OCIANA
Online Corpus of the Inscriptions of Ancient North Arabia

Al-Mafraq Museum 36

Text Information

Siglum
Al-Mafraq Museum 36
Transliteration
l ḫḏm b{n} rgl bn zhrn w rḥḍ f h lt s¹lm w ʿyl ḍbʾ ṣyʾ
Translation
By Ḫḏm son of Rgl son of Zhrn and he washed and so O Lt [grant] security being poor he went on a raid [and so] had not washed properly

Interpretation

Commentary
The part of the text after the prayer appears to be an explanation of why the author had washed. If this is the correct interpretation it is expressed in a very compressed way. Thus, the verb ʿyl may mean "he was poor" or in the D or C Forms "he had a numerous household" (cf. Arabic ʿāla, ʿayyala, ʾaʿāla (Lane 2212b–c). The verb ḍbʾ "he went on a raid" is well-known in Safaitic but ṣyʾ has not been found before, cf. Arabic ṣayaʾa "he washed (something) imperfectly (Hava 410). The word may occur again in WH 1271. However, this is purely a suggestion.

Original Reading Credit
OCIANA
Original Translation Credit
OCIANA

  • 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.
  • Hava, J.G. Al-Faraid Arabic-English Dictionary. Fifth edition. Beirut: Dār al-Mašriq, 1982.
Site
Al-Mafraq Governorate, Jordan
Current Location
Al-Mafraq Antiquities Office and Museum
Subjects
Genealogy, Raiding
Script
Safaitic
Old OCIANA ID
#0035011
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