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CIH 74
Jändl 2009: 224, pl. V
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 | ||
| Chronology |
| ||
| Textual typology | Dedicatory text |
GENERAL NOTES
| For a general hypothesis of a date for the bronze tablets from ʿAmrān, cf. Avanzini 2008 b. But, if we accept the interpretation of gtnnn (l. 13) as an infinitive with -n suffix, the date of the text could be in the period B-C. |
TEXT
1 S¹ʿdlh w-bn-hw bnw Mrṯdm
2 hqnyw ʾlmqh ḏ-Hrn ms³ndn
3 ḥg-n wqh-hmw b-ms¹ʾl-hw ʾlm—
4 qh bʿl ʾwm ḏ-ʿrn ʾlw f-wq—
5 h bny Mrṯdm l-s²ym flyt ʾ—
6 s¹rr-hmw ḏ-ʾrhqm b-ʿm ʾlmq—
7 h ḏ-Hrn w-wqh-hmw[ ʾlm]qh ḏ-
8 Hrn b-ms¹ʾl-hw l-y(ṣ)[dq]n Qʿt—
9 m w-Ẓyʾ w-S²ʿbn b-Mṯw ṣrb |
10 drm drm b-ḫrfm w-l yġtwr—
11 w bn-hw ʿdy ʾrhqm w-l yḏ—
12 bḥw bn ms²mnhn ʿṯtr w-S²m—
13 s¹m w-ḏbḥm b-Hrn w-gtnnn |
14 l-hmt ʾs¹rrn bn Mrṯdm f-ʾ—
15 w ḏ-yqhn w-b mḥrm ʾlmqh ḏ-
16 Ḥrwt f-l yhwfyn ḥg ʿlm b-
17 hw tʿlm S¹ʿdlh ʿlm rʾ b-mḥ—
18 rm ʾlmqh ḏ-Nʿmn w-ʾlmqh ḏ-H—
19 rn f-ṣry hmt ʾs¹rrn ḏ-ʾr—
20 hqm bn brdm w-bn-kl qlmtm
| 8 | The editors accept the integration: l-y[ṣdq]n. |
| 20 | qlʾtm (CIH). |
TRANSLATIONS
| English | |
1 S¹ʿdlh and his sons, of the family Mrṯdm 2 dedicated to ʾlmqh ḏ-Hrn the tablet, 3 as He ordered to them in His oracle (namely) ʾlm- 4 qh Lord of ʾwm in the citadel ʾlw. Now He 5 commanded the family Mrṯdm to establish the ordinance regarding 6 their valleys ḏu-ʾrhqm in agreement with ʾlmq- 7 h ḏu-Hrn; and ʾlmqh ḏ-Hrn bade them 8 in His oracle that Qʿt- 9 m and Ẓyʾ and S²ʿbn in Mṯw should offer harvest, 10 turn by turn, every year; and they should supply themselves with corn 11 from it to ʾrhqm, and they should sacrifice 12 from (the produce of) the two fields to ʿṯtr and S²m- 13 s¹m, and a sacrifice in Hrn and they should offer fruits of the garden 14 for those valleys, (namely) the family of Mrṯdm, or 15 whoever received the order. In the sanctuary of ʾlmqh ḏ- 16 Ḥrwt may it be safeguarded according to the document, 17 which S¹ʿdlt authenticated, document in fact (also) in the sanctuary 18 of ʾlmqh ḏ-Nʿmn. May ʾlmqh ḏ-H- 19 rn protect these valleys ḏ-ʾr- 20 hqm from rainy storm and from all insect pest. |
| 5 | I feel that s²ym should be understood not in the concrete sense of "to place, to dedicate" (as in Multhoff and Stein's translation), but rather "to establish" the agreement with Almaqah ḏ-Hrn. |
| 8-9 | I have accepted the editors integration, but not the translation suggested by Beeston 1937 a: "that they should reap Qʿt and Ẓyʾ and S²ʿbn in Mṯw one harvest". The verb is singular with the -n suffix. Since the proper names are the names of fields, the subject would appear to be ṣrb. The general meaning is clear: the harvest of these fields has to be given to the god once a year. It is interesting to note that a legal term ṣdq "fulfil an obligation" is used. |
| 9 | my preference is to interpret S²ʿbn as the name of a third field; compare, however, Rhodokanakis' interpretation, also accepted by Multhoff and Stein: "and the tribe in Mṯw". |
| 10 | drm drm is undoubtely a stereotypical expression, which has also been documented in a dedicatory inscription placed by a member of the Mrṯdm family in Maḥram Bilqīs in Marib (CIH 99, 11: ḏ]n wtfn drm drm b-ḫr[fm). It could also mean "twice a year" rather than "once a year, forever". |
| 10-11 | yġtwr is translated by the SD "supply oneself with corn". The crops can be harvested from Mṯw until ʾrhqm, and a tithe must be paid on this harvest in the form of a sacrifice to three gods.I feel that the meaning of the verb proposed here (as also suggested by Multhoff and Stein 2008: 408, n. 63) is much more convincing than the etymological translation "descend" adopted by them, following the CIH's translation. In Arabic in the VIII form the verb means: "take advantage of". |
| 13 | gtnnn is a infinitive with the suffix -n; it seems better the translation of Multhoff and Stein "offer garden fruits" than the SD's translation "gather crop". |
| 14-15 | the end of the phrase appears to name those whom the oracle of the god has commanded and will command to pay the tithes. |
| 15 | ḏ-yqhn was translated by Beeston 1937 a: "whoever is in command", but wqh means "to order" rather than "to be in command". |
| 16-17 | ḥg ʿlm b-hw tʿlm is a legal formula; the agreement between the family and the god is written in a document. |
| Beeston 1937 a | Beeston, Alfred F.L. 1937. Sabaean inscriptions. Oxford. |
OBJECT INFORMATION
| Deposit | London, The British Museum, BM 48457=1862,1028.5 |
| Support type | Artefact » Plaque » With framework |
| Material | Bronze |
| Dimensions | h. 46.5, w. 29 |
| 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 |
CULTURAL NOTES
Very interesting text, four temples of Almaqh are quoted (ḏ-Hrn, ʾwm in the citadel ʾlw, ḏ-Ḥrwt, ḏ-Nʿmn). The general topic of the text concerns the harvests in a territory and it explains in detail which part of the harvest is a tithe for the temple, according an oracle of the god. The dedicant, member of the most important family of ʿAmrān, has to write a document and leave it in a sanctuary in order to confirm this agreement. Here we have a good example of the complex relationships between temple and political power in South Arabia.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
| Beeston 1937 a: 12-14 | Beeston, Alfred F.L. 1937. Sabaean inscriptions. Oxford. |
| Avanzini 2008 b: 4ff, pl. 1 | Avanzini, Alessandra 2008. Criteri editoriali per la pubblicazione dello CSAI. Egitto e Vicino Oriente, 31: 145-157. |
| Multhoff and Stein 2008 a: 407-408 | Multhoff, Anne and Stein, Peter 2008. Sabäische Texte. Pages 393-415 in Bernd Janowski and Gernot Wilhelm (eds). Omina, Orakel, Rituale und Beschwörungen. Texte aus der Umwelt des Alten Testaments. Neue Folge. |
| Jändl 2009: 82-83, pl. V | Jändl, Barbara 2009. Altsüdarabische Inschriften auf Metall. (Epigraphische Forschungen auf der Arabischen Halbinsel, 4). Tübingen: Wasmuth / Berlin: Wasmuth. |