538 MANDAEAN LITERATURE
and whose light, which was in that fruit, too great for telling
with the lips.
From the fruit came a thousand thousand fruits without end
and a myriad myriad of beings of light, the shkinas,^5 beyond count.
In each fruit were a thousand thousand beings of light.
They stand and praise the great and glorious Mana,
who lives in the great ether,
within the Jordans^6 of white water made by the Mana,
whose aroma is fragrant
and inhaled on all the roots of light
and on the great first radiance.
The long Jordan was made to go on uncounted and endlessly.
Plants grow next to it. They are happy.
They praise and stand in perfection,
and from the great Jordan came uncounted Jordans endlessly.^7THE WORLD OF DARKNESS
I saw the rebels and Hewath the serpent woman.^8
When I was standing in the house of life, I saw the rebels.
I saw their gates of darkness.
I saw their destruction and the lords of the gloomy house.
I saw their fighters buried in darkness.
I saw the gates of fire and their burning glow,
how the wicked burn and glow,
deliberately imperfect and in error.
I saw Hewath the woman,
how she speaks in darkness and malice.
She speaks in malice and is expert in witchcraft and sorcery.
She talks with illusory wisdom on her throne of lies.^9
I saw the gate of darkness- Heavenly realms, aeons; similar to the Hebrew shekhinah.
- Baptismal water.
- The earthly baptismal water comes from the heavenly baptismal water.
- Nickname for Ruha.
- Ruha is, after all, false wisdom.