Practice Reading Gǝʿǝz 2

Excerpts from Abba Giyorgis’ Book of Mystery

Augustine Dickinson
Introduction
The Book of Mystery (Maṣḥafa Mǝśṭir) of Abba Giyorgis of Saglā is widely considered to be one
of the masterpieces of Gǝʿǝz literature. Completed in 1424, the text is an anti-heretical work divided
into thirty chapters, each beginning and concluding with a rhymed verse. As an author, Abba Giyorgis
enjoys a lofty reputation and the large corpus of his writings employs a sophisticated (though
sometimes Amharizing) style, advanced vocabulary, and draws on an impressive wealth of sources.

The eighteenth chapter, where these excerpts are taken from, concerns the refutation of the
prophet Mani (Manichaeus), who founded a dualistic, syncretic religion (Manichaeism) that, at its
height, reached from Europe to China and rivalled Christianity in popularity. In later Christian
rhetoric, however, Mani’s name became associated with docetism, the belief that Christ was an
apparition and not physically present on earth, and this is instead the focus of the chapter. Most of the
chapter is comprised of biblical quotations that imply Christ had a physical body, each appended with
the rhetorical question, “Was He an apparition?”

The text which I present here is a diplomatic transcription of MS GG 100 (Ff. 79r, 81r-81v), a
fifteenth-century copy of the Book of Mystery. The concluding poem, as is often the case, has been
extended to include the copyist/commissioner. For those who wish to practice reading from a
manuscript, links are provided to the images of the relevant folios. I have not made any emendations
within the text, only offering suggestions or corrections in the notes beneath it. The translation
provided is my own. The paragraphs are divided and numbered according to Ḥǝruy ʾErmǝyās’ edition.

Abbreviations

1/2/3 = first/second/third person IMPV = imperative

M/F/C = masculine/feminine/common INF = infinitive

S/P = singular/plural OBJ = object

PF/IMPF = perfect/imperfect PR = proper noun

SUBJ = subjunctive PPL = participle

 Excerpts from Abba Giyorgis’ Book of Mystery — Augustine Dickinson

Text
[fol. 79ra] [1] በስመ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ አዶናይ፨
 ክንትሮሳቲሆሙ፡ ዘገብረ፡ በዘይትዔረይ፨


ዘበትርጓሜሁ፡ እግዚእ፡ አልሳዳይ፨
 ለቀዳማዊ፡ ምስለ፡ ካልአይ፨


በከርሠ፡ ደመናት፡ ዘየዐቍሮ፡ ለማይ፨
 ወለሣልሳዊ፡ ምስለ፡ ራብዓይ፨


ዘየዐርጎ፡ እምቃላይ፨
 ፍልጠተ፡ ዓመታት፡ በዘይትሌለይ፨


ዘይረብቦ፡ እምገጸ፡ ሰማይ።
 ውስተ፡ ልበ፡ መሓስባን፡ በዘይትሔለይ፨


ወይገለብቦ፡ ለብርሃነ፡ ፀሐይ፨
 ሎቱ፡ ስብሐት፡ ለብሑተ፡ ስልጣን፡ ወዕበይ፨

ዘያስተባሪ፡ አክራመ፡ በሀጋይ፨
 ለዓለመ፡ ዓለመ፡ አሚን፨


ወመጸወ፡ በጸደይ፨
 


ʾadonāy PR ‘Adonai’ [Hebr.] ʾalsāddāy PR ‘El Shaddai’ [Hebr.] yaʿaqqʷǝro 3MS IMPF + 3MS OBJ < ʿaqʷara ‘roll
up, confine’ yaʿarrǝgo [sic] = yāʿarrǝgo yǝgalabbǝbo 3MS IMPF + 3MS OBJ < galbaba ‘veil, cover’ yāstabāri
< ʾastabāraya ‘replace, change alternately’ ʾakrām P < kǝramt ‘winter’ hagāy ‘summer’ maṣaw ‘spring’ 
ṣaday ‘autumn’  kǝntǝrosāt P < kǝntǝros ‘quarter of a year’  maḥassǝbān MP < maḥassǝb ‘astronomer’ 
yǝtḥellay 3MS IMPF < taḫallaya ‘be perceived, conceived ʿālama [sic] = ʿālam laʿālama ʿālam ‘unto ages of
ages’ = ‘forever and ever’ ʾamin [sic] = ʾamen

