Sigla: Esk. 169; Hayajneh 2001, no. 1; Müller & Saʿīd 2001, no. 1; Livingstone 2005, no. I; Kootstra 2016: 72, 86, 90, 96, 101  Script: Taymanitic

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{}/- {}//{}/

Transliteration
1: ʾn/mrdn/{ḫ}lm/nbnd/mlk/bbl
2: ʾtwt/mʿ/rbs¹rs¹/kyt
3: {ʿ}nm/b- fl{ʾ}/tlw/b{d}t/lʿq

Translation
1: I am Mrdn {servant of} Nabonidus king of Babylon
2: I came with the Chief Officer Kyt
3: {in the waterless wilderness} beyond {the desert of} Lʿq

Apparatus Criticus
TEXT
Line 1. Eskoubi: zn rather than ʾn.
Line 3. Eskoubi: yʿnm b- flt rather than ʿnmb- fl{ʾ}; Hayajneh followed by Müller and Al-Saʿīd: ----nm b- fls¹ rather than ʿnm for b- fl{ʾ}; Livingstone: nm bfls¹ for ʿnm for b- fl{ʾ}. The photo shows that the final letter is clearly a ʾ not a s¹ in the word Fl{ʾ}.

TRANSLATION
Line 1. {ḫ}lm, Eskoubi: 'companion'; Livingstone: 'a supporter'.
Lines 2–3. Eskoubi: 'came with the 'eunuch' so that he graze in Flt close to Bdt, (and he is) greedy'; Hayajneh: 'came with the RBS¹RS¹ [or: 'army leader'] (so ?) ----nm in the attack/invasion [or: 'in the emigration'; 'for inspection/supervision'] behind the bare (?) desert'; Müller and Al-Saʿīd: 'so that he deployed in Falas (or: with the help of Fals) in pursuit of the Beduins from Laʿaq (or: for deterrent); Livingstone: 'I came with the commandant in order to advance ---- to hold (the enemy) back'.
Line 3. {ʿ}nm b fl{ʾ}, Kootstra: '{ʿ}nm in fl{ʾ}'.

Commentary
No suggestion for the first word of the 3rd line. The word divider after the f looks as though it has been erased. For flʾ perhaps cf. Arabic falāh ‘waterless desert’ (?). tlw following Hayajneh (2001: 86) ‘behind’ from Arabic tilw.
Rock drawings, possibly of a boat, and of horse(?)men.

Subjects
Genealogy Slave Historical Place-name

Country: Saudi Arabia
Region: Tabūk
Site: Al-Khabū al-Gharbī, near to Taymāʾ
Site number: 46
Map reference: Eskoubi: 27 32 88.9 N 38 28 44.0 E. No TS_13 co-ordinates
Latitude: 27.32889
Longitude: 38.28440
Present Location: In situ

References:
[Esk] Eskūbī [Eskoubi] Ḫ.M. Dirāsah taḥlīliyyah muqāranah li-nuqūš min minṭaqah (rum) ǧanūb ġarb taymāʾ. [English title: An Analytical and Comparative Study of Inscriptions from “Rum” region, South West of Tayma. Riyāḍ: wazīrat al-maʿārif, waqālat al-āṯār wa-l-matāḥif, 1999. Pages: 237–239

Hayajneh, H. Der babylonische König Nabonid und der RBSRS in einigen neu publizierten frühnordarabischen Inschriften aus Taymāʾ. Acta Orientalia 62, 2001: 22-64. Pages: 28–42, fig. 1a and b Number: 1

Hayajneh, H. First evidence of Nabonidus in the Ancient North Arabian inscriptions from the region of Taymāʾ. Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies 31, 2001: 81-95. Pages: 82–86, fig. 1a and b Number: 1

Kootstra, F. The Language of the Taymanitic Inscriptions and its Classification. Arabian Epigraphic Notes 2, 2016: 67–140 Pages: 72, 86, 90, 96, 101

Livingstone, A. Taimāʾ and Nabonidus. It's a Small World. Pages 29-39 in P. Bienkowski, C. Mee & E. Slater (eds), Writing and Ancient Near Eastern Society. Papers in Honour of Alan R. Millard. (Journal for the Study of the Old Testament. Supplement Series, JSOTS.S). New York / London: T. & T. Clark, 2005. Number: I

Müller, W.W. & Al-Saʿīd, S.F. Der babylonische König Nabonid in taymanischen Inschriften. Biblische Notizen 107-108, 2001: 109-119. Pages: 106–109, 122

URL of this record (for citation): http://krc.orient.ox.ac.uk/ociana/corpus/pages/OCIANA_0040238.html