ARAM, 16 (2004) 129-140 S.N.C. LIEU 129
MANICHAEAN TERMS IN SYRIAC: SOME OBSERVATIONS ON THEIR TRANSMISSION AND TRANSFORMATION
SAMUEL N. C. LIEU (Macquarie University – Sydney)
INTRODUCTION Mani, according to Epiphanius, the heresiologist from Salamis in Cyprus was a child-slave of a merchant who traded in strange ideas as well as exotica by the name of Scythianus. Upon the death of his master, he was manumitted by his widow and he inherited from her a number of books which once be- longed to his master with the following titles: (1) The Book of the Mysteries, (2) The Book of Summaries (kephalaia), (3) The Gospel, (4) The Treasures.1 Later on, interestingly, Epiphanius mentions a “lesser Treasures” which might have been a summary of the larger work.2 Moreover, Epiphanius also tells us that one of the books is composed of
1 Epiphanius, Panarion LXVI,2,9, p. 18,12-13, ed. Holl, GCS. 2 Ibid. LXVI,13,6, p. 35,10. 3 Ibid. LXVI,13,4-5, p. 35,2-6. 130 MANICHAEAN TERMS IN SYRIAC
days', ‘The prophets', [and] ‘The resurrection'. This is what is contained in The Book of Secrets. [Then there are] (2) The Book of Giants, containing…; (3) The Duties of the Hearers, [with] the chapter ‘The duties of the Elect'; (4) The Book of al-Saburaqan, containing the chapters ‘The dissolution of the Hearers', ‘The dissolution of the Elect', and ‘The dissolution of life'; (5) The Book of Living (= Thesaurus), containing…; and (6) The Book of Pragmatea, containing…(7)… The Epistles of Mani, and also of his immediate successors… {this is followed by a list of titles of the epistles themselves}4 Subsequent discoveries of Manichaean texts have shown that the Sabuh- ragan which was written in Middle Persian, was not part of the canon but an extra-canonical work though it enjoyed the highest status in the Manichaean communities in the East. The entire canon therefore was probably first written in Syriac. Given the acknowledged importance of Syriac as Mani’s native lan- guage and one in which the canon is composed, it is extraordinary that so little of genuine Manichaean texts in Syriac has survived. In terms of directly trans- mitted Manichaean texts in Syriac and in the Manichaean Palmyrene script, we possess only a frew fragments from Oxyrhynchus5 and a small number of bi- lingual (Syriac-Coptic) word-lists from Kellis6 plus the famous cachet of Mani and two of his disciples now in the Cabinet des Médailles of the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris.7 It is fortunate for Manichaean scholarship that before the end of the ninteenth century, another important textual discovery was made by the Se- mitic scholar Pognon of the anti-heretical catalogue of Theodore bar Konai (hereafter referred to in references as TbK.), Nestorian Bishop of Kashkar (near al-WaÒit) in Iraq, which also cites extensively from a Manichaean source in Syriac – a language akin to Mani’s own dialect of Aramaic – on cosmo- gony.8 The material from Theodore’s mimra on Manichaean cosmogony was cited in extenso with extensive annotation by Cumont and Kugener. The latter also made available, for the first time, citations from another Manichaean text on cosmogony preserved in the Syriac translation of one of the homilies of Severus, the Monophysite patriarch of Antioch (c. A.D. 465-538).9 Both these sources are much cited and studied by modern scholars. However, because
4 Kitab al-Fihrist, edd. G. Flügel and I. Roediger (Leipzig, 1871) 336; trans. M. Laffan (unpubl.). See also trans. B. Dodge, The Fihrist of an-Nadim (New York, 1970) ii, 797-99. 5 Cf. D. S. Margoliouth, ‘Notes on Syriac papyrus fragments from Oxyrhynchus’, Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 2 (1915) 214-16 and W. E. Crum, ‘A “Manichaean” Fragment from Egypt’, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society (1919) 207-8. See improved edition in F. C. Burkitt, The Religion of the Manichees (Cambridge, 1925) 111-19. 6 T. Kell. Syriac/Coptic 1 and 2. See revised edition and translation by Majella Franzmann ap. Coptic Documentary Texts from Kellis, Vol. 1, ed. I. M. F. Gardner, Anthony Alcock and Wolf-Peter Funk, Dakhleh Oasis Project: Monograph 9 (Oxford, 1999) 344-64. 7 P. de Menasce and A. Guillou, ‘Un cachet manichéen de la Bibliothèque Nationale’ Revue de l’Histoire des Religions 131 (1946) 81-84. 8 H. Pognon, Inscriptions mandaïtes des coupes de Khouabir, II (Paris, 1899) tr. 184-93. 9 F. Cumont and M. Kugener, Recherches sur le Manichéisme, II (Bruxelles, 1912) 89-150. S.N.C. LIEU 131
Severus was translated from Greek, the Syriac could not be used for the study of Manichaean terms in Syiac. On the other hand an invaluable source of cita- tions from genuine Manichaean works is the Prose Refutations of Ephrem against Mani, Marcion and BardaiÒan and the Manichaean citation from this important work has now been collected together by Professor John Reeves.10 As the majority of Manichaean technici termini could be traced back to their Syriac roots, any serious terminological study of Manichaeism must begin with the Syriac version(s) of the terms even though our sources are, as we have seen, very insubstantial in comparison to those in Middle Iranian and in Coptic or even Chinese. Nevertheless the citations from both Theodor bar Konai and from Ephrem are mainly on cosmogony and the former in particular are rich in technici termini. It will be impossible in the course of a lecture to survey the names of the entire Manichaean pantheon in Syriac but some do stand out as terms of particular interest, especially in the manner in which they are understood and transmitted in Manichaean texts of other languages. I will follow as far as possible the order in which the names of the deities and technici termini appear in the excerpts from Theodor bar Konai. For the pur- pose of this paper, I will limit myself only to a selection of the most significant names and terms from the first emanation and from the descriptions of the Kingdom of Light and of the Kingdom of Darkness.