[1] In the Name of the Lord, Adonai,
 Who made their quarters in which they are equal,

Which, in its interpretation, is, “the Lord El 
 The first with the second

 Shaddai,”
 And the third with the fourth,

Who confines the water to the belly of the clouds,
 The division of the years into which they are 

Who raises it from the deep,
  separated,

Who stretches it from the face of heaven
 In which they are perceived by the mind(s) of 

And veils the light of the sun,
  astronomers,

Who alternates winter with summer
 To Him, alone in authority and greatness, be glory,

And spring with autumn,
 Forever and ever, amen.



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 Excerpts from Abba Giyorgis’ Book of Mystery — Augustine Dickinson

[2] ንንግርኬ፡ ዘለፋሁ፡ ለመንክዮን፡ ዘይቤ፡ ምትሕት፡ ሥጋሁ፡ ለክርስቶስ፡ ወአኮ፡ ሥጋ፡ እጓለ፡

እመሕያው፡ አነክር፡ እበድከ፡ ኦመንክዮን፡ እፎ፡ አፍቀርከ፡ ከመ፡ ትስምዮ፡ ምትሐት፡

እምትስምዮ፡ ሥግወ፡ እምወለተ፡ አዳም፡ ወሔዋን፡ ሶበሰ፡ ኢስግው፡ ውእቱ፡ እምዕብራዊያን፡

ወለተ፡ ዕብራዊያን፡ ኢውሉድ፡ ውእቱ፡ እምኔሃ፡ ወእመሂ፡ ኢውሉድ፡ ውእቱ፡ እምኔሃ፡ ኢሕፁን፡

ውእቱ፡ በሐሊበ፡ አጥባቲሃ፡ ወእመሂ፡ ኢሕፁን፡ በሐሊበ፡ አጥባቲሃ፡ ኢሕቁፍ፡ ውእቱ፡

በአብራኪሃ፡ ወኢልኩፍ፡ በጻብኢሃ፨ ወእመሂ፡ ኢሕቁፍ፡ በአብራኪሃ፡ ወኢልኩፍ፡

በጻብ[fol. 79rb]ዒሃ፡ ኢክሱብ፡ ውእቱ፡ በከመ፡ ሥርዓተ፡ ሕዝባ፨ ወእመሂ፡ ኢክሱብ፡ በከመ፡

ሥርዓተ፡ ሕዝባ፡ ኢጥሙቅ፡ ውእቱ፡ በፈለገ፡ ዮርዳኖስ፡ እንዘ፡ ይትገሰስ፡ ርእሶ፡ በኀበ፡ ዮሐንስ፡

ወልደ፡ ዘካርያስ። ወእመሂ፡ ኢጥሙቅ፡ በፈለገ፡ ዮርዳኖስ፡ ኢቅንው፡ ውእቱ፡ በሐፃውንተ፡

zalafā ‘reproach, refutation’  mankǝyon PR ‘Mani, Manichaeus’  mǝtḥǝt [sic] = mǝtḥat ‘ghost, apparition’ 
ʾǝgʷāla ʾǝmmaḥǝyāw ‘offspring of the mother of the living’ = ‘human’  ʾǝbadǝka [sic] = ʿǝbadaka  ʾǝm-
‘more than’ [indicates a comparison] soba ‘if’ [introduces a counterfactual protasis] ʾisǝgǝw wǝʾǝtu MS PPL
+ COPULA ‘he was not incarnate’ ʾǝmma ‘if’ [introduces a protasis] ḥǝḍun MS PPL < ḥaḍana ‘nurse’ ʾaṭbāt
FP < ṭǝb ‘breast’ ḥǝquf MS PPL < ḥaqafa ‘hug, embrace’ ʾabrāk P < bǝrk ‘knee’ lǝkuf MS PPL < lakafa ‘reach,

touch’ ṣābǝʾ [sic] = ʾaṣābǝʿ P < ʾaṣbāʿt ‘finger’ kǝsub MS PPL < kasaba ‘circumcise’ qǝnǝw MS PPL < qanawa
‘pierce with nail(s)’ ḥaḍāwǝnt P < ḫaṣin ‘iron, sword, nail’

