Elchasai and Mani

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Elchasai and Mani

Author(s): A. F. J. Klijn and G. J. ReininkSource: Vigiliae Christianae, Vol. 28, No. 4 (Dec., 1974), pp. 277-289Published by: BRILLStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1583233 .

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Vigiliae hristianae8,277-289;? North-Hollandublishingompany974

ELCHASAI AND MANIBY

A.F. J.KLIJNANDG.J.REININKIn theFihrist, workwrittenyal-Nadimt theendofthetenthcentury, ani'sfathers said to havebecome memberf the ect ftheMughtasilah. tthe geof fourMani toowas admittednto hisgroup.' n a passage evoted otheMughtasilahnthe ameworkweread hat their ead s known s al-IjasihElchasai) nd t s he whoinstitutedheirect".2Until ecentlytwasgenerallyenied hat herewasanyrelationshipetweenlchasai ndtheMughtasilah,3ince heideasofthis ect eviatedromhose ftheElchasaitess canbefoundinHippolytus,usebius ndEpiphanius.4Afterhediscoveryf noriginal anichaean anuscript,heK61lnerCodex, his pinion ashad tobe abandoned. hiswork,which ealsamong therhings ithMani'syouth mong baptistect, lsostatesthat lchasaiwas tsfounderdpxiry6q).5s a resultome cholars ave1 See B.Dodge,TheFihristfal-Nadim, ol.II (NewYorkand London1970)773-774.2 Dodge,o.c.,811.3 Cf.W.Brandt, lchasai Leipzig1912)141-147, .144: "Das Wenige,was unsvon denMughtasila iberliefertst, pricht egenhrenelchasiischenrsprung",ndK.Rudolph, ie Mandder(G6ttingen960) 1-53, .41: "Die Beziehungu ElchasaiistmeinerMeinungekundair...";ee alsoH.-C.Puech, e ManichdismeParis 1949)123-125, .147;G.Widengren, ani undderManichiiismusStuttgart961)30-33;A.B~hlig, er ManichiismusmLichte erneueren nosisforschung,n:MysteriumundWahrheit,rb. . Gesch.des piteren udentums...Leiden1968) 88-201, .193;andM.Yamauchi, re-ChristiannosticismLondon1973)80-81.4 See Hippolytus, efut. ,13,1-17,2 nd 10,29,1-3;Eusebius, ist. eccl.6,38;Epiphanius,an.19, bout heOssaeans, nd53,about he ampsaeans,f.Anaceph.

t.3,53, nd n thepassage bout heEbionites0,3,2 nd30,17,4-6.Later, econdaryinformation:ethodius, ony. ,10;Augustine,e haer.32; Praedestinatus,32;Theodoretus,ccl.hist. ,7;GeorgiusMonachos, hron.reve,157;John amascene,De haer. 3; andTheodor ar-Khonai,ib.schol., .307.5 See A.Henrichs-L.oenen, ingriechischerani-Codex,eitschr..Papyrologieund pigraphik(1970)94,1-95,14, .135,n.97.

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278 A. F. J.KLIJNAND G. J.REININKconcludedhatManimust avebeennfluencedy verydeaattributedtotheElchasaitesy he arlyhurchathers."his onclusionoesnottake nto ccount he roblemhat he eviationetweenhedeas f heMughtasilahnd the Elchasaite octrine as stillnotbeenresolved.Moreover,ardlynythingas been aidabout hat lchasaiteoctrineand thecontentsfthe Manichaean apyrus p to now. Butbeforereachingnyconclusionsbouttherelationshipetween lchasai ndMani, t snecessaryo examine oth he ontentsfal-Nadim's ordsabout heMughtasilahndthose fthepapyrus,nd then ocomparetheresultwith emarksn theElchasaite aith ound necclesiasticalauthors.The Mughtasilahre mentionedorthefirst imen a passageonMani'syouth.WhenMani'sfather,uttuq,was na pagan emple,eheard voice hout: O Futtuq, o not atmeat, o notdrink ine nddo notmarry." his wasrepeatedeveral imes uringhefollowingthreedays. Not longafterwardsuttuqmetthegroupknown sMughtasilah.7Allthis appenedt a timewhenManiwasas yet nborn. ut tanearly gehe too oinedthe ect. As a young oyhe spokewords fwisdomutnhis welfthear is companion"8aid ohim: Leave hiscult or hou rtnotoneof ts dherents.ponthee re aidpurityndrefrainingrom odilyusts, ut t is notyet ime or hee o appearopenly ecause fthy ender ears."WhenManihadcompletedistwenty-fifthearhis"companion"ppeared o him gainand it wasafter his hat estartedopreach.9This s all to be found boutMani ndtheMughtasilahn the ihrist.However,he hreenstructionso Mani'sfatherrementionedgain na passage bout heway oenterMani'sreligiousommunity.He who

