The Ginza Rabba (), Ginza Rba, or Sidra Rabba (), and formerly the Codex Nasaraeus, is the longest and the most important holy scripture of

Mandaeism Mandaeism (Mandaic language, Classical Mandaic: ),https://qadaha.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/nhura-dictionary-mandaic-english-mandaic.pdf sometimes also known as Nasoraeanism or Sabianism, is a Gnosticism, Gnostic, Monotheism, ...

. The Ginza Rabba is composed of two parts: the

Right Ginza The Right Ginza () is one of the two parts of the Ginza Rabba, the longest and the most important holy scripture of Mandaeism. The other part of the Ginza Rabba is the Left Ginza. Summaries of each book (or tractate), based mostly on Häberl ( ...

(GR) and the Left Ginza (GL). The Right Ginza is composed of eighteen tractates and covers a variety of themes and topics, whereas the three tractates that make up the Left Ginza are unified in their focus on the fate of the soul after death. The Left Ginza is also occasionally referred to as the Book of Adam.

Language and authorship

The language used is Classical Mandaic, a variety of Eastern Aramaic written in the

Mandaic script The Mandaic alphabet is a writing system primarily used to write the Mandaic language. It is thought to have evolved between the second and seventh century CE from either a cursive form of Aramaic (as did Syriac) or from Inscriptional Parthia ...

(Parthian chancellory script), similar to the

Syriac script The Syriac alphabet ( ) is a writing system primarily used to write the Syriac language since the 1st century. It is one of the Semitic languages, Semitic abjads descending from the Aramaic alphabet through the Palmyrene alphabet, and shares sim ...

. The authorship is unknown, and dating is a matter of debate, with estimates ranging from the first to third centuries.Drower, Ethel Stefana (1937). The Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran. Oxford At The Clarendon Press, pg. 20. Determining date and authorship is complicated by the late date of the earliest manuscripts, the potentially lengthy oral transmission of Mandaean religious texts prior to their being written, and that conclusions about the dating of some tractates or either GR (Right Ginza) or GL (Left Ginza) may not carry over for material elsewhere in the Ginza.Drower, Ethel Stefana (1937). The Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran. Oxford At The Clarendon Press.

Dating

The date of Mandaean texts remains heavily contested. Even within the scope of the Ginza Rabba, the GL and GR are separate compositions with separate dates, making the Ginza Rabba a composite text of diverse origins. Furthermore, the individual tractates within these collections appear to have separate origins by virtue of their distinct genre, grammar, and according to their colophon evidence. The GL has its own colophon, as do the first thirteen tractates of the GR. Each from the fourteenth through eighteenth subsequent tractates have their own colophons. The current form and final compilation of the Ginza as a whole must come from Islamic times as it contains numerous references to the Arabs and the Islamic conquest.

Left Ginza

In 1949,

Torgny Säve-Söderbergh Torgny Säve-Söderbergh (born 29 June 1914 in Lund; died 21 May 1998 in Uppsala) was a Swedish writer, translator, and professor of Egyptology at Uppsala University from 1950 to 1980. He was the younger brother of paleontologist Gunnar Säve-S� ...

argued that the third-century Coptic Manichaean

Psalms of Thomas The ''Psalms of Thomas'' (more correctly ''Psalms of Thom'') are a set of third-century psalms found appended to the end of a Coptic Manichaean psalm book, which was in turn part of the Medinet Madi library excavated in 1929. The psalms were orig ...

depended on the Left Ginza, A 2017 study by Kevin van Bladel instead suggests that both sources derived their shared material from a common source, perhaps Elcesaite funerary hymns. In 1965, Rudolf Macúch argued for a third-century date on the basis of a colophon note saying that Zazai of Gawazta copied important Mandaean texts 368 years prior to the Arab conquest of Iraq 640, resulting in the date of 272. However, this note, extant from one manuscript, only refers to an unspecified year of the '' hijri'' calendar and not the point in time before 640. This means that 272 is the earliest possible date if the very first ''hijri'' year is being referenced, though later dates are not excluded. The number 368 itself may be invented.

