OCIANA
Online Corpus of the Inscriptions of Ancient North Arabia

KJC 317

Siglum
KJC 317
Transliteration
s¹b ḏs²ry l lṯ ġny
Translation
May Ḏs²ry give ? to Lṯ freedom from want

Interpretation

Apparatus Criticus
King (1990: 372) commented: "Except for the initial s¹ the letters of the text have been joined up by lighter hammering. The tail of the ḏ bends to join one arm of the b and another line links it to the other arm. A line runs from one prong of the ḏ through the s² to the r. The circle of the y is joined to an arm of the r and to one end of the following l. Slight hammering joins this l to the second, which is attached to the ṯ by an extension to the hook linking it to one spoke and a short diagonal line linking it to another. Two spokes of the ṯ have been extended in the other direction to join the tail of the ġ and its back between the two horizontal line. The n is linked to the ġ by a line starting just above the tail and to the final y by a line joined to the circle of the y. The position of the word s¹b before the deity’s name and the lack of a vocative particle suggests that the word is a verb in the perfect with an optative sense, see Ch.4.C.5. Neither sabba ‘he reviled’ or sabā ‘he made captive’ provide a suitable meaning. The substantive sb which I have translated as ‘gift’ (cf. Ar. sayb) occurs in KJC 145. The basic meaning of the root, however, ‘is run (of water)’ which would not be appropriate here either, although Kaz. lists Form II with the meaning ‘give’. The word ġny, Ar. ġanāʾ ‘freedom from want’, occurs in other prayers, see Ch.4.C.3. There are five lines in various places inscribed on the rock face as well".

Original Reading Credit
King 1990: 372
Original Translation Credit
King 1990: 372

  • King, G.M.H. Early North Arabian Thamudic E. A preliminary description based on a new corpus of inscriptions from the Ḥismā desert of southern Jordan and published material. Ph.D thesis, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, 1990. [Unpublished]. 1990.
Site
Wādī Ǧudayyid site C, Al-‘Aqabah Governorate, Jordan
Current Location
In situ
Subjects
Deity, Isolated Prayer, Religion
Script
Hismaic
Old OCIANA ID
#0049408
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