WH 3586

Siglum: WH 3586
Transliteration: l bnklbt bn yʿll bn hl z ʾl hmkn
OCIANA
Translation: By Bnklbt son of Yʿll son of Hl of the lineage group of Hmkn
OCIANA
Language and Script: Safaitic

Interpretation

Apparatus Criticus: WH: l bnklbt bn yʿll only
Commentary: On the photograph, it can be clearly seen that the text continues after yʿll. The reading is complicated by 7 circles carved amongst the letters of the text starting with two above the first bn, then one between the ll of yʿll, finally one within the b of the next bn and one in the upper fork of the ʾ. It is difficult to account for the m carved above the l which is five letters from the end. It is also difficult to be sure of where the last personal name ends and the rest of the inscription begins, or indeed what the latter means. h- mkn could mean "this place", but in what context? Very tentatively we have suggested reading bn hl z ʾl hmkn "son of Hl of the lineage of Hmkn" or even "of the lineage of this place (h-mkn)", whatever that would mean. This would assume that the author was thinking in Hebrew or a dialect of Aramaic which was not Classical Nabataean.

[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