Jorunn Jacobsen Buckley
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195153859
- eISBN:
- 9780199834051
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195153855.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion in the Ancient World
The Mandaeans are a Gnostic sect that arose in the Middle East around the same time as Christianity. Although it is one of the few religious traditions that can legitimately claim a 2000‐year ...
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The Mandaeans are a Gnostic sect that arose in the Middle East around the same time as Christianity. Although it is one of the few religious traditions that can legitimately claim a 2000‐year literary history, there has been very little written about them in English. What little study of the religion there has been has focused on the ancient Mandaeans and their relationship to early Christianity. This book examines the lives and religion of contemporary Mandaeans, who live mainly in Iran and Iraq but also in diaspora communities throughout the world, including New York and San Diego (USA). The author seeks to cross the boundaries between the traditional history‐of‐religions study of the Mandaean religion (which ignores the existence of living Mandaeans) and the beliefs and practices of contemporary Mandaeans. She provides a comprehensive introduction to the religion, examining some of its central texts, mythological figures, and rituals, and looking at surviving Mandaean communities – showing how their ancient texts inform the living religion, and vice versa. The book is arranged in three parts: Beginnings; Rituals; and Native hermeneutics. A glossary and extensive endnotes are included.Less
The Mandaeans are a Gnostic sect that arose in the Middle East around the same time as Christianity. Although it is one of the few religious traditions that can legitimately claim a 2000‐year literary history, there has been very little written about them in English. What little study of the religion there has been has focused on the ancient Mandaeans and their relationship to early Christianity. This book examines the lives and religion of contemporary Mandaeans, who live mainly in Iran and Iraq but also in diaspora communities throughout the world, including New York and San Diego (USA). The author seeks to cross the boundaries between the traditional history‐of‐religions study of the Mandaean religion (which ignores the existence of living Mandaeans) and the beliefs and practices of contemporary Mandaeans. She provides a comprehensive introduction to the religion, examining some of its central texts, mythological figures, and rituals, and looking at surviving Mandaean communities – showing how their ancient texts inform the living religion, and vice versa. The book is arranged in three parts: Beginnings; Rituals; and Native hermeneutics. A glossary and extensive endnotes are included.
Jorunn Jacobsen Buckley
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195153859
- eISBN:
- 9780199834051
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195153855.003.0011
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion in the Ancient World
The Great ‘First World’ and its companion text, The Lesser ‘First World’, are both examples of Mandaean priestly esoteric literature, and have been hardly studied since their ...
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The Great ‘First World’ and its companion text, The Lesser ‘First World’, are both examples of Mandaean priestly esoteric literature, and have been hardly studied since their publication in 1963. An odd figure appears in the scroll of the The Great ‘First World’, along with a number of other illustrations, but the identity of the figure depicted is not specified, although it is in the same style as other Mandaean Lightworld beings and priestly prototypes in illustrated documents. Drower, the translator, hazards no guess at its identity. The author gives her own translation of the text on the body, and suggests on the basis of various arguments that the enigmatic figure might be the priestly prototype Hibil Ziwa, but might also invite interpretation as the mystic sage Dinanukht; it might, in fact, intentionally invite both interpretations.Less
The Great ‘First World’ and its companion text, The Lesser ‘First World’, are both examples of Mandaean priestly esoteric literature, and have been hardly studied since their publication in 1963. An odd figure appears in the scroll of the The Great ‘First World’, along with a number of other illustrations, but the identity of the figure depicted is not specified, although it is in the same style as other Mandaean Lightworld beings and priestly prototypes in illustrated documents. Drower, the translator, hazards no guess at its identity. The author gives her own translation of the text on the body, and suggests on the basis of various arguments that the enigmatic figure might be the priestly prototype Hibil Ziwa, but might also invite interpretation as the mystic sage Dinanukht; it might, in fact, intentionally invite both interpretations.
Jorunn Jacobsen Buckley
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195153859
- eISBN:
- 9780199834051
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195153855.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion in the Ancient World
Starts by tracing the origin of the Mandaeans to the Jordan/Palestine area (from whence they emigrated, in the first to third centuries CE, to Iran and Iraq), and gives a brief history to the ...
