Gnostic Ethics and Mandaean Origins 9781463209476

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GNOSTIC ETHICS AND MANDAEAN ORIGINS

GNOSTIC ETHICS AND MANDAEAN ORIGINS EDWIN M. YAMAUCHI

A 1 GORGIAS PRESS 2004

First Gorgias Press Edition, 2004. The special contents of this edition are copyright €> 2004 by Gorgias Press LLC. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States of America by Gorgias Press LLC, New Jersey. This edition is a facsimile reprint of the original edition published by Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 1970.

ISBN 1-931956-85-5

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Printed and bound in the United States of America.

To MY

MOTHER

HLA.RUKO H I G A

FOREWARD

Many important publications on Gnosticism in general and on Mandaeism in particular have appeared since the publication in 1970 of Gnostic Ethics and Mandaean Origins by Harvard University Press. 1

A. Publications on Gnosticism Michael A. Williams in Rethinking "Gnosticism" offers arguments for dismantling what he calls a "dubious category." 2 Though he presents some cogent criticisms, it is not likely that other scholars will adopt his suggested substitution of "biblical demiurgical" for "gnostic." The best general introduction to Gnosticism is Kurt Rudolph's Gnosis: The Nature & History of Gnosticism? As he began his academic career with monographs on the Mandaeans, he includes much material from their texts in his discussion. A briefer work is Christoph Markschies, Gnosis: y\n Introduction, which includes discussion of Manichaeism but not of Mandaeism. 4 Other general studies include loan P. Couliano, The Tree of Gnosis, which traces Gnostic mythology from antiquity to modern nihilism, 5 and Simone 1 See the following reviews: R. Van den Broek, VC21 (1973), 304-06; R. M. Grant, JBL 91 (1972), 281; Y. Janssens, Le Muséon 85.1-2 (1972), 297-99; E. Lopez, Studium Ovetense 2 (1974), 542-43; G. W. MacRae, Theological Studies 32 (1971), 729-30; K. Rudolph, TLZ 97 (October, 1972), cols. 733-36; J. B. Segal, BSOAS 36 (1973), 134-35; R. McL. Wilson J T J 2 3 (1972), 234-35. The most extensive review was by R. Macuch, Christentum am~KotenMeer; ed. F. Altheim and R. Stiehl (Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 1973), II, 254-73. Macuch believed in the antiquity of the Mandaeans because of the striking parallels between Mandaic texts and the Gospel of John. 2 (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1996). 3 (New York: HarperSanFrancisco, 1987). 4 (London and New York: T & T Clark, 2003). 5 (New York: HarperSanFrancisco, 1990).

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Petrement, A. Separate God: The Origins and Teachings of Gnosticism, who argues for a parasitic development of Gnosticism from Christianity. 6 Giovanni Filoramo offers A History of Gnosticism.7 The complete translation into English of the Nag Hammadi Coptic treatises by a team, led by James M. Robinson in 1977, has stimulated a great outpouring of scholarly books and articles. 8 These publications in many languages have been helpfully catalogued by David M. Scholer in two books, and in a continuing series of annual reports in Novum Testamentum? The proceedings of an international conference on Gnosticism held at Yale University in 1978 were edited by Bentley Layton in two volumes, which dealt respectively with Sethian and with Valentinian Gnosticism. 10 Papers presented at a conference at Southwest Missouri State University in 1983 were published in NagHammadi, Gnosticism, and Early Christianity, edited by Charles W. Hedrick and Robert Hodgson, Jr. 11 The fiftieth anniversary of the Nag Hammadi Library was celebrated by special sessions at the Society of Biblical Literature conference in 1995.12 A popular account of the Nag Hammadi Library is John Dart, The Jesus of Heresy and History.13 Elaine Pagels, the author of the best-selling exposition, The Gnostic Gospels,u has published a popular advocacy of the Gospel of Thomas, Beyond Belief}5 For a critique of her position on women in the ancient church, see Daniel L. Hoffman, The Status of Women and Gnosticism in Irenaeus and Tertullian}6 The important Cologne Codex of the Life of Mani, which was first published in a German journal in 1970, has been published in an (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1993). (Cambridge, MA and Oxford, UK: Blackwell, 1992). 8 James M. Robinson, ed., The Nag Hammadi Library in English (3rd ed.; San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1988). An alternative translation is Bentley Layton, The Gnostic Scriptures (Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company, 1987). 9 D. M. Scholer, Nag Hammadi Bibliography 1948-1969 (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1971); Nag Hamm,adi Bibliography 1970-1994 (Leiden: E . J . Brill, 1997). 10 The Rediscovey of Gnosticism (2 vols.; Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1980). 11 (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1986). 12 See J. D. Turner and A. M. McGuire, eds., The Nag Hammadi Library after F i f t y Years (Leiden: E . J . Brill, 1997). 13 (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1988). 14 (New York: Random House, 1979). 15 (New York: Random House, 2003). 16 (Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen Press, 1995). 6 7

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English translation with a facing Greek text.17 Samuel N. C. Lieu, has published a Dictionary of Manichaean Texts18 and Manichaeism in Mesopotamia and the Roman East.19 Important Manichaean texts in a variety of languages found in Central Asian sites such as Turfan, have been published in German. Some of these texts have now been translated into English by Hans-Joachim Klimkeit, Gnosis on the Silk Road.20 Among important monographs on the church fathers and their Gnostic opponents are: R. Joseph Hoffmann, Marcion: On the Restitution of Christianity 21 and Michel R. Desjardins, Sin in Valentinianism, which challenges previous views. 22 Birger A. Pearson has published a collection of his essays, Gnosticism, Judaism, and Egyptian Christianity. 23 The relationship between Gnosticism and Hermeticism is discussed in a series of essays published in Gnosis and Hermeticism, edited by Roelof van den Broek and Wouter J. Hanegraaf. 24 Pheme Perkins has published Gnosticism and the New Testament, discussing this important relationship in the light of the Nag Hammadi texts, 25 complementing her earlier work, The Gnostic Dialogue: The Early Church and the Crisis of Gnosticism,26 Examining the Synoptic tradition in the Nag Hammadi Library is C. M. Tuckett, Nag Hammadi and the Gospel Tradition. 27 The relationship between Gnosticism and Greek philosophy is the subject of essays in Gnosticism and Eater Vlatonism, Themes, Figures, and Texts, edited by J. D. Turner and R. Majercik. 28 Festschriften in honor of important scholars of Gnosticism include: 1) 'Ayadt] 'shaq: Studi Storico-Rxligiosi in Onore di Ugo Bianchi, edited 17 Ron Cameron and Arthur J. Dewey, tr., The Cologne Mani Codex (Missoula, MT: Scholars Press, 1979). 18 (Turnhout: Brepols, 1994). 19 (Leiden: E . J . Brill, 1994). 20 (New York: HarperSanFrancisco, 1993). 21 (Chico, CA: Scholars Press, 1984). 22 (Atlanta, GA: Scholars Press, 1990). 23 (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 1990). 24 (Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 1998). 25 (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 1993). 26 (New York: Paulist Press, 1980). 27 (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1986). 28 (Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2000).

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by Giulia S. Gasparro. 29 2) Essays on the Nag Hammdi Texts in Honour of Alexander Böhlig?0 3) Gnosis: Festschrift für Hans Jonas, edited by Barbara Aland. 31 4) in honor of Gilles Quispel, Studies in Gnosticism and Hellenistic Religions, edited by R. Van Den Broek and M. J. Vermaseren. 32 5) in honor of James M. Robinson, Gnosticism & the Early Christian World, edited by J. E. Goehring, C. W. Hedrick, J. T. Sanders, and H. D. Betz.33 6) in honor of Robert McL. Wilson, The New Testament and Gnosis, edited by A. H. B. Logan and A. J. M. Wedderburn. 34

B. Publications on Mandaeism. E. S. Drower's classic study, The Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran was recently reprinted. 35 Mark Lidzbarski's German translation of the key Mandaean text, the Gin^a was reprinted in 1978.36 An Australian Mandaean, Brian Mubaraki and his press, Majid Fandi al-Mubaraki, have been printing texts both in typed Mandaic and in English transliteration, for example, of the Qulasta (The Mandaean Litrugical prayer Book). 37 Geo Widengren edited a variety of previously published articles (from 1915 to 1968) in a retrospective anthology, DerMandäismus?^ The volume titled Zur Sprache und Uteratur der Mandäer39 includes an article by Rudolf Macuch, "Zur Grammatik und zum Wörterbuch des Mandäischen," which includes his response to various reviews of his publications; an essay by Kurt Rudolph on the preparations of a critical edition of the Ginza, "Studies in the rite called the Coronation of Sisläm Rabbä," by E. Segelberg, and a Mandaic bibliography covering the decade 1965 to 1975. A Festschrift for 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39

(Rome: "L'Erma" di Bretschneider, 1994). (Leiden: E . J . Brill, 1972). (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1978). (Leiden: E . J . Brill, 1981). (Sonoma, CA: Polebridge Press, 1990). (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1983). (Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press, 2002). (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1978). He can be reached by email at [email protected]. (Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 1982). (Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 1976).

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Rudolf Macuch, Stadia Semitica nec non Iranica, was edited by M. Macuch, C. Müller-Kessler, and B. Fragner. 40 Kurt Rudolph's Mandaeism in the iconography of Religions series contains many photos of Mandaean rituals.41 A Festschrift for Rudolph was edited by H. Preissler and H. Seiwert.42 Enrique Lopez published an extensive study on the possible bearing of Mandaeism on the New Testament in a Spanish journal in 1

974«

Two recent general introductions to the Mandaeans may be highly commended. The Italian scholar, Edmondo Lupieri, has had his study translated into English as The Mandaeans: The Last Gnostics.44 Lupieri gives an interesting historical account of the first encounter of the Europeans with the Mandaeans, and also includes an anthology of Mandaic texts. 45 Jorunn Jacobsen Buckley, who has been the most active scholar in the United States on the Mandaeans, has also become an advocate of Mandaeans who have fled Iraq and Iran in legal proceedings. Her friendship with Mandaeans both in those countries and in the U.S. Is reflected in her fascinating work, The Mandaeans: Ancient Texts and Modern People 46 In addition to her publication of a Mandaean manuscript from the Drower Collection at Oxford, The Scroll of Exalted Kingship,41 Buckley has made an extensive study of the colophons (scribal appendices) of many Mandaic scrolls. She was the driving force behind the first ever conference on the Mandaeans, held at Harvard University, the proceedings of which were published in the journal Aram 11 and 12 (1999-2000). J. B. Segal (with the assistance of Erica C. D. Hunter) has published all the Mandaic magic bowls in the British Museum,

(Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1989). (Leiden: E . J . Brill, 1978). 42 (Marburg: Diagonal Verlag, 1994). 43 "Mandeismo y Nuevo Testamento," Studium Ovetiense 2 (1974), 179-289. 44 (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2001). 45 A selection of Mandaic and Coptic texts in translation were included in W. Foerster, ed., Gnosis: A Selection of Gnostic Texts (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1974). 46 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002). 47 (New Haven: American Oriental Society, 1993). 40 41

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doubling the number of such texts. 48 Hunter and other scholars have published many new Mandaic bowl texts and a few lead amulets in various journals. For details see my articles, "Magic Bowls," and "Mandaic Incantations: Lead Rolls and Magic Bowls," listed below. My own publications include the following: C. Publications

on

Gnosticism

1. Monograph Pre-Christian Gnostiâsm: A Survey of the Proposed Evidences. London: Tyndale Press, 1973; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1973; revised edition, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983; reprint edition, Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 2003. 2. Chapters "Some Alleged Evidences for Pre-Christian Gnosticism," New Dimensions in New Testament Studies, ed. R. N. Longenecker ad M. Tenney. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1975. Pp. 46-70. "The Apocalypse of Adam, Mithraism and Pre-Christian Gnosticism," Études Mithriaques, Textes et Mémoires, ed. J. Duchesne-Guillemin. Teheran-Liège: Bibliothèque Pahlavi, 1978. IV, pp. 537-63. "Pre-Christian Gnosticism, the New Testament and Nag Hammadi in Recent Debate," in Gnostiâsm in the Early Church, ed. D. M. Scholer. New York: Garland, 1993. Pp. 26-31. "Gnosticism and Early Christianity," in Helleni^ation Revisited, ed. W. Helleman. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1994. Pp. 29-61. "The Issue of Pre-Christian Gnosticism Reviewed in the Light of the Nag Hammadi Texts," in The Nag Hammadi Library after F i f t y Years , ed. John Turner and Anne McGuire. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1997. Pp. 72-88. 3. Reference Articles "Gnosticism," The New International Dictionary ofthe Christian Church, ed. J. D. Douglas. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Pub., 1974. Pp. 416-18. "Hermetic Literature," Supplementary Volume, The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible, ed. V. Furnish et al. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 48 Catalogue of the Aramaic and Mandaic Incantation Bowls in the British Museum (London: British Museum, 2000).

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1976. P. 408. "The Gnostics," Handbook of Christian History, ed. T. Dowley. Tring: Lion Pub., 1977; Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1977. Pp. 98-100. "Secret Knowledge: The Gnostics," "The Mandaeans," "The Manichaeans," The World's Religions, ed. R. P. Beaver et al. Tring: Lion Pub, 1982. Pp. 110,113. "Logia," The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, ed. G.W. Bromiley. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1986. Vol. Ill, pp. 152-54. "Gnosticism," "History-of-Religions School," New Dictionary of Christian Theology, ed. S. B. Ferguson and D. F. Wright. Leicester: Inter-Varsity, 1988. Pp. 272-74, 308-09. "Gnosticism," Dictionary of Paul and His letters, ed. G. Hawthorne & R. Martin. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1993, pp. 350-54. "Gnosticism," Dictionary of New Testament Backgrounds, ed. C. A. Evans and S. E. Porter. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2000. Pp. 414-18.

4. Journal Articles "The Gnostics and History," Journal of the EvangelicalTheological Society 14 (1971) 29-40. "The Word from Nag Hammadi," Christianity Today 13 (Jan. 13, 1978) 19-22. "Pre-Christian Gnosticism in the Nag Hammadi Texts?" Church History 48 (1979) 129-41. "The Descent of Ishtar, the Fall of Sophia, and the Jewish Roots of Gnosticism," Tyndale Bulletin 29 (1978) 140-71. "The Crucifixion and Docetic Christology," Concordia Theological Quarterly 46.1 (1982) 1-20. "Pre-Christian Gnosticism, the New Testament and Nag Hammadi in Recent Debate," Themelios 10.1 (1984) 22-27. "The Nag Hammadi Library," JournalofUbray History 22 (1987), 425-41. "Gnosticism: Has Nag-Hammadi Changed Our View?" Evangel: The British Evangelical Review 8 (1990), 4-7. 5. Reviews of: J. M. Robinson, e d . The NagHammadi Library in English in Christianity Today 23 (Oct. 6,1978) 36-40, 42-43. E. Pagels, The Gnostic Gospels in Eternity 31 (Sept, 1980) 66-67,

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69. P. Perkins, The Gnostic Dialogue in Christian Scholar's Review II (1982) 171. R. Cameron, ed., The Other Gospels in The Second Century 5.1 (1985-86) 49-51. C. Tuckett ,NagHammadi and the GospelTradition in Themelios 13.2 (1988), 64-65. R. Charron, Concordance des textes de Nag Hammadi: Te Codex VII in Journal of Early Christian Studies 2 (1994), 107-09. H.-J. Klimkeit, Gnosis on the Silk Road in Near East Archaeological Society Bulletin 39-40 (1995), 132-33. P. Cherix, Concordance des Textes de Nag Uammadi, Te Codex VI in Journal of Early Christian Studies 5 (1997), 120-21. B. A. Pearson, ed., Nag Uammadi Codex VII in Journal of Early Christian Studies 5 (1997), 587-88. D. Publications

on

Mandaeism

1. Monograph See Pre-Christian Gnosticism, ch. 8, "The Mandaic Evidence," and pp. 229-33. 2. Chapters "Jewish Gnosticism? The Prologue of John, Mandaean Parallels, and the Trimorphic Protennoia," Studies in Gnosticism and Hellenistic Religions, ed. R. Van Den Broek and M. J. Vermaseren. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1981. Pp. 467-97. "Elchasaites, Manichaeans and Mandaeans in the Light of the Cologne Mani Codex," Beyond the Jordan: Studies in Honor of Harold Mare, edited by Glenn A. Carnagey, Sr. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, forthcoming. 3. Reference Articles "Mandaeism," Supplementary Volume, The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible, ed. V. Furnish et al. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1976. P. 563. "The Mandaeans," The World's Religions, ed. R. P. Beaver et al. Tring: Lion Pub., 1982. Pp. 110,113.

4. Journal Articles "Cyrus H. Gordon and the Ubiquity of Magic in the Pre-Modern World," Biblical Archaeologist 59 (1996), 51-55.

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"Mandaic Incantations: Lead Rolls and Magic Bowls," Aram 11 & 12 (1999-2000), 253-68. 5. Reviews of: W. McCullough, Jewish and Mandaean Incantation Texts in JNES 29 (1970) 141-44. R. Macuch, K. Rudolph & E. Segelberg, Zur Sprache undUteratur derMandäerm JAOS 100 (1980) 79-82. G. Widengren, ed., Der Mandäismus in JAOS 105 (1985) 345-46. J . J . Buckley, The Scroll of Exalted Kingship: Diwan Malkuta cAlaita in JAOS 115 (1995), 526-27. J . J . Buckley, The Mandaeans in JAOS (forthcoming).

TABLE OF CONTENTS T A B L E OF CONTENTS PREFACE

vii

ABBREVIATIONS Chapter I. THE A. The B. The C. The II.

A. B. C. D. IV.

V.

VI.

VII.

MANDAIC GNOSTIC T E X T S Mandaic Corpus Age of the Mandaic Texts Age of the Mandaean Sect

T H E COPTIC GNOSTIC T E X T S A. The Pre-Nag Hammadi Texts B. The Nag Hammadi Texts

III.

v

MANDAIC-COPTIC PARALLELS Cosmogony The Adam Apocalypse Cult Imagery

viii i i 4 8 11 ix 13 18 18 19 21 22

GNOSTIC ETHICS A. Antinomianism B. Marriage-Affirming Attitudes C. Asceticism

24 25 28 31

MANDAEAN ETHICS A. Sexual Sins B. Marriage C. Clericalism and Sex D. Sexual Pollutions E. Puritanism and Alleged Asceticism

35 36 37 42 43 45

MANDAIC-COPTIC CONTRASTS A. Symbolic Marriage and Sacral Marriage B. The Origin of Sexual Desire

48 48 50

T H E QUESTION OF JEWISH ORIGINS A. The Old Testament and Judaism B. The Essenes and the Dead Sea Scrolls C. Pre-Christian Nasoraeans?

