32 r Brannon Wheeler
Aramaic stone, perhaps from the time of Nabonidus in the fifth century
bce, now in the Louvre, pictures the god Salm of Hajam above a cult of-
ficiant before an altar.
In the 22nd year... [in Taym]a, Salm of Mahran and Shingala
Ashira, the gods of Tayma, to Slam of [Hajam]... appointed him
on this day [in Tay]ma... which Salm-Shezeb, son of Pet-Osiri,
set up [hqym] in the temple of Salm of Hajam, therefore the gods
of Tayma made grants to Salm-Shezeb, son of Pet-Osiri, and to his
descendents in the temple of Salm of Hajam, and any man who
shall destroy this pillar [swt’], may the gods of Tayma pluck out him
and his descendants and his name from before Tayma. This is the
grant.... Neither gods nor men shall bring out Salm-Shezeb, son of
Pet-Osiri, from this temple, neither his descendants nor his name
(who are) priests [kmry’] in this temple forever.^47The connection between the cult officiant, here identified as a “kmr,” and
the setting up of the stone in a sanctuary is further emphasized by the
protection of the stone and the site being linked with the family of the
cult officiant.
A number of the inscriptions show a connection between the standing
stones and burial sites. A similar connection between nušūb and tombs is
made in Q 70:43.
The day they emerge from their graves quickly [al-ajdāth sirā ̔-an]
as though rushing to nušūb.A Neo-Punic inscription from Tunis designates a stone “set up” [tn’ ’bn
z] to mark the tomb of Ahath-Milkath. Other types of standing stones
are used to mark the places of sanctuaries and burial sites. Lihyanite and
Hasaean inscriptions refer to the protection [hm] of tombs, and the Naba-
taean Turkmānīyah tomb inscription provides an elaborate description of
the consecration and protections afforded the tombs on which it is writ-
ten.^48 Other terms, such as wgr and npš, can refer to both tombs and sanc-
tuary markers, and the widespread use of these terms may indicate that
one of the primary means for identifying a sanctuary was with a tomb.^49
The term npš is commonly used among the Safaitic cairns of the basalt
desert.^50 A Nabataean inscription marks a spot dedicated “to Allah and
her wgr.” Several Lihyanite inscriptions on standing stones refer to the
erection of a “kherem” [hrm] on a regular, seasonal basis, as a gift to the