AAWAB 4

Siglum: AAWAB 4
Transliteration: l ṯlg bn ḏkr bn ẓʿn bn nks¹ bn s¹hwt w ḫrṣ s²nʾ f h ḏg{n/l} s¹lm h- ḫfyt h- s¹nt
Translation: By Ṯlg son of Ḏkr son of Ẓʿn son of Nks¹ son of S¹hwt and he was keeping watch for enemies and so O Ḏg{n/l} may this well be secure this year

Interpretation

Commentary: The text is thinly scratched on a rough surface which is not really suitable for inscribing. A deity ḏgn or ḏgl has not been found before in Ancient North Arabian or, as far as we can tell, elsewhere, unless one assumes that it is a mispronunciation of the divine name Dagan, which to the best of our knowledge has not been found spelt with a /ḏ/ in those Semitic languages (such as Ugaritic) which have this phoneme. For ḫfyt cf. Arabic ḥafiyyah "a well" (Lane 777b). Alternatively, one could read s¹lm-h ḫfyt h-s¹nt "keep him securely hidden this year" (literally "make him safe as to his being hidden this year"), cf. Arabic ḫāfiyah "a state of being unapparent, covert, secret" (Lane 777b).

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.
Inscriptions recorded by Ali Al-Manaser in Al-Wādī Al-Abyaḍ in June 2021