KMC 66
Text Information
- Siglum
- KMC 66
- Transliteration
-
{d}w s²ms¹ mʿl s²nt brt gʿfr
Ahmad Al-Jallad
- Translation
-
Exalted S²ms¹, heal S²nt daughter of Gʿfr
Ahmad Al-Jallad
- Language and Script
- Dhofari 1a
Interpretation
- Commentary
-
{d}w: The two letters are ligatured, but cannot be understood as the barbel glyph, as Al-Shaḥrī and King (1993) took it. The first is the undotted circle, which must be read as d and the second w. This should be interpreted as an imperative of the root dwy 'to heal' (Mehri, Johnstone 1987, 76; Arabic, Lane, 940a). On the script, see Al-Jallad 2025d.
s²ms: This is the pan-Semitic solar deity, who was popularly worshipped in East Arabia around the turn of the era. As in East and North Arabia, and in contrast with South Arabia, s²ms is grammatically masculine.
mʿl: This is an epithet, an adjectival form of the root ʿlw meaning 'exalted'. Thamudic B attests a similar epithet with s²ms but using a Gt-stem participle, mtʿly (HU 789 e).
s²nt brt gʿfr: The object of the imperative dw. S²nt is previously attested in Safaitic but as a male anthroponym. The word brt 'daughter' is the feminine of br (Mehri bərt, Johnstone 1987, 54). Gʿfr is unattested in Ancient North Arabian, but finds an equivalent in the common Classical Arabic name Ǧaʿfar (Jaffar).
Ahmad Al-Jallad
- Editio Princeps
- Al-Shaḥrī and King 1993
- Field Collector
- G.M.H. King and A.A.M. Al-Shaḥrī
- Technique
- Painted
- Direction of Script
- Curving left to right
- Al-Jallad, A. The Decipherment of the Dhofari Script: Three halḥam abecedaries and the first glimpses into the corpus. Jaarbericht Ex Oriente Lux (JEOL) 49, 2025d.
- Al-Shaḥrī, A.A.M. & King, G.M.H. The Dhofar Epigraphic Project. A Description of the Inscriptions recorded in 1991 and 1992. [Unpublished but available on http://www.ancientarabia.co.uk/ under "Projects"/"Dhofar epigraphic project".] 1993.
- Johnstone, T.M. Mehri Lexicon and English-Mehri Word-List. With a list of the English definitions in the /Jibbāali Lexicon/ compiled by G.R. Smith. London: School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, 1987.
- [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
- Area C - Between the Thamrayt and Wadi Arzat roads, Dhofar Governorate, Oman
- Date Found
- 1991-1992
- Current Location
- In situ
- Subjects
- Deity, Genealogy, Prayer, Women
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