BES25_MG1 14

fnt: AAWAB 5 records another individual said to have camped (ḥḍr) at/near fnyt. In the present inscription, the place name is written fnt, likely reflecting the orthographic omission of the glide ⟨y⟩.

ʾlh ʾs²br: For ʾl{s²}h, although the grapheme ⟨s²⟩ is visible within the word, it appears to have been deliberately erased by the author, presumably as a correction. The sequence is therefore best understood as ʾlh (“god of”), forming a construct phrase with the following proper noun ʾs²br, i.e., “the god of ʾs²br.” It is significant that ʾs²br is otherwise completely unattested in Safaitic. The conjunction w preceding ʾlh coordinates the phrase with the preceding divine names Lt and Ds²r, indicating that ʾlh ʾs²br constitutes a third invoked deity rather than the object of the petition.

The author states that he built on behalf of Ẓʿn. While the nature of the structure is not specified, it may have been a funerary installation. Comparable expressions refer to the construction of a s¹tr /setr/, a funerary tent (Al-Jallad 2022, 37-40), as in BES15 871, or a ṣwy (ṣewāy), i.e., a funerary cairn. The expression bny ʿl-ẓʿn "he built for Ẓʿn" is attested in a number of other inscriptions from this site, suggesting that our author participated in the burial of Ẓʿn. In BES20 616, LP 585, NAJ 1, and NSR 52.1, individuals are likewise said to grieve for Ẓʿn, although these references may pertain to different individuals bearing the same name, which is common in ANA.