BES15_MS 281

Siglum
BES15_MS 281
Transliteration
l ʿbdʾl bn ḫrʿt w h rḍ{y} ʿyr m mgn
Phillip Stokes
Translation
By ʿbdʾl son of Ḫrʿt, and Oh Rḍ{y} shame whoever would talk shamelessly [about me?]
Phillip Stokes
Language and Script
Safaitic

Interpretation

Commentary
MGN – This root is heretofore unattested in the Safaitic corpus. The formula, however, provides a clue to the range of possible meanings: an invocation of a deity to harm or disgrace someone who would either efface the inscription, or curse the one to whom it is dedicated. In ClAr, the root MGN can mean “to talk or act inconsiderately” (Steingass 960), or “to hold unseemly talks” (Hava 701). In the context of reading and either blessing or cursing the one to whom it is dedicated, we might imagine the meaning as “to trivialize or talk poorly about” the subject of the inscription.

  • [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 281,' ed. A. Al-Jallad and M.C.A. Macdonald, OCIANA, 19 Oct, 2026. https://ociana.osu.edu/inscriptions/46965. Accessed: 29 Oct, 2026.