APPENDIX

THE TEXTS OF THE NAG HAMMADI LIBRARY AND THE BERLIN GNOSTIC CODEX

IN THIS APPENDIX I survey all the texts of the Nag Hammadi library and the Berlin Gnostic Codex, so as to provide an overview of the texts and their contents. In a brief paragraph I summarize the contents of each document, and select quotations to illustrate its character and style. The texts are listed in the traditional order of arranging the Nag Hammadi codices and the Berlin Gnostic Codex. Each text is introduced with the title that I suggest is to be preferred, an abbreviated reference to the manuscript (Nag Hammadi Codex [NHC] or Berlin Gnostic Codex [BG 8502]), the codex (in Roman numerals) where the text is to be found, and the tractate number within the codex (in italics). Other titles that occur in the manuscripts or are used by scholars are indicated in the notes, as well as the full manuscript reference for each text, with the identification of the codex, the tractate number, and the page and line numbers for the beginning and end of the text. If a given text is known from manuscripts other than the Nag Hammadi codices and the Berlin Gnostic Codex, those manuscripts or versions are also mentioned in the notes.

THE PRAYER OF THE APOSTLE PAUL¹

NHC I, 1

The Prayer of the Apostle Paul is a short Valentinian prayer attributed to Paul, in which petition is made for mercy, redemption, and apparently healing. In the prayer God is invoked in reverent phrases and graceful lines using terms familiar to gnostics:

[My] redeemer, redeem me,

for [I am] yours;

I have come from [you].

You are [my] mind:

bring me forth.

You are my treasury:

open for me.

You [are] my fullness:

accept me.

You are <my> rest:

give me incomprehensible perfection. (A)

THE SECRET BOOK OF JAMES²

NHC I, 2

The Secret Book of James is written in the form of a letter from James the righteous, the brother of Jesus, to a recipient, possibly Cerinthus, who is known in other traditions as an early gnostic teacher, though here the name cannot be recovered with certainty. The text opens with a scene in which the twelve disciples are sitting and composing their books—perhaps their gospels—and James is with them, writing his own book. The body of the text consists of revelatory words, parables, apothegms, and other utterances of the risen Christ in response to the questions and comments of the disciples James and Peter. Thus Jesus says, concerning word and knowledge,

The word is like a grain of wheat. When someone sowed it, he had faith in it, and when it sprouted, he loved it, because he saw many grains instead of just one. And after he worked, he was saved because he prepared it as food and he still kept some out to sow.

This is also how you can acquire heaven’s kingdom for yourselves. Unless you acquire it through knowledge, you will not be able to find it. (8)

The text, which may contain Valentinian elements, ends with James sending the disciples out to preach. He himself stays in Jerusalem, praying, he says, “that I might acquire a share with the loved ones who are to appear” (16)—the people reading and responding to the message of Jesus in the Secret Book of James.

THE GOSPEL OF TRUTH³

NHC I, 3 and XII, 2

The Gospel of Truth is a Valentinian sermon, probably composed by the prominent teacher Valentinus himself, in which knowledge is proclaimed as the way of salvation and Jesus is portrayed as the fruit of knowledge. The gospel, or good news, of truth is said to be joy for those who receive grace from the father and come to know him. At the end of the Gospel of Truth the preacher envisions what it will mean to reside in the place of rest:

There I shall dwell, to devote myself, constantly, to the father of all and the true brothers and sisters, upon whom the father’s love is lavished, and in whose midst nothing of him is lacking. They appear in truth, dwelling in true and eternal life, and they speak of the perfect light filled with the father’s seed, which is in his heart and in the fullness. His spirit rejoices in this and glorifies him in whom it was. For the father is good, and his children are perfect and worthy of his name. Children like this the father loves. (43)

THE TREATISE ON RESURRECTION⁴

NHC I, 4

Written in the form of a letter to a person named Rheginos, the Treatise on Resurrection is a Valentinian meditation on the true meaning of the resurrection. The text announces that the true resurrection of that which is within a person has already happened (cf. the position of Hymenaeus and Philetus according to 2 Tim. 2:16–18). As the text puts it, “This is the resurrection of the spirit, which swallows the resurrection of the soul and the resurrection of the flesh” (45–46). The resurrection is unlike the world, which is illusion:

The resurrection is different.

It is real,

it stands firm.

It is revelation of what is,

a transformation of things,

a transition into newness. (48)

THE TRIPARTITE TRACTATE⁵

NHC I, 5

The Tripartite Tractate is a long and complex treatise, in three parts, with a Valentinian view of the divine and the cosmos. In this presentation of Valentinian thought, logos, or the word, and not Sophia, or wisdom, is said to be responsible for the fall from glory, and in the end both Valentinian and ordinary Christians may be saved. According to the text, the final restoration extends to humans and beyond, and all happens according to the father’s plan. Through the son of the father, what was deficient attains fullness, and what was in ignorance comes to knowledge. The Tripartite Tractate explains that the father reveals himself through the son, and in this way the unknowable becomes known:

In hidden and inscrutable wisdom he guarded the knowledge until the end, until all would have labored in their search for God, the father, whom no one has found by his own wisdom and power. And then he grants them to attain knowledge of this great gift of his by means of that superior thought and that method which he has given them and which consists in ceaseless thanksgiving to him. Out of his immovable counsel, he then reveals himself for eternity to the ones who have proved worthy of receiving, by his will, the knowledge about the father who is unknowable in his nature. (126)

THE SECRET BOOK OF JOHN⁶

NHC II, 1; III, 1; IV, 1 and BG 8502, 2

The Secret Book of John is a classic Sethian account of the origin, fall, and salvation of the world. It was composed as a Jewish document, with Greek philosophical and mythological elements, but was lightly Christianized, so that the Nag Hammadi and Berlin Gnostic versions are preserved as revelations of the risen Christ to his disciple John, son of Zebedee. The revelation itself begins with the One, the great invisible spirit, who as the infinite divine mind extends itself in forethought, insight, and wisdom, or Sophia. Sophia errs, but she both saves and is saved, and together with her, people of knowledge are also saved. In the longer version of the Secret Book of John, the text closes with a poetic hymn of the savior, once portrayed as the forethought of God but here presented as Christ in the Christianized version of the text, and the hymn has the savior depict her—or his—acts of descent into this world to bring remembrance of knowledge to those who will hear:

I am the forethought of pure light,

I am the thought of the virgin spirit,

who raises you to a place of honor.