6 SeeHenrichs-Koenen,.c., 158-160,ndG.Quispel,ManitheApostle fJesusChrist,n: Epektasis,MilangesPatristiquesffertsu Card.J.DanidlouParis1972)667-672, .668:"In this apyrust s stated hatManifrom isfourthillhistwenty-fifthearwasa memberf theJewish hristianect of theElkesaitesn SouthernBabylonia. o Manioncewas a Jewishoy, ircumcisednd educatedn the aw ..Probably isparentsoo wereJewish." .N.Frye,TheCologneGreekCodexaboutMani, n: Ex OrbeReligionum.tudiaGeoWidengrenblata , StudiesntheHistoryofReligionsSupplementsoNumen)XXI (Leiden1972)424-429, .428-429, ivesanuncriticalummaryf theremarksn Henrichs-Koenen.7 Dodge,o.c.,773-774.8 In thepapyrus6(uyoq, ee thediscussionboutthe dea nHenrichs-Koenen,o.c., 161,189.1 Dodge,o.c.,774.



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ELCHASAI AND MANI 279wouldnterheultmustxamineis oul. fhefindshat e an ubduelust nd ovetousness,efrainromating eat,rinkingine,swellas from arriage,nd fhe an lso voidcausing)njuryowater,ire,treesnd iving hings,henethim nterhe ult."10Weshall eturnothispassage aterbutwe should iketo point ut here hat he ameinjunctionshichwere evealedo Futtuq re to be foundn Mani'spreaching.The Fihrist"writeshefollowingbouttheMughtasilah:12Thesepeople revery umerousntheregionsfal-Batd'ilh;heyre called)the

.Sbatal-Bat.'ih.They bserveblutionsa rite ndwash verything

which hey at. Theirhead13s knowns al-Hasih nd it is he whoinstitutedheirect.14He asserts1"hat he wo xistences16remale ndfemale ndthat heherbs re from he ikeness"7f themale,whereastheparasitic lants re fromhe ikenessf thefemale,he rees eingveinsroots).1"heyhave even"9ayings,20akinghe ormffables.21His (al-IHasih's)isciplewas namedSham'fin. hey greedwith heManichaeansbout he wo lementalprinciples)22ut ater heirectbecame eparate.Until his urday ome fthem eneratehe tars."Theendofthepassage s notquite lear. t speaks bout he twoprinciples"nwhichheMughtasilahgreewithheManichaeans.t isnotfeasiblehat l-Nadimmeans hat he haracterfthe two xist-ences"with heManichaeansnd theMughtasilahre dentical,orhestates hatheMughtasilahake divisionetweenmale" nd female"10 Dodge,o.c.,778.11 Dodge,o.c.,811.12 The wordmeans thosewashinghemselves".13 The word 'ismeans head" or"founder".14 Theword or sect" an also betranslatedy "religiousommunity".1' The translationyDodge "theyssert"must eread s "heasserts".16 Theword existence"s derived rom he temkwn nd can be translatedy"being" r"essence".17 Thewordfor likeness"anbe betterranslatedy "category",f.G.Fliigel,Mani Leipzig 862)134:"Gattung".18 The words or the rees eing einsroots)" an be better ranslatedy"thetreesretheiroots", f.Fliigel, .c.,134:"unddassdieBdiumeieWurzelnesselben(scil.Mistel) eien."19 Dodge,o.c., 811,n.374, tateshatnoneMS. theword shameful"s found nplaceof"seven".Thisreadingssecondary.20 Theword or saying"analso be translatedy"word" r"utterance".21 The word fable" ossessesn objectionableignificance.22 Thewords or the wo lementalprinciples)"an betteretranslatedy"thetwoprinciples". heword aslaniusedheremeans root", cause"or"source".



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280 A. F. J. KLIJN AND G. J. REININKbut n thepassageabout Mani hespeaks bouta division etween light"and "darkness".23 or this reason we assume thatal-Nadimdrawsasuperficialomparison nly, s hedoesinhisdescriptionf other ects.24Al-Nadim's urtheromment hat later heir ectbecameseparate" anonlymean that at a certain eriodtheMughtasilah ectdisintegrated.This makes ense, ince fterhepassageabouttheMughtasilahl-Nadimcontinueswith Another ccount fSabat al-Batd'ih".Thisagaindealswith baptist ectwhichwas obviously upposedto originate rom heMughtasilah. n thiswayal-Nadim'sconcluding emark lso becomesclear. He writes hat"some" venerate he stars,whichsuggests hatal-Nadimknewof other aptist roupswithdifferentpinions.25In thepassage on theMughtasilahnothings said about abstentionfrommeat,wine and marriage.These werethepractices, ccording otheFihrist,orwhichMani's fatheroinedtheMughtasilah.Neverthelessit s impossibleosaythat hey id not showthese haracteristics.trongemphasison purity nd a dualistic pproachof male and female anresultn therejection fmarriage.We also see that ome kindsof foodwerenot eaten because offearof defilement. erhapsforthis reasonmeatand wine,whoseorigin ould not easilybe determined, ere re-jected. Thisseems o be corroboratedytheK61lnerodex,which tatesthat themembers f thesect were mindful fpurity o suchan extentthattheyonlyused thatwhichtheygrewthemselves.26his does notalter hefact hat nthepassageabout Mani we receive rather ne-sidedpicture fthe ectbecauseweonlyreadaboutpracticeswhich greewithMani's dualistic deas at a laterdate.We have alreadynoted that the K61ner Codex agrees thatManibelonged o a baptist ectwhich lchasaiwas supposed o have founded.We also find emarks ntherevelationse had inhis twelfthndtwenty-fourth ear.Weare notgoing ocompare hehistorical acts s presented

