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List of Mandaic manuscripts

This article contains a list of Mandaic manuscripts, which are almost entirely Mandaean religious texts written in Classical Mandaic.

Well-known Mandaean texts include the Ginza Rabba (also known as the Sidra Rabbā) and the Qolastā. Texts for Mandaean priests include The 1012 Questions, among others. Some, like the Ginza Rabba, are codices (bound books), while others, such as the various diwans, are illustrated scrolls.[1]


This list is by no means exhaustive. Institutional libraries and private collections contain various Mandaean religious texts that are little known or even unknown to the international scholarly community.[2]

Background[edit]

Mandaean copyists or scribes (Mandaic: sapra[3]) may transcribe texts as a meritorious deed for one's own forgiveness of sins, or they may be hired to copy a text for another person.[4] Mandaean sacred scriptures, such as the Ginza Rabba are traditionally kept in wooden chests wrapped in layers of white cotton and silk cloth. These protected manuscripts are generally not touched by ordinary laypeople, although learned laymen (yalufa) who demonstrate proper knowledge and respect for the manuscripts are usually granted access by priests, similar to the level of respect given to the Guru Granth Sahib in Sikhism.[5] Gloves are worn while handling copies of the Ginza Rabba that are used for liturgical purposes.

History[edit]

Little is known about the redactors or authors of the texts. The contents date to both pre-Islamic and Islamic periods. The oldest Mandaean magical text is dated to the 4th and 5th centuries CE.


During the past few decades, Majid Fandi al-Mubaraki, a Mandaean living in Australia, has digitized many Mandaean texts using typesetted Mandaic script.[7]

(The Great Treasure, also known as The Book of Adam) (DC 22)

Ginza Rabba

Qolastā

Niana

, also known as The Book of Kings

Mandaean Book of John

(Scroll of Great Revelation) (DC 9, 36)

Haran Gawaita

(DC 8)

Scroll of Abatur

(DC 35)

The Baptism of Hibil Ziwa

(DC 36 [complete, with all 7 books], DC 6 [incomplete])

The Thousand and Twelve Questions

(DC 38)[8]

The Wedding of the Great Šišlam

, describes a ritual for the ordination of the Mandaean clergy)

The Coronation of the Great Šišlam

(DC 31)

Book of the Zodiac

(DC 34)

Scroll of Exalted Kingship

The primary three scriptures containing the most important narratives, liturgies, and doctrines of Mandaeism are the Ginza Rabba, Mandaean Book of John, and Qolasta. The Haran Gawaita is a history text, while the others are priestly esoteric texts.

Tafsir Pagra ( of the Body), part of The Thousand and Twelve Questions

Tafsir

Diwan ḏ-Nahrauta (, a description of the Šum-Kušṭa world)

Scroll of the Rivers

Šarh Traša ḏ-Mandi

The mass () of Šitil, Ṭabahata ["Fathers"] and Dukrania ["the dead"]

masiqta

Diwan Qadaha Rabbā (Scroll of the Great Lord)

Šarh ḏ-Ptaha ḏ-Bimanda

Šarh ḏ-Masiqta Dakia (The Oil Sacrament)

Šarh ḏ- (The Blessed Oblation)

Zidqa Brika

Šafta ḏ-Masihfan Rabbā (The Scroll of the Great Overthrower) (DC 37)

Šarh ḏ-Maṣbuta Rabtia ḏ-Tlaima Usitin Maṣbutiata

Niania ḏ-Maṣbuta ( Hymnbook)

Masbuta

Šums ḏ-Mara ḏ-Rabuta

Diwan Razii ḏ-Bhathia (, or "Scroll and tafsir of the secrets of the ancestors", Ms Asiat. Misc. C 13 (R)). The text lists the names Barmeil, Bihdad, Bihram, Šišlam, Šišlameil, Manhareil, Nureil, Zihrun, Sahqeil, Haiil, and Reil.[9]

Diwan u-tafsir ḏ-razia ḏ-abahata

Diwan

Dmuth Kušṭa

Diwan Tafsir Owaljē

Alma Rišaia

Alma Rišaia Rabbā

Bšumaihun ḏ-hiia rbia (In the Name of the Great Life)

Zarazti (i.e., various Zrazta [plural])

Bišrati

various texts

Masiqta

Impurity and Healing (Mandaean?)