Arise, remember that you have heard

and trace your root,

which is I, the compassionate. (II, 31)

THE GOSPEL OF THOMAS⁷

NHC II, 2

The Gospel of Thomas consists of a collection of sayings of the living Jesus said to be recorded by Judas Thomas, the twin. In general, the sayings of the Gospel of Thomas seem not to be fully gnostic, but reflect gnosticizing ideas. Traditionally numbered by scholars at 114 sayings, the words of Jesus include some that are familiar from the New Testament gospels and other early Christian literature and some that are unfamiliar and new. The gospel proclaims that those who find the interpretation of these sayings “will not taste death” (1). In the text Jesus outlines the way in which the disciples may hear and interact with his sayings, and the result of this interaction is understanding and life:

Jesus said to his disciples, “Compare me to something and tell me what I am like.”

Simon Peter said to him, “You are like a righteous messenger.”

Matthew said to him, “You are like a wise philosopher.”

Thomas said to him, “Teacher, my mouth is utterly unable to say what you are like.”

Jesus said, “I am not your teacher. Because you have drunk, you have become intoxicated from the bubbling spring that I have tended.”

And he took him, and withdrew, and spoke three sayings to him.

When Thomas came back to his friends, they asked him, “What did Jesus say to you?”

Thomas said to them, “If I tell you one of the sayings he spoke to me, you will pick up rocks and stone me, and fire will come from the rocks and consume you.” (13)

THE GREEK GOSPEL OF THOMAS⁸

Versions of the Greek Gospel of Thomas are known only from fragments among the Oxyrhynchus papyri and citations in such church fathers as Hippolytus of Rome. The fragments that survive show that the Gospel of Thomas was known in several versions and that the text could be modified as it was edited and copied. For example, the sayings traditionally numbered 30 and 77 are brought together in one of the Greek fragments of the Gospel of Thomas, and saying 30 has been reconstructed to provide a different reading in Greek:

[Jesus says], “Where there are [three, they are without] God (or, “they are gods”),⁹ and where there is only [one], I say, I am with that one. Lift up the stone, and you will find me there. Split the piece of wood, and I am there.”

Similarly, saying 36 in another Greek fragment of the Gospel of Thomas expands the saying of Jesus well beyond what we read in the Coptic version:

[Jesus says, “Do not worry], from morning [to nightfall nor] from evening [to] morning, either [about] your [food], what [you will] eat, [or] about [your robe], what clothing you [will] wear. [You are much] better than the lilies, which do not card or [spin]. And since you have one article of clothing, what…you…? (or, according to a previous reading, “what [will you put] on?”). Who might add to your stature? That is the one who will give you your clothing.”

THE GOSPEL OF PHILIP¹⁰

NHC II, 3

The Gospel of Philip is a Valentinian anthology of meditations on a wide variety of themes, including the sacraments and the biblical figures of Adam and Eve. Five sacraments are enumerated in the gospel—baptism, chrism, eucharist, redemption, and bridal chamber—and special emphasis is placed upon the sacrament of the bridal chamber. The story of Adam and Eve is understood in the Gospel of Philip as an account of the separation of humankind into male and female leading to the need for restoration to wholeness and unity. That restoration is realized in the bridal chamber:

If the female had not separated from the male, the female and the male would not have died. The separation of male and female was the beginning of death. Christ came to heal the separation that was from the beginning and reunite the two, in order to give life to those who died through separation and unite them.

A woman is united with her husband in the bridal chamber, and those united in the bridal chamber will not be separated again. That is why Eve became separated from Adam, because she had not united with him in the bridal chamber. (70)

THE NATURE OF THE RULERS¹¹

NHC II, 4

The Nature of the Rulers offers a Sethian interpretation, with a few Christian elements, of the early chapters of the book of Genesis, part of which is given as a revelation of the angel, or luminary, Eleleth. The text opens with citations from the Pauline letters (Col. 1:13; Eph. 6:12) and explains that the rulers and authorities of this world, as the Pauline texts intimate, are a mean-spirited lot by nature. In spite of the machinations of the rulers of the world and their arrogant leader, however, the text insists that everything happens according to the will of the father of all, and in the end all those who are from the incorruptible realm will realize light and life:

Then all the children of the light will know the truth, and their root, and the father of all, and the holy spirit. They will all say with one voice,

The father’s truth is just,

The child is over all

and with everyone,

forever and ever.

Holy, holy, holy!

Amen. (97)

ON THE ORIGIN OF THE WORLD¹²

NHC II, 5 and XIII, 2

On the Origin of the World is a gnostic treatise, with a few peripheral Christian themes, that provides interpretations of the origin and destiny of all things and explanations of difficult concepts. Initially the text formulates an argument that something must have existed prior to primordial chaos—something infinite:

Since everyone, both the gods of the world and people, says that nothing existed before chaos, I shall prove they all are wrong, because they do not know the [origin] of chaos or its root. Here [is the] proof.