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Starts by tracing the origin of the Mandaeans to the Jordan/Palestine area (from whence they emigrated, in the first to third centuries CE, to Iran and Iraq), and gives a brief history to the present. Next, the characteristics of the religion are outlined: Mandaeans are the only still surviving group of Gnostics; their religion has an extensive literature with multifarious mythological traditions and intricate rituals; and their world is essentially three‐tiered, with an upper (heavenly) Lightworld on which much emphasis is placed, a middle earthly human world (Tibil), and a gloomy Underworld (which does not receive much attention). An overview is given of ancient Mandaean literature (the Ginza; the liturgies; the Book of John; ritual commentaries; and other works). There is then a brief note on European traditional Mandaean scholarship, which also covers the work of Lady Ethel S. Drower (1879–1972), who broke traditional scholarly moulds and did much of her work on the Mandaeans in the field. Lastly, the parameters and purpose of the book are described.Less
Starts by tracing the origin of the Mandaeans to the Jordan/Palestine area (from whence they emigrated, in the first to third centuries CE, to Iran and Iraq), and gives a brief history to the present. Next, the characteristics of the religion are outlined: Mandaeans are the only still surviving group of Gnostics; their religion has an extensive literature with multifarious mythological traditions and intricate rituals; and their world is essentially three‐tiered, with an upper (heavenly) Lightworld on which much emphasis is placed, a middle earthly human world (Tibil), and a gloomy Underworld (which does not receive much attention). An overview is given of ancient Mandaean literature (the Ginza; the liturgies; the Book of John; ritual commentaries; and other works). There is then a brief note on European traditional Mandaean scholarship, which also covers the work of Lady Ethel S. Drower (1879–1972), who broke traditional scholarly moulds and did much of her work on the Mandaeans in the field. Lastly, the parameters and purpose of the book are described.
Jorunn Jacobsen Buckley
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195153859
- eISBN:
- 9780199834051
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195153855.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion in the Ancient World
An account is given of the life of a contemporary Mandaean poet, Lamea Abbas Amara, who was originally from Iraq, and now lives in San Diego, California. It discusses her religious origins, her ...
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An account is given of the life of a contemporary Mandaean poet, Lamea Abbas Amara, who was originally from Iraq, and now lives in San Diego, California. It discusses her religious origins, her relationships (and those of other contemporary Mandaeans) in the community, the complex relationship between Islam, Judaism, Christianity, and the Mandaeans, and her Mandaean beliefs and family history. The family history includes priests and goldsmiths (the Mandaeans are traditionally skilled goldsmiths and silversmiths). One of Lamea's poems is included at the end of the book.Less
An account is given of the life of a contemporary Mandaean poet, Lamea Abbas Amara, who was originally from Iraq, and now lives in San Diego, California. It discusses her religious origins, her relationships (and those of other contemporary Mandaeans) in the community, the complex relationship between Islam, Judaism, Christianity, and the Mandaeans, and her Mandaean beliefs and family history. The family history includes priests and goldsmiths (the Mandaeans are traditionally skilled goldsmiths and silversmiths). One of Lamea's poems is included at the end of the book.
Jorunn Jacobsen Buckley
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195153859
- eISBN:
- 9780199834051
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195153855.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion in the Ancient World
Focuses on the Mandaean mythological figure of Šitil, who figures largely in Mandaean prayers and other texts, along with his brothers, Hibil and AnuŠs. All three are ‘utras (Lightworld (heavenly) ...
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Focuses on the Mandaean mythological figure of Šitil, who figures largely in Mandaean prayers and other texts, along with his brothers, Hibil and AnuŠs. All three are ‘utras (Lightworld (heavenly) figures) but Šitil is the purest of the pure, against whom the souls of all departed Mandaeans are tested on their way to the Lightworld. The story of how Šitil obtained this purity (by dying for his father Adam, at his request) is told, and in the telling a great many other Mandaean mythological figures are encountered and described. Šitil is regarded essentially as a dual figure, in having both human and Lightworld aspects.Less
Focuses on the Mandaean mythological figure of Šitil, who figures largely in Mandaean prayers and other texts, along with his brothers, Hibil and AnuŠs. All three are ‘utras (Lightworld (heavenly) figures) but Šitil is the purest of the pure, against whom the souls of all departed Mandaeans are tested on their way to the Lightworld. The story of how Šitil obtained this purity (by dying for his father Adam, at his request) is told, and in the telling a great many other Mandaean mythological figures are encountered and described. Šitil is regarded essentially as a dual figure, in having both human and Lightworld aspects.
