Mandaeism Mandaeism (Mandaic language, Classical Mandaic: ),https://qadaha.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/nhura-dictionary-mandaic-english-mandaic.pdf sometimes also known as Nasoraeanism or Sabianism, is a Gnosticism, Gnostic, Monotheism, ...

, Shurbai and Sharhabeil (Šurbai and Šarhabʿil) were a couple named as the progenitors of the third generation of humans. Shurbai is the husband, while Sharhabeil is his wife. According to Book 18 of the ''

Right Ginza The Right Ginza () is one of the two parts of the Ginza Rabba, the longest and the most important holy scripture of Mandaeism. The other part of the Ginza Rabba is the Left Ginza. Summaries of each book (or tractate), based mostly on Häberl ( ...

'', Shurbai and Sharhabeil lived in the third out of four

epoch In chronology and periodization, an epoch or reference epoch is an instant in time chosen as the origin of a particular calendar era. The "epoch" serves as a reference point from which time is measured. The moment of epoch is usually decided b ...

s (or

era An era is a span of time. Era or ERA may also refer to: * Era (geology), a subdivision of geologic time * Calendar era Education * Academy of European Law (German: '), an international law school * ERA School, in Melbourne, Australia * E ...

s) of the world, which is given a duration of 480,000 years. The epoch of Shurbai and Sharhabeil lasted 100,000 years, or 15 generations according to Book 1 of the ''Right Ginza''. This epoch is preceded by the epoch of

Ram and Rud In Mandaeism, Ram and Rud were a couple named as the progenitors of the second generation of humans. Ram is the husband, while Rud is his wife. According to Book 18 of the ''Right Ginza'', Ram and Rud lived in the second out of four epochs (or e ...

and followed by the current and final epoch of

Noah Noah (; , also Noach) appears as the last of the Antediluvian Patriarchs (Bible), patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible (Book of Genesis, chapters 5–9), the Quran and Baháʼí literature, ...

and his wife Nuraita (or Nhuraita), in which the fourth generation of humans (beginning with

) currently live. Šarhabeil is also described as the "Great First Radiance" in

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 ...

prayers 25 and 381.

References

{{Mandaeism footer Mandaean mythology Legendary progenitors Mythological married couples Mandaean calendar Ginza Rabba

See also

References