THE KINGDOM OF LIGHT
THE FATHER OF GREATNESS Syriac: “Father of Greatness” TbK., p. 313.15. The term is translated directly into Coptic piwt nte tMNtnaù “The Father of Great- ness”, Keph., p. 34,21, Ps.-Bk, p. 191,13.11 The form is found also in Greek polemical texts: ö pat®r toÕ megéqouv (Capita VII c. Manich. CCSG 1 (1977) 3.60, see also later and better known version known as the Long Abju- ration Formula PG 1.1461C.14 = Adam, Texte, Doc. 64.12, p. 97). The term is found translated into Middle Iranian: Pe. pyd ¨y wzrgyÌ “Father of Great- ness”,12 Pth. pydr wzrgyf† “Father of Greatness” (M33 R II (h 80-81), MM iii, p. 877, Rd. §bd.1, p. 111).13 The form of the term in the polemical Acta
10 J. Reeves, ‘Manichaean Citations from the Prose Refutations of Ephrem’, in P. Mirecki and J. BeDuhn (edd.), Emerging from Darkness, Studies in the Recovery of Manichaean Sources (Leiden, 1997) 217-88. 11 Cf. P. van Lindt, The Names of Manichaean Mythological Figures: A Comparative Study on Terminology in the Coptic Sources, Studies in Oriental Religions, 26 (Wiesbaden, 1992) 2/1, pp. 1-16 [hereafter Figures]. 12 Cf. W. Sundermann, ‘Namen von Göttern und Menschen in iranischen Versionen des manichäischen Mythos’, Altorientalische Forschungen VI (Berlin, 1979) 2/1, p. 99 [hereafter ‘Namen’]. 13 Cf. ‘Namen’ 2/1, p. 99. 132 MANICHAEAN TERMS IN SYRIAC
Archelai (Greek: ö âgaqòv patßr “The Good Father” [Hegem.], Arch. Gr. 7,3, p. 10.4 = Epiph., Panarion, LXVI,25,5, p. 54.9; Latin: bonus pater “The Good Father”, Arch. Lat., 7,3, p. 10,19, also benignus pater “The Kindly Fa- ther”, 8,2, p. p. 11,24) curiously comes close to the Sogdian term prytˆtcn ˆptr- “Loving Father” found in the newly published letters from Bezeklik.14 In Mid- dle Iranian texts he also took the Zoroastrian name of (God) Zurvan (Pe. zrw’n; Pth. zrw’bgyy, cf. Turk. äzrua t(ä)ngri) and is also known as Paradise- Lord (Pe. whystw shry’r, Pth. whyst shrd’r), which must go back to Syriac as it is found in Arabic —uM « ÊUM pK “King of the Paradise of Light” (Fihr., p. 328,10) in the section on cosmogony in the Fihrist of al-Nadim.15 On the other hand in a Manichaean prayer cited by al-Nadim, we find the term v « rOEF « tLEF « “The Mighty Father of Greatness”,16 which is much closer to the Syriac than “King of the Paradise of Light”. Clearly the two versions of the name both go back to Syriac and the two are both preserved in the transmis- sion from Semitic into Middle Iranian.17
THE FIVE ABODES OR DWELLINGS Few terms in Manichaean cosmogony seem to have caused as much prob- lem as the “Five Dwellings” or “Five Abodes” (Syr. “Five Dwellings” TbK. 313.16,23,24) to Manichaean translators, east and west, as the concept of a five-fold celestial abode is clearly difficult to get over cultural barriers. None of our existing versions in other languages carry any concept of dwelling. Instead they seem to prefer to see them as “parts” of the Father. Arabic: ¡UC « t L “Five Members” (Fihr. p.329,4); Coptic: pvè mme- los Nouaïne “(his) Five Light Limbs” (Keph. p. 64,21); Parthian: [pnj hn]dˆm gyˆnyn “Five Soul-Limbs” (M27 R 4 = SLN §26, p. 66) and Sogdian: pnc ptywdn “Five Parts” or “Divisions” (M133 R 1, SLN, p. 128). The Chi- nese term guangming xiang “Brilliant image” (Hymnscroll 16a) seems to have followed a tradition of seeing them as “Light-Gods” which is found in Coptic: pèou Nnoute etpriwu “The Five Shining Gods” (Keph. p. 95,16).18 Clearly the Manichaeans from an early stage translated the term to mean “glory” from the derived meaning of the word as “tab-