Burial, Postulancy and Priesthood (Mandaean?)

Commentary on the First Baptism of the Neophytes (Mandaean?)

Šafta ḏ-mihla (The Scroll of Salt) (Bodleian Library MS. DC 40)

Šarh ḏ-Parwānājē, or Panšā (The ) (Bodleian Library MS. DC 24[10]): The Parwanaya Festival. The manuscript is complete at the beginning and in the middle.

Scroll of the Parwanaya

(Bodleian Library MS. DC 42)

Šarh ḏ-Ṭabahata

(Bodleian Library MS. DC 27)[11]

Šarh ḏ-Zihrun-Raza-Kasia

Codex Petermann I, 155;

Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin

Leiden texts; formerly held in Amsterdam

(Ms. Borgiani Siriaci 175, held at the Vatican Library)[12]

Diwan Abatur

DC 1 – prayerbook (codex) containing prayers for rituals such as minor ablutions (rahmia and lofania). 238 pp.

[6]

DC 2 – prayerbook (codex) called the Sidra ḏ-Nišmata ("Book of the Soul") that was copied by Shaikh Nejm (or Negm; full priestly name: Adam Negm, son of Zakia Zihrun, son of Ram Zihrun) for Drower in 1933. 155 pp. Jacques de Morgan had also acquired a copy of the Book of Souls during his travels to Iran from 1889 to 1891.[2]

[6]

DC 3 – codex of prayer fragments (incomplete ), such as prayers for minor ablutions, the rahmia (devotions), qulasta, masiqta, zidqa brikha (blessed oblations), and myrtle and banner (drabša) hymns. It was bound by Sheikh Dakhil Aidan in Amarah.[2]

Qolasta

DC 4 – codex consisting of a Mandaic-English glossary compiled by Shaikh Nejm for Drower, with the help of an English-speaking Mandaean. See Hezy & Morgenstern (2012).

[24]

DC 5 – prayerbook (codex). Known as the "Prayers of Yahya." Copied by Hirmiz bar Anhar.

[6]

DC 6 – Alf Trisar Šiala ("", incomplete version[6]). Contains parts 3-7 (out of 7 parts total) of the 1012 Questions. One part is known as the Tafsir Pagra. 12 inch-wide scroll with 1652 lines. Copied by Adam Zihrun, son of Bihram Šitlan, of the Ša‛puria clan in Shushtar in 1557.

1012 Questions

DC 7 – Diwan Nahrwata ("The "). The illustrated scroll is a geographical treatise.[1] Kurt Rudolph published a German translation in 1982, based on a Baghdad copy originally from Ahvaz.[25] About 3300 words. Copied by Ram Zihrun, son of Sam Bihram, Kupašia in Shushtar in 1259 A.H. (1843 A.D.).

Scroll of the Rivers

DC 8. A scroll wrapped in linen cloth that is 48 feet long and 1 foot wide. Copied by Ram Yuhana, son of Ram, Dihdaria and Sabur clans.

Diwan Abatur

DC 9. Copied by Ram Zihrun, son of Sam Bihram, Kupašia in Margab, Iran in 1276 A.H. (1859 A.D.).

Haran Gawaita

DC 10 – Pišra ḏ-Šambra (love charm magic scroll). A qmaha that is an invocation to Libat (Venus). Translated and published in JRAS (1939).

[26]

DC 11zrazta (talisman). Illustrated scroll with 183 lines.

DC 12 – Pašar Haršia ("The Exorcism of Wizards" / "The Loosing of Spells"). A qmaha that is an exorcism of witches and wizards. Purchased by Drower from Shaikh in Ahvaz in 1933. Dates to 1196 A.H. / 1782 C.E. Transcribed by Adam Yuhana, son of Sam, Kamisia clan at Šaka by the Karka River. An English translation of the colophon can be found in Gelbert (2017).[27]: xlii–xliii 

Abdallah

DC 13zrazta of . Also called "Roll C." Part of the Zrazta d Hibil Ziwa (DC 44). Purchased by Drower from Shaikh Kumait in 1933.