Right Ginza

Book of Kings (GR 18)

GR 18, also known as the ''Book of Kings'', says that "after the Persian kings there will be Arabian kings. They will reign seventy-one years." Starting with Theodor Nöldeke, historians have widely interpreted this as a reference to the Islamic-era Arab rulers, and so have dated GR 18 to the Islamic era. Recently, Häberl has argued from the colophons and external references that GR 18s dates to the rule of Lakhmid Arab kings in the pre-Islamic period. The latter is argued to place GR 18, separately from the rest of the Ginza Rabba, in the hands of a copyist at one point named Ennoš b. Danqā, who appears to have worked in the mid-7th century, implying the text is no later than ~650. The Arab kings reigning for 71 years are identified to be the Lakhmid kings starting with Al-Mundhir III ibn al-Nu'man, installed into power in 531 by

Khosrow I Khosrow I (also spelled Khosrau, Khusro or Chosroes; ), traditionally known by his epithet of Anushirvan ("the Immortal Soul"), was the Sasanian King of Kings of Iran from 531 to 579. He was the son and successor of Kavad I (). Inheriting a rei ...

(r. 531–579), to

Khosrow II Khosrow II (spelled Chosroes II in classical sources; and ''Khosrau''), commonly known as Khosrow Parviz (New Persian: , "Khosrow the Victorious"), is considered to be the last great Sasanian King of Kings (Shahanshah) of Iran, ruling from 590 ...

who deposed

Al-Nu'man III ibn al-Mundhir Al-Nuʿmān III ibn al-Mundhir (), also transcribed Naʿaman, Nuʿaman and Noman and often known by the patronymic Abu Qabus (), was the last Lakhmid king of al-Hirah (582 – ) and a Nestorian Christian Arab. He is considered one of the mos ...

in 602. To supplement this observation, Häberl points to the absence of Arabic language on or explicit references to Islam in GR 18 unlike later Mandaean texts. The final Sassanid ruler mentioned by the text is interpreted to be

Kavad II Kavad II () was the Sasanian King of Kings () of Iran briefly in 628. Born Sheroe, he was the son of Khosrow II () and Maria. With help from different factions of the nobility, Sheroe overthrew his father in a coup d'état in 628. At this junct ...

, who ruled until 628, roughly giving the date soon after which the text entered its current form. Häberl offers the following chronology for the events mentioned in GR 18, alongside the earlier chronology implied by Nöldeke's work.

Other tractates

Book 7 of the Right Ginza uses the name Yahyā for John, which is the form of the name John that appears in the

Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

. However, Häberl has argued that the use of this name is known in pre-Islamic Arabic text, and so its presence does not conclusively argue for an Islamic-era dating. The Ginza may have been composed, at least partially, as a response to the Arab conquests, along with other pieces of Mandaean literature such as the

Mandaean Book of John In Mandaeism, the Book of John () is a Mandaean holy book in Mandaic Aramaic which Mandaeans attribute to their prophet John the Baptist. The book contains accounts of John's life and miracles, as well as a number of polemical conversations w ...

, and a study of the colophons of the Ginza date the emergence of the text to the second half of the seventh century.

Structure

The ''Ginza Rabba'' is divided into two parts – the

, containing 18 books, and the Left Ginza, containing 3 books. In Mandaic studies, the Right Ginza is commonly abbreviated as ''GR'', while the Left Ginza is commonly abbreviated as ''GL''. Alternatively, sometimes the Right Ginza is abbreviated as ''GY'' or ''Gy'' after the Mandaic ''Ginza Yamina'', while the Left Ginza is commonly abbreviated as ''GS'' or ''Gs'' after the Mandaic ''Ginza Smala''. Ginza Rabba codices traditionally contain the

on one side, and, when turned upside-down and back to front, contain the Left Ginza (the Left Ginza is also called "The Book of the Dead"). The Right Ginza part of the ''Ginza Rabba'' contains sections dealing with theology, creation, ethics, historical, and mythical narratives; its six colophons reveal that it was last redacted in the early Islamic Era. The Left Ginza section of ''Ginza Rabba'' deals with man's soul in the afterlife; its colophon reveals that it was redacted for the last time hundreds of years before the Islamic Era.Häberl, Charles G. (2007).
Introduction to the New Edition, in The Great Treasure of the Mandaeans, a new edition of J. Heinrich Petermann's Thesaurus s. Liber Magni, with a new introduction and a translation of the original preface by Charles G. Häberl
'. Gorgias Press, LLC. There are various manuscript versions that differ from each other. The versions order chapters differently from each other, and textual content also differs.

The Ginza Rabba is a compilation of various oral teachings and written texts, most predating their editing into the two volumes. It includes literature on a wide variety of topics, including liturgy and hymns, theological texts, didactic texts, as well as both religious and secular poetry. For a comprehensive listing of summaries of each chapter in the Ginza Rabba, see the articles

and Left Ginza.

