Zahreil

Zahreil
AbodeWorld of Darkness
Genealogy
ParentsQin
SiblingsRuha
OffspringPtahil

In Mandaeism, Zahreil or Zahrʿil (Classical Mandaic: ࡆࡀࡄࡓࡏࡉࡋ) is the daughter of Qin, sister of Ruha, and mother of Ptahil. According to Book 5 of the Right Ginza, during Hibil Ziwa's descent to the World of Darkness (alma d-hšuka) or underworld, he marries Zahreil, who then gives birth to the creator of the material universe, Ptahil.[1][2]

Zahreil is a lilith (Classical Mandaic: ࡋࡉࡋࡉࡕࡀ, romanized: lilita) from the World of Darkness who dwells in the beds of pregnant women[3] serving to ensure the wellbeing of the child before and after birth; E. S. Drower describes her as a genius of childbirth.[4]: 46 

  1. ^ Buckley, Jorunn Jacobsen (2002). The Mandaeans: ancient texts and modern people. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-515385-5. OCLC 65198443.
  2. ^ Aldihisi, Sabah (2008). The story of creation in the Mandaean holy book in the Ginza Rba (PhD). University College London.
  3. ^ Häberl, Charles G.; McGrath, James F. (2019). The Mandaean Book of John: Text and Translation (PDF). Open Access Version. Berlin/Boston: De Gruyter.
  4. ^ Drower, Ethel Stefana. The Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran. Oxford At The Clarendon Press, 1937