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1882
Volume 13, Issue 1
  • ISSN: 2031-5937
  • E-ISSN: 2295-9041

Abstract

Abstract

A Sabaic inscription on an alabaster block in the Medelhavsmuseet in Stockholm, dating to the middle of the 3rd century records the consecration of a monument to the god Almaqah in his temple at Maḥram Bilqīs in Maʾrib. The dedication is stated to be in gratitude for the safe return from the war expeditions of Ilīsharaḥ Yaḥḍub, king of Sabaʾ, and dhū-Raydān, son of Fāriʿum Yanhub. The inscription indicates that the dedication was done as a renewal offering in replacement of an earlier offering of a silver statue. Our discussion focuses on two rare lexemes in the ASA corpus, and . We argue that the preposition originates from the root √, one of the meanings of which in ASA is “to replace” from an original meaning of “to choose,” and that the term in the present context is a G-stem suffix conjugation verb signifying that the dedication of the statue had “failed” or “was cancelled.”

Abstract

Une inscription sabéenne en albâtre, conservée au Medelhavsmuseet à Stockholm et datant du milieu du e siècle de notre ère est une dédicace au dieu Almaqah dans son temple de Maḥram Bilqīs à Maʾrib. Cette dédicace est adressée par l’auteur au dieu en remerciement pour son retour sain et sauf des expéditions de guerre d’Ilīsharaḥ Yaḥḍub, roi de Sabaʾ et de dhū-Raydān, fils de Fāriʿum Yanhub. L’inscription relate aussi que la dédicace a été faite en remplacement de la précédente offrande d’une statue en argent. Notre article se concentre sur deux lexèmes qui se rencontrent rarement dans le corpus sudarabique ancien, et . Nous soutenons que la préposition dérive de la racine √, dont l’une des significations en sudarabique est « remplacer », à partir du sens originel « choisir », et que le terme dans cette inscription est un verbe au parfait et à la forme de base, signifiant que la dédicace de la statue « a échoué » ou « a été annulée ».

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