© Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2007 DOI: 10.1163/157007207X234101 The Faces of the Father: “Pentadization” in the Manichaean Kephalaia (Chapter 21) Timothy Pettipiece Université Laval, 139 rue de la Citadelle, Gatineau, Québec, Canada J8Z 3L8 Abstract One of the most striking characteristics of the first volume of Manichaean Kephalaia is the occurrence of five-part patterns in a wide variety of contexts. Even though the importance of pentads in Manichaeism has long been recognized, few attempts have been made to study what implications they might have for tracing the development of early Manichaean tradition. By examining the attribution of five qualities to the Father of Greatness in Kephalaia Chapter 21, this article suggests that a deliberate attempt was made to revise the Manichaean concept of divinity from one based on tetrads to one based on pentads. Keywords Manichaeism, Kephalaia, Coptic, numbers, redaction he first volume of the Coptic Kephalaia 1 is often described as a summa 2 or “dogmatics” outlining the “principal points” of Manichaean theology. 3 1) he Manichaean Kephalaia exist in two Coptic codices discovered near the Egyptian town of Medinet Madi in 1929. he first codex (Berlin codex P. 15996 or Berlin Kephalaia codex) is entitled “he Kephalaia of the Teacher,” while the second codex (Codex C or Dublin Kephalaia codex) is entitled “he Kephalaia of the Wisdom of My Lord Mani.” For an account of the discovery of these manuscripts see James Robinson, “he Fate of the Manichaean Codices of Medinet Madi: 1929-1989,” in Studia Manichaica, II. Internatio- naler Kongreß zum Manichäismus 6-10. August 1989, St. Augustin/Bonn (ed. Gernot Wießner and H.-J. Klimkeit; Wiesbaden 1992) 19-62. Much of the Berlin Kephalaia codex was published by H.-J. Polotsky and A. Böhlig (Kephalaia (I): 1. Hälfte [Lieferung 1-10]. Stutt- gart: Kohlhammer, 1940 and Kephalaia (I): 2. Hälfte [Lieferung 11-12]. Stuttgart: Kohl- hammer, 1966), while the remainder is being published by W.-P. Funk (see Kephalaia (I): Zweite Hälfte [Lieferung 13-14]. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer, 1999 and Kephalaia (I): Zweite Vigiliae Christianae 61 (2007) 470-477 www.brill.nl/vc Vigiliae Christianae VC 61,4_876_470-477.indd 470 VC 61,4_876_470-477.indd 470 9/13/07 10:55:51 AM 9/13/07 10:55:51 AM