Ir 34 MuB 513; ZI 79bis
Arbach 1994: 146, pl. 2/1
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Image free from copyright
INSCRIPTION INFORMATION
| Language | Ancient South Arabian » Sabaic » Central Middle Sabaic |
| Alphabet | Ancient South Arabian |
| Script typology | Monumental writing |
| Writing technique | Incision |
| Measure of letters | 3.1 |
| Textual typology | Dedicatory text |
TEXT
1 Dhlnʿṯt w-ʾyys²f (w)-[..](ys²f)
2 w-bnt-hn S²fnns¹r ʾ(lt) G(r)—
3 hmm ʾmh Rs²yn hqnyy ʾlmqhw Ṯhw—
4 (n) bʿl ʾwm ṣlmn w-s²lṯn ṣlmtn l-wf—
5 (y)-(h)n w-wfy ʾwld-hn S²fnns¹r w-H(ḥ)—
6 (y)ʿṯt w-Ḥmnns¹r w-Rfʾnṯhw bnt ʾ(l)—
7 t Grhmm w-l s¹ʿd-hn ʾlmqhw nʿ(m)—
8 tm w-mngt ṣdqm w-l hʿnn-hn bn (b)—
9 ʾs¹tm w-s²ṣy s²nʾm b-ʿṯtr w-b-ʾlm—
10 (q)hw w-b-ḏt Ḥmym w-b-ḏt Bʿdnm
| 1 | [..](ys²f): autoptic reading by Ch. Robin. |
| 6 | Note the feminine plural bnt, even if referred to three daughters and a son. |
TRANSLATIONS
| English | |
1 Dhlnʿṯt, ʾyys²f and [..]ys²f 2 and their daughter S²fnns¹r, of the family Gr- 3 hmm, servants of Rs²yn, dedicated to ʾlmqhw Ṯhwn, 4 Lord of ʾwm, a male statue and three female statues for their 5 safety and the safety of their children S²fnns¹r, 6 Hḥyʿṯt, Ḥmnns¹r and Rfʾnṯhw, daughters of the family 7 Grhmm; may ʾlmqhw grant them prosperity 8 and good luck, and may He deliver them from any evil 9 and the malice of any enemy. By ʿṯtr, by ʾlmqh 10 and by ḏt Ḥmym and by ḏt Bʿdnm. |
OBJECT INFORMATION
| Deposit | Bayḥān, Museum, MuB 513 |
| Support type | Artefact » Base » Of statue with dedicatory inscription |
| Material | Stone |
| Measures | h. 36, w. 41 |
| Link to object record |
ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE
| Modern site | Maḥram Bilqīs |
| Ancient site | ʾwm |
| Geographical area | Maʾrib |
| Country | Yemen |
| Archaeological context | Religious context: Temple of ʾlmqhw Ṯhwn bʿl ʾwm |
| Link to site record |
CULTURAL NOTES
Three women dedicate to ʾlmqh four statuettes for the protection of their three daughters and a son. The inscription is interesting from a linguistic point of view, not only for the feminine forms of the verb and pronouns, but also for the feminine onomastics attested; in the feminine names is present the first person singular pronoun in the accusative -n (see Ryckmans 1974 and 1975, Stein 2003 a: 131-132).
BIBLIOGRAPHY
| al-Iryānī 1973: 174-175 | al-Iryānī, Muṭahhar 1973. Fī taʾriḫ al-Yaman. Cairo. |
| Ryckmans, Jacques 1974 a: 493-499 | Ryckmans, Jacques 1974. Himyaritica 4. Le Muséon, 87: 493-521. |
| Ryckmans, Jacques 1975 a: 61-62 | Ryckmans, Jacques 1975. Ḥimyaritica 5. Le Muséon, 88: 199-219. |
| ʿInān 1976: 402-403 | ʿInān, Zaid b. ʿA 1976. Taʾriḫ ḥaḍāra al-Yaman al-qadīm. Cairo. |
| al-Iryānī 1990: 209-210 | al-Iryānī, Muṭahhar 1990. Fī-taʾrīḫ al-Yaman. Nuquš musnadiya wa-taʿliqāt. Ṣanʿāʾ: Markaz al-dirāsāt wa-l-buḥūṯ al-Yamanī. |
| Arbach 1994: 12-14, pls 2/1, 3/1 | Arbach, Mounir 1994. Inscriptions sudarabiques. Raydān, 6: 5-16. |
| Stein 2003 a: 131-132 | 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. |