Abu Simbel 2

CIS I 112b1

Grhkl bn hlm ’š ‘l š šb lḥmh

Gerhekal son of Helem. I am the one who sailed upstream … to Abu Simbel.

 

Helem must be ḥelem (vocalisation and meaning uncertain) (Benz 109, Krahmalkov p.184)

 

Gerhekal = Ger-Hêkal (Fearer of Hekal) (Benz 104, Krahmalkov p.143).

 

Helem is an almost unknown word in the Phoenician world. Maybe the origin was Egyptian. Gerhekal is a Phoenician name. At the end of the inscription there stands clearly lḥmh, but Krahmalkov thinks we have to read dlḥms = Abu Simbel.

 

 

CIS I 112c

Kšy bn ‘bdp‘m ’š ‘l š[d] – šk -- ḥmh

Kusi son of Abdp‘m. I am who sailed upstream to – Kusj to Abu Simbel?

 

The name of the son Kusi could be a naming to the land of Kusj. It could be a misspelling also, because we know the Phoenician word ksy (CIS I 2022; 3985) in the Punic language, but not kšy. The Egyptian name for the Nubian is kš. Another possibility is that it is a misspelling for ks’y (servant of Kese).  

Abdp‘m could be a misspelling, because we are aware of the Phoenician name Abddo‘m (Benz 104, Krahmalkov p.143).

It is obvious, that Kusi went to Abu Simbel (dlḥms), but here we find only the word --ḥmh. Maybe Abu Simbel was called in Egyptia ḥmh and in Phoenician: dlḥms.

It is difficult to retain your own proper language. That is why there are so many misspellings.

 

CIS I 113

’nk ’šmnytn ‘lt – n – r – h – nkpyn w‘lt‘r šrw

‘šmn[ytn] --- ‘r šrw

I am Ešmunyaton coming from – n – r – h – nkpyn? coming from Sharu.

Ešmunyaton – ‘r? Sharu.

 

Ešmunyaton = May Ešmun grant! (benz 71-72, Krahmalkov p.83).

The place Sharu is unknown.

 

A last inscription mentions only the name Kšy again (see CIS I 112c).

 

ncfps