53 53 57 60

CONTENTS

VIII.

D. The Elchasaites E. Consanguinity or Contiguity?

62 64

SOURCES AND SUGGESTIONS A. An Exodus from Palestine? B. Western and Eastern Sources C. Mythology, Cult, and Ethics

68 68 71 80

POSTSCRIPTS

90

BIBLIOGRAPHY

94

PREFACE

THE subject of this monograph was first presented as a paper before the X X V I I t h International Congress of Orientalists, in August, 1967, at Ann Arbor, Michigan. The subsequent expansion and revision was completed a year later in September, 1968. I am indebted to Professor Bruce Metzger and to Professor Andrew Helmbold for having read drafts of the manuscript. Although I shall have occasion to disagree with some of his conclusions, I am happy to acknowledge a large debt to Professor Rudolph Macuch for his stimulating contributions. My thanks go also to Professor Cyrus Gordon, whose past instruction in Mandaic and in Coptic first aroused interest in this field. The Rutgers Research Council supported this project with a grant. Finally, my thanks go to Professor Frank Cross, Jr. and to others at Harvard, especially Mrs. Bunn Thompson, who have worked to get the monograph published.

ABBREVIATIONS AC.V AfO AM BSOAS CG GL GR HCMM HUCA JA JAOS JBL JNES JPOS JRAS JTS MAOG Mil MIT NTAI NTA I I NTS OG OLZ Or OrChr OS PA RA RecSR RQ SBEG STh TKA TLZ TU VC ZNW ZRGG

Koptisch-gnostische Apocalypsen aus Codex V von Nag Hammadi by A. Böhlig and P. Labib. Archiv für Orientforschung. "Anfänge der Mandäer," by R. Macuch. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies. Cairensis Gnosticus, i.e., the Nag Hammadi texts. Left Ginza. Right Ginza. Handbook of Classical and Modern Mandaic by R. Macuch. Hebrew Union College Annual. Journal asiatique. Journal of the American Oriental Society. Journal of Biblical Literature. Journal of Near Eastern Studies. Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. Journal of Theological Studies. Mitteilungen der Altorientalischen Gesellschaft. The Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran by E. Drower. Mandaic Incantation Texts by E. Yamauchi. New Testament Apocrypha I by E. Hennecke and W. Schneemelcher. New Testament Apocrypha I I by E. Hennecke and W. Schneemelcher. New Testament Studies. Le Origini dello Gnosticismo ed. by U. Bianchi. Orientalistische Literaturzeitung. Orientalia. Oriens Christianus. Orientalia Suecana. Practical Anthropology. Revue d'assyriologie et d'archéologie orientale. Recherches de science religieuse. Revue de Qumran. The Secret Books of the Egyptian Gnostics by J. Doresse. Studia Theologica. Theogonie, Kosmogonie und Anthropogonie in den mandäischen Schriften by K. Rudolph. Theologische Literaturzeitung. Texte und Untersuchungen zur Geschichte der altchristlichen Literatur. Vigiliae Christianae. Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft. Zeitschrift für Religions- und Geistesgeschichte.

CHAPTER

THE

MANDAIC

I

GNOSTIC

TEXTS

NOT the least important contribution of the newly discovered Coptic Gnostic texts from Nag Hammadi will be their bearing on the evaluation of the Mandaic Gnostic texts. Prior to the Nag Hammadi discovery the latter represented the largest corpus of primary Gnostic documents, but their age and value have been greatly disputed. As Doresse has remarked, "Thanks to the new Coptic texts, we shall now be better able to judge how far these Mandaean writings were derived from genuinely Gnostic literature — or whether both currents flowed from a common source." 1 A.

The Mandaic Corpus

The Mandaean community in Iraq and Iran is the sole surviving remnant of ancient Gnosticism. As such, its religious texts are of great value, even though the age of the traditions contained in them is disputed. The texts have been extensively used by some specialists in Gnostic research and by some New Testament scholars. Other specialists would say that they have been used too extensively. 2 After a decline in interest the recent publication of Mandaic texts has led to new claims of their importance. Geo Widengren asserts now that without a knowledge of Mandaean literature one cannot obtain a proper understanding of ancient Gnosticism.3 What materials are contained in the Mandaic corpus? Some of the major documents have been known through the translaJ. Doresse, T h e Secret B o o k s of the E g y p t i a n Gnostics ( N . Y . , i 9 6 0 ) , p. 315. See R . Casey's comments on their use b y R . Reitzenstein, "Gnosis, Gnosticism and the N e w T e s t a m e n t , " T h e B a c k g r o u n d of the N e w T e s t a m e n t and Its Eschat o l o g y , ed. W . D a vies and D . D a u b e ( C a m b r i d g e , 1 9 5 6 ) , pp. 53ft. C f . also G . Widengren, " L e s origines du gnosticisme et l'histoire des religions," T h e Origins of Gnosticism [hereafter abbreviated O G ] , ed. U . Bianchi (Studies in the History of Religions, 12; Leiden, 1 9 6 7 ) , p. 36. 3 G . Widengren, " D i e M a n d a e r , " H a n d b u c h der Orientalistik V I I I , part 2 (Leiden, 1 9 6 1 ) , p. 98. 1

2

1

2

GNOSTIC ETHICS

tions of M. Lidzbarski from early in this century. Many other documents, some of them esoteric, have been published in recent years by the indefatigable Lady Drower. 4 In the published Mandaic corpus we have the following: 1) The Ginza or "Liber Adami" was first published by M. Norberg with a transliteration into Syriac and a defective Latin translation in 1815-16. An edition of the Mandaic text was published in 1867 by H. Petermann.5 The definitive translation was published by M. Lidzbarski in 1925.® The Ginza is the major work on cosmology, giving in its text several conflicting accounts of creation. It is divided into a right section, abbreviated GR, and a left section, abbreviated GL. The former contains the cosmogonical accounts; the latter deals especially with the fate 01 the soul after death. 2) The Johannesbuch was published by M. Lidzbarski in 190s.7 This narrative describes John the Baptist as a Mandaean and Jesus as a false messiah. 3) Mandäische Liturgien or Qolasta was published by M. Lidzbarski in 1920.8 This has been superseded by the publication in 1959 by Lady Drower of a larger collection of liturgies.9 After a gap of some thirty years, during which minor magical texts appeared, major literary texts have been made accessible through the efforts of Lady Drower. All of the following texts have been published by her. 4) The Book of the Zodiac or Sjar Malwasia was published in ' F o r a more detailed survey than that which follows, see the writer's article, "The Present Status of Mandaean Studies," J N E S 25 (1966), 88-96. S H . Petermann, Thesaurus, s. Liber Magnus, vulgo "Liber Adami" appellatus (Leipzig, 1867). 6 M . Lidzbarski, Ginza (Quellen der Religionsgeschichte, 13, group 4; Göttingen, 192S). 7 M . Lidzbarski, Das Johannesbuch der Mandäer (Giessen, 1915). This was reprinted in 1966 by Walter de Gruyter. An English translation of parts of Lidzbarski's German translation was made by G. Mead, The Gnostic John the Baptizer (London, 1924). 8 M . Lidzbarski, Mandäische Liturgien (Abhandlungen der Königlichen Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen, philologisch-historische Klasse, n.F. 17, part 1 ; Berlin, 1920). This was reprinted in 1962 by the Weidmannsche Verlagsbuchhandlung. " E . S. Drower, The Canonical Prayerbook of the Mandaeans (Leiden, 1959).

THE MANDAIC GNOSTIC TEXTS

3

1949.10 As the name implies, it is a collection of horoscopes and magical remedies. 5) The Diwan Abatur, published in 1950, describes a journey through the various purgatories. 11 The manuscript is illustrated with geometrical figures. 6) The Sarh d Qabin d Sislam Rba, published in 1950, is an explanatory commentary on the marriage ceremony of the Great Sislam, who is the Mandaean prototype of the priesthood.12 7) In 1953 Lady Drower published two documents together.13 The first, called the Haran Gawaita, narrates the exodus of the Mandaeans from Palestine into Mesopotamia. Thoroughly filled with legend, it is nonetheless the one document that claims to give some information on the sect's history. 8) The second document published in 1953 is The Baptism of Hibil Ziwa. This describes the baptisms needed to purify Hibil Ziwa, the savior spirit, from the pollutions acquired in his descent to the earth. 9) The Thousand and Twelve Questions (Alf Trisar Suialia), published in i960, is an important esoteric document listing questions asked of candidates for the priesthood.14 10) The Coronation of the Great Sislam, published in 1962, is the description of the coronation ceremony of a Mandaean priest. 16 11) In 1963 Lady Drower published A Pair of Nasoraean Commentariesr.16 The Alma Risaia Rba (The "Great" First World) and the Alma Risaia Zuta (The "Small" First World) are esoteric commentaries on the themes of earthly and heavenly generation, purification, and rebirth. 10 E . S. Drower, The Book of the Zodiac (Oriental Translation Fund, 36; London, 1949). 1 1 E . S. Drower, Diwan Abatur (Studi e Testi, 151; Rome, 19S0). " E. S. Drower, Sarh d Qabin d Sislam Rba (Biblica et Orientalia, 12; Rome, i95o). 13 E. S. Drower, The Haran Gawaita and the Baptism of Hibil-Ziwa (Studi e Testi, 176; Rome, 1953). 1 1 E . S. Drower, The Thousand and Twelve Questions (Deutsche Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin, Institut fur Orientforschung, 32; Berlin, i960). 16 E. S. Drower, The Coronation of the Great Sislam (Leiden, 1962). 16 E. S. Drower, A Pair of Nasoraean Commentaries (Leiden, 1963).

GNOSTIC ETHICS

4

In addition to these major manuscripts, Lady Drower has published a number of smaller, magical texts in various journals.17 Then there are still numerous unpublished Mandaic rolls and codices in the Drower Collection in the Bodleian Library, Oxford. 18 Of a different category from these manuscripts are magical texts written on the interior of terra-cotta bowls and on thin lead strips. About fifty of the former have been published, largely in scattered journals. Most of these have now been gathered into a handbook by the writer.19 Until recently the only lead strip that had been deciphered was one published by Lidzbarski in 1909. 20 In 1967 R. Macuch published a lead roll,21 and then three others in 1968. 22 B.

The Age of the Mandaic

Texts

What is the age of these various texts? Except for the magical texts on bowls and lead strips, we must speak of the date of the extant manuscripts, the date of their redaction, and the date of their composition. The extant manuscripts are admittedly quite late. The oldest dated manuscript comes from the 16th century.23 Most of the other manuscripts come from the 18th and 19th centuries. " E . S. Drower, " S a f t a d-piSra d-Ainia: Exorcism of the Evil a n d Diseased Eyes," J R A S (1937), 589-611, and (1938), 1-20; "A M a n d a e a n Phylactery," I r a q 5 (1938), 31-S4 ; "Three M a n d a e a n Phylacteries," J R A S (1939) > 397~4°6; "A M a n d a e a n Book of Black Magic," J R A S (1943), 149-81 ; "PiSra d - S a m b r a : A Phylactery of R u e , " Or 15 (1946), 324-46. 13 See E. S. Drower, "A M a n d a e a n Bibliography," J R A S (1953), 34-3918 E . Yamauchi, M a n d a i c Incantation Texts (American Oriental Series, 49; N e w H a v e n , 1967). This includes an unpublished bowl text f r o m the Yale Babylonian Collection. Cf. "A M a n d a i c Magic Bowl f r o m the Y B C , " Berytus 17 (1968), 4963. Three n e w M a n d a i c bowls have been published recently b y W . McCullough, Jewish a n d M a n d a e a n Incantation Bowls in the Royal Ontario Museum (Near a n d Middle East Series, 5; T o r o n t o , 1967). 20 M . Lidzbarski, " E i n mandaisches Amulett," Florilegium ou recueil de t r a v a u x d'érudition dédiés à M . Melchior de Vogué (Paris, 1909), pp. 349-73. T h e writer's handbook, hereafter abbreviated M I T , contains the text (transliterated into H e b r e w characters) a n d translation of this i m p o r t a n t document. 21 R . Macuch, "Altmandâische Bleirollen I , " Die Araber in der Alten Welt, ed. F. Altheim and R . Stiehl (Berlin, 1967), IV, 91-203, plates on pp. 626-31. 22 R . Macuch, "Altmandâische Bleirollen I I , " Die Araber in der Alten Welt, ed. F. Altheim a n d R . Stiehl (Berlin, 1968), V, 34-72, plates on pp. 454-68. I am very grateful to Professor Macuch for his kindness in sending me copies of these t w o i m p o r t a n t publications. 23 R . Macuch, H a n d b o o k of Classical and M o d e r n M a n d a i c (Berlin, 1965), p . L V I [hereafter abbreviated H C M M ] .

THE MANDAIC GNOSTIC TEXTS

5

The various writings were probably collected and canonized in the early Islamic period after the conquest of Iraq in 640 A.D. by the Muslims.24 This may be seen from the fact that there are many explicit references to Islam, e.g., "Some of them enforce circumcision upon them; and some of them set up mosques and crosses . . . . " 2 5 The name Yahya for John the Baptist in the Johannesbuch is Arabic. There is also a statement in the Ginza that "after the Persian kings there will be Arabian kings. They will reign seventy-one years." It may be seen that this was penned before the year 711 A.D. — i.e., before the date when the prophecy would have been proven false. Attempts have been made to date certain portions of these manuscripts to the pre-Islamic period. For example, a certain tajsir, i.e., treatise, in the Alf Trisar Suialia contains a polemical references to Magians and Christians but not to Muslims. Drower suggests that this may have been composed about the 5 th or 6th cent. A.D. 28 Attempts to fix other passages to still earlier dates are beset by the lack of firm, objective criteria.27 If one accepts the dates given in the colophons, one can obtain a date in the second half of the third century A.D. for the writing down of at least part of the Canonical Prayerbook. 28 The work of T. Säve-Söderbergh has shown that some of the Psalms of Thomas, the disciple of Mani, are adaptations of Mandaean materials.29 Since the Manichaean Psalm Book is dated 24 K . Rudolph, Die Mandäer (Forschungen zur Religion und Literatur des Alten und Neuen Testaments, n.F. $6; Göttingen, i960), I, 23; cf. E . S. Drower, The Secret Adam (Oxford, i960), pp. xii-xiii. 25 Drower, Diwan Abaur, p. 17. * Drower, The Thousand and Twelve Questions, p. 162. " " E s gibt ja gar keine Fixierungsmöglichkeit — mit geringen Ausnahmen—, noch einen Ansatz literarkritischer Scheidung in diesem Sinne; die ganze Schriftstellerei bleibt in der Anonymität." Rudolph, p. 24. "Alle Schriften sind anonym, und ihre Verfassungszeit liegt im Dunkeln. . . . M a n kann zwar bei dem Ginza an eine frühere Redaktionszeit als bei unserem D i w a n (Abathur) glauben. Gleichwohl ist es schwer, diesen Glauben zu beweisen." R. Macuch, "Anfänge der Mandäer," Die Araber in der Alten Welt, ed. F. Altheim and R. Stiehl (Berlin, 196s), II, 122 [hereafter this article will be abbreviated AM]. 28 Drower, The Canonical Prayerbook, p. 71; Macuch, A M , pp. 160-62. 29 T . Säve-Söderbergh, Studies in the Coptic Manichaean Psalm Book (Arbeten utgivna med Understöd av Vilhelm Ekmans Universitetsfond Uppsala, 55; Uppsala, 1949). Säve-Söderbergh considers Rudolph's attempts to date Mandaeanism still earlier as "more subjective" than his own study. "Gnostic and Canonical Traditions," OG, p. 557. Some have come to regard the Psalms of Thomas as evidence for pre-Christian Gnosticism. See A. Adam, Die Psalmen des Thomas und das

6

GNOSTIC ETHICS

c. 275-300 A.D., this Mandaean material must be dated at least to the 3rd century A.D. This demonstration is of great importance inasmuch as the dependence of Mandaeanism upon Manichaeism had been widely assumed since the publication of the Manichaean fragments in the 1930's. The magical texts on bowls and on lead strips are in a different category from the manuscripts, since they are not late copies. The bowls are dated quite certainly about 600 A.D., since they are very similar in content with Aramaic bowls, some of which were found in a datable archaeological context at Nippur. 30 Until recently the oldest Mandaic text was the lead amulet published by Lidzbarski and dated by him to 400 A . D . Macuch would now date this document even to the 3rd or 2nd cent. 31 The first lead roll that Macuch has published he would date to the middle of the 3rd cent. A.D. The occurrence of an angel named Estaqlos both in the section of the Canonical Prayerbook assigned to this early date and in this lead roll is the basis of his dating. 32 He dates the second and third rolls to the end of the pre-Islamic period, and the fourth roll to the Islamic period. Elsewhere he emphasizes the difficulty in ascertaining an exact date for such rolls. 33 Although they are not in every respect exactly like the Mandaic script, the inscriptions on certain coins from the southern Mesopotamian city of Characene and Elymaean inscriptions from southwestern Iran may provide some objective evidence for the early presence of Mandaeans in the region. The coins from Characene date from the 2nd and 3rd cent. A.D. There are four coins in one series with the same two-word inscription — Ibignai mlka. Lidzbarski would date the reign of king Ibignai between 150 and 224 A.D. and probably toward Perlenlied als Zeugnisse vorchristlicher Gnosis (Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft, 24; Berlin, 1959). 80 J. Montgomery, Aramaic Incantation Texts from Nippur (Philadelphia, 1913) ; cf. E. Yamauchi, "Aramaic Magic Bowls," JAOS 85 (196s), Sn-23- J- Teixidor, "The Syriac Incantation Bowls in the Iraq Museum," Sumer 18 (1962), 51-62, dates his Syriac bowls of the Palmyrene type to 600 A.D., but his bowls of the Edessene type to a somewhat later date. 31 Macuch, A M , pp. 138-39. 82 Macuch, "Altmandäische Bleirollen I," pp. 96-97, 189. 83 Macuch, H C M M , p. L V I .

