Sidra Rabba

The Sidra Rabba ( mandäi. "Big Book") or Ginza (mandäi. "Treasure") is the sacred scripture of Mandaeism . It is also known as the Mandean Adam's Book .

The Sidra Rabba, like the Book of John (mandäi. "Sidra d-Jahja", also book of kings) and the Qolasta (prayer book), was compiled in the 7th or 8th century, probably to justify the Muslims as "owner of the scriptures". The writings are largely based on older sources; whether older collections preceded them (according to Reitzenstein) is questionable. However, individual partial writings probably existed before the Islamic conquest .

The Ginza is divided into two parts. The right Ginza ( ginza jamina ) contains mythological, cosmological and moral treatises, including two versions of the “Book of the Lord of Greatness”, the “Book of the First Living Teaching”, the “Mystery and Book of the Great Anoš”, two collections of hymns and prayers as well as a Mandaean world history. Der Linke Ginza ( ginza smala ) contains two books of hymns and songs about the fate of the deceased soul on their journey into the afterlife, introduced by prose pieces that deal with the behavior of Adam , Eve and Set upon death. It is recited at the funeral mass.

literature

• Mark Lidzbarski : Ginzā. The treasure or the great book of the Mandaeans. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht et al., Göttingen 1925 ( Quellen der Religionsgeschichte. 13, ZDB -ID 565891-3 ), (reprint: ibid 1978, ISBN 3-525-54123-6 ).