[2] Let us speak, now, of the refutation of Manichaeus, who said that the body of Christ was an
apparition and not a human body. Be amazed at your foolishness, O Manichaeus! Why did you love
to call Him an apparition rather than to call Him incarnate of a daughter of Adam and Eve? If He
was not incarnate from the Hebrews, (from) a daughter of the Hebrews, (then) He was not born
from her. And if He was not born from her, (then) He was not nourished with the milk of her breasts.
And if He was not nourished with the milk of her breasts, (then) He was not embraced on her lap or
touched by her fingers. And if He was not embraced on her lap or touched by her fingers, (then) He
was not circumcised according to the customs of her people. And if He was not circumcised
according to the customs of her people, (then) He was not baptized in the river Jordan, His head
being touched by John, son of Zachariah. And if He was not baptized in the river Jordan, (then) He

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 Excerpts from Abba Giyorgis’ Book of Mystery — Augustine Dickinson

መስቀል፨ ወእመሂ፡ ኢቅንው፡ በኀፃውንተ፡ መስቀል፨ ኢቅቱል፡ በእንተ፡ ቤዛ፡ ብዙኀን፨

ወእመሂ፡ ኢቅቱል፡ ውእቱ፡ በእንተ፡ ቤዛ፡ ብዙኃን፡ ኢድኁን፡ አንተ፡ መንክዮን፡ በሞተ፡ ኢየሱስ፡

ክርስቶስ፡

[fol. 81ra] [13] ተሐፈርኬ፡ ኦመንክዮን፡ ዘትቤ፡ ትስብእቶ፡ ለክርስቶስ፡ ምትሐት፨ ናሁ፡ ውእቱ፡

ለሊሁ፡ አጽርዓ፡ ሃይማኖተከ፡ እንዘ፡ ይብል፡ አንሰ፡ ሥጋ፡ ወዓፅም፡ ብየ፡ ንሕነሰ፡ ነአምኖ፡

ለክርስቶስ፡ ከመ፡ ፍጹም፡ እግዚኣብሔር፡ በከመ፡ አቡሁ፡ ወከመ፡ ፍጹም፡ እጓለ፡ እመ፡ ሕያው፡

ከማነ። ወለነኒ፡ ፍጽምት፡ ሃይማኖትነ፡ ወፍጽምት፡ ጥምቀትነ፡ ወፍጽምት፡ ቤተ፡ ክርስቲያንነ።

[14] ወቦ፡ እለ፡ ይቤሉ፡ ከመ፡ እግዝእትነ፡ ማርያምሂ። ወኢተወልደት፡ በሩካቤ፨ እፎኬ፡ ይብልዋ፡

ኢተወልደት፡ በሩካቤ፡ ዘለሊሃ፡ አንከረት፡ ሶበ፡ ኣብሰራ፡ መልአክ፡ እንዘ፡ ይብል፡ ወናሁ፡ ትፀንሲ፡

dǝḫun MS PPL < dǝḫna ‘be saved’ taḥafar 2MS IMPV < taḫafara ‘be ashamed’ tǝsbǝʾt ‘incarnation, incarnate
body’  ʾaṣrǝʿā ‘annul, neglect’  rukābe ‘intercourse’  ʾābsarā 3MS PF + 3FS OBJ < ʾabsara ‘announce good
news’

was not nailed with the nails of the Cross. And if He was not nailed with the nails of the Cross,
(then) He was not killed for the ransom of many. And if He was not killed for the ransom of many,
(then) you, Manichaeus, have not been saved by the death of Jesus Christ.

[13] Be ashamed now, O Manichaeus! You who said that the body of Christ was an
apparition! Behold, He Himself has nullified your belief, saying, “I indeed have flesh and
bone [Lk. 24:39].” But we believe that Christ is fully God, like His Father, and fully human, like us.
And as for us, our faith is whole, our baptism is whole, and our church is whole.