Manuscript versions

Manuscript versions of the Ginza include the following. Two are held in the

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1602 by Sir Thomas Bodley, it is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second-largest library in ...

at Oxford, three in the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...

in London, four in the

Bibliothèque nationale de France The (; BnF) is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites, ''Richelieu'' and ''François-Mitterrand''. It is the national repository of all that is published in France. Some of its extensive collections, including bo ...

in Paris, and others are in private ownership. All extant manuscripts of the Ginza appear to derive from a few copies that were produced around 1500. *

manuscripts ** DC 22 (copied by Ram Zihrun in 1831) ** Huntington Ms. 6 (copied by Adam Paraš in 1615) *

manuscripts catalogued under the same title, ''Liber Adami Mendaice'' **Add. 23,599 (copied by female priests during the 1700s) **Add. 23,600 (copied by Yahya Bihram bar Adam, of the Manduia and ‛Kuma clans, in 1735–36, who also copied Paris Ms. D) **Add. 23,601 (copied by Adam Yuhana bar Sam in 1824) *Paris manuscripts,

(consulted by Lidzbarski for his 1925 German translation) **Paris Ms. A (copied by Ram Baktiar in 1560) **Paris Ms. B (copied by Baktiar Bulbul in 1632; also called the " Norberg version," since it was used by Norberg during the early 1800s) **Paris Ms. C (copied by Yahya Adam in 1680) **Paris Ms. D (copied by Yahya Bihram in the early 1700s) * Rbai Rafid Collection (RRC) manuscriptsMorgenstern, Matthew (2021)
The Mandaeans in the Face of Modernity: Yahia Bihram, the Pasha’s Wife and the British Empire
In P. Machinist et. al. (eds), ''Ve-‘Ed Ya’aleh (Gen 2:6): Essays in Biblical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies Presented to Edward L. Greenstein'', vol. 1, pp. 81–98. Atlanta: SBL Press. **RRC 5J (copied at the Margab quarter of Suq eš-Šuyūḵ in AH 1277 (1860–1861 AD)) **RRC 5L (copied at the Margab quarter of Suq eš-Šuyūḵ in AH 1256 (1840–1841 AD)) For his 1925 German translation of the Ginza, Lidzbarski also consulted other Ginza manuscripts that were held at

Leiden Leiden ( ; ; in English language, English and Archaism, archaic Dutch language, Dutch also Leyden) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Nethe ...

(complete) and

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

(fragmentary). Jorunn Jacobsen Buckley has also found Ginza manuscripts that are privately held by Mandaeans in the United States. Two are in

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, California, which belong to Lamea Abbas Amara; they were originally copied by Mhatam Zihrun (Sheikh Dakhil Aidan) in 1935, and by a copyist named Adam (Sheikh Aidan, father of Dakhil) in 1886, respectively. One is in Flushing, New York, which belonged to Nasser Sobbi (1924–2018) and was originally copied by Adam Zihrun in 1928. Another one is in

Lake Grove, New York Lake Grove is a Political subdivisions of New York State#Village, village in the Brookhaven, New York, Town of Brookhaven in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 11,163 at the 2010 census. History The area of Lake Grove wa ...

, and belongs to Mamoon Aldulaimi, which was originally given to him by

Sheikh Abdullah Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah (5 December 1905 – 8 September 1982) was an Indian politician who played a central role in the politics of Jammu and Kashmir. Abdullah was the founding leader and President of the All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Confer ...

, son of Sheikh Negm and was copied by Yahya Ram Zihrun in 1940. A version of the Ginza by Mhatam Yuhana was also used by Carlos Gelbert in his 2011 English translation of the Ginza. Another manuscript known to Gelbert is a privately owned Ginza manuscript in

Ahvaz Ahvaz (; ) is a city in the Central District of Ahvaz County, Khuzestan province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is home to Persians, Arabs and other groups such as Qashqai and Kurds. Languages spok ...

belonging to Shaikh Abdullah Khaffaji, the grandson of Ram Zihrun. Printed versions of the Ginza in Mandaic include: *Norberg version (Mandaic, in Syriac script): A printed Ginza in Mandaic (printed using the

Syriac alphabet The Syriac alphabet ( ) is a writing system primarily used to write the Syriac language since the 1st century. It is one of the Semitic languages, Semitic abjads descending from the Aramaic alphabet through the Palmyrene alphabet, and shares sim ...