23 Dodge, .c., 07 ndK61ner-Codex4,9-85,1, enrichs-Koenen,.c.,137,n.103.24 Inthe ameway he ihristomparesheMarcionites ithhe ollowersfMani,cf.Dodge,o.c.,806.25 We differere rom . Chwolsohn,ieSsabier nd er sabismusI (St.Peters-burg1856)544,rendering:... spiter bergingenhrebeiderseitigenonfessionen

auseinander",cil. heMughtasilahChwolsohn'sMendaiten")ndtheManichaeans,andBrandt,.c.,137:"Unklar leibe, b dasAuseinandergehenemeintei von derReligion erManichier ndMughtasila.."28 Cf.Henrichs-Koenen,.c.,149: Siereinigtenich nd hreNahrungn tindigenTaufen.. ImOibrigenusstenie hreNahrungigenhindigmGarteniehen,rntenundverarbeiten."



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ELCHASAI AND MANI 281in he ifferentourcesecause his asbeen horoughlyone yHenrichsandKoenen.27Weshouldike,however,oexaminehereligiousdeasofthe ect mongwhichManigrew p.In theK61ner odexweread hatMani wasnotableto live mongthemembersfthe ect ecause he teachers" ere fthe pinionhathesubvertedhe ntire octrine. fundamentalifferencefopinionexisted about therestof thegarment"nTsptirfg vana6u'co;goi&v6i8uarog,6,17-87,628).hismeans hat hereweredifferingiewswith egardo thesignificancefthebody. Accordingo the sect tcouldparticipaten the"rest" utManipreachedtsdestruction.ndailyife hismeant hatManifavouredifferentdeas bout God'swayandthe nstructionsftheSaviour,boutbaptismnd thebaptismfvegetables"79,14-80,3"9).he sectpractised daily blution fthebody nda carefulurificationffood. Manibelievedhat ll thiswasunnecessaryecause tonly ccupiednewithhings hich ill erish.30In connexion ithMani'scriticaliews n thedaily blutionfthebody 82,23-83,1331),lchasai s quoted wice.Manitold hemembersof he ect hat manhadappearedoElchasaiwhen epurifiedimselfwhosaid that t wasalreadyufficiento be ill-treatedyanimals94,1-95,1432).hesamemanifestationas receivedyElchasaiwhenhewasbathingnthe ea (96,6-1633).Mani showed he enselessnessfablutionytellinghemembersfthe ect hat he aviour aughthatonly nosis pened hepossibilityfsaving soulfromeath84,9-85,134).The sect's dherentseproached anifornotwashing isfood 88,10-1535). He was also notconcerned ith rowingisownvegetables,as wasobviouslyonebytheothermembersfthe ect o avoidanypossibilityfdefilinghemselves91,13-1836).uthehadnothinggainst

27 SeeHenrichs-Koenen,.c.,166-132ndL.Koenen, as DatumderOffenbarungundGeburtManis,Zeitschr.. Papyrologiend pigraphik(1971)247-250.28 Henrichs-Koenen,.c.,142,n.118.29 Henrichs-Koenen,.c., 144,n.124.30 Henrichs-Koenen,.c., 104: "Manis Erdenleben ar ein zeitlich efristeterAbstiegn dieMaterie, ie nkarnationines ottgesandteneistes. ermenschlicheGeistgehirt umuranfainglichenichtreichottes..."31 Henrichs-Koenen,.c., 141,n.116.32 Henrichs-Koenen,.c.,135,n.97.38 Henrichs-Koenen,.c., 143,n.120.34 Henrichs-Koenen,.c., 137,n.103.35 Henrichs-Koenen,.c., 144,n.122.38 Henrichs-Koenen,.c.,146,n.128.



