The ''Diwan

Abatur Abatur ( myz, ࡀࡁࡀࡕࡅࡓ, sometimes called Abathur; Yawar, myz, ࡉࡀࡅࡀࡓ; and the Ancient of Days) is an Uthra and the second of three subservient emanations created by the Mandaean God ''Hayyi Rabbi'' ( myz, ࡄࡉࡉࡀ ࡓࡁ� ...

'' ( myz, ࡃࡉࡅࡀࡍ ࡀࡁࡀࡕࡅࡓ; "Scroll of Abatur") is a

Mandaean 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 ...

religious text. It is a large illustrated scroll that is over 20 ft. 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.

The ''Diwan Abatur'' mentions a heavenly tree called '' Shatrin'' (''Šatrin'') where the souls of unbaptized Mandaean children are temporarily nourished for 30 days. On the 30th day,

Hibil Ziwa In Mandaeism, Hibil ( myz, ࡄࡉࡁࡉࡋ) or Hibil Ziwa ( myz, ࡄࡉࡁࡉࡋ ࡆࡉࡅࡀ) is an uthra (angel or guardian) from the World of Light. Hibil is considered to be the Mandaean equivalent of Abel. Prayers in the Qolasta frequently c ...

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

World of Light In Mandaeism, the World of Light or Lightworld ( myz, ࡀࡋࡌࡀ ࡖࡍࡄࡅࡓࡀ, translit=alma ḏ-nhūra) is the primeval, transcendental world from which Tibil and the World of Darkness emerged. Description *The Great Life (''Hayyi Rabbi ...

. The tree has a length of 360,000

parasang The parasang is a historical Iranian unit of walking distance, the length of which varied according to terrain and speed of travel. The European equivalent is the league. In modern terms the distance is about 3 or 3½ miles (4.8 or 5.6 km). Hist ...

s according to the ''Diwan Abatur''. Additionally, the ''Diwan Abatur'' mentions a ship called ''

Shahrat In Mandaeism, ''Shahrat'' ( myz, ࡔࡀࡄࡓࡀࡕ, translit=Šahrat, lit=she kept watch) 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. Accordi ...

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

souls In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

from

Tibil In Mandaean cosmology, Tibil ( myz, ࡕࡉࡁࡉࡋ) 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 (' ...

across the

Hitpun In Mandaean cosmology, Hiṭpun (Hiṭfun) or Hiṭpon (Hiṭfon) ( myz, ࡄࡉࡈࡐࡅࡍ) 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''. T ...

and into the house of

Manuscripts and translations

An English translation of the text was published by E. S. Drower in 1950, which was based on manuscript 8 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 8). A manuscript of the ''Diwan Abatur'', MS. Borgiani Siriaci 175 (abbreviated BS175), is held at the

Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana The Vatican Apostolic Library ( la, Bibliotheca Apostolica Vaticana, it, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana), more commonly known as the Vatican Library or informally as the Vat, is the library of the Holy See, located in Vatican City. Formally es ...

in Vatican City. In 2020,

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 ...

translated the ''Diwan Abatur'' into German.

Gallery

File:Mandaean Scroll of Abathur.jpg, 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, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second- ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. The illustration on top depicts the ship ''

'' ferrying Mandaean souls towards the house of Abatur, while the lower illustration shows the tree of Shatrin with the souls of unbaptized children. File:Abatur.jpg, Image of

from the ''Diwan Abatur'' File:Abatur at the scales.jpg, Image of

at the scales (Abatur Muzania), from the ''Diwan Abatur''

References

External links

Diwan Abathur
(Mandaic text from the Mandaean Network)

(Mandaic text from the Mandaean Network) {{Authority control Mandaean texts

Contents

Manuscripts and translations

Gallery

See also

References

External links