The ''Diwan Abatur'' (; "Scroll of Abatur";

Modern Mandaic Neo-Mandaic, also known as Modern Mandaic, sometimes called the "''ratna''" ( "jargon"), is the modern reflex of the Mandaic language, the liturgical language of the Mandaean religious community of Iraq and Iran. Although severely endangered, ...

: ''Diwān Abāthor'') is a Mandaean religious text. It is a large illustrated scroll that is over 20 ft. (6.1 m) long. A similar illustrated Mandaean scroll is the '' Diwan Nahrawata'' ("The Scroll of the Rivers"), a lavishly illustrated geographical treatise which translated into German and published by

Kurt Rudolph Kurt Rudolph (3 April 1929
University of Leipzig – 13 May 2020) was a German researcher of < ...

in 1982.

Manuscripts and translations

An English translation of the text was published by

E. S. Drower Ethel, Lady Drower ( Ethel May Stefana Stevens; 1 December 1879 – 27 January 1972) was a British cultural anthropologist, orientalist and novelist who studied the Middle East and its cultures.Christa Müller-Kessler, Drower ée Stevens Ethe ...

in 1950 A.D., which was based on manuscript 8 of the

Drower Collection 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''), the ''Mandaean B ...

(abbreviated DC 8). A manuscript of the ''Diwan Abatur'', MS Borgiani Siriaci 175 (abbreviated BS 175), is held at the

Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana The Vatican Apostolic Library (, ), more commonly known as the Vatican Library or informally as the Vat, is the library of the Holy See, located in Vatican City, and is the city-state's national library. It was formally established in 1475, alth ...

in Vatican City. A facsimile copy of the manuscript, photographed by B. Pörtner, was published by

Julius Euting Julius Euting (11 July 1839 – 2 January 1913) was a German Orientalist. Life Director of the National and University Library of Strasbourg, he completed his first studies at the Eberhard-Ludwigs-Gymnasium in Stuttgart and at the local se ...

in 1904. In 2024,

Bogdan Burtea Bogdan Burtea is a Romanian religious studies scholar and Semiticist currently based in Germany. His main interests are Mandaic language, Mandaic, Aramaic, and Ge'ez, Ethiopic studies. Early life and education Bogdan Burtea was born in Romania.H� ...

completed a translation project for the ''Diwan Abatur''.

The ''Diwan Abatur'' mentions a heavenly tree called ''

Shatrin In Mandaeism, Shatrin () is a heavenly tree mentioned in the '' Scroll of Abatur''. Shatrin is where the souls of unbaptized Mandaean children are temporarily nourished for 30 days. On the 30th day, Hibil Ziwa baptizes the souls of the children, ...

'' (''Šatrin'') where the souls of unbaptized Mandaean children are temporarily nourished for 30 days. On the 30th day,

Hibil Ziwa In Mandaeism, Hibil () and/or Hibil Ziwa () and sometimes pronounced Hīwel is referred to an uthra ("excellency", an angel or guardian) from the World of Light or the son of Adam (then; only referred as Hibil). Hibil, the man, is considered to b ...

baptizes the souls of the children, who then continue on to the

World of Light In Mandaeism, the World of Light or Lightworld () is the primeval, transcendental world from which Tibil and the World of Darkness emerged. Description *The Great Life ('' Hayyi Rabbi'' or Supreme God/ Monad) is the ruler of the World of Ligh ...

. The tree has a length of 360,000

parasang The parasang, also known as a farsakh (from Arabic), is a historical Iranian peoples, Iranian unit of Walking distance measure, walking distance, the length of which varied according to terrain and speed of travel. The European equivalent is the ...

s according to the ''Diwan Abatur''. Another tree mentioned in the ''Diwan Abatur'' is Gabriel Rihmat ('she-loved-Gabriel', a date palm). Additionally, the ''Diwan Abatur'' mentions a ship called ''

Shahrat In Mandaeism, ''Shahrat'' () is a ship or boat mentioned in the ''Scroll of Abatur''. ''Shahrat'' ferries souls from Tibil across the river Hitpun and into the house of Abatur. According to the Mandaean priest Brikha Nasoraia (2021), it is bas ...

'' (''Šahrat''; lit. "she kept watch") that ferries

souls The soul is the purported immaterial aspect or essence of a living being. It is typically believed to be immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that describe the relationship between the soul and the bod ...

from

Tibil In Mandaean cosmology, Tibil () or occasionally Arqa ḏ-Tibil (lit. "Tibil-Earth") is the Earth (World) or earthly middle realm. It is separated from the World of Light (''alma ḏ-nhūra'') above and the World of Darkness (Mandaeism), World of D ...

across the

Hitpun In Mandaean cosmology, Hiṭfun (written Mandaic: Hiṭpun) or Hiṭfon (Hiṭpon) () is a great dividing river separating the World of Darkness from the World of Light. It is mentioned in Hymn 25 of the third book of the '' Left Ginza''. The riv ...

and into the house of

Abatur Abatur (, sometimes called Abathur; Yawar, ; and the Ancient of Days and also pronounced Awāthur) is an Uthra and the second of three subservient emanations created by the Mandaean God ''Hayyi Rabbi'' (, “The Great Living God”) in the Mand ...

. The ''Scroll of Abatur'' lists several

matarta In Mandaean cosmology, a maṭarta (; plural form: ' ) is a "station" or "toll house" that is located between the World of Light (''alma ḏ-nhūra'') from Tibil (Earth). It has variously been translated as "watch-station", "toll-station", "way-s ...

s belonging to the sons of

Ptahil In Mandaeism, Ptahil () also known as Ptahil-Uthra (uthra, "angel, guardian"), is the Fourth Life, the third of three emanations from the First Life, Hayyi Rabbi, after Yushamin and Abatur. Ptahil-Uthra alone does not constitute the demiurge but ...

