Nag Hammadi Codices

Background: This thesis aims to show that the narratives of the Nag Hammadi Apocalypse of Paul and First Apocalypse of James are written for a Valentinian audience. The purpose is to broaden the field of research on Valentinianism by showing how the authors and their implied readers composed and perceived the texts in question.

Method: Comparing the mythological language of the two narratives and their description of a hero’s journey in a transcendent reality it is possible to disentangle the Valentinian material from the imaginative world of the reader, a world consisted of ancient Egyptian and Greek mythology as well as Jewish apocalypticism and early Christian legends and traditions. The texts are also compared with new research in the field, other related Valentinian scriptures, the New Testament, and Christian Apocrypha.

Results: The texts are pseudepigraphic and written within a Jewish apocalyptic genre sometime during the late second or early third century. The symbolism and the diverse metaphors of the narratives indicate that the texts incorporate a specific soteriological message through embedded Valentinian mythology. The implied reader is to understand that the material world is an illusion and that the purpose of the initiate is to awaken the mind and acquire knowledge about the truth. By doing so the redemption of the believer’s spirit from its human body and soul leads to the reunion of the spirit with God.

Conclusion: The analysis of the texts points toward the fact that the narratives could very well have been used for catechetical or other educational purposes within a Valentinian community. The language and form of the two narratives fit to serve this purpose. In many ways, the reader has to be initiated within a Valentinian context in order to grasp the intended message.

The purpose of this article is twofold. Firstly, to introduce a functional Swedish translation of the Coptic ”Apocalypse of Paul” (NHC V,2) using the method and theory of dynamic equivalence. Secondly, to present an analysis of the narrative itself and a possible interpretation of its symbolic meanings. The hypothesis is that the text is Valentinian and related to the Valentinian mysteries or sacraments of baptism, anointing, redemption, and bridal chamber. The text is compared with earlier translations in English, other Valentinian scriptures from the Nag Hammadi Corpus and the Pauline epistles, especially Romans, First Corinthians and Galatians. The evidence of it being originally written in Greek and then presumably translated to Coptic in late second century Alexandria is compelling. The text is thus pseudepigraphic, not written by the apostle Paul himself. The narrative is apocalyptic, describing a vision of the apostle Paul ascending through ten heavens. The symbolism and the diverse metaphors of the narrative point towards
the fact that the text seeks to interpret important soteriological Valentinianism. Namely the transformation of the worldly human to his/ her preexisting spiritual form, the redemption of the spirit from the human body and soul and its reunion with God. The
analysis points to the conclusion that the Valentinian sacraments are represented in the narrative from beginning to end and that the text was probably used for catechetical purposes. Previous scholars have gestured in this direction and this study is based much upon new research. The translation made for this study, and the analysis of it enhances the hypothesis of it being composed by a Valentinian author. It also leads to more evidence of the author’s primal purpose to narrativize the importance of the Valentinian sacraments.

Keywords: gnostic literature, Nag Hammadi scriptures, Valentinianism, early Christianity, sacraments, ritual, symbolism, dynamic equivalence translation, Pauline exegesis

The article was written at the University of Oslo, Faculty of Theology, under the aegis of project NEWCONT (New Contexts for Old Texts: Unorthodox Texts and Monastic Manuscript Culture in 4th- and 5th-Cent. Egypt), funded by the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007–2013) / ERC Grant agreement no 283741.

The article was written at the University of Oslo, Faculty of Theology, under the aegis of project NEWCONT (New Contexts for Old Texts: Unorthodox Texts and Monastic Manuscript Culture in 4th- and 5th-Cent. Egypt), funded by the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007–2013) / ERC Grant agreement no 283741.

Scholars have explored Athanasius’s conflict with other Christian teachers in Egypt who practiced “open-canon” readings and exegetical discussions on “the deeper parts of Scripture,” and who encouraged their students to seek knowledge and heavenly visions apart from the parish clergy. Recent research has shown that many of these groups were not only urban study circles in Alexandria but also various monastic organizations throughout Egypt that admired the Alexandrian theological legacy associated with Origen and the teaching of such revered spiritual guides as St. Antony. By analyzing the tractates of Nag Hammadi Codex I as a fourth-century collection of Christian writings, and comparing its content with themes found in the letters of Antony, we find that the fourth-century reader of this codex, far from encountering teachings typically regarded as “gnostic” (dualism, docetism, a “world-hating spirit”) would have found a number of themes strikingly compatible with Antony’s letters. Finally, we discuss what appeal both collections would have had to monastic readers during the period of religious controversy that characterizes fourth-century Christianity in Egypt.