[14] There are those who say that Our Lady Mary was not born through intercourse. How
(can) they say about her, “She was not born through intercourse”? She herself was astonished when
the angel brought good news to her, saying, “And behold, you shall conceive and give birth to a

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 Excerpts from Abba Giyorgis’ Book of Mystery — Augustine Dickinson

ወትወልዲ፡ ወልደ፨ ወትቤሎ፡ ድንግል፡ ለመልአክ፡ እፎ፡ ይከውነኒ፡ ዝንቱ፡ እንዘ፡ ኢየአምር፡

ብእሴ፨ ሶበሰ፡ እማ፡ ፀንሰታ፡ እንበለ፡ ሩካቤ፡ እመ፡ ኢትቤ፡ ድንግል፡ እፎ፡ ይከውነኒ፡ ዝንቱ፡ እንዘ፡

ኢየአምር፡ ብእሴ፨ ሰሚዓ፡ ዜና፡ ፅንስ፡ ዘኢልማድ፡ አንከረት፡ ወለተ፡ ዳዊት፨ ወእምዝ፡ ይቤላ፡

መልአክ፡ መንፈስ፡ ቅዱስ፡ [fol. 81rb] ይመጽእ፡ ላዕሌኪ፡ ወኃይለ፡ ልዑል፡ ይጼልለኪ፡ ወዘኒ፡

ይትወለድ፡ እምኔኪ፡ ቅዱስ፡ ውእቱ፡ ወይሰመይ፡ ወልደ፡ ልዑል፨ ወይእተ፡ ጊዜ፡ ትቤ፡ ድንግል፡ ነየ፡

አመተ፡ እግዚኣብሔር፡ ይኩነኒ፡ በከመ፡ ትቤለኒ፨ ወምስለ፡ ብሂለ፡ ዝቃል፡ ኮና፡ በከመ፡ ይቤላ፡

ቦአ፡ ኃይል፡ ዘኢያስተርኢ፡ ምስለ፡ ቃለ፡ ገብርኤል፡ እንተ፡ መስኮተ፡ እዝና፡ ወኃደረ፡ ውስተ፡ ማኅፀን፡

ዘኢለከፎ፡ ርስሓተዝ፡ ዓለም፨ ቃለ፡ እግዚኣብሔር፡ ቃል፡ ንጹሕ፨ ኀደረ፡ ኀበ፡ ንጽሕት፡ ሥጋ፨

እሳት፡ ዘኢይትገሰስ፡ ተጠብለለ፡ በዓጽፈ፡ ሥጋ፡ ተሥዕለ፡ ለሊሁ፡ በማኅፀነ፡ ሙላድ፡ ወአልቦ፡

yǝkawwǝnani 3MS IMPF + 1CS OBJ < *kawana ʾǝmma [sic] = ʾǝm ‘then’ [introduces a counterfactual apodosis] 
samiʿā CONVERB ‘with her having heard’ zaʾilǝmād ‘not customary, not usual’ yǝṣellǝlaki 3MS IMPF + 2FS OBJ
< ṣallala ‘shade, overshadow’  naya 1CS [exclamatory pronoun]  yǝkunani 3MS SUBṢ + 1CS OBJ < *kawana 
bǝhil INF < bǝhla kona 3MS PF + 3FS OBJ < *kawana boʾa 3MS PF < *bawʾa zaʾiyāstarʾi ‘which is not visible’ =
‘invisible’ maskot ‘window’ rǝsḥat ‘impurity, pollution’ taṭablala ‘be rolled up, wrapped up’ ʿaṣf ‘robe’ 
taśǝʿla ‘paint, fashion’ mulad ‘childbirth’

son [Lk. 1:31].” And the Virgin said to the angel, “How (can) this happen to me? I have not known a
man [Lk. 1:34].” If her mother had conceived her without intercourse, then the Virgin would not have
said, “How can this happen to me? I have not known a man.” Having heard the news of the
conception, which was unconventional, the daughter of David was amazed. And after this, the angel
said to her, “The Holy Spirit shall come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow
you and He who will be born from you is holy and shall be called Son of the Most High [Lk. 1:35].”
And at that time, the Virgin said, “O me! The handmaid of the Lord! Let it happen to me as you have
said to me [Lk. 1:38].” And with the speaking of this word, it happened to her as he had said to her:
the invisible power entered through the window of her ear with the voice of Gabriel and dwelt
within (her) womb, which the pollution of this world did not touch. The Word of the Lord, the pure
Word, dwelt within her pure body. The fire which (can) not be touched was wrapped in a robe of
flesh, fashioned by itself within the womb of childbirth and there was no fashioner. One was not