14 81TB65:1 012, ed. Y. Yoshida, Studies in the New Manichaean Texts recovered from Turfan (in Chinese) (Beijing, 2000), p. 8. 15 Fihr. p. 328,10, ed. Flügel. 16 Ibid. p. 333,24. 17 For a thorough study of the names of the Manichaean supreme deity in all published Manichaean texts see A. van Tongerloo, ‘The Father of Greatness’ in H. Preißler & H. Seiwert (edd.), Gnosisforschung und Religionsgeschichte; Festschrift für Kurt Rudolph zum 65. Geburts- tag (Marburg, 1994) 329-42. 18 Cf. Figures (2/4.1.1) p. 62. On the transmission of the term into Chinese word xiang see especially the important study of P. Bryder, The Chinese Transformation of Manichaeism – A Study of Chinese Manichaean Terminology (Lund, 1985) 128-34. S.N.C. LIEU 133 ernacle” or “temple” viz. a place of habitation of divine glory, and not “dwelling” as we do. The same translators however, seem to have little difficulty in preserving the Syriac version of the names of the five “dwellings” in their translations as the pentad is found uniformly in almost all Manichaean sources except the or- der is not always the same: (1) Intellect: “Intellect” (TbK. 313,17). Cf. Arab. rK(« “Insight” (Fihr. p. 329,4); Copt. nous “Nous, mind”, (Keph. p. 95,20); Gr. noÕv “Nous, mind”, ([Hegem.], Arch. Gr. 10,1, p. 15,11 = Epiph., Panarion, LXVI, 28,1, p. 63,3; Arch. Lat. 10,1, p. 15,25, mens ); Pth. bˆm “Brilliance” M34 R 16 (= SLN Pth. §26); Sogd. frn “Brilliance” (from Pth. bˆm) (M133 R I 1, SLN, p. 128); Chin. xiang “Intellect”, “Mind”, “Image”, “Brilliance” (Tr. 209); Turk. qut “Soul”, “Mind”, “Nous”, (U40 (= TM 423) R 1, TM iii, p. 18). (2) Knowledge: “Knowledge” (TbK. 313,17). Cf. Arab. rKF « “Knowledge”, Fihr., p. 329.4; Copt. meue “Thought, Reason” (Keph. p. 95,21); Gr. ∂nnoia “Thinking” ([Hegem.], Arch. Gr. 10,1, p. 15,11 = Epiph., Panarion, LXVI,28,1, p. 63,4; Arch. Lat., 10,1, p. 15,25, sensus); Pth. mnwhmyd “Mind, Intelligence” (M34 R 16, SLN Pth. §26); Sogd. jnˆ “Knowledge” (M133 R 2, SLN, p. 128); Chin. xin “Feeling”, “Mind”, “Heart” (Tr. 209); Turk. ög “Understanding”, “Mind”, “Intellect” (U40 (= TM 423) R 1, TM iii, p. 18). (3) Reason: “Reason” (TbK. 313,17). Cf. Arab. UIF « “Intellect” (Fihr., p. 329,5); Copt. sbw “Teaching”, “Thought”, “Reason” (Keph. p. 95,21); Gr. frónjsiv “Insight”, “Purpose”, ([Hegem.], Arch. Gr. 10,1, p. 15,11 = Epiph., Panarion, LXVI,28,1, p. 63,4; Arch. Lat., p. 15,25, pruden- tia); Pth. ˆws “Conciousness, Awareness” (M34 R 16 = SLN Pth. §26); Sogd. mˆn “Mind”, “Spirit”, “Heart”, “Conscience” (M133 R 2, SLN, p. 128); Chin. nian “Thought”, “Memory”, Tr. 209; Turk. köngül “Understand- ing”, “Mind”, “Intellect” (U40 (= TM 423) R 1, TM iii, p. 18). (4) Thought: “Thought” (TbK. 313,17). Cf. Arab. VOG « “Tran- scendence”, (Fihr., p. 329,5); Copt. saãne “Counsel” (Keph. p. 95,22); Gr. ênqúmjsiv “Intellect” ([Hegem.], Arch. Gr. 10,1, p. 15,11 = Epiph., Pana- rion, LXVI,28,1, p. 63,4; Arch. Lat., p. 15,15, intellectus); Pth. ˆndysysn “Thought”, “Intelligence” (M34 R 17, SLN Pth. §26); Sogd. smˆr “Thought”, (M133 R 2, SLN, p. 128); Chin. si “Intellect”, “Meditating Mind” (Tr. 209); Turk. saqïnc “Thought” (U40 (= TM 423) R 1, TM iii, p. 18). (5) Deliberation: “Deliberation” (TbK. 313,17). Cf. Arab. tMDH « “Intelligence” (Fihr., p. 329,5); Copt. makmek “Intention” (Keph. p. 95,23); Gr. logismóv “Reflection” ([Hegem.], Arch. Gr. 10,1, p. 15,11 = Epiph., Panarion, LXVI,28,1, p. 63.4; Arch. Lat., p. 15,25, cogitatio); Pth. prmˆng “Thought”, M34 R 17 (= SLN Pth. §26, p. 66); Sogd. p†bydyy “Knowledge”, 134 MANICHAEAN TERMS IN SYRIAC
“Perception”, “Understanding” (M133 R 2, SLN, p. 128); Chin. yi “Rea- soning”, “Thought”, “Deliberation”, “Intention” (Tr. 210); Turk. tuimaq “Insight” (U40 (= TM 423) R 1, TM iii, p. 18). Given the fact that the five “dwellings” are all mental functions, the con- sistency in translation and the effort made by the translator to make sure that five different words are used show the pentad is regarded throughout as crucial to the divinity of the Father of Greatness.
