The book contains accounts of John's life and miracles, as well as a number of polemical conversations withJesus and tractates whereAnush Uthra (Enosh) performs miracles in the style of Jesus's deeds in Jerusalem.[3] It was compiled around the 7th century A.D. shortly after theMuslim conquest of Persia from various texts, many of which were composed several centuries earlier. It was translated into English in its entirety for the first time by Gelbert & Lofts (2017) and Häberl & McGrath (2020).[4]
AGerman translation,Das Johannesbuch der Mandäer, was published byMark Lidzbarski in 1915. Another German translation of chapters 18–33 (the "Yahya–Yuhana" chapters) was published by Gabriele Mayer in 2021.[5]
Charles G. Häberl andJames F. McGrath published a full English translation of the Mandaean Book of John in 2020, which was printed alongside Mandaic text typesetted by Ardwan Al-Sabti.[1] Another English translation was published byCarlos Gelbert and Mark J. Lofts in 2017.[6]
Huntington MS 71 (abbreviatedHunt. 71, held in theBodleian Library; Lidzbarski's D manuscript)
DC 30 (Manuscript 30 ofE. S. Drower's collection, held in theBodleian Library). Purchased byE. S. Drower from Shaikh Nejm (also spelled "Negm") and Shaikh Yahya in November 1937. Dates to 1166 A.H. (c. 1753 A.D.). Copied inShushtar by Ram Yuhana, son of Ram, Dihdaria.
Ms.San Diego, an original manuscript that belonged toLamea Abbas Amara, who brought it to San Diego, United States fromNasiriyah, Iraq. Copied by Mhatam Zihrun bar Adam on May 13, 1922.
The chapters of the text are arranged according to their content, as opposed to their date, and the book as a whole may reflect five stages of redaction, which means that different chapters may date to different periods of time. The present form of the Mandaean Book of John dates no earlier than the Islamic conquests.[4] Linguistically, the Islamic-era material can be found to date to the later stages of the composition and redaction of the Book of John.[10]
The name "John" appears in the text as Yohannā or Yahyā. The former is pre-Islamic, whereas Yahyā is the form of the name known in theQuran.[11] However, besides the name Yahyā, as well as a few other Arabic names, no Arabic-language influence on the Book of John is detectable.[12]: 445–448 It is possible that the book capitalizes, at least in part, on John and his prophethood in order to secure their status as a "People of the Book" in the Islamic era.[12]: 13 More recently, the elevated importance of John the Baptist and polemics against Jesus found across the Mandaean Book of John have been contextualized into Islamic-era inter-religious interactions.[13]
The eleventh chapter (which also contains the latest stage of the language in the book) refers to the "end of the Age of Mars,” which corresponds to June 4, 678 in theMandaean calendar and indicates that this chapter in particular should date to 678 or later. Chapters 18 and 27 refer toqombā d-kāhni, "Dome of the Priests," which may be a reference to a Muslim dome (qubba), in particular theDome of the Rock constructed in 691, but also might refer to a Zoroastrian dome (gumbad).[12]: 364, 445–448
Other clues exist to help date other chapters. For example, one argument holds that chapter 30 is likely post-4th century due the presence of loanwords likefollis,crux, and other oblique references to Latin Christianity that better fit when it became the sole religion of the Roman Empire, as well as its criticism to institutionalized celibacy. However, it is also likely pre-Islamic given the absence of Arabic influence or references to Islamic material.[12]: 378 A more recent analysis has identified an Arabic loanword in chapter 30,rumaia ("Roman") from Arabicrūmī, pushing back the date of this chapter to the Islamic era.[13] Chapter 43 contains material about theSecond Temple and its priests which only fit a first-century environment and so must stem from this era, although it is unclear how this material entered the Book of John.[12]: 399
There are 76 chapters (or tractates) in the Book of John. Chapter titles from Gelbert & Lofts (2017) (based on the titles in Lidzbarski 1915) are given by default, with alternative titles from Häberl and McGrath (2020) given in square brackets. The contents are:[1][6]
^abcdefgHaberl, Charles; McGrath, James (2020).The Mandaean Book of John: critical edition, translation, and commentary. Berlin: De Gruyter.ISBN978-3-11-048651-3.OCLC1129155601.
^abcdeHaberl, Charles; McGrath, James (2020).The Mandaean Book of John: critical edition, translation, and commentary. Berlin: De Gruyter.ISBN978-3-11-048651-3.OCLC1129155601.
