Ibrahim al-Hudayd 1
INSCRIPTION INFORMATION
| Language | Ancient South Arabian » Sabaic » Late Sabaic | ||||
| Alphabet | Ancient South Arabian | ||||
| Script typology | Monumental writing | ||||
| Writing technique | Relief | ||||
| Chronology |
| ||||
| Textual typology | Construction text |
TEXT
1 [ʾbym b]n ʾbs²mr w-ḥs²(k)t-hw ʾbʿly w-ʾlwd-hmy Y[..]—
2 [.. w-] (M)rṯdʾln bnw Ḥryn w-Ḏrḥ w-Khnl w-Bʾln w-
3 Nḥs¹n w-Hywtm brʾw w-hwṯrn w-hs²qrn byt-hmw
4 Yrs³ l-ḥyw w-ṣlḥ ʾfs¹-hmw w-ʾlwd-hmw
5 w-s¹hm-hmw w-nʿm-hmw w-b-
6 rdʾ w-ḫyl mrʾ-hmw ʾln
7 bʿl s¹myn w-ʾrḍn w-b-rdʾ
8 s²ʿb-hmw Ys³rʾl w-b-rdʾ mrʾ-hmw S²rḥ(b)—
9 ʾl mlk S¹bʾ w-ḏ-Rydn w-Ḥḍrmwt w-l-(ḫ)—
10 mr-hmw b-hw Rḥmnn ḥywm ks³ḥ[m] wr[ḫ]-
11 hw ḏ-Ṯbtn ḏ-l-ṯmny w-ḫms¹ mʾ[tm] (ʾm)[n]
| 1 | Robin integrates the first name: [Bny](m)n. The reading: ʾbym b]n is suggested by Müller on the basis of the first monogram. |
| 1-2 | (Y)[hw-d](ʾ) (Robin). |
| 2 | at the end of the line Ḏʾln (Gajda). |
| 11 | Müller integrates a w- before ʾmn. |
TRANSLATIONS
| English | |
1 [ʾbym son of] ʾbs²mr, his wife ʾbʿly and their children [..] 2 [..] Mrṯdʾln, those of the clan Ḥryn, Ḏrḥ, Khnl, Bʾln, 3 Nḥs¹n and Hywtm built, laid foundations, completed their house 4 Yrs³ for the life and the prosperity of themselves, their children, 5 their servants and their possession. With 6 the help and the power of their Lord ʾln, 7 the Master of the heaven and of the earth, and with the help 8 of their tribe of Israel and with the help of their lord S²rḥbʾl, 9 king of Sabaʾ, ḏu-Raydān and Ḥaḍramawt. May 10 Rḥmnn give in it (in the house) an unblemished life. The month 11 of Ṯbtn of the year five hundred eighty. Amen. |
OBJECT INFORMATION
| Deposit | Ẓafār, Museum, ZM 2000 |
| Support type | Inscription on architectural structure |
| Material | Stone |
| Link to object record |
ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE
| Modern site | Unknown |
| Ancient site | Unknown |
| Geographical area | Unknown |
| Country | Unknown |
| Archaeological context | Urban context: Private house Yrs³ |
| Link to site record |
CULTURAL NOTES
This inscription is considered by Gajda the first certain evidence of a conversion of the south Arabian inhabitants to Judaism (but see Gar Bayt al-Ashawal 1, one century earlier, and the remarks on it).
The king S²rḥbʾl, who is to identify with S²rḥbʾl Ykf according to the editor, bears curiously the short title of mlk S¹bʾ w-ḏ Rydn w-Ḥḍrmwt.
This however has other parallels in earlier times (for instance during the reign of Ṯʾrn Yhnʿm) and does not reflect any political change.
This however has other parallels in earlier times (for instance during the reign of Ṯʾrn Yhnʿm) and does not reflect any political change.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
| Gajda 2004 a: 197-202 | Gajda, Iwona 2004. Une nouvelle inscription juive de Ẓafār. Pages 197-202 in Alexander V. Sedov (ed.). Scripta Yemenica. Issledovanija po Južnoj Aravii. Sbornik naučnyh statej v čest' 60-letija M.B. Piotrovskogo. Moscow: Vostochna. |
| Robin 2004 a: 882-883 | Robin, Christian J. 2004. Ḥimyar et Israël. Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres: 831-908. |
| Müller, Walter W. 2010: 81-82 | Müller, Walter W. 2010. Sabäische Inschriften nach Ären datiert. Bibliographie, Texte und Glossar. (Veröffentlichungen der Orientalischen Kommission, 53). Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag. |