Hudhud
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𐩠𐩵𐩠𐩵

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"CIAS: ii, 51 (photo)"

Text:

Translations:

1Ltwf, descendant of Btʿ, dedicated to ʾlmqh Ṯhwn, Lord of
2ʾwm, this statue in bronze, in praise because He granted her
3the return of her husband Rbbns¹rm ʾwḥs², descendant of Btʿ, in safety
4from the town of Ṣʿdtm and the land of Ḫwln Gddm, when their lords
5ʾls²rḥ Yḥḍb and his brother Yʾzl Byn, kings of Sabaʾ and
6ḏu-Raydān, sons of Frʿm Ynhb king of Sabaʾ, ordered to him to be commander and do service
7in the town of Ṣʿdtm and the land of Ḫwln Gddm, and in praise because ʾlmqh,
8Master of ʾwm looked after, protected and saved the person of His servant Ltwf,
9descendant of Btʿ, from the travail in which she brought forth a stillborn male child,
10thought she was not illprovided with (?sustinence?) in the confinement chamber; and ʾlmqh Master of ʾwm
11helped her and protected her person from that sickness; and may
12ʾlmqh Master of ʾwm continue to help her against sickness, distress, trouble,
13evil, mischief, maleficence, malice of any enemy or evildoer,
14near or far and backbiting (?); and may ʾlmqh, Lord of ʾwm, grant the safety
15of the person of her husband Rbbns¹rm ʾwḥs², descendant of Btʿ, and the safety
16of her person, and may He protect the persons of her two daughters Kmlʾwm and ʾbḥlk
17descendants of Btʿ, and may He grant her male healthy children,
18and may ʾlmqh Master of ʾwm grant them the goodwill and the satisfaction of their two
19lords ʾls²rḥ Yḥḍb and his brother Yʾzl Byn,
20kings of Sabaʾ and ḏu-Raydān, sons of Frʿm Ynhb king of Sabaʾ,
21and may ʾlmqh, Lord of ʾwm, help them and deliver them
22from evil and mischief and all evil chance and accidents,
23that they are unaware of or aware of; by ʾlmqh, Lord of ʾwm.

Translation Notes:

10The translation of the line is very uncertain. Here, Beeston in CIAS has been followed, but cf. Jamme: "without any quantity of food in the state chamber".
14for nqrm Beeston says: "Arabic naqara is litterally 'peck at', and although 'backbiting' seems a plausible implication, other types of unfriendly action could be envisaged".
22-23See also the translation in Nebes 1994.

Chronological

Period: D

Physical

Support: Object → Artefact → Base → Of statue with dedicatory inscription
Materials: Stone
Measures: h. 42, w. 22, th. 15
Decorations:
Figurative Subjects:
Symbol Shape: Totschläger
Subject Level 1: Symbol
Symbol Reference: God
Symbol Reference Text: ʾlmqh
Letter Measure: 1.3

Linguistic

Language: Ancient South Arabian → Sabaic → Central Middle Sabaic
Alphabet: Ancient South Arabian
Script Typology: Monumental writing
Textual Typology: Dedicatory text
Writing Techniques: Incision
Concordances: Ja 2109

Spatial

Site: Maḥram Bilqīs, Maʾrib, Yemen
Ancient Name: ʾwm
Type of Site: Religious area with a necropolis
Deposit:
settlement: Aden
institution: The National Museum
private Collection: false
identification Number: NAM 2495=AM 846

Similar Epigraphs

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