CSAI

Corpus of South Arabian Inscriptions

DASI

Ja 633 MaMB 271; Sh 16


INSCRIPTION INFORMATION

LanguageAncient South Arabian » Sabaic » Central Middle Sabaic
AlphabetAncient South Arabian
Script typologyMonumental writing
Writing techniqueIncision
Measure of letters3.2
Chronology
PeriodD
Textual typologyDedicatory text

TEXT


   1  [ʾbkr](b) ʾḥrs¹ b(n)[ ʿblm]
   2  w-Yḥmḏl hqny ʾlmqh (Ṯ)[hwn]
   3  bʿl-ʾwm ṣlmn ḏ-ḏhbn ḥg-n w[q]—
   4  h-hw b-ms¹ʾl-hw l-wfy grb-hw w-l-h[ʿ]—
   5  nn-hw bn ḥlẓ ḥlẓ l-n ḏ-ʾtw bn
   6  mqmn ḏ-Lḥgm b-kn blt-hw mrʾ-h—
   7  w l-qdmn w-qwm b-ʿm ʾḥmrn b-ʾbdt—
   8  m ḏ-kwnw byn ḫms¹nhn w-yḥlẓn
   9  hwt ḥlẓn drm b-ḫrfm ʿdy ḏt t—
  10  fl b-ʿm ʾlmqh w-wqh-hw l-ḏt hqny—
  11  tn w-l-s¹tʿnn-hw drm b-ḫrfm l-ʿbr-hw
  12  l-n tkwn ḏt hqnytn w-l-ʾḫr w-ʾlm—
  13  qh f-s²ft w-hʾmnn w-ṣry w-tbs²rn
  14  ʿbd-hw ʾbkrb b-rbḫ w-ḥyw bn hwt
  15  ḥlẓn l-n tkwn ḏt hqnytn w-l-ʾḫ—
  16  r l-n wrḫ ḏ-Dnm ḏ-ḫrf ʾbkrb bn
  17  [Mʿ]dkrb bn Fḍḥm w-l-ḫmr-hw ʾlmqh
  18  ḥẓy mrʾ-hw S²ʿrm ʾwtr mlk S¹—
  19  bʾ w-ḏ-Rydn bn ʿlhn Nhfn mlk
  20  S¹bʾ w-l-ḫryn-hw ʾlmqh bn nḍʿ
  21  w-s²ṣy s²nʾm b-ʾlmqh bʿl-ʾwm

TRANSLATIONS

CSAI
English

   1  ʾbkrb ʾḥrs¹, of the family [ʿblm]
   2  and Yḥmḏl, dedicated to ʾlmqh Ṯhwn,
   3  Lord of ʾwm, the statue in bronze as He ordered
   4  him in His oracle for the safety of his person and for that He delivered
   5  him from the disease of which he suffered since he returned from
   6  the post ḏ-Lḥgm, when his lord despatched him
   7  to lead and organize the Ḥimyarites in irregular troops (?),
   8  which were between the two armies and he suffered
   9  from that disease once a year until He implored a good omen
  10  from ʾlmqh and He ordered him this dedication
  11  and that he should seek help from Him once a year, on his responsabiliby,
  12  since the moment when this dedication would take place and for the future; and ʾlmqh
  13  promised and protected and gave favourable oracles and good news
  14  to His servant ʾbkrb regarding the survival and the life from that
  15  disease since the moment when this dedication would take place and for the future
  16  since the month of ḏ-Dnm of the year of ʾbkrb son of
  17  Mʿdkrb of the family Fḍḥm; may ʾlmqh grant him
  18  the goodwill of his lord S²ʿrm ʾwtr, king of Sabaʾ
  19  and ḏu-Raydān, son of ʿlhn Nhfn, king of
  20  Sabaʾ, and may ʾlmqh deliver him from the malice
  21  and the maleficence of any enemy. By ʾlmqh Lord of ʾwm.
6-8Beeston 1972 a's translation of the lines: "the care, along with the Ḥimyarites, of the ʾbdt who were in both armies". For ʾbdt he proposed "irregulars" on the basis of Ar. ābid "wilderness, untamed". However, in the SD, the translation for qwm b-ʿm is: "to organize (troops)", suggesting a translation "to direct the Ḥimyarites in irregular troops (?)".
Corrections to Jamme's translations in Höfner 1964 and Ryckmans 1966.
Höfner 1964 b: 425Höfner, Maria 1964. Review of Jamme, Albert W.F. 1962. Sabaean Inscriptions from Maḥram Bilqîs (Mârib). (Publications of the American Foundation for the Study of Man, 3). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press. Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft, 114: 423-426.
Ryckmans, Jacques 1966: 484-485Ryckmans, Jacques 1966. Himyaritica 2. Le Muséon, 79: 475-500.
Beeston 1972 a: 537-538Beeston, Alfred F.L. 1972. Notes on old South Arabian lexicography VII. Le Muséon, 85: 535-544.

OBJECT INFORMATION

Support typeArtefact » Base » Of statue with dedicatory inscription
MaterialStone
Measuresh. 39.7, th. 24
Link to object record

ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE

Origin and provenance
Modern siteMaḥram Bilqīs
Ancient siteʾwm
Geographical areaMaʾrib
CountryYemen
Archaeological contextReligious context: Temple of ʾlmqh Ṯhwn bʿl ʾwm
Link to site record

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Jamme 1962 a: 135-136Jamme, Albert W.F. 1962. Sabaean Inscriptions from Maḥram Bilqîs (Mârib). (Publications of the American Foundation for the Study of Man, 3). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press.