Barth, J. “Zur Bauinschrift Des Bar-RKHB.” Revue Sémitique d’épigraphie et d’histoire Ancienne 16 (1908): 241–42. https://hdl.handle.net/2027/hvd.32044083797290?urlappend=%3Bseq=1.
KAI 216
Metadata
- Language
- Aramaic
- Script
- Aramaic
- Updated by
- Cody Beasley, 2026-06-07
General Notes
This inscription, which mentions Bar-Rākib son of Panamuwa II and therefore dates to 733/2-727 BCE based on the reference to Tiglath-pileser III, was found during the five seasons of excavation at the site of ancient Sam’al undertaken from 1888-1902 by a team of researchers commissioned by the German Orient-Comité and the Berlin Museum. Carved in relief on dolerite, the inscription measures 62 by 131 cm. It describes not only the success of Bar-Rākib’s government, but also his loyalty to the Assyrian king Tiglath-pileser III. According to Donner and Röllig (1964), the icons beside the head of the king are intended to represent the Canaanite deities referred to in other Sam’alian inscriptions: the horned cap represents Hadad, the yoke represents Rākib-El, the star represents Rešef, the sun disk, Šamaš, and the crescent moon, Baʕal-Ḥarrān.
Clermont-Ganneau, Charles. “La Seconde Inscription de Bar-Rekoub.” In Recueil d’archéologie Orientale, Vol. 2. Paris: E. Leroux, 1888. https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/000879004.
Cooke, G. A. A Text-Book of North-Semitic Inscriptions: Moabite, Hebrew, Phoenician, Aramaic, Nabataean, Palmyrene, Jewish. Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1903.
Cross, Frank Moore. Early Hebrew Orthography ; a Study of the Epigraphic Evidence. American Oriental Series ; v. 36. New Haven: American Oriental Society, 1952.
Donner, Herbert, and Wolfgang Röllig. Kanaanäische und aramäische Inschriften. 5th ed. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, 2002.
Donner, Herbert, and Wolfgang Röllig, eds. Kanaanäische und aramäische Inschriften. 5., erw. Und überarbeitete Aufl. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1971.
Dupont-Sommer, André. Les Araméens. L’Orient ancien illustré 2. Paris: Dépôt: A. Maisonneuve, 1949.
Garbini, Giovanni. “L’aramaico Antico.” Memorie. Accademia Nazionale Dei Lincei 7 (1956): 235–85.
Halévy, J. “Deux Inscriptions Sémitiques de Zindjîrlî.” Revue Sémitique d’épigraphie et d’histoire Ancienne, 1893, 77–90.
Hoffman, Georg. “Zur Bauinschrift Des Barrekab.” Zeitschrift Für Assyriologie Und Vorderasiatische Archäologie 11 (1896): 317–32. https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.31158008693847?urlappend=%3Bseq=7.
Königliche Museen zu Berlin, ed. Ausgrabungen in Sendschirli. v. 1: Einleitung Und Inschriften. Vol. 1. 5 vols. Mittheilungen Aus Den Orientalischen Sammlungen, 1893. https://commons.library.stonybrook.edu/amar/141.
Lidzbarski, Mark. Handbuch der nordsemitischen Epigraphik : nebst ausgewählten Inschriften. Weimar : E. Felber, 1898. http://archive.org/details/bub_gb_ejZbAAAAQAAJ.
Müller, D. H. “Die Altsemitischen Inschriften von Sendschirli. (Schluss.).” Wiener Zeitschrift Für Die Kunde Des Morgenlandes 7 (1893): 113–40. https://www.jstor.org/stable/23860804.
Müller, D. H. “Die Bauinschrift Des Barrekub in Dem Kaiserlich Osmanischen Museum Zu Constantinopel.” Wiener Zeitschrift Für Die Kunde Des Morgenlandes 10 (1896): 193–97. https://www.jstor.org/stable/23860875.
Palacios, Ludovicus. Grammatica aramaico-biblica: ad usum scholarum exercitiis, textibus et vocabulario ornata. 3. ed.--. Romae: Desclee et Socii, 1959.
Poebel, Arno. “Das Appositionell Bestimmte Pronomen Der 1. Pers. Sing. in Den Westsemitischen Inschriften Und Im Alten Testament.” Assyriological Studies 3 (1932): 86. https://isac.uchicago.edu/research/publications/as/3-das-appositionell-bestimmte-pronomen-der-1-pers-sing-den-westsemitischen.
Pritchard, James B. Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament with Supplement. 3rd ed. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1969. https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691035031/ancient-near-eastern-texts-relating-to-the-old-testament-with.
Image
Text and Translation
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James Moore Last updated 28 April, 2026 by James D. Moore
James Moore Last updated 28 April, 2026 by James D. Moore
I am Ba[r]rakib
son of Panamuwwa, king of Samˀal,
servant of Tiglatpilesar, lord of
the four (corners) of the earth. By the righteousness of my and by my righteousness,
my lord Rakkabˀel (6) and my lord Tiglathpilesar (5) sat me
on
the throne of my father. The house of my father [la]bored
more than all (others). I have run at the wheel of
my lord, the king of Aššûr in the midst of
great kings, masters of silver
and masters of gold. I took
the house of my father, and I bettered it
more than a single house of great kings.
My brothers the kings were envious
regarding all that is good (concerning) my house. And with me
is fortune unlike that to my ancestors the kings of
Samˀal. Indeed, the palace of Kilamuwwa
was theirs. For indeed the winter palace was theirs,
and indeed the summer palace was theirs. But I
built this palace.
Moore, James D., Cody Beasley. 'KAI 216.' DEAPS. 12 Dec, 2025. https://deaps.osu.edu/text_objects/11656. Accessed: 13 Jun, 2026.