Ptahil
| Ptahil | |
|---|---|
Fourth Life | |
| Other names | Gabriel |
| Parents | Abatur, or Hibil and Zahreil |
| Equivalents | |
| Egyptian equivalent | Ptah |
| Manichaean equivalent | Prince of Darkness |
| Part of a series on |
| Mandaeism |
|---|
 |
| Religion portal |
In Mandaean mythology, Ptahil (Template:Rtl-lang) also known as Ptahil-Uthra (uthra = angel or guardian),[1]: 8 is the Fourth Life, the third of three emanations from the First Life, Hayyi Rabbi, after Yushamin and Abatur. In Mandaeism, Ptahil-Uthra alone does not constitute the demiurge but only fills that role since he is viewed as the creator of the material world in the Ginza Rabba, often holding an inherently malicious character.[1][2][3][4][5]
Name
Matthias Norberg believed the name Ptahil to be composed of Aramaic Template:Rtl-lang and Template:Rtl-lang, therefore meaning "God opened", although the verb can also mean "create" in Mandaic, but not in other Aramaic languages.[3] Subsequent scholars have deemed it more probably derived from the Egyptian theonym 'Ptah' and angelic 'il',[6][1][7] as originally conjectured by Mark Lidzbarski, although Carl H. Kraeling argued that the influence of Ptah on Mesopotamian syncretic Gnostic traditions is minimal, and opined that the name Ptahil was derived from the dialectal use of the verb (which usage he suggested to have arisen by analogy to the opening of the cosmic egg), and not vice versa.[3] According to James F. McGrath, Ptah and il were identified in Canaan during the era of Egyptian rule of which Ptahil may be derived from.[8]
Parentage
As the Fourth Life, Ptahil is considered to be the son of Abatur, the Third Life.[1] However, in some versions of the narrative, Ptahil originated as the son of the saviour uthra Hibil Ziwa, who inhabits the World of Light, and Zahreil (Classical Mandaic: ࡆࡀࡄࡓࡏࡉࡋ).[9] Zahreil is a lilith (Classical Mandaic: ࡋࡉࡋࡉࡕࡀ, romanized: lilita) from the World of Darkness who dwells in the beds of pregnant women[10] serving to ensure the wellbeing of the child before and after birth; E. S. Drower describes her as a genius of childbirth.[11]: 46 Hibil married Zahreil during his descent to the World of Darkness, although some versions of the narrative claim he did not consummate the marriage.[12]
Role
Ptahil is identified with Gabriel and creates the poorly made material world with the help of Ruha, an evil female ruler who inhabits the World of Darkness, but cannot provide man with a soul.[1][13][11]: 73
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e Buckley, Jorunn Jacobsen. 2002. The Mandaeans: Ancient Texts and Modern People. Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ Aldihisi, Sabah (2013). The Story of Creation in the Mandaean Holy Book the Ginza Rba (PDF). p. 65.
- ^ a b c Kraeling, Carl (June 1933). "The Mandaic God Ptahil". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 53 (2). American Oriental Society: 152–165. doi:10.2307/593099. JSTOR 593099.
- ^ "Mandaeanism". Religion. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
- ^ "Gnosticism". Religion. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
- ^ Häberl, Charles (3 March 2021), "Hebraisms in Mandaic", YouTube, retrieved 13 November 2021
- ^ T. W. Thacker (April 1956). "The Relationship of the Semitic and Egyptian Verbal Systems". Cambridge University Press: 102.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ McGrath, James (19 June 2020). "The Shared Origins of Monotheism, Evil, and Gnosticism". YouTube. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
- ^ Drower, Ethel S. (1953). The Haran Gawaita and The Baptism of Hibil-Ziwa: The Mandaic text reproduced together with translation, notes and commentary. Vatican City: Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana. p. 34, translator's footnote #3.
³ Pthahil, son of Hibil-Ziwa and Zahariel: a demiurge, creator of the material world: also called the "Fourth Life".
- ^ Häberl, Charles G.; McGrath, James F. (2019). The Mandaean Book of John: Text and Translation (PDF). Open Access Version. Berlin/Boston: De Gruyter.
- ^ a b Drower, Ethel Stefana. The Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran. Oxford At The Clarendon Press, 1937
- ^ "Book Five: The Descent of the Savior". Ginza Rabba. Vol. Right Volume. Translated by Al-Saadi, Qais; Al-Saadi, Hamed (2nd ed.). Germany: Drabsha. 2019. pp. 70–83.
- ^ "Mandaean Glossary". Religion. Mandaean World. Archived from the original on 2007-03-20.
 | This Mandaeism-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |