This book “ Translation of Phoenician Inscriptions ”, using both English and Arabic to translate the Phoenician scripts, takes a new trend in translation based on depth of knowledge on the Phoenician language, culture and everyday life. Place names as well as proper nouns, whether those of deities, locations, or personal nouns, are deemed as the people to whom they belonged would be written and pronounced. So, there will be no more “ Shipitbaal “ for the real “ Shafitbaal “ and no more “ Tannit “ for the name of the gentle female deity “ Tanit .” It was thought that the twenty two (22) consonants of the Phoenician alphabet produced only as many sounds only, whereas they stood for twenty seven phonetic sounds. This will show the real quality to the Phoenician tongue as spoken by the Phoenicians.
Every inscription is rewritten in an advanced font with parallels in both English and Arabic to every single letter of every word. The original twenty two inscriptions were chosen from different periods and from a large scope of distribution on the world map to reflect different life themes of those long gone days.
The second version added six new inscriptions, that of Ashmonazar, son of King Tabnit of Sidon, which is considered of great importance for its historical value about the epoch in which it was made. Also, inscriptions in a chapter of Tanit Stelae besides the last additions of the mini throne of the goddess Ashatart discovered in Khirbit El Taybeh east of Tyre.
The current version adds a great number of inscriptions to reflect the basic themes that shed light on the people, their beliefs, and their ways of living.
This 2025 edition was enlarged by the addition of Chapter 17 which contains fifteen sections each with a new inscription with full details and translation.
