BES20 979

Siglum
BES20 979
Transliteration
l ġnm bn bzz h- {ʿ/b}krt
Josef Bloomfield
Translation
By Ġnm son of Bzz is this {group of camels} [or {she-camel}]
Josef Bloomfield
Language and Script
Safaitic 1

Interpretation

Commentary
The first letter of the final word looks clearly like a ʿ. Upon close inspection of the photograph, the right side of the letter seems lightly fainter to the left, which may suggest it is damage. This would read as a small b. If we accept a reading of ʿ, the noun ʿkrt has not previously been attested. Hava (483b) records the Classical Arabic ʿakrah, a troop of camels. Given that there are a number of large depictions of camels on the stone face, this meaning seems possible. If the initial letter is a b, then the reading would be the common bkrt. Josef Bloomfield

Editio Princeps
OCIANA
Field Collector
BES20 team

Associated Drawings
Four she-camel drawings, an ibex drawing contained within a cartouche (seemingly referred to in BES20 983), two quadrupeds (possibly gazelle), one oryx drawing
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
Download Images
Updated 02 Jul, 2025 by OCIANA

Cite this Site

Bloomfield, Josef. 'BES20 979.' OCIANA. 02 Jul, 2025. https://ociana.osu.edu/inscriptions/44910. Accessed: 14 Aug, 2025.