THE KINGDOM OF DARKNESS
THE PRINCE OF DARKNESS The well-known Syriac term “Prince (or King) of Darkness” (TbK., p. 316,26) is faithfully reproduced in Coptic: prro mpkeke “The King of Darkness”, (Keph. p. 30,33) but in other sources (including Arabic which is surprising), the name of the principal evil deity bears little resem- blance to the Syriac. In Arabic it is .bI « fOK « “The Eternal Iblis”, Fihr., p. 329,14 and in Middle Iranian the compelling need to assimilate which we shall again encounter for the Primal Man is all too apparent: Middle Persian: ˆhrmyn “Ahrimen”, Sb. 208;19 Parthian: ˆhrmyn “Ahrimen” (SLN Pth. §16, p. 64). In Sogdian and Turkish however we encounter a different deity: smnw “Shimnu”. which might have been derived from an unattested Avestan asa mainiius meaning “the worse spirit”.20 One would expect the Judaeo-Christian term Satan to be liberally used in Manichaean texts recovered from the Roman Empire and from Mesopota- mia. Though found in Ephrem “Satan” (Hyp. 87,35) and in Coptic (satanas “Satanas”, Keph. p. 12,30) and Arabic (ÊUDOA « “Satan”, Fihr. p. 329,11), its use as an alternative title for the “Prince of Darkness” is rarely unequivocal. Interestingly smnw is used to denote Satan in a yet unpublished anti-Manichaean text in Christian Sogdian and it will be interesting to know whether the Sogdian-speaking Manichaeans had borrowed the term from their Christian rivals or vice versa.21
MATTER The use of the Syriac word derived from Gr. Àlj “matter” to de- note the evil principle is not found in the fragments from Theodore but is am-
19 Cf. ‘Namen’, 3/20, p. 101. 20 Cf. ‘Namen’, 3/20, p. 101 and for the Turkish see Xu. I C (18). On the origin of the term see N. Sims-Williams, Sogdian and other Iranian Inscriptions of the Upper Indus II (Corpus Inscriptionum Iranicarum II/3, London, 1992) 40. 21 C3a/1 (= T II B 8 + B 8) R 2. I am grateful to Professor Nicholas Sims-Williams for intro- ducing me to this important text in Sogdian text reading classes held in London and Cambridge. R19-24 of the text is published in N. Sims-Williams, ‘Christian Sogdian texts from the Nachlass of Olaf Hansen II: Fragments of polemic and prognostics’, BSOAS 58 (1995) 290-91. S.N.C. LIEU 135 ply attested in the Prose Refutations of Ephrem (Hyp. 71,19, 140,41,45, 141,14,33,35,41,46, 142.21 etc.). As the term is found in retransliterated form in Coptic: ùuly (Keph., p. 22,32; Ps.-Bk., p. 55,30),22 and in the pagan anti- Manichaean writing of Alexander of Lycopolis in Greek: Àlj (c. Manich. op. disp. II, p. 5,2, ed. Brinkmann) there is a very strong possibility that the word belongs to Mani’s original vocabulary. As a generic term for the evil principle, it might have inspired the figure of the Greed-Demon(ess) which figures so strongly in Eastern Manichaean sources: Middle Persian: Az “Greed,” (Sb. 208, p. 512), and Parthian: Az (SLN Pth. §21, p. 64);23 and in turn translated into Chinese as tanmo “Demon of Greed (lit. a covetous demon)” (Tr. 21) and into Turkish as az yäk “Az-Demon” (U44 V 5, TM iii, p. 19).
