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CIH 543
INSCRIPTION INFORMATION
| Language | Ancient South Arabian » Sabaic » Late Sabaic | ||
| Script | Ancient South Arabian | ||
| Script typology | Monumental writing | ||
| Text direction | Right-to-left | ||
| Text appearance | Raised | ||
| Execution technique | Incision | ||
| Measure of letters | 3 | ||
| Chronology |
| ||
| Textual typology | Prayer |
TEXT
1 [b]rk w-tbrk s¹m Rḥmnn ḏ-b-s¹myn w-Ys³rʾl w-
2 ʾlh-hmw rb-Yhd ḏ-hrd(ʾ) ʿbd-hmw S²hrm w-
3 ʾm-hw Bdm w-ḥs²kt-hw S²ms¹m w-ʾl—
4 wd-hmy Ḍmm w-ʾbs²ʿr (w)-Mṣr—
5 m w-kl bhṯ-h [... ...]
6 [.]w[... ...]
| 5 | bhṯ-h[my (Jamme). |
| 6 | at the beginning, Jamme reads hw [... ...]. |
TRANSLATIONS
| English | |
1 May bless and be blessed, the name of Rḥmnn, who is in the heaven, and Israel and 2 their god, the lord of the Jews, who assisted his servant S²hrm, 3 his mother Bdm, his wife S²ms¹m, their 4 children Ḏmm, ʾbs²ʿr and Mṣr- 5 m, and all the members of his house [... ...] |
| 5 | The term bhṯ is rendered by ʿAbdallāh, followed by Gajda, with "lowly members of his house". Jamme translates it with "valets of th[em both" (see his integration in the epigraphic note). |
| ʿAbdallāh 1987 | ʿAbdallāh, Yūsuf M. 1987. The inscription CIH 543. A new reading based on the newly-found original. Pages 3-9 in Christian J. Robin and Muḥammad ʿA. Bāfaqīh (eds). Ṣayhadica. Recherches sur les inscriptions de l'Arabie préislamique offertes par ses collègues au professeur A.F. L. Beeston. (Arabie préislamique, 1). Paris: Librairie orientaliste Paul Geuthner. |
| Jamme 1988 | Jamme, Albert W.F. 1988. Miscellanées d'ancient arabe XVI. Washington. 2025/04/17; https://www.jstor.org/stable/community.38250299. [Privately printed] |
OBJECT INFORMATION
| Deposit | Ẓafār, Museum, ZM 772 |
| Support type | Stone piece |
| Material | Stone |
| Dimensions | h. 23, w. 32.5, th.7 |
| Link to object record |
ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE
| Modern site | Ẓafār |
| Ancient site | Ẓfr |
| Geographical area | Ẓafār |
| Country | Yemen |
| Link to site record |
CULTURAL NOTES
This is the first monotheistic inscription found in Yemen. It mentions the god Rḥmnn, the tribe of Israel (Ys³rʾl) and the god "Lord of the Jews" (see the remark below).
While Glaser affirmed that the inscription was commissioned by people of Judaic religion, Halévy and, recently, Robin, deny the Jewish character of the dedicants.
While Glaser affirmed that the inscription was commissioned by people of Judaic religion, Halévy and, recently, Robin, deny the Jewish character of the dedicants.
ʾlh-hmw is referred to the tribe of Ys³rʾl. The epithet Rabb-yahūd "Lord of the Jews" is also found in Ja 1028 and Ry 515.
According to Robin, this expression was created by Arabic speaking Jews from South Arabia. For him, the term rb is not attested in south Arabian (except for the onomastics; but see the Qatabanic religious title rby), and elsewhere in Semitic only in the Qurʾān it can be often referred to the God.
According to Robin, this expression was created by Arabic speaking Jews from South Arabia. For him, the term rb is not attested in south Arabian (except for the onomastics; but see the Qatabanic religious title rby), and elsewhere in Semitic only in the Qurʾān it can be often referred to the God.
Dedicant's mother (ʾm) and wife (ḥs²kt) are joined in the prayer.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
| ʿAbdallāh 1987: 3-8, pl. I | ʿAbdallāh, Yūsuf M. 1987. The inscription CIH 543. A new reading based on the newly-found original. Pages 3-9 in Christian J. Robin and Muḥammad ʿA. Bāfaqīh (eds). Ṣayhadica. Recherches sur les inscriptions de l'Arabie préislamique offertes par ses collègues au professeur A.F. L. Beeston. (Arabie préislamique, 1). Paris: Librairie orientaliste Paul Geuthner. |
| Jamme 1988: 104-107 | Jamme, Albert W.F. 1988. Miscellanées d'ancient arabe XVI. Washington. 2025/04/17; https://www.jstor.org/stable/community.38250299. [Privately printed] |
| Gajda 1997: 152-153 | 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). |
| Catalogue 2000: 392, cat. 404 | 2000. Yemen. Nel paese della Regina di Saba. Catalogo della Mostra, Palazzo Ruspoli, Fondazione Memmo, Roma 6 Aprile - 30 Giugno 2000. Milan: Skira. |
| Robin 2003: 115 | Robin, Christian J. 2003. Le judaïsme de Ḥimyar. Arabia. Revue de Sabéologie, 1: 97-172. |