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 Excerpts from Abba Giyorgis’ Book of Mystery — Augustine Dickinson

ምሥዓለ፡ ዘኢይትፈቀድ፡ በእንቲአሁ፡ እስመ፡ ለሊሁ፡ ውእቱ፡ ሠዓሌ፡ መላእክት፡ በጠባይዐ፡ እሳት፡

ወነፋስ፡ ወሠዓሌ፡ እጓለ፡ እመ፡ ሕያው፡ በጠባይዐ፡ ሥጋ፡ ወደም ፨ = ፨ በአይቴ፡ እንከ፡

እምክህለት፡ ድንግል፡ ተሠግዎ፡ እምእማ፡ ዘእንበለ፡ እንተ፡ እምአቡሃ፡ እስመ፡ ኢኮነት፡ ገባሪተ፡

እጓለ፡ እመ፡ ሕያው። ውእቱሰ፡ ገባሪሁ፡ ለእጓለ፡ እመ፡ ሕያው፡ አነመ፡ ሥጋ፡ ለርእሱ፡ እማኅፀነ፡

ድንግል፡ ተኬነወ፡ በከመ፡ ፈቀደ፡ ወአልቦ፡ ዘይከልኦ፡ ገቢረ፡ ዘሐለየ ፨ = ፨ በከመ፡ ጽሑፍ፡

ዘይብል፡ ትወፅእ፡ በትር፡ እምሥርወ፡ እሴይ፡ ወየዓርግ፡ ጽጌ፡ እምጕንዱ፨ ምንት፡ ውእቱ፡

[fol. 81va] ፀአተ፡ በትር፡ እምሥርው፡ ዘእንበለ፡ ዘርአ፡ ሙላድ፡ ዘቅደስት፡ ድንግ፡ እንተ፡ ኮነት፡

እምኀበ፡ ኢያቄም፡ ውስተ፡ ማኅፀነ፡ ሐና፨ እስመ፡ ዘርአ፡ እሴይ፡ ውእቱ፡ ኢያአቄም፡ አቡሃ፡

ለማርያም[፡] ወምንትኑመ፡ ካዕበ፡ ዕርገተ፡ ጽጌ፡ እምጕንዱ፡ ዘእንበለ፡ ሥጋዌ፡ መለኮት፡

እምወለቱ፨

mǝśʿāl [sic] = maśʿǝl ‘fashioner’  yǝtfaqqad 3MS IMPF < tafaqda ‘be wanted, necessary’  śaʿāli ‘fashioner’ 
ṭabāyǝʿ ‘element, nature’ taśagǝwo INF < taśagawa konat 3FS PF < *kawana gabārit FS < gabāri ‘maker’ 
ʾanama ‘weave’ rǝʾǝsu 3MS REFLEXIVE ‘himself’ takenawa ‘fabricate’ yǝkallǝʾo 3MS IMPF + 3MS OBJ < kalʾa
‘prevent’  gabir INF < gabra  ʾƎssey PR ‘Jesse’  gʷǝnd ‘trunk’  dǝng [sic] = dǝngǝl  ʾIyāqem PR
‘Joachim’ -nu-mma [emphatic interrogative marker]

needed for this reason, (namely), that He Himself was the fashioner of angels in the nature of fire
and wind and the fashioner of mankind in the nature of flesh and blood. In what way, therefore,
could the Virgin have been incarnate of her mother without her father, since she is not the maker of
mankind? But He was the maker of mankind. He wove His own flesh from the womb of the Virgin,
fabricating it as He wished. There is none who (can) prevent Him from doing what He intends (to
do). As it is written, “A branch will come out from the root of Jesse and a blossom will ascend from
his trunk [Is. 11:1].” What is the coming of the branch from the root if not the seed of childbirth of the
Holy Virgin, which went from Joachim into the womb of Hanna? For Joachim, the father of Mary,
was (of) the lineage of Jesse. Indeed, what, then, is the rising of the blossom from his trunk if not the
incarnation of divinity from his daughter?

