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Ja 628 MaMB 109
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 | Recessed | ||
| Execution technique | Incision | ||
| Measure of letters | 4.1 | ||
| Chronology |
| ||
| Textual typology | Dedicatory text |
TEXT
1 Hwfʿṯt Yz(ʾn)[ w-bnw Kbs¹ym ʾqw]—
2 l s²ʿbn Tnʿmm w-Tnʿ(m)[t hqnyw]
3 ʾlmqhw Ṯhwn bʿl ʾwm ṣlmn [ḥg-n]
4 wqh-hmw ʾlmqhw b-ms¹ʾl-hw b-kn t—
5 flw b-ʿm-hw l-mʾḫḏ-hmw ḏ-Yfd l-qbl—
6 y ḏt-ʾl yʾtwn ʿdy-hw s¹qym w-wkbw
7 flyt-hmw k-ʿbr-n-mw ʾlmqhw bʿl ʾwm
8 kwn ḫdg ʾtw s¹qym ʿdy hwt mʾḫḏ—
9 n ḏ-Yfd b-qdmy ḏt hqnytn w-ʾlmqh<w>
10 f-wzʾ s²ft w-tbs²rn ʿbd-hw Hwfʿṯt
11 w-bny Kbs¹ym k-ys¹qyn w-hs²fqn w-hʿm—
12 mn mʾḫḏ-hmw ḏ-Yfd b-kl ʾbrq dṯʾ
13 w-ḫrf mhwtnm w-ʾlmqhw f-l yzʾn ṣ—
14 dq w-hwfyn ʿbd-hw Hwfʿṯt w-bny K—
15 bs¹ym b-kl ʾmlʾ s¹tmlʾw w-ys¹tmlʾ—
16 nn b-ʿm-hw w-l-s¹ʿd-hmw ʾlmqhw ḥẓy w-
17 rḍw mrʾy-hmw S¹ʿds²ms¹m ʾs¹rʿ w-bn-hw
18 Mrṯdm Yhḥmd mlky S¹bʾ w-ḏ-Rydn b—
19 ny ʾls²rḥ Yḥḍb mlk S¹bʾ w-ḏ-Rydn
20 w-l-s¹ʿd-hmw ʾlmqhw nʿmtm w-wfym w-
21 mngt ṣqdm ḏ-yhrḍwn ʾlbb-hmw w-l-s¹ʿ—
22 d-hmw ʾlmqhw ʾṯmr w-ʾfql ṣdqm bn-kl
23 ʾrḍ-hmw w-ʾs¹rr-hmw w-l-ḫryn ʾlmqhw ʿ—
24 bd-hw Hwfʿṯt w-bny Kbs¹ym w-s²ʿb-hmw
25 bn bʾs¹tm w-nkym w-bn kl nḍʿ w-s²—
26 ṣy s²nʾm b-ʿṯtr w-Hwbs¹ w-ʾlmqhw
27 w-b-ḏt Ḥmym w-b-ḏt Bʿdnm w-b-s²ms¹ m—
28 lkn Tnf w-b-ʾlmqhw bʿl S²wḥṭ w-b-s²—
29 ms¹-hmw bʿlt qyf Rs²m w-rṯdw hqny—
30 t-hmw ʿṯtr-S²rqn w-ʾlmqhw bʿl ʾwm
TRANSLATIONS
| English | |
1 Hwfʿṯt Yzʾn [and the family Kbs¹yn, ʾqwyl] 2 of the tribe Tnʿmm and Tnʿm[t dedicated] 3 to ʾlmqhw Ṯhwn, Lord of ʾwm, the statue, as 4 ʾlmqhw ordered them in His oracle when 5 they implored Him for their basin ḏ-Yfd because 6 irrigation water does not come into it, and 7 they received their reply that from ʾlmqhw, Lord of ʾwm, himself 8 came the flood that brought irrigation water to that basin 9 ḏ-Yfd before this dedication; and ʾlmqhw 10 continued to promise and announce good news to His servant Hwfʿṯt 11 and the family Kbs¹ym that He would irrigate and enrich and fill 12 their basin ḏ-Yfd in all the rainy seasons of spring 13 and autumn with continuous rains, and may ʾlmqhw continue to 14 grant and fulfill His servant Hwfʿṯt and the family 15 Kbs¹ym in all the favours they requested and will request 16 from Him, and may ʾlmqhw grant the goodwill and 17 the satisfaction of their lords S¹ʿds²ms¹m ʾs¹rʿ and his son 18 Mrṯdm Yhḥmd, kings of Sabaʾ and ḏu-Raydān 19 sons of ʾls²rḥ Yḥḍb king of Sabaʾ and ḏu-Raydān, 20 and may ʾlmqhw grant them prosperity and safety and 21 good luck which will satisfy their hearts, and may 22 ʾlmqhw grant them good crops and harvests from all 23 their lands and their valleys, and may ʾlmqhw deliver 24 His servant Hwfʿṯt and the family Kbs¹ym and their tribe 25 from any evil and mischief and from all the malice and 26 the maleficence of any enemy. By ʿṯtr and Hwbs¹ and ʾlmqhw 27 and by ḏt Ḥmym and by ḏt Bʿdnm and by the solar deity of the king Tnf, and by ʾlmqhw Lord of S²wḥṭ and by 28 their solar deity, Lady of the qyf-monument of Rs²m, and they committed their dedication 29 to ʿṯtr S²rqn and ʾlmqhw Lord of ʾwm. |
| 2-9 | Translation of the lines in Stein 2003 a: 65 (81). Ryckmans 1966: 483 already corrected Jamme's translation (tflw as a plural from fll "to implore") and underlined the exceptional fact that the favour of the god was obtained before the offering of the dedication. |
| Ryckmans, Jacques 1966: 483 | Ryckmans, Jacques 1966. Himyaritica 2. Le Muséon, 79: 475-500. |
| Stein 2003 a: 65 | 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 | Artefact » Base » Of statue with dedicatory inscription |
| Material | Stone |
| Dimensions | h. 148.3, w. 47, th. 36 |
| 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 ʾlmqh Ṯhwn bʿl ʾwm |
| Link to site record |
BIBLIOGRAPHY
| Jamme 1962 a: 126-128 | 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. |
| Ryckmans, Jacques 1964: 92 | Ryckmans, Jacques 1964. Le christianisme en Arabie du Sud préislamique. Pages 413-543 in L'Oriente cristiano nella Storia della Civiltà. Atti del Convegno Internazionale sul tema: l'Oriente cristiano nella Storia della Civiltà. (Roma 31 marzo-3 aprile 1963; Firenze 4 aprile 1963). Rome: Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei. |