Hibil Ziwa

DC 14zrazta or magical / "protective" text. Part of the Zrazta d Hibil Ziwa (DC 44). Purchased by Drower from Shaikh Kumait. 185 lines.

[6]

DC 15zrazta of the Great (Zrazta ḏ-Ptahil Rba).[6] A very long scroll purchased by Drower from Shaikh Nejm, in Qal‛at Saleh in April 1933. Also called "Roll E."

Ptahil

DC 16 – Exorcism scroll. Also called "Roll F." 101 lines. Purchased by Drower in 1933.

DC 17 – Šalhafta ḏ-Mahra. A small 2.5-inch wide exorcism scroll also called "Roll G."

DC 18 – Zrazta ḏ-Šuba Šibiahia ("The Talisman of the Seven Planets"). There is a section for each of the seven planets. Copied by Shaikh Faraj for Drower in Baghdad in 1935.

DC 19 – Šalhafta ḏ-Mahra ("The Exorcism of Illness"), consisting of two texts.

[26]

DC 20 – Šafta ḏ-Dahlulia ("The Scroll of, i.e. against Evil Spirits"). Illustrated scroll copied for Drower in Baghdad in 1935. Dates to 1250 A.H. 236 lines.[29]

[28]

DC 21 – Šafta ḏ-Pišra ḏ-Ainia ("Exorcism of the Evil and Diseased Eyes"). Copied by Shaikh Faraj for Drower in December 1935. 803 lines. Published in by Drower JRAS No. 3 (Jul. 1939).[30] Early forerunner in Mandaic lead roll 4th-5th cent. CE[31] Analysis by Hunter (2013).[32]

[26]

DC 22 codex. Purchased by Drower from Shaikh Nejm in 1936. Transcribed in 1831 by Ram Zihrun, son of Sam Bihram, Kupašia. Ram Zihrun copied the Right Ginza in Qurna, and the Left Ginza in Basra.

Ginza Rba

DC 23 – Pašar Sumqa / Pašar Smaq ("The Exorcism of Fever"). Purchased by Drower from Shaikh Nejm in 1936. 777 lines.

[26]

DC 24 – Šarḥ ḏ-Parwanaia, or Panšā ("The ").[1] German translation and commentary by Burtea (2005).[10] Used for rituals such as the consecration of the cult-hut, the dove (ba) sacrifice, zidqa brikha, the myrtle ritual, etc.

Scroll of the Parwanaya

DC 25 – a qmaha scroll. Purchased by Drower from Hirmiz bar Anhar in Baghdad in 1936.

DC 26 – two talismans (qmahas). Published by Drower in Iraq 5 (1938): 31–54. Consists of two texts: Bit Mišqal Ainia and Riš Tus Tanina. Copied by Shaikh Faraj for Drower in December 1936. Bit Mišqal Ainia (Qmaha ḏ-Bit mišqal ainia), a different version of DC 28, was published in Drower (1938).[33]

[1]

DC 27 / Masiqta Zihrun Raza Kasia ("The Masiqta of Zihrun, the Hidden Mystery").[1] The text covers the masbuta (in lines 23–190) and masiqta (in lines 232–523) of Zihrun Raza Kasia. German translation and commentary by Burtea (2008).[11] An illustrated scroll purchased by Drower from Shaikh Yahia, Qal’at Salih in May 1937. 559 lines. See Rebrik (2008).[34]

Šarḥ ḏ-Zihrun-Raza-Kasia

DC 28 – Pišra ḏ-Bit Mišqal Ainia (The Exorcism of "I Sought to Lift My Eyes"), a qmaha text. Purchased by Drower from Shaikh Nejm in June 1937. Published in Drower (1938).[33]

[1]

DC 29 – Pišra ḏ-Ainia / Pašar Ainia ("Exorcism of the Evil Eye"). Purchased by Drower from Shaikhs Nejm and Yahia in November 1937.

DC 30 – Draša ḏ-Yahia ("Teaching of Yahia" or ) (codex).[6] Purchased by Drower from Shaikhs Nejm and Yahia in November 1937. The manuscript copying was finished on March 16, 1753 A.D. (1166 A.H.).[14] Copied in Shushtar by Ram Yuhana, son of Ram, Dihdaria.

