JSNab 17

JSNab 17 or the epitaph of Raqosh is a funerary inscription from Mada'in Salih, Saudi Arabia. It is dated to 267 AD and written in a mix of Nabataean Aramaic and Arabic. Besides the language, it is notable for the use of the possibly monotheistic epithet mry ʕlmʔ 'the Lord of the World'.

Text and translation

The inscription is read by Cantineau as follows:^[1]

th qbrw ṣnʕh kʕbw br
ḥrtt lrqwš brt
ʕbdmnwtw ʔmh why
hlkt py ʔlḥgrw
šnt mʔh wštyn
wtryn byrḥ tmwz wlʕn
mry ʕlmʔ mn yšnʔ ʔlqbrw
dʔ wmn yptḥh ḥšy w
wldh wlʕn mn yʕyr dʔ ʕly mnh

Cantineau gives the following translation (translated here from French):

This is a tomb which Kaʿabô, son
of Aretas made for Raqôš daughter of
ʿAbdmanôtô, his mother. She
died in Hegra,
in the year one-hundred-and-sixty-
two, in the month of Tammuz. And may
the Lord of the World curse whoever alters this tomb,
and whoever opens it, other than
her offspring, and may He curse whoever alters what is on it.

O'Connor reads dnh instead of th (1), dy instead of w (8), and yqbr wʔʕly instead of yʕyr dʔ ʕly (9).^[2] This yields:

As for this grave/This is a grave, which Kaʿb
bar Haritat made for Raqāsh berat
ʿAbd-Manāt, his mother. And she
died in al-Hijr
(in the) year one-hundred-sixty-
two in the month of Tammuz. And may
Marē ʿAlma curse him who alters this tomb
or open it, save for
him whom he (Kaʿb) has begotten/his progeny. And may he curse anyone who buries (anyone else in it) or exhumes (anyone) from it."

Language

Referring to the mixing of Aramaic and Arabic, O'Connor states that "the Raqāsh Epitaph is closer to being a polyglot puzzle than Nabatean plain text".^[3]

External links

JSNab 17 in the DiCoNab database

References

^ Cantineau, J. Le Nabatéen. Paris: Librairie Ernest Leroux, 1930–1932: 38.
^ M. O'Connor, "The Arabic Loanwords in Nabatean Aramaic". Journal of Near Eastern Studies 45.3 (1986), 213-229.
^ M. O'Connor, "The Arabic Loanwords in Nabatean Aramaic". Journal of Near Eastern Studies 45.3 (1986), 213-229: 227.

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[1] Cantineau, J. Le Nabatéen. Paris: Librairie Ernest Leroux, 1930–1932: 38.

[2] M. O'Connor, "The Arabic Loanwords in Nabatean Aramaic". Journal of Near Eastern Studies 45.3 (1986), 213-229.

[3] M. O'Connor, "The Arabic Loanwords in Nabatean Aramaic". Journal of Near Eastern Studies 45.3 (1986), 213-229: 227.

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