THE FIRST EMANATION
THE MOTHER OF GREATNESS As one of the most frequently encountered female deities in Manichaean texts, the Syriac version of her name “the Living Mother” or “the Mother of Life” (TbK. 313,27/28), is generally accurately preserved in other Manichaean languages, especially in Manichaean texts from the West. In Coptic we have two well attested versions because of the ambiguity of the Syriac: tmeu MpwnÙ “the Mother of Life” (Keph., p. 272,6, Ps.-Bk. 36.21) etc. and tmeu Nte netanÙ “the Mother of the Living” (Keph. p. 39,25 and 40,1).24 Both the the Greek: ™ mßtjr t±v hw±v ([Hegem.], Arch. Gr. 7,3, p. 10.6 (ap. Epiph., Panarion LXVI,25,5, p. 55.1) and the Latin: mater vitae (Arch. Lat. 7,3, p. 10,20) are very close to the Syriac. So also is her title in Arabic: ÁUO(« « “Mother of Life” (Fihr., p. 331,7) and Middle Persian mˆdr ¨y zyndgˆn “Mother of the Living (Ones)”.25 In eastern sources, her name is often associated with compassion and righteousness: Parthian: ˆrdˆwˆn mˆd “Mother of the Righteous” (SLN Pth. §2, p. 62)26 and Sogdian: ˆrdˆwˆn mˆ† “Mother of the Righteous” (M178 V 70)27 and rwtch mˆtw “Loving Mother”, 81TB65:1 012;28 Chin. shanmu “Righteous Mother” (Tr. 8). However, in some Middle Persian texts of the Sabuhragan-tradition, she appears as
22 Cf. Figures, 1/21, pp. 198-206. 23 Cf. ‘Namen’, 2/21, p. 100. 24 Cf. Figures, 2/2.2, pp. 39-44. 25 Cf. ‘Namen’, 2/2.2, p. 99. 26 Cf. ‘Namen’, 4/2.2, p. 102. 27 Ed. and trans. W. B. Henning, ‘A Sogdian Fragment of the Manichaean Cosmogony’, BSOAS 12 (1947) 312. Cf. ‘Namen’, 4/2.2, p. 102. 28 Ed. and trans. Yoshida, op. cit., p. 8. The term does not however occur in a cosmogonic context but simply as an invocation or metaphor in a private letter. 136 MANICHAEAN TERMS IN SYRIAC srygrqyrb “Female-shaped’ (deity) and srygrqyrbyzd “Female Formed God”, (M7980 I V i 12, Rd. §y.21, p. 67) or srygrqyrb ¨y ˆwhrmyzdby mˆd “Female- shaped mother of Lord Ohrmezd” (M7984 II R ii 8-10, MM i, p. 178, Rd. §y.7, p. 63). In a bilingual Middle Persian and Sogdian fragment of Mani’s Evangelium she appears as rˆmrˆtwxbgy “Peace-dispensing God(dess)” (M172 R 18, W.-L. i, 23) and in Turkish inter alia simply as ög t(ä)ngri “Mother God(dess)”, (Pell. Chin. 3049 V 5, MO i, p. 38).29
THE PRIMAL MAN The redeemed redeemer figure of Manichaean myth, the Primal Man, how- ever, undergoes a much higher degree of name-transformation than his divine parents. The Syriac “Primal Man” (lit. first man) (TbK., p. 313,28 etc. and Ephr., Hyp., II, p. 11,9-10) is close to the Coptic pjarp nrwme “The First Man” (Keph., p. 20,26 ); cf. Figures, 2/3, pp. 45-53 and the Gr. ö pr¬tov ãnqrwpov ([Hegem.], Arch. Gr. 7,3, p. 10.6 = Epiph., Panarion LXVI,25,5, p. 55,1) and Latin primus homo (Arch. Lat., 7,3, p. 10,20). But in eastern Manichaean texts he is far better known under the Zo- roastrian divine name of Ohrmezd (’whrmyzd or ’whrmyzd by, ‘Namen’, 3/3, p. 101) or as the First Thought (or Emanation) Pe. hndysysn nxwstyn “First Reflection”, cf. W. B. Henning, ‘Two Manichaean Magical Texts’, BSOAS 12 (1947) pp. 45-6 and Chin. xianyi “First (or Previous) Thought”, Tr. ms. l. 9 which is very close to the “prima anima” found in the Augustine’s reply to the Pelagian Julian of Eclanum (c. Jul. op. impf. III,186, p. 485,27, CSEL) or cuxß “soul” found in the pagan polemical work of Alexander of Lycopolis (c. Manich. op. disp. III, p. 5,22, ed. Brinkmann).30 It appears that the need to assimilate this Christ-Adam figure with a familiar local deity is overwhelming in Iranian cultures and this might go back to the earliest Manichaean transla- tions. In the Greek ‘Prayer of the Emanations’ from Kellis, the Primal Man is simply listed as one of the angels but his functions were assumed by King- Christ and the Light-Nous.31 This assimilation of Christ with the Light-Nous is also known to us from the anti-Manichaean writings of a contemporary pagan philosopher from Egypt, viz. Alexander of Lycopolis.32 How the Chinese 29 On this important female deity see esp. A. van Tongerloo, ‘Manichaean Female Deities’ in Atti del terzo congresso internazionale di studi “Manicheismo e Oriente Cristiano Antico”, Arcavacata de Rende – Amantea 31 agosto – 5 settembre 1993, a cura di L. Cirillo and A. van Tongerloo (Turnhout, 1997) 362-64. 30 As an “evocation” of the Father himself, the Original or Primal Man is also his soul. Cf. W. Sundermann, Encyclopaedia Iranica VI, p. 311 (Cosmogony: Manichaean) and also the same author’s important discussion on the concept of the soul in Manichaeism in his introduction to the SLN (pp. 22-24). 31 T. Kellis 22, ll. 33-49, ed. R. G. Jenkins, ‘The Prayer of the Emanations in Greek from Kellis (T Kellis 22)’, Le Muséon, 108/3-4 (1995) 250. 32 Alexander Lycopolitanus, contra Manichaei opiniones disputatio IV, p. 7,13-18, ed. A. Brinkmann (Leipzig, 1895). S.N.C. LIEU 137 translator could go against the tide of assimilation and return to an original concept of the First Man as the first emanation of the will or mind of the Fa- ther and coin a very special and philosophical term to denote this is extraordi- nary and points to the continuance of a tradition of interpretation which ac- companied more purely philological translation. There is no other term for the Primal Man in Chinese Manichaean texts other than xianyi “First (or Previous) Thought” and certainly not one which is a transliteration of the Middle Iranian Ohrmezd.
