MAFRAY-Ḥaṣī 1
Robin 2001 b: 208, fig. 3
INSCRIPTION INFORMATION
| Language | Ancient South Arabian » Sabaic » Late Sabaic | ||
| Alphabet | Ancient South Arabian | ||
| Script typology | Monumental writing | ||
| Writing technique | Incision | ||
| Measure of letters | 11-13 | ||
| Chronology |
| ||
| Textual typology | Legal text |
TEXT
1 ʾlyfʿ ʾrs³l bn Hṣbḥ w-Yʿgf w-Yqʾmwt ḏ-S¹fr
2 w-ʾs²rq ḏ-Ṣḥt qyl s²ʿbynyhyn Mḍḥym w-S¹frm gz—
3 r l-Mrʾ-s¹myn ʾrb(ʿ) ʿbrtm ʿbrn ḏn ẓrn wrd |
4 ṯw ḥẓr gntn l-qtbr b-hn ʾyhdn w-b-hymntm b—
5 n qtbr b-hmw ʾrmym d-l-ywfynn l-ʾyhdn w-ṯlṯ ʿbrt
6 w-bʾrn ʾlht ws¹ṭ ḥẓrn f-k-gzr l-mkrbn Ṣwryʾ—
7 l w-ʿbrn ḏ-tḥt Ṣ(wr)yʾl ḏ-ḥẓrn f-l-mkrbn f-l-ywfyn
8 w-ṣtdq(n) w-k-tʾk whbw [w]-bḥr w-ʿqbn l-byt ḏ-ʿ—
9 mr[m] ʿbrm s³ʿ-hw [w]-tq[rn-h]w w-l-byt ḏ-ʿmrm f-ʿqbw
10 bʾrm w-ʾrḍm t-qyẓm [|] w-t-ṣrbm s³ʿ w-tqrn hyt |
11 bʾrn w-ʾrḍn w-b-[hym]nt w-ḥrm w-s¹bʿn Mrʾ s¹my—
12 n w-ʾrḍn bn qtbr ʾrmym b-hnt ʿbrtn w-byn-hw w-
13 bn ʾln ḏ-ʾl y(h)knn l-mkrbn ʾrḍ-hw w-l-ʾyhdn ʿbrt-hmw
14 w-k-ḥzn Ṣwryʾl f-(y)s³kw w-kl ḏ-yḥznn mkrbn bʾr t-mrbʿn
15 t-s¹fl ʾkbdy w-b-hymnt ḏ-ys²ʾn bʾrn ʿmn kl ḏ-yḥznn Ṣwryʾl
| Robin's reading cannot be confirmed on the basis of the published photo. | |
| 5 | d-l is on the stone, apparently emended as ḏ-l in Robin's interpretation. |
| 7 | the reading ywfyn is not certain, but it has a parallel at l. 5. |
| 8-9 | according to Robin, the restoration ʿmr[m] is not epigraphically possible; Müller, Walter W. 1977 b had read ʿmr(n). However our choice is supported by the repetition of ʿmrm at the end of the line. |
| 16 | series of letters, perhaps the scribe's signature. |
TRANSLATIONS
| English | |
1 ʾlyfʿ ʾrs³l ibn Hṣbḥ, Yʿgf, Yqʾmwt ḏ-S¹fr 2 and ʾs²rq ḏ-Ṣḥt qyl of the two tribes of Mḍḥym and S¹frm granted 3 to the Lord of the Heaven four plots, near this rock, down 4 to the border of the arable area, to bury in it the Jews, with the assurance 5 to avoid burying with them non-Jews, this in order to fulfill their obligations towards the Jews. The three plots 6 and the well, which are in the delimited land, he granted them to the oratory Ṣwryʾ- 7 l and the plot, which is below Ṣwryʾl, that of the delimited land, it belomgs to the oratory, in order that is was legally guaranteed 8 and enjoyed the rights of property. In return they gave, chosen and assigned to the lineage ḏ-ʿ- 9 mrm a plot of equal importance and value, and to the lineage ḏ-ʿmrm, they gave 10 a well and a terrain that produces crops of summer and fall harvest, which has the same importance and value as this 11 well and this terrain, with insurance, the prohibition and the threat of the Lord of Heaven 12 and Earth to avoid burying a non-Jew on these plots. As to the proclamation of this edict 13 is because of those who do not recognize this land to the oratory and their plots to the Jews. 14 As the guardians of Ṣwryʾl, they receive for their livelihood, (them) and all those who keep the oratory, a well in masonry 15 below (the wadi) ʾkbdy, with the guarantee of the man who built the well for all those who keep Ṣwryʾl. |
