Sigla: HaNSB 304; HaNS 304  Script: Safaitic

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Transliteration
l ḏl bn s²rk bn rbḥ ḏ- ʾl qmr w mṭy f h s²ʿhqm ġnmt w rmy b- rmḥ –h w ḫzr b- s¹f -h f mrq kll s¹ls¹l -h f w gdʿwḏ ġnmt w s¹lm w ḫlf l- s¹lḥ -h m- ʾl nbṭ w ʿwr ḏ ḫbl

Translation
By Ḏl son of S²rk son of Rbḥ of the lineage of Qmr and he travelled quickly so O S²ʿhqm [grant] booty and he cast his lance and he struck with his sword then he broke all his bonds so and Gdʿwḏ [grant] booty and security and compensation for his [two] weapons from the people of the Nabataeans and blind him who spoils [this inscription]

Apparatus Criticus
HaNSB 304: w ḫlf l- s¹lḥ h- mʾ b- nbṭ for w ḫlf l- s¹lḥ -h m- ʾl nbṭ; translation: "and he cast his spear and he struck with his sword and he penetrated all of his armour, so O Gdʿḏ, [grant] booty and security in compensation for whosoever saved water from the wells".

Commentary
Safaitic rmy is certainly connected to Arabic ramā "to throw." Unlike Arabic, however, its direct object, rmḥ (=Arabic rumḥ "lance, spear"), is introduced with b-. The word ḫzr does not have any suitable Semitic cognates, but from the context, its meaning "to strike", is rather clear. Likewise, mrq does not find a clear Arabic cognate (there it means "to let pass"). It could be read as "break" from the context; indeed, the other two occurrences of s¹ls¹l in Safaitic (KRS 1023; KRS 1039) are accompanied by the word ks¹r "to break" (cf. Arabic kasara). On the other hand, one could connect it to Syriac məraq "rub off rust", which is also used metaphorically to mean "to purify." In this case, the author might have intended a rather poetic statement, "and he was purified of his bonds." Safaitic s¹lḥ is connected to the same root in Arabic meaning "weapon" silāḥ. If the author was referring to the two aforementioned weapons, it should be read as a dual in the construct state, which would not be reflected in the orthography: *s¹ilāḥay-hu "his two weapons." On the other hand, the author might have been carrying more weapons, which were confiscated from him and not mentioned in the inscription. In this case, s¹lḥ would represent an internal plural, perhaps similar to suluḥ, which is a variant plural of s¹ilāḥ in Arabic.

Safaitic ḫlf is connected to Arabic ḫalaf "compensation" (Lane 796b). In this case, Safaitic ḫalafa min would be mean "compensation from" rather than "compensation for", as it does in Arabic. It is also worth noting that the D-stem (form II) and C-stem (form IV) of this root are used in prayers to God to give someone something to replace something that has been lost, thus: ḫalafa llāhu la-ka bi-ḫayrin and aḫlafa la-ka ḫayran "May God give you good in the place of that which has gone from thee" and aḫlafa llāhu la-ka māla-ka "May God replace to thee thy property" (Lane 792c). Note also that in Bedouin dialects of central Arabia taḫallaf bi- means "to take as compensation for a loss" (Sowayan 1992: 384).

Subjects
Genealogy

Site: Cairn 9
Latitude: 32.004667
Longitude: 37.212866
Present Location: In situ
Notes: Wadi Ḥamdah Maṭabb Ḥamdah
Associated Remains: Cairn

References:
[HaNS] Ḥarāḥšah [Harahsheh], R.M.A. Nuqūš ṣafāʾīyah ǧadīdah min al-bādīyah al-urdunīyah al-šimālīyyah al-šarqīyah — dirāsah muqāranah wa-taḥlīl. Unpublished doctoral thesis submitted at the University of Baghdad, August 2001. 2001.

[HaNSB] Ḥarāḥšah [Harahsheh], R.M.A. Nuqūš ṣafāʾiyyah min al-bādīyah al-urdunīyah al-šimālīyyah al-šarqīyah — dirāsah wa-taḥlīl. Amman: Ward, 2010.

Lane, E.W. An Arabic-English Lexicon, Derived from the Best and Most Copious Eastern Sources. (Volume 1 in 8 parts [all published]). London: Williams & Norgate, 1863-1893.

Sowayan, S.A. The Arabian Oral Historical Narrative: An Ethnographic and Linguistic Analysis. (Semitica Viva, 6). Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1992.

URL of this record (for citation): http://krc.orient.ox.ac.uk/ociana/corpus/pages/OCIANA_0019586.html