Although certainly people in general are [inclined] to say that chaos is darkness, in actuality chaos comes from a shadow, and it is the shadow that has been called darkness. The shadow comes from something that has existed from the beginning, and so it is obvious that something in the beginning existed before chaos came into being, and chaos came after what was in the beginning. (97–98)

From what is infinite everything else came to be, including Sophia, the demiurge Yaldabaoth, the powers of the world, humankind, and all the rest. At this time the world is in ignorance and error, the text maintains, but through the word, Jesus, what was formerly unknown becomes evident, and people come to knowledge. Drawing on perspectives reminiscent of Sethian, Valentinian, and Manichaean traditions, the text has much in common with the tractate just before it in Codex II, the Nature of the Rulers.

EXEGESIS ON THE SOUL¹³

NHC II, 6

The Exegesis on the Soul recounts a gnostic version of the myth of Psyche, the soul, complete with proof texts taken from the Bible and Homer’s Odyssey. Kurt Rudolph compares this story of the career of the soul with the message of Simon Magus and his companion Helena, whom he saved, it is said, from a brothel in Tyre. In the Exegesis on the Soul the story tells how the female soul falls into the world of sexual corruption and prostitution, suffers grievously, and is in need of salvation:

The soul needs to regenerate herself and become as she formerly was. So the soul stirred, and she received the divine from the father, so that she might be restored and returned to where she was before.

This is resurrection from the dead.

This is freedom from captivity.

This is ascent to heaven.

This is the way up to the father.

At last the soul is saved, born again, renewed, and restored to pure, heavenly love:

When the soul is renewed, she will arise and praise the father and her brother, by whom she was rescued. Through rebirth the soul will be saved. This is not because of practical lessons or technical skills or learned books. Rather, it is the grace of the [spirit], it is the gift of the merciful [God], for it is from above. (134)

THE BOOK OF THOMAS¹⁴

NHC II, 7

The Book of Thomas is a gnosticizing text that employs sayings of Jesus from the Gospel of Thomas in order to create a dialogue, between the risen savior Jesus and his twin brother Judas Thomas, on the fire of passion and judgment. After heated language that makes use of themes from Plato and other portrayals of hellfire, the text comes to a close with a monologue of Jesus in which he utters pronouncements of shame and blessing upon people and promises a place in God’s kingdom for the pure and faithful:

Watch and pray that you may not remain in the flesh, but that you may leave the bondage of the bitterness of this life. And when you pray, you will find rest, for you have left pain and reproach behind. When you leave the pains and the passions of the body, you will receive rest from the good one. You will reign with the king, you united with him and he with you, from now on and forever. (145)

THE HOLY BOOK OF THE GREAT INVISIBLE SPIRIT¹⁵

NHC III, 2 and IV, 2

The Holy Book of the Great Invisible Spirit, or the Egyptian Gospel, is a Sethian baptismal handbook with liturgical instructions for a baptismal ceremony prefaced by an account of the origin of the universe in Sethian terms. The ritual for baptism includes a hymn with exalted names, ecstatic utterances, chanted vowels, and words of praise and power:

Having known you,

I now have mingled with your constancy.

I have armed myself with the armor of light.

I have become bright.

The mother was there for the lovely beauty of grace.

So I have stretched out my two hands.

I have been formed in the circle of the riches of light in my breast,

giving form to the many beings

produced in light beyond reproach.

In truth I shall declare your glory,

I have comprehended you:

yours, Jesus;

look,

forever

forever E

O Jesus

O eternal realm, eternal realm,

God of silence,

I honor you completely. (III, 67)

EUGNOSTOS THE BLESSED¹⁶

NHC III, 3 and V, 1

Eugnostos the Blessed is composed as a letter from Eugnostos to those who are his, and the text presents a Jewish discourse, with Greek influences, on gnostic themes. God is described in the letter as the one who is, who comes to manifestation in imperishable realms, the immortal human, and Sophia, and this description is given in anticipation of the revelation of one who is to come. At the close of the letter, Eugnostos writes of the incomprehensible brilliance of the divine fullness and the coming of a revealer:

All natures, from the immortal one, from the unconceived one to the revelation in chaos, are in the light that shines with no shadow but with ineffable joy and unspeakable praise. They continue to rejoice over their glory that never fades and the state of rest that cannot be measured, which can neither be described nor conceived among all the realms that have come to be, and their powers.

This is enough. I have told you all this so that you might accept it, until one who does not need to be taught appears among you. That one will tell you all these things in joy and pure knowledge. (III, 89–90)

THE WISDOM OF JESUS CHRIST¹⁷

NHC III, 4 and BG 8502, 3

The Wisdom of Jesus Christ is an expanded and Christianized version of Eugnostos the Blessed. The present text transforms the Jewish discourse of Eugnostos into a gnostic dialogue between the risen Christ and his disciples by means of the insertion of questions and comments within the text, and it adds material about the fall of Sophia and Jesus the savior. The particular interest in Jesus within the Wisdom of Jesus Christ may have been prompted by the reference at the end of Eugnostos the Blessed to the revealer who is to come. In the Wisdom of Jesus Christ, Jesus tells the disciples—and the readers of the text—how they may attain wholeness and rest:

For this reason I have come here, that these may be united with spirit and breath, and two may become one, as in the beginning. Then you may produce an abundance of fruit and go up to the one who is from the beginning, in ineffable joy and glory and [honor and] grace of [the father of all].

Whoever knows [the father in pure] knowledge [will depart] to the father [and be at rest in] the unconceived [father]. (III, 116–17)

THE DIALOGUE OF THE SAVIOR¹⁸

NHC III, 5

The Dialogue of the Savior is a dialogue between the master (Jesus) and his disciples, particularly Judas (Judas Thomas), Mary (Mary of Magdala), and Matthew, on a variety of issues important to gnostics. At one point in the dialogue, the disciples ask the master about fullness and deficiency, and he answers, “You are from fullness and you are in a place of deficiency. And look, his light has poured down on me” (139). Matthew follows that with a question about death and life, and the master responds,

[You have] asked me about a [true] saying that eye has not seen, nor have I heard it, except from you. But I say to you, when what moves a person slips away, that person will be called dead, and when what is living leaves what is dead, it will be called alive.

