WH 15

Siglum: WH 15
Transliteration: l ḫṭs¹t bn s¹krn bn grmʾl w wgm ʿl- ʾbgr ḏ- ʾl ḍf s¹nt ngy whbʾl hdy
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Translation: By H̲ṭs¹t son of S¹krn son of Grmʾl and he grieved for ʾbgr of the lineage of Ḍf the year Whbʾl was appointed commander
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Language and Script: Safaitic

Interpretation

Apparatus Criticus: WH 15: translation of s¹nt ngy whbʾl hdy "the year Whbʾl rescued Hdy"
Commentary: Safaitic hdy has been tentatively translated as "leader", to be connected with the Arabic root hdy "to guide." It occurs in similar contexts in KRS 25; KRS 303; KRS 995; KRS 1024; KRS 1086; WH 575; WH 1859, etc. One difficulty with this interpretation is that the word lacks the definite article. We would expect h- hdy rather than simply hdy. Perhaps this suggests that the title was lexicalized without the article, but more evidence is required before this position can be accepted. For the translation of s¹nt ngy whbʾl hdy see Macdonald 2014: 155–156.

Al-Jallad, A. An Outline of the Grammar of the Safaitic Inscriptions. (Studies in Semitic Languages and Linguistics, 80). Leiden: Brill, 2015.
Macdonald, M.C.A. ‘Romans Go Home’? Rome and other ‘Outsiders’ as viewed from the Syro-Arabian Desert. Pages 145-163 in J.H.E. Dijkstra & G. Fisher (eds), Inside and Out. Interactions between Rome and the Peoples on the Arabian and Egyptian Frontiers in Late Antiquity. (Late Antique History and Religion, 8). Louvain: Peeters, 2014.
[WH] Winnett, F.V. & Harding, G.L. Inscriptions from Fifty Safaitic Cairns. (Near and Middle East Series, 9). Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1978.

Updated 16 Sep, 2024 by OCIANA