Al-Mafraq Museum 68

Image © OCIANA; CC BY
Siglum
Al-Mafraq Museum 68
Transliteration
l ʿmrn bn mʿtm w ġnm ʿl- ʿr m- nbṭ f h rḍy ʿyr
OCIANA
Translation
By ʿmrn son of Mʿtm and he set off to plunder a caravan from Nabataea, O Rḍy, [grant] (a safe) journey
Ahmad Al-Jallad
Language and Script
Safaitic 1

Interpretation

Commentary
The final prayer (or curse) lends itself to multiple interpretations. I have suggested reading ʿyr as a D-stem of the verb ʿyr /ʿayera/ 'to journey[ (SafDict, 57a) , that is, 'to make journey', with safety implied. In this way, the prayer connects to the narrative in a coherent way. On the other hand, it is possible to read it as a curse, where ʿyr should be interpreted as the D-stem imperative ʿyr /ʿayyer/ 'disgrace' (SafDict, 57b), with the implied object of the one who would efface the text. The verb ġnm 'to take spoil', 'to plunder' is previously attested (SafDict, 74a), but here it is attested for the first time with an indirect object introduced by ʿl-.

Editio Princeps
OCIANA

Technique
Incised
Direction of Script
Curving boustrophedon

Associated Drawings
hunting scene: mounted rider pursuing an oryx

  • [SafDict] Al-Jallad, A. & Jaworska, K. A Dictionary of the Safaitic Inscriptions. Leiden: Brill, 2019
  • [Al-Mafraq Museum] Inscriptions kept at the Al-Mafraq Antiquities Office and Museum of uncertain provenances
Site
Unknown, Jordan
Current Location
Al-Mafraq Antiquities Office and Museum
Subjects
Drawing, Genealogy, Outside peoples, Prayer, Raiding
Old OCIANA ID
#0051974
Download Images
Updated 01 Dec, 2024 by Ahmad Al-Jallad