BES25_MG1 22.1

This is a rare example of a contractual agreement concerning raiding displayed publicly on stone, although its precise interpretation is open to debate. The covenant outlines one of two arrangements: either the division of twenty-one horses plundered from the inner desert, or a temporary alliance where a group commits twenty-one horsemen to a raid. This recalls the ʾlf 'pact' concerning plunder in AWS 385. The prayer continues onto another face of the rock, where later BES25_MG1 22.2 was carved by possibly his son. 

h-ʾṣr h-ġnm: This is a noun-adjective construction, where the first element is cognate with Classical Arabic ʾiṣrun 'a covenant, pact, contract' (Lane, 63a). While the substantive ġnmt 'spoil, plunder' is well attested, the adjective, perhaps /ġanīm/ 'raiding' is attested for the first time here. It is also possible to understand it as a noun, in which case we would interpret ʾṣr h-ġnm 'the pact of spoil' as a construct-genitive phrase preceded by the demonstrative element h-.

ʾḥdʿs²rn: The numeral 21 differs from its Classical Arabic counterpart in employing the form ʾḥd instead of wḥd and lacking a conjunction between the digit and the decade. 

ngy ḥd b-mgd: The precise meaning of this phrase is difficult to determine. The consonantal skeleton ngy is open to a number of interpretations (Macdonald 2014; Al-Jallad 2022a: 105-108). It could be taken as the common verb for 'announcing' the leadership of a raiding party or alliance, with its subject being ḥd. The phrase b-mgd, however, sits in the position of the usual term hdy meaning 'commander.' On the other hand, it can be construed as a verb of motion meaning 'to go forth to fight.' The b- preposition can introduce a location in place or time or an adverbial phrase. Thus, mgd, literally 'abundance', could refer to a rainy period of the year, a location that abounds in herbage, or simply mean 'greatness', paralleling ʿẓm in SIJ 293.

• BES25_MG1 22.2