Then he adds, “Whatever is from truth does not die. Whatever is from woman dies” (140). The Dialogue of the Savior, which is significantly damaged, seems to be related to the Gospel of Thomas, as may be seen in the examples just cited, and it may have made use of sayings found in that gospel.

THE REVELATION OF PAUL¹⁹

NHC V, 2

The Revelation of Paul is a gnostic apocalyptic text that chronicles Paul’s trip through the heavens. Paul mentions his heavenly journey in 2 Corinthians 12:2–4, where he claims to have gone up to the third heaven, but in the present text Paul ascends to a much more exalted destination. In the Nag Hammadi apocalypse, a child (Christ) appears to Paul, and Paul proceeds to ascend as high as the tenth heaven. On the way up, Paul passes the gatekeepers of the skies and meets apostles, angels, and spirits. When he gives the gatekeepers the sign he has—his heavenly passport—they open the gates and let him pass. As Paul narrates the culmination of his visionary ascent,

Then the <seventh> heaven opened, and we ascended to the eighth realm. I saw the twelve apostles, and they welcomed me. We ascended to the ninth heaven, and I greeted all those in the ninth heaven. We ascended to the tenth heaven, and I greeted my fellow spirits. (23–24)

THE FIRST REVELATION OF JAMES²⁰

NHC V, 3

The First Revelation of James, an apocalyptic text in name, is a gnostic dialogue between Jesus, the master, and his brother James the righteous concerning the means by which James and others may be liberated from the suffering of this world and may return to their heavenly home. In the text James reflects upon Jesus being opposed by the powers and says to him,

You have come with knowledge

to reprove their forgetfulness.

You have come with remembrance

to reprove their ignorance.

I was worried about you.

For you have come down into profound ignorance,

but you were not defiled by any of it.

You have come down into thoughtlessness,

but your memory stayed with you.

You walked in mud,

and your garments did not get dirty.

You were not inundated with their filth,

and they did not apprehend you. (28)

Jesus in turn says to James, “Cast away from [yourself] the cup, which is bitterness. None of [the rulers will be able] to stand against you, for you [have begun] to understand [their] roots from beginning to end”(40). He adds later, “You have received [the firstfruits] of knowledge, and [you know] now the [place] in [which you will] walk. You will find…” (42). Unfortunately, the papyrus of the text is damaged, especially near the end of the revelation.

THE SECOND REVELATION OF JAMES²¹

NHC V, 4

The Second Revelation of James is presented as a transcript, prepared by Mareim, of a speech delivered by James the righteous in Jerusalem. The speech focuses upon an appearance of the risen Christ to James (also referred to in 1 Cor. 15:7 and elsewhere), and at the end of the speech there is an account of the martyrdom of James. It is said that those oppressing James threw him down from a high place at the temple, dragged him over the ground, crushed him with a huge rock, and, since he had survived all of this, made him stand up and stoned him. In these dire circumstances, James uttered a prayer as he was dying:

My God and father,

who saved me from this dead hope,

who made me alive through the mystery of your good pleasure,

do not let these days in the world be prolonged for me,

but let the day of your light, in which [no night] remains,

[shine upon me].

[Bring me to where my] salvation is,

and deliver me from this [place of ] sojourn.

Let not your grace be squandered on me,

but let your grace be pure.

Save me from an evil death.

Bring me from the tomb alive,

for your grace is alive in me,

the desire to accomplish a work of fullness. (62–63)

THE REVELATION OF ADAM²²

NHC V, 5

The Revelation of Adam is a Sethian text in which Adam offers revelations to his son Seth just before he dies. A Jewish text with few if any Christian characteristics, the Revelation of Adam outlines the history of the gnostic generation of Seth through the hard times of flood and fire and describes the disputed origin and salvific role of the illuminator of knowledge, the Sethian savior. Thirteen kingdoms of this world have theories about the origin of the savior, and all thirteen get it wrong, but the generation without a king—the Sethians—have the right story of the savior:

God chose him from all the eternal realms.

He made knowledge of the undefiled one of truth

come to be [in] him.

He said, “The [great] illuminator has come

[from] foreign air, [from a] great eternal realm.”

And [he] illumined the generation of those people,

whom he had chosen for himself,

so that they might illumine the whole eternal realm. (82–83)

THE ACTS OF PETER AND THE TWELVE APOSTLES²³

NHC VI, 1

The Acts of Peter and the Twelve Apostles represents the genre of literature usually referred to as apocryphal acts of the apostles. In this case, the text narrates the story of Peter and the other apostles undertaking a remarkable voyage. At the end of their journey, when they disembark from their ship, they come to a city and meet a mysterious stranger named Lithargoel, who is selling pearls. Later this same figure, Lithargoel, appears again, this time looking like a doctor, and the apostles do not recognize him. He gives Peter and the apostles a medicine case and a bag of medicine, identifies himself as Jesus Christ, and tells the apostles to go heal not only bodies but also hearts of people. As for the costly pearls, Jesus explains, “Do you not know that my name, which you teach, is worth more than all riches, and the wisdom of God is worth more than silver and gold and precious stones?” (10). There are no clear gnostic features in the text, though the image of the pearl is found in other texts like the “Hymn of the Pearl” in the Acts of Thomas.

THUNDER²⁴

NHC VI, 2

Thunder is a poetic revelation of a female figure who speaks in paradoxical self-predications:

I am the first and the last.

I am the honored and the scorned.

I am the whore and the holy.

I am the wife and the virgin.