The article was written at the University of Oslo, Faculty of Theology, under the aegis of project NEWCONT (New Contexts for Old Texts: Unorthodox Texts and Monastic Manuscript Culture in 4th- and 5th-Cent. Egypt), funded by the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007–2013) / ERC Grant agreement no 283741.

Los evangelios apócrifos son la falsificación del Nuevo Testamento.  El Talmud, la Cábala y el Zohar son la falsificación del Tanaj.

    Si bien hay cosas buenas en el Talmud, según afirman, presentan 150 pasajes que son contrarias a la palabra de Dios. Los defensores del judaísmo ortodoxo se ponen a la defensiva con las críticas al Talmud y clasifican los comentarios como antisemitas. La mayor parte de judíos no han leído esta extensa obra y quizás se horrorizarían con algunas de sus enseñanzas.

    La Cábala (Kabbalah) es una disciplina y escuela de pensamiento esotérico, relacionada con los esenios y el judaísmo jasídico. Utiliza varios métodos para encontrar códigos ocultos en la Torá.  Su definición ha variado en el tiempo, desde sus orígenes como parte del judaísmo hasta las más recientes versiones esotéricas, como el New Age (Nueva era).

    El Zohar o Libro del esplendor es la obra fundamental explicativa de la Cábala. Fue escrita por Shimon bar Yojai en el siglo II. Le llaman la Biblia de los cabalistas.
    La cosmovisión básica que presenta es que “del seno mismo de la Divinidad oculta o Infinito (el Ain Sof), surgió un rayo de luz que dio origen a la nada (ain), identificada con una esfera (sefirá) o región, que recibe el nombre de kéter (‘corona’). De esta corona suprema de Dios emanan otras nueve esferas (las sefirot). Estas diez esferas constituyen los distintos aspectos de Dios, mediante los cuales se manifiesta.” Esta interpretación es una desviación que no tiene absolutamente nada que ver con la cosmovisión judeocristiana.
    Los Manuscritos de Nag Hammadi son parte de los evangelios apócrifos o extracanónicos escritos en los primeros siglos del cristianismo y que no fueron aceptados en el canon del Tanaj ni en las Biblias de las diferentes iglesias cristianas.  Se les dio el nombre de evangelios por su aspecto, similar al de los cuatro evangelios del Nuevo Testamento. Sin embargo, se distinguen en su estilo y en su contenido, y fueron abrupta o progresivamente desestimados por las comunidades cristianas.  Discrepan con la cosmovisión cristiana. Contienen mensajes ocultos reservados a los iniciados. Sus escritos están revestidos de magia y de misticismo.  Los relatos son fantasiosos.

1769, Luxor: James Bruce, turista scozzese, acquista un manoscritto copto che verrà pubblicato solo nel 1892 (noto come Codice Bruce); conterrebbe le conversazioni tra Gesù e i suoi Discepoli, un gruppo formato da uomini e donne.
1773, Londra: in una libreria, un collezionista trova un antico testo, redatto in copto, contenente un dialogo a proposito di ‘misteri’, tra Gesù e i suoi Discepoli(2)
1869, il Cairo: un egittologo tedesco, allertato da precedenti pubblicazioni, acquista un manoscritto che contiene, con sua grande meraviglia, il “Vangelo di Maria (Maddalena)” e altri tre testi.Tre copie di uno di questi, l’ ”Apocrifo (libro segreto) di Tommaso” fanno parte della Biblioteca gnostica scoperta a Nag Hammadi, nel 1945, ma di cui –per trent’anni- il mondo non seppe praticamente nulla.
Nel 1947 furono scoperti i Rotoli del Mar Morto (a Qumran) di cui fu data notizia della scoperta molto prima di quelli di Nag Hammadi.
Una storia rocambolesca, quest’ultima, dalla quale è stato possibile ricavare una maggiore comprensione di ciò che chiamiamo Cristianesimo e identifichiamo come Tradizione Cristiana. In effetti, possiamo capire come, all’incirca nel II secolo dopo Cristo, venne operata una limitata  selezione tra gli scritti allora circolanti, che furono scelti e adottati come testi canonici, escludendone altri, che furono etichettati come “eretici”, proibendone la diffusione. Cos’avevano di tanto pericoloso? Chi operò la selezione delle fonti? E perché?
(Nota: La bibliografia è citata alla fine della II parte di questo lavoro: https://www.academia.edu/10185829/I_LIBRI_SEGRETI_II_PARTE_ )

