Miriai or Meryey () was a Mandaean woman mentioned in

Mandaean scriptures This article contains a list of Mandaic manuscripts, which are almost entirely Mandaean religious texts written in Classical Mandaic. Well-known Mandaean texts include the ''Ginza Rabba'' (also known as the ''Sidra Rabbā''), the ''Mandaean ...

. Miriai is one of the most important figures in the

Mandaean Book of John In Mandaeism, the Book of John () is a Mandaean holy book in Mandaic Aramaic which Mandaeans attribute to their prophet John the Baptist. The book contains accounts of John's life and miracles, as well as a number of polemical conversations w ...

, which contains detailed stories and speeches of Miriai in chapters 34 and 35. Miriai lived in a Mandaean village in

Judea Judea or Judaea (; ; , ; ) is a mountainous region of the Levant. Traditionally dominated by the city of Jerusalem, it is now part of Palestine and Israel. The name's usage is historic, having been used in antiquity and still into the pres ...

around the first century CE. According to the Mandaean Book of John, she was a contemporary of

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Empress Elisabeth (disambiguation), lists various empresses named ''Elisabeth'' or ''Elizabeth'' * Princess Elizabeth ...

, the mother of

John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...

. Miriai is also the protaganist in two ''

rahma Rahma most commonly refers to an Arabic name, which may refer to: *Al-Rahma mosque, on Hatherley Street, Liverpool, England *''Malak al-Rahma'', a 1946 Egyptian film directed and written by Youssef Wahbi "Rahma" is also a Hebrew name, which refer ...

'' prayers, numbered

149 149 may refer to: *149 (number), a natural number *AD 149, a year in the 2nd century AD *149 BC, a year in the 2nd century BC *British Airways Flight 149, a flight from LHR to Kuwait City International Airport; the aircraft flying this flight was d ...

and 162 in E. S. Drower's 1959 ''Canonical Prayerbook'' (i.e., the

Qulasta The Qulasta, also spelled Qolastā in older sources (; ), is a compilation of Mandaean prayers. The Mandaic word ''qolastā'' means "collection". The prayerbook is a collection of Mandaic prayers regarding baptisms ('' maṣbuta'') and other sa ...

Story

In Mandaean scriptures such as the

, Miriai criticizes the Jewish religious tradition from which she had come from while extolling the virtues of Mandaeism. Miriai is considered to have descended from "priest-kings" of

, and one of her duties was to clean the Jewish temple.McGrath, James F.,ARAM Periodical / (2010): 583–592. Due to her conversion to Mandaeism and lateness in getting home, Miriai's father condemns her and calls her a prostitute. Ultimately, Miriai is depicted as a

Mandaean priest A Mandaean priest or ''Tarmida'' () refers to an ordained religious leader in Mandaeism. Overview All priests must undergo lengthy ordination ceremonies, beginning with tarmida initiation. Mandaean religious leaders and copyists of religious text ...

and teacher. The

often mentions Miriai together with Enišbai (

), the mother of John the Baptist, as two holy women who lived in the vicinity of Jerusalem.

In other religions

The Mandaic name ''Miriai'' is

cognate In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymological ancestor in a common parent language. Because language change can have radical effects on both the s ...

with the Hebrew name

Miriam Miriam (, lit. ‘rebellion’) is described in the Hebrew Bible as the daughter of Amram and Jochebed, and the older sister of Moses and Aaron. She was a prophetess and first appears in the Book of Exodus. The Torah refers to her as "Miria ...

. Miriai may ultimately be linked to

Mary, the mother of Jesus Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

, but the Mandaean story of Miriai is not apparently related to any stories in the canonical Christian gospels. However, in the extracanonical Protoevangelion of James, which remained important to Orthodox Christians and had a significant impact on Orthodox and Catholic

Mariology Mariology is the Christian theological study of Mary, mother of Jesus. Mariology seeks to relate doctrine or dogma about Mary to other doctrines of the faith, such as those concerning Jesus and notions about redemption, intercession and g ...

, the story is strikingly similar to that of Miriai in the Mandaean Book of John. Both are contemporaries of and associated with Elizabeth, both are young women who stem from important Judean families and both are placed as young virgins to serve in the

Second Temple The Second Temple () was the Temple in Jerusalem that replaced Solomon's Temple, which was destroyed during the Siege of Jerusalem (587 BC), Babylonian siege of Jerusalem in 587 BCE. It was constructed around 516 BCE and later enhanced by Herod ...

. Later in the story, both are accused of adultery and both defend themselves before the priests, with both of them denying they had committed adultery with a man. Moreover, in both the stories, parallels between birds on the one hand and Miriai and Mary on the other are made. According to

Charles G. Häberl Charles G. Häberl (born June 22, 1976 in New Jersey, United States) is an American linguist, religious studies scholar, and professor. He is currently Professor of African, Middle Eastern, and South Asian Languages and Literatures (AMESALL) and ...

, Christians identify Miriai with Mary, the mother of Jesus. Muslims identify Miriai with

, older sister of

Moses In Abrahamic religions, Moses was the Hebrews, Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of slavery in the The Exodus, Exodus from ancient Egypt, Egypt. He is considered the most important Prophets in Judaism, prophet in Judaism and Samaritani ...

. Mandaeans do not identify both Mary and Miriam as being Miriai, insisting that she was a different woman bearing the same name. Some identify Miriai with

Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to crucifixion of Jesus, his cr ...

References

{{Mandaeism footer Mandaeism Ancient Jewish women 1st-century Jews Mandaean women Converts from Judaism 1st-century BC women People from Roman Judea

Story

In other religions

See also

References