Jorunn Jacobsen Buckley
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195153859
- eISBN:
- 9780199834051
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195153855.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion in the Ancient World
Focuses on the Mandaean mythological figure of Ruha (Spirit), who is presented largely as a leader of the forces of darkness opposing those of the Lightworld. She has been traditionally regarded as ...
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Focuses on the Mandaean mythological figure of Ruha (Spirit), who is presented largely as a leader of the forces of darkness opposing those of the Lightworld. She has been traditionally regarded as evil, although there are good reasons to regard her as a fallen wisdom figure. It examines the Mandaean stories in which Ruha appears as ambiguous (double‐sided or dual) or in a positive light. Four sets of mythological traditions, taken from a variety of texts, illustrate the points made: the descent of the ‘utra (Lightworld (heavenly) figure) Hibil Ziwa (Radiance) into the Underworld; the creation of Tibil (the earthly world) and of the human beings; Ruha and the ‘utras; and Ruha's self‐revelations and identifications with Lightbeings.Less
Focuses on the Mandaean mythological figure of Ruha (Spirit), who is presented largely as a leader of the forces of darkness opposing those of the Lightworld. She has been traditionally regarded as evil, although there are good reasons to regard her as a fallen wisdom figure. It examines the Mandaean stories in which Ruha appears as ambiguous (double‐sided or dual) or in a positive light. Four sets of mythological traditions, taken from a variety of texts, illustrate the points made: the descent of the ‘utra (Lightworld (heavenly) figure) Hibil Ziwa (Radiance) into the Underworld; the creation of Tibil (the earthly world) and of the human beings; Ruha and the ‘utras; and Ruha's self‐revelations and identifications with Lightbeings.
Jorunn Jacobsen Buckley
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195153859
- eISBN:
- 9780199834051
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195153855.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion in the Ancient World
Focuses on the mythological figure of Miriai, who in some Mandaean traditions is Jesus’ mother, while in others she is portrayed as a positive figure, but with no associations with Jesus. The ...
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Focuses on the mythological figure of Miriai, who in some Mandaean traditions is Jesus’ mother, while in others she is portrayed as a positive figure, but with no associations with Jesus. The presence of Miriai in Mandaeism raises the possibility that there was a brief Christian stage in early stage in the religion. An examination is made of how the Mandaeans present Miriai in their mythologies. This first discusses the traditions about her in the Book of John, next her conversion from Judaism to Mandaeism, and then her appearance in the Friday and Saturday prayers preceding and following the Jewish Sabbath – as a repeater of the statement cutting the ties of Mandaeism with Judaism. The last section of the chapter is a general discussion of Miriai's elevated position in Mandaeism, as one whose traditions portray Mandaeism's critical attitude to its former home of Judaism.Less
Focuses on the mythological figure of Miriai, who in some Mandaean traditions is Jesus’ mother, while in others she is portrayed as a positive figure, but with no associations with Jesus. The presence of Miriai in Mandaeism raises the possibility that there was a brief Christian stage in early stage in the religion. An examination is made of how the Mandaeans present Miriai in their mythologies. This first discusses the traditions about her in the Book of John, next her conversion from Judaism to Mandaeism, and then her appearance in the Friday and Saturday prayers preceding and following the Jewish Sabbath – as a repeater of the statement cutting the ties of Mandaeism with Judaism. The last section of the chapter is a general discussion of Miriai's elevated position in Mandaeism, as one whose traditions portray Mandaeism's critical attitude to its former home of Judaism.
Jorunn Jacobsen Buckley
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195153859
- eISBN:
- 9780199834051
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195153855.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion in the Ancient World
Starts the second part of the book, on Mandaean rituals. It gives an account of the author's visit to the Mandaeans of Iran in April 1996. Descriptions are given of customs, ceremonies, and rituals.
Starts the second part of the book, on Mandaean rituals. It gives an account of the author's visit to the Mandaeans of Iran in April 1996. Descriptions are given of customs, ceremonies, and rituals.
Jorunn Jacobsen Buckley
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195153859
- eISBN:
- 9780199834051
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195153855.003.0007
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion in the Ancient World
The Mandaean ritual of Mašbuta or baptism is described. This is a process of immersion in running water (which is the form that the Lightworld takes on earth), and is not an initiatory baptism, but ...
