| Abatur | |
|---|---|
 Image of Abatur fromDiwan Abatur | |
| Other names | Third Life, Abatur Rama, Abatur Muzania, Bhaq Ziwa |
| Abode | World of Light |
| Symbol | Scales |
| Texts | Diwan Abatur |
| Parents | Yushamin |
| Offspring | Ptahil |
| Equivalents | |
| Egyptian | Anubis |
| Zoroastrian | Rashnu[1] |
Abatur (ࡀࡁࡀࡕࡅࡓ, alsoAbathur orAwāthur,[2]Modern Mandaic pronunciation:[aˈβɑtɤr]) is anuthra and the second of three subservientemanations created by the Mandaean GodHayyi Rabbi (ࡄࡉࡉࡀ ࡓࡁࡉࡀ, “The Great Living God”) in theMandaean religion. His name translates as the "father of the Uthras", the Mandaean name for angels or guardians.[3] His usual epithet isthe Ancient (ˁattīqā) and he is also called "the deeply hidden and guarded". Also known as theThird Life, Abatur is described as being the son of the first emanationYushamin (ࡉࡅࡔࡀࡌࡉࡍ).[4] He is also described as being the angel ofPolaris.[5]
He exists in two different personae. These includeAbatur Rama (Classical Mandaic:ࡀࡁࡀࡕࡅࡓ ࡓࡀࡌࡀ,romanized: Abatur Rama,lit. 'the "lofty" or celestial Abatur',Modern Mandaic pronunciation:[aˈwatarˈrama]), and his "lower" counterpart,Abatur of the Scales (Classical Mandaic:ࡀࡁࡀࡕࡅࡓ ࡌࡅࡆࡀࡍࡉࡀ,romanized: Abatur Muzania,Modern Mandaic pronunciation:[aˈwatarmuˈzænia]), who weighs the souls of the dead to determine their fate.[6] InMandaean texts such as theQulasta, Abatur is sometimes referred to asBhaq Ziwa.[7]: 7–8
Charles G. Häberl (2022) etymologizes Abatur asabbā ḏ-ʿoṯri 'father of the excellencies',[7]: 213 since he translatesuthra as 'excellency.'[8]
The name "Abiṭur", possibly a variant ofAbatur, has been found inside a Jewishincantation bowl.[9]: 210–211 InSefer HaRazim, a 4th-century Jewish magical text,Ibiṭur is the name of an angel serving the angelic prince Asimur in thefirst heaven.[10]
He is one of the main characters in theScroll of Abatur, one of the more recent texts of the Mandaeans. The text begins with alacuna. He is said to reside on the borderland between the here and the hereafter, at the farthest verge of theWorld of Light that lies toward the lower regions. Beneath him was initially nothing but a massive void with muddy black water at the bottom, in which his image was reflected.[4] The existing text starts withHibil (ࡄࡉࡁࡉࡋ, an envoy from the World of Light) telling Abatur to go and reside in the boundary between the World of Light and theWorld of Darkness, and weigh for purity those souls which have passed through all thematarta (spiritual toll houses) and wish to return to the light.
Abatur is unhappy with the assignment, complaining that he is being asked to leave his home and his wives to do this task. Instead, Abatur impatiently asks questions regarding specificsins of omission and sins of commission, asking how such impure souls can be saved. Hibil then answers these questions in a rather lengthy response.
A later section of the book reveals that Abatur is the source ofPtahil (ࡐࡕࡀࡄࡉࡋ), who fills the role of thedemiurge inMandaean cosmology. The book indicates how Abatur gives Ptahil-uthra precise instructions on how to create the material world (Tibil,ࡕࡉࡁࡉࡋ) in the void described above, and gives him the materials and help (in the form of demons from the World of Darkness) he needs to do so. Ptahil, like Abatur before him, complains about his assignment but does as he is told. The world he creates is very dark, unlike the World of Light from which Abatur and the others come.
After the material world is created, thePrimordial Adam asks Abatur what he will do when he goes to Tibil. Abatur answers that Adam will be helped byManda d-Hayyi, who instructs humans with sacred knowledge and protects them. This enrages Ptahil, who dislikes Abatur giving a degree of control of his creatures to someone else, and he complains bitterly about it in much the same way that Abatur had complained about his assignment to Hibil Ziwa.
He subsequently serves as a judge of the dead, in much the same capacity asRashnu andAnubis. Those souls who qualify can enter the World of Light from which Abatur himself came. Hibil will only allow him to return to the World of Light upon the end of the poorly made material world that Ptahil created.
Images of the Mandaean beings tend to be of a blocky style vaguely reminiscent of Europeancubism. This imagery, allowing for stylistic differences of individual artists, is consistent throughout the illustrated diwans.[11] None of the celestial beings shown has any fleshy or material bodies, and this may play a part in the non-representative nature of their depictions. In the surviving images in theDiwan Abatur, Abatur is depicted sitting on a throne. Both Abatur and Ptahil are depicted as having faces divided into quarters, with what seem to be eyes in the lower two quarters of the face. Some have interpreted this as indicating that they both have to look down upon the earth.
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Mandaeans".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 17 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 555–556.⁴) There are two Abathurs, one appears to be admuta (or counterpart) of the other. In the less abstract form, he is Abathur of the Scales, the spirit of justice which weighs human souls in his balance.
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