, namely Raglʿil, Sharhabiel, El-Sfar,

Nbaṭ In Mandaeism, Nbaṭ () is an uthra (angel or guardian) who is described as the "King of Air" or the "first great Radiance." He is also called Nbaṭ Rba ("the Great Nbaṭ" or "Great Sprout") or Nbaṭ Ziwa "the Radiant Nbaṭ", literally "Radia ...

, Bhaq, and

Shitil In Mandaeism, Shitil () is an uthra (angel or guardian) from the World of Light. Shitil is considered to be the Mandaean equivalent of Seth. Prayers in the Qulasta frequently contain the recurring formula, "In the name of Hibil, Šitil, and An ...

. There are also illustrations and descriptions of matartas belonging to each of the seven planets, with each matarta having an area of 2,000

s and being 2,000-3,000 parasangs away from the next matarta. The matartas are frequently guarded by ''zanghaiia'', or chained animals such as dogs, wolves, or lions. *

Kiwan In Mandaeism, Kiwan, Kiuan (; ), or Kewan is the Mandaic name for the planet Saturn.Müller-Kessler, Christa (2018). "Šamaš, Sîn (Sahra, Sira), Delibat (Ištar, al-‘Uzzā), und Kēwān (Kajjamānu) in den frühen mandäischen magischen Tex ...

: contains two lions *

Nirig In Mandaeism, Nirig () or Nerig is the Mandaic name for the planet Mars. Nirig is one of the seven planets (), who are part of the entourage of Ruha in the World of Darkness ''World of Darkness'' is a series of tabletop role-playing games, o ...

: contains two dogs/wolves *

Nbu In Mandaeism, ʿNbu (), Nbu, or Enbu is the Mandaic name for the planet Mercury. Nbu is one of the seven planets (), who are part of the entourage of Ruha in the World of Darkness. This name was borrowed from the Mesopotamian god called Nabu. ...

* Bil *

Libat In Mandaeism, Libat () is the Mandaic name for the planet Venus.Müller-Kessler, Christa (2018). "Šamaš, Sîn (Sahra, Sira), Delibat (Ištar, al-‘Uzzā), und Kēwān (Kajjamānu) in den frühen mandäischen magischen Texten und bei ihren Nac ...

Sin In religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law or a law of the deities. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered ...

Shamish In Mandaeism, Shamish or Šamiš () is the Mandaic name for the Sun.Müller-Kessler, Christa (2018). "Šamaš, Sîn (Sahra, Sira), Delibat (Ištar, al-‘Uzzā), und Kēwān (Kajjamānu) in den frühen mandäischen magischen Texten und bei ihren ...

In the ''Diwan Abatur'', the sons of

who each rule different matartas are: *

Bihram In Mandaeism, Bihram () or Bihram Rabba (, "Bihram the Great") is an uthra (angel or guardian) who presides over the ''masbuta'', or baptism ritual. Bihram is mentioned in Mandaean texts such as the ''Qulasta''. Many Mandaean masbuta ritual praye ...

Rba * Anush *

Hibil In Mandaeism, Hibil () and/or Hibil Ziwa () and sometimes pronounced Hīwel is referred to an uthra ("excellency", an angel or guardian) from the World of Light or the son of Adam (then; only referred as Hibil). Hibil, the man, is considered to b ...

*Kanziel (also spelled Ganziel or Ginziel) *Raglʿil * Sharhabiel *El-Sfar *

*Bhaq *

The scroll also contains illustrations of several female uthras and underworld figures such as: * Dmut Hiia *Hawa *Libat *Mdinat Hiia *

Miriai Miriai or Meryey () was a Mandaean woman mentioned in Mandaean scriptures. Miriai is one of the most important figures in the Mandaean Book of John, which contains detailed stories and speeches of Miriai in chapters 34 and 35. Miriai lived in a M ...

*ʿQaimat *

Ruha Ruha (pronounced /ˈruːhə/) is a term with spiritual connotations found across various religious traditions. In Arabic, Ruh () signifies "spirit" or "soul" and is a fundamental concept in Islam, referring to the divine breath of life.Esposito, ...

*Sharhabiel * Simat Hiia

Gallery

File:Mandaean Scroll of Abathur.jpg, MS DC 8, an 18th-century manuscript of the ''Diwan Abatur'' 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 ...

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

. The illustration on top depicts the ship ''

'' ferrying Mandaean souls towards the house of Abatur, while the lower illustration shows the tree of

with the souls of unbaptized children. File:MS DC 8 - Ptahil.jpg,

, the first illustrated figure in the scroll File:MS DC 8 - Abatur Muzania.jpg,

, here known as Abatur at the Scales (''Abatur Muzania'') File:MS DC 8 - eutria.jpg, The uthras

(upper left),

(to the right of Hibil),

Simat Hayyi In Mandaeism, Simat Hayyi or Simat Hiia (), the personification of life, is an uthra (angel or guardian) from the World of Light who is married to Yawar Ziwa. The name ''Simat Hayyi'' ("Life's Treasure"), along with the name ''Niṭufta'' ("Dro ...

, (upper right), along with Adam, Anush,

, and Yadathan (bottom row of uthras) MS DC 8 - Kiwan lions.jpg, Two lions in the

References

External links

Diwan Abathur
(Mandaic text from the Mandaean Network)
Photographed scroll (DC 8) from Digital Bodleian
(Mandaic text from the Mandaean Network) {{Authority control Mandaean texts

Manuscripts and translations

Contents

Gallery

See also

References

External links