KME 64

This is another example of an anonymous prayer, employing the root ġfr 'to forgive, pardon', previously attested in KME 218.

ybyt: The first y is extremely eroded, but it can be made out on the enhanced photo.  This verb would appear to be the imperfect prefix conjugation of the root byt 'to spend the night,' reflecting the etymological *yVqattVl pattern (cf. Mehri yesyūr, from the root syr). The verb byt 'to spend the night' or 'to encamp' is attested in Safaitic.

nzʿ: This word can be interpreted in many ways. Its basic meaning in Arabic is 'to remove' or 'to desire' and can be used to express desire, longing for one's family, nazaʿa ʾilā ʾahli-hī (Hava, 754). In Mehri, it mean's to share one's supplies with travellers, which seems to fit the context better as the subject is encamping in this place for the night, clearly on a journey. As such, we should interpret this term as a circumstantial adverb, likely a participle.

dʿ: This is another circumstantial adverb derived from the root dʿw/y 'to supplicate, invoke'. This root is well attested in Safaitic, e.g. HaNSB 307 - dʿy ʾlt 'he called upon Allāt'. The d of this word is unusually small, but its reading is assured when we contrast it with the dotted ʿayns (on the letter shapes, see Al-Jallad 2025d).

l-: The verbal particle indicating purpose or reason, likely the same as the preposition li-. 

yġfrm -h: The subjuntive prefix conjugation of the root ġfr 'to pardon, forgive'. The crossbar of the final m is badly weathered but can still be detected. The plural ending -m is characteristic of the MSALs, cf. Mehri -əm (Rubin 2010: 127). There are some extremely faded marks following the m but it is unclear if they are part of the inscription. The reading h is plausible but not certain.