BES20 672

Image © Badia Epigraphic Survey 2020 CC BY
Siglum
BES20 672
Transliteration
l qḏy bn ṯfl bn zdh bn ʾḫwf bn ʾs¹l{m} {b}{n} {y}{ʾ}{s¹}----{ḫ}----{b}{n} m{l}q {ḏ-} ʾl ns¹m f h lt {n}qmt w ʿyr ḏ yʿwr s¹fr w s¹ḥwy tl ḏ yḥ{m}y
Ahmad Al-Jallad
Translation
By Qḏy son of Ṯfl son of Zdh son of ʾḫwf son of {ʾs¹lm} {son of} {Yʾs¹}----{ḫ}---- {son of} {Mlq} {of} the lineage of Ns¹m and so O Lt [inflict] {vengeance} and disgrace he who would efface [this] writing and and wipe away the words of the one who would protect (him, i.e. the effacer)
Ahmad Al-Jallad
Language and Script
Safaitic 1

Interpretation

Commentary

This inscription presents a creative curse against the effacer and his companions. 

s¹ḥwy: This is an infinitive of command, from the root s¹ḥw 'to wipe away, erase' (Lane, 1322b). Morphologically, we must be dealing with a faʿlāʾ pattern, giving us /saḥwāy/.

tl: This is one of the words for 'inscription,' likely meaning 'words' (SafDict, 132). Its more common form is tll.

yḥmy: The prefix conjugated verb of ḥmy 'to protect' (Lane, 631b). The spelling of the final y could suggest that it is a plural, /yaḥmeyū/.

Ahmad Al-Jallad

Editio Princeps
OCIANA
Field Collector
BES20 team

Technique
Incised
Direction of Script
Curving boustrophedon

  • [SafDict] Al-Jallad, A. & Jaworska, K. A Dictionary of the Safaitic Inscriptions. Leiden: Brill, 2019
  • [BES20] Inscriptions recorded during the Badia Epigraphic Survey 2020 and published here
  • [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 Mismā al-Sharqī, Al-Mafraq Governorate, Jordan
Date Found
2020
Current Location
In situ
Subjects
Curse, Deity, Genealogy, Lineage, Vengeance
Download Images
Updated 27 Mar, 2026 by Ahmad Al-Jallad

Cite this Site

Ahmad Al-Jallad, 'BES20 672,' ed. A. Al-Jallad and M.C.A. Macdonald, OCIANA, 27 Mar, 2026. https://ociana.osu.edu/inscriptions/44599. Accessed: 24 Apr, 2026.