The Mandaean Book of John: Critical Edition, Translation and Commentary

FAIN: RQ-50485-10

Butler University (Indianapolis, IN 46208-3443)
James Frank McGrath (Project Director: November 2009 to September 2012)

Work on one of the central ancient texts of the only surviving Gnostic sect, the Mandaeans, who number some 60,000 people now mostly in diaspora from their Mesopotamian homeland.

The Book of John is one of two central texts of the Mandaean religion, and yet it has never been translated into English in its entirety. The Mandaeans are the only Gnostic group from the ancient world to have survived until the present day, and their texts are the only Gnostic texts composed solely in a Semitic language (Mandaic is a dialect of Aramaic). The Book of John mentions figures from Judaism such as Adam, Seth and Moses, as well as figures central to early Christian writings, such as Jesus and John the Baptist. The proposed project will produce a critical edition of the Mandaic text typeset in Mandaic font, together with an English translation and commentary. Our work will provide an invaluable resource to scholars studying the Mandaeans, other Gnostic groups and their literature, ancient Judaism, Christianity and Islam, as well as the Mandaeans themselves, as they increasingly struggle to preserve their heritage in an English-speaking Diaspora.

Media Coverage

Butler Religion Professor Awarded Federal Funding (Media Coverage)
Publication: Inside Indiana Business
Date: 6/18/2010
Abstract: A Butler University associate professor of religion has landed a $130,000 National Endowment for the Humanities grant to translate the Mandaean Book of John. James McGrath and his collaborators plan to spend the next two years producing a typed version of the text in the original language and translating the more than 200 pages of handwritten text.
URL: http://www.insideindianabusiness.com/newsitem.asp?ID=42242

Associated Products

Mandaic Lexicon (Web Resource)
Title: Mandaic Lexicon
Author: Charles Haberl
Abstract: An online lexicon of classical Mandaic words.
Year: 2011
Primary URL: http://www.mandaic.org/Mandaic/lexicon/main.htm

The Mandaean Book of John (Book)
Title: The Mandaean Book of John
Author: John the Baptist
Editor: Charles Haberl
Editor: James McGrath
Abstract: The Mandaean Book of John is a Mandaean holy book in Mandaic Aramaic which is believed by the Mandean sect to have been written by their chief prophet John the Baptist. Mandaeanism , also known as Sabaeanism, is a monotheistic and gnostic religion with a strongly dualistic cosmology. Its adherents, the Mandaeans, revere Adam, Abel, Seth, Enos, Noah, Shem, Aram, and especially John the Baptist. The Mandaeans have been counted among the Semites and speak a dialect of Eastern Aramaic known as Mandaic. The book contains accounts of John's life and miracles, as well as a number of polemical conversations with Jesus and tractates mimicking Jesus's deeds in Jerusalem. Chapter seven of the Mandaean Book of John contains traditions attributed to John the Baptist.
Year: 2020
Primary URL: https://www.academia.edu/41868126/The_Mandaean_Book_of_John_Open_Access_Version_
Primary URL Description: Site where you can begin the download, Google or Academia account needed.
Access Model: Open-Access eBook
Publisher: Academia.edu
Type: Translation
Type: Scholarly Edition
Translator: James McGrath
Translator: Charles Haberl
Copy sent to NEH?: No

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