The Story of Creation in the Mandaean Holv Book the Ginza Rba 

Sabah Aldihisi
PhD THESIS
https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1444088/1/U591390.pdf
Abstract:
 Sources of the research: The Mandaean holy books and scriptures in addition to old Moslem writers and contemporary western scholars’ works. The purpose of the research: The research aims to translate the Mandaean Story of Creation, directly from the Mandaean manuscript. Four other Ginza manuscripts from the Oriental and India office at the British Library in London were used to compile a critical apparatus of variants. Book three, or the Book of Creation, is the largest tractate of the Mandaeans’ holy book the “Ginza Rba”. The Ginza names this tractate as raza usidra qadmaia d-Suta haita qadmaita “The Mystery and the First Book of the First Living Doctrine”. This tractate includes the cosmogony; the origin of the World of Light and the World of Darkness, the rise of the First Great Life, the Second Life (Yosamin), the Third Life (Abatur) and the Fourth Life (Ptahil); the Demiurge who created the cosmos and Tibil (the earthly world). It also narrates the creation of the Mandaean redeemer Manda d-Hiia (“Gnosis of Life”) and his descent to the Underworld and his triumph against the forces of darkness. It narrates the creation of Adam and Eve and the descent of the niSimta (soul) into the ‘tfdna (the human body). Tractate three also includes an elaborate description of the demonic Ruha and her planetary sons and her attempts to seduce Adam in order to entrap him in the world. 

The research consists of three parts: 
(1) The introduction: The Mandaeans and the Question of Their Origin, The Mandaean system, The Main Characteristic Rituals of the Mandaeans, The Mandaean manuscripts.  
(2) Analysis of the narrative: The First Account of the Story of Creation, The Second Account of the Story of Creation, The Third account of the Story of Creation.
 (3) The Transcription and Translation of the Manuscript.