CC BY 4.0
The above license applies to the data in this record, but not to any images displayed. The images are the property
of third parties and are either used with permission or reproduced from publications (see the credits below each image).
CIH 88
Jändl 2009: 238, pl. XIX
INSCRIPTION INFORMATION
| Language | Ancient South Arabian » Sabaic » Central Middle Sabaic | ||
| Script | Ancient South Arabian | ||
| Script typology | Monumental writing | ||
| Text direction | Right-to-left | ||
| Text appearance | Raised | ||
| Execution technique | Casting | ||
| Measure of letters | 1.4 | ||
| Chronology |
| ||
| Textual typology | Dedicatory text |
GENERAL NOTES
| For a general hypothesis of a date for the bronze tablets from ʿAmrān, cf. Avanzini 2008 b. |
TEXT
1 Ys²f w-ʾḫy-hw w-bny-hmw
2 bnw Kṯbm ʾdm bn Mrṯ—
3 dm hqnyw ʾlmqh ḏ-Hrn m—
4 s³ndn ḥg-n wqh-hmw ʾlmq—
5 h b-ms¹ʾl-hw k-yfʿn ʾns¹ fg—
6 r byt-hmw w-ḥmdw mqm ʾlm—
7 qh b-ḏt hwfy-hmw b-kl ʾml—
8 ʾ s¹tmlʾw w-ys¹tmlʾnn b-ʿm-h—
9 w w-l s¹ʿd-hmw nʿmtm w-wfy—
10 m w-rḍw ʾmrʾ-hmw bny Mr(ṯ)d
| 9 | The final m of Mrṯdm is not written for lack of space. |
TRANSLATIONS
| English | |
1 Ys²f and his brothers and his sons 2 of the family Kṯbm, clients of the family Mrṯ- 3 dm, dedicated to ʾlmqh ḏ-Hrn the 4 tablet, as ʾlmqh bade them 5 in His oracle, when He made know the man 6 who had attacked their houses. And they praised the might of ʾlm- 7 qh because He granted them all the favourable oracles 8 they sought or shall seek of Him; 9 and may He grant them grace and safety 10 and the goodwill of their lords the family Mrṯdm. |
| 5 | k-yfʿn: it is highly unusual that the motive for a dedication should begin with k-. Beeston 1937 a: 25 translated "(declaring) that", but later (Beeston 1988: 10) suggested the basic meaning for k- of "when". The problem of the translation of yfʿn remains. The meaning suggested by SD is "go up to, appoach" so the translation of the phrase could be: "when he approached, the man who moved against their houses". Beeston 1937 a: 25 translated: "(declaring) that He would raise up the men whose house was destroyed". The translation is interesting because it hypothesises that the subject of the verb is the god. The verb when used in a legal context (it could be anothr instance of a legal lexicon inside a dedicatory text) means "proclaimed, officially known". From that my proposed translation. |
| Beeston 1937 a | Beeston, Alfred F.L. 1937. Sabaean inscriptions. Oxford. |
| Beeston 1988 | Beeston, Alfred F.L. 1988. Miscellaneous Epigraphic Notes II. Raydān, 5: 5-31. |
OBJECT INFORMATION
| Deposit | London, The British Museum, BM 48467=1862,1028.15 |
| Support type | Artefact » Plaque » With framework |
| Material | Bronze |
| Dimensions | h. 24.2, w. 15.5, th. 0.4 |
| Link to object record |
ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE
| Modern site | ʿAmrān |
| Ancient site | ʿmrn |
| Geographical area | ʿAmrān |
| Country | Yemen |
| Archaeological context | Religious context: Temple of ʾlmqh ḏ-Hrn |
| Link to site record |
BIBLIOGRAPHY
| Beeston 1937 a: 25 | Beeston, Alfred F.L. 1937. Sabaean inscriptions. Oxford. |
| Jändl 2009: 93-94, pl. XIX | Jändl, Barbara 2009. Altsüdarabische Inschriften auf Metall. (Epigraphische Forschungen auf der Arabischen Halbinsel, 4). Tübingen: Wasmuth / Berlin: Wasmuth. |
| Avanzini 2008 b | Avanzini, Alessandra 2008. Criteri editoriali per la pubblicazione dello CSAI. Egitto e Vicino Oriente, 31: 145-157. |