7

THE MANDAIC GNOSTIC TEXTS

the end of this period.34 Another coin bearing the name Titnh, possibly a hypocoristic form of Timothy, dates later than the first series. A coin bearing the name of the famous Mani, founder of Manichaeism, is dated to the 3rd cent. These inscriptions do not give us a complete alphabet, which we could compare with the 2 3-letter Mandaic alphabet.35 But of the 16 letters which are represented, 14 closely resemble the Mandaic script. The 2nd-century A.D. Elymaean inscriptions, although known to earlier scholars, have been but recently deciphered. The inscriptions from Tang-i Sarvak were first published by Henning in 1952.36 Their importance for the Mandaeans was noted by Macuch in an article published in 1957. 37 In 1964 five more inscriptions from Tang-i Butan in the Shimbär area were published by Bivar and Shaked.38 The two sets of inscriptions give us a full 23-letter alphabet to compare with the Mandaic alphabet.39 As a personal judgment I would say that 15 of the letters correspond to the Mandaic counterparts. Particularly striking is the occurrence of the sign transcribed by Henning and Shaked as "zy," but which corresponds to the auxiliary Mandaic sign "d." 40 Before assessing the implications of these resemblances to the Characene and the Elymaean scripts, one should first note that according to Macuch the script that is still the closest to the Mandaean script is that of the Nabataeans, whose capital was Petra in the west between the Dead Sea and the Gulf of Aqabah. 41 There are also close resemblances to the Palmyrene script. Since we have evidence of Nabataean traders in Characene from the ist cent. B.C., 42 and of Palmyrene traders there from the ist 31M. Lidzbarski, "Die Münzen der Characene Zeitschrift für Numismatik 33 (1922), 87. 85

mit mandäischen

Legenden,"

For a chart of the Mandaic alphabet see Yamauchi, M I T , p. 68.

W . B . Henning, " T h e Monuments and Inscriptions of T a n g - i Sarvak," Asia M a j o r , n.s. 2 (1952), 1 5 1 - 7 8 . Short Elymaean inscriptions on coins had been known before. 87 R . Macuch, "Alter und Heimat des Mandäismus nach neuerschlossenen Quellen," T L Z 82 ( 1 9 5 7 ) , 401-408. 88 A . D . Bivar and S. Shaked, " T h e Inscriptions at Shimbär," B S O A S (1964), 265-90. 88

39 A n alphabetic chart of the Elymaean inscriptions is given on p. 270, " F o r this sign see Macuch, H C M M , p. 10; or Yamauchi, M I T , p. 70.

ibid.

41 C f . C. Kraeling, " T h e Origin and Antiquity of the Mandaeans," J A O S 49 (1929), 211. " S . Nodelman, " A Preliminary History of Characene," Berytus 13 (i960), 93.

GNOSTIC ETHICS

8

cent. A.D., 4 3 there is the possibility, as Rosenthal suggests,44 that the Mandaeans adopted their script in the east. Rudolph doubts whether the proto-Mandaic Elymaean script is any certain evidence for the presence of the Mandaean sect,45 and asks if the Mandaic script could not have developed from an Aramaic cursive script in southern Babylonia. 46 Over against these reservations, Macuch argues forcefully that the comparison of the Mandaic script with the Nabataean, the Characene, and the Elymaean scripts lends strong support to his view that the Mandaeans brought their script from the west and settled in southern Babylonia by the 2nd cent. A.D. 47 In any case, this does not demonstrate that any literary texts come from this early a date. The grounds for such an early date for the hymns of books II and III of the Left Ginza are more subjective. For example, Rudolph argues that the literal coincidence of a formula from GL II, "A mänä (vessel) am I . . ." with the formula of the second-century Marcosians — "vas ego sum pretiosum" or "skeuos eimi entimon" justifies a second-century date for the Mandaean hymns.48 Others have argued for a first-century A.D. or even pre-Christian date on the basis of parallels to the Gospel of John. The question of the earliest age of the Mandaean texts is further bound up with the larger question of the age of the sect itself. C. The Age 0} the Mandaean Sect Against the claims of Reitzenstein and Bultmann that the Mandaeans dated to the pre-Christian period, other scholars, noting the patently late elements in the Mandaean texts, argued for a very late date for the foundation of the sect. Peterson, for example, argued that the sect was established in the 8th century A.D. 49 Lietzmann, arguing that the Mandaeans derived the word Ibid., p. 101. " A s cited by Macuch, A M , p. 146. 15 Rudolph, Die Mandäer, I, 30. 16 K . Rudolph, "Probleme einer Entwicklungsgeschichte der mandäischen Religion," OG, p. 587. " R . Macuch, "Zur Frühgeschichte der Mandäer," T L Z 90 (1965), 655. 48 Rudolph, Die Mandäer, I, 26. 4 8 E . Peterson, "Urchristentum und Mandäismus," Z N W 27 (1928), 55. 13

T H E M A N D A I C GNOSTIC T E X T S

9

yardna "Jordan" for their baptism from the use of this word for "font" by Syrian Christians, placed the origin of the sect in the 7th cent. A.D. 50 Burkitt pointed out the Mandaeans' acquaintance with the Syriac Peshitta, and therefore argued for a late origin of Mandaeism. 51 Some scholars who are not acquainted with the more recent publications on the Mandaeans and of their texts have come to rest in the confidence that these refutations of an early date have been conclusive. R. Casey, for example, has written, . . in spite of the decisive arguments of Burkitt, Petermann, Lietzmann, Lagrange and Wilfred Knox, Mandean ghosts haunt the pages of Walter Bauer and Bultmann . . . . " 5 2 Albright, writing in the same volume as Casey, adopts a more flexible position. Referring to his earlier discussion on the Mandaeans, he says: Emphasis was also laid on the convincing rejection of Lidzbarski's extremely early date for the origin of Mandeanism by E. Peterson, F. C. Burkitt, H. Lietzmann, and others . . . , who proved that this sect cannot antedate the fifth century A.D. (though its sources are naturally much older, as recently shown by T. Save-Soderberg). 53

Wilson in a work published in 1958 wrote, " . . . our evidence does not seem to permit of our placing the Mandeans before 400 A.D " 54 Now in a work published in 1968 he is open to the possibility of a first-century A.D. origin, but warns against the facile assumption that what we find today in the Mandaean texts was in existence from the very outset.55 As noted above in the discussion of the dates of the Mandaean documents, new discoveries and new publications have lowered the terminus a quo for the origin of the sect to at least the 3rd cent. A.D. and possibly to the 2nd cent. Moreover, the three leading Mandaean scholars of today — E. S. Drower, R. Macuch, and K . Rudolph — are of the opinion that the Mandaeans had a 50 H . Lietzmann, " E i n B e i t r a g z u r M a n d a e r f r a g e , " Sitzungsberichte der P r e u s sischen A k a d e m i e der Wissenschaften (1930), p. 601. n

F . B u r k i t t , C h u r c h a n d Gnosis ( C a m b r i d g e , 1932), pp. 92-122.

" C a s e y , pp. 5 4 - 5 5 1 cf. p. 77M W . F . Albright, " R e c e n t Discoveries in Palestine a n d the Gospel of S t . J o h n , " T h e B a c k g r o u n d of the N e w T e s t a m e n t a n d Its E s c h a t o l o g y , p. 154. 5 4 R . M c L . Wilson, T h e Gnostic P r o b l e m ( L o n d o n , 1958), pp. 66-67. K R . M c L . Wilson, Gnosis a n d the N e w T e s t a m e n t (Philadelphia, 1968), p. 14.

10

GNOSTIC ETHICS

pre-Christian origin, even as Lidzbarski, the leading Mandaean scholar of a former generation, had claimed. Lady Drower's most recent conviction on this problem is expressed in a letter (1964) to Macuch, which the latter reports as follows: Nach ihrem Brief . . . denkt sie zwar an eine mand. Wanderung vom Westen nach Osten, datiert sie aber schon in vorchristliche Zeit und nimmt an, dass sie im Rahmen einer Infiltration von Bevölkerung und Ideen stattfinden oder wenigstens ihren Weg vorbereiten konnte. 56

Macuch himself, impressed as he is by the parallels of the Mandaean literature with the Gospel of John, says: Wenn nun also im Johannesevangelium die mand. Gedanken ebenso deutlich wie in den mand. Schriften zum Ausdruck kommen, wird man auch die Existenz eines frühen näsöräischen (Mandaean) Schrifttums schon im ersten christlichen Jahrhundert annehmen müssen.57

Rudolph has written, "Es ist m.E. heute Gemeingut der Wissenschaft, dass der gnostische Erlöserglaube (zu dem der mandäische gehört) vorchristlich ist und vom Urchristentum vorausgesetzt wird." 58 As no one to date has opposed this view on the basis of the presently available Mandaean texts, the proponents of a preChristian origin of Mandaeism now hold the field. As will be seen below, however, the present writer is of a somewhat different opinion. 06 m

Macuch, AM, p. 79. Ibid., p. no. Rudolph, Die Mandäer, I, 101.

CHAPTER

II

THE COPTIC GNOSTIC

TEXTS

A. The Pre-Nag Hammadi Texts FOR the longest time, apart from the Mandaean sources noted above, scholars were largely dependent upon the polemical reports of the church fathers for their reconstruction of Gnosticism. Before the Nag Hammadi discovery in 1945 three major Coptic codices were known, one of which was not published until after the discovery. 1) Codex Askewianus, purchased by the British Museum in 1785, was first translated in 1851. The latest translation is the revision by W. Till of C. Schmidt's earlier work. 59 The parchment manuscript dates from the second half of the 4th cent. A.D. The first three sections are part of the Pistis Sophia, composed in the second half of the 3rd cent. The fourth untitled section was composed in the first half of the 3rd cent. (Doresse discerns a fifth text at the end of the manuscript. 60 ) The Pistis Sophia describes how Jesus returned to his disciples after the resurrection and informed them of his victory over the evil powers of the celestial spheres. Jesus also tells them of his meeting on high with Pistis-Sophia, sorrowing because of her fall from the Pleroma. They are told that they must learn the mysteries of the Books of Jeu in order to escape demonic punishment. In the fourth section Jesus tells how the evil, celestial powers are defeated by Jeu, "Father of my Father." After reciting a magical prayer, Jesus tells them of the "baptism of the first oblation" which shows the way to the Place of Light. They also ask about 88 W. Till, Koptisch-Gnostische Schriften I: Die Pistis Sophia, die beiden Biicher des Jeû, unbekanntes altgnostisches Werk (Die Griechischen Christlichen Schriftsteller, 45; Berlin, 1962). For earlier translations see T . Mina, " L e papyrus gnostique du Musée Copte," V C 2 (1948), 134, n. 14. M Doresse, p. 76.

11

12

GNOSTIC ETHICS

a "baptism of fire" and a "baptism of the Holy Spirit of Light." 81 At the end of the codex Jesus speaks about various groups of sinners, including licentious Gnostics. 2) Codex Brucianus, purchased in 1769, received a preliminary translation in 1891. The latest translation is contained in the above-mentioned work by Till, which includes the Codex Askewianus. The papyrus manuscript is dated to the 6th-4th centuries A.D. The first part, containing the two books of a Great Treatise according to the Mystery (The Books of Jeu), and the second untitled part,82 were probably composed in the 3rd cent. A.D. In the Books of Jeu Jesus reveals mysteries about Jeu, who dwells in the Treasury of Light. He warns his disciples not to reveal secrets to the licentious Gnostics. After reciting magical prayers, Jesus administers to his disciples baptisms of water, of fire, and of the Holy Spirit. As a preparation of the baptism of water the disciples bring to Jesus various plants, the juniper, the terebinth, etc., probably for their magical properties.63 The untitled section of the codex gives a description of the various emanations of the supreme God. 3) Codex Berolinensis 8502 has had an unfortunate history. As early as 1896, when it was acquired, C. Schmidt brought it to the attention of scholars. In 1903 he published a small part of it, the non-Gnostic Acts of Peter. In an article published in 1907 Schmidt showed that Irenaeus must have known a Greek prototype of part of the codex (the Apocryphon of John), and excerpted it in his Adversus haereses I, 29, written in 180 A.D. Various vicissitudes delayed the publication of the rest of the translation. Finally in 1955 Till was able to publish a translation from Schmidt's notes after the latter's death.64 The papyrus codex comes from the 5th cent. A.D. It contains four works: a Gospel Till, p. 24s. See C. Baynes, A Coptic Gnostic Treatise Contained in the Codex Brucianus (Cambridge, 1933)88 Till, p. 309. 64 W. Till, Die gnostischen Schriften des koptischen Papyrus Berolinensis 8502 (Texte und Untersuchungen zur Geschichte der altchristlichen Literatur, 60; Berlin, 01

62

1955)-

THE COPTIC GNOSTIC TEXTS

13

of Mary (Magdalene), a Sophia of Jesus, an Acts of Peter, and a recension of the Aprocryphon of John. The Gospel of Mary was probably composed in the 2nd cent. A.D. 65 Part of the text is preserved in a Greek papyrus of the John Rylands collection dated to the 3rd cent. A.D. Mary is able to tell the disciples what the Savior revealed to her alone. Peter is hostile to her as in the last logion of the Gospel of Thomas. 66 The Sophia of Jesus corresponds to tractate 4 in Codex I I I of the Nag Hammadi texts. The Acts of Peter was composed in the 2nd cent. A.D. The passage in the codex is but a small part of the Acts. 67 It describes how Peter accepts the paralysis of his daughter as a miracle sent from God to preserve her virginity. The version of the Apocryphon of John in the Berlin Codex is similar to the short version in the Nag Hammadi Codex III, 1. A longer version appears in II, 1 and in IV, 1. Its composition also dates to the 2nd cent. A.D. B. The Nag Hammadi Texts The discovery by accident in 1945 of thirteen Coptic codices, containing 53 treatises, near Nag Hammadi in upper Egypt is almost as important as the more widely publicized discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran in 1947.68 The codices date to the 4th cent. A.D.; the composition of the individual treatises varies in date. As of 1968 about one-third of the various tractates have been published.69 The texts that have been published are 68 An English translation appears in R . Grant, Gnosticism (N.Y., 1961), pp. 63-85. 68 C f . E . Hennecke and W. Schneemelcher, N e w Testament Apocrypha (Philadelphia, 1963), I, 340-44 [hereafter abbreviated N T A I]. ""See E. Hennecke and W . Schneemelcher, New Testament Apocrypha (Philadelphia, 1965), II, 259-275, especially p. 270; a translation of the passage from the Berlin Codex appears on pp. 276-78 [hereafter abbreviated N T A II], 68 For a general survey see J. Doresse, The Secret Books of the Egyptian Gnostics (N.Y., i960). A shorter but more recent survey is A. Helmbold, The Nag Hammadi Gnostic Texts and the Bible (Grand Rapids, 1967). " A s the following survey is meant to be only an introductory one of the published tractates, the reader who is interested in editions of the Coptic texts and in a detailed survey that includes the unpublished materials should consult J. Robinson, "The Coptic Gnostic Library Today," N T S 12 (1968), 356-401. I am grateful to Professor Robinson for having permitted me to have a copy of this article before its publication. I am also indebted to Professor Robert K r a f t for his unpublished paper, " N a g Hammadi and Christian Origins."

14

GNOSTIC ETHICS

as follows: (Note: CG stands for Cairensis Gnosticus, the name applied to the entire collection. The Roman numeral corresponds to the enumeration of the codices adopted by the Coptic Museum; the Arabic numeral to the tractate in a given codex.) i ) C G I, 2 : The Gospel of Truth or Evangelium Veritatis has been ascribed by van Unnik to Valentinus, the famous Gnostic heretic, who flourished from 136-155 A.D. It is a meditation or homily on ignorance as the cause of man's lost condition, and on gnosis or knowledge as the means of his salvation.70 2) C G I, 3: Tractate on the Resurrection or The Epistle of Rheginos.11 This is a treatise on the resurrection as a nonphysical phenomenon. It seems to be a product of either Valentinus or of his school. 3) C G II, i : The Apocryphon of John.™ As noted above, this long version corresponds to that in IV, 1. A shorter version, similar to that of the Berlin Codex, appears in III, i. 73 It is believed by some that the Apocryphon of John represents a form of Gnosticism earlier than that of Valentinus. The text gives a detailed cosmogony which corresponds to that attributed to some of the Gnostics by the church fathers. 4) C G II, 2: The Gospel according to Thomas.™ This has been the most publicized treatise, inasmuch as it contains sayings attributed to Jesus, some of which parallel canonical sayings. Some have suggested that it is more Encratite than Gnostic, as 70 M . Malinine et al., Evangelium Veritatis (Zürich, 1956) ; M . Malinine et al., Supplementum [to the latter] (Zürich, 1961) ; K . Grobel, The Gospel of Truth (N.Y., i960) ; tr. by W. Isenberg in R. Grant, Gnosticism, pp. 146-61. C f . J. Ménard, L'Évangile de Vérité; Rétroversion grecque et Commentaire (Paris, 1962). 71 M . Malinine et al., De Resurrectione (Zürich, 1963); M . Peel, The Epistle to Rheginos (Philadelphia, 1969). 7 2 S. Giversen, Apocryphon Johannis (Acta Theologica Danica, s ; Copenhagen, 1963). 73 M . Krause and P. Labib, Die drei Versionen des Apokryphon des Johannes im Koptischen Museum zu Alt-Kairo (Abhandlungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts Kairo, Koptische Reihe 1 ; Wiesbaden, 1963) ; R . Kasser, "Bibliothèque gnostique: Le Livre Secret de Jean," Revue de Théologie et de Philosophie 97 (1964), 140-50; 98 (1965), 129-55; 99 (1966)1 163-81; 100 (1967)1 !-30. 74 A. Guillaumont et al., The Gospel according to Thomas (N.Y., 1959) ; tr. by W. Schoedel in The Secret Sayings of Jesus, ed. R. Grant and D . Freedman (Garden City, N . Y . , i960); tr. in Doresse, op. cit., pp. 355-70; tr. by B. Metzger in Synopsis quattuor Evangeliorum, ed. K . Aland (Stuttgart, 1964).

THE COPTIC GNOSTIC TEXTS

IS

its primary concern seems to be the denigration of marriage — a concern shared by the Encratites ("continent ones") of the Syrian church of the 2nd cent.75 Its composition has been placed at about 140 A.D. in Edessa in northeastern Syria. 5) C G II, 3: The Gospel according to Philip.76 This is a discourse on various subjects, including references to sacraments — baptism, chrism, "redemption," and the "bridal chamber" — which reflect a Valentinianism similar to that of the Marcosians of the late 2nd cent. 6) C G II, 4: The Hypostasis of the Archons?1 This gives a cosmogony similar to that of the Apocryphon of John, and also similar to that ascribed to the Sethians and Ophites by the church fathers. Doresse believes that it is an abridgment of The Book of Norea mentioned by Irenaeus. If this is the case, it would date from the 2nd cent. 7) C G II, 5 : Tractate without Title (which is called by Schenke On the Origin of the World) .78 Like the preceding work, to which it seems related, it gives a Sethian cosmogony, in which Sophia through her self-will begets the demiurge, Yaldabaoth. Böhlig thinks of it as a polemical tract against Hesiod's teaching that Chaos lay at the origin of all things. This tractate corresponds to C G X I I I , 2. 8) C G III, 2 : The Egyptian Gospel or The Holy Book of the 75 K. Grobel, "How Gnostic is the Gospel of Thomas?" NTS 8 (1962), 367-73; G. Quispel, "Gnosticism and the New Testament," in The Bible in Modern Scholarship, ed. J. Hyatt (Nashville, 1965), pp. 252-58; cf. G. Quispel, "The Syrian Thomas and the Syrian Macarius," VC 18 (1964), 226-35. 76 R. McL. Wilson, The Gospel of Philip (N.Y., 1962); C. J. de Catanzaro, "The Gospel according to Philip," JTS, n i . 13 (1962), 35-71; W. Till, Das Evangelium nach Philippos (Patristische Texte und Studien, 2 ; Berlin, 1963) ; J. Ménard, L'Évangile selon Philippe (Strasbourg, 1967). 77 Since the promised Patristische Texte und Studien edition by Roger Bullard of The Hypostasis of the Archons had not yet appeared, I consulted Bullard's earlier (1965) unpublished dissertation on microfilm. An earlier German translation without the Coptic text was published by H.-M. Schenke, "Das Wesen der Archonten," T L Z 83 (1958), 661-70, and was later reprinted in Koptisch-gnostische Schriften aus den Papyrus-Codices von Nag-Hammadi by J. Leipoldt and H.-M. Schenke (Theologische Forschungen, 20; Hamburg-Bergstedt, i960). 78 A. Böhlig and P. Labib, Die koptisch-gnostische Schrift ohne Titel aus Codex II von Nag Hammadi im Koptischen Museum zu Alt-Kairo (Deutsche Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin, Institut für Orientforschung, 58; Berlin, 1962).