I am <the mother> and the daughter. (13)

Within the text, Thunder identifies herself as wisdom, life (Zoe), insight, and knowledge, and the text thus illustrates gnostic characteristics. Bentley Layton classifies it as a Sethian text (or, as he terms it, classic gnostic scripture).

AUTHORITATIVE DISCOURSE²⁵

NHC VI, 3

Authoritative Discourse, a text preserved with a number of lacunae, discusses the descent of the soul, her fate here below, and her return to her home above through the use of images and metaphors. It is said that the word is like food and medicine for the soul. The soul is like a child among stepchildren. A lustful thought in a good person is like chaff mixed with wheat. People are like fish that may be caught in nets. The soul eventually finds shelter in a treasure house. The text concludes with poetic statements about the soul’s rest:

She has found her rising.

She has come to rest in the one who is at rest.

She has reclined in the bridal chamber.

She has eaten of the banquet

for which she has hungered.

She has partaken of immortal food.

She has found what she has sought.

She has received rest from her labors,

and the light shining on her does not set.

To the light belongs the glory

And the power and the revelation

forever and ever. (35)

Although Rouel van den Broek suggests that the text may be more Platonic than gnostic, we may be able to identify gnosticizing characteristics in the portrayal of the soul in the text.

THE CONCEPT OF OUR GREAT POWER²⁶

NHC VI, 4

The Concept of Our Great Power presents gnostic and apocalyptic views on the destiny of the world, expressed in a series of loosely connected observations and words of reflection. The text employs the terms “thought” and “great power,” both names for manifestations of the divine according to the first-century gnostic teacher Simon Magus (cf. Acts 8:9–25), although such terms are also used for the divine in other gnostic traditions. At the beginning of the body of the text, it is said,

Whoever knows our great power will become invisible. Fire will be unable to consume such a person, but it will purify. And it will destroy all that you possess. For all those in whom my form appears, from seven days old to one hundred twenty years old, will be saved. (36)

At the end, the theme of power is reiterated as the vision of final rest is articulated:

Then will appear the souls who are holy through the light of the power that is exalted above all powers, the immeasurable, the universal. That is who I am, and all who know me.

They will be in the realm of beauty, of the realm of marriage, and they will be adorned through Sophia.

After praising the one who is in incomprehensible oneness, they behold it on account of its will that is within them.

They all have come to be as reflections in its light. They all have shone; they have found rest in its rest. (47)

EXCERPT FROM PLATO’S REPUBLIC²⁷

NHC VI, 5

The Nag Hammadi excerpt from the Republic (588A–589B) is a Coptic translation of the portion of Plato’s dialogue that discusses the wild beast in relation to the human soul. This excerpt differs somewhat from Plato’s version, probably because of problems with the Coptic translation itself as well as gnosticizing interests on the part of ancient interpreters. The excerpt states, for instance, that “the image of a lion is one thing and the image of a human is another” (49). For gnostic interpreters, this sort of reference to the lion and the human could recall the place of the lion in gnostic lore, for instance, in the Gospel of Thomas, where Jesus speaks of the human consuming and being consumed by the lion (7), or in the Secret Book of John, where the demiurge Yaldabaoth looks like a lion.

THE DISCOURSE ON THE EIGHTH AND NINTH²⁸

NHC VI, 6

The Discourse on the Eighth and Ninth is a Hermetic dialogue, previously unknown, between the teacher and mystagogue thrice-greatest Hermes and a student about the ascent to exalted realms of spiritual enlightenment. The stages of enlightenment in this text are the higher stages, the eighth and ninth realms, and the mystical vision of the eighth and ninth evokes words of praise and ecstasy from the initiate:

O grace! After this, I thank you by singing a song to you. You gave me life when you made me wise. I praise you. I invoke your name hidden in me,

A

EE

III

OOOOO

YYYYYY

You exist with spirit.

I sing to you with godliness. (61)

THE PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING²⁹

NHC VI, 7

The Prayer of Thanksgiving is a Hermetic prayer, previously known in Greek and Latin versions, in which thanks are given to God for the instruction leading to enlightenment and understanding:

If the instruction is sweet and simple,

it grants us mind, word, and knowledge:

mind, that we may understand you,

word, that we may interpret you,

knowledge, that we may know you.

We are happy,

enlightened by your knowledge.

We are happy.

You have taught us about yourself.

We are happy.

While we were in the body

you have made us divine through your knowledge. (64)

Because this text follows the Discourse on the Eighth and Ninth, it seems to refer back to that Hermetic dialogue. After the prayer, it is said that the teacher and student embrace and share vegetarian food.

EXCERPT FROM THE PERFECT DISCOURSE³⁰

NHC VI, 8

The selection from the Perfect Discourse in the Nag Hammadi library presents a portion (21–29) of another Hermetic text, previously known and sometimes referred to as the Apocalypse of Asclepius (or simply Asclepius). Here the teacher, thrice-greatest Hermes, and the student, Asclepius, join together in a dialogue about the experience of the Hermetic mystery, the nature of knowledge, and the end of the world understood in apocalyptic terms. Egypt will suffer a horrible fate, it is predicted, and the wicked will be punished, but the good will be restored by God. All that takes place in the Hermetic mystery is compared to the mystery of sex:

If you wish to see the nature of this mystery, consider the marvelous image of sexual intercourse between male and female. For when the male reaches his climax, the semen is ejaculated. At that moment the female receives the strength of the male and the male receives the strength of the female, as the semen does this.

Both of these mysteries are to be performed in secret: “These are holy mysteries of both words and deeds, because they are neither heard nor seen” (65).

