Rome Causes Despair among the Jewish People
(0146) Text: l ẓ‘n bn grm’l bn ẓ‘n bn ḃnt bn ẓ‘n bn ḫṭs¹t ḏ- ’l kn w wgd s¹fr grm’l f b’s¹ mn ẓll w qnṭ ’l rm s¹nt yhd f h lt […] wqyt m b’s¹
Translation: By Z‘n son of Grm’l son of Z‘n son of Bnt son of Z‘n son of Hts¹t of the lineage of Kn and he found the inscription of Grm’l and the Romans caused despair the year of the Jewish people […] and so Lt grant protection from distress this year.
Commentary: Safaitic text is in need of correction here and will be updated when possible. Michael Macdonald has offered a corrected translation used here. The inscription is in Safaitic and so the text is rendered here in transliteration instead of transcription, given difficulties in reproducing the latter (e.g., use of boustrephedon, non-standard characters).
Provenience: stateless desert region (Wādī Salma, Jordan) 66-67 or 132 CE
Bibliography: OCIANA #0030532* and private correspondence with Michael Macdonald