A Phoenician Inscription from across the border, and the Perennity of the Phoenician Identity!

Oum El-Amed, Ma’sub, South Lebanon, Northern Israel, Phoenician Inscription. 222 BC. (KAI:19)

Inscription carved on a stone plaque, dated to 222 BC. It is now present in the Louvre Museum in Paris France.
It was purchased from the inhabitants of the village of Ma’sub, South of Ras-en-Naqura in 1885. At that time, this area was part of the district of Acre under the Ottoman Empire. This would be now in Northern Israel/Historical Palestine.
The inscription’s true provenance is from Umm El-Amad a ruined site North of it on the Lebanese side of the border which is currently at Ras En-Naqura.
The inscription describes the dedication of a Portico in a Phoenician temple to the goddess Astarte.

Phoenician Inscription using the modified Latin Alphabet:
(1) ꟲRPT KBRT MṢᵓ ŠMŠ WṢ(2)PLY ᵓŠ BN HᵓLM MLᵓK MLK(3)ꟲŠTRT WꟲBDY BꟲL ḤMN (4) LꟲŠTRT BᵓŠRT ᵓL ḤMN (5) BŠT 26 LPTLMYS ᵓDN (6)MLKM HᵓDR PꟲL NꟲM BN PT(7)LMYS WᵓRSNᵓS ᵓLN ᵓḤ(8)YM ŠLŠ ḤMŠM ŠT LꟲM ṢR (9) KM ᵓŠ BN ᵓYT KL ᵓḤRY HMQD(10)ŠM ᵓŠ BᵓRṢ LKN LM LSKR (11) WŠM NꟲM LꟲLM.

Phoenician Inscription using the Hebrew Alphabet:
1-ערפת כברת מצא שמש וצ-2-פלי אש בן האלם מלאך מלך-3-עשתרת ועבדי בעל חחן-4-
לעשתרת באשרת אל חמן-5-בשת 26 לפתלמיס אדן-6- מלכם האדר פעל נעם בן פת-7-למיס וארסנאס אלן אח-8-ים שלש חמשם שת לעם צר 9 כמ אש בן אית כל אחרי המק-10-דשם אש בארץ לכן לם לסכר 11 ושם נעים לעלם

A French Translation:
1-Le portique vers l’Orient et ses piliers (sont ce)
2-qu’ont bâti les puissants, envoyés de Milk-Astarté
3-et ses serviteurs les citoyens de Hammon,
4- pour Astarté, dans le sanctuaire de la divinité Hammon.
5-En l’an 26, de Ptolémaïs, seigneur
6-des rois, le grand, le bienfaiteur, fils de
7-Ptolémaïs et d’Arsinoé, les divins frère et sœur,
8-(en) l’an 53eme , d’après l’Ere
9- de Tyr. De même, ils ont bâti tous les sanctuaires
10- restants sur la terre, afin que ce soit pour eux un souvenir
11- et bon nom pour toujours.

An English Translation :
1-The large Eastern Portico and its pillars
2-which were built by the mighty messenger of Milk-Astarte,
3-and his servants, the citizens of Hammon,
4-for (the goddess) Astarte, in the shrine of the god Hammon.
5-In the 26th year of Ptolemy, lord of kings,
6-the great, the benefactor, son of
7-of Ptolemy and Arsinoe; the divine brother and sister,
8-(being) the fifty-third year of the people of Tyre.
9-Just as they built all the other sanctuaries
10- which are in the land, to be for them, as a memorial,
11-and a good name forever.

An Arabic Translation:
1-الرواق الشرقي الكبير واساساته 2- بناها القوي، مبعوث ميلك-عشترت 3- وعبيده مواطني حمّون-4-لاللاهة عشترت ، في مقام الاله حمّون.-5- في السنة 26 لبطليموس، سيد الملوك.-6-القدير، المحسن، ابن-7 –بطليموس وارسينوي، الشقيقين الاهيين.-8 – التي توافق السنة الثالثة والخمسين لشعب صورـ 9 –كما انهم بنوا سائر الهياكل المقدسة-10- المتبقية في الأرض، لكي يكونوا لهم تذكاراً- 11- واسماً حسناً للآبد.

References:

1- Les inscriptions Phéniciennes et leur style, Fady Stéphan, publications de l’Université Libanaise, Beyrouth, Liban 1985.
2- A Phoenician-Punic Grammar, Charles R. Krahmalkov, Brill, 2001.
3- Textbook of Syrian Semitic Inscriptions, Volume III, Phoenician Inscriptions. J. Gibson. Oxford University Press, 2002.
4- Phoenician-Punic Dictionary, Charles R. Krahhmalkov, Peeters, Orientalia Lovaniensia, Studia Phoenicia XV, Leuven 2000
5-A Comparative Semitic Lexicon of the Phoenician and Punic Languages. Richard S. Tomback. Society of Biblical Literature Dissertation series number 32. Wipf and Stock Publishers, 1978 republished 2019.
6-A Grammar of Phoenician and Punic, Stanislav Segert. Verlag C.H. Beck Munchen, 1976.
7-OFFICIAL KING JAMES BIBLE ONLINE: AUTHORIZED KING JAMES VERSION (KJV)
8-Ptolemaic Kingdom – Wikipedia
9-https://mechon-mamre.org/copy.htm