Pettipiece T. Pentadic Redaction in the Manichaean Kephalaia

Brill, 2009. — 257 p. — (Nag Hammadi and Manichaean Studies - 66)The role played by numbers in religion is largely unexplored territory. This is due, in part, to the fact that such patterns, if they exist, tend
to become so embedded into the collective consciousness of the community that rarely is any exegetical effort expended reflecting on their origins or implications. Jews and Christians, for example, do not tend to inquire as to why there are ten commandments and not twelve, why there are twelve tribes of Israel and not twenty, or why Jesus, when he wanted to feed a crowd of his hearers, used only five loaves and two fish. Similarly, Muslims might not be inclined to question why five daily prayers are required, instead of six, or why the Qur"an contains ¯ 114 surahs instead of 141