WH 300

Siglum: WH 300
Transliteration: l ʾs¹ bn ḫfyt h- bkrt w ḥwb h- mrʾt
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Translation: By ʾs¹ son of H̲yft [is the drawing of] a young woman and he cried out [for] this woman
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Language and Script: Safaitic

Interpretation

Apparatus Criticus: WH: Translation of ḥwb "he loved"
Commentary: While bkrt usually refers to a "young she-camel" it can of course refer to any young female being and since no drawing of a camel is visible but instead there is a drawing of a woman, it is tentatively suggested that bkrt refers to her. The verb ḥwb is normally followed by ʿl-, so if this interpretation is accepted we would have to assume it was accidentally omitted by this author. Della Puppa (2018:74–75) suggested that ḥwb is a verbal noun and that ḥwb h-mrʾt is an iḍāfah meaning "the crying out of the woman" referring to the drawing, in the same relationship to the lām auctoris as h-bkrt, i.e. "By ʾs¹ son of Ḫfyt [are the drawings of] the young she-camel and the crying-out of the woman". Grammatically this works very well, but it would be unique for one of these authors to claim to have drawn an emotion, rather than something physical.

[Lane] Lane, E.W. An Arabic-English Lexicon, Derived from the Best and Most Copious Eastern Sources. (Volume 1 in 8 parts [all published]). London: Williams & Norgate, 1863-1893.
[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