THE FIVE (LIGHT) ELEMENTS OF THE PRIMAL MAN The Five (Light) Elements (Syriac ( ) “(Five) Ele- ments”), i.e. the five-fold armour of light “put on” by the Primal Man for combat against the powers of darkness are not found in the excerpts from Theodore but are preserved in Ephrem’s Prose Refutation.33 The Greek origin of the term is clearly reflected in the Coptic equivalent: pèou Nstoi- xeiwn “The Five Elements”(Ps.-Bk., p. 36,22) and is very likely to have been borrowed in its original Syriac form by Mani from the writings of BardaiÒan. Often known as the “Five Sons of the Primal Man” or the “Five Shining Ones” or the “Five Light Gods”. or in the Zoroastrian form of the Five (A)mahraspandan (bounteous mortals).34 With the exception of the Sog- dian, the five elements are consistently translated in all Manichaean lan- guages: (1) Wind: Syr. “wind”, “breath” (Ephr., Hyp. IV, p. 101,21). Cf. Gr. ãnemov ([Hegem.], Arch. Gr. 7,3, p. 10.7 = Epiph., Panarion, LXVI,25,5, p. 55,2; Arch. Lat. ventus) and Lat. ventus); Copt. tyu “wind” (Keph., p. 127,6); Pe. wˆd “wind” (M98 I R 9, Rd.§y.2, p. 61), Pth. wˆd “wind” (SLN §5, p. 62), Sogd. wˆ† “wind” (M133 R 5, SLN, p. 128, see also M14 R 23, W- L ii 70);35 Chin. jingmiao feng “Wonderful Wind” (Tr. 59) and Turk. yil t(ä)ngri “The God Wind” (Xu. III B 35). (2) Light: Syr. “light” (Ephr., Hyp. IV, p. 101,20). Cf. Gr. f¬v “light” ([Hegem.], Arch. Gr. 12,1, p. 20.2 = Epiph., Panarion, LXVI,25,5, p. 55,2; Arch. Lat. lumen “light”); Copt. ouaïne “light” (Keph., p. 127,6/7), Pe. rwsn “light” (M98 I R 12, Rd. y.2, p. 61), Pth. rwsn “light” (SLN §10, p. 62);36 Sogd. ˆr†xws† “the best turth (= light)” (M133 R 6, SLN, p. 128);37 Chin. mingli “Light-Power” (Hymnscroll §129b, cf. W.-L. i, p. 9 [486]), Turk. yaruq t(ä)ngri “The God Light” (Xu. IIIB 35/3).
