ASWG 1

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Siglum
ASWG 1
Transliteration
l bnḥrbn bn mʿz bn zbd bn rb w rʿy s¹bʿt ʾgm ḫlf ġnyt f lm ys¹ʿd w s¹mʿ ngʾt w rʾy s²r mn- -h f trḥ f h lt mn- ʿmn {w} {ḏ}s²r mn- rqm ġnyt w s¹lm m- bʾ{s¹}
Al-Jallad 2020c
Translation
By Bnḥrbn son of Mʿz son of Zbd son of Rb and he pastured during (the heliacal rising) of the Seven Stars (= Pleiades) on the herbage following the (the season of) abundance but he suffered misfortune and suspected the Evil Eye as he saw its evil and despaired so ,O Lt, (who is) from ʿmn, and Ḏs²r, (who is) from Rqm (Petra), [grant] abundance that he may be secure from misfortune
Al-Jallad 2020c
Language and Script
Safaitic 1

Interpretation

Commentary

s¹bʿt ʾgm: The term ʾgm transcribes the plural of nagm- 'star', likely vocalized as /ʾaggom/ or /ʾaggām/.

ngʾt: Compare with Classical Arabic naǧaʾa-hū naǧʾtan ‘he afflicted him by an evil eye’ (Lane, Lexicon, p. 2764c).

ʿmn: This is a toponym, likely the mythical origin of Allāt. It appears in Nabataean as ʿmnw and in Greek transcription as Ομανος, indicating that it should be vocalized as /ʿomān/. The term likely refers to a site in southern Jordan, perhaps around Wādī Rum. There is a local tribe of ʿmn as well as a toponym mentioned in Dadanitic, ḏ-ʿmn. See Al-Jallad 2020c for a full discussion.

rqm: This corresponds to rqmw = reqem, raqmo, the Nabataean capital, Petra. 

Editio Princeps
Al-Jallad 2020c
Field Collector
BES18 team

Technique
Incised
Direction of Script
Curving boustrophedon

Associated Signs
cartouche
Associated Inscriptions

  • [ASWG] Al-Jallad, A.M. The Seven Stars, Allāt from ʿmn and Dusares from rqm: a new Safaitic astronomical text.Semitica et Classica 13, 2020c: 303-314
  • [Lane] 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.
Site
Wādī al-Ġuṣayn, Al-Mafraq Governorate, Jordan
Date Found
2018
Current Location
In situ
Subjects
Astronomical, Curse, Deity, Genealogy, Pasturing, Place-name, Prayer, Religion, Season, Time, Weather
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Updated 09 Apr, 2025 by Ahmad Al-Jallad