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[2]), is an Iraqi-Dutch Mandaean priest in Nijmegen, The Netherlands.[3]

Rafid al-Sabti
الربي رافد السبتي
Rbai Rafid al-Sabti in 2018
TitleRabbi
Personal life
Born1965 (age 6061)
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)
Religious life
ReligionMandaeism
InitiationTarmida
by Abdullah bar Negm

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, The 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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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". Archived from the original on 9 June 2023. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
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