One of the subjects I’m currently working on is comparing the treatment of John the Baptist in Mandaean, Nag Hammadi, and other sources. I’m hoping to include for consideration as much material as I can from Christian and even Islamic sources, as these may be useful in helping to trace the influences on the Mandaeans and/or their influence on the literature and traditions of others.
There are a few intriguing references. Kraeling’s bibliographical article on the Mandaeans mentions a Coptic text the current whereabouts of which seem to be unknown, but which was at some point in the library of the Shenoute monastery.
There is a Coptic work on John the Baptist mentioned by Tito Orlandi as being in the Turin Egyptian Museum. Does anyone know if there is a published catalogue of the Turin museum library? I found reference to a volume by Peyron which seems to be the closest thing there is (the museum is apparently working on having a digital catalogue that can be searched online).
There is enough material that is more readily accessible and insufficiently studied to keep me busy in the short term. But there is a lot more out there that is relevant to this project, in not only Coptic but also Arabic and Syriac, some of it unpublished and untranslated. Enough research for several lifetimes!
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