GNOSTIC ETHICS

16

Great Invisible Spirit.™ This corresponds to C G IV, 2. It is interesting to note that this is not the same as the well-known Gospel of the Egyptians, cited by the church fathers as a source of teachings against marriage and procreation.80 Our work, which is not really a Gospel, describes the various emanations from the Great Invisible Spirit, and also the emergence of the evil demiurge. The great Seth is given a holy baptism to protect his race from the evil god. The final part, which is mixed with magical formulas, reminds Doresse of a baptismal liturgy. 81 9) C G V, 2: The Apocalypse of Paul.82 This tells of Paul's ascent to the tenth heaven and the sights that he sees in the heavens. Daniélou in his review thinks that this apocalypse represents "gnose judéo-chrétienne orthodoxe." 83 10) C G V, 3: The Apocalypse of James (I). 84 This work pur™J. Doresse, ' " L e Livre Sacré du Grand Esprit Invisible' ou 'L'Évangile des Égyptiens,'" JA 204 (1966), 316-435. This contains the Coptic text and translation of C G III, 2, which Doresse, maintaining his own inventory, describes as coming from Codex I. (For Doresse's inventory, see his The Secret Books of the Egyptian Gnostics, pp. 142-45. For a comparison with Krause's inventory, now widely accepted as standard, see Robinson, op. cit., pp. 383-401, where the first Roman numeral in parentheses represents Doresse's system.) A German translation of C G III, 2 (up to 55,16; the full text goes to 69,20) and of its parallel C G IV, 2 (up to 67,1) has been published by A. Böhlig, "Die himmlische Welt nach dem Ägypterevangelium von N a g Hammadi," Le Muséon 80 (1967), 5-26, 365-77. N T A I, 166-78. Doresse, The Secret Books of the Egyptian Gnostics [hereafter abbreviated S B E G ] , p. 179. B y reading mpetounataas (65,24) not as a relative preceded by the genitive m - , but as a variant of the negative form mpetounataas, Doresse sets up an opposition between a heavenly baptism (63,24-25) and "le baptême d'eau," "baptême terrestre," ( 6 6 4 ) . But the words in 66,4 pibatisma mpëgë "the baptism of a spring" say nothing about a literal, water baptism, and more probably signify a spiritual baptism. The reference a few lines later (66, 1 1 ; cf. 64, 1 1 - 1 2 ) to pmoou etonh "living water" suggests that all of the references to baptism are to a mystical, magical baptism. B y taking Doresse's alternative translation of 65, 23-24, " . . . Iôël, qui préside au nom de celui à qui il sera donné d'être lavé. . . . ," the contrastive phrase alla jn nnou of 65,26 could be understood as a contrast between Iôël who is the subject of the lines above and the elect who are the subject of the lines below. M

81

83 This and the next three apocalypses from Codex V are published in A. Böhlig and P . Labib, Koptisch-gnostische Apokalypsen aus Codex V von Nag Hammadi im Koptischen Museum zu Alt-Kairo (Wissenschaftliche Zeitschrift der MartinLuther Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Sonderband; Halle-Wittenberg, 1963). 83 J. Daniélou, RecSR 54 (1966), 292. " S e e the Böhlig volume listed in note 82 [hereafter abbreviated as A C . V . ] . See also R. Kasser, "Bibliothèque gnostique V I : Les Deux Apocalypses de Jacques," Revue de Théologie et de Philosophie 17 (1968), 163-76.

T H E COPTIC GNOSTIC T E X T S

17

ports to be a revelation given by Jesus to James his brother. It seems to reflect Valentinianism. n ) C G V, 4: The Apocalypse of James (II). 8 5 This gives a speech of James, the brother of Jesus, before his martyrdom in Jerusalem. Daniélou characterizes its contents as "gnosticisme judéo-chrétien archaïque." 1 2 ) C G V, 5: The Apocalypse of Adam,86 This gives a revelation of Adam to Seth, which recounts the salvation of Noah from the flood and the salvation of Seth's seed from a destruction by fire. There are no explicit references to Christianity, although some allusions — to a virgin birth, suffering in the flesh, etc. — may be explained as such. The editor Böhlig thinks that this is a document representing pre-Christian Gnosticism.87 86

Kasser, ibid., 177-86; Böhlig, AC.V. Böhlig, AC.V. See R. Kasser, "Bibliothèque gnostique V: Apocalypse d'Adam," Revue de Théologie et de Philosophie 16 (1967), 316-33. 87 A. Böhlig, "Die Adamsapokalypse aus Codex V von Nag Hammadi als Zeugnis jüdisch-iranischer Gnosis," OrChr 48 (1964), 44-49; cf. his essay, "Jüdisches und Iranisches in der Adamapokalypse des Codex V von Nag Hammadi," in A. Böhlig, Mysterion und Wahrheit(Arbeiten zur Geschichte des späteren Judentums und des Urchristentums, 6; Leiden, 1968), pp. 149-61. His arguments have been accepted by G. MacRae, "The Coptic-Gnostic Apocalypse of Adam," Heythrop Journal 6 (1965), 27-35; questioned by R . McL. Wilson, Gnosis and the New Testament, p. 138; and opposed by H.-M. Schenke in his review in T L Z 61 (1966), 3 1 - 3 2 . 88

CHAPTER MANDAIC-COPTIC

III PARALLELS

A. Cosmogony MANY parallels between the Mandaic texts and the newly published Coptic texts, especially with reference to cosmogony, have been noted by the editors of the texts. Extensive and striking parallels have also been pointed out by K. Rudolph.88 For example, the motif of the demiurge's conceit — known from the church fathers and now attested in the Apocryphon of John and other Nag Hammadi treatises 89 — is paralleled by Adam's conceit in the Mandaean text Alma Risaia Rba, lines 99-112: And then he arose and sat at the wellspring of Vain-Imaginings and said " I am a King without peer: I am lord of all the world." . . . Then he prostrated himself and cast himself down upon his face and said " (If) there is none loftier or mightier than I, whence comes this stream of living water, white waters coming without limit or count?" And said "Did I say that there was no king greater than I? Now (I know) that there exists One who is greater than I am! I beg to behold His likeness and to take Him for my companion." 90

In the Apocryphon of John the seven angels engendered by the demiurge Yaldabaoth produced man's psychic body with difficulty. The being that was created could not stand upright but crawled on the ground like a worm. According to the Ginza Ptahil the demiurge created Adam but could not get him to stand so that Adam "lay wriggling like a worm in the black waters." 88 See K . Rudolph, "Ein Grundtyp gnostischer Urmensch-Adam-Spekulation," Z R G G 9 (1957), 1-20. This study was based on the publication of the Berlin Codex Apocryphon of John. A more detailed work including many comparisons with the available Coptic texts is his work, Theogonie, Kosmogonie und Anthropogonie in den mandaischen Schriften (Forschungen zur Religion und Literatur des Alten und Neuen Testamentes, 88; Gottingen, 1965) [hereafter abbreviated T K A ] , 89 For a list of the treatises where this motif occurs, see H. Jonas, The Gnostic Religion (Boston, 1963), p. 295. 80 Drower, A Pair of Najoraean Commentaries, p. 6.

18

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19

This motif first occurred in the teachings of the Gnostic Saturninus in the early second cent, and recurs in many other Gnostic works. 91 Norea, who figures prominently in the Coptic texts and whose name was given to a revelation mentioned in the texts and known to the church fathers, also occurs in the Mandaic texts either as the wife of Noah or as the wife of Seth.92 In the Hypostasis of the Archons she appears in the contradictory roles of: i ) the destroyer of Noah's ark, 2) the object of the archon's desire, and 3) the recipient of a revelation from Eleleth. B. The Adam Apocalypse The Adam Apocalypse of Codex V contains some of the most important and interesting parallels to Mandaean motifs. These have been pointed out by Bohlig 93 and by Rudolph.94 Adam receives a vision of three men, who may be compared to Abraham's three visitors in Genesis 18 and to the three Uthras of GR X I . Adam's revelation to Seth foretells an initial destruction by flood with the exception of Noah's family, and a second destruction by fire with the exception of Seth's seed. The same section of the Ginza cited above describes three destructions: 1) by sword, 2) fire, and 3) flood.95 Although the parallel is far from exact — there is no destruction by sword in the Adam Apocalypse, and the order of the destructions by fire and flood are reversed — 9 1 R . G r a n t , Gnosticism and E a r l y Christianity ( N . Y . , 1966), p. 101, suggests: " P e r h a p s Saturninus ascribed P s a l m 22:7 t o A d a m rather than to Christ: ' I a m a w o r m and no m a n . ' " F o r full reference t o parallels see N T A I , 323-24. 82 T h e M a n d a i c f o r m is either Nhuraita or Nuraita. 93 I n his editorial comments in A C . V . and in his article in O r C h r 48 (1964), 44-49. " I n his review of A C . V . in T L Z 90 ( 1 9 6 5 ) , 359-62. 96 G R X I , 259 ff. (Unless otherwise stated citations f r o m the G i n z a will be made f r o m Lidzbarski's translation. T h e R o m a n numeral refers to the section, and the A r a b i c numeral to the page of his translation.) T h e M a n d a e a n s t o d a y expect a fourth destruction b y w i n d . " S o m e M a n d a e a n s gaze at the aeroplanes w h i c h fly over their heads in m o d e r n I r a q , and ask themselves if the destruction of m a n will come a b o u t in that m a n n e r . " E . S. D r o w e r , T h e M a n d a e a n s of Iraq and I r a n (Leiden, 1962), pp. 92-93. Doresse, S B E G , p. 179, speaks of " T h r e e divine visitations, including flood and fire . . . ," in T h e E g y p t i a n Gospel. B u t an analysis of the text reveals t h a t there are parallel clauses w i t h the v e r b sope, indicating f o u r tests: 1) a flood ( 6 1 . 2 ) ; 2) a fire ( 6 1 , 5 ) ; 3) famines a n d epidemics ( 6 1 , 1 1 - 1 2 ) ; and 4) a going astray of l y i n g prophets ( 6 1 , 1 5 ) . Doresse, J A 204 ( 1 9 6 6 ) , 396-97.

20

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Böhlig maintains, "Auch diese Vernichtung durch Feuer findet sich in einem entsprechenden Zusammenhang bei den Mandäern." 96 Having assumed the derivation of this tradition from the Mandaeans, Böhlig makes several precarious assumptions: Folgt man der These, dass die Mandäer ursprünglich syropalästinisch anzusehen sind, und schreiben wir unseren Text den Kreisen zu, aus dem auch die Mandäer sich herausentwickelt haben, so wird noch eine andere Erscheinung viel leichter begreiflich, der iranische Einfluss. Er ist dadurch so naheliegend, dass der Weg nach Syrien über den oberen Euphrat nördlich der Wüste ständig begangen war. 87

Elsewhere Böhlig recognizes that Josephus in his Antiquities I, 70, says, "Adam having predicted a destruction of the universe, at one time by a violent fire and at another by a mighty deluge of water. . . ." Furthermore there remains the possibility of a derivation from the Old Testament itself. As Wilson comments: "Here as at other points Böhlig notes Mandean parallels, but surely both the Mandeans and these Gnostics are dependent on the Old Testament (the Flood, Sodom and Gomorrah) ? It is of course at some distance." 98 In a later article Böhlig concedes that the destruction by fire may be a distorted picture of the story of Sodom and Gomorrah.99 The language describing this fiery destruction, to my mind, favors this possibility.100 All of this weakens Böhlig's case for a dependence upon the Mandaeans. Moreover the simple mention of baptism does not justify Böhlig's conclusion that the Adam Apocalypse stems from the same Syro-Palestinian baptistic circles as the Mandaeans. 101 Böhlig himself notes that as far as the Apocalypse is concerned: Typisch gnostisch ist die Spiritualisierung der Kulthandlung, die Gnosis und Taufe identifiziert. Die negative Einstellung zu den Bewahrern der Taufe kann aber auch ein Zeichen dafür sein, dass Böhlig, OrChr 48 (1964), 47. Ibid. 98 Wilson, Gnosis and the N.T., p. 137. 99 Böhlig, Mysterion und Wahrheit, p. 153. 100 "Alors ils jetteront du feu et du soufre et de l'asphalte sur ces* hommes-là, et du feu et de la fumée viendront sur ces* éons-là." Kasser, Revue de Théologie et de Philosophie 16 (1967), 325. 101 Böhlig, OrChr 48 (1964), 46-47. 86 97

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PARALLELS

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iiber die Taufe und ihr in der Welt verdorbenes Wasser hinaus nur die Gnosis wirklich das Heil bringen kann. 102

But this certainly is not the case with baptism among the Mandaeans. With them the rite itself together with its many elaborate elements must be meticulously observed lest its potency be nullified. C. Cult The latter discussion leads to the observation of a rather sharp contrast between the elaborate ritual of the Mandaeans and the usually sparse cult of the Gnostics. R. Grant notes that there were three trends among the Gnostics as far as worship and sacraments were concerned: ( i ) acceptance of the ordinary Christian pattern of worship with emphasis on baptism and Eucharist, along with special interpretations of both; (2) movement toward the creation of additional modes of worship, especially sacramental; and (3) rejection of conventional worship as irrelevant and, indeed, mistaken. 103

From the church fathers we have rather little information about the cultic practices of most groups with the exception of the Valentinians, especially the Marcosians. Perhaps it is from this circle that The Gospel of Philip — the document from Nag Hammadi that gives us the most information on rites — has its origins. Among the rites mentioned are the Eucharist, baptism, chrism, and "the bridal chamber" — the latter according to Schenke being symbolized by a holy kiss. E. Segelberg has drawn attention to certain parallels between the Gospel of Philip and Mandaean practices.104 It should also be pointed out that there are also differences. The Gospel of Philip 121:1-8 reads: Those who say "They will die first and rise again" are in error. If they do not first receive the resurrection while they live, when they Bohlig, A C . V , p. 95. Grant, "Gnostic Worship," McCormick Quarterly 18 (1965), 35; reprinted as ch. 12 in R. Grant, After the N e w Testament (Philadelphia, 1967). 104 E. Segelberg, "The Coptic-Gnostic Gospel according to Philip and Its Sacramental System," Numen 7 (i960), 189-200. Cf. a]so his article, "The Baptismal Rite according to Some of the Coptic-Gnostic Texts of Nag-Hammadi," T U 80 (1962), 117-28. 102

M3R.

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GNOSTIC ETHICS die they will receive nothing. So also they speak about baptism, saying that baptism is a great thing, because if (people) receive it they will live. 105

The passage implies a disparaging attitude toward baptism — an attitude which would hardly be welcome among the Mandaeans. When Segelberg uses Mandaean materials to interpret The Gospel of Truth as a confirmation homily, he is aware that he may be reading into the text meanings that are not there.106 D.

Imagery

There are many parallels between the Mandaic and the Coptic texts in the imagery and figures of speech which are used. Gärtner has noted Mandaic parallels to the symbols used in The Gospel of Thomas — a "lion" for that which is material and evil, a "house" for the world, etc.107 An interesting parallel is the use of the extended metaphor of "sleep" and of "awakening" to describe the soul's condition and its illumination by gnosis. An example of this is found in the Apocryphon of John: I (the Savior) said, "He who hears, let him arise from his deep sleep." And he wept and shed many heavy tears. He wiped them away and said: "Who is it who calls my name? And whence has this hope come to me while I am in the bonds of prison?" And I said, " I am the Pronoia of the pure light, I am the thought of the Virgin Spirit who raises you up to the glorious place. Arise and remember that you are the one who has heard, and dwell at your root —• which is I, the merciful — and protect yourself from the angels of poverty and the demons of chaos and all who cling to you. And be in a state of watchfulness against the deep sleep and the entanglement of the inside of the underworld." And I raised him up and sealed him in the light of the water with five seals so that death would have no power over him from that time on. 108

This may be compared with two Mandaic passages noted by Jonas in his study of this theme: Wilson, The Gospel of Philip, p. 49. E. Segelberg, "Evangelium Veritatis — A Confirmation Homily and Its Relation to the Odes of Solomon," OS 8 (1959), 4. 107 B. Gärtner, The Theology of the Gospel according to Thomas (N.Y., 1961), pp. 162-63, 172, 226, 254-55. 108 CG II, 1.31, 5-25, cited by G. MacRae, "Sleep and Awakening in Gnostic Texts," OG, p. 497. 106

106

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I am a word, a son of words, who have come in the name of Jawar. The great Life called, charged and prepared me, me, Anosh, the great Uthra, the son of mighty ones. . . . It sent me forth to watch over this era, to shake out of their sleep and raise up those that slumber.109 The savior approached, stood at Adam's pillow, and awakened him from his sleep. "Arise, arise, Adam, put off thy stinking body, thy garment of clay, the fetter, the bond . . . for thy time is come, thy measure is full, to depart from this world . . . ." 1 1 0 M a c R a e points out that this theme occurs not only in all the published Coptic Gnostic works containing the account of human origins, but also in Manichaean sources, in Hermetic literature, and in the Odes of Solomon. 1 1 1 Inasmuch as such parallels in imagery occur in so many different sources, they tell us little about the worth of the Mandaean tradition. 1 1 2 T h e other limitation of verbal parallels, as we shall have occasion to see later, is that the same verbal containers m a y carry entirely different semantic contents. GR XV,295f., cited in Jonas, The Gnostic Religion, p. 8o. G L I430, cited in Jonas, ibid., p. 85. m MacRae, OG, pp. 503-504. " 2 Doresse, S B E G , p. 207, n. 98, held that the imagery of the eagle as the manifestation of the Savior in the Apocryphon of John was to be found elsewhere only in the Mandaic texts among Gnostic sources. Cf., however, the Manichaean Psalm Book 100.30 and 188.20; and G. Widengren, Mesopotamian Elements in Manichaeism (King and Savior, 2; Uppsala, 1946), p. 153. I am indebted to Professor Helmbold for pointing out these parallels. 109

u0

CHAPTER GNOSTIC

IV

ETHICS

MANY other parallels, especially with regard to cosmogony and to imagery, will no doubt be discovered as new Coptic texts are published. But as far as I know, there has been no detailed study of comparisons between the Coptic texts and the Mandaic texts in the area of ethics. When we come to compare the two sources, we discover that there are more contrasts than similarities. The major portion of our study will be devoted to comparisons in ethics, especially with regard to sex and marriage — a subject of dominant concern to all Gnostics. The Gnostics with their stress on liberty and on the other world more often than not undermined ethics. 113 One does not, for example, find many injunctions against sin in general or against sins in particular in the Nag Hammadi texts. C. Barrett in his comparative study of the Gospel of John and the Gospel of Truth (E.V.) notes: The difference between John and E.V. is nowhere clearer than in their treatment of sin — or rather, in E.V.'s almost complete failure to treat the subject at all. . . . the [Coptic] word "sin" (nabi) occurs only twice in E.V. 114 There were, of course, exceptions. In the relatively late Pistis Sophia the elect had to renounce the world and its sins — cursing, thieving, adultery, etc. — and had to practice almsgiving, love to men, etc. 113 W. van Unnik in The Jung Codex, ed. F. Cross (London, 195,5) i P- 128; R. Grant, Gnosticism and Early Christianity, pp. I37f.; Wilson, The Gnostic Problem, pp. 70, 77, 83, 106; J. Zandee, The Terminology of Plotinus and of Some Gnostic Writings (Institut historique et archéologique néerlandais de Stamboul, 1 1 ; Istanbul, 1961), p. 2. 114 C. Barrett, "The Theological Vocabulary of the Fourth Gospel and of the Gospel of Truth," Current Issues in New Testament Interpretation, ed. W. Klassen and G. Snyder (N.Y., 1962), p. 212.