This book offers fresh readings of the Gospel of Philip (NHC II.3) and the Exegesis on the Soul (NHC II.6) from new theoretical and historical perspectives. Eschewing the category of “Gnosticism” and challenging common categorisations, the book analyses the preserved Coptic texts as coherent Christian compositions contemporary with the production and use of the Nag Hammadi Codices. A methodological framework based on Cognitive Poetics is outlined and applied to illuminate how the texts present a soteriology of transformation through religious rituals and practices using complex conceptual and intertextual blends with important polemical and paraenetic functions. The analysis highlights the use of metaphors and allusions in (re-)interpretations of authoritative Scripture, ritual and dogma. Complete Coptic texts and translations are included.

Beyond the Gnostic Gospels gathers contributions from both junior and senior scholars whose studies have developed in dialogue with Elaine Pagels’ work on Nag Hammadi literature and ancient heresiology. Published initially in 1979, Pagels’ The Gnostic Gospels represents a landmark of scholarship in religious studies. It not only made the Nag Hammadi writings and Gnosticism popular topics in modern culture, it also invited scholars to rethink early Christianity from new perspectives. The studies included in this volume engage each stage of Pagels’ vast trajectory, and provide critical evaluations of the field of “Gnosticism studies” as it has developed over the past four decades, in the subfields of the “Sethian” and “Valentinian” schools, and beyond. The studies offer new interpretations of the Nag Hammadi texts and fresh analyses of ancient heresiological literature.

In den frühen Phasen der Beschäftigung mit den Nag-Hammadi-Schriften bestand eine gewisse Verwunderung bezüglich des Vorkommens von Gebeten in den Nag-Hammadi-Codices, da „Gnostiker“ logischerweise wenig Verwendung für Gebete haben sollten. Jetzt, nachdem die Kategorie „Gnosis“ aufgegeben wurde, ist es möglich, das Problem aus einer neuen Perspektive zu betrachten. Die vorliegende Untersuchung geht vom ägyptisch-monastischen Kontext der Nag-Hammadi-Codices aus und zeigt, inwiefern mehrere Gebete oder Besprechungen von Gebeten in den Nag-Hammadi-Schriften enge Parallelen in zum „Mainstream“ gehörenden christlichen und monastischen Schriften des 4. und 5. Jahrhunderts besitzen.

The article was written at the University of Oslo, Faculty of Theology, under the aegis of project NEWCONT (New Contexts for Old Texts: Unorthodox Texts and Monastic Manuscript Culture in 4th- and 5th-Cent. Egypt), funded by the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007–2013) / ERC Grant agreement no 283741.

When Karl Löning invited me ro parricip_ate in his recently completecl project concerning "Erlösendes Wissen,"r I immediately reacheä back to an area of research in which I feel I still have much "old business" to attend to, namely the so-called "coptic Gnostic Library" of texts discovered in Upper Egypt in 1945 in the ,,Nag Hammadi öodices.',: Har,. ing called several years earlier for a "primarily coprological" investigation of the strange assortment of worlis contained in these earlv cooiic qup{.5 books,. I proposed norv ro explore ,,Christliche und gnostiJche Apokalypsen im koptischen Ägypten," in which I hopect to ädd."r. ^t least certain aspects of the perplexing questions, who translated these works into coptic, and who transmitted them in such a wav that thev became known to us from a irorde of partry damaged uoorc rriaaen away in a remote comer of Upper Egypt? 6 I am partly pamphrasing AreNn, Closis, 55: "das Auslösunnsm(rment fi-ir das Phänomen der historischen Gnosis ist m. E. Freude und grenzenloser Jubel. Beides rührt daher, daß die Autoren die'Gnosis'eines ranszendenten Gottes emplängen hirberr und sich ihm als zutielit ztrgehörig erfahrcn, mehr noch: sich in ihrem eigentlichen Selbst als mit diesem Gott identisch erkennen. Das bedeutet Erlirsung von dieser Welt und ihren Zwängen-Davon reden die gnostischen Tcxte, daher dcr.lubel,"

