BES20 367

Siglum
BES20 367
Transliteration
l ʾḏnt bn ḫlf bn ḥmn bn ḫṭs¹t bn flṭ bn bhs² w wg{d} ʾṯr dd -h f bʾs¹ mwl f h bʿls¹mn s¹lm m- {b}ʾs¹
Josef Bloomfield
Translation
By ʾḏnt son of Ḫlf son of Ḥmn son of Ḫṭs¹t son of Flṭ son of Bhs² and {he found} the trace of his paternal uncle so [his] despair became abundant and so O Bʿls¹mn grant security from {despair}
Josef Bloomfield
Language and Script
Safaitic 1

Interpretation

Commentary
The use of bʾs¹ mwl to describe the author’s increasing despair/misfortune is an odd one, given that mwl typically refers to the abundance of something positive, such as herbage, wealth etc. The translation provided keeps the term abundance, which, whilst sounding strange in conjunction with the negativity of grief, best represents the contrast between the noun and verb. Given that bʾs¹ seems to come as a result of finding the trace of his paternal uncle, a translation of ‘despair’ seems more appropriate than ‘misfortune’. Josef Bloomfield

Editio Princeps
OCIANA
Field Collector
BES20 team

Associated Inscriptions

  • [BES20] Inscriptions recorded during the Badia Epigraphic Survey 2020 and published here
Site
Wādī Mismā al-Sharqī, Al-Mafraq Governorate, Jordan
Date Found
2020
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Updated 02 Jul, 2025 by OCIANA

Cite this Site

Bloomfield, Josef. 'BES20 367.' OCIANA. 02 Jul, 2025. https://ociana.osu.edu/inscriptions/44294. Accessed: 29 Aug, 2025.