Rbai Rafid al-Sabti, known in full as Rafid al-Rishama Abdallah al-Ganzibra Zahrun al-Rishama Abdallah al-Sabti (Arabic: رافد الريشاما عبدالله الگنزبرا نجم الگنزبرا زهرون الريشاما عبدالله السبتي كنيانا عزيز; born 1965, Iraq[2]), is an Iraqi-Dutch Mandaean priest in Nijmegen, Netherlands.[3]

Rafid al-Sabti
الربي رافد السبتي
Rbai Rafid al-Sabti in 2018
TitleRabbi
Personal
Born1965
Iraq
ReligionMandaeism
ChildrenArdwan Al-Sabti
ParentRishamma Abdullah bar Negm
CitizenshipDutch
Other namesShaykh Rāfid ibn Shaykh ʿAbdullah ibn Shaykh Najim;
Rāfid ʿAbdullah Najim (Rāfid ʻAbd Allāh Naǧm)[1]
OccupationMandaean priest
RelativesSheikh Negm bar Zahroon (grandfather)
Ram Zihrun (great-great-grandfather)

Biography

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Al-Sabti was born in 1965 to Rishama Abdullah, son of Sheikh Neǧm, in Baghdad, Iraq.[4] He was initiated into the Mandaean priesthood by his father.[5]: 118  Al-Sabti later emigrated to the Netherlands.

Al-Sabti is the custodian of the Rbai Rafid Collection (RRC), a private collection of Mandaean manuscripts held in Nijmegen, Netherlands.[6] Important manuscripts in the collection include different versions of the Ginza Rabba and a copy of the Alma Rišaia Zuṭa known as Ms. RRC 3F,[7] as well as a qulasta inscribed on lead plates.[8]: 22  The collection is being digitized and analyzed in collaboration with Matthew Morgenstern.[9][10]

Publications

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  • Mandaean prayer and various rituals (1988) / الصلاة المندائية - وبعض الطقوس الدينية
  • Mandaean baptism (1990) / التعميد المندائي
  • Masiqta: the ascension and the advancement (2004) / المسقثا - الصعود والارتقاء, ISBN 978-9090181653[11]
  • The treasure of Life: The holy book of the Mandaeans (2022), ISBN 978-9090360058 (Ginza Rabba in Mandaic)[12]

Family

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His son, Ardwan Al-Sabti, is a researcher and graphic designer known for creating Mandaic fonts.[13]

References

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  1. ^ Abdullah, Thabit A.J. (2018). "The Mandaean Community and Ottoman-British Rivalry in Late 19th-Century Iraq: The Curious Case of Shaykh Ṣaḥan". Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient. 61 (3). Brill: 396–425. doi:10.1163/15685209-12341452. ISSN 0022-4995. JSTOR 26572309. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
  2. ^ "Rabi Rafid Alsabti: Interview 2018, Part 1". Mandaean Museum. 29 July 2019. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
  3. ^ "Tarmida Rafid Al-Sabti: Chapter 2". The Worlds of Mandaean Priests. 1 March 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
  4. ^ "Tarmida Rafid Al-Sabti: Chapter 1". The Worlds of Mandaean Priests. 1 March 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
  5. ^ Buckley, Jorunn Jacobsen (2010). The great stem of souls: reconstructing Mandaean history. Piscataway, N.J: Gorgias Press. ISBN 978-1-59333-621-9.
  6. ^ Aldihisi, Sabah (2008). The story of creation in the Mandaean holy book in the Ginza Rba (PhD). University College London.
  7. ^ Morgenstern, Matthew (2018). "New readings and interpretations in the Mandaic priestly commentary Alma Rišaia Zuṭa (The Lesser 'First World')". Le Muséon. 131 (1–2): 1–19. doi:10.2143/MUS.131.1.3284833.
  8. ^ Buckley, Jorunn Jacobsen (2023). 1800 Years of Encounters with Mandaeans. Gorgias Mandaean Studies. Vol. 5. Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press. ISBN 978-1-4632-4132-2. ISSN 1935-441X.
  9. ^ Morgenstern, Matthew (ed.). "Mandaic texts". The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  10. ^ Morgenstern, Matthew. New Manuscript Sources for the Study of Mandaic. In: V. Golinets et. al (eds.), Neue Beiträge zur Semitistik. Sechstes Treffen der Arbeitsgemeinschaft Semitistik in der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft vom 09.–11. Februar 2013 in Heidelberg. AOAT, Ugarit Verlag.
  11. ^ Al-Sabtī, Rāfid ʿAbd Allāh Naǧm (2004). Masiqt̲ā : al-suʻūd wa-al-irtiqāʼ (in Arabic). Nijmegen. ISBN 978-90-90-18165-3. OCLC 319811837.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  12. ^ Al-Sabtī, Rāfid ʻAbd Allāh Naǧm (2022). The treasure of life : the holy book of the Mandaeans : written in the original Mandaic tongue (in Aramaic). Nijmegen: RRC. ISBN 978-90-90-36005-8. OCLC 1351435847.
  13. ^ "Ardwan Al-Sabti". Retrieved 5 July 2023.
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