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Ja 655 MaMB 253
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 | 2.1-2.4 | ||
| Chronology |
| ||
| Textual typology | Dedicatory text |
TEXT
1 S²rḥw(d)[m bn ... ... ]w-Rs²dm
2 wzʿ s²ʿbn Mʾḏn hqny m—
3 rʾ-hw ʾlmqh-Ṯhwn-bʿ—
4 l-ʾwm-ḏn ṣlmn ḏ-ḏhbm ḥm—
5 dm b-ḏt s¹twkl b-ʿm-hw
6 l-ḫmr-hw ḥyw l-hw wld—
7 m bn ʾṯt-hw Ḫlḥlk w-
8 ḫmr-hw mrʾ-hw ʾlmqh
9 ḥyw-l-hw ġlmm ḏ-ys¹tm—
10 yn Mrs¹ʿm w-l-wzʾ ʾlmq—
11 h ḫmr ʿbd-hw S²rḥwdm ʾw—
12 ldm ʾḏkrm hnʾm ḏ-kwkbt
13 w-mngt ṣdqm w-ḥẓy w-rḍw
14 mrʾ-hmw S²mr Yhrʿs² mlk |
15 S¹bʾ w-ḏ-Rydn bn Ys¹rm Yhnʿ—
16 m mlk S¹bʾ w-ḏ-Rydn w-nʾd |
17 qyẓ w-ṣrb <b>-mlk mʾyltn w-ḫy—
18 tmtn w-rḍw s²ʿb-hmw b-ʾlm—
19 qh-Ṯhwn-bʿl-ʾwm w-s²ym-hmw
20 Wdm bʿl-S¹mʿn-w-S²ʿbm
| 2 | Rs²dm might be a lineage name. |
| 6-7 | Jamme's reading is Wddm as a proper name, corrected by Ryckmans in wldm. |
| 11 | Jamme: "after S²rḥwdm, there is a space for a word divider which was not engraved. However, the lateral edges of that word divider are indicated by two lightly traced strokes which are slightly aslant to the left". |
| 16 | Jamme: "mlk, but mlky in my copy". |
| 17 | Jamme: "ṣrb mlk in my copy: the preposition b 'in' is most probably missing by haplography". |
TRANSLATIONS
| English | |
1 S²rḥwdm son of [... ... ] and Rs²dm, 2 wzʿ of the tribe Mʾḏn, dedicated to 3 his lord ʾlmqh Ṯhwn, Lord of 4 ʾwm, this statue in bronze, in praise 5 because he sought favours from Him 6 for granting him the survival for him of a child 7 from his wife Ḫlḥlk; and 8 his lord ʾlmqh granted him 9 the survival for him of a boy named 10 Mrs¹ʿm; may ʾlmqh continue 11 to grant His servant S²rḥwdm 12 male healthy children, which is good fortune 13 and luck, and the goodwill and the satisfaction of 14 their lord S²mr Yhrʿs², king 15 of Sabaʾ and ḏu-Raydān, son of Ys¹rm Yhnʿm, 16 king of Sabaʾ and ḏu-Raydān, and abundance of 17 summer season and harvest season in the property of the luxuriant gardens and 18 the cultivated plots, and the satisfaction of their tribe. By ʾlmqh 19 Ṯhwn, Lord of ʾwm, and their patron 20 Wdm, Lord of S¹mʿn and S²ʿbm. |
OBJECT INFORMATION
| Support type | Artefact » Base » Of statue with dedicatory inscription |
| Material | Stone |
| Dimensions | h. 61.7, w. 26, th. 8 |
| 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 |
CULTURAL NOTES
It is interesting that the god of the land trade, Wdm, was invoked by a wzʿ, title connected with tribal groups involved in the trade.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
| Jamme 1962 a: 160-161 | 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 1966: 492 | Ryckmans, Jacques 1966. Himyaritica 2. Le Muséon, 79: 475-500. |