The ''Haran Gawaita'' (

Mandaic Mandaic may refer to: * Mandaic language * Mandaic alphabet ** Mandaic (Unicode block) Mandaic is a Unicode block containing characters of the Mandaic script used for writing the historic Eastern Aramaic, also called Classical Mandaic, and the m ...

ࡄࡀࡓࡀࡍ ࡂࡀࡅࡀࡉࡕࡀ "Inner

Harran Harran (), historically known as Carrhae ( el, Kάρραι, Kárrhai), is a rural town and district of the Şanlıurfa Province in southeastern Turkey, approximately 40 kilometres (25 miles) southeast of Urfa and 20 kilometers from the border cr ...

" or "Inner

Hauran The Hauran ( ar, حَوْرَان, ''Ḥawrān''; also spelled ''Hawran'' or ''Houran'') is a region that spans parts of southern Syria and northern Jordan. It is bound in the north by the Ghouta oasis, eastwards by the al-Safa (Syria), al-Safa ...

") also known as the ''Scroll of Great Revelation'', is a Mandaean text which recounts the history of the

Mandaeans Mandaeans ( ar, المندائيون ), 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 most important prophet. They ...

and their arrival in

Media Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass el ...

as Nasoraeans from

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

.Buckley, Jorunn Jacobsen (2010). Turning the Tables on Jesus: The Mandaean View. In (pp94-111). Minneapolis: Fortress Press

Text, dating and authorship

The text is in the

Mandaic language Mandaic is a southeastern Aramaic variety in use by the Mandaean community, traditionally based in southern parts of Iraq and southwest Iran, for their religious books. Classical Mandaic is still employed by Mandaean priests in liturgical rites. ...

and script, and is dated to around the 4th6th centuries. It is of unknown authorship.

Content

According to the Haran Gawaita,

John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

was baptized,

initiated Initiation is a rite of passage marking entrance or acceptance into a group or society. It could also be a formal admission to adulthood in a community or one of its formal components. In an extended sense, it can also signify a transformation ...

, and educated by the patron of the ''Nasirutha'' (secret knowledge), Enosh ( Anush or Anush-ʼuthra), the

hierophant A hierophant ( grc, ἱεροφάντης) is a person who brings religious congregants into the presence of that which is deemed ''holy''. As such, a hierophant is an interpreter of sacred mysteries and wikt:arcane, arcane principles. The word ...

of the sect. This research was conducted by the Oxford scholar and specialist on the Nasoraeans, Lady Ethel S. Drower. According to

Jorunn J. Buckley Jorunn Jacobsen Buckley (born Jorunn Jacobsen in 1944 in Norway) is an American religious studies scholar and historian of religion known for her work on Mandaeism and Gnosticism. She was a former Professor of Religion at Bowdoin College. She is k ...

, the Mandaeans see themselves to be former Judeans based in Jerusalem that loved Adonai until the birth of Jesus. These Nasoraean disciples of John the BaptistDrower, Ethel Stefana. The Haran Gawaita and the Baptism of Hibil-Ziwa. Biblioteca Apostolica Vatican, 1953 are aware of the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 CE, but they did not leave because of this. They fled before 70 CE due to persecution by a faction of more normative or Orthodox Jews. With the help of the

Parthian Parthian may be: Historical * A demonym "of Parthia", a region of north-eastern of Greater Iran * Parthian Empire (247 BC – 224 AD) * Parthian language, a now-extinct Middle Iranian language * Parthian shot, an archery skill famously employed by ...

king

Artabanus II Artabanus II (also spelled Artabanos II or Ardawan II; xpr, 𐭍𐭐𐭕𐭓 ''Ardawān''), incorrectly known in older scholarship as Artabanus III, was King of Kings of the Parthian Empire from 12 to 38/41 AD, with a one-year interruption. He wa ...

(Ardban II; previously known as Ardban III), who ruled from 11-38 CE, the Mandaeans settled in the Median Hills (Mandaic: ''Ṭura ḏ-Madai''), and later moved to southern

Babylonia Babylonia (; Akkadian: , ''māt Akkadī'') was an ancient Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Syria). It emerged as an Amorite-ruled state c. ...

Manuscripts and translations

An English translation of the Haran Gawaita and the

Diwan Masbuta d Hibil Ziwa ''The Baptism of Hibil Ziwa'' or ''Diwan Maṣbuta ḏ-Hibil Ziwa'' ( myz, ࡃࡉࡅࡀࡍ ࡌࡀࡑࡁࡅࡕࡀ ࡖࡄࡉࡁࡉࡋ ࡆࡉࡅࡀ, "Scroll of the Baptism of Hibil Ziwa") is a Mandaean illustrated scroll. It describes the soteriolog ...

was published in 1953 by Lady E. S. Drower, which was based on manuscripts 9 and 36 of the

Drower Collection This article contains a list of Mandaean texts (Mandaean religious texts written in Classical Mandaic). Well-known texts include the ''Ginza Rabba'' (also known as the ''Sidra Rabbā'') and the '' Qolastā''. Texts for Mandaean priests include ...

(abbreviated DC 9 and DC 36, respectively). A German translation, which makes use of Drower's manuscripts as well as two additional privately held manuscripts, was published in 2020 by

Bogdan Burtea Bogdan Burtea is a Romanian religious studies scholar and Semiticist currently based in Germany. His main interests are Mandaic, Aramaic, and Ethiopic studies. Early life and education Bogdan Burtea was born in Romania.Häberl, Charles G. (2007)R ...

Buckley Buckley may refer to: Businesses and organizations * Buckley's, a Canadian pharmaceutical corporation * Buckley Aircraft, an American aircraft manufacturer * Buckley Broadcasting, an American broadcasting company * Buckley School (California), ...

has also located a privately held copy of the ''Haran Gawaita'' dating from 1930 in

Flushing, New York Flushing is a neighborhood in the north-central portion of the New York City borough of Queens. The neighborhood is the fourth-largest central business district in New York City. Downtown Flushing is a major commercial and retail area, and the i ...

References

External links

(Mandaic text from the Mandaean Network)

(Mandaic text from the Mandaean Network) {{Italic title Mandaean texts History books about religion

Text, dating and authorship

Content

Manuscripts and translations

See also

References

Further reading

External links