AAWAB 14

Siglum: AAWAB 14
Transliteration: l s¹ʿd bn mlk bn s¹ʿd bn s¹ʿd bn mlk bn ʿbd bn ʿḏ bn ḫld bn s²rb bn ġlmt bn s²hr{n} bn df ḏ- ʾl dʾf w rʿy ḍʾn f h l{t} s¹lm l- ḏ dʿy s¹fr ġlmt w wgm ʿl- ʾb -h w ʿl- ʾm -h {y}{ʿ}{ẓ}ʿwḏ
Translation: By S¹ʿd son of Mlk son of S¹ʿd son of S¹ʿd son of Mlk son of ʿbd son of ʿḏ son of Ḫld son of S²rb son of Ġlmt son of S²hrn son of Df of the lineage of Dʾf and he pastured {some sheep} and so O Lt [grant] security to whoever reads the writing of Ġlmt and he grieved for his father and for his mother {y}{ʿ}{ẓ}ʿwḏ

Interpretation

Commentary: There appears to be part of another inscription, presumably running over from an adjacent face (which was not photographed), running down the left side of this text. There are too few letters to make a coherent interpretation. It is difficult to interpret the letters {y}{ʿ}{ẓ} under the damage between ʾm-h and ʿwḏ (assuming that the www{b} after ʾm-h are part of the inscription from the adjacent side) and, given that it has no context, it is not possible to decide whether the last word, ʿwḏ, is a noun ("protection") or a personal name. The letter t has a very elaborate form derived from the swastika shape and is almost unrecognizable in the divine name lt. The form of f is also unusual and ḍ has only one cross-bar. The n of ḍʾn runs into a small crack in the rock making it look longer and more curved than it is. Note that this author does not use a definite article where it might be expected. Thus, rʿy ḍʾn and dʿy s¹fr. This may be chance or it may be an example of a dialect which, like Hismaic, has no visible definite article. See Al-Jallad 2105: 79 (g) and Al-Jallad & Jaworska 2019: 5.

Associated Inscriptions: A second inscription appears to run, probably from the adjoining face, downwards immediately to the left of AAWAB 14 but not enough is visible to make sense of it.

Al-Jallad, A.M. An Outline of the Grammar of the Safaitic Inscriptions. (Studies in Semitic Languages and Linguistics, 80). Leiden: Brill, 2015.
Al-Jallad, A. & Jaworska, K.A. Dictionary and Grammar of the Safaitic Inscriptions. Volume I: Dictionary. Leiden: Brill, 2019
Inscriptions recorded by Ali Al-Manaser in Al-Wādī Al-Abyaḍ in June 2021

Date Found: 18/06/2021
Current Location: In situ
Subjects: Deity, Domestic animals, Genealogy, Grieving, Isolated Prayer, Lineage, Pasturing
Script: Safaitic
Old OCIANA ID: #0057512
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