Mandaean Book of John

DC 31 (codex). Purchased by Drower from Shaikhs Nejm and Yahia in November 1937. Dates to 1247 A.H. (c. 1812 A.D.).

Book of the Zodiac

DC 32 – The qmahia of Nirigh, Sira, and Libat ("exorcism of Mars, Moon, and Venus"). Love talisman scroll. Purchased by Drower from Shaikh Nejm in 1938.

DC 33 – Three qmahia (exorcism scrolls): Šuba lbišna, ‛Sirna hthimna, and Yawar Ziwa nišimtai. Purchased by Drower at Litlata in April 1938. Published in (Oct. 1937).[35]

JRAS

DC 34 / Diwan Malkuta 'laita. Illustrated scroll purchased by Drower from Shaikh Nejm in April 1939. 1353 lines.

Scroll of Exalted Kingship

DC 35 – Diwan Maṣbuta ḏ-Hibil Ziwa ("").[36] Bought in Persia through Shaikh Nejm on April 29, 1939. Dates to 1247 A.H. (c. 1750 A.D.). Colophons analyzed in Morgenstern (2019).[37]

The Baptism of Hibil Ziwa

DC 36 and 1012 Questions (complete version with all 7 books).[6] A long scroll that is 12 inches wide and 626 inches (17 yards, 14 inches) long.

Haran Gawaita

DC 37 – Šafta ḏ-Masihfan Rba ("The Scroll of the Great Overthrower"). Copied by Yahia Bihram, son of Adam Yuhana, in Suq eš-Šuyuk in 1861. 633 lines.

[1]

DC 38 – Šarḥ ḏ-qabin ḏ-Šišlam Rba ("").[8] A scroll that Drower had purchased from Shaikh Nejm in April 1939, along with DC 36, 37, and 39. Transcribed by Adam Yuhana.

The Marriage Ceremony of the Great Šišlam

DC 39 – Šafta ḏ-Qaština ("The Scroll of 'I Shoot'"), a qmaha that Drower had purchased from Shaikh Nejm in April 1939. Transcribed in 1802 by Adam Yuhana.

[26]

DC 40 – Šafta ḏ-mihla ("The Scroll of Salt") or Pašra mihla ("The Excorcism of Salt"). An exorcism scroll that uses personified salt to exorcise illnesses and evil spirits. Purchased by Drower from Shaikh Nejm in May 1939. Salt is also frequently sprinkled around Mandaean houses to keep evil spirits away. See Tarelko (2008).[38]

[23]

DC 41 ("The Great Supreme World").[6] English translation and commentary by Drower (1963).[39] An illustrated scroll about 545 lines long, dating to 1220 A.H. Transcribed by Adam Yuhana. Bought by Drower from Shaikh Nejm from Iraq in the autumn of 1939.

Alma Rišaia Rba

DC 42 - Šarḥ ḏ-Ṭabahata ("The Scroll of Ṭabahata" [Parents], or "The ").[1] Used for Parwanaya rituals. Transcribed in 1743 and has 834 lines. Similar to Prayer 170 of the Qolasta, but some names are different. Commentary by Buckley (2010).[2]

Scroll of the Ancestors

DC 43 – The Poor Priest's Treasury, a scroll consisting of qmahas used for exorcism and magic. The contents are: Qmaha ḏ-ṣir Sahria; Qmaha ḏ-Shaiul; the three related texts Shuba libishna, ‛sirna bthimna, and Yawar Ziwa (see DC 33); Shalhafta ḏ-Mahria (see DC 19); Qmaha ḏ-Dahlulia (see DC 20); Qmaha ḏ-Gastata; Qmaha ḏ-Br Ingaria; Qmaha ḏ-Yurba; Qmaha ḏ-Šuba; Qmaha ḏ-Qastina (of DC 39 and copy in Bodleian). Purchased by Drower from Shaikh Nejm in 1939 and dates to 1270 A.H.[29]

[1]

