BES15_MS 16

Siglum
BES15_MS 16
Transliteration
l nfzt bn ʿmhm w nẓr h- mẓr w rʿy ṯrd b- rʾy mlḥ
Phillip Stokes
Translation
By nfzt son of ʿmhm and he guarded the lookout and he pastured the area during light rain in the rising of Aquarius
Phillip Stokes
Language and Script
Safaitic

Interpretation

Commentary
ṮRD/ṢRD – There is a bit of damage to the rock at the point where the y of rʿy and first letter of this word are written, producing a bit of uncertainty. It is probably to be read as a ṯ, but a reading of a ṣ is also possible. The root ṣrd is attested in several inscriptions as a personal name (cf. C 2847, 3068), but never, to my knowledge, as a noun or a verb. The root is attested in the CAr dictionaries with the meaning “(intense) cold” (Lane 1677). This would produce a reading of “and he pastured while cold/during (extreme) cold.” Hava (386), however, gives an additional meaning of “elevated point of a mountain.” Given that the content of the inscriptions specifies that the author had kept watch at a lookout, I suggest that the latter meaning makes the most sense in the limited context of this inscription, and therefore translate the phrase as “and he pastured on elevated ground.” The word ṯrd is so far otherwise unattested in the Safaitic corpus, but it is known from CAr. The root is attested with a variety of meanings, including “he crumbled a thing,” or “he broke it into small pieces,” usually the breaking of bread into pieces and softening it with broth (Lane 334). Though the verbs from this root do not make much sense in this inscription, the noun ṯardun is attested with the meaning “weak rain” (Lane 334). In the context of the inscription, we can plausibly read this portion of the inscription as “and he pastured (during? after?) light rain.” Given the context of the inscription, in the rainy season (see below), the reference here to a weak rain might suggest a relatively dry winter, though the author does not indicate a drought. It is perhaps more likely that the word was a toponym, or perhaps referred to land that had received a light rain. Given the seasonal context, during the late winter rains, I tentatively translate this phrase as “and he pastured an area after light rain.” B-RʾY MLḤ – Al-Jallad (2014; 2016) has identified this as a time period, likely referring to the beginning of a winter period, likely corresponding to Aquarius, mid-January to mid-February. M.C.A. Macdonald (1992), based on similar patterns from the Rwala Bedouin, has identified the names of the different seasons, as well as the patterns of migration common in each, in the Safaitic inscriptions. Based on their work, we can suggest that the sun would have occupied mlḥ during the latter part of the winter (s²ty), and the heliacal rising would have occurred at the beginning of the season of the later rains (dṯʾ). The second portion of the inscription should thus be read “and he pastured ground that had received light rain during the rising of mlḥ,” perhaps a complaint of insufficient precipitation.

  • [BES15_MS] Stokes, P. The Badia Epigraphic Survey: The Safaitic Inscriptions of Marabb al-Shurafāt BES 2015. OCIANA: Zenodo, 2026. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.23482253.
Site
Marabb al-Shurafāt, Al-Mafraq Governorate, Jordan
Date Found
Jun-15
Current Location
In situ
Updated 19 Oct, 2026 by OCIANA

Cite this Site

Phillip Stokes, 'BES15_MS 16,' ed. A. Al-Jallad and M.C.A. Macdonald, OCIANA, 19 Oct, 2026. https://ociana.osu.edu/inscriptions/46700. Accessed: 27 Oct, 2026.