| 5 | d-l-ywfynn is translated "afin qu'elles soient réservées aux juifs" (Gajda), "weil sie den Juden vorbhalten sein sollen" (Stein 2003 a: 210). These interpretations, despite being acceptable in the context, must be rejected as the verb is masculine and cannot be referred to ʿbrt (feminine plural). Frantsouzoff 1996: 304: "This must be fullfilled as an obligation to the Jews" is equally unsustainable because it implies a singular verb. Stein an Gajda's translation is based on the interpretation of d as a preposition against the other two scholars who apparently prefer the reading ḏ as relative pronoun. |
| 6 | "qu'elles soient désignées à la synagogue Ṣwryʾl" (Gajda). |
| 14 | "Quant au servant de Ṣwryʾl, qu'il veille - comme tous ceux qui servent dans l'oratoire - sur le puits fait en maçonnerie" (Frantsouzoff). He considers ys³kw as coming from the root s³kw, while Robin thinks of a root ns³k. |
| Frantsouzoff 1996 | Frantsouzoff, Serguei A. 1996. A gezerah-decree from ancient southern Arabia: new approach to the interpretation of MAFRAY-Ḥaṣī 1. Aram, 8: 209-306. |
| Stein 2003 a | Stein, Peter 2003. Untersuchungen zur Phonologie und Morphologie des Sabäischen. (Epigraphische Forschungen auf der Arabischen Halbinsel, 3). Rahden: Marie Leidorf GmbH / Westf.: Marie Leidorf GmbH. |
OBJECT INFORMATION
| Support type | Rock inscription |
| Measures | h. 230, w. 200 |
| Link to object record |
ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE
| Modern site | Ḥaṣī |
| Ancient site | Ḥ[ṣy] / Ḥ[ṣym] |
| Geographical area | al-Bayḍāʾ |
| Country | Yemen |
| Found | In situ |
| Link to site record |
CULTURAL NOTES
This is a decree by a qayl of the tribe Mḍḥym, which establishes that a cemetery should be built exclusively for the local Jewish community. The cemetery is declared to belong to God. According to Robin, this practice anticipates the Islam charitable foundations.
See Ry 534+MAFY-Rayda 1 on mrʾ s¹myn.
The term mkrb, meaning "synagogue" in the texts of the monotheistic times, here has the name of Ṣwryʾl "God is my rock", which is considered a loanword from Hebrew (Robin 2003: 122-123).
BIBLIOGRAPHY
| Robin 1991-1993 d: 146 | Robin, Christian J. 1991-1993 [1992]. Du paganisme au monothéisme. Pages 139-155 in Christian J. Robin (ed.). L'Arabie antique de Karibʾîl à Mahomet. Nouvelles données sur l'histoire des Arabes grâces aux inscriptions. (Revue du Monde Musulman et de la Mediterranée, 61). Aix-en-Provence: Édisud. |
| Gajda 1997: 151-152 | 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). |
| Robin 2001 b: 182-191, figs 2-14 and 30 | Robin, Christian J. 2001. Les inscriptions de Ḥaṣī. Raydān, 7: 179-223. |
| Robin 2003 | Robin, Christian J. 2003. Le judaïsme de Ḥimyar. Arabia. Revue de Sabéologie, 1: 97-172. |
| Müller, Walter W. 1977 b | Müller, Walter W. 1977. Ergebnisse neuer epigraphischer Forschungen im Jemen. Pages 734-735 in Wolfgang Voigt (ed.). XIX. Deutscher Orientalistentag vom 28. September bis 4. Oktober 1975 in Freiburg im Breisgau. Vorträge. (Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft, 3). Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner. |