LP 355

Siglum: LP 355
Alternative Sigla: Is.M 147
Transliteration: l dʾf bn s¹ḫr bn ʿbd bn ʾdm bn ms¹k bn s²rb bn ġlmt w bdʾ h- ḫrf f h lt s¹lm w rʿy h- ḍʾn
Translation: By Dʾf son of S¹ḫr son of ʿbd son of ʾdm son of Ms¹k son of S²rb son of Ġlmt and the first rains began and so O Lt [grant] security and he pastured the sheep

Interpretation

Apparatus Criticus: LP 355: w(b)(ʿ)(d) (-h) h- ḫrf “and the autumnal rain drove him away” for w bdʾ h- ḫrf "and the first rains began"
Commentary: Littmann's copy joined parts of three letters from Is.M 148 (the rest of which he did not record) to the tops of the b-d-ʾ of bdʾ. The verb bdʾ “to begin” has not been found before in Safaitic. On the meaning of ḫrf in this text see Macdonald 1992: 4. Among the modern Bedouin ḫarīf is the end of the dry season al-qēẓ (Safaitic qyẓ) and ends with the rains which coincide with the rising of Canopus (Suhayl). These rains are called Sheylāwi or ḫerfi and belong to those called by the Bedouins al-wasm which are the most important of the year for the replenishment of wells and the growth of pasture (Musil 1928: 5, 8, 13). It is possible that the prayer for security was occasioned by the fact that raiding was common in times of rabīʿ that is the abundant herbage produced by rains at any season (Musil 1928: 13–14, 507).

Provenance: Al-ʿĪsāwī is the name of a probably ancient well between two headlands on the eastern side of the Wādī Shām as it runs northwards from the modern Al-Namārah dam to the Ruḥbah. The well is large, stone lined and with stone water-channels running from it. The main concentration of published inscriptions is on the top of the northern headland, but there also many inscriptions on its south-west slopes, coming down to the well and on the southern headland, on the crest of which is a stone tower.
Original Reading Credit: OCIANA
Original Translation Credit: OCIANA

Associated Remains: None
Associated Inscriptions: M 148-151 (on the same face); M 146 (on the ridge between two faces); M 144 (begins on one face and ends on the same face as 145)

Macdonald, M.C.A. The Seasons and Transhumance in the Safaitic Inscriptions. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland 3rd. series, 2, 1992: 1-11.
Littmann, E. Safaïtic Inscriptions. Syria. Publications of the Princeton University Archaeological Expeditions to Syria in 1904–1905 and 1909. Division IV. Section C. Leiden: Brill, 1943.
Musil, A. The Manners and Customs of the Rwala Bedouins. (Oriental Explorations and Studies, 6). New York: American Geographical Society, 1928.
Inscriptions recorded at al-ʿĪsāwī by Michael Macdonald, on the Safaitic Epigraphic Survey Programme, 1995–2003, and published here.