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The Mandaean ritual of Mašbuta or baptism is described. This is a process of immersion in running water (which is the form that the Lightworld takes on earth), and is not an initiatory baptism, but rather repeated immersions that mark preparations and rehearsals for entry into the Lightworld – an entry that only happens properly at the death of the body. After an outline of the proceedings at a Mašbuta, specific interpretations and interpretative problems associated with it are addressed. It is argued that the Mašbuta is best understood within the greater horizon of Mandaean cosmology, as one of the means of constantly recreating the laufa (the connection between earth and the Lightworld).Less
The Mandaean ritual of Mašbuta or baptism is described. This is a process of immersion in running water (which is the form that the Lightworld takes on earth), and is not an initiatory baptism, but rather repeated immersions that mark preparations and rehearsals for entry into the Lightworld – an entry that only happens properly at the death of the body. After an outline of the proceedings at a Mašbuta, specific interpretations and interpretative problems associated with it are addressed. It is argued that the Mašbuta is best understood within the greater horizon of Mandaean cosmology, as one of the means of constantly recreating the laufa (the connection between earth and the Lightworld).
Jorunn Jacobsen Buckley
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195153859
- eISBN:
- 9780199834051
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195153855.003.0008
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion in the Ancient World
Investigates another creation of the Mandaean laufa (the connection between earth and the Lightworld), that of the masiqta or death mass. The specific masiqta described here is the Ṭabahata masiqta, ...
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Investigates another creation of the Mandaean laufa (the connection between earth and the Lightworld), that of the masiqta or death mass. The specific masiqta described here is the Ṭabahata masiqta, the masiqta of the Parents’, an event that only occurs once a year, on the last day of the five‐day intercalary period Panja; it takes even longer than a regular masiqta (which takes 12 hours) . This is a double masiqta, performed in two parts, the first of which has two segments. The account relies on Drower's fieldwork accounts, and on her editions and translations of Mandaean texts. Prayers, priestly instructions, commentaries, and activities are laid out in conjunction with one another to show the complex interactions of religious thought, imagery, and ritual proceedings.Less
Investigates another creation of the Mandaean laufa (the connection between earth and the Lightworld), that of the masiqta or death mass. The specific masiqta described here is the Ṭabahata masiqta, the masiqta of the Parents’, an event that only occurs once a year, on the last day of the five‐day intercalary period Panja; it takes even longer than a regular masiqta (which takes 12 hours) . This is a double masiqta, performed in two parts, the first of which has two segments. The account relies on Drower's fieldwork accounts, and on her editions and translations of Mandaean texts. Prayers, priestly instructions, commentaries, and activities are laid out in conjunction with one another to show the complex interactions of religious thought, imagery, and ritual proceedings.
Jorunn Jacobsen Buckley
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195153859
- eISBN:
- 9780199834051
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195153855.003.0009
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion in the Ancient World
Centers on the creation of the tarmida, who is a lower ranking (first‐level) Mandaean priest. The entire ritual takes 68 days and requires a set clusterings of rituals and ritual segments. The ...
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Centers on the creation of the tarmida, who is a lower ranking (first‐level) Mandaean priest. The entire ritual takes 68 days and requires a set clusterings of rituals and ritual segments. The sequence of events is described: preparation; baptism and crowning; marriage and insignia; baptism of the rba (the novice's teacher) and zidqa brikha (blessed oblation); the 60‐days’ exclusion; and the masiqta (death mass) for the rba. In addition, two issues are addressed in particular: the relationship between the novice and his teacher, and the emphatic instructions regarding the inclusion or exclusion of certain words or formulas at specific points in the ceremonial.Less
Centers on the creation of the tarmida, who is a lower ranking (first‐level) Mandaean priest. The entire ritual takes 68 days and requires a set clusterings of rituals and ritual segments. The sequence of events is described: preparation; baptism and crowning; marriage and insignia; baptism of the rba (the novice's teacher) and zidqa brikha (blessed oblation); the 60‐days’ exclusion; and the masiqta (death mass) for the rba. In addition, two issues are addressed in particular: the relationship between the novice and his teacher, and the emphatic instructions regarding the inclusion or exclusion of certain words or formulas at specific points in the ceremonial.
Jorunn Jacobsen Buckley
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195153859
- eISBN:
- 9780199834051
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195153855.003.0010
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion in the Ancient World
Starts the third part of the book, on native hermeneutics (interpretation issues). It gives an account of New York Mandaeans; Mandaeans first came to New York to the World Exposition in 1939, to show ...
