Aramaic ostraca dated 362–301 BC bear witness to the presence of people of Edomite origin in the southern Shephelah and the Beersheva Valley before the Hellenistic period.
They contain personal names that can be defined as ‘Arabic’ on the basis of their linguistic features:
whb, qws-whb (opposed to Northwest Semitic yhb), ytʿ as opposed to Aramaic ysʿ and Hebrew yšʿ
quṭaylu diminutives: šʿydw, ʿbydw, nhyrw, zbydw
personal names ending in -w (wawation): ʿzyzw, ʿbdw, nmrw, mlkw, ḥlfw, zydw
personal names ending in feminine -t (as opposed to Aramaic and Hebrew -h): yʿft, ḥlft
personal names ending in -n [-aːn]: ʿdrn, mṭrn, ḥlfn, zydn
Aramaic ostraca dated 362–301 BC bear witness to the presence of people of Edomite origin in the southern Shephelah and the Beersheva Valley before the Hellenistic period. They contain personal names that can be defined as ‘Arabic’ on the basis of their linguistic features:
whb, qws-whb (opposed to Northwest Semitic yhb), ytʿ as opposed to Aramaic ysʿ and Hebrew yšʿ
quṭaylu diminutives: šʿydw, ʿbydw, nhyrw, zbydw
personal names ending in -w (wawation): ʿzyzw, ʿbdw, nmrw, mlkw, ḥlfw, zydw
personal names ending in feminine -t (as opposed to Aramaic and Hebrew -h): yʿft, ḥlft
personal names ending in -n [-aːn]: ʿdrn, mṭrn, ḥlfn, zydn
Old Arabic