THE PARAPHRASE OF SHEM³¹

NHC VII, 1

The Paraphrase of Shem is written in the form of a long and complicated gnostic revelation provided to Shem by Derdekeas, the son of infinite light. The revelation deals with the interaction among three powers of the universe—light above, darkness below, and spirit in between—and the liberation of the mind and light of the spirit from the clutches of darkness. The story is told in graphically sexual terms, and it includes the great events of the history of salvation: the flood, the destruction of Sodom, and the work of the savior. In the text, Shem is commissioned to speak about all these things to the people of the earth:

From now on, O Shem, proceed in grace and remain in faith upon the earth. For all the powers of light and fire will be completed by me for your sake. Without you they will not be revealed until you speak of them openly. When you leave the earth, they will be communicated to the worthy. And apart from this revelation, let them speak about you upon the earth, since they will inherit the land, free of care and in harmony. (48–49)

THE SECOND DISCOURSE OF GREAT SETH³²

NHC VII, 2

The Second Discourse of Great Seth is a speech or message of Jesus—the second such presentation—about saving knowledge and the true meaning of the crucifixion in the face of the theology of the great church. This gnostic text uses the name of Seth in the title, perhaps as an indication that Jesus is the manifestation of heavenly Seth, but little in the text seems indisputably Sethian. In the Second Discourse of Great Seth, Jesus declares that a theology of the cross is illegitimate, and he criticizes those who “proclaim the doctrine of a dead man” (60)—the crucified Christ. In fact, the world rulers tried to kill Jesus, but in their ignorance they were unable to do so:

The death they think I suffered they suffered in their error and blindness. They nailed their man to their death. Their thoughts did not perceive me, since they were deaf and blind. By doing these things they pronounce judgment against themselves. As for me, they saw me and punished me, but someone else, their father, drank the gall and the vinegar; it was not I. They were striking me with a scourge, but someone else, Simon, bore the cross on his shoulder. Someone else wore the crown of thorns. And I was on high, poking fun at all the excesses of the rulers and the fruit of their error and conceit. I was laughing at their ignorance. (55–56)

Instead of preaching a gospel of the cross, Jesus declares, believers should seek mystical union with the divine. Jesus disagrees strongly with those, like Paul, who maintain that in baptism people die with Christ. Rather, Jesus affirms in the text, “The scripture regarding the ineffable water in use among us is this word: I am in you and you are in me, just as the father is in me <and in> you, with no guile at all” (49–50).

THE REVELATION OF PETER³³

NHC VII, 3

The Revelation of Peter is a gnostic apocalypse in which the apostle Peter has a vision that is interpreted by the savior Jesus. With words highly critical of the great church—their leaders are “dry canals”(79)—the revelation gives particular attention to the crucifixion, here understood in a way comparable to that in the Second Discourse of Great Seth, which is located just before it in Codex VII. In the Revelation of Peter, Jesus is depicted as laughing at the foolishness of those who are trying in vain to kill him, for he cannot be grasped by them. The savior looks at the scene of crucifixion and says to Peter,

The one you see smiling and laughing above the cross is the living Jesus. The one into whose hands and feet they are driving nails is his fleshly part, the substitute for him. They are putting to shame the one who came into being in the likeness of the living Jesus. Look at him and look at me. (81)

THE TEACHINGS OF SILVANUS³⁴

NHC VII, 4

The Teachings of Silvanus is not a gnostic text. Rather, it consists of a series of statements of Christian wisdom, typical of expressions of Alexandrian Christianity, addressed by the author to his “child” or “son.” The advice given in the text emphasizes the use of wisdom, reason, and the mind, so that one may know oneself and become like Christ and like God. In the words of the text, “My child, return to your first father, God, and wisdom, your mother, from whom you came into being from the beginning. Return, that you might fight against all of your enemies, the powers of the adversary” (91). Again, “Do not tire of knocking on the door of the word, and do not cease walking in the way of Christ” (103).

THE THREE STELES OF SETH³⁵

NHC VII, 5

The Three Steles of Seth presents three Sethian hymns or prayers for a liturgy of ascent, accompanied by instructions for the proper use of the liturgy. In good Platonizing fashion, the divine is described as existence, life, and mind. There are no clearly Christian elements in the text, and the incipit cites the name of Dositheos, who sometimes is said to be a disciple of John the Baptizer and the predecessor of Simon Magus. The hymns are full of life and light, and they carry spiritual travelers through three stages of ascent to a vision of the divine. Those who are enlightened may then declare,

We rejoice,

we rejoice,

we rejoice.

We have seen,

we have seen,

we have seen what really preexists,

that it really exists

and is the first eternal one.

You unengendered one,

from you are the eternal ones

and the aeons,

the all-perfect ones, who are unified,

and the perfect individuals.

We praise you, nonexistent being,

existence before existences,

first substance before substances,

father of divinity and life,

creator of mind,

supplier of goodness,

supplier of blessedness. (124)

ZOSTRIANOS³⁶

NHC VIII, 1

Zostrianos is a long Sethian revelatory text that is preserved in a fragmentary state. Like the Three Steles of Seth, Zostrianos is heavily influenced by Platonic tradition, and a substantial missing portion of the text can be confidently restored from a parallel passage in Against Arius by the Christian Platonizing author Marius Victorinus. Zostrianos contains only limited references to Christianity. It probably is to be identified with the Revelation of Zostrianos that was known and critiqued in the Neoplatonic school of Plotinus in Rome. In the text, Zostrianos, traditionally thought to be a relative of the Persian sage Zoroaster, embarks on an ecstatic trip through the heavenly realms as angels and powers guide him. At the end of the text Zostrianos returns to this world and preaches a sermon to awaken all who will listen and urge them on to enlightenment and salvation:

You who are alive, holy offspring of Seth,

understand this. Do not turn a deaf ear to me.

