<i>Šaptā'd Again!</i> — A Mandaic Scribal Term Reconsidered

Abstract Since Nöldeke (1875), the Mandaic word šapta (by-form: šabta) has been widely understood to mean ‘leaf (for writing), scroll’. However, more recently it has been proposed that this interpretation is erroneous, and that it should be translated ‘incantation (series)‘. This article presents an investigation into the word's use from its earliest material attestation in an epigraphic source from Late Antiquity up to its use in the titles of the magical collections in manuscripts from the 17th century onwards. It is shown that while it originally referred broadly to a leaf for writing, a ledger or a scroll, its application became more restricted during the Islamic period. By the 17th century it was used specifically to denote collections of magical texts copied onto rotuli. It is proposed that this shift is related to material aspects of Mandaean scribal culture. The article also discusses possible etymologies of the word.