MIR 5

id: 655

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It appears to have been discovered by H. St.J.B Philby on his visit to the Ruwāfa temple in 1951 (PLM p. 146) and was photographed there by Ruth Stiel in 1966 (AAAW(b) p. 23, pl. 6).
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{d}nh bytʾ dy {ʿ}bd šʿdt ʾpkl
{ʾ}[l]{h}ʾ br {m}gydw {d}{y} mn rbtw
lʾl{h}[ʾ] ʾlh ---- {ḥ}pyt
mrʾn{ʾ} ---- {h}gmwnʾ
---- {r}mnw
Word list - MIR 5
  • ʾlh – Subst. sg. construct 1
  • {ʾ}[l]{h}ʾ – Divine name 2
  • ʾpkl – Subst. sg. construct 1
  • bytʾ – Subst. sg. emphatic 1
  • dy – Determinative relative pronoun 2
  • {d}nh – Demonstrative pronoun masc. sg. 1
  • {h}gmwnʾ – Subst. sg. emphatic 1
  • {ḥ}pyt – Subst. sg. construct 1
  • l- – Preposition 1
  • {m}gydw – Man’s personal name 1
  • mn – Preposition 1
  • mrʾ – Subst. sg. suffixed 1
  • -n{ʾ} – Enclitic personal pronoun pl. 1
  • {ʿ}bd – Suffix conjugation pʿl (G-stem) 1
  • rbtw – Place name 1
  • šʿdt – Man’s personal name 1
{د} ن ه ب ي ت ا د ي {ع} ب د ش ع د ت ا ف ك ل
{ا} [ل] {ه} ا ب ر {م} ج ي د و {د} {ي} م ن ر ب ت و
ل ا ل {ه} [ا] ا ل ه ---- {ح} ف ي ت
م ر ا ن {ا} ---- {ه} ج م و ن ا
---- {ر} م ن و
This is the temple which Šʿdt priest of {ʾlhʾ} son of {Mgydw} who is from Rbtw made for {ʾlhʾ} the god of ---- [with?] {the encouragement of} our lord ---- the {governor} ---- {rmnw}
A later study of the excellent photograph of the inscription on ISAA p. 92 suggests that the first partially surviving letter of the last word in line 5 is r not ʿ (as read in MaRI p. 55).
The inscription is within a tabula ansata (GTRPR p. 258, fig. 14). It has been badly damaged first by a crude drawing of a horseman wielding a long lance and then by a large chip removing the central part of line 4 and almost the whole of line 5, plus anything below it. The reference to “Our lord ... the governor” makes it almost certain that the temple referred to here as “bytʾ” is the one described as “nwsʾ” in MIR 1. For a commentary on the deity mentioned in this inscription and the financing of the construction of the temple, see GTRPR p. 265–266. GTRPR (p. 257–258) suggests that the Greek inscription MIR 3, and MIR 4 were respectively on the left and right of the main entrance to the temple, but admits that this is uncertain.
3 photo links
MIR 5 photo general 2
MIR 5 photo general 1
MIR 5 photo detail line 5
No facsimile found

7 editions or commentaries found

reference reading category translation category page photograph copy squeeze card status
AAAW(b)
Altheim 1969, Die Araber 		Incomplete reading Incomplete translation 25 fig. 6 p. 552 Checked
GTRPR
Gatier 2022, Temple de Ruwāfa 		Commentary Commentary 257 fig. 14 Checked
HQGN
Hackl 2003, Quellen 		Other reading Other translation 300–302 Checked
ISAA
Introduction to Saudi Arabian Antiquities 		Unread Not translated 92 p. 92 Checked
MaRI
Macdonald 2015, Ruwāfah Inscriptions 		Correct reading Correct translation 55–56 Fig 1.24 Checked
MIR
Milik 1971 [1972], BIAUL 10 		Editio Princeps Editio Princeps 57–58 Checked
PLM
Philby 1957, Land of Midian 		Unread Not translated 146 Checked
last change: 09/04/2025 - 10:29:13 (Laïla Nehmé)
created on: 20/03/2025 - 13:11:00 (Laïla Nehmé)