Ry 520
INSCRIPTION INFORMATION
| Language | Ancient South Arabian » Sabaic » Late Sabaic | ||||
| Alphabet | Ancient South Arabian | ||||
| Script typology | Monumental writing | ||||
| Writing technique | Relief | ||||
| Measure of letters | 4 | ||||
| Chronology |
| ||||
| Textual typology | Construction text |
TEXT
1 Ḥrm ʾws²k ḏ-Kbs¹yn w-ḏ-Wdnm w-ḏ-Bnnr w-
2 S¹myṯʿ w-ḏ-S¹dn ʾqwl ʾs²ʿbn Tnʿmm w-Wmʿ—
3 m w-Mdʾl w-Nymn w-ʾyṯʿn w-Ḥlmlm hqs²b—
4 w mkrbn Yʿq b-hgr-hmw Ḍlʿm l-mrʾ-hm—
5 w Rḥmnn bʿl s¹myn l-ḫmr-hmw w-ʾḥs²kt-
6 hw w-wld-hw Rḥmnn ḥyy ḥyw ṣdqm w-
7 mwt mwt ṣdqm w-l-ḫmr-hw Rḥmnn wld—
8 m ṣlḥm s¹bʾm l-s¹m-Rḥmnn w-hqs²bw hw—
9 t mkrbn Yʿwq bn mwṯr-hw ʿdy tfrʿ-hw w-ms³wd-hw w-ʾs¹q—
10 f-hw wrḫ-hw ḏ-Dʾwn ḏ-l-ḫryfn ḏ-l-ʾrbʿt w-s¹bʿy w-ḫms¹ mʾtm
| 2 | Tnʿbm (Ryckmans). |
| 4 | Blʿm as an alternative to Ḍlʿm (Ryckmans). |
TRANSLATIONS
| English | |
1 Ḥrm ʾws²k ḏ-Kbs¹yn, ḏ-Wdnm, ḏ-Bnnr, 2 S¹myṯʿ, ḏ-S¹dn, ʾqwl of the tribe Tnʿmm, Wmʿ- 3 m, Mdʾl, Nymn, ʾyṯʿn, Ḥlmlm built 4 the synagogue Yʿq in their town of Ḍlʿm for their Lord 5 Rḥmnn, Lord of the Heaven, in order that Rḥmnn might grant, to their wifes 6 and to their sons to live a worthy life and 7 to die a worthy death. That Rḥmnn may grant them healthy sons, 8 militant for the Rḥmnn's cause. They built this 9 synagogue Yʿwq from its foundation to its top, its hall and its 10 roofs. In the month of Dʾwn of the year five hundred seventy-four. |
OBJECT INFORMATION
| Support type | Inscription on architectural structure |
| Material | Stone |
| Measures | h. 52, w. 71, th. 14 |
| Link to object record |
ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE
| Modern site | Ṣanʿāʾ (surroundings) |
| Ancient site | Ṣnʿw |
| Geographical area | Sanʿāʾ |
| Country | Yemen |
| Archaeological context | Religious context: Synagogue Yʿq |
| Link to site record |
CULTURAL NOTES
The term mkrb has here the name of Yʿq/Yʿwq, which "correspond curieusement au nom de l'une des idoles noachiques évoquées par le Coran (LXXI, 23), que la tradition localise au Yémen" (Robin 2003: 122). Robin maintains that in the texts of the monotheistic time the terms means exclusively "synagogue", because it disappears when the Christianity will prevail in south Arabia.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
| Ryckmans, Gonzague 1954: 99-105, pl. I | Ryckmans, Gonzague 1954. Inscriptions sud-arabes. Onzième série. Le Muséon, 67: 99-119. |
| Gajda 1997: 50-52 | Gajda, Iwona 1997. Ḥimyar gagné par le monothéisme (IVe-VIe siècle de l'ère chrétienne). Ambitions et ruine d'un royaume de l'Arabie méridionale antique. (Université d'Aix-en-Provence). |
| Müller, Walter W. 2010: 79 | Müller, Walter W. 2010. Sabäische Inschriften nach Ären datiert. Bibliographie, Texte und Glossar. (Veröffentlichungen der Orientalischen Kommission, 53). Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag. |
| Robin 2003 | Robin, Christian J. 2003. Le judaïsme de Ḥimyar. Arabia. Revue de Sabéologie, 1: 97-172. |