CSNS 381

Siglum: CSNS 381
Transliteration: l ʾs¹ bn yṣḥḥ w ṣyd ʿr mn- ngd
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Translation: By ʾs¹ son of Yṣḥḥ and he was pursuing a hybrid from Ngd
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Language and Script: Safaitic

Interpretation

Apparatus Criticus: CSNS 381: ʿr "onagers" for "hybrid"
Commentary: See Macdonald (in press, a) for the reasons for translating ʿ(y)r in Safaitic as a hybrid, that is a "mule" (the offspring of a male donkey x female horse) or a "hinny" (the offspring of a male horse x female donkey). However, it would be extremely unusual to hunt hybrids, which are after all man-made and the word for "wild ass" in Safaitic is ʿrd (plural ʾʿrd), so it may be that the author was pursuing an animal which had escaped.

[CSNS] Clark, V.A. A Study of New Safaitic Inscriptions from Jordan. Thesis presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Department of Middle Eastern Studies, University of Melbourne. Ann Arbor, MI: University Microfilms International, 1979 [1983].
Macdonald, M.C.A. Horses, asses, hybrids, and their uses in the ancient rock-art of the Syro-Arabian desert. in K. Linduff & P. Raulwing (eds), Equids in the Ancient Near East, Egypt, and Arabia. Proceedings of a conference in memory of Mary Aitken Littauer. Oxford: BAR, 2019.

Updated 16 Sep, 2024 by OCIANA