BES15_MS 237

Siglum
BES15_MS 237
Transliteration
l ḃnt bn ʾys¹ bn ḥd bn ʾys¹ bn ʾs²mt bn ʾnhk bn kʿmh w wgd ʾṯr ʾḫ- h ms²dt f ts²wq ʾlh f h lt qbll s¹lm w wgm ʿl ʾḫt- h hgr wʿl ḥd w ʿl t(ḫ)rṣ bn ḫl- h w ʿl ṣyd dd- h w ʿl ʿmr ḃnt dd- h w ʿl s¹md dd- h w ʿl ms¹kn rġmn mny w wgm f wny f h lt w ds²r s²rd w s¹lm l- ḏ sʾr w ʿs¹f ḏ ḫbl h- s¹fr w rḍy ḏ d{ʿ}{y}
Phillip Stokes
Translation
By Bnt son of ʾys¹ son of Ḥd son of ʾys¹ son of ʾs²mt son of ʾnhk son of Kʿmh and he found the trace of his brother Ms²dt and he longed for him; Oh Lt, may they have safe reunion! And he grieved for his sister Hgr and for Ḥd and for Tḫrṣ son of his uncle and for Ṣyd his uncle and for ʿmr daughter of his uncle and for S¹md his uncle and for Ms¹kn, all struck down by fate. And he grieved and became weak, so Oh Lt and Ds²r may the one who remains take flight and be safe, and may the one who effaces this inscription wander aimlessly, and the one who [reads it and] invokes a prayer be satisfied
Phillip Stokes
Language and Script
Safaitic

Interpretation

Commentary
S²RD – This root is attested in several Safaitic inscriptions (MISSE 2; Al-Mafraq Museum 43) with a basic meaning of “to escape; to be driven away, dispersed” (also attested in Classical Arabic with the same cluster of meanings; see Lane 1531b). In this inscription, the meaning “escape” seems to suit the context, which is a petition to the deities Lt and Ds²r for escape and “peace for whoever leaves untouched (the inscription).” Given the large number of individuals who have died, it may be that a natural disaster of some sort has claimed the lives of the majority of the author’s family. ʿS¹F – This root has not so far been attested in the corpus of Safaitic inscriptions, but it is attested in Classical Arabic sources meaning “to swerve from the road; wander in the desert; be cruel and oppressive” (Steingass 694). In this inscription, the root is part of the curse against whoever would efface the inscription. The most common verb in this part of the formula is ʿwr “to blind s.o.” In this case we may read the verb as either “may he wander aimlessly (in the desert),” or as a noun “oppression, cruelty.”

  • [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 237,' ed. A. Al-Jallad and M.C.A. Macdonald, OCIANA, 19 Oct, 2026. https://ociana.osu.edu/inscriptions/46921. Accessed: 24 Oct, 2026.