The Thousand and Twelve Questions explained

The Thousand and Twelve Questions Alf Trisar Šuialia
Religion:	Mandaeism
Language:	Mandaic language

The Thousand and Twelve Questions (ࡀࡋࡐ ࡕࡓࡉࡎࡀࡓ ࡔࡅࡉࡀࡋࡉࡀ) is a Mandaean religious text. The 1012 Questions is one of the most detailed texts on Mandaean priestly rituals.

The text contains detailed commentaries on Mandaean religious rituals, such as death masses (masiqta) to help guide souls into the World of Light, and the Mandaean wedding ceremony. It is written as a scroll.^[1] A detailed overview of the contents can be found in Drower (1941).^[2]

Manuscripts and translations

An English translation of the text was published by E. S. Drower in 1960, which was based on manuscript 36 of the Drower Collection (abbreviated DC 36). DC 6 is an incomplete manuscript of The Thousand and Twelve Questions in the Drower Collection missing books 1 and 2, but DC 36 is the complete version with all 7 books included.^[3]

Manuscripts from the Rbai Rafid Collection (RRC) that correspond to parts of Alf Trisar Šuialia (DC 36) are:^[4]

• RRC 2M: Diuan Mhita u-Asuta ("Blow and Healing"). Copied by Zihrun br Yahia Sam^[5] in 1086 A.H. (1675–1676 A.D.). Longest RRC manuscript. Contains Neo-Mandaic features.^[6]
• RRC 3R: Tafsir u-Afrašta Kasita. Copied in 1173 A.H. (1759–0 A.D.). Transliterated text published online in the Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon.^[7]
• RRC 6D: Sigia ḏ-Dihbaiia. Copied in Šuštar in 1085 A.H. (1674–5 A.D.).

Contents

Contents of the 7 parts of the 1012 Questions:^[3]

• Book 1 (contains 207 sections)
  • Part 1: The Questions which Shishlam-Rba and Hibil-Ziwa asked of their father Nbaṭ (a diwan; title as mentioned in section 201, p. 158)
  • Part 2: The explanation of the body (Tafsir Pagra)
• Book 2 (contains 442 sections)
  • Part 3.1: Accidental impurity and its cure
  • Part 3.2: "The Three"
  • Part 4: The agreed form of the masiqta of Shitil; of the Ṭabahata and of the Dukrania
  • Part 5.1: Blow and healing
  • Part 5.2: The celebration of the marriage of Shishlam-Rba, son of Lihdaia-Rba-Zadiqa
  • Part 6.1: Burial
  • Part 6.2: Of postulants and priesthood
  • Part 7: Concerning the postulant's first baptism – admonitions

See also

• Ginza Rabba
• Mandaean Book of John

External links

• Full text at Archive.org
• Photographed scroll (DC 6) from Digital Bodleian
• 1012 Questions (Mandaic text from the Mandaean Network)
• 1012 Questions (Mandaic text from the Mandaean Network)
• Transliterated text (The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon)

Notes and References

1. Book: Buckley, Jorunn Jacobsen. The Mandaeans: ancient texts and modern people. Oxford University Press. New York. 2002. 0-19-515385-5. 65198443.
2. Drower. E. S.. The Alf Trisar Šuialia. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. 2. 1941. 0035-869X. 25221732. 101–126. 10.1017/S0035869X00093424 . 162482018 .
3. Book: Drower, Ethel S.. The Thousand and Twelve Questions: A Mandaean Text (Alf Trisar Šuialia). Berlin. Akademie Verlag. 1960. 978-3-11-270701-2. 10.1515/9783112707012.
4. Morgenstern, Matthew (2013). New Manuscript Sources for the Study of Mandaic. In: V. Golinets et. al (eds.), Neue Beiträge zur Semitistik. Sechstes Treffen der Arbeitsgemeinschaft Semitistik in der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft vom 09.–11. Februar 2013 in Heidelberg. AOAT, Ugarit Verlag.
5. Morgenstern . Matthew . Neo-Mandaic in Early Mandaean Colophons. Part 2: Texts, Translations and Conclusion . Aramaic Studies . 17 . 1 . 2019 . 1477-8351 . 10.1163/17455227-01602004 . 100–121.
6. Morgenstern . Matthew . Neo-Mandaic in Early Mandaean Colophons. Part 1: Linguistic Features . Aramaic Studies . 16 . 2 . 2018 . 1477-8351 . 10.1163/17455227-01602002 . 182–205.
7. Web site: Morgenstern . Matthew . The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon . Alf Trisar Šuialia . 2024-07-27.