Awaken your divinity to divinity,

and strengthen your undefiled chosen souls. (130)

THE LETTER OF PETER TO PHILIP³⁷

NHC VIII, 2

The Letter of Peter to Philip is called a letter in its title, and the opening of the text is in epistolary form, but the main portion of the text resembles in part a dialogue on gnostic themes between the risen Christ and his disciples and in part acts of apostles similar to the New Testament Acts, especially the first part, which features Peter. In the Nag Hammadi text, too, Peter is the leader of the apostolic group. The savior appears in order to answer the questions of the apostles, and he discourses on the fall of the mother and the emergence of the arrogant world ruler in terms somewhat reminiscent of Sethian thought. In the text, Peter addresses the other apostles in a sermon on suffering—the suffering of Jesus and the suffering of others:

My brothers, Jesus is a stranger to this suffering. But we are the ones who have suffered through the mother’s transgression. For this reason he did everything symbolically among us. The lord Jesus, child of the father’s immeasurable glory, is the author of our life. (139)

As in the story of Pentecost in the New Testament Acts, the apostles are filled with holy spirit, and they go forth with four words (with four gospels? in four directions?) so that they all might preach.

MELCHIZEDEK³⁸

NHC IX, 1

Melchizedek is a Sethian apocalypse that builds upon the Jewish tradition of Melchizedek, king of Salem (Gen. 14:18–20; 2 Enoch; 11QMelch from the Dead Sea Scrolls). In the text, which is in a poor state of preservation, Melchizedek is the recipient of revelation, which he in turn is to communicate to others. Melchizedek is thought to be identified with the savior Jesus Christ in a way that brings to mind Hebrews 7:1–3, and the tangible aspects of the life of Jesus—being born, eating and drinking, being circumcised, being in the flesh, suffering, rising from the dead—are professed. For Jesus, as Melchizedek, the end of all these matters is triumph, and he is told,

Be [strong, Melchiz]edek, great [high priest] of God [Most High, for the] rulers who [are] your [enemies made] war against you. You have [gained the victory over them, and] they did not prevail over [you. You have] persevered and [destroyed] your enemies…[you] will find rest in no other [place except one that is] living and holy. (26)

THE THOUGHT OF NOREA³⁹

NHC IX, 2

The Thought of Norea is a short Sethian hymn about the female figure Norea, who is known from the Nature of the Rulers and other texts and is derived from the woman referred to as Naamah in Genesis 4:22. Sometimes Norea is considered the sister and wife of Seth; sometimes she is linked to Noah or Shem. In the present text, Norea is a savior who also needs to be saved, like Sophia in other texts. So, it is said, Norea is to

speak with words of [life]

and remain in the [presence] of the exalted one

by [taking possession] of what she received

before the world came into being.

She has the great mind of the invisible one.

She glorifies their father,

and she lives among those

who…in the fullness,

and she sees the realm of fullness. (28)

THE TESTIMONY OF TRUTH⁴⁰

NHC IX, 3

The Testimony of Truth is a Christian gnostic text, in a fragmentary state of preservation, that Birger Pearson suspects may have been written by Julius Cassianus, an author discussed by Clement of Alexandria as having a strongly ascetical view of life in the world. The text is largely in the form of a sermon on knowledge, ignorance, and renunciation of the world, and the true testimony, it is said, is this: “When a person comes to know himself and God, who is over the truth, that person will be saved and crowned with the unfading crown” (45). Unlike some other Christians, even gnostic Christians, the author proclaims, those who are people of truth and knowledge will forsake the world and the things of the flesh and live a pure spiritual life.

MARSANES⁴¹

NHC X

The Sethian text Marsanes presents revelations and teachings given by the gnostic prophet Marsanes. Preserved in a fragmentary state, the text is another Sethian work that is heavily influenced by Platonic tradition, and it recalls the gnostic apocalypses said to have been discussed in the Neoplatonic school of Plotinus. Marsanes is the only tractate known from Codex X, and it may have filled the entire book. From what we can read of the text, it offers Marsanes’s vision of the cosmos and the realms at various levels of the cosmos; it enumerates thirteen such realms and calls them “seals.” As for the thirteenth seal, it is said, “The thirteenth speaks concerning [the unknown] silent one, even the foundation of the indistinguishable one” (4), and at last Marsanes beholds the supreme deity. In the text is included an analysis of the deeper meaning of the letters of the alphabet and numerical configurations in relation to the signs of the zodiac and the nature of the soul.

THE INTERPRETATION OF KNOWLEDGE⁴²

NHC XI, 1

The Interpretation of Knowledge is a Valentinian text that reads like a sermon interpreting passages from the Gospel of Matthew and the apostle Paul. The text is written to address a community at odds concerning spiritual gifts and to offer a message of healing and reconciliation. Though the text is preserved imperfectly, it is possible to ascertain that the author or preacher appeals to the Pauline image of the church as the body of Christ in order to plead for a spirit of harmony among Christians with a variety of spiritual gifts. As there is harmony among limbs of the body, so may there be harmony among the limbs or members of the church. The text advises the readers,

You should [give] thanks on behalf of the limbs and pray that you too may be given the grace that has been given to them. For the word is rich and generous, and it is good. It gives away gifts in this world to its own people without jealousy. (17)

VALENTINIAN EXPOSITION⁴³

NHC XI, 2

The Valentinian Exposition provides an account of the origin of the universe, the manifestation of the divine fullness, and the fate of Sophia and of all from a Valentinian point of view. The text gives special attention to the story of Sophia, declaring that Sophia will be saved and restored and, with her, all the eternal realms and beings:

When Sophia, then, receives her partner, and Jesus receives Christ, and the seeds are united with the angels, then the fullness will receive Sophia in joy, and all will be joined together and restored. For then the eternal realms will have received their abundance, for they will have understood that even if they change, they remain unchanging. (39)

To this cosmological account are appended five liturgical readings for rituals of anointing, baptism, and eucharist. One of the readings describes the transformation that takes place in baptism. The person being baptized is brought, it is said,

