MS Drower 43
Mandaic manuscript
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
MS Drower 43 (typically abbreviated as DC 43) is a Mandaic manuscript that contains over a dozen qmaha texts (i.e., amulet formulae) used for exorcism and protection against evil. It is part of the Drower Collection in the Bodleian Library at the University of Oxford.[1][2]
| MS Drower 43 | |
|---|---|
| Bodleian Library | |
| Also known as | DC 43 |
| Type | Scroll |
| Date | 1270 A.H. (1853 A.D.) |
| Place of origin | Lower Mesopotamia |
| Language | Mandaic |
| Scribe | Yahya Bihram |
| Script | Mandaic |
| Contents | Qmaha texts used for exorcism and magic |
History
The manuscript was purchased by E. S. Drower from Sheikh Nejm bar Zahroon in 1939[3] and was copied in 1270 A.H. (1853 A.D.) in the marshlands in the territory of the Kit bin Sa'ad, by Yahia Bihram br Adam Yuhana. DC 23b contains a variant of one of the qmahas.[4]
A brief study of the manuscript has been published by Bogdan Burtea (2005).[5]
Contents
Also known as the Poor Priest's Treasury,[6] the manuscript is a Mandaic-language scroll consisting of qmahas used for exorcism and magic. The contents are as follows, with links also provided to transliterated texts in the Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon (CAL).
- Qmaha ḏ-Ṣir Sahria (DC 43A). CAL text of DC 43A.
- Qmaha ḏ-Šiul (DC 43B)
- three related texts (DC 43C; see DC 33). CAL text of DC 43C.
- Šuba libišna
- ʿSirna hthimna
- Yawar Ziwa nišimtai (see DC 33)
- Šalhafta ḏ-Mahria (DC 43D; see DC 19). CAL text of DC 43D
- Qmaha ḏ-Dahlulia (DC 43E; see DC 20)
- Qmaha ḏ-Gastata (DC 43F). CAL text of DC 43F.
- Qmaha ḏ-Br ʿngaria (DC 43G)
- Qmaha ḏ-Br ʿngaria (DC 43G I). CAL text of DC 43G I.
- Qmaha ḏ-Br ʿngaria Zuṭa (DC 43G II). CAL text of DC 43G II.
- Qmaha ḏ-Yurba (DC 43H). CAL text of DC 43H.
- Qmaha ḏ-Šuba (DC 43I). CAL text of DC 43I.
- Qmaha ḏ-Qaština (DC 43J; see DC 39 and its copy in Bodleian, and also MS Syr. G 2 (R)).