In Mandaeism, manda (Classical Mandaic: ࡌࡀࡍࡃࡀ) is the concept of gnosis or spiritual knowledge.[1] Mandaeans stress salvation of the soul through secret knowledge (gnosis) of its divine origin.[2] Mandaeism "provides knowledge of whence we have come and whither we are going."[3]: 531
Etymology
On the basis of cognates in other Aramaic dialects, Semiticists such as Mark Lidzbarski and Rudolf Macúch have translated the term manda as "knowledge" (cf. Imperial Aramaic: מַנְדַּעmandaʻ in Dan. 2:21, 4:31, 33, 5:12; cf. Hebrew: מַדַּעmaddaʻ, with characteristic assimilation of /n/ to the following consonant, medial -nd-, hence becoming -dd-[4]). In his 1965 Mandaic handbook, Macúch suggests that due to the special religious use of the word, -n- was added in order to make it unique from other words with the same root.[5]
Mandaia (Classical Mandaic: ࡌࡀࡍࡃࡀࡉࡉࡀ, lit. 'Gnostic, Knower, Enlightened One'; plural: Mandaiia) is a Mandaic term that refers to a Mandaean layperson, as opposed to a Naṣuraia (Mandaean priest).[9]: 116
The name of the uthraManda d-Hayyi literally means the manda (gnosis) of Hayyi Rabbi ("The Life"). Manda d-Hayyi is considered to be the most important uthra, since he is the one bringing manda (knowledge or gnosis) to Earth (Tibil).[10]
^Deutsch, Nathaniel. (2003) Mandaean Literature. In The Gnostic Bible (pp. 527–561). New Seeds Books
^Angel Sáenz-Badillos, A History of the Hebrew Language. Cambridge University Press, 1993 (ISBN978-0521556347), p. 36 et passim. (See also Biblical Hebrew phonology#Classification: "Hebrew also shares with the Canaanite languages ... assimilation of non-final /n/ to the following consonant.")
^Macúch, Rudolf (1965). Handbook of Classical and Modern Mandaic. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter.