[from the] world [to the Jordan],

from [the things] of the world to [the sight] of God,

from [the carnal] to the spiritual,

from the physical to the angelic,

from [creation] to fullness,

from the world to the eternal realm. (42)

ALLOGENES THE STRANGER⁴⁴

NHC XI, 3

Allogenes the Stranger is a Sethian revelation, and yet another Sethian text that was influenced by Platonic tradition and debated in the Neoplatonic school of Plotinus. Portions of the text also closely parallel the Secret Book of John, including the description, in negative theological terms, of the transcendent One. The text has the stranger Allogenes—probably Seth—give account of his ascent to the realms above and the visions he saw in the heavenly realms. The stranger claims to have been guided on his heavenly journey by the female power Youel, and while above the stranger is invited to envision his own true self and the being of God:

O great power! O name that has come to be in the world! O stranger, behold your blessedness, how silently it abides, by which you know your proper self, and, seeking yourself, ascend to the life that you will see moving.

And even if you cannot stand, fear not. But if you wish to stand, ascend to existence, and you will find it standing and still after the likeness of the One who is truly still and embraces all these silently and without activity. (59)

When the foreigner returned, it is said, he wrote everything down for his “son” Messos, so that he in turn might proclaim it to others.

HYPSIPHRONE⁴⁵

NHC XI, 4

The text Hypsiphrone, perhaps a Sethian document, is represented in its incipit as “the book [concerning the things] seen [by] Hypsiphrone when they were [revealed] in the place of [her] virginity”(69). In this short and fragmentary text, Hypsiphrone, whose name means “woman of high mind,” is a female revealer who records how she came down to this world and what transpired thereafter. Phainops, “bright-eyed one,” and a wellspring of blood are also involved. The role of Hypsiphrone may be compared with that of the luminary Eleleth or even Sophia in other Sethian texts.

THE SENTENCES OF SEXTUS⁴⁶

NHC XII, 1

The Nag Hammadi Sentences of Sextus is a Coptic translation of a collection of words of wisdom that were composed in Greek, translated into several languages, and studied by many Christians. Only a portion of the text in the Nag Hammadi library survives. Among the surviving sentences are the following:

That person is [faithful] who takes the lead in all [that is good].

Wisdom guides [the soul] to the place of [God].

[There is no one] of the household of [truth except] wisdom.

A [believing] nature cannot [be enamored of ] lying.

A fearful [and enslaved] nature cannot share in faith.

When you are [faithful,] saying what is right [is no greater than] listening.

When you [are] with believers, be more inclined [to listen than] to speak.

A [hedonist] is good [for nothing].

Only if you have no [sin may you speak] of whatever is from [God].

The sins of the [ignorant are] the shame of [their teachers]. (15–16)

Two other fragments of Codex XII also survive, but it is difficult to judge meaningfully what their contents may have been. The rest of Codex XII may have been lost when the mother of Muhammad Ali burned pages from the Nag Hammadi library in the oven at her home in al-Qasr.

THREE FORMS OF FIRST THOUGHT⁴⁷

NHC XIII, 1

The Sethian text entitled Three Forms of First Thought narrates, in the first-person singular, a revelation of the three descents of the female heavenly figure Protennoia (first thought) as voice, speech, and word. With “I am” statements, first thought describes her trips down to the world below in a manner like that of the final hymn of the savior (Pronoia [forethought] or Christ) in the longer version of the Secret Book of John. In Three Forms of First Thought, the third descent as logos (or word) closely resembles the hymn to the word in John 1. The Nag Hammadi text has first thought explain how she, as word, revealed herself to human beings, and particularly to those who are hers:

The third time I revealed myself to them in their tents as the word,

and I revealed myself in the likeness of their shape.

I wore everyone’s garment.

I hid in them,

and [they] did not know who empowers me.

For I am in all sovereignties and powers

and in angels and every movement in all matter.

I hid in them

until I revealed myself to my brothers and sisters. (47)

THE GOSPEL OF MARY⁴⁸

BG 8502, 1

The Gospel of Mary, which survives with six pages missing at the beginning and four in the middle, is a gnosticizing dialogue between Jesus and his disciples, especially Mary of Magdala. Whether the text is specifically gnostic is debated among scholars. Mary of Magdala occupies the position of most-loved disciple in the Gospel of Mary, as elsewhere, and after Jesus tells the disciples to follow the child of humankind within and then leaves them, Mary ministers to them and comforts them: “Do not weep and be distressed nor let your hearts be irresolute. For his grace will be with you all and will shelter you. Rather we should praise his greatness, for he has prepared us and made us human beings” (9). Mary also recalls a vision—neither of the soul nor of the spirit, but rather of the mind—of the soul’s ascent. Peter and Andrew use harsh and sexist words to express their doubt about Mary’s authority, but Levi speaks on her behalf, and the disciples go out to teach and preach.

THE ACT OF PETER⁴⁹

BG 8502, 4

The Act of Peter, in the tradition of acts of apostles, tells the story of a single “act”: a miracle of healing—and nonhealing—performed by Peter. According to the text, Peter the miracle worker is confronted by someone who asks why Peter does not heal his own disabled daughter, and so Peter proceeds to heal her—and then he does something no one expects:

Peter said to his daughter, “Now go back to your place, lie down, and become an invalid again, for this is better for both of us.” The girl returned, lay down in her place, and became as she was before. The whole crowd wept and begged Peter to make her well. (130–131)

Peter explains that when his daughter was younger and was about to be defiled sexually, she was suddenly stricken with paralysis to protect her. Ptolemy, the man who wanted to have sex with Peter’s daughter, then responds to a vision and hurries to Peter’s house, and in his will he donates a parcel of land in the name of the daughter. This text has no discernible gnostic features, but it does speak to two concerns that have frequently dominated life in the church ever since: protecting purity and raising money.