GETham 2
Text Information
- Siglum
- GETham 2
- Transliteration
-
l (l)hn wdd ns²l ḏ ʿtq
w bnṯḍl ḫṭṭ ḏ m n ḏ b (.)Ahmad Al-Jallad (OCIANA) - Translation
-
(Llhn) greets Ns²l who was freed and Bnṯḍl carved this m n ḏ b (.)
Ahmad Al-Jallad (OCIANA)
- Language and Script
- Thamudic B
Interpretation
- Apparatus Criticus
Van den Branden (1985, 240) reads this as two inscriptions:
1. llhn wdd nsl ḏʿtq 'Par Lahn. Il salue Nasl ḏû-ʿAtîq' 2. wbn ṯṭlt ḥb ḏmr ḏbl 'Et est resté (ici) Ṯaṭṭʾ ilat. Il aime Ḏamir ḏû-Ball'- Commentary
The final five glyphs of the inscription appear to have been poorly carved and the word(s) they form are not readily interpretable. The final glyph, as copied, is not Thamudic B nor does it appear in the repertoire of any other ANA script. The first name llhn is also not attested; this reading may be the result of miscopying as well. The name lhn is attested twice in Safaitic (OCIANA, Jan 15, 2025).
If the copy is accurate, then the first line contains a relative clause introduced by the pronoun ḏ followed by a verb ʿtq, which can be compared to Classical Arabic ʿataqa 'to become free, to be emancipated from slavery.' The verb can also mean 'to grow old' (as it does in Aramaic), so the translation 'Ns²l, who has grown old' is equally possible. It is also possible to take ḏ as introducing a clan name, but in Thamudic B and in ANA in general, we would expect the term ʾl 'lineage' to precede the group name.
- Editio Princeps
- F. W. Green 1909b
- Field Collector
- W. F. Hume and F. W. Green
- Technique
- Hand copy
- Direction of Script
- Right to left
- Associated Drawings
- mounted camel
- [GETham] Green, F.W. Notes on some inscriptions in the Etbai District, II. Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archaeology 31, 1909b: 319-322, pls LI–LIV, nos 11– 12 on Pl. LII
- Van den Branden, A. Inscriptions thamoudéennes de l'Égypte. Al-Machriq 52, 1958a: 238-241.
- Site
- Wādī Gadami and Wādī Ḥamāmah, Eastern desert, Egypt
- Date Found
- 1897-1898
- Current Location
- In situ
- Subject
- greetings or love (wdd)
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