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25

Characteristic of the Gnostic Weltanschauung was an anticosmic attitude which depreciated this world as evil. This was the main accusation of the philosopher Plotinus (204-270 A. D.) against the Gnostics. 115 Interestingly enough, this rejection of the world and its creator — often identified in a pejorative way with the God of the Old Testament — led most often to the extremes of a stern asceticism on the one hand, and of gross license on the other. Each reaction, however, had its rationale in the Gnostic anticosmic spirit. As Jonas has observed, ". . . ob Verachtung des Stoffes in Libertinismus oder Ertötung desselben in Askese — immer ist die streitbare Verweigerung eines Weltanspruches, also Revolution gegen den göttlichen Autor desselben, der Sinn der Entscheidung.' 116 E. Bevan has observed, "Asceticism and lubricity are often plants springing from the same soil." 1 1 7 A. Antinomianism Antinomianism and license characterized some of the earliest Gnostic figures in church history. 118 The arch-Gnostic Simon Magus (Acts 8) taught that the Law was a device of the angels who created the world and who used it to enslave men. Therefore Simon taught, by misquoting Ephesians 2:8 "by his grace men are saved, not by just works," that men were to pay no attention to the law and were to live as they pleased. 119 Simon himself 115 Zandee, passim. T h i s feature also distinguishes the Gnostic texts f r o m the Hermetica, w h i c h are o f t e n considered gnostic in a general sense. " T h e anticosmic fanaticism of gnostic t h o u g h t does not meet w i t h Hermetic approval, and it is for this reason that it w o u l d not do, really, to mention both quantities at a b r e a t h . " G . v a n Moorsel, T h e Mysteries of Hermes Trismegistus (Studia Theologica R h e n o Traiectina, i ; Utrecht, 1 9 5 5 ) , p. 21. ™ H . Jonas, Gnosis und spätantiker Geist (Forschungen zur Religion und L i t eratur des Alten u n d Neuen T e s t a m e n t , n.F. 3 3 ; Göttingen, 1964), I, 236; cf. Jonas, T h e Gnostic Religion, pp. 46, 274L 117 E . B e v a n , Hellenism a n d Christianity ( L o n d o n , 1930), p. 81. 318 M . Friedländer, D e r vorchristliche jüdische Gnosticismus (Göttingen, 1898), attempted to prove that there were pre-Christian antinomian J e w s f r o m a passage in Philo and f r o m the references to the minim in rabbinical literature. H o w e v e r , allegorical interpretation of the T o r a h and laxness in keeping the l a w s are not the same as defiance of the l a w s as an antinomian principle. C f . E . Schiirer's comments, T L Z 23 (1899), 167-70. u " Irenaeus, Adversus haereses I, 23.1-4, conveniently reproduced in G r a n t , Gnosticism; A Sourcebook of Heretical Writings f r o m the E a r l y Christian Period, P- 25.

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lived with Helen, a prostitute, whom he audaciously proclaimed as the incarnate Mother of All. 120 Basilides, a student of Menander (who was in turn a student of Simon), flourished in the early 2nd cent. A.D. His followers were also accused by Irenaeus of license, practicing an "indifferent" use of lust. His son Isidore, however, taught a more mediating view of sex and marriage. The followers of Carpocrates, who flourished in the early 2nd cent., went even further in positively encouraging participation in sins. They taught that "The souls which in a single life on earth manage to participate in all sins will no longer become reincarnate but, having paid all their 'debts,' will be freed so that they no longer come to be in a body." 1 2 1 Carpocrates' son Epiphanes taught that promiscuity was God's law in nature in contrast to what he termed the "comic" words of the "lawgiver's" ten commandments. "With a view to the permanence of the race, he (God) has implanted in males a strong and ardent desire which neither law nor custom nor any other restraint is able to destroy. For it is God's decree. . . ." 122 The Cainites, who perversely honored Cain, Korah, Esau, and the Sodomites, held a position similar to that of the Carpocratians. Irenaeus says, " A t each of these sinful and disgusting actions an angel is present, not only to hear of the boldness but to cause the uncleanness of the agent. . . . And this is 'perfect knowledge,' to undertake without fear such actions as should not even be mentioned." 123 Egyptian Gnostics described by Epiphanius (4th cent. A.D.) participated in a sacrament of promiscuity as an act of rebellion against the god of the law. The most bizarre of the antinomian Gnostics was the Phibionite group, which was also described by Epiphanius in his Panarion. In their rites, which were a grotesque caricature of the Eucharist, men and women had intercourse but did not consummate it, practicing coitus interruptus. 120 On Simon see L. Cerfaux, "La Gnose simonienne," RecSR 15 (1925), 489511; 16 (1926), 5-20, 265-85, 481-503. 121 Adv. haer. I, 25.4, reproduced in Grant, Gnosticism, p. 38. 123 Clement, Stromateis III, 9, reproduced in Grant, Gnosticism, p. 40. Cf. Alexandrian Christianity, ed. H. Chadwick and J. Oulton (Library of Christian Classics, 2; Philadelphia, 19S4), pp. 25-29. 158 Adv. haer. I, 31.2, reproduced in Grant, Gnosticism, p. 60.

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27

After they have had intercourse in the passion of fornication they raise their own blasphemy toward heaven. The woman and the man take the fluid of the emission of the man into their hands, they stand, turn toward heaven, their hands besmeared with the uncleanness, and pray as people called "Stratiotikoi" (i.e., "Soldiers") and "Gnostikoi," bringing to the father the nature of all that which they have on their hands, and they say: "We offer to thee this gift, the body of Christ." And then they eat it, their own ugliness. . . . Similarly also with the woman: when she happens to be in the flowing of the blood they gather the blood of menstruation of her uncleanness and eat it together and say: "This is the blood of Christ." . . . They have intercourse with each other but they teach that one may not beget children. . . . And if someone from among them is detected to have let the natural emission of semen go in deeper and the woman becomes pregnant, then hear, what even worse they do: they pull out the embryo in the time when they can reach it with the hand. They take out this unborn child and in a sort of mortar pound it with the pestle and into this mix honey and pepper and other certain spices and myrrh, in order that it may not nauseate them, and then they come together, all this company of swine and dogs, and each communicates with the finger from the bruised child. And after they have finished this cannibalism finally they pray to God, saying, that we did not let the Archon of this desire play with us but collected the mistake of the brother. And this they also consider to be the perfect Passah. 124 B e n k o suggests that as Epiphanius' description seems to be based on firsthand knowledge it must be considered authentic. H e offers the plausible suggestion that the activities of the Phibionites served as the basis of the calumny against Christians reported b y Minucius Felix in the dialogue Octavius (c. 200 A . D . ) . 1 2 5 I would suggest that the false imputation of these activities to Christians serves as the background for a strange dialogue recorded on a newly published Mandaic lead amulet: Then spoke to him (Jesus) two angels. He said, Sariel said and spoke to him, "The blood of the slain (m.) and the flesh of the de124 Epiphanius, Panarion 26.4-5, cited by S. Benko, "The Libertine Gnostic Sect of the Phibionites according to Epiphanius," VC 21 (1967), 109-110.

126Ibid.,

pp. ii3f.

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GNOSTIC ETHICS ones 1 2 6

stroyed (f.) eat for your hunger and drink for your thirst." And he said to them, "From the cross should I eat for my hunger, and the blood of daughters drink for my thirst?" 1 2 7

It should be noted that though the antinomian Gnostics indulged in sexual license, they did not want to engender any children. According to the Phibionite cosmogony the error of Barbelo's creation resulted in the scattering of her power or psyche into every creature. Salvation consists in the regathering of these scattered sparks. "Procreation is wrong because it only divides this psyche and prolongs the time the psyche must spend in this world." 128 Benko notes that there are negative references to Gnostics who indulged in such practices as the Phibionites in ch. 147 of the Pistis Sophia, and ch. 43 of the Second Book of Jeu.129 Nothing in the Nag Hammadi texts refers to such abandoned behavior. Doresse comments, ". . . one finds oneself almost disappointed at this, so freely had the heresiologists given us to understand that mysteries of that description were common practice in the principal sects!" 130 B. Marriage-Affirming Attitudes Although they are in the distinct minority, some Gnostic groups neither indulged in sex as an antinomian revolt against the lawgiver nor rejected sex in ascetic revulsion but rather affirmed sex and marriage as positive functions. Isidore, son of Basilides, using New Testament passages, argued that marriage was preferable to the frustration of unfulfilled sexual desire. He felt that "mankind has certain needs which are both necessary and 120 In the light of the parallel gtilia "Getoten" in line 23, Macuch's translation of qlsuniata in lines 24-25 as "Vertrockneten" is too weak. 127 Macuch, "Altmandaische Bleirollen II," pp. 38-39. This roll comes from the late pre-Islamic period. One wonders if it was the transference of this calumny to the Jews that was the basis of the infamous charge against them of killing Christian children to obtain blood for their Passover (Pesah), although there is no evidence for the transmission of such a tradition to 12th-century England, where the accusation first appeared. M . Margolis and A. Marx, History of the Jewish People (N.Y., i960), p. 384 and passim. 138 Benko, p. 117. 128 Ibid., p. 112. 130 Doresse, S B E G , p. 251.

GNOSTIC ETHICS

29

natural, others which are only natural. The need of clothing is necessary and natural, while the need of sexual intercourse is natural but not necessary." 131 More positive in attitude were the Valentinians, who viewed marriage as a symbol of the archetypal unity of the sexes — the androgynous state before the separation of the sexes took place. The Gospel of Philip, which is Valentinian in background, says in 118.9-17: If the woman had not separated from the man, she would not die with the man. His separation became the beginning of death. Because of this Christ came, in order that he might remove the separation which was from the beginning, and again unite the two; and that he might give life to those who died in the separation, and unite them. 182

Though human marriage is a "marriage of uncleanness," it is a mystery, and prefigures the great mystery of spiritual marriage. In The Gospel of Philip i3o.2ff. we read: For marriage in the world is a mystery for those who have taken a wife. But if the marriage of uncleanness be hid, how much more is the marriage undefiled a true mystery. It is not fleshly but pure, and does not belong to desire but to the will. 133

According to the Valentinians only the Gnostic who is "from above" experiences love in sexual union; the non-Gnostic experiences only lust. 134 Irenaeus says that the Valentinians known as Marcosians had a rite of initiation called "the bridechamber," and that this was a "spiritual marriage after the likeness of the unions above." "The bridechamber" is mentioned as a sacrament in The Gospel of Clement, S t r o m . I l l , 3, cited in G r a n t , Gnosticism, p. 140. Wilson, T h e Gospel of Philip, p. 142. M o s t Gnostics a r g u e d t h a t since evil resulted f r o m the separation of the sexes, sex w a s evil. wlbid., p. 182. Wilson elsewhere ( p p . 142, 183) c o m m e n t s t h a t it is sometimes difficult t o tell w h e t h e r a given passage refers t o h u m a n or t o spiritual m a r r i a g e . I n the Naassene exegesis of the H y m n t o Attis carnal generation is described as t h e lesser mysteries. " A f t e r initiation i n t o t h e m m e n o u g h t t o t e r m i n a t e the lesser a n d be initiated into the g r e a t a n d heavenly ones." Hippolytus, R e f u t a t i o n s V, 8.9-9.6, cited in G r a n t , Gnosticism, p. 113. 181

183

1 3 4 R . G r a n t , " T h e M y s t e r y of M a r r i a g e in the Gospel of P h i l i p , " V C 15 (1961), 1 3 3 - 3 4 - T h i s article is also r e p r o d u c e d as ch. 13 in G r a n t ' s A f t e r the N e w T e s t a ment.

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Philip. Schenke has argued that this consisted of a holy kiss which the initiate received from the mystagogue, and that it had nothing to do with ritual intercourse. But as Grant notes : According to Irenaeus, spiritual marriage was not very spiritual. Some of the female initiates afterwards became pregnant. It is not certain, however, that this was the ordinary result of such an initiation; Irenaeus may be describing isolated cases of abuse rather than the ordinary rite.135 In any case, both human marriage and spiritual marriage as symbolized in "the bridechamber" anticipated the eschatological marriage when the Savior and Sophia would be united, and the pneumatics or the elect, having become pure spirits, would become the brides of angels. 138 It should be stressed here that the positive evaluation of marriage b y the Valentinians stemmed from marriage's value as a symbol of the original and of the eschatological union — and not as a means for procreation. The book of Baruch by the Gnostic Justin, as described in Hippolytus' Refutations V , seems to contain a Gnostic system with a positive attitude toward marriage and, what is more, toward procreation. 137 According to Grant the document is dependent upon the mythology of the Greek writer Pherecydes (7th or 6th cent. B.C.), 1 3 8 and is to be dated to the end of the 2nd cent. A . D . or the beginning of the 3rd cent. 139 Justin posits three first principles: 1) the Good identified with Priapus (the pagan god of fertility often represented by a phallus) ; 2) Elohim, the Father of every created being; and 3) Eden, the female principle. Adam and Eve were made as eternal images of the marriage of Elohim and Eden. When, however, the Good admits Elohim into its presence — but not Eden, the latter is frustrated and seeks revenge. She introduces adultery and pederasty to frustrate Elohim by disrupting marriage. In the light of this it is 185 Ibid. But it would seem that the only "ordinary rite" whose abuse would lead to pregnancy would be a ritual coitus interruptus. 130 F. Sagnard, L a gnose valentinienne et le témoignage de saint Irénée (Études de philosophie médiévale, 36; Paris, 1947), pp. 193, 195, 413. 137 E. Haenchen, "Das Buch Baruch," Zeitschrift fur Theologie und Kirche 50 (1953), 123-58. 138 See K . Freeman, The Pre-Socratic Philosophers (Oxford, 1946), pp. 36-41. 138 R . Grant, "Gnosis Revisited," Church History 23 (1954), 37. This article is reproduced as ch. 14 in his After the New Testament.

GNOSTIC ETHICS

31

not clear what human marriage — tainted now by frustration — means to the Gnostic. According to Grant's interpretation, "What Baruch wants men to do is turn from human marriage and love, which though good are subject to frustration, to the higher heavenly marriage and love to be found with the Good. . . ." 140 C. Asceticism The outlook of most Gnostics was an ascetic attitude which was both misogynic and misogamist. (As Jonas points out, the other extreme of antinomianism and licentiousness was antisocial and self-destructive.) The Naassenes held that since the separation of sexes was the beginning of evil, sexual intercourse was evil and led to death. " I t represents man's fatal effort to become one without recognizing that the only real unity is spiritual." 141 Other Gnostics rejected marriage, since they attributed the implantation of sexual desire to the evil demiurge. Already in the New Testament we meet those who would forbid marriage (I Tim. 4:3). Were these Gnostics? Grant for one believes that they were. 142 But this can be affirmed only if the prohibition of marriage arose from a Gnostic rationale. It may be that these false teachers forbade marriage on the grounds that the resurrection was past (cf. II Tim. 2:18) and that after the resurrection men no longer married but were as the angels in heaven (cf. Mark 12:25). This was the case with the later Encratites combatted by Clement of Alexandria (150-215 A.D.). 1 4 3 Marcion (fl. 140-50 A.D.), who in some ways was not a typical Gnostic, held a typically negative attitude toward marriage. He forbade his followers marriage, since this would only enlarge the influence of the creator's sphere by the procreation of children.144 The epitome of this attitude was expressed by Saturninus (Satornil), the disciple of Menander, who flourished in the early 2nd cent. He held that "Marriage and generation are from ™lbid.t p. 43. Grant, The Secret Sayings of Jesus, p. 87; cf. p. 144. Grant, Gnosticism and Early Christianity, pp. i 6 i f . Wilson, Gnosis and the N e w Testament, p. 41, asks, "were these Gnostics the only people to practise such asceticism?" M 3 Malinine, De Resurrectione, p. x. 144 Jonas, The Gnostic Religion, pp. i44f.; Chadwick, p. 22. 141

142

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GNOSTIC ETHICS

Satan." 145 The begetting of children merely increased the number subjected to the evil angels.146 The same negative attitude to sex and marriage is manifested in many of the Coptic texts from Nag Hammadi. It seems to appear, for example, in the 37th logion of The Gospel of Thomas: His disciples said: When wilt Thou be revealed to us and when will we see Thee? Jesus said: When you take off your clothing without being ashamed, and take your clothes and put them under your feet as the little children and tread on them, then [shall you behold] the Son of the Living (One) and you shall not fear. 147

