Ginza Rba

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For other books with similar titles, see Books of Adam.

Ginza Rba ("The Great Treasure" in Mandaic) or Siddra Rba, "The Great Book" (Arabic كنزا ربا) is one of many holy scriptures of the Mandaean religion. It is also referred to as The Book of Adam.

Ginza Rba consists of 18 books in 62 chapters containing about 700 pages. The book, still mainly hand written, with upright text on each right-hand page for the living and text when turned upside-down is the left for the dead. The right section of the Ginza Rba contains sections dealing with theology, creation, ethics, historical, and mythical narratives. The left section of Ginza Rba deals with man's soul in the after life.

The best sources for scholars today who cannot read Mandaean Aramaic, are still the German translations; for example "Der Ginza oder das grosse Buch der Mandaer" published by Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen, 1925. Serious students who have learned Aramaic, can of course read the original books, which have been published and are freely accessible in any university research library. There are no full English translations of the Ginza Rba.

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