MS Drower 43 (typically abbreviated as DC 43) is a Mandaic manuscript that contains over a dozen ''

qmaha 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 ...

'' texts (i.e.,

amulet An amulet, also known as a good luck charm or phylactery, is an object believed to confer protection upon its possessor. The word "amulet" comes from the Latin word , which Pliny's ''Natural History'' describes as "an object that protects a perso ...

formulae) used for exorcism and protection against evil. It is part 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 ...

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 the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

.Morgenstern, Matthew (2013)
New Manuscript Sources for the Study of Mandaic
In: V. Golinets et. al (eds.), ''Neue Beiträge zur Semitistik. Sechstes Treffen der Arbeitsgemeinschaft Semitistik in der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft vom 09.–11. Februar 2013 in Heidelberg''. AOAT, Ugarit Verlag.

History

The manuscript was purchased by E. S. Drower from Sheikh Nejm bar Zahroon in 1939 and was copied in 1270 A.H. (1853 A.D.) in the marshlands in the territory of the Kit bin Sa'ad, by

Yahia Bihram Yahya Bihram (also spelled Yahia Bihram; ) was a 19th-century Mandaean priest. Although initially a learned layman (''yalufa''), he became known for reviving the Mandaean priesthood after a cholera epidemic had killed all living Mandaean priests ...

br Adam Yuhana. DC 23b contains a variant of one of the qmahas. A brief study of the manuscript has been published by

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� ...

(2005).Bogdan Burtea, 'Ein mandäischer magischer Text aus der Drower Collection', in B. Burtea, J. Tropper, H. Younansardaroud, ''Studia Semitica et Semitohamitica. Festschrift Rainer Voigt zum sechzigsten Geburtstag'', (Alter Orient und Altes Testament 317. Münster, 2005), pp. 93–123.

Also known as the Poor Priest's Treasury, the manuscript is a Mandaic-language scroll consisting of ''qmahas'' used for exorcism and magic. The contents are as follows, with links also provided to transliterated texts in 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 ...

'' (CAL). *''Qmaha ḏ-Ṣir Sahria'' (DC 43A)
CAL text of DC 43A
*''Qmaha ḏ- Šiul'' (DC 43B) *three related texts (DC 43C; see DC 33)
CAL text of DC 43C
**''Šuba libišna'' **''ʿSirna hthimna'' **''

Yawar Ziwa In Mandaeism, Yawar Ziwa (; also known as Yawar Kasia "Hidden Yawar", or Yawar Rabba "Great Yawar") is an uthra (angel or guardian) from the World of Light. He is the personification of light, as well as the head of reproductive powers. Sima ...

nišimtai'' (see DC 33) *''Šalhafta ḏ-Mahria'' (DC 43D; see DC 19)
CAL text of DC 43D
*''Qmaha ḏ-Dahlulia'' (DC 43E; see DC 20) *''Qmaha ḏ-Gastata'' (DC 43F)
CAL text of DC 43F
*''Qmaha ḏ-Br ʿngaria'' (DC 43G) **''Qmaha ḏ-Br ʿngaria'' (DC 43G I)
CAL text of DC 43G I
**''Qmaha ḏ-Br ʿngaria Zuṭa'' (DC 43G II)
CAL text of DC 43G II
*''Qmaha ḏ-

Yurba In Mandaeism, Yurba or Yorabba () is an uthra (angelic or celestial being). Mark Lidzbarski, Lidzbarski (1905, 1920) spells his name as spelled Jōrabba. Yurba, who is also called the fighter, is identified with Shamish, the sun. In Mandaean text ...

'' (DC 43H)
CAL text of DC 43H
*''Qmaha ḏ-Šuba'' (DC 43I)
CAL text of DC 43I
*''Qmaha ḏ-Qaština'' (DC 43J; see DC 39 and its copy in Bodleian, and also MS Syr. G 2 (R)).

References

{{Mandaeism footer Mandaic manuscripts 19th-century manuscripts Bodleian Library collection Drower Collection

History

Contents

See also

References