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282 A. F. J. KLIJNAND G. J.REININKeatingfood givento himas a "pious gift" 9,2-133"). Cultivatingheearth s,according o Mani, to be occupiedwith hebodyand blood ofChrist. This was also made clear to Elchasai according o Mani (96,21-97,1031), hoproclaimedhatbloodflew rom egetables hen twascutbyone of the members f the sect 10,4-1539).Theeating f wheaten read eems ohaveraisedparticular ifficultiesand it was obviouslynot eaten by members f the sect (89,15-2140).Mani does notkeepthishabit ndissaidtoeat "thebreadoftheGreeks"(87,19-88,941).From thisremark ne might oncludethat, partfromuncleaned ood,wheatenbread was forbiddenn anycase. This seemsto be corroboratedya passagein whichMani is said to haveallowedtheconsumptionfbeverages,wheaten read,vegetables nd fruit or-biddenbythefathersnd the teachers.Thisremark, owever,eems oapplyonlyto foodthatwas notproperlyleaned.42n addition o this,we gather rom wootherpassagesthateatingbreadwas admitted. nthe first laceweread thatMani said that Elchasai saw a pupilengagedinbakingbread and toldhimto stopthiswork 97,11-1743). Fromthiswe mayconcludethatbakingbread was regarded s work of a normalkind. It is onlyrejected ecauseto bake bread is to be occupiedwithtransitoryhings. n the secondplace,Mani saidthatJesus id notsendhisdisciples waywith milland an oven 93,14-20"4). n thiscase aswell, hedifferenceetweenMani and themembers f the ect eemsnotto be about theeatingof breadas such but about theway it is to beobtained. However, hepossibility emains hateatingwheatenbreadwas generallyvoided because the members f the sectdid not growwheat nd,for his eason, id notknow romwhere he ngredientsame.

37 Henrichs-Koenen,.c.,146,n.129.38 Henrichs-Koenen,.c.,147,n.131.3' Henrichs-Koenen,.c., 147,n.130.40 Henrichs-Koenen,.c., 144,n.123.41 Henrichs-Koenen,.c., 145,n.126. In 80,16-18Mani is askedwhyhe is notgoing o theGreeks,eeHenrichs-Koenen,.c.,139, .108. This hasnothingo dowith n anti-Paulinettitude,s can be metamongtheElchasaitesccordingoEusebius."Greeks" re notopposed o "Jews" utare dentical ith gentiles"r"world",eeHenrichs-Koenen,.c.,138-139.42 Henrichs-Koenen,.c., 145,n.126: Es st n derhier itiertentelle esK61lner-Codex nicht lar, b bestimmteGemiise-derObstsortenei den Elchasaitenanzverboten aren, derob sich der Vorwurf arauf ezieht, assManiGemiise ndObstgegessenat,dasnicht n denGarten erTiiuferewachsen ar .."43 Henrichs-Koenen,.c.,146,n.127.44 Henrichs-Koenen,.c.,138,n.104.



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ELCHASAIAND MANI 283To sum psofar:Accordingo both he ihristndtheK61nerodex,Manigrew p n sect fwhichlchasaiwas upposedobethe ounder.45

Themembersf he ect ractisedrequentblutionsndusedfood hatwas carefullyleaned. Butalthoughur sources greeon theabovepoints hey iffern others.n theK6lnerCodexwe do notreadthatanyfoodwasforbiddenf twasonly roperlyleaned.Nor sanythingsaidaboutthe "seven ayings"nd theastrologicallements. n theother and,wesometimesee n theK61nerodex hatMani ppeals oJesus, hom heFihristoesnotmention.These ifferencesrenot uch hat he wo raditionsre rreconcilable.Inthe irstlace he ppeal othe uthorityfJesusntheK61nerodexdoesnotprove hatJesuswasactuallyonouredythemembersfthesect.Jesus's ordsnlyerveostrengthenani'spoint fview.46ince

46 In 94,1-95,14, enrichs-Koenen,.c., 135, n.97,whereElchasai is calledAacatog 6 dpX1yrY6qo0v6'totibpv,and96, -16, dem, 43,n.120,where lchasaiiscalledupon s a witnessgainsthebaptism ithwater. n 96,21-97,10,dem, 47,n.131, t is said thatElchasaiobjected gainst ultivatinghe earth nd in 97,11-17, dem, 46,n.127, gainst aking read. The appealto Elchasai s not ustified.However,t s not even ertain hatElchasaiwas a historicalerson.n Hippolytus,Refut. ,13,1, e should avereceivedhe pocalypticookfromhe eresnParthia.Elchasai t his turn ave tto theSobiai. AccordingoEpiphanius lchasai houldhavebeen he uthor fthebook. But nEusebiust s said that tfell rom eaven.If we realise hatEpiphaniuswrites hat hebookspeaksabouta revelationy a"power"(86vattq,19,4,1) nd that he refers o this book with he words withElchasai" r"in thebookofElchasai"9v r 'Hk.att,19,4,4),t s not nconceivablethat thetitlewas "The book of the HiddenPower" 'jf l"% ), where HiddenPower"s not obeunderstoods the uthor ut s the newhorevealedts ontents.From he ime hat hiswasnotunderstoodnymore heAramaicwordswere ead sa proper ame. See alsoEpiphanius 0,17,7, here etranslateshename Elchasai"as "HiddenPower". We should iketo emphasisehattheremark yHenrichs-Koenen,o.c., 138: "DiesesBuch,das auf Christusuriickgehenoll,ergdinzteiechristlichenvangelien",an onlybe considereds an errorwhich ltimatelyoesback toA.Harnack, ehrbucherDogmengeschichte(Tiibingen1909) 27:"DiesesBuch,welches ieErgainzungumEvangeliumilden ollte .."