As Gärtner explains it, this means: "When enlightened man can neutralise the sex-life to such an extant that he is as innocent as a little child, and not ashamed of his nakedness — then salvation has become a reality." 148 In The Gospel of Thomas the ideal elect is called in Coptic OUA "single one" — probably referring to the original androgynous unity of man 149 — and in the Greek fiovaxos "solitary one" in the sense of a celibate person.160 In the last logion Peter says, "Let Mary go out from among us, because women are not worthy of Life." Jesus answers, "See, I shall lead her, so that I will make her male. . . . For every woman who makes herself male will enter the Kingdom of Heaven." 151 As noted above, The Gospel of Philip regards the separation of the sexes as the cause of death. 152 The Apocryphon of John attributes the origin of sexual intercourse and the desire for procreation to the evil Protarchon. 153 These same traits of a negative attitude toward sex are contained in the unpublished treatises as revealed by Doresse's preliminary survey. In The Grant, Gnosticism, p. 32. Cf. N T A I, 274. 147 Guillaumont, The Gospel according to Thomas, p. 23. 148 Gärtner, p. 250; cf. H. Kee, " 'Becoming a Child' in the Gospel of Thomas," J B L 82 (1963), 307-14. J. Smith, "The Garments of Shame," History of Religions S (1965), 217-38, seeks to relate this logion to the practice of nudity in baptism. But he has to admit that the citations of similar statements in Clement and in Hippolytus have an antisexual import. 148 A. Klijn, "The 'Single One' in the Gospel of Thomas," J B L 81 (1962), 271-78. i m Malinine, De Resurrectione, p. x. 141 Guillaumont, p. 57. 153 Wilson, The Gospel of Philip, pp. 12, 46; see n. 132 above. 163 Giversen, Apocryphon Johannis, pp. 93, 264. 146

GNOSTIC ETHICS

33

Book of Thomas the Athlete ( C G II, 7) we read, "Woe to you who love intimacy with that which is feminine. . . . Woe to you because of the powers of your body!" 154 In The Dialogue of the Savior (CG III, 5) we read, "Pray in the place where there is no woman. . . . Destroy the works of femininity." 155 In an Untitled Tractate ( C G IX, 3) we have a polemic against the "Pharisees" : It is impossible to serve two masters, for the defilement of the Law is manifest, whilst purity pertains to the light. The Law indeed commands one to take a spouse, to take a wife, to increase and multiply like the waves of the sea. But passion, which is agreeable to souls, binds here below the souls of those who are begotten. . . . For them it is impossible to pass by the Archon of Darkness until they have paid back the last farthing. 156 The river of Jordan, this, to him, is the strength of the body — that is, the essence of pleasures; and the water of Jordan is the desire for carnal co-habitation. 167

Outside of the Gnostic documents this negative attitude to sex and marriage is found especially in the Syrian church with its Encratites or "continent ones." 158 A number of scholars have argued that The Gospel of Thomas was originally a document of the Syrian Encratites — which may have been used by the Gnost i c s — but which was not in itself particularly Gnostic.159 The same controversy surrounds a number of the apocryphal works, especially the Acts of Andrew, of John, and of Thomas. 160 Quispel holds that the famous "Hymn of the Pearl" in the Acts of Thomas "is not gnostic at all, but rather an orthodox Christian ^ D o r e s s e , S B E G , p. 226. Doresse suggests that this may be the same as the Gospel of Matthias, mentioned by Origen and Eusebius. Puech, however, is sceptical. N T A I, 313. 1 M Doresse, S B E G , p. 221. lxIbid., p. 219. 157 Ibid., p. 220. The disparagement of the Jordan is in direct opposition to the veneration of the Jordan among the Mandaeans. 158 A. Voobus, Celibacy in the Early Syrian Church (Papers of the Estonian Theological Society in Exile, 1 ; Stockholm, 1951). 1 5 9 K . Grobel, N T S 8 (1962), 367-73; W. Frend, "The Gospel of Thomas; Is Rehabilitation Possible?" J T S , n.s. 18 (1967), 13-26; G. Quispel, V C 18 (1964), 226-35; A. Baker, "Pseudo-Macarius and the Gospel of Thomas," V C 18 (1964), 215-25. " " N T A II, 396.

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hymn tinged with Judaistic colors." 1 6 1 Others hold that it is a Gnostic document. 1 6 2 For our purposes it is sufficient to say that the Encratism of the Acts of T h o m a s was quite compatible with the prevailing asceticism of the Gnostics. In the Acts of T h o m a s the Lord appears to the newlyweds on their wedding night to warn them against conjugal relations: "Remember, my children, what my brother (Thomas) spake with you, and know to whom he committed you; and know that as soon as ye preserve yourselves from this filthy intercourse, ye become pure temples, and are saved from afflictions manifest, and hidden, and from the heavy care of children, the end of whom is bitter sorrow. And if ye have children, for their sakes ye will become oppressors and robbers and smiters of orphans and wrongers of widows, and ye will be grievously tortured for their injuries. For the greatest part oi children are the cause of many pains; for either the king falls upon them, or a demon lays hold of them, or paralysis befalls them. And if they are healthy, they come to ill either by adultery, or theft, or fornication, or covetousness, or vainglory; and through these wickednesses ye will be tortured by them." 163 A s a final example, we m a y recall that the renunciation oi' marriage was one of the three signets of the Manichaean electi: ". . . complete sexual abstinence, including renunciation of marriage (was enjoined). T h e sexual urge as such was something evil as being a sensual lust, but procreation was accounted far worse since b y means of it the reassembly of the light particles, was retarded." 164 101 QuispeI, "Gnosticism and the New Testament," in The Bible and Modern Scholarship, p. 259. M2 Jonas, The Gnostic Religion, pp. i i 2 f f . ; G. Bornkamm in N T A II, 429ft. 163 A. Klijn, The Acts of Thomas (Supplements to Novum Testamentum, 5 Leiden, 1962), pp. 70-71. Note, however, that the argument against procreation is not typically Gnostic. 104 G. Widengren, Mani and Manichaeism (London, 1965), p. 97; cf. Jonas, The Gnostic Religion, pp. 227, 231.

CHAPTER MANDAEAN

V

ETHICS

WHEN we come to discuss the ethics of the Mandaeans, we are immediately confronted with a sharp contrast with the majority of the other Gnostic systems. This has been noted — but usually noted simply in passing — b y almost all investigators of the Mandaean religion. Reitzenstein in comparing Mandaeanism with Manichaeism remarked, ". . . in seinen ethischen Grundgedanken stimmt der Mandäismus mehr mit dem Zarathustrismus als mit dem Manichäismus überein." 165 And in a footnote to this statement he added, "Besonders charakteristisch ist der leidenschaftliche Widerspruch der Mandäer gegen die Askese: gerade in ihr scheint M a n i stark von Indien beeinflusst." Burkitt also, comparing Mandaeanism with Manichaeism, remarked, " I n one point, of course, Mandaism differs from the organization of the Marcionites and the Manichees, in that marriage is not only permitted but commanded." 166 I should like to stress here that this one point is not simply one point among many others, but that the attitude toward sex and marriage is a central issue in Gnosticism in general and in Mandaeanism in particular. L a d y Drower in her classic work of observation, The daeans of Iraq and Iran, has noted:

Man-

In spite of an original asceticism that saw in all functions of the body a species of defilement which laid him open to the attacks of evil spirits, the Mandaeans (sic) have joy in life, and in marriage, though the latter is protected by elaborate ritual which aims at health and cleanliness. The mortification, dirtiness, and self-deprivation of Christian asceticism in its medieval stage are unknown to these joyous mystics. All that the Spirit sends is a good gift, to be used with 146 R. Reitzenstein, Die hellenistischen Mysterienreligionen (Leipzig, 1927), pp. 283-84. 166 Burkitt, p. 113.

35

36

GNOSTIC ETHICS praise. In spite of the sin-conscious tones of the prayers, life is a pleasant thing, and the earth a happy prison. 167

There is one misconception in this rather exuberant description: to see the functions of the body as a species of defilement is superstition and not asceticism. As I shall attempt to show below, there was no "original asceticism" in the Mandaean religion. The most recent and, I should add, the most learned study of the Mandaeans — that by K . Rudolph — takes note of the contrast in Mandaean ethics in a single sentence in the text of his remarks, characteristically adding numerous references to sources in the footnote to that remark. He says, "Die Ablehnung der strengen Askese (für eine gnostische Religion eine bedeutsame Ausnahme), obwohl natürlich gewisse asketische Züge nicht fehlen . . . ; hochgeschätzt wird die Einehe, ja sie ist sogar Pflicht." 188 Again I must stress that this difference is so important that it cannot be dismissed in a parenthesis or footnote. The "asketische Züge" to which Rudolph refers are in my opinion not really elements of asceticism. (See below.) One of the first striking contrasts in regard to the ethics of the Mandaeans is their stress on various commandments and on the breaking of these as sins — elements which are conspicuously lacking in most Gnostic systems. For example, in section 47 of the Johannesbuch, Manda d-Hiia gives a series of exhortations warning against thievery, against hinting and winking — i.e., at girls — , against usury, against magic, against the removal of boundaries, etc.169 A. Sexual Sins Occupying the chief place among these ethical injunctions are the warnings against adultery — as may be seen by even a cursory reading of the Diwan A batur or The Thousand and Twelve Questions. In a passage of the former work we read: Then speaketh Hibil Ziwa and saith to Abatur, " B e calm, calm thyself, Abatur, and let the peace of mind of the virtuous rest upon thee! Those that commit adultery, debauchery and profligacy, red 1 8 7 Drower,

The Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran, p. 53 [hereafter abbreviated M i l ] , Rudolph, Die Mandäer, I, 86. 188 Lidzbarski, Das Johannesbuch, pp. 173 ff.

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{will be) the rod, for a (marriage) troth is before (dearer) to thee than all worlds! 1 7 0

In sharp contrast to the boast of the licentious Gnostics that they were "pearls" that no "mud" of earthly behavior could defile — a precept found even in the Gospel of Philip 171 — sexual transgressions for the Mandaeans had consequences of punishment in life and in purgatories after death as well. Any priest who lieth with a woman not his own hath polluted his body. He shall not recite the masiqta for a departed soul nor shall he lay hands on postulants, nor baptise a woman after childbirth. (By reason of) the corruption of his character he is defective and despicable; when he departeth the body his torment will be in fire and frost: he will cry out but there will be none to answer him. 172

The same consequences hold true for Mandaean women, who attain spiritual perfection, not by becoming "males" as in the last logion of The Gospel of Thomas, but by careful lives of ethical and ritual purity. 173 And (as to) women who are Mandaeans (i.e., of lay family), if they have given up their sins, their interrogation will be here, (but) if they have not renounced adultery and dishonesty and have been unfaithful to their (marriage) vow, then their trial and punishment will not be on earth; she (the sinner) will dwell yonder in the House of Discord. 174

All of this emphasis upon the sin of adultery leads us to perceive the high regard the Mandaeans have had for marriage. B. Marriage The central importance of marriage — it should be added, for the sake of procreation — appears in all stages of the Mandaean D r o w e r , D i w a n A b a t u r , p. 3. Wilson, T h e Gospel of Philip, p. 38. 172 D r o w e r , T h e T h o u s a n d and T w e l v e Questions, p. 196. 173 T h e r e is no prejudice against w o m e n as such. T h e r e h a v e been w o m e n scribes ( D r o w e r , T h e Canonical P r a y e r b o o k of the Mandaeans, p. 69), and even w o m e n priests ( D r o w e r , M i l , p. 1 4 7 ) . A f t e r death the elect are not transformed into spiritual consorts for the angels as w i t h the Valentinians. A f a i t h f u l w i f e , called nitufta or " d r o p , " abides w i t h her husband as a heavenly spouse. 1 7 1 D r o w e r , T h e T h o u s a n d and T w e l v e Questions, p. 1 7 2 ; cf. D r o w e r , Diwan 170 171

Abatur, p. 6.

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religion, from the earliest magical texts through the literary texts up to present-day practice. In the lead tablet published b y Lidzbarski the hero says, " I seized it b y the strength of M a n a and F e r t i l i t y " — two personified Mandaean divinities. 1 7 5 T h e word for " F e r t i l i t y " is sindirka (according to Lidzbarski originally an evergreen), which in the Mandaean texts stands for the palm tree as the symbol of male fertility. T h e lead rolls published b y M a c u c h in 1967 and 1968 are primarily concerned with the protection of young children and pregnant women from the curses of evil spirits, especially from the lilith. 176 T h e lilith herself is a descendant of the Sumerian and A k k a d i a n lilitu or ardat lilt. She is a succubus, that is, she is a demon who seeks to have intercourse with men in their sleep. She is very hostile to women and to the human children born from normal relations. In the first roll we read the following: " T h e y (the evil demons) seize little boys and with their violence they seize little girls." 1 7 7 " . . . very quickly they strike children and strangle children, they seize children and guiltless grandchildren." 178 " A n d to torment the pregnant women the demon Sin is brought, who there dwells in the house of the men and women." 179 ". . . Suf-Suda, son of the lilith Sufat listens to them as they choke children and kill youths. . . ." 180 " I n the house . . . which is seized with misfortune and sword, and for the foetus which is menaced b y the lilith." 1 8 1 In the third roll we read: " . . . your evil, female ring-demons tear to pieces the little boys in the l a p ( ? ) of their mother, and the little girls in the womb of their mother." 182 T h e same concern recurs in the magic bowls. passage is typical:

T h e following

For the binding of Abugdana, the king of the devils and the great ruler of all the liliths. I have made you swear and I adjure you, 175 Line 177. See Yamauchi, M I T , pp. 246-47; cf. Drower, The Secret Adam, p. 8, n. 1. 173 See the discussion in Yamauchi, M I T , pp. 24-27, and the references given there. 1,7 Macuch, "Altmandaische Bleirollen I," l a , 15-16, pp. 116-17.

Ibid., Ibid., 180 Ibid., 181 Ibid., 178 179

Ia,J3-S7, Ia,66-68, Ia,72-75, Ic,34-36,

pp. pp. pp. pp.

118-19. 118-19. 120-21. 130-31.

^ M a c u c h , "Altmandaische Bleirollen II," IIIb,2-io, pp. 38-41.

MANDAEAN ETHICS

39

Haldas the lilith, and Taklath the lilith, grand-daughter of Zarni the lilith, who dwells in the house . . . , and (who) strikes and kills and bewitches and throttles boys and girls. 183

In another bowl text we read: Health and arming and sealing and protection may there be . . . to the embryo and womb of Bardesa. . . . Bound are the sorcery-spirits in stocks of iron; bound are the liliths . . . from the embryo and womb of Bardesa. . . . Again, health and arming and sealing be for the womb and the parturition of Bardesa. . . . 184

Marriage for the sake of procreation is exalted as a sacred duty in the later literary texts. In The Thousand and Twelve Questions we read: "When Kusta-Yaqra said this, Sislam-Rba stood up, and all the kings stood at his left. And he (SiSlam) said: ' 0 our Lord, Lord of all worlds, Thou who didst command that we should create worlds and propagate species 1 " 1 8 5 In another section of the same work we read, "For (marriage) is a sacred pact by which reproduction is brought about, and they (who enter into this estate) witness to the name and nature of the Father. . . . " 1 8 6 In the Johannesbuch the command comes from the House of Abatur to John the Baptist to get married lest he have no progeny to remember his name. When John says that he would like to get married but is afraid that he might neglect his prayers, he is instructed to divide his time between his devotions and his conjugal duties. This rather interesting passage reads as follows: And he said, "John, you are like a scorched mountain which does not bring forth into this world any blossoms. You are like a dried-up stream on which plants are not planted. You are like a desolate house, before which all who see it are afraid. A land which has no lord have you become; a house in which there is no strength. An evil prophet have you become, who has not left after you one who remembers you, who will equip you and will provide for you, John, who will come after you to the grave." When John heard this, in his eye formed a tear, a tear formed in his eye, and he said, "Pleasant would it be to take a wife, and precious 188

Yamauchi, M I T , text 2 1 : 1 - 5 , pp. 230-31. 2 4 : 1 - 5 , 8, 1 1 , pp. 260-61. Drower, T h e Thousand and T w e l v e Questions, p. 137.

Ibid., text

384 18C

M

Ibid., p. 146.

40

GNOSTIC ETHICS to have sons. But if I were to take a wife, when sleep comes perhaps desire would inflame me, and I would neglect my nocturnal devotions. Perhaps desire would inflame me and I would forget my Lord from my mind. Perhaps desire would inflame me and I would neglect my devotions every time." When John said this, a letter from the House of Abatur came, "John, take a wife and establish (a family), and see that the world does not come to an end. On the dawn of the second (day) and on the dawn of the third (day) observe your marriage bed. On the dawn of the fourth (day) and the dawn of the fifth (day) betake yourself to your sublime devotions." 187

Even now this high regard for marriage and reproduction is still characteristic of Mandaeans, according to recent observations. L a d y Drower relates some conversations with Mandaeans on this subject: " 'If a man has no wife, there will be no Paradise on earth,' a ganzibra (high priest, literally treasurer) remarked to me. He himself had two. 'If a woman had not been created there would be no sun and no moon, no cultivation and no fire.' 'Children make a man's name great in the next world, and when he is dead, they carry his body to the grave and have masiqatha (a sacramental meal) read for him.' " 188 Macuch notes: Man darf dabei nicht vergessen dass die Näsöräer (i.e., the Mandaeans) im Ruf des grossen Lebens lebten und seinem Befehl, den "Stamm des Lebens" zu verbreiten, folgten. Bis heute wird das Zeugen der Kinder als die höchste Pflicht jeder mandäischen Familie betrachtet. Mand. Familien sind kinderreich. Ein mand. tarmlda (priest, literally "disciple") aus Ahwäz hat mir über zwanzig seiner Kinder aufgezählt.189 So strong is their adherence to the necessity of reproduction as a sacred duty that the Mandaeans consider any frustration of 187 The translation, which is my own, is from Lidzbarski's text, Das Johannesbuch, pp. 1093. 188 Drower, M i l , p. 59- A childless couple in ancient Nuzu would adopt a son to take care of them in old age and to bury them (cf. Abraham and Eliezer in Gen. 15). C . Gordon, Adventures in the Nearest East (London, 1957), p. 107. In Mesopotamia it was necessary for the relatives of the dead to offer food, perform rituals, and recite incantations to appease potentially vengeful ghosts. See E. Yamauchi, "Additional Notes on Tammuz," JSS 11 (1966), 13-14. This need for post-mortal care was one reason for desiring children. 188 Macuch, A M , p. 136.

