BES20 1699

Siglum
BES20 1699
Transliteration
l mḥlm bn ʾfs¹ bn mḥlm bn ʾf{s¹} bn mfny bn tm bn mʿll w s²ṭr {w} wg{m} ʿl- tm w s¹ʿd w nẓr w fdʾl w qdm w ʿmr {w} ḍr w mty w ḥmlg w s²wʾ w mḥlm w tm w ʿlm w yḥmʾl w {d}{m}ṣ w {ẓ}n w ʾnʿm w ʿm w mḥ{l}{m} w bwtṣ w qdm {w} tʾm{ʿ} w {s¹}hm f lʾk l- nl ʾ{ḥ}s¹b s¹nt h- dr bn- rġ{t} h- qnwt f h lt s¹lm l- ḏ s¹ʾr w nqʾt l- ḏ yʿwr h- s¹fr
Josef Bloomfield
Translation
By Mḥlm son of ʾfs¹ son of Mḥlm son of {ʾfs¹} son of Mfny son of Tm son of Mʿll and he was distant from family {and} {he grieved} for Tm and S¹ʿd and Nẓr and Fdʾl and Qdm and ʿmr {and} Ḍr and Mty and Ḥmlg and S²wʾ and Mḥlm and Tm and ʿlm and Yḥmʾl and {Dmṣ} and {Ẓn} and ʾnʿm and ʿm and {Mḥlm} and Bwtṣ and Qdm {and} {Tʾmʿ} and {S¹hm} and so he sent to Nl quantities [of something] in the year that he was in this place among the livestock that were suckling and so O Lt [grant] security to he who remains alive and throw he who would efface this writing [out of his grave]
Josef Bloomfield

Interpretation

Commentary
This is a particularly long inscription, the majority of which is composed of a list of individuals for whom the author is grieving. Following the section about grieving, the author seems to refer to sending ʾḥs¹b to an individual called Nl. The verb lʾk has only been attested once previously in AWS 396, which refers to sending a message to the Roman emperor. The term ʾḥs¹b here seems to be a plural of the Arabic *ḥasab (ʾaḥsāb), a quantity, amount (Hava 117). Following the dating formula, the term rġṯ is uncertain. The final letter could potentially be a y, ṣ, or a possible ṯ. If the reading is y, the term may refer to the Arabic *rāġī, a grumbling camel (Lane 1115a). A more likely reading might be found if the final letter is a ṯ, corresponding to the Arabic *raġūṯ, a ewe suckling. 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 Miqāt, Al-Mafraq Governorate, Jordan
Date Found
2020
Download Images
Updated 02 Jul, 2025 by OCIANA

Cite this Site

Josef Bloomfield, 'BES20 1699,' ed. A. Al-Jallad and M.C.A. Macdonald, OCIANA, 02 Jul, 2025. https://ociana.osu.edu/inscriptions/45631. Accessed: 15 Mar, 2026.