46 A few times he "Saviour" s mentioned.n 84,9-85,1,Henrichs-Koenen,o.c., 137,n.103, t is said that he nstructionsf theSaviourdealwith hegnosiswhich ives alvation othe oul. In 93,14-20,dem, 38,n.104, eferences madetothemission fJesus' isciples hodid nottakewith hem mill ran oven.WhenManiis said to abolish he nstructionsftheSaviour, 1,4-11, dem, 36,n.99,heremindshemembersf the ect hatJesus lessed he oaves ndgavethem o hisdisciples,1,19-92,dem, 36,n.100. Mani blames hemembersf the ect hat heydo not iveaccordingo the nstructionsf theSaviour, 0,6-15, dem, 38,n.105.It is possible hat hereferenceso Jesus'words n thesepassagesdealingwith hecontroversyetweenManiandthemembersf the ectbelong oManichaeanesti-monies t the ime hepapyrus aswritten.Wemay dd that heposition f Jesusin theElchasaite raditions notquite lear. In Hippolytus e find emarksn the



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284 A. F. J. KLIJN AND G. J. REININKthecontents f theK61nerCodex wereprobably lso used to informChristians bout Mani's background,t s obviousthat he uthorwouldnot hesitate o invoke Jesus n supportof Mani's ideas.47Next, theGreatKingwhoplayed partn the evelationfthe ontentsfthebook 9,12,2-3)and nwhose ame newasbaptized9,15,1).Apart rom hist ssaidthatAlcibiadesspokeabout Jesus s returninghroughoutheages. Nothings done to suggestrelationetween esus ndtheGreatKing. In 10,29Hippolytus riteshat ccordingto theElchasaites hristwas nfusedntomany odies requently.esussnotmen-tioned t all nEusebius ,38. Epiphanius ritesn19,3,4: Butnext ealsoconfessesChristnname ayinghatChrists theGreatKing. But didnotfullynderstandfrom hedeceitfulndfalsifiedontentsf hebookpackedwith isboastings hetherhewas speakingboutourLordJesusChrist.Forhedoes not state xplicitlyutonlymentioned hrist s if he - as far s weunderstoodhemeaning means rsupposes omebodylse." This can onlymeanthatEpiphanius,r thecopyof thebookheknew,dentifiedhrist ithheGreatKingbut hat he emarksntheGreatKingdidnot how ny ffinityithhe raditionsboutJesus! n 53Epiphaniusaysthat heSampsaeanswereneitherhristians,ews rGreeks, utat theend of thechapter ewriteshat hey elievenChrist eing ormedor hefirstimenAdamwhose odyhe assumedwheneverewished.Thispassage hows lose ffinitiesith30,3,2,wherepiphaniuslsospeaks bout he eturninghrist.nthis hapterbouttheEbionites e referso thePeriodoi etrouwhich e assumed o be influencedyElchasai see30,3,2and30,17,5,ee alsonote57). For this easonweassume hatEpiphaniusn hisownwords dded n ideataken romhePeriodoi etrouwhich esupposedo be Elchasaite.Accordinglyeconcludehat n the ookof he lchasaitesnothing assaid aboutJesus utthatnlater lchasaite raditionsomethingbouta returninghristwastaughtcf.Alcibiades). t can not be excluded hat his deawas aken ver rom irclesmongwhichhe riginalourcesf he seudo-Clementinesoriginated. hisdevelopmentastheopposite fEpiphanius' elief.Wemay ddthat he dea thatElchasaihimself as an incarnationf Christs totallybsentnElchasaite raditions.t cannot e said thatMani becauseof hisknowledgef theElchasaite octrinesich eicht ls Prophet erstehenkonnte),n dem sich dieserChristusum etztenMal inkarnierte",eeHenrichs-Koenen,.c.,158-159 nd199.

