This is a revision of E.M. Yamauchi's dissertation. It includes a collection of the earliest Mandaic texts, which are magic scrolls and inscribed bowls, dating from about 600 CE, together with transcriptions and translations, a grammar, and a lexicon.

In opposition to other leading scholars of the Mandaeans, Yamauchi concludes that the Mandaeans could not have originated before the second century CE. He notes their distinguishing characterisitcs from other Gnostic groups.