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Left Ginza
The Left 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 Right Ginza. Summaries of each book (or tractate), based mostly on Häberl (2007), are provided below.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. Translated excerpts are from Gelbert (2011), while Mandaic transliterations are derived from Gelbert (2011, 2021). Book 1 Book 1 is a four-part prose text on the salvation process, beginning with the ascension to heaven of Seth, in advance of his father Adam (compare Sethian Gnosticism). *Chapter 1.1 is about Adam and his three sons. One of Adam's sons, Sheetil (Seth), volunteers to die before his father. 49 paragraphs in Gelbert (2011). The c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mandaeism
Mandaeism (Classical Mandaic: ࡌࡀࡍࡃࡀࡉࡉࡀ ; Arabic: المندائيّة ), sometimes also known as Nasoraeanism or Sabianism, is a Gnostic, monotheistic and ethnic religion. Its adherents, the Mandaeans, revere Adam, Abel, Seth, Enos, Noah, Shem, Aram, Jesus and especially John the Baptist. Mandaeans consider Adam, Seth, Noah, Shem and John the Baptist prophets with Adam being the founder of the religion and John being the greatest and final prophet. The Mandaeans speak an Eastern Aramaic language known as Mandaic. The name 'Mandaean' comes from the Aramaic ''manda'', meaning knowledge. Within the Middle East, but outside their community, the Mandaeans are more commonly known as the (singular: ), or as Sabians (, ). The term is derived from an Aramaic root related to baptism. The term Sabians derives from the mysterious religious group mentioned three times in the Quran alongside the Jews, the Christians and the Zoroastrians as a 'People of the Book', and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Matarta
In Mandaean cosmology, a maṭarta ( myz, ࡌࡀࡈࡀࡓࡕࡀ; plural form: ''maṭarata'') 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-station", or "purgatory". Maṭartas are guarded by various uthras (celestial beings from the World of Light) and demons. Ruha, the queen of the underworld, is the ruler or guardian of the third maṭarta. To reach the World of Light (''alma ḏ-nhūra'') from Tibil (Earth), souls must pass through the various maṭartas that are situated in between. Rituals such as the ''masiqta'' can help guide souls past the various maṭarta so that they could reach the World of Light. In the Ginza Rabba In the Ginza Rabba, Chapter 3 in Book 5 of the ''Right Ginza'', Book 6 of the ''Right Ginza'' (also known as the "Book of Dinanukht"), and Chapter 4 in Book 1 of the ''Left Ginza'' give detailed descriptions of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nišma
In Mandaeism, the nishimta ( myz, ࡍࡉࡔࡉࡌࡕࡀ ; plural: ) or nishma ( myz, ࡍࡉࡔࡌࡀ ) is the human soul. It is can also be considered as equivalent to the "psyche" or " ego". It is distinct from ''ruha'' ('spirit'), as well as from ''mana'' ('nous'). In Mandaeism, humans are considered to be made up of the physical body (''pagra''), soul (''nišimta''), and spirit (''ruha''). In the afterlife When a Mandaean person dies, priests perform elaborate death rituals or death masses called ''masiqta'' in order to help guide the soul (''nišimta'') towards the World of Light. In order to pass from Tibil (Earth) to the World of Light, the soul must go through multiple ''maṭarta'' (watch-stations, toll-stations, or purgatories; see also Arcs of Descent and Ascent and araf (Islam)) before finally being reunited with the ''dmuta'', the soul's heavenly counterpart. A successful masiqta merges the incarnate soul ( myz, ࡍࡉࡔࡉࡌࡕࡀ ; roughly equivalent to the ''psyc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Psalms Of Thomas
The ''Psalms of Thomas'' (more correctly ''Psalms of Thom'') are a set of 3rd-century Judeo-Christian psalms found appended to the end of a Coptic Manichaean psalm book, which was in turn part of the Medinet Madi Coptic Texts uncovered in 1928. The psalms were originally published in 1938 by C. R. C. Allberry. The meter and structure of the psalms suggest that they were originally written in Eastern Aramaic. There are 20 psalms in total. The themes and content of the psalms bear a considerable resemblance to the Hymn of the Pearl from the Acts of Thomas. Authorship Considerable controversy continues as to whether the Thomas or Thom referred to could be the Apostle Thomas, Mani's disciple, also called Thomas, or the Gnostic concept of the divine twin. This is because the latter is referred to in other parts of the Coptic Manichaean Psalm-book as a distinct person from the Apostle. The enigma has since deepened with the publication of the Cologne Mani-Codex in the 1970s, which s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
