BES15_MS 29

Siglum
BES15_MS 29
Transliteration
---- bn mḥlm bn tm w ḫyṭ bry knn w ts²{r}y bʿ{l}s¹mn l- yrwḥ l- h- mdnt
Phillip Stokes
Translation
…son of Mḥlm son of Tm and and journeyed in the abundance of Knn, but then Bʿls¹mn absconded, no longer sending relief to the province
Phillip Stokes
Language and Script
Safaitic

Interpretation

Commentary
BRY KNN – This word or phrase is so far unattested in the Safaitic corpus, and, given the context of the inscription, there are several possible interpretations. One possibility is that it is from the root bry, and means something like “earth, dust,” which is well attested in CAr (baran < *barayun; see Lane 197). It is the first member of a construct with the following word, knn “month of kānūn,” and would produce the reading “in the dust of Kānūn.” Kānūn is a Babylonian month name, which corresponds to December–January (as it does in the modern Levantine Arab calendar; see full discussion of this in Al-Jallad 2016: Appendix III), and it was during the winter months that the seasonal rains fell and during which the nomads that produced the Safaitic inscriptions would typically have gone into the inner desert to graze their camels and flocks (Macdonald 1992). The phrase bry knn, “dust of Knn,” could then suggest a drought, which fits the context of the rest of the inscription. If we accept this interpretation, then the following phrase w ts²ry could be translated as “because (Bʿls¹mn) scattered,” with the conjunction w indicating reason and logical coordination rather than sequential (for other examples of the same usage in Safaitic, see Al-Jallad 2026: §17.3). It is also possible to interpret bry here as made up of the preposition b “in, at, with,” and a noun from the root rwy “to be satisfied with drinking of water; become flourishing and fresh (by reason of plentiful irrigation)” (Lane 1194). CAr attests a form, rayyun/riyyun, “plentiful watering; luxuriant verdure” (Steingass 444) that matches the form attested here. Such an interpretation would essentially be the opposite of the first option discussed, meaning “in the plentiful watering/lush vegetation of Knn.” The preposition b is the normal preposition used to express location in time (Al-Jallad 2026: 146). If we follow this interpretation, we should perhaps understand w ts²ry as “and then (Bʿls¹mn) scattered,” with w indicating sequentially subsequent narrative. Finally, it is possible to take it as a misspelling of rʾy ‘beginning’, ‘sighting’, in which case it refers to the beginning, or even new moon, of the month of Kanūn; see Al-Jallad 2024. LYRWḤ – The l is possibly to be interpreted as the asseverative l prefixed to the 3ms PC from the root rwḥ. Al-Jallad (2016: Appendix II) has argued that the root rwḥ in petitions to a deity, especially Bʿls¹mn “the Lord of the Heavens,” should be understood as a prayer for the winds that bring rain. The semantic nuance of rwḥ as “send relief to” or “send rains for” is perhaps here indicated by the use of the preposition l- “to, for,” rather than the ʾl, used for direction “to, toward,” in the following phrase l-h-mdnt “for the province.” Another possibility is that l is the negator (/lā/), and l yrwḥ should be read as “he will not send relief.” In favor of such a reading is the fact that the optative is usually expressed in Safaitic by means of the suffix conjugation: f h lt rwḥ “Oh Lt, send relief!” (RSIS 199, quoted from Al-2026).

  • [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 29,' ed. A. Al-Jallad and M.C.A. Macdonald, OCIANA, 19 Oct, 2026. https://ociana.osu.edu/inscriptions/46713. Accessed: 27 Oct, 2026.