''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 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 ...

illustrated scroll. It describes the

soteriological Soteriology (; el, σωτηρία ' "salvation" from σωτήρ ' "savior, preserver" and λόγος ' "study" or "word") is the study of religious doctrines of salvation. Salvation theory occupies a place of special significance in many religio ...

descent of

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 ...

to the

World of Darkness ''World of Darkness'' is a series of tabletop role-playing games, originally created by Mark Rein-Hagen for White Wolf Publishing. It began as an annual line of five games in 1991–1995, with '' Vampire: The Masquerade'', '' Werewolf: The Apoca ...

, and his

baptisms Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation and Adoption ...

before and after. The scroll is essentially also a commentary on the ''

masbuta Maṣbuta ( myz, ࡌࡀࡑࡁࡅࡕࡀ) is the ritual of immersion in water in the Mandaeism, Mandaean religion. Overview Mandaeans revere John the Baptist and practice frequent baptism (''masbuta'') as a Ritual purification, ritual of purificati ...

'', or Mandaean ritual baptism. The scroll is lavishly illustrated, showing figures of dozens of

uthra An uthra or ʿutra ( myz, ࡏࡅࡕࡓࡀ; plural: ʿutri) is a "divine messenger of the light" in Mandaeism. Charles G. Häberl and James F. McGrath translate it as "excellency". Jorunn J. Buckley defines them as "Lightworld beings, called 'utr ...

s and mythological creatures and realms.

Synopsis of narrative

The beginning of the text is missing, and the text as it exists opens with Yawar Hibil approaching the King of Light, who baptises him in 360 yardeni, clothes him in 360 robes of light, and bestows him with the Great Mystery, seven staves, and other attributes. Hibil is dispatched to the

, descends to confront and seal

Krun Krun (; myz, ࡊࡓࡅࡍ) or Akrun () is a Mandaean lord of the underworld. According to Mandaean cosmology, he dwells in the lowest depths of creation, supporting the entirety of the physical world. In mythology Krun is the greatest of the f ...

, and ascends to the world of

Qin Qin may refer to: Dynasties and states * Qin (state) (秦), a major state during the Zhou Dynasty of ancient China * Qin dynasty (秦), founded by the Qin state in 221 BC and ended in 206 BC * Daqin (大秦), ancient Chinese name for the Roman Emp ...

, where he secretly takes the mysteries of the jewel, mirror and bitter herb from Qin when she reveals them, and captures

Ruha In Mandaeism, Rūha ( myz, ࡓࡅࡄࡀ, lit=spirit/breath; also known as Namrūs or Hiwat (Ewath; myz, ࡏࡅࡀࡕ)) is the queen of the World of Darkness (''alma ḏ-hšuka'') or underworld. She rules the underworld together with her son Ur ...

, who is pregnant with Ur, also taking

Ptahil In Mandaeism, Ptahil ( myz, ࡐࡕࡀࡄࡉࡋ) also known as Ptahil-Uthra (uthra = angel or guardian), is the Fourth Life, the third of three emanations from the First Life, Hayyi Rabbi, after Yushamin and Abatur. Ptahil-Uthra alone does not con ...

. He ascends further to the world of

Gaf GAF may refer to: Military * General of the Air Force, US * Ghana Armed Forces * Guardia alla Frontiera, Italy Other uses * Gaf, a Perso-Arabic letter * Gaf (Mandaeism), a demon of the Mandaean underworld * GAF Materials Corporation, an Americ ...

and offers prayers to the King of Light, who sends for

Manda d-Hayyi In Mandaeism, Manda d-Hayyi or Manda ḏ-Hiia ( myz, ࡌࡀࡍࡃࡀ ࡖࡄࡉࡉࡀ, lit=the 'Gnosis of Life', 'Knowledge of Life', or 'Knower of the Life') is an uthra (angel or guardian) sent by the Great Life (''Hayyi Rabbi'', or the Transcend ...

to send a Letter of Kushta and phial of oil to Hibil, which are received, but Hibil and his companions remain detained by the powers of darkness, until a

masiqta The masiqta ( myz, ࡌࡀࡎࡉࡒࡕࡀ) is a mass or ritual practiced in the Mandaean religion in order to help guide the soul (''nišimta'') towards the World of Light in Mandaean cosmology. They are typically performed as funerary rites for ...

is performed, following which they ascend to the middle world, alarming the guards, in response to which the Great Mana dispatches

Yushamin In Mandaeism, Yushamin ( myz, ࡉࡅࡔࡀࡌࡉࡍ) and also known as the 'Second Life', is the primal uthra (angel or guardian) and a subservient emanation who was created by the Mandaean God 'The Great Life' (''Hayyi Rabbi'' or 'The First Lif ...

