Matarta Watch-house or purgatory in Mandaean cosmology
Drawing of two wolves in the maṭarta of Nbu . From the Scroll of Abatur In Mandaean cosmology , a maṭarta (Classical Mandaic : ࡌࡀࡈࡀࡓࡕࡀ maṭarata ࡌࡀࡈࡀࡓࡀࡕࡀ World of Light (alma ḏ-nhūra ) from Tibil (Earth). It has variously been translated as "watch-station",[ 1] [ 2] purgatory ". Maṭartas are guarded by various uthras (celestial beings from the World of Light) and demons. Ruha , the queen of the underworld , is the ruler or guardian of one of the maṭartas.[ 1]
To reach the World of Light (alma ḏ-nhūra ) from Tibil (Earth), souls must pass through the various maṭartas that are situated in between. Rituals such as the masiqta [ 2]
In the Ginza Rabba
In the Ginza Rabba , Chapter 3 in Book 5 of the Right Ginza Book 6 of the Right Ginza Dinanukht "), and Chapter 4 in Book 1 of the Left Ginza [ 3]
Some of the matarta guards are:[ 4]
Order of matarta guards in Right Ginza 5.3 :
the Virgin (ptula )
Zan-Hazazban
Yur, Yahur, and Arhum
Pilpin-Pipin
Jesus the Messiah the userers
Ruha ḏ-QudšaOrder of matarta guards in Right Ginza 6 :
Nbaz-Haila
Zan-Hazazban
Ewat-Ruha
Himun
Ptahil Abatur Order of matarta guards in Left Ginza 1.4 :
Nbaz and the clergy
Nbu and the scribesSeven of Ptahil and the sinners
userers
The Messiah (Jesus) and the celibates
Ewat (i.e., Ruha ) and the fasting hypocrites
Ptahil and the wicked rulersAbatur and the unobservant NaṣoraeansLeft Ginza 3.51 is about the soul passing through seven matarta stations. The names of the matarta guards are simply the "First," "Second," "Third," "Fourth," "Fifth," "Sixth," and "Seventh," respectively.[ 4]
Parallels in other religions
In the Nag Hammadi library , the Coptic Apocalypse of Paul describes an ascent through the seven lower heavens, which are guarded by various angels inflicting punishments on sinners. Heavenly "toll collectors" are mentioned in the First Apocalypse of James (33,2-27), which mentions "three detainers who carry off souls by theft," as well as angels torturing the soul in the Book of Thomas the Contender (141,36-39) and Pistis Sophia .[ 5]
In Zostrianos , a Sethian text in the Nag Hammadi library , the Aeonic Copies form a lower realm or purgatory containing the orbiting planets and probably also the fixed stars.[ 5]
Matartas in Mandaeism are also similar to aerial toll houses (Bulgarian : митарство Russian : мытарства Eastern Orthodox Christianity . (The aforementioned Slavic words are not cognate with the Mandaic word.)
The Second Book of Enoch , a Jewish apocryphal text written in the first century CE, describes the mystical ascent of the patriarch Enoch through a hierarchy of Ten Heavens. Enoch passes through the Garden of Eden in the Third Heaven on his way to meet the Lord face-to-face in the Tenth (chapter 22). Along the way he encounters vividly described populations of angels who torment wrongdoers; he sees homes, olive oil , and flowers.[ 6]
See also
Apocryphal texts Other texts References
1 2 Aldihisi, Sabah (2008). The story of creation in the Mandaean holy book in the Ginza Rba 1 2 Buckley, Jorunn Jacobsen (2002). The Mandaeans: ancient texts and modern people . New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-515385-5 OCLC 65198443 . ↑ Häberl, Charles G. (2007). Introduction to the New Edition, in The Great Treasure of the Mandaeans, a new edition of J. Heinrich Petermann’s Thesaurus s. Liber Magni, with a new introduction and a translation of the original preface by Charles G. Häberl https://doi.org/10.7282/T3C53J6P 1 2 Gelbert, Carlos (2011). Ginza Rba ISBN 9780958034630 1 2 Meyer, Marvin (2007). The Nag Hammadi scriptures . New York: HarperOne. ISBN 978-0-06-162600-5 OCLC 124538398 .↑ Edward Langton (11 July 2014). Good and Evil Spirits: A Study of the Jewish and Christian Doctrine, Its Origin and Development 248–. ISBN 978-1-62564-991-1
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