47 In this onnexionpassage boutMani n a tenthentury oslimuthorAbdal-Jabbar,see S. Pines, The Jewish Christians f theEarly Centuries f Christianityaccordingo New ource, roceedingsf he sraelAcademyf ciencesnd Human-ities, ol. I, no.13 Jerusalem966)66, s important.n supportfhis nti-Christianpolemics heauthormade use ofa discourse etween hristiansnd Manichaeans.It is saidthat he priest"!) Mani and hisfollowerslaim o know he rue Law ofChrist" nd thatMani'sGospel s theGospelofChrist. With especto the atter(scil.theGospelofChrist), ementionshatwomen, laughterfanimalsndeatingmeatwere orbiddenyhim .. (scil.Christ)." n supportf this Mani nvokeshetestimonyf (some)passages occurring)n theGospelswhich re withyou scil.Christians)". owever,ccordingotheChristians ani ied ndhasbeenmistakeninhis nterpretations.t isnotquite learwhetherMani'sGospel"mentionedt thebeginningf thepassage s identicalwith he"Gospels"usedby theChristians.Regardinghese Gospels"Pines upposedhat heywere dentical ith n Ebionitegospel,butthere s absolutelyo reasonwhatsoevero accept his dea. We areobviously ealingwith hecanonicalGospelswhich reinterpretedyMani in hisspecialway. From heseGospels t s demonstratedhat ne hadto avoidmarriage



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ELCHASAI AND MANI 285K61nerodexwantsomake lear owManideviatedromhe pinionsfavouredy hemembersf he ect,speciallyithegardohisdualism.If this s themainobject f theK6lnerCodex, he nformationboutMani's elationshipithhe ect s nstrikinggreementithhe ihrist.Herewe comeback o thepassagen theFihristbout heway oentertheManichaeanommunity.ne was obliged o abstain rommeat,wine ndmarriageutalso "to avoid njuryowater, ire,rees ndliving hings". hesewords how xactlyhe ame nstructionshichManigaveto themembersf the ect ccordingo theK61ner odex.Thisproveshat heK61ner odex ndthe ihristreessentiallyalkingabout he ame ect.They oth how hatMani,while reservingomeofthe ect's ractices, ishedo reformtsdoctrineaving differentviewon thebody nd thematerialworld.4s ccordingo Mani,thematerial orldwas oberejectedsperishable.tcouldbe usedbut newas forbiddeno carefort. Thesect upposedhat hematerial orldwasonly ollutedndthat t hadtobepurified.From his onclusion,amelyhat heK81ner odex ndtheFihristdeal with he ame ect,whichccordingo traditionlchasai ounded,wenow urn oexamine hose assageswhere lchasaitedeascan stillbe detected.The ourcesrenotunanimous ith egardo Elchasaiteurifications.Eusebius,asing imselfponOrigen, ritesot word bout aptisms.Epiphanius rites hat heOssaeanshavebeen nfluencedyElchasaibut saysnothingboutbaptismal ractices.n his chapter n theSampsaeans, ho were lso influencedythe Elchasaite octrine,emerely aysthat theymake use of somebaptisms"53,1,4). OnlyHippolytusritesboutElchasaiteurifications.Hippolytusaspersonallycquainted ith heElchasaite lcibiadeswho ame o Rome rom pamaea t the ime fBishop allistus. hisAlcibiadesropagatedsecond aptismor hosewho ommittedravesins.Theywere aptizednthename fthe upreme od andhisSon,andmeatwhichmeans hatManichaeansried o prove hat hose nstructionsregenuinelyhristian hich ccordingotheFihristrecharacteristicor heMughta-silah. Thisreveals hat n Manichaean ircles tendencys met oascribeheirdeasto a Christianrigin.This, fcourse, riginatedn Manichaean irclesiving mongChristiansnd t upportshe deathat rom he ppealon ChristntheK61ner-Codexit doesnotfollow s a matter fcourse hatChrist as honouredmong hemembersofthe ect.

48 See Henrichs-Koenen,.c., 154: "Nachfriihmanichaischericht ollteManialso zunichst icht o sehrReligionsstifter,her ls Reformatorerstandenerden."