DC 44 – Zrazta ḏ-Hibil Ziwa ("The Protection of Hibil Ziwa"). The longest talisman in the Drower Collection. Purchased by Drower from Shaikh Nejm in 1939 and dates to 1209 A.H. Transcribed in Qurna in 1794 by Sam Bihram, son of Yahia Yuhana, Dihdaria, who also transcribed DC 34. 2140 lines with 2 colophons.[40] The text was first made known to the international scholarly community by Jacques de Morgan (1905),[41] based on a qmaha scroll that de Morgan had purchased during his travels to Iran from 1889 to 1891.[2]

[26]

DC 45 – Haršia Bišia ("A Mandaean Book of Black Magic"). Partially published in journal articles.[42][26]

[6]

DC 46 – Haršia Bišia ("A Mandaean Book of Black Magic"[26]). Copied by Shaikh Abdallah in March 1942. Different version of DC 45. Partially published in journal articles.[42]

[6]

DC 47 – Pišra ḏ-Šambra ("A Phylactery for Rue").[44][1] Copied by Yahia Bihram, son of Adam Yuhana.

[43]

DC 48 ("The Smaller Supreme World")[18] (listed as DC 47 in Drower 1953[6]). English translation and commentary by Drower (1963).[39] A text from Shushtar. Dates to 972 A.H. or 1564 A.D.

Alma Rišaia Zuṭa

DC 49 – Small exorcism scroll

DC 50 – Šarḥ ḏ-Maṣbuta Rabtia ("The ").[1] Ritual scroll describing the 360 baptisms (masbutas) for a polluted priest. Also called "Fifty Baptisms" and the Raza Rba ḏ-Zihrun. Dates from 1867 and has 962 lines. See Güterbock (2008).[45]

Scroll of the Great Baptism

DC 51 – Pišra ḏ-Pugdama ḏ-Mia ("Exorcism: the Command of the Waters"). Exorcism invoking the personified waters of life. Dates to 1277 A.H.

[26]

DC 52 – missing

DC 53 (Canonical Prayerbook, a complete codex). Purchased by Drower in 1954. Copied in 1802 by the ganzibra Adam Yuhana, the father of Yahia Bihram, in Huwaiza, Khuzistan.

Qolasta

DC 54. English translation and commentary by Drower (1962). Or. 6592, British Museum is another manuscript of this text.[46] The scroll is from Basra and dates to 1008 A.H. (1599 A.D.). Copied by Sam Šitlan, son of Ram Bayan, Ša‛puria clan.

The Coronation of the Great Šišlam

DC 55 – Drower's personal notebook

The Drower Collection (DC), held at the Bodleian Library in Oxford University, is the most extensive collection of Mandaean manuscripts. The collection consists of 55 Mandaean manuscripts collected by E. S. Drower. Drower has published some of the smaller texts in journal articles, while other larger texts have been published as monographs. Many texts remain unpublished.[1]


Drower donated MSS. Drower 1–53 to the Bodleian Library in 1958. MS. Drower 54 (The Coronation of the Great Šišlam) was given to the library by Lady Drower in 1961, and MS. Drower 55 (Drower's personal notebook) was added in 1986.[22] DC 1–5, 22, 30, 31, 38, 45, and 53 are codices, with the rest of the DC manuscripts being scrolls.[2]


A list of manuscripts in the Drower Collection, based on primarily on Buckley (2010),[2] as well as Drower (1937)[23] and other sources, is given below. The manuscripts are abbreviated DC.

: Essay on Mandaean Bibliography 1560–1930. London, Humphrey Mildford, Oxford University Press, 1933.

Svend Aage Pallis

: The Book of the Zodiac = Sfar malwašia: D. C. 31. London: Royal Asiatic Society, 1949.

Ethel Stefana Drower

: Mandaeans. Liturgy and Ritual. The Canonical Prayerbook of the Mandaeans. Translated with notes. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1959.

Ethel Stefana Drower

: Haran Gawaita. The Haran Gawaita and the Baptism of Hibil-Ziwa: the Mandaic text reproduced, together with translation, notes and commentary. Città del Vaticano, Biblioteca apostolica vaticana, 1953.

Ethel Stefana Drower

: Alf trisar ŝuialia. The thousand and twelve questions: a Mandaean text, edited in transliteration and translation. Berlin, Akademie-Verlag, 1960.

