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.
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