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286 A. F. J. KLIJN AND G. J. RENINKtheGreatKing, alling pon evenwitnesseshich,ccordingoHippo-lytus,ouldbe foundnthe pocalypticook 9,15,1-3). tis question-ablewhetherhis aptisman becalledElchasaitenorigin.Alcibiadesmightavemitatedcustom hich as emporarilyavourednRome,49sinceHippolytusriteshat second aptism as ntroducedyBishopCallistust that ime9,12,26).TheElchasaitemissionaryookedforfollowersmonghe ame ersonss thosepproachedyCallistusince,accordingoHippolytus,lcibiadesiked o outdo hebishop.50Butthe econd aptisms not he nly nementionedyHippolytus.He obviouslynew he pocalypticookas he describeshepracticefimmersionn a riverwhen ittenya maddog. In this ase too oneprays o theHighestGod and callsuponthe evenwitnesses9,14, -551).Those ufferingromuberculosisrpossessed ydemons ave lso toimmersehemselvesn a river ortyimes uringeven ays 9,16,1).These urificationshow characterifferentrom he econd aptism.The atters administerednly ncebut he urificationsre ntendedomaintainstate fpurityr toward ff emonsontinuously.It ispossibleosupposehat he riginallchasaiteaptisms foundin the pocalypticook was imitedorepeatedblution.n that ase,the econdbaptisms to be understoods an adaptationo Romancircumstances.ut he ossibilityhould otbe excludedhatElchasai-tismriginallynew baptism hichpenedheway oenterts ommu-nity.Thereason or his uppositionrethe ontentsfthebook tself,whichpoke f comingudgmentnd showed hemeans oescapet.Theapocalypticharacterfthebook smade learbythe ollowingremarkfHippolytus.When hree ears f thereignf theEmperorTrajan re gain ompletedromhe ime hat esubjectedhe arthiansto his own sway- when threeyearshave beencompleted warragesbetweenhe mpiousngels f thenorth.On this ccount ll theking-domsof mpietyre n a state f confusion"9,14,4).This hows hatthebookwasconcerned ith heTrajanwar gainsthe arthiansn theyear 16.Thisyearwas upposedobe the eginningf periodeading

49 Cf.9,14,1ndesp.9,14,4: He venturedomake seofthese naveriesnspiredbythe foresaiddeawhich allistus ommended."5o Cf.9,14,5:"Like a wolfhe had risen p againstmanywanderingheepwhichCallistuswith isdeceits ad scatteredbroad."51 SeeE. Peterson,ie BehandlungerTollwut ei denElchesaiten achHippo-lytus,n: Friihkirche,udentumndGnosisBonn1950)221-235, ut eeG.Strecker,in: W.Bauert,RechtgliiubigkeitndKetzerei,eitr.. hist. heol.10 Tiibingen1964)272,n.1.



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ELCHASAI AND MANI 287toa cosmicwar betweenngelsnd a state fconfusionnearth.Thisnegativedea about hewarshows hat heoriginftheremarks tobe ooked ormonghe arthians. his greeswith ippolytus'emarkthatElchasai eceivedhebook from heSeres nParthia9,13,1). twasobviouslyupposedhat he roubles ould astfor hree ears.52Afterhis eriod judgment aspresumablyoingo occur.Thebookfurthertates hat n intercessorouldbe presentinceEpiphaniusquoted romts ontents:I shall eyourwitnesst thedayof hegreatjudgment"19,4, ).53Thebookdidnotonly nnounceheudgment,talso wrote boutthemeans o survivehose atalyears.Purificationshelpedmen oprotecthemselvesgainsthe nfluencef he emons. tispossible,f ourse,hat he urificationsere recededy particularbaptismhroughhich nebecame memberfthegroup.The pocalypticlement,riginallyhe eason or hemissionaryctivi-ties f heElchasaites,asbound odisappearfterhe irsthree ears.Thebook,however,as still f mportanceo tsreaders ecause fthepassages ealing ith urifications.hispart ftheElchasaiteoctrinebecameharacteristic,s canbe seen rom ippolytus'emarkna smallpassage ntirelyevoted o theElchasaite eresy:Andthey se in-cantationsndbaptisms..."10,29,3).The "sevenayings" ust e dentifiedithhe evenwitnesses hichwementionedn connexion ith heElchasaite aptisms. hesewit-nesses rementionedour imesnHippolytusndEpiphanius. ippo-lytusmentionedhem n connexion ith he second aptism9,13,2).Epiphaniusalled hemwitnesseso an oath,butthen gainhe calledthem seven therwitnesses"19, , ). Epiphaniuslso wrotehathefound hemn thebook ndthatElchasaimadepeople allupon hem(19,6,4). Finally esaid nhischapternthe Ebioniteshat ncase ofillness rsnake-bitenedescendsnto hewater nd callsupon hena-meswhich rementionednElchasai30,17, ).54

52 Thepassage nHippolytus,13,4:"Therewaspreached ntomen newre-mission fsins nthethird earofTrajan'sreign",s secondary.AlsoEpiphaniusknows fa relation etween heElchasaites nd Trajan:"Latertheywereformed(scil.Ossaeans) y man alled lchasainthe ime f he mperor rajan .."(19,1,4).56 Epiphaniusendershewords ranscribedromheAramaicnthe everserder,see for hediscoveryfthemeaning randt, .c.,40.64 The"sevenwitnesses"regiven yHippolytus,efut. ,15,2 ndEpiphanius,Pan. 19,1,6nthis rder:heaven,water, olyghosts, ngels fprayer,il,salt andearth. n Epiphanius 9,1,6for he econd ime), 9,6,4 nd30,17,4inconnexionwith heEbionites)wefind istswith ome minor lterations.t is strikinghat n