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Starts the third part of the book, on native hermeneutics (interpretation issues). It gives an account of New York Mandaeans; Mandaeans first came to New York to the World Exposition in 1939, to show their silver and gold art. Accounts are given of various meetings of members of this community with the author, and their beliefs and practices are described.Less
Starts the third part of the book, on native hermeneutics (interpretation issues). It gives an account of New York Mandaeans; Mandaeans first came to New York to the World Exposition in 1939, to show their silver and gold art. Accounts are given of various meetings of members of this community with the author, and their beliefs and practices are described.
Jorunn Jacobsen Buckley
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195153859
- eISBN:
- 9780199834051
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195153855.003.0012
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion in the Ancient World
Along with texts such as The Great ‘First World’, the scroll of Exalted Kingship belongs to a category of Mandaean texts that might be called Mandaean priestly esoteric documents.’ Exalted Kingship ...
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Along with texts such as The Great ‘First World’, the scroll of Exalted Kingship belongs to a category of Mandaean texts that might be called Mandaean priestly esoteric documents.’ Exalted Kingship is a large scroll, consisting of 1,363 lines, with drawings, and, in rather elliptical fashion, describes the initiation of the tarmida (a first‐level priest), which is the subject of Ch. 9. The text proceeds slowly, pausing and delving into lengthy dissertations on topics deemed suitable. In this chapter, selected sequential passages are examined from among the beginning of Exalted Kingship (lines 7–225), where the text plumbs the mysteries of the effects of the novice's words while he sits inside the šskinta (cult hut) on the second day of the initiation. Interpretations and underlying themes are presented.Less
Along with texts such as The Great ‘First World’, the scroll of Exalted Kingship belongs to a category of Mandaean texts that might be called Mandaean priestly esoteric documents.’ Exalted Kingship is a large scroll, consisting of 1,363 lines, with drawings, and, in rather elliptical fashion, describes the initiation of the tarmida (a first‐level priest), which is the subject of Ch. 9. The text proceeds slowly, pausing and delving into lengthy dissertations on topics deemed suitable. In this chapter, selected sequential passages are examined from among the beginning of Exalted Kingship (lines 7–225), where the text plumbs the mysteries of the effects of the novice's words while he sits inside the šskinta (cult hut) on the second day of the initiation. Interpretations and underlying themes are presented.
Jorunn Jacobsen Buckley
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195153859
- eISBN:
- 9780199834051
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195153855.003.0013
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion in the Ancient World
The Mandaean alphabet, the abagada, consists of 24 letters and is so named because of the first four of these (A, B, G, D); one of them is not a real letter, for the D, the relative particle “of”, is ...
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The Mandaean alphabet, the abagada, consists of 24 letters and is so named because of the first four of these (A, B, G, D); one of them is not a real letter, for the D, the relative particle “of”, is added on as the penultimate letter of the alphabet, and the first letter, A, is repeated at the very end of the abagada in order to make the auspicious number, 24. The abagada comes from the female, primordial Wellspring, the aina (often paired with its corresponding male principal, the Datepalm), and the letters, created prior to the universe and human beings, are the Wellspring's children. It could be said that no universe could have been made prior to the letters because neither speech nor writing were possible until the abagada came into being. The Mandaeans accord a somewhat disturbing autonomy to the abagada, and it is a question of how much power human beings have in their use of it: who is in charge, the letters or the people? To explore this problem, this chapter focuses on errors, subversive word games, jokes, double entendres, and polemics – in short, they are the kinds of language games that people play on the alphabet, or that it plays on them. If it is assumed that Mandaeism sides with the letters, and therefore in a sense against itself, then religion is playing a joke on itself.Less
The Mandaean alphabet, the abagada, consists of 24 letters and is so named because of the first four of these (A, B, G, D); one of them is not a real letter, for the D, the relative particle “of”, is added on as the penultimate letter of the alphabet, and the first letter, A, is repeated at the very end of the abagada in order to make the auspicious number, 24. The abagada comes from the female, primordial Wellspring, the aina (often paired with its corresponding male principal, the Datepalm), and the letters, created prior to the universe and human beings, are the Wellspring's children. It could be said that no universe could have been made prior to the letters because neither speech nor writing were possible until the abagada came into being. The Mandaeans accord a somewhat disturbing autonomy to the abagada, and it is a question of how much power human beings have in their use of it: who is in charge, the letters or the people? To explore this problem, this chapter focuses on errors, subversive word games, jokes, double entendres, and polemics – in short, they are the kinds of language games that people play on the alphabet, or that it plays on them. If it is assumed that Mandaeism sides with the letters, and therefore in a sense against itself, then religion is playing a joke on itself.
