KMD 18-20

This is a unique text that records three generations of a family showing devotion to a deity called Rm 'high, exalted', who is rather well attested in Script 2 (Al-Jallad 2025e). The columns would seem to have been written by a man called S²m, mentioning his father and sons.

ʾb: Likely ʾabū 'father', attested previously in Dhofari 1a. It is possible that ʾbs²m should be construed as a single name, but the following columns suggest rather that it is a phrase. 

s²m: This name is previously attested in ANA.

ʾn: The 1st person singular independent pronoun, previously attested in Dhofari KMJ 41-43.

ʿqr: This personal name is attested previously in Safaitic. If it is a local name, it would seem to derive from the Mehri root ʿqr 'to be big' (Johnstone 1987: 20).

lt: This name is attested only three times in Safaitic and probably derives from the verb latta 'to pound'

bn: The dual or plural of the singular br 'son', attested previously in DhSh 3 and 4.3. The n is comparatively shorter than that of ʾn, but it is still a dash rather than a dot, ruling out the r reading. The reason for this seems to a rough patch on the rock beneath this section, which forced the author to compress his letters. This also affects the shape of the following s².

kwr: This appears to be cognate with the Mehri verb kīwer 'to love, like' (Johnstone 1987: 218) and is likely a plural form.

rm: Likely a divine epithet, rām 'high', 'exalted', compare with Aramaic rām ‘high’, ‘tall.’ The divine name appears in Script 2 inscriptions rather frequently, e.g. KMHH 29, KMHH 30c, etc.