Chapter 31 in the T&T Clark Handbook of the Early Church (2021), edited by Ilaria L.E. Ramelli, J.A. McGuckin and Piotr Ashwin-Siejkowski.

In the over seventy years since their discovery, the Nag Hammadi Codices have had a seismic impact on our understanding of the development of early Christianity. This chapter explores their continued interest for scholars and laypeople, and the controversy that still surrounds them.

Pages 335–46 in Studia Patristica XCIII: Vol. 19: The First Two Centuries – Apocrypha and Gnostica. Edited by Markus Vinzent. StPatr 93. Leuven: Peeters, 2017.

The Dialogue of the Savior, preserved only in Nag Hammadi Codex III, as commonly been treated as a Gnostic text from the second century and studies have focused on this context and on tracing its even earlier sources. In contrast, this article eschews the category of ‘Gnosticism’ and argues that the text as it has been preserved is better understood as a product of early Egyptian monasticism. By comparing the Dialogue of the Savior with other monastic texts from Egypt, it will be shown how the text reflects monastic ideals and interests, here exemplified by its treatment of the postmortem trials of the soul.

The research and writing of this article were conducted within the context of the NEWCONT-project (New Contexts for Old Texts: Unorthodox Texts and Monastic Manuscript Culture in Fourth- and Fifth-Century Egypt) at the University of Oslo, Faculty of Theology. The project was financed by a ‘Starting Grant’ from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007–2013) / ERC Grant agreement no 283741.

This book contains an introductory essay and new Norwegian translations of the Investiture of the Archangel Michael; Pseudo-Timothy's Encomium On Abbaton the Angel of Death; Pseudo-Athanasius On the Resurrection of Lazarus; the Book of Thomas, the Teachings of Silvanus, and the Exegesis on the Soul from the Nag Hammadi Codices; Who Speaks Through the Prophet, And It Happened One Day, and I Am Amazed by Shenoute of Atripe; Dioscorus of Alexandria's Letter to Shenoute; Historia Horsiesi; the Life of Aphu of Pemdje; and the Martyrdom of Apa Nahroou. The book was completed under the aegis of project NEWCONT (New Contexts for Old Texts: Unorthodox Texts and Monastic Manuscript Culture in 4th- and 5th-Cent. Egypt) at the University of Oslo, Faculty of Theology. The project is funded by the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007–2013) / ERC Grant agreement no 283741.

Pages 253–75 in Gospels and Gospel Traditions in the Second Century: Experiments in Reception. Edited by Jens Schröter, Tobias Nicklas, and Joseph Verheyden. Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft 235. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 2019.

The research and writing of this article were conducted within the context of the NEWCONT-project (New Contexts for Old Texts: Unorthodox Texts and Monastic Manuscript Culture in Fourth- and Fifth-Century Egypt) at the University of Oslo, Faculty of Theology. The project was financed by a ‘Starting Grant’ from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007–2013) / ERC Grant agreement no 283741.

Pages 221–33 in Women and Knowledge in Early Christianity. Edited by Ulla Tervahauta, Ivan Miroshnikov, Outi Lehtipuu, and Ismo Dunderberg. Supplements to Vigiliae Christianae 144. Leiden: Brill, 2017. The article was written at the University of Oslo, Faculty of Theology, under the aegis of project NEWCONT (New Contexts for Old Texts: Unorthodox Texts and Monastic Manuscript Culture in 4th- and 5th-Cent. Egypt), funded by the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007–2013) / ERC Grant agreement no 283741.