Ethel Stefana Drower

: Diwan Abatur. ... or progress through the purgatories. Text with translation notes and appendices. Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Città del Vaticano 1950 (Studi e testi. Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana 151, ZDB-ID 762276-4).

Ethel Stefana Drower

M. : Études sur la Religion/Des Soubbas ou sabéens, leurs dogmes, mœurs par. Paris 1880, ISBN 9781147041224

Nicolas Siouffi

: Mission scientifique en Perse par J. De Morgan. Tome V. Études linguistiques. Deuxième partie. Textes mandaïtes publiés par J. de Morgan avec une notice sur les Mandéens par Cl. Huart. Paris, 1904.

J. de Morgan

: Catalogues des manuscriptes syriaques et sabéens (mandaïtes)

Hermann Zotenberg

: Inscriptions mandaïtes des coupes de Khouabir Paris 1898–1899, parts 1–3.

Henri Pognon

: Ginzā. Der Schatz oder Das große Buch der Mandäer. Göttingen, 1925.

Mark Lidzbarski

Mark Lidzbarski: Das Johannesbuch der Mandäer. Gießen: Töpelmann, 1915, 1966/

Mark Lidzbarski: Das mandäische Seelenbuch, in: ZDMG 61 (1907), 689–698.

: Das mandäische Buch des Herrn der Größe und die Evangelienüberlieferung. Heidelberg-Winter, 1919.

Richard Reitzenstein

: Qolastā oder Gesänge und Lehren von der Taufe und dem Ausgang der Seele. Stuttgart, 1867.

Julius Euting

B. Poertner: Mandäischer Diwan. Eine photographische. Aufnahme; Straßburg, 1904.

Brandt, Wilhelm (1889). . ATLA Historical Monographs Collection Series 1. J.C. Hinrichs. ISBN 9780790544908.

Die mandäische Religion: ihre Entwickelung und geschichtliche Bedeutung

Wilhelm Brandt: Mandäische Schriften übersetzt und erläutert. Göttingen, 1893.

: Codex Nasaraeus Liber Adami appellatus. 3 vols. London, 1815–16.

Matthias Norberg

: Porta linguarum orientalium. Bd. 1–4, 6., Berlin 1840–72/

Julius Heinrich Petermann

Julius Heinrich Petermann: Reisen im Orient. 2 Bde. Leipzig, 1865

: Mandäische Grammatik. Halle, 1875

Theodor Nöldeke

Werner Foerster: A Selection of Gnostic Texts. Oxford, 1974

: Theogonie, Kosmogonie und Anthropogonie in den mandäischen Schriften. Eine literarkritische und traditionsgeschichtliche Untersuchung. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1965 (Forschungen zur Religion und Literatur des Alten und Neuen Testaments 88, ZDB-ID 528176-3), (Zugleich: Leipzig, Univ., Phil. Habil.-Schr., 1961).

Kurt Rudolph

: Der mandäische "Diwan der Flüsse. Abhandlungen der Sächsischen Akadademie der Wissenschaft. Phil.-Hist. Klasse 70 Heft 1, Leipzig, 1982.

Kurt Rudolph

Kurt Rudolph. Mandaeism In: David Noel Freedman (ed.), The Anchor Bible Dictionary, Doubleday 1992, ISBN 3-438-01121-2, Bd. 4, S. 500–502.

: Und das Leben ist siegreich Mandäistische Forschungen 1, Harrassowitz Verlag 2008

Rudolf Macuch

: The Colophons in the Canonical Prayerbook of the Mandaeans. Journal of Near Eastern Studies, Vol. 51, No. 1 (Jan. 1992), 33–50.

Jorunn Jacobsen Buckley

: The other Bible. Harper, 1984

Willis Barnstone

Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon: Mandäer. 1905–1909

Pistis Sophia

Nag Hammadi library

Apocryphon

Incantation bowl

Mandaic lead rolls

Essenes.net

Gnostic Society Library

(Mandaean Network)

The Eyes Encyclopedia of the Knowledge

book series from Harrassowitz Verlag

Mandäistische Forschungen