) was published by Matthias Norberg in 1816. Based on Code Sabéen 2 (Paris Ms. B). It was republished by Gorgias Press in 2007. *Petermann version (Mandaic): In 1867, Julius Heinrich Petermann published Mandaic and Syriac transcriptions of the ''Ginza Rabba''.Petermann, Heinrich. 1867.
Sidra Rabba: Thesaurus sive Liber Magnus vulgo "Liber Adami" appellatus, opus Mandaeorum summi ponderis
'. Vols. 1–2. Leipzig: Weigel. His work was based on four different Ginza manuscripts held at Paris, and relied most heavily on MS Paris A (also known as Code Sabéen 1). Only 100 copies were printed, 13 of which Petermann kept himself. A three-volume set of Petermann's work was republished by Gorgias Press in 2007. *Mubaraki version (Mandaic, in both Mandaic and Roman scripts): The full Ginza Rba in printed

, compiled primarily from the Mhatam Zihrun br rbai Adam manuscript from Iraq (copied in 1898 and dated 6 July 1899), was first published by

Majid Fandi Al-Mubaraki Majid Fandi Al-Mubaraki () is an Iraqi-Australian writer and researcher based in the Sydney metropolitan area. He is known for his publications of Mandaic texts, including the Ginza Rba and Qulasta. Biography Al-Mubaraki is a Mandaean who wa ...

, Haitham Mahdi Saed (also known as Brikha Nasoraia), and Brian Mubaraki in Sydney, Australia in March 1998 during Parwanaya. Two other Ginza versions were also consulted, including one copied by Ram Zihrun in Šuštar in 1843, and another one by Sam bar Zihrun, from the Manduia and ‛Kuma clans. A Roman transliteration of the entire Ginza Rba was also published in 1998 by Majid Fandi Al-Mubaraki and Brian Mubaraki. At present, there are two published Mandaic-language editions of the Ginza published by

Mandaeans Mandaeans (Mandaic language, Mandaic: ࡌࡀࡍࡃࡀࡉࡉࡀ) ( ), also known as Mandaean Sabians ( ) or simply as Sabians ( ), are an ethnoreligious group who are followers of Mandaeism. They believe that John the Baptist was the final and ...

themselves. The '' Concordance of the Mandaean Ginza Rba'' was published by Brian Mubaraki and Majid Fandi Al-Mubaraki in 2004. *Gelbert version (Mandaic, in Arabic script; derived from the Mhatam Yuhana version): The full Mhatam Yuhana Ginza manuscript from

, Iran was transcribed in

Arabic script The Arabic script is the writing system used for Arabic (Arabic alphabet) and several other languages of Asia and Africa. It is the second-most widely used alphabetic writing system in the world (after the Latin script), the second-most widel ...

by Carlos Gelbert in 2021. As the fourth edition of the Gelbert's Arabic Ginza, Gelbert (2021) contains an Arabic translation side by side with the Mandaic transcription. *Al-Sabti version (Mandaic): In 2022, Rbai Rafid al-Sabti published a printed Mandaic version of the ''Ginza Rabba'' based on a comparison of 22 manuscripts. The Al-Sabti Ginza contains 157 chapters, 602 pages, 111,684 words, and 560,825 letters.

Translations

Notable translations and printed versions of the ''Ginza Rabba'' include: *Norberg version (Latin, 1816): From 1815 to 1816, Matthias Norberg published a Latin translation of the ''Ginza Rabba'', titled ''Codex Nasaraeus liber Adami appellatus'' (3 volumes). The original Mandaic text, based on MS Paris B, was also printed in Syriac script alongside the Latin translation.Norberg, Matthias. ''Codex Nasaraeus Liber Adami appellatus''. 3 vols. Lund, 1815–16. There are also additional ''Onomasticon'' (glossary of names) and ''Lexidion'' (dictionary) volumes. Norberg's ''Codex Nasaraeus'' is known for influencing

Helena Blavatsky Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (; – 8 May 1891), often known as Madame Blavatsky, was a Russian-born Mysticism, mystic and writer who emigrated to the United States where she co-founded the Theosophical Society in 1875. She gained an internat ...