33 Ephr., Mani, p. 214,26, ed. Mitchell, ii. 34 Cf. ‘Namen’ 3/4.1.1, p. 101. 35 Cf. ‘Namen’, 2/4.2.2, p. 99. 36 Cf. ‘Namen’, 2/4.2.3, p. 99. 37 Cf. ‘Namen’ 3/4.2.3, p.101. 138 MANICHAEAN TERMS IN SYRIAC
(3) Water: Syr. “water” (pl.) (Ephr., Hyp. IV, p. 101,22; Gr. Àdwr “water” ([Hegem.], Arch. Gr. 7,3, p. 10.7 = Epiph., Panarion, LXVI,25,5, p. 55,2, Arch. Lat. aqua “water”); Copt. mau “water” (Keph., p. 127,6), Pe. ˆb “water” (Sb. 136), Pth. ˆb “water” (SLN §10, p. 62); Sogd. ˆˆp “water” (M133 R 6, SLN, p. 128);38 Chin. miaoshui “Wonderful Water” (Tr. 33), Turk. suw t(ä)ngri “The God Water” (Xu. III B 36). (4) Fire: Syr. “fire” (Ephr., Hyp. IV, 101,23) Gr. pÕr “fire” ([Hegem.], Arch. Gr. 7,3, p. 10.7 = Epiph., Panarion, LXVI,25,5, p. 55,2; Arch. Lat. ignis); Copt. sete “fire” (Keph., p. 127,9); Pe. ˆdwr “fire” (Sb. 136), cf. ‘Namen’, 2/4.2.5, p. 99, Pth. ˆdwr “fire” (SLN Pth. §10, p. 62), Sogd. ˆˆtr “fire” (M133 R 7, SLN, p. 128), Chin. ho “fire” (Hymnscroll §129, cf. W.-L. i, p. 59), Turk. oot t(ä)ngri “The God Fire” (Xu. III B 37). (5) Air: Syr. “air” (Ephr., Hyp. II, p. 31,11). The only list of the Five Light-Elements in Greek which is found in the version of the Acta Archelai preserved by Epiphanius gives Àlj “matter” as the fifith Light-Element ([Hegem.], Arch. Gr. 7,3, p. 10,8 = Epiph., Panarion, LXVI,25,5, p. 55,2; Arch. Lat., 7,3, p. 10,22, materia). But most scholars prefer to emend the read- ing to “air” (Gr. âßr, Lat. aër). This is supported by Manichaean texts in al- most all languages. Cf. Copt. ayr (Keph., p. 127,7), Sogd. ˆr†ˆw frwrtyy “the righteous Frawarti (= Ether)” (M133 R 5, SLN, p. 128); Chin. jingqi “Pure Air”, (Tr. 59), Turk. tïntura t(ä)ngri “The God Zephyr” (Xu. IIIB 34).
(THE ANGEL) NAHASHBAT In one of the most cited passages from Theodore bar Konai, the Primal Man descended into the Kingdom of Darkness heralded by the angel Nahashbat who held in his hand a Crown of Victory (TbK., p. 314,3). The Semitic name of this angel, to the best of my knowledge is never found transliterated into Manichaean texts in other languages, reflecting perhaps the uncertainty in vocalization of the name from the beginning. He was one deity whose name was almost always transmitted by his function as crown-bearer: Greek: Stefanjfórov “Crown-Bearer” (C. VII 3.65/66; Long Abjuration Formula PG 1.1461C,15 = Adam, Doc. 64,13/14) but in Coptic texts it is the Beloved of the Lights, a figure of the Second Evocation, who is a crown-wearer: ãi ùrype (Ps.-Bk,. p. 1,28)39 but he occurs in another psalm as a more independent deity (ibid. p. 137,16).
CONCLUSION
A full terminological study of Manichaeism starting with the Syriac has long been a desideratum and the only serious attempt was made more than 38 Cf. ‘Namen’, 2/4.2.4, p. 99. 39 Figures, p. 75. S.N.C. LIEU 139 three quarters of a century ago by Jackson in his commentary to the translation of the citations from Theodore bar Konai by his Columbia colleague Abraham Yohanan.40 Jackson was the first scholar to take the Eastern Manichaean texts (Middle Persian, Chinese and Turkish) into account. This research was added to by Polotsky41 in his initial study of Manichaean terms in Coptic and the mythological figures (i.e. deities and demons) have been fully treated by the study of van Lindt.42 However a full scale study remains to be undertaken and one which, as I hope I have shown from a handful of examples, will throw a great deal of light on the transmission of Manichaean texts and on the tech- niques and cultural priorities of the Manichaean translators, both East and West. The present author hopes to present an interim study based on the technici termini found in Theodore bar Konai and Ephrem Syrus as an appen- dix to the forthcoming edition and translation of the section(s) on Mani- chaeism in the Liber Scholiorum of Theodore bar Konai by Dr. Erica Hunter for the Series Syriaca of the Corpus Fontium Manichaeorum and the com- ments and corrections and advice of the learned audience will be greatly ap- preciated.
ABBREVIATIONS
Adam, Texte = A. Adam (ed.), Texte zum Manichäismus, 2nd edn. (Berlin, 1969). APAW = Abhandlungen der königlichen preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften (Berlin, 1815-1907; philosoph.-hist. Kl., 1908-49). Arch. = Acta Archelai Arch. Gr = Acta Archelai, versio Graeca, ed. C. H. Beeson, GCS 16 (Leipzig, 1906). (The Greek version is originally preserved in Epiphanius, Panarion 66). Arch. Lat. = Acta Archelai, versio Latina, ed. C. H. Beeson, GCS 16 (Leipzig, 1906). BSOAS = Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies. C. VII = capita vii contra Manichaeos. Ed. M. Richard, CCSG 1 (Turnhout, 1977) xxxiii-xxxix. CCSG = Corpus Christianorum, Series Graeca (Turnhout, 1977 ff.). c. Jul. op. impf. = Augustinus, contra Julianum opus imperfectum I-III, ed. M. Zelzer, CSEL 85/1 (Vienna, 1974). c. Manich. op. disp. = Alexander Lycopolitanus, contra Manichaei opiniones disputa- tio, ed. A. Brinkmann (Leipzig, 1895). CSCO = Corpus Scriptorum Christianorum Orientalium (Paris, Louvain etc. 1903 ff.). CSEL = Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum (Vienna, 1866 ff.). Epiph. = Epiphanius (Panarion ed. K. Holl, = GCS Epiphanius 3). GCS = Die griechischen christlichen Schriftsteller der ersten drei Jahrhunderte (Leip- zig 1897-1941; Berlin and Leipzig, 1953; Berlin 1954 ff.). Ephr. Hyp. = Ephrem, Contra Haereses ad Hypatium, Discourses II-V, ed. C. W. Mit- chell, S. Ephraim's Prose Refutations, 2 vols. (London, 1912-21).