MANDAEAN ETHICS

41

this function a great evil. The bachelor, for example, is regarded as a sinner against Life. 190 Among those women who are to be punished in the House of Discord are "women who cut themselves off from males and their seed and associate with females." 191 These are probably Lesbians; Sodomites are also condemned.192 The point is that such unnatural relations prevent the reproduction of progeny. So important is this duty that Mandaeans hold that even the most pious man — if he died unmarried and childless — must after death be reincarnated either in a physical or in a semi-spiritual body and become the father of children.193 The strongest criticism that the Mandaeans had of Christians was that against the celibacy of monks and nuns. They are compared to dried-up streams and dying trees: Just as dried up and dead are the souls of celibate men and celibate women, and men who do not seek wives, and women who do not seek husbands. When they depart from their bodies they are made to dwell in clouds of darkness. 194 They are the celibate ones and the "holy" ones, whose seed flows over their thighs, and whose sons they kill in their wombs. They are called the celibate and the "holy," who stand bound in the purgatories. And from them are monks and nuns who sink in the great Red Sea. And they call themselves "blessed men" (tubania) and "blessed 11,0 Drower, M i l , p. 17, n. 4. Cf. Muhammad's hadith, "Marriage is incumbent on all who possess the ability." A. Al-Suhrawardy, The Sayings of Muhammad (London, 1954), p. 95. The Zoroastrians likewise valued marriage and procreation. According to the Vendidad, Ahura Mazda values a married man above an unmarried man, and a man with children above a man without children. "It will also be seen that celibacy and absolute chastity are to be proscribed: the human kind ought to be perpetuated, as an indispensable auxiliary to Ohrmazd (Ahura Mazda) in his struggle against Ahriman." J. Duchesne-Guillemin, Symbols and Values in Zoroastrianism (N.Y., 1966), p. 149. For a Jewish view, cf. Mishnah, Yebamoth 6.6. 191 Drower, The Thousand and Twelve Questions, p. 172. 192 Ibid., p. 204. Likewise among Zoroastrians, "Since sexual activity is subordinate to the duty of procreation, it is understandable that homosexuality should be banished. . . ." Duchesne-Guillemin, ibid. 193 Drower, M i l , p. 41. "It follows that he who, in Zoharic terminology, suffers his fount to fail and produces no fruits here — whether because he will not take a wife, whether his wife is barren, or whether he abides with her in a way that is against Nature — commits an irreparable crime." A. Waite, The Holy Kabbalah (New Hyde Park, N.Y., i960), p. 380. The Kabbalists of the Middle Ages considered a man who died without children to have failed in his mission in this world, so that he would have to appear again on earth to fulfill his duty. 194 The translation, which is my own, is from Petermann's text of GR 67, lines 11-14.

42

GNOSTIC ETHICS women" (;tubaniata) because their souls sink (mtaba) into darkness.195 C. Clericalism and Sex

The concern of the Mandaeans with sex extends far beyond the relationship of marriage and touches on all the ramifications of sex in life. This concern may be seen especially with regard to the Mandaean priesthood — an institution which itself sets Mandaeanism apart from Gnostic groups in general. There are three ranks as it were: i ) the asganda, 2) the tarmida, and 3) the ganzibra. The asganda (Sumerian as-gan-da and Akkadian asgandu "assistant") is the acolyte or apprentice priest. He must be a young boy under the age of puberty and a son of a priest or head priest. The tarmida (Hebrew talmid "disciple") is the ordinary priest. The ganzibra (Pahlavi gangaBar "treasurer") is a head priest. Properly speaking, the name "Mandaeans" Mandaiia ("gnostics") applies to the ignorant or semiignorant laity. "When a man becomes a priest he leaves 'Mandaeanism' and enters tarmiduta, 'priesthood.' Even then he has not attained to true enlightenment, for this, called 'Nasirutha,' is reserved for a very few." 196 Thus there is indeed a sharp distinction between the hereditary clergy and the laity, notwithstanding Rudolph's remark that "Die Scheidung zwischen Laien (Mandäern) und Priestern (Na§oräern) ist . . . nicht scharf oder grundsätzlich, sondern nur stufenmässig in bezug auf den Grad der Gelehrsamkeit und des 'geheimen Wissens.' " 1 9 7 The Mandaean religion came close to extinction in the early 19th century in an epidemic which destroyed the entire priesthood.198 Luckily the sons of the priests survived and were made priests. Today the Mandaeans are faced again ""The translation is made from Petermann's text of GR 226, lines 14-18. "In later Judaism, a too close connexion between verses 6 and 7 in the exegesis of Genesis 9 led to the famous Code of Caro, which enacted that 'Every man is bound to marry a wife in order to beget children, and he who fails of this duty is as one who sheds blood, diminishes the image (of God), and causes the shekinah to depart from Israel.'" D. Mace, Hebrew Marriage (London, 1953), p. 143. 196 Drower, The Secret Adam, p. ix, cf. also p. 105. m Rudolph, Die Mandäer, I, 113, n. 5. Elsewhere Rudolph postulates a gradual process of "Klerikalisierung" which developed the division between clergy and laity. See OG, pp. 594-95M Drower, A Pair of Najoraean Commentaries, p. ix.

MANDAEAN ETHICS

43

with extinction as a religion, since there are not enough suitable candidates for the priesthood. Among the qualifications which are necessary for a priest's ordination and his continuing ministry are a number that deal with sex. The priest must be physically unblemished: he cannot be a circumcised man, one who is impotent, or a eunuch. It is said of the last: . . . a eunuch resembleth vessels of earthenware which when broken cannot be made whole. For him there is no cure in the ages, and as long as he existeth in the body partake of no meal with him because he is guilty until he repenteth and is baptized. When he departeth the body he will be purified in fire and frost from that imperfection which they wrought. 199

"If a priest already ordained receives an injury which destroys his manhood or robs him of a limb, he can no longer officiate." 200 The candidate for priesthood must come from the priestly caste. He must not be the son of a woman who was guilty of adultery, 201 nor even the son by a second marriage of a widow.202 He himself must be married and be married within the priestly caste. His wife must be a virgin at the time of marriage. A priest who baptises a woman who has committed adultery is himself disqualified. Likewise, a single woman who committeth adultery, she {being) alone, beware, (yea) beware of partaking from her dish and thou shalt not baptise her with thy baptism, for any man who baptiseth her invalidateth his crown, and one who performeth a marriage ceremony on her is (also) disqualified. 203

If during the week of ordination either the candidate's wife or the instructor's wife should menstruate, the ceremonies must be renewed.204 D. Sexual Pollutions If the menstruation of the wife of a candidate could nullify the ordination rites, it is no surprise that the woman herself who men1!® Drower,

The Thousand and Twelve Questions, p. 197. Drower, M i l , p. 147. 211 Drower, The Thousand and Twelve Questions, p. 197. 802 Drower, The Coronation of the Great Sislam, p. x. Drower, The Thousand and Twelve Questions, p. 197; cf. p. 132. **Ibid., p. 126; cf. The Coronation of the Great SiSIam, p. xiv. 200

44

GNOSTIC E T H I C S

struates is subject to pollution and danger. Among those found worthy of punishment in purgatory are women who die while menstruating: In this purgatory of Saturn are put to the question those women who departed (this life) whilst menstruating. (They are tortured) until sixty masiqtas have been read for them, after which they leave this purgatory. 205 Also subject to judgment are men who cohabit with their wives at inauspicious times: This is the purgatory (in) which Mars unsheathes his weapon and his sword. In it are put to the questions those men who cohabit with their wives on a Sunday, (also) those men who approach their wives on the first day that their wives perform a ritual ablution after menstruation.206 M e n who cohabit with women not of the Mandaean faith are also liable to judgment. " T h o s e that bear the seed of living waters and go, sowing it in turbid waters (i.e., marry or have sexual relations with women of another faith), in what jordan shall I cleanse t h e m ? " 207 Pollutions could even force the dissolution of a marriage. "(As to) a, woman who is polluting, and one incorrect in ritual observance, her husband must divorce her and not ask about her, for no true pact existeth with her." 208 Of course, the pollutions involved were not just sexual pollutions. Pollutions could involve the eating of the wrong food, the disarrangement of a priest's clothes during baptism, 209 contact with stagnant water, etc. 210 This leads us to see sexual pollutions as only part of an extremely fastidious and even magical regard for cultic purity — all of which contrasts quite starkly with even the most sacramental of the known Gnostic sects. 2011 Drower,

206 Ibid., m

Diwan Abatur, p. 26.

p. 108. Ibid., p. 2.

Drower, The Thousand and Twelve Questions, p. 138. Drower, M i l , p. 32. ** Ibid., p. 50. "Blood, gall, venting wind, and mucus or spittle, are polluting in the eyes of Mandaeans." Drower, The Haran Gawaita and the Baptism of Hibil-Ziwa, p. 19. 208 208

MANDAEAN ETHICS E . Puritanism

and Alleged

45

Asceticism

A s noted above (at the beginning of this chapter), L a d y Drower has spoken of an "original asceticism" of the Mandaeans, Rudolph has mentioned alleged ascetic traces, and G. Widengren says, "So Mandaism evidently had a trend which very forcibly enjoined an ascetic, continent life, and those were the circumstances in which M a n i was bred." 2 1 1 N o t only are our authors hard pressed to find evidence of "traces" of an "original asceticism," but they also seem to confuse elements which are not, strictly speaking, ascetic: i ) Puritanism, 2) tabus and purificatory restrictions, 3) condemnations of lust and of excess, and 4) possible cosmogonical grounds for asceticism. W h e n we seek to compare the ethics of the Mandaeans with the ethics of other Gnostic groups, "asceticism" in this Gnostic context means the denial of basic needs and functions of life — most notably of sex — from a dualistic rejection of the world and of flesh as evil. T o speak more loosely of asceticism is to mislead ourselves into thinking that we are comparing the same phenomenon in the Mandaic and in the other Gnostic texts. L a d y Drower says: The Puritannical (sic) nature of Mandaean religion, to which music, dancing, ornaments and coloured clothing are abhorrent, is evident throughout, and ancient tabus about women are reflected in heavy penalties for sexual impurity, witting or unwitting. 212 In a passage cited earlier she also speaks of their "original asceticism." 2 1 3 W h a t she is describing is, on the one hand, Puritanism — the denial of some of the outward activities and pleasures of life because of their association with ungodly worldiness — and on the other hand, tabus — the restrictions of certain acts which are believed to disturb the sacred mana or magical powers of life. B u t neither of these are asceticism in the Gnostic context. Widengren in attempting to prove the Mandaean background of M a n i argues: Widengren, Mani and Manichaeism, p. 25. Drower, Diwan Abatur, p. iv. ^ Drower, M i l , p. 53. 111

46

GNOSTIC E T H I C S An apparent difficulty arises. Certain ascetic precepts were imposed on Patik (father of Mani): to eat no meat, to drink no wine, and to abstain from women. Mandaism is, however, in principle, not an ascetic faith. True, the Mandaean scriptures at various points utter exhortations against gluttony, drunkenness, and lust. Particular warning is issued against the consumption of wine which results in fornication. . . , 214

In a similar fashion Rudolph also attempts to minimize the difference between the Mandaean and Manichaean arete, maintaining that the difference between the ethical concepts of the sects is "gradunterschied." T o support this contention of a similar ascetic strain in Mandaeanism he cites the Mandaean injunctions against: i ) the drinking of wine, 2) the eating of certain foods, and 3) indulgence in lust. 2 1 5 A s to the first injunction against wine, it is clear from the Ginza that this stems from a Puritanical and moral disapprobation of the carousing and sexual license associated with drunkenness. A s to the second injunction, I would maintain that the prohibition of certain meats in Mandaeanism is a matter of tabus, 2 1 6 whereas the prohibition of all meats in Manichaeism is a matter of true Gnostic asceticism. " T h e wish was to abstain from whatever could strengthen the body's sensual lusts. Because meat derives from the prince of darkness, this precept was particularly binding as regards the partaking of it." 2 1 7 Finally, there is a clear difference between the prohibition of extramarital sex in Mandaeanism and the prohibition of marital sex in Manichaeism. A f t e r citing some passages from the Ginza, Rudolph says, " A l l diese Stellen verwerfen die Wollust, bewerten also das erotische M o t i v negativ: ein sonst im Mandaischen nicht bekannter Z u g . " 218 B u t this is to confuse the lascivious misuse of sex outside of marriage to g r a t i f y lust and the legitimate funcWidengren, Mani and Manichaeism, p. 25. Rudolph, Die Mandaer, I, 192, n. 2. 218 Drower, M i l , p. 47. The Mandaeans may not eat meat that is not ritually slaughtered, nor birds of prey, camel, horse, pig, dog, rat, cat, etc. 217 Widengren, Mani and Manichaeism, p. 96. 218 Rudolph, Die Mandaer, I, 156, n. 5. Similarly Jonas, The Gnostic Religion, p. 72, cites a passage from the Ginza in which the Planets and Ruha plan to entrap Adam with the mysteries of love, and concludes, "Here we encounter a widespread motif of gnostic thought: the mistrust of sexual love and sensual pleasure in general." The passages he cites in this case are GR I I I : i i 3 f . and G R III: 120. But in G R H I : i i 4 it is the good Uthras who institute marriage for Adam and M

MANDAEAN ETHICS

47

tion of sex within marriage to produce children. The Mandaeans condemn the former because they esteem the latter. Rudolph finds a further trace of asceticism in the "Abwertung des Weibes," since Eve was created in the image of Ruha, an evil figure among the Mandaeans. 219 As a misogynic and therefore ascetic element he cites the account of the separation of sexes, viewed by the Gnostics as the origin of evil. Eve says to Adam: Keep your voice quiet, Adam. If no inequality there were, if there were no inequality, one our nature would be, one would be our nature, and as one spirit (mana) would he have made us both. Now as there is no equality, you they have made a man, and me a woman have they made. 220

Here I believe that Rudolph is right in seeing an unexpurgated motif, parallel to the "separation of sexes" motif in the Coptic Gnostic texts. But this in itself is not asceticism. It is the basis on which asceticism was often developed, but which in the case of the Mandaeans did not result in asceticism.221 Of a similar potentially ascetic nature are the passages expressing a contempt for the body, e.g., "Hail to thee, hail to thee, soul, thou casteth shame upon the stinking body: it will be trodden underfoot for it is dust that was (used by) an exile, but the soul is strengthened and her honour increased." 222 And here lies the crux of our problem in comparing the Mandaic and Coptic Gnostic texts. We find parallels in cosmogony and anthropogony, but contrasting results in ethical outlook. E v e ; "Liebe" in its context in G R I I I : i 2 0 means "lust," which the Mandaeans, of course, condemned. Rudolph, Die Mandäer, I, 156, n. 5. 220 The translation, which is my own, is from Petermann's text G R 116,17-21. Cf. Rudolph, T K A , pp. 286-87. 221 Rudolph himself is aware of the gap between potential cause and miscarried effect: "Eine Abwertung des Weiblichen, mythologisch in alten Traditionen von der Entstehung und Rolle Evas greifbar, hat das Gebot der Ehe und Kindererzeugung nicht beseitigen können." OG, p. 592. 338 Drower, A Pair of Najoraean Commentaries, p. 84.

CHAPTER MANDAIC-COPTIC

VI CONTRASTS

A. Symbolic Marriage and Sacral Marriage IN making comparisons we need to be more conscious of the fact that parallels in language may have entirely different meanings because of their contexts. 223 T o cite an example, the famous "Hymn of the Pearl" in the Acts of Thomas has often been used in comparative Gnostic studies, e.g., by Widengren, Jonas, and Rudolph. 224 In many ways its language is strikingly similar and parallel to Mandaean passages. The irony of the comparisons is that in the actual contexts of the passages the basic thrusts of the two traditions are as divergent as possible. The basic message of the Acts of Thomas is that marriage relations involving sex are the worst possible evil, whereas the message of the Mandaean texts is that marriage is the highest possible good. Further confusion is introduced when scholars speak freely of symbolic marriages as examples of hieros gamos or "sacred marriage." In the strict sense of the latter phrase, as exemplified in Sumerian practice, 225 the king had conjugal relations with a hierodule or sacred prostitute to insure the fertility of the earth through sympathetic magic. Many examples of symbolic marriage in the Gnostic texts are purely allegorical and spiritualised; they have nothing to do with actual conjugal relations or procreation. It is therefore misleading for Bornkamm to speak of the "sacred marriage" and the "hieros gamos" in the Acts of Thomas. 226 In ^ W i l s o n , Gnosis and the New Testament, pp. 19-20, strikes this note of caution with respect to the motif of the pearl: " I n short, it may be a serious error to assume that a motif or symbol always and in every case carries with it the same significance." 224 Widengren, Mesopotamian Elements in Manichaeism, pp. iogff.; Jonas, The Gnostic Religion, ch. 5; Rudolph, Die Mandaer, I and II, passim (see the indices). 220 Cf. S. Kramer, "The Biblical 'Song of Songs' and the Sumerian Love Songs," Expedition 5 (fall, 1962), 25-31. 2 2 6 N T A II, 432.