Jorunn Jacobsen Buckley
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195153859
- eISBN:
- 9780199834051
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195153855.003.0014
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion in the Ancient World
Deals with some aspects of the author's own ongoing research on Mandaean colophons, including the postscripts, which are called tariks. Colophons form family trees because they list names and thereby ...
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Deals with some aspects of the author's own ongoing research on Mandaean colophons, including the postscripts, which are called tariks. Colophons form family trees because they list names and thereby show the vital threads of scribal lineages through the centuries. The names of a great number of copyist priests, the colophons present nothing less than an unbroken Mandaean history. A translation of an entire tarik from one of the Manuscript A (1560) in Petermann's Ginza is included.Less
Deals with some aspects of the author's own ongoing research on Mandaean colophons, including the postscripts, which are called tariks. Colophons form family trees because they list names and thereby show the vital threads of scribal lineages through the centuries. The names of a great number of copyist priests, the colophons present nothing less than an unbroken Mandaean history. A translation of an entire tarik from one of the Manuscript A (1560) in Petermann's Ginza is included.
Shai Secunda
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- July 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780198856825
- eISBN:
- 9780191889974
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198856825.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
Rituals governing menstruation were an important aspect of Babylonian Jewish life, and they took shape within the context of Sasanian Mesopotamia, where neighboring religious communities were ...
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Rituals governing menstruation were an important aspect of Babylonian Jewish life, and they took shape within the context of Sasanian Mesopotamia, where neighboring religious communities were similarly animated by menstruation and its assumed impurity. The Talmud’s Red Fence: Menstruation and Difference in Babylonian Judaism and its Sasanian Context examines how the Talmudic rules of menstruation functioned within the dynamic space of Sasanian Mesopotamia. It argues that difference and differentiation between pure and impure, women and men, gentile and Jew, and the Babylonian and Palestinian Talmuds drove the development and observance of the Talmudic discourse of menstrual impurity, which influences Jewish life to this day. The Talmud’s Red Fence exemplifies Irano-Talmudic research—the effort to understand the Babylonian Talmud within its Sasanian Iranian context. To this end, it reads the Talmud alongside relevant Zoroastrian, Mandaic, and Syriac Christian texts to shed light on this previously overlooked aspect of late antique religious life. The book shows how the Talmudic menstrual rituals developed in conversation with other Sasanian religious communities, especially with Zoroastrians, who had a developed a similarly legalistic discourse of menstrual purity. And it considers the challenges of using an androcentric text to reconstruct a feature of late antique Jewish life that is intimately connected to the female experience.Less
Rituals governing menstruation were an important aspect of Babylonian Jewish life, and they took shape within the context of Sasanian Mesopotamia, where neighboring religious communities were similarly animated by menstruation and its assumed impurity. The Talmud’s Red Fence: Menstruation and Difference in Babylonian Judaism and its Sasanian Context examines how the Talmudic rules of menstruation functioned within the dynamic space of Sasanian Mesopotamia. It argues that difference and differentiation between pure and impure, women and men, gentile and Jew, and the Babylonian and Palestinian Talmuds drove the development and observance of the Talmudic discourse of menstrual impurity, which influences Jewish life to this day. The Talmud’s Red Fence exemplifies Irano-Talmudic research—the effort to understand the Babylonian Talmud within its Sasanian Iranian context. To this end, it reads the Talmud alongside relevant Zoroastrian, Mandaic, and Syriac Christian texts to shed light on this previously overlooked aspect of late antique religious life. The book shows how the Talmudic menstrual rituals developed in conversation with other Sasanian religious communities, especially with Zoroastrians, who had a developed a similarly legalistic discourse of menstrual purity. And it considers the challenges of using an androcentric text to reconstruct a feature of late antique Jewish life that is intimately connected to the female experience.
April D. DeConick
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780231170765
- eISBN:
- 9780231542043
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231170765.003.0011
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
Emergence of the first Gnostic new religious movements; Church of Mani; Church of Pistis Sophia; Mandaeism. Engages the movie, “Pleasantville.”
Emergence of the first Gnostic new religious movements; Church of Mani; Church of Pistis Sophia; Mandaeism. Engages the movie, “Pleasantville.”
