WH 217

Text Information

Siglum
WH 217
Transliteration
l mtl bn ḫrʿt bn wqr nbṭ
OCIANA
Translation
By Mtl son of H̲rʿt son of Wqr well-digger
OCIANA
Language and Script
Safaitic

Interpretation

Apparatus Criticus
WH: translation of nbṭ, "he dug down to water"
Commentary
WH correctly connect nbṭ with Arabic, meaning "to dig down to water, or to dig a well", but their interpretation of the word as a finite verb is unsatisfactory. In constructions such as these, Safaitic introduces the narrative with a conjunction, either w or f. The absence of such here suggests to me that the word is part of the name, perhaps a faʿʿāl form indicating profession, nabbāṭ "well-digger". One occasionally finds frs¹ "horseman" in the same position.

Editio Princeps
Ed. pr.

Technique
Direct hammered
Direction of Script
Boustrophedon (starting from left)

Associated Remains
Cairn

  • [WH] 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 7, Al-Mafraq Governorate, Jordan
Date Found
1958–1959
Current Location
in situ
Subject
Genealogy
Old OCIANA ID
#0010975
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Updated 16 Sep, 2024 by OCIANA