OCIANA
Online Corpus of the Inscriptions of Ancient North Arabia

WH 2035

Text Information

Siglum
WH 2035
Transliteration
l dʾy bn s²wkt w ḫwy(t) (h-) s²ʿrt
Translation
By Dʾy son of S²wkt and Sirius set but had brought no rain.

Interpretation

Commentary
WH's interpretation seems unlikely. However NB in Arabic ḫawà and ḫawwà can mean (the stars) set aurorally and brought no rain (Lane 827/b) while al-©iʿrà is Sirius. There are 2 stars of this name called the sisters of Suhayl. However al-©iʿrà is said to rise around 27 June (EI sv a©-ṣiʿrà) or in the time of intense heat (Lane 1560 b-c) or rules for 40 nights in Jan/Feb in a©-©tāʾ (Musil Rwala p. 8). I cannot find whether the 2 stars with this name rise at opposite ends of the year. If so and Musil's statement is correct for one of them the statement in the inscription would be a complaint that winter had passed without bringing rain.

Original Reading Credit
Ed. pr.

  • Winnett, F.V. & Harding, G.L. Inscriptions from Fifty Safaitic Cairns. (Near and Middle East Series, 9). Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1978.
Site
WH Cairn 27, Al-Mafraq Governorate, Jordan
Date Found
1958–1959
Current Location
In situ
Subject
Genealogy
Script
Safaitic
Old OCIANA ID
#0012900
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