, who interrogates Hibil's identity and permits him re-entry to the World of Light. The remainder of the text is a detailed ritual commentary and instruction on the 360-fold baptism performed on Hibil after returning, which is a form of baptism traditionally used to restore ritual purity to a priest.

Manuscripts and translations

The ''Diwan Masbuta d-Hibil Ziwa'' and the

Haran Gawaita The ''Haran Gawaita'' (Mandaic ࡄࡀࡓࡀࡍ ࡂࡀࡅࡀࡉࡕࡀ "Inner Harran" or "Inner Hauran") also known as the ''Scroll of Great Revelation'', is a Mandaean text which recounts the history of the Mandaeans and their arrival in Media as ...

were published, with English translation, by E. S. Drower in 1953. Drower's translation was primarily based on manuscript 35 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 35), and includes an autobiographical appendix by

Yahya Bihram Yahya Bihram (also spelled Yahia Bihram; myz, ࡉࡀࡄࡉࡀ ࡁࡉࡄࡓࡀࡌ) was a 19th-century Mandaean priest. Although initially a learned layman (''yalufa''), he became known for reviving the Mandaean priesthood after a cholera epidemi ...

following the final colophon. Portions of the text, including hymns, were also present in, and cross-referenced with, a related text in manuscript 50 (DC 50, '' Šarḥ ḏ-Maṣbuta Rabia''). Add. 23,602B, ''Kholasta sive liturgica Sabiorum Libri Joannis Fragmenta Mendaice'' is a book of fragments that was probably obtained by Colonel

John George Taylor John George Taylor (active 1851–1861; also known as J E Taylor and J G Taylor) was a British official of the Foreign Office, and also an important early archaeologist investigating the antiquities of the Middle East. He was one of the first ar ...

. It contains fragments of ''Maṣbuta ḏ-Hibil Ziua'' and ''

Alma Rišaia Rba The '' Alma Rišaia Rba'' or ''Diwan Alma Rišaia Rabbā'' ( myz, ࡀࡋࡌࡀ ࡓࡉࡔࡀࡉࡀ ࡓࡁࡀ, "The Great Supreme World" or "The Great First World") is a Mandaean religious text. The text is used for Mandaean priestly initiation cer ...

''.

Parallels

The narrative portion of the text parallels book 5 of the

Right Ginza The Right 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 Left Ginza. Summaries of each book (or tractate), based mostly on Häberl (2007 ...

, while book 4 includes a considerably shorter account of a baptism of Hibil,

Sheetil In Mandaeism, Shitil or Sheetil (Šītil; myz, ࡔࡉࡕࡉࡋ) is an uthra (angel or guardian) from the World of Light. Shitil is considered to be the Mandaean equivalent of Seth. Prayers in the Qolasta frequently contain the recurring formula ...

and Anush. It has also been compared to the

Hymn of the Pearl The Hymn of the Pearl (also Hymn of the Soul, Hymn of the Robe of Glory or Hymn of Judas Thomas the Apostle) is a passage of the apocryphal ''Acts of Thomas''. In that work, originally written in Syriac, the Apostle Thomas sings the hymn while p ...

from the apocryphal

Acts of Thomas ''Acts of Thomas'' is an early 3rd-century text, one of the New Testament apocrypha within the Acts of the Apostles subgenre. References to the work by Epiphanius of Salamis show that it was in circulation in the 4th century. The complete ver ...

References

External links

A scan of Drower's translation
provided by the

Gnostic Society The Gnostic Society is an organization founded in Los Angeles in 1928, and incorporated in 1939, by John Morgan Pryse (1863-1952) and his brother James Morgan Pryse (1859-1942) for studies of Gnosticism. Stephan A. Hoeller, author and lecturer a ...

. Scanned text is partly replaced by OCR text, with some scanning errors.
PDF of the Mandaic text (as images of text)
(Mandaic text from the Mandaean Network)

(Mandaic text from the Mandaean Network) {{DEFAULTSORT:Baptism of Hibil Ziwa Mandaean texts Baptism