6
 Excerpts from Abba Giyorgis’ Book of Mystery — Augustine Dickinson

[15] ስብሐት፡ ለአብ፡ ለዘፈነ፡ ወልዶ፡ ውስተ፡ ማኅፀነ፡ ድንግል፡ ከመ፡ ትለዶ፡ ዘእንበለ፡ ሩካቤ።


ወሰጊድ፡ ለወልድ፡ ለዘተወልደ፡ ዘእንበለ፡ ሩካቤ፡ እምእንተ፡ ተወልደት፡ በሩካቤ፨


አኰቴት፡ ለመንፈስ፡ ቅዱስ፡ ለዘቀደሳ፡ ወአጽንዓ፡ ከመ፡ ትለድ፡ በኢሩካቤ፨


ሰላም፡ ወሳህል፡ ለቅድስት፡ ቤተ፡ ክርስቲያን፡ ለዓለመ፡ ዓለም፡ አሜን፨

[16] ተፈጸመ፡ ዘለፋሁ፡ ለመን[fol. 81vb]ክዮን፡ ላእከ፡ ሰይጣን፡


ዘሰመዮ፡ ምትሐት፡ ለትስብእተ፡ መድኅን፡


አጽሐፍክዋ፡ አነ፡ ጊዮርጊስ[፡] ምስኪን፨


ሱታፌ፡ ሃይማኖቶሙ፡ ለናዝራዊያን፨


tǝlado 3FS SUBJ + 3MS OBJ < walada lāʾk ‘messenger, servant’

[15] Glory to the Father, to Him who sent His Son into the womb of a virgin that she might give birth 

 without intercourse,

And worship to the Son, to Him who was born without intercourse from her who was born through 

 intercourse,

Praise to the Holy Spirit, to Him who sanctified her and strengthened her that she might give birth 

 through non-intercourse.

Peace and mercy to the Holy Church, forever and ever, amen.

[16] It is completed, the refutation of Manichaeus, the servant of Satan,


Who called the body of the Saviour an apparition.

I wrote it, poor Giyorgis,

Member of the faith of the Nazarenes,


7
 Excerpts from Abba Giyorgis’ Book of Mystery — Augustine Dickinson

ወልደ፡ ትምህርቶሙ፡ ለሐዋርያት፡ ንጹሐን፨


ለባሴ፡ ጥምቀቶሙ፡ ለምሃይምናን፨


ገብር፡ ፅቡስ፡ እምዓምቅተ፡ አናቅጺሃ፡ ለቤተ፡ ክርስቲያን፨


ስብሐት፡ ለእግዚኣብሔር፡ ለዓለመ፡ ዓለም፡ አሜን፨


ለአጽሐፊሃ፡ አቡነ፡ [erased] ወለ[erased]፡ ምስኪናን፨


ወያድኅኖሙ፡ እምእኩይ፡ አዝማን፨


በእንተ፡ ጸሎታ፡ ለማርያም[፡] እመ፡ ብርሃን፨


ምስለ፡ ደቂቀ፡ ዛቲ፡ መካን፨


ለዓለመ፡ ዓለም፨ አሜን፨ አሜን፨ ወአሜን፨

mǝhāymǝnān [sic] = mahāymǝnān  mǝʿāmǝqt [sic] = maʿāmǝqt P < māʿǝmǝqt ‘depth’ [other manuscripts:
ʿaqabt CP < ʿaqābi ‘guardian’]  ʾanāqǝṣ P < ʾanqaṣ ‘gate’  ʾaṣḥafi ‘commissioner (of a manuscript)’  daqiq
‘(spiritual) children’ = ‘monks’

Son of the teaching of the pure Apostles,


Wearer of the baptism of the believers,

Weak servant from the depths of the gates of the Church.

Glory to the Lord, forever and ever, amen.

(And as) for Abuna [erased], (who) had it copied, and the poor ones, [erased],

Save them from wicked times,

For the sake of the prayer of Mary, Mother of the Light,

(Along) with the monks of this place,

Forever and ever, amen, amen, and amen.

— Augustine Dickinson, Waterloo, Ontario. ©2020.