ son of Rġs¹ son of S²hr son of Rṭḫ son of ʿwḏ son of Whbʾl. And he spent the night with some camels and came to water at Ġdf. And so O Bʿls¹mn [grant] and security relief and [send] dearth to whoever scratches out this inscription
Interpretation
- Apparatus Criticus
- MA: rġm for rġs¹; byt b- ʾbl w wrd l- ġdf "he lodged his camels for the night and came to the water (the filthy water or he came to the water at night)" (p.38) or "he put up his camels for a night and came to water as soon as the night was lowered" (p. 41)
- Commentary
- The g of grmʾl has a mark like a cross-stroke within it but this is clearly accidental. The s¹ in the name rġs¹ could possibly be a ẓ though it is more likely a s¹ and is certainly not a m as read in the ed. pr. The expression wrd l- ġdf might also be interpreted "he came to water for easy living" (cf. Ar. ġadaf "a state of ease or plentifulness" Lane 2233/b) though one would expect h-ġdf in this context. The syntax is easier if ġdf is taken as a place name cf. Wādī al-Ghadaf south of Azraq (Map 1:50 000 sheet K.3353 II approximately 31° 46 N 36° 50 E according to the Official Standard Names Gazetteer). The ed. pr.'s interpretation of the statement is grammatically impossible. A 15 generation genealogy for ʿwḏ is very unusual. See C 2256 for one with the same last 5 generations.
- Provenance
- H4/Ruwayshid
- Technique
- Incised
- Associated Remains
- Unknown
- Associated Inscriptions
- Al-Maʿānī [Maani, Al-Maʿani], S.ʿA. & Al-Aǧlūnī [Al-Ajlouni], F. Safaitic Inscriptions From the Eastern Part of Mafraq Governorate / Jordan. Adumatu 8, 2003: 33-49.
- Site
- Al-Ruwayšid (formerly H4), Wādī Salmā or Al-Ašāqif al-ǧanūbī (MA p. 33), Jordan
- Current Location
- Unknown
- Subjects
- Curse, Deity, Domestic animals, Genealogy, Isolated Prayer, Lineage (ancestor), Place-name, Watering
- Script
- Safaitic
- Old OCIANA ID
- #0017840
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