40 A. V. W. Jackson, Researches in Manichaeism with special reference to the Turfan Frag- ments (New York, 1932) 221-54. 41 C. Schmidt, C. and H.-J. Polotsky, ‘Ein Mani-Fund in Ägypten', SPAW, 1933, 1, 63-73 [64-74]. 42 I.e. Figures (v. supra). 140 MANICHAEAN TERMS IN SYRIAC
Fihr. = Kitab al Fihrist, ed. G. Flügel (Leipzig, 1871). Figures = P. van Lindt, The Names of Manichaean Mythological Figures: A Com- parative Study on Terminology in the Coptic Sources, Studies in Oriental Reli- gions, 26 (Wiesbaden, 1992). [Hegem.] = Hegemonius (see under Arch.). Hymnscroll = S2659 Mo-ni chiao hsia-pu tsan (Hymns for the Lower Section (i.e. Hearers?) of the Manichaean religion). Ed. Lin Wu-shu , Mo- ni chiao chi ch'i t’ung-chien, (Beijing, 1987) 234-63. [Text cited by standard verse numbering.] Keph. = H. J. Polotsky, A. Böhlig and W.-P. Funk (edd.), Kephalaia. (Stuttgart, 1940ff.). Mani-Fund = C. Schmidt, C. and H.-J. Polotsky, ‘Ein Mani-Fund in Ägypten', SPAW, 1933, 1, 4-90. MM i-iii = F. C. Andreas and W. B. Henning, Mitteliranische Manichaica aus Chinesisch-Turkestan I, SPAW 1932/X, pp. 175-222; II, ibid. 1933/VII, pp. 294- 363 and III, ibid. 1934/XXVII, pp. 848-912. MO = J. Hamilton (ed.), Manuscrits ouïgours du ixe-xe siècle de Touen-houang, 2 vols. (Paris 1986). ‘Namen’ = W. Sundermann, ‘Namen von Göttern und Menschen in iranischen Versionen des manichäischen Mythos’, Altorientalische Forschungen VI (Berlin, 1979) 95-133. PG = Patrologiae cursus completus, series Graceco-Latina, edd. J. P. Migne et al., 162 vols. (Paris, 1857-66). Ps.-Bk. = C. R. C. Allberry, (ed.) with a contribution by H. Ibscher, A Manichaean Psalm-Book Part II, (Manichaean Manuscripts in the Chester Beatty Collection, 2) (Stuttgart, 1938). Rd. = M. Boyce (ed.), A Reader in Manichaean Middle Persian and Parthian, Acta Iranica 9 (Tehran-Liège, 1975). Sb. = Sabuhragan, ed. D. N. MacKenzie, ‘Mani’s Sabuhragan’, BSOAS 42 (1979), pp. 500-34 and ‘Mani's Sabuhragan – II’, ibid. 43 (1980), pp. 288-310.. SLN = W. Sundermann, Der Sermon vom Licht-Nous, Eine Lehrschrift des östlichen Manichäismus, Edition der parthischen und soghdischen Version, Berliner Tur- fantexte XVII (Berlin, 1992). SLN Pth. = The Parthian version of the SLN. SPAW = Sitzungsberichte der preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin (Berlin, 1882-1921; phi1os.-hist. Kl., 1922-49). TbK = Theodorus bar Koni (Theodore bar Konai), Liber Scholiorum, ed. A. Scher, CSCO 55 (1910) and 69 (1912). TM i-iii = A. von Le Coq, Türkische Manichaica aus Chotscho, i, APAW, 1911, ii, ibid. 1919 and iii, ibid. 1922. Tr. = (Tractatus) = 8470 (formerly 56) Mo-ni chiao ts'an-ching (The Fragmentary sutra of a Persian Religion). Ed. Lin Wu-shu, op. cit. (see un- der Hymnscroll) [Text cited by lines of the manuscript as reproduced in the fac- simile version, pls. 1-18.] Xu. = Xuastvanift. Ed. Jes P. Asmussen, Xuastvanift. Studies in Manichaeism (Copenha- gen, 1965) 167-271.