KMA 20

Image © G.M.H. King and M.C.A. Macdonald; CC BY
Siglum
KMA 20
Transliteration
w ygh [[-h]] w ytrʿb
Ahmad Al-Jallad
Translation
and he sought [[it]] and was afraid
Ahmad Al-Jallad
Language and Script
Dhofari 1a

Interpretation

Commentary

This text consists of two verbs. It's possible that it's related compositionally to KMA 17-19.

ygh -h: The author originally comitted a haplology, writing ygh for ygh-h, but then inserting the second h to the right of the text. The verb would appear to derive from the root wgh, which can mean 'to face', 'to dispatch', etc. (Hava, 846). I chose the meaning 'to seek' for balance with the ygd 'to find' verbs of KMA 17-19.

ytrʿb: The is a T-stem verb of rʿb 'to fear'. In Mehri, the verb means to be demon possessed (Johnstone 1987: 311). 

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 column

  • 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 [Unpublished but available on http://www.ancientarabia.co.uk/ under "Projects"/"Dhofar epigraphic project".] 1993.
  • [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 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 15 Sep, 2025 by Ahmad Al-Jallad

Cite this Site

Al-Jallad, Ahmad. 'KMA 20.' OCIANA. 15 Sep, 2025. https://ociana.osu.edu/inscriptions/45834. Accessed: 20 Feb, 2026.