WH 300

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

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.

Winnett, F.V. & Harding, G.L. Inscriptions from Fifty Safaitic Cairns. (Near and Middle East Series, 9). Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1978.
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.