, the 19th-century founder of the

Theosophy Theosophy is a religious movement established in the United States in the late 19th century. Founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and based largely on her writings, it draws heavily from both older European philosophies such as Neop ...

movement, by way of Samuel Fales Dunlap's works. *Lidzbarski version (German, 1925): In 1925, Mark Lidzbarski published the German translation ''Ginzā: Der Schatz, oder das grosse Buch der Mandäer''. Lidzbarski translated an edition of the Ginza by Julius Heinrich Petermann from the 1860s, which in turn relied upon four different Ginza manuscripts held at Paris. Lidzbarski was also able to include some material from a fifth Ginza which was held at

. In 2022, an unproofed English translation of Lidzbarski (1925) was published online by Ram Al Sabiry. *Baghdad version (Arabic, abridged, 2000): An Arabic version of the ''Ginza Rabba'', similar to that of the Al-Saadi (Drabsha) version, was first published in Baghdad in 2000. A Persian translation based on the 2000 Arabic Ginza was completed by Salem Choheili in 2021. *Al-Saadi (Drabsha) version (English, abridged, 2012): Under the official auspices of the Mandaean spiritual leadership, Drs. Qais Al-Saadi and Hamed Al-Saadi published an English translation of the ''Ginza Rabba: The Great Treasure'' in 2012. In 2019, the second edition was published by Drabsha in Germany. The translation, endorsed by the Mandaean

rishama A rishama (''rišama''; ''riš-ama''), rishamma, or rishema (; ; ; ) is a religious patriarch in Mandaeism. It is the highest rank out of all the Mandaean clergical ranks. The next ranks are the ''ganzibra'' and ''tarmida'' priests (see Mandaean ...

s Salah Choheili (Salah Jabbar Tawos) and Sattar Jabbar Hilo, is designed for contemporary use by the Mandaean community and is based on an Arabic translation of the ''Ginza Rabba'' that was published in Baghdad. However, it has been criticized for being overly abridged and paraphrased. *Gelbert version (English translation in 2011; Arabic translation in 2000, revised 2021): The first full English translation of the ''Ginza Rba'' was published by Carlos Gelbert in 2011, with the collaboration of Mark J. Lofts and other editors. The Mandaic transcription is mostly based on the Mhatam Yuhana ''Ginza Rba'' from Iran (transcribed in the late 1990s and published in 2004 under the supervision of Mhatam Yuhana, the '' ganzibra'' or head-priest of the Mandaean Council of Ahvaz in Iran). Most of the English translation was based on Mark Lidzbarski's 1925 German translation of the Ginza, along with additional English translations of passages from the Mubaraki and Mhatam Yuhana Ginzas that are not found in Lidzbarski (1925). Gelbert's 2011 edition is currently the only full-length English translation of the Ginza that contains detailed commentary, with extensive footnotes and many original Mandaic phrases transcribed in the text. An Arabic translation of the Ginza was also published by Gelbert in 2000,Gelbert, Carlos, trans. (2000). ''Kinza Rabba. Kitāb al-Mandāʾīna al-kabīr / Ginza. Das große Buch der Mandäer von M. Lidzbarski''. Translated from German to Modern Arabic. Sydney: Living Water Books. with the fourth edition published in 2021. The Arabic edition also contains the original Mandaic text transcribed in Arabic script. Häberl (2022) is an English translation and analysis of the ''Book of Kings'', the final book of the

References

External links

German translation
(1925) by Mark Lidzbarski at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

( Commons file)
Roman transliteration of the Ginza Rba
by Majid Fandi Al-Mubaraki and Brian Mubaraki (1998)
Transliterated text of the Right Ginza
(''The

Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon (CAL) is an online database containing a searchable dictionary and text corpora of Aramaic dialects. CAL includes more than 3 million lexically parsed words. The project was started in the 1980s and is currently ...

'') based on MS Paris Codex Sabéen 2 and MS Leiden
Transliterated text of the Left Ginza
(''The

'') based on MS Paris Codex Sabéen 1 and also consults the Codex Sabéen 2 and 3 manuscripts ;Mandaean Network texts
Ginza Rabba
(Mandaic text from the Mandaean Network)

(Mandaic text from the Mandaean Network)

(Mandaic text from the Mandaean Network) ;Petermann Ginza
Petermann edition of the Ginza Rabba
(4 versions of volume 1; 2 versions of volume 2)
Petermann Ginza
(Mandaic script) (Google Books)
Petermann Ginza
(Syriac script, Vienna copy) (Google Books)
Petermann Ginza
(Syriac script, Munich copy) (Google Books) ;Norberg Ginza *''Codex Nasaraeus'' Vol. 1, Vol. 2, Vol. 3 from Wikimedia Commons
Volumes 1 and 2
an
Volume 3
from

Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical charac ...

* ''Onomasticon Codicis Nasaraei'' from Wikimedia Commons * ''Lexidion Codicis Nasaraei'' from Wikimedia Commons ;Paris Ginza manuscripts * Code Sabéen 1 (Paris Ms. A) from Wikimedia Commons * Code Sabéen 4 (Paris Ms. D) from Wikimedia Commons {{Authority control Mandaean texts 3rd-century texts Treasures in religion