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288 A. F. J. KLIJN AND G. J. REININKIt is Hippolytusho mentionshe strologicalnterest. e read nthebookthat ertainayswere nder he uspices fvicioustars.For

this eason ne was not llowed o baptize r tostart work nthesedays 9,16,).55In thedescriptionftheFihrist e meet hreeharacteristiclementsbelongingo theoriginal lchasaite octrine ecausepurification,heseven ayingsndastrologicalnformationere pparentlyubjectsftheElchasaitepocalypticook. Butapart romhis great ifferencecan be noted etweenheMughtasilahndthe lchasaites.heMughta-silahmade divisionntomale ndfemale.Wehave lreadyuggestedthat hismay e anexplanationf heirejectionfmarriage.his snotexplicitlytatedntheKilnerCodexbut inceMani'sfathernteredhesectwithoutiswife, emay oncludehat he ommunityonsistedfmenonly.The custom feating ood hatwasgrown ythemembersthemselvesxplainshe ejectionfwine nd meat.From he emarksn the lchasaites,eknow hat division etweenmale ndfemale as mpossible. ippolytusndEpiphaniusoth peakabout twoheavenly eings, male and a female,mentionedn theElchasaite ook. Themale sthe on ofGod or theGreatKing ndthefemales theHolySpirit.Thisaloneexcludesnypossibilityhat heElchasaitesejectedemale eings.56he Elchasaite octrine asnotbasedon theconceptionf salvationyrejectionf a partofrealitybutona way f alvationyfreeingt from emoniacowers.57placeof"holy hosts"we find winds"which hows heAramaic rigin.Theremustbesome elationshipith s.Clement.,iamart. and 4 which anonly eexplainedfrom commonource rbackground.65 Cf. also 9,14,2: "These also attach hemselveso ideas of mathematicians,astrologersnd magicians,s iftheywere rue", nd 10,29,4:"Andthey ccupythemselvesctively ith strology, athematicsndmagic."56 InHippolytus,efut.,13,3, wo ngels rementioned,ne a male, alled onofGod,and theother female,alledHolySpirit, othof enormous ize. In Epi-phanius, an.30,17,6,weread hat hefemale tands pposite gainsthemalebut n53,1,9,he calls them rothernd sister.Cf.Brandt, .c., 136: "Allein, ben dieses(scil.thedifferenceetweenmale ndfemale)stdemCharakteres Elchasai uwie-der .."57 Theonlyndicationhat heElchasaites,ike heMughtasilah,idnot atmeatis Epiphanius 9,3,6and 53,1,4 cf.also 19,1,7),where ontraryo theFihrist efind: He (scil.Elchasai)detests irginity.." The source fthese emarksreagainthePeriodoi etrouwhichwere upposed o be an EbionitewritingnfluencedyElchasai. nthiswritingpiphaniusound hat nehadto abstain from nimalsndmeat"30,15,3).Cf.Brandt,.c., 138, bout he ejectionfmarriage, eat nd wine:"DieseAngabewidersprichtllemwas uns lselchasaiischiberliefertst .."



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ELCHASAI AND MANI 289It is this ifferenceetweenheElchasaitereachingnd heMughta-silahwhich astdoubtupontherelationshipetweenlchasai nd the

Mughtasilah.hisrelationshipannot edenied incetappearsn theK61ner odex and therere several oints fagreementetween hedoctrineftheMughtasilahnd that f theElchasaites. heproblemofagreementnddissimilarityanonly eexplainedfwe maginehatElchasaitisms a missionaryovement.tickingo some entraldeaslikebaptismsnd ncantations,t nfluencednd was nfluencednturnby foreigndeas. Hippolytus rites hattheElchasaitemissionaryAlcibiades as themoststonishingnterpreterf hewretchedlchasai"(9,17,2).AccordingoOrigen,"aertainman" ame oCaesarea opro-claim heElchasaite octrineEusebius, ist. ccl. , 8). Epiphanius,swehave lreadymentioned,rotehat lchasainfluencedheEbionitesand heOssaeans.All hishowshat lchasaitismhowedmany ifferentforms.Althoughot a doctrine ith riginal hristiandeas, twasadopted yJewish-Christianshogave t their wn nterpretation.hismeans hat he resencefMani mongheMughtasilahoesnotrevealmore boutMani'sbackgroundhan s known bout his ect. BeforethediscoveryftheK61ner odex, ur nformationasscanty as itstill s. Themain ointsthenterestingpinionsbout he ignificanceofbody nd soul heldbytheElchasaites,heMughtasilahnd Mani.Forthe estwe renot llowed ofillnthe lankpotswithnformationabout heElchasaite octrines it sknown rom therources.Haren Gr.),Dilgtweg 8a

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