WH 641.1

Siglum: WH 641.1
Transliteration: l fty bn rwḍ w byt b- h- ʾrḍ w- rḫ b-bql w flṭ -h m- lḥy{n} h- s¹nt
OCIANA
Translation: By Fty son of Rwḍ and he spent the night in this fertile land and lived at ease amidst spring vegetation and deliver him from {Lḥyn} this year.
OCIANA
Language and Script: Safaitic

Interpretation

Apparatus Criticus: WH 641.1: "he pitched a tent in this land and lived at ease amidst spring vegetation. [O god], deliver him from moving away this year" {r}ḥyl for lḥy{n}
Commentary: L, r and n are carefully distinguished in this text. L always has a right-angled hook at one end; r is always a shallow curve with no hooks; and n is a straight line with no hooks. The reading must therefore be b- bql and m- lḥyn even though the n is rather long. ʾrḍ here probably means "land that becomes luxuriant in herbage" cf Arabic ʾarīḍ (Lane 49a) For rḫ see WH 597. No deity is invoked in the prayer for deliverance. Since elsewhere (BRenv A2, B1), the tribe of Liḥyān is referred to as ʾl lḥyn (i.e. "the lineage group of Lḥyn") and lḥyn can be a personal name in Safaitic, it seems likely that lḥyn in this inscription is a person rather than a group.

[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

OCIANA,. 'WH 641.1.' OCIANA. 16 Sep, 2024. https://ociana.osu.edu/inscriptions/34005. Accessed: 14 Jul, 2025.