KMA 17-19

Image © G.M.H. King and M.C.A. Macdonald; CC BY
Siglum
KMA 17-19
Transliteration
w ygd -h
b- nzm -k
w ygd
Ahmad Al-Jallad
Translation
And let him find it
among your gifts
and let him find
Ahmad Al-Jallad
Language and Script
Dhofari 1a

Interpretation

Commentary

This text appears to be a fragmentary quotation from some sort of prayer. The reading and interpretation are clear but only a literal translation is possible without further context.

ygd -h: The 3rd person prefix conjugation of wgd 'to find'. The verb is common in Safaitic in the genre of inscription finding. The suffixed 3ms pronoun does not have an overt referent. 

b-: The locative preposotion.

nzm -k: I would suggest understanding nzm as a nominal form of the MSAL root wzm 'to give' (Johnstone 1987: 434), although its exact derivation remains unclear. The -k is the 2nd person suffixed pronoun, perhaps referring to a god if this is a liturgical statement.

 

 

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
Vertical columns right to left

  • 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: 119-147
  • 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 [Unpublished but available on http://www.ancientarabia.co.uk/ under "Projects"/"Dhofar epigraphic project".] 1993.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.
Site
Area A - To the west of the Ṭeeṭam road, Dhofar Governorate, Oman
Date Found
1991-1992
Current Location
In situ
Subject
Query (subject uncertain)
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Updated 16 Nov, 2025 by Ahmad Al-Jallad

Cite this Site

Al-Jallad, Ahmad. 'KMA 17-19.' OCIANA. 16 Nov, 2025. https://ociana.osu.edu/inscriptions/45833. Accessed: 18 Jan, 2026.