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Ja 738 MaMB 247
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 | 2.2 | ||
| Chronology |
| ||
| Textual typology | Dedicatory text |
TEXT
1 Yḥmd w-ʾḫy-hw Mḥmd—
2 m w-bny-hw Ḥywʿṯtr
3 bnw Gldn ʾḥmln hqnyw
4 ʾlmqh-Ṯhwn-bʿl-ʾwm ṣlm—
5 m ḏ-ḏhbm ḏ-s²ft-hw ḥmd—
6 m b-ḏt ḫmr-hmw ʾlmqh wl—
7 dm ḏkrm l-hmw w-l-wzʾ ḫm—
8 r-hmw ʾwldm ʾḏkrm hnʾm b—
9 n ʾṯt-hmw bnt ḏt Gldn w-ʾ—
10 ṯmrm w-ʾfqlm ṣdqm hnʾm
11 w-l-wfy grybt-hmw b-ʾlm—
12 qh
TRANSLATIONS
| English | |
1 Yḥmd and his brother Mḥmdm 2 and his son Ḥywʿṯtr, 3 of the family Gldn, those of Ḥmln, dedicated 4 to ʾlmqh Ṯhwn, Lord of ʾwm, a statue 5 in bronze, which he promised Him, in praise 6 because ʾlmqh granted to them a male 7 child for them, and may He continue to grant 8 them male children in health from 9 their wives, daughters of the family Gldn, and perfect and healthy 10 fruits and crops; 11 may He continue to protect their persons. By 12 ʾlmqh. |
| 9 | For the translation of ʾṯt-hmw bnt as a plural, see the cultural note in the edition of the text. |
OBJECT INFORMATION
| Deposit | Mārib |
| Support type | Artefact » Base » Of statue with dedicatory inscription |
| Material | Stone |
| Dimensions | h. 32.7, w. 21.4, th. 11.6 |
| 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 bʿl ʾwm |
| Link to site record |
CULTURAL NOTES
If at line 8-9 ʾṯt-hmw bnt was a singular: "their wife, daughter of", it could be an example of polyandry in Saba. More credibly both Jamme and Müller consider ʾtt-hmw bnt as a plural.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
| Jamme 1962 a: 214-215 | 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. |
| Müller, Walter W. 1974 e: 132 | Müller, Walter W. 1974. Sabäische Texte zur Polyandrie. Neue Ephemeris für Semitische Epigraphik, 2: 125-138. |