48

MANDAIC-COPTIC CONTRASTS

49

the Acts of Thomas we have marriage symbolism used to condemn marriage relations! A s far as we can tell, although some passages m a y allude to actual marriage, the bridal symbolism in the Gospel of Philip is also spiritualised. T h e L o r d loved M a r y Magdalene and often kissed her; she was his sister, his mother, and his consort. 227 In the Gospel of Philip and Valentinian circles in general marriage is prized as a symbol of the archetypal and eschatological union. In the Mandaean texts, however, marriage is valued as the instrument of procreation and fertility. There has been considerable controversy as to the presence of the hieros gamos among the Mandaeans. On the one hand, Reitzenstein, Widengren, and Drower have affirmed its presence; on the other hand, Bultmann and Rudolph have denied it. 228 T h e difference is largely semantic. L a d y Drower, for example, uses the term hieros gamos in connection with the masiqta, the sacramental meal designed to secure a vehicle for the disembodied soul. 229 T h e two generating principles, Father and Mother, are invoked. According to Drower, " T h e i r union, the hieros gamos, is, according to priestly commentaries, enacted when water is poured into the wine-bowl." 230 T h e water represents the semen of the Father and the wine the blood in the womb of the Mother. In regard to this rite Drower suggests, " I n this it is surely possible to discern trace (sic) of the ancient 'ritual marriage' of god and goddess which was so important a feature of the N e w Y e a r festival in B a b y l o n i a . " 231 B u t to thus apply the term hieros gamos to the mixing of water and wine in the masiqta is certainly an extreme extension of its use. A closer parallel to the Mesopotamian institution would be the prototypical marriage of Sislam R b a , the archetype of bridegroom and priest, and even the ordinary marriage of the Mandaean. §islam-Rba is the archetype of bridegroom and priest. In both capacities he brings gada (good fortune, prosperity, divinity). As Wilson, The Gospel of Philip, pp. 35, 39. Rudolph, Die Mandaer, II, 3 i 6 f . ; R. Bultmann, Das Evangelium nach Johannes (Gottingen, 1953), p. 126, n. 12. 229 Drower, The Thousand and Twelve Questions, p. 5. 280 Drower, The Coronation of the Great Sislam, pp. xii, xvi, 14; cf. also Drower, A Pair of Najoraean Commentaries, p. 36; Drower, The Thousand and Twelve Questions, p. 122. ""•Drower, Water into Wine (London, 1956), p. 68. 227

228

so

GNOSTIC ETHICS bridegroom he represents the Divine Creator in its male manifestation at the moment of its union with its female manifestation. . . . Hence Sislam's union with his bride 'zlat re-enacts that of the Aba u'ma (Father and Mother) and brings prosperity to the community and fecundity to the soil.232

Lady Drower also notes that " T h e marriage of a layman is a form of fertility-magic for the whole community and its crops, and that of a priest is still more fortunate." 233 Hence, although we have here simply gamos and not the Babylonian hieros gamos between substitutes of Ishtar and Tammuz, we have nonetheless the same intention — the maintenance of the fecundity of the earth and animals through sympathetic magic. T o distinguish such a rite from "symbolic marriage," e.g., in Valentinian texts, and from the original Mesopotamian hieros gamos or "sacred marriage," I would suggest the use of the term "sacral marriage" for the Mandaean examples. In any case, what is significant for our study is that although we have references in the Coptic texts which may even be verbally parallel to references in the Mandaic texts, the Coptic examples are "symbolic marriages" in contrast to the "sacral marriages" of the Mandaeans. B. The Origin of Sexual Desire The account of the creation of Adam and Eve in the Coptic texts parallels in many respects the account of the creation of the original pair in the Mandaic texts. These parallels were first pointed out in detail b y Rudolph after the publication of the Berlin Apocryphon of John. 234 T h e theme of the separation of the sexes so prominent in the Coptic treatises also finds its parallel in the Ginza,235 It is therefore striking that, in harmony with our observations of the differing evaluation of marriage in the Mandaic and the Coptic traditions, the origin of sexual desire is attributed to contrasting sources. In The Apocryphon of John the origin of sexual desire is blamed on the evil Protarchon: " U p to the present day continued the sexual intercourse (crvvova-ia) from the ProtarDrower, The Thousand and Twelve Questions, p. 265. Drower, Sarh d Qabin d SiSlam Rba, p. 108. 234 Rudolph, Z R G G 9 (1957), 1-20. 280 Rudolph, T K A , pp. 2 86f. 232 233

MANDAIC-COPTIC CONTRASTS

SI

chon (irpa)Tdpx W. Trobisch, "Pre-Marital Relations and Christian Marriage in Africa," PA 8 (1961), 257-61; W. Trobisch, "Attitudes of Some African Youth toward Sex and Marriage," PA 9 (1962), 9-14. Where an effective conversion does take place, even ethics and customs may be changed. See A. Pacyaya, "Changing Customs of Marriage, Death and Burial among the Sagada," PA 8 (1961), 125-33. 433 See E. Pike and F. Cowan, "Mushroom Ritual versus Christianity," PA 6 (I9S9)> 14S-50; J. Beekman, "Minimizing Religious Syncretism among the Chols," PA 6 (1959), 241-50. 431 There were many non-Jews in Palestine, especially in trans-Jordan, who were acquainted with the Jews and their Scriptures. There is no need to postulate a heretical Jewish origin to account for the so-called Jewish elements in Mandaeanism. "Il en est comme si les Mandéens s'intéressaient surtout, dans la tradition juive dont ils dépendent, à ce qui est antérieur à Abraham, c'est-à-dire au Judaïsme. Je me demande si ceci n'est pas en relation avec les populations de l'est du Jourdain, Moabites et Edomites, qui formaient alors le royaume Nabathéen et qui reconnaissaient comme leurs ancêtres les personnages non juifs de l'Ancient Testament, comme le feront plus tard, dans cette même région, les chrétiens qui vénéreront Job, Lot ou Noé." J. Daniélou in a review of Rudolph, Die Mandâer, I, in RecSR 48 (i960), 614.

SOURCES A N D

87

SUGGESTIONS

nistic to the J e w s ; 3 ) they would speak an A r a m a i c dialect and be familiar with the N a b a t a e a n script;

435

4)

they would be

dwellers in trans-Jordan who worshipped the god of the H a u r a n range;

436

5 ) some of them m a y have been attracted to J o h n the

Baptist, but they did not follow Jesus at all. 4 3 7 T h e retaliatory attack of the J e w s upon the areas east and southeast of the Sea of Galilee upon the eve of the W a r with Rome in 66 A . D . m a y have been the occasion to force these elements north to the region of Antioch. 4 3 8

There, about the turn of the

century, they m a y have accepted the Gnostic teachings of M e n ander, having been attracted b y his teaching that they could achieve immortality through baptism. 4 3 9

Their own regard for

baptism m a y have been similar to the magical concept of Elchasai, who m a y also have come from the trans-Jordan region. Seeking a region where they could be free " f r o m domination b y all other races," and moving eastward, they m a y have stopped at Harran, and then gone on to the region of Adiabene (the socalled " M e d i a n H i l l s " in the texts).

B u t becoming dissatisfied

435 1 am not altogether convinced by Macuch's arguments that the closest parallel to the Mandaic script is the Nabataean. I would say that the closest is the Elymaean. Cf. the chart in Bivar, BSOAS 27 (1964), 270 with the chart of Nabataean and Palmyrene scripts in F. Rosenthal, ed., An Aramaic Handbook (Porta Linguarum Orientalium, 10; Wiesbaden, 1967). 130 The name Hauran and its variant Hauraran appear in the Mandaic texts both as a place name and as a personified heavenly power. Hauran is an area east of the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan River. Lidzbarski, Mandaische Liturgien, p. xix, guessed that this reflected a worship of the god of Mount Hauran. Cf. Drower, The Haran Gawaita, pp. v-vi; Macuch, AM, p. 147. That this is an ancient belief is attested by its appearance in Macuch's first lead roll, Ia.5-6, "Altmandaische Bleirollen I," pp. 116-17: "through the power of the mighty Hauraran." Cf. S. Sauneron, "Deux mentions d'Houroun," Revue d'egyptologie 7 (1950), 121-26. 487 In 1652 Ignatius a Jesu, a Catholic missionary, brought back the first Mandaean manuscript to Europe. He called the Mandaeans "Christiani S. Joannis Baptistae." Apart from his central role in the post-Islamic Johannesbuch, John's role is relatively minor. "John the Baptist, by the way, is not mentioned in the priestly scrolls, and even in modern Mandaean theology he is never claimed to be more than a Najoraean priest contemporary with Jesus." Jesus is always the false messiah. "In the earlier Mandaean books and in priestly commentaries there is little polemic, indeed usually none whatever, against Christianity, and the main tide of venom flows against the Jews." The polemic against Christianity that does appear is against the later Christian monasticism. Drower, BSOAS 2s (1962), 441-42438 Josephus, Antiquities 11,458-59. 439 Irenaeus, Adv. haer. 1,23.5 cited in Grant, Gnosticism, p. 30. Cf. the first Apology of Justin, XXVI,29.

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with the growing Christian influence at Edessa and at Arbela, and the Jewish influence at Nisibis, 440 they m a y finally have found the refuge they desired in the Marshes of southern Mesopotamia, converting in the process an indigenous Aramaean element. T h e Mesopotamian tradition held out no hope for life after death. Immortality through gnosis would be the good news that these newcomers from the west would have to offer. 441 It was this fruitful union of the vitality of Gnosticism and the tenacity of Mesopotamian cult and magic that resulted in the birth of a hardy new religion, perhaps b y the end of the 2nd century A . D . Mandaeanism in its essence is not its Gnostic theology and mythology, although this is what attracts us most because of our interest in Judaism, Christianity, and Gnosticism. A s L a d y Drower has observed, " T h e core or nucleus, of the M a n d a e a n religion, through all vicissitudes and changes, is the ancient worship of the principles of life and fertility." 442 M o r e recently M c C u l l o u g h has expressed the same conviction in his summary of the Mandaean religion: What has kept the Mandaean community a compact body all through the centuries has been its distinctive religious faith, the core of which is best described as a primitive fertility cult. This view is supported by the references in the Ginza to the Great Fruit as some primal entity, and to Life or the Great Life. . . . 443 W h y did all other Gnostic groups perish and the Mandaeans alone survive? It was certainly not because their Gnostic theology was superior to that of the others, since it is patently inferior. W h a t has enabled them to survive is their tenacious cult 440 C f . M a c u c h , T L Z go ( 1 9 6 5 ) , 6 5 2 - 5 3 ; J. Segal, Edessa and H a r r a n (London, 1963) ; J . Gibson, " F r o m Q u m r a n to Edessa," A n n u a l of Leeds University Oriental Society 5 ( 1 9 6 6 ) , 24-39; Neusner, passim, especially appendix 2, "Christianity E a s t of the E u p h r a t e s . " 441 " T o the Babylonians death w a s a terror, and the dead (like Homer's heroes) live on in the gloomy desolate u n d e r w o r l d f r o m whence there is no return; to M a n d a e a n s death is a release, at least f o r the righteous and enlightened man, whose spirit flies u p through the spheres to the realm of pure light and cannot be detained on the w a y b y F a t e or the D e m o n s of the Planets." B u r k i t t , J T S 29 (1928), 226. C f . R u d o l p h , O G , p. 304; A . Heidel, T h e Gilgamesh E p i c and Old T e s t a m e n t Parallels ( C h i c a g o , 1963), ch. 3 ; E . Y a m a u c h i , " T a m m u z and the B i b l e , " J B L 84 ( 1 9 6 5 ) , 286. 442 D r o w e r , M i l , p. xxi. M c C u l l o u g h , p. xvi.

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and unchanging mores. What will cause the extinction of the Mandaeans will probably be not their conversion to the theology of Christianity or Islam, but the advance of western civilization, which will make their way of life increasingly difficult and perhaps ultimately impossible.

POSTSCRIPTS

SINCE the manuscript was submitted to the editor in the fall of 1968, a number of articles bearing on the subjects discussed in this monograph have come to my attention. J. H. Crehan in "Notes and Studies," JTS, n.s. 19 (1968), 62326, suggests that an Armenian bishop living among the Mandaeans in the 16th century may have been the source of some of the stories about John the Baptist in Mandaean writings. But the Mandaeans were certainly in contact with Christians as early as the Byzantine period, and probably earlier. A number of important articles by Kurt Rudolph should be noted. The article, "Gnosis und Manichäismus nach den Koptischen Quellen," Koptologische Studien in der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik, ed. Institut für Byzantinistik (Halle Universität, Wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Fakultät, Sonderheft, 196566) should be added to the bibliography. He has also prepared for publication a "comprehensive description of the Mandaean religion" for the Encylopedie de la Pleiade, the Storia delle Religioni, and Die Religionen der Menschheit. Mandaic texts newly translated by Rudolph will appear in W. Foerster, Die Gnosis. A general survey by Rudolph, "Stand und Aufgaben in der Erforschung des Gnostizismus," appeared in the report of the Tagung für allgemeine Religionsgeschichte, Sonderheft der Wissenschaftlichen Zeitschrift der Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, 1964, pp. 89-102. The most important article by Rudolph for our topic is "Problems of a History of the Development of the Mandaean Religion," History of Religions 8 (1969), 210-35. A resume, "Probleme einer Entwicklungsgeschichte der mandäischen Schriften," had appeared earlier in Le Origini dello Gnosticismo, ed. U. Bianchi (Leiden, 1967). Rudolph criticizes, as I do, Macuch's attempt to use the Haran 90

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Gawaita as a source for reconstructing early Mandaean history: Macuch admits the unclear, fantastic, legendary, and highly contradictory character of the statements about Jerusalem in this document with its many lacunae, speaks also of the 'fictitious report about the Palestinian events of the Mandaean exodus,' and maintains further that the description of the history of Jesus, John the Baptist, and the Jews is 'even more absurd and foolish than that which is exhibited to us by earlier known Mandaean writings.' Do the other statements at the beginning of the document deserve more confidence? In any case, Macuch draws far-reaching conclusions precisely from these lines which are likewise passed on in fragmentary fashion, (p. 223) On the other hand, in contrast to my own position, Rudolph continues to maintain that the Mandaean emphasis on marriage is "easily explained from the Jewish origin of the sect" (p. 231). T o support his view that "Even the oldest form of that which we today call Mandeism was a splintering off from official Judaism" (p. 228), Rudolph cites the works of E. R. Goodenough, G. Scholem, and M. Margalioth as proving "the relative diversification of late Judaism." I would argue, however, that the works of these eminent scholars do not provide the grounds for Rudolph's theory of a Jewish origin of Mandaeanism. Goodenough's theory of a mystic Judaism based on his interpretation of Jewish symbols has been severely criticized (cf. E. Urbach, "The Rabbinical Laws of Idolatry in the Second and Third Centuries in the Light of Archaeological and Historical Facts," Israel Exploration Journal 9 [1959], 149-65, 229-45; M . Smith, "Goodenough's Jewish Symbols in Retrospect," J B L 86 [1967], 53-68). G. Scholem, Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism ( N . Y . : Schocken Books, 1961), notes that the sources of the so-called "Merkabah" mysticism — which Scholem calls in a somewhat misleading manner "Jewish Gnosticism" — name such early figures as Johanan ben Zakkai (end of 1st cent. A.D.) and Akiba (beginning of the 2nd cent. A . D . ) . However, Scholem himself notes that ". . . it is impossible to treat the bulk of it (i.e., such traditions) as authentic. . . . If the roots in many cases go far back, they do not necessarily go back to these orthodox rabbinic

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teachers of the Mishnaic period" (p. 42). T h a t is, it is quite questionable whether the " M e r k a b a h " mysticism of Scholem is early enough to provide the basis for a first-century origin of Mandaeanism from Judaism. Rudolph, who rejects Macuch's picture of a direct emigration of Mandaeans from Palestine to Mesopotamia in the first century A.D., maintains a "successive stage-bystage migration from Transjordan . . . in the first century and even earlier," with a further migration into the Parthian region in the second century. M . Margalioth, Sepher Ha-Razim [in Hebrew] (Jerusalem: Yediot Achronot, 1966) is a fascinating document from the Cairo Genizah. The manuscripts are medieval, but the original composition is dated by Margalioth to the late second or early third century A . D . Its contents are purely magical and not Gnostic. This does not yield a heretical Jewish precursor to Mandaeanism, but only proves that the Jews of the early Talmudic period were as attracted to popular magic as the Jews of the Sassanian era (cf. the writer's article, "Aramaic Magic Bowls," JAOS 85 [1965], 5 1 1 - 2 3 ) . In my monograph I suggest that part of the problem in the study of Mandaean origins lies in the disparity of western vs. eastern sources. In a discussion comparing the Dead Sea Scrolls and Iranian sources, Richard Frye, "Reitzenstein and Qumran Revisited b y an Iranian," Harvard Theological Review 55 (1962), 268, expresses the same reservations: I suspect that if we had sources from Babylonia and Iran they would show a similar, mixed, syncretic Hellenism such as we find in the western Hellenistic world. But we do not have adequate sources, and scholars grasp at every fragment to construct a system, in itself an enterprise fraught with many dangers. A t the same time I also suggest that the novelty of the discoveries at Qumran and N a g Hammadi has drawn attention to the west to the neglect of the eastern Mesopotamian sources that we do possess. Jonas Greenfield in a review of several of Lady Drawer's works, JAOS 83 (1963), 246, makes the same point. He says, " I n particular the Assyro-Babylonian elements that can be found in both vocabulary and ritual usage have been neglected in (Drower's) The Secret Adam in favor of a Palestinian origin

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for Mandaean gnosis. . . . We must know much more about the survivals of Mesopotamian beliefs and practices in the Helenistic (sic) and later periods before we can have a balanced view of the problem." One recent contribution investigating Iranian and Mesopotamian elements is the article by Geo Widengren, "Heavenly Enthronement and Baptism: Studies in Mandaean Baptism," in Religions in Antiquity, ed. Jacob Neusner (Studies in the History of Religions, 14; Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1968), pp. 551-82. Widengren points out some significant parallels between the Mandaean baptism and the Mesopotamian bit rimki ritual. The bit rimki was a temporary building corresponding to the Mandaean cult hut. He also compares the ceremonies for the burial of the image of Tammuz, which included: 1) bathing in water, 2) anointing with oil, and 3) clothing in a ritual garment — precisely three of the central actions in Mandaean baptism. However, after having drawn all of these striking parallels to Mesopotamian sources, Widengren then makes the strange suggestion that perhaps all these Mesopotamian elements were adopted by gnostic sects, such as the Mandaeans, in the west. Elsewhere he had suggested that Iranian elements may have been transmitted to the Mandaeans by means of Mithraists in the area of the Hauran in Syria. ("Die Mandäer," Handbuch der Orientalistik VIII, part 2, 96) All of this is, however, quite speculative. In the case of the Mandaeans, surely the simplest and the best explanation is that the Mesopotamian and Iranian elements were absorbed in the east. For additional references to Greek inscriptions in Iran and in Iraq in the Parthian period, cf.: F. Cumont, "Inscriptions grecques de Suse," Mémoires de la Mission Archéologique de Perse 20 (1928), 77-98; F. Wetzel et al., Das Babylon der Spätzeit (Berlin: Gebr. Mann, 1957), pp. 49-50; F. Altheim and R. Stiehl, "Die Seleukideninschrift aus Failakä," Klio 46 (1965), 273-81; M.-L. Chaumont, "Le culte de la déesse Anähitä . . . ," JA 253 (1965), 170-79; Louis Robert, "Encore une inscription grecque de l'Iran," Comptes-rendus de l'Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres (October, 1967), 281-96. Somerset, N.J.

May, 1969

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. " T h e Present Status of Mandaean Studies," J N E S 25 (1966), 8896. . "Tammuz and the Bible," J B L 84 (1965), 283-90. ZANDEE, J. The Terminology of Plotinus and of Some Gnostic Writings. (Institut historique et archéologique néerlandais de Stamboul, 11.) Istanbul, 1961. ZEITLIN, S. The Rise and Fall of the Judean State II. Philadelphia, 1967. POSTSCRIPT: A very important article has recently appeared, Joseph Naveh, " T h e Origin of the Mandaic Script," Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, no. 198 (April, 1970), 32-37. Naveh discounts Macuch's comparisons of the Mandaic script with the Nabataean script, arguing that certain similarities are due to parallel development. He concludes that the Mandaic script developed from the 2nd-century A . D . Elymaic script. Since the Elymaic script was not ligatured and the Mandaic script was, Naveh would posit a long span of time for this development. He does not hazard a guess as to when the Mandaeans developed their script, but concludes as follows : "Though there is no conclusive evidence, it seems likely that the Mandaeans adopted a ligatured script and stabilized it. A t any rate palaeographic criteria support neither the theory of a western origin of the Mandaeans nor the existence of the sect in Khuzistan in the second century A . D . " (p. 37). M a y 1970 Oxford, Ohio

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