Read Lost scriptures: books that did not make it into the New Testament Online
Authors: [edited by] Bart D. Ehrman
Tags: #Biblical Reference, #Bible Study Guides, #Bibles, #Other Translations, #Apocryphal books (New Testament), #New Testament, #Christianity, #Religion, #Biblical Commentary, #Biblical Studies, #General, #History
prime parent and Pronoia, who was with
marriage followed woman. Birth folhim. Yet its light appeared to all the forces lowed marriage. Dissolution followed
of the heavens. Because of this they were
birth.
all troubled by it.
After that Eros, the grapevine sprouted
Then when Pronoia saw that emissary,
up out of that blood, which had been shed
she became enamored of him. But he
over the earth. Because of this, those who
hated her because she was on the darkdrink of it conceive the desire of sexual ness. But she desired to embrace him,
union. After the grapevine, a fig tree and
and she was not able to. When she was
a pomegranate tree sprouted up from the
unable to assuage her love, she poured
earth, together with the rest of the trees,
out her light upon the earth. Since that
all species, having within them their seed
day, that emissary has been called “Adam
from the seed of the authorities and their
of Light,” whose rendering is “the lumiangels.
nous man of blood,” and the earth spread
Then Justice created Paradise, being
over him, holy Adaman, whose rendering
beautiful and being outside the orbit of
is “the Holy Land of Adamantine.” Since
the moon and the orbit of the sun in the
that day, all the authorities have honored
Land of Wantonness, in the East in the
the blood of the virgin. And the earth was
midst of the stones. And desire is in
purified on account of the blood of the
the midst of the beautiful, appetizing
virgin. But most of all, the water was
trees. And the tree of eternal life is as it
purified through the likeness of Pistis Soappeared by God’s will, to the north of phia, who had appeared to the prime par
Paradise, so that it might make eternal
ent in the waters. Justly, then, it has been
the souls of the pure, who shall come
said: “through the waters.” The holy waforth from the modelled forms of poverty ter, since it vivifies the all, purifies it.
at the consummation of the age. Now the
Out of that first blood Eros appeared,
color of the tree of life is like the sun.
being androgynous. His masculinity is
Himireris (i.e., Himeros), being fire from
the light. His femininity that is with him—
a soul of blood—is from the stuff of
2Isa 45:5–6, 12.
ON THE ORIGIN OF THE WORLD
313
And its branches are beautiful. Its leaves
authorities created out of the waters all
are like those of the cypress. Its fruit is
species of beast, and the reptiles and
like a bunch of grapes when it is white.
birds—different kinds—containing the
Its height goes as far as heaven. And next
seed of the authorities and their angels.
to it (is) the tree of acquaintance (
gnosis
),
But before all these, when he had aphaving the strength of God. Its glory is peared on the first day, he remained upon
like the moon when fully radiant. And its
the earth, something like two days, and
branches are beautiful. Its leaves are like
left the lower Pronoia in heaven, and
fig leaves. Its fruit is like a good appetizascended towards his light. And immeing date. And this tree is to the north of diately darkness covered all the universe.
Paradise, so that it might arouse the souls
Now when she wished, the Sophia who
from the torpor of the demons, in order
was in the lower heaven received authorthat they might approach the tree of life ity from Pistis, and fashioned great luand eat of its fruit and so condemn the minous bodies and all the stars. And she
authorities and their angels.
put them in the sky to shine upon the
The effect of this tree is described in
earth and to render temporal signs and
the
Sacred
Book,
to wit: “It is you who seasons and years and months and days
are the tree of acquaintance, which is in
and nights and moments and so forth.
Paradise, from which the first man ate
And in this way the entire region upon
and which opened his mind; and he loved
the sky was adorned.
his female counterpart and condemned
Now when Adam of Light conceived
the other, alien likenesses and loathed
the wish to enter his light—i.e., the
them.”
eighth heaven—he was unable to do so
Now after it, the olive tree sprouted up,
because of the poverty that had mingled
which was to purify the kings and the
with his light. Then he created for himself
high priests of righteousness, who were
a vast eternal realm. And within that eterto appear in the last days, since the olive nal realm he created six eternal realms
tree appeared out of the light of the first
and their adornments, six in number, that
Adam for the sake of the unguent that
were seven times better than the heavens
they were to receive.
of chaos and their adornments. Now all
And the first soul (
psyche
) loved Eros,
these eternal realms and their adornments
who was with her, and poured her blood
exist within the infinity that is between
upon him and upon the earth. And out of
the eighth heaven and the chaos below it,
that blood the rose first sprouted up, out
being counted with the universe that beof the earth, out of the thorn bush, to be longs to poverty.
a source of joy for the light that was to
If you (sg.) want to know the arrangeappear in the bush. Moreover after this ment of these, you will find it written in
the beautiful, good-smelling flowers
the
Seventh
Universe
of
the
Prophet
sprouted up from the earth, different
Hieralias.
kinds, from every single virgin of the
And before Adam of Light had withdaughters of Pronoia. And they, when drawn in the chaos, the authorities saw
they had become enamored of Eros,
him and laughed at the prime parent bepoured out their blood upon him and cause he had lied when he said, “It is I
upon the earth. After these, every plant
who am God. No one exists before me.”3
sprouted up from the earth, different
kinds, containing the seed of the authorities and their angels. After these, the 3Isa 45:5–6, 12
314
NON-CANONICAL APOCALYPSES AND REVELATORY TREATISES
When they came to him, they said, “Is
namely, the female instructor of life. Her
this not the god who ruined our work?”
offspring is the creature that is lord. Af
He answered and said, “Yes. If you do
terwards, the authorities called it “Beast,”
not want him to be able to ruin our work,
so that it might lead astray their modelled
come let us create a human being out of
creatures. The interpretation of “the
earth, according to the image of our
beast” is “the instructor.” For it was found
body and according to the likeness of
to be the wisest of all beings.
this being (viz., Adam of Light), to serve
Now, Eve is the first virgin, the one
us; so that when he (viz., Adam of Light)
who without a husband bore her first offsees his likeness he might become enspring. It is she who served as her own amored of it. No longer will he ruin our
midwife.
work; rather, we shall make those who
For this reason she is held to have said:
are born out of the light our servants for
“It is I who am the part of my
all the duration of this eternal realm.
mother;
Now all of this came to pass according
And it is I who am the mother;
to the forethought of Pistis, in order that
It is I who am the wife;
a human being should appear after his
It is I who am the virgin;
likeness, and should condemn them be
It is I who am pregnant;
cause of their modelled form. And their
It is I who am the midwife;
modelled form became an enclosure of
It is I who am the one that
the light.
comforts pains of travail;
Then the authorities received the ac
It is my husband who bore me;
quaintance (
gnosis
) necessary to create
And it is I who am his mother,
man. Sophia Zoe—she who is with Sab-
And it is he who is my father and
aoth—had anticipated them. And she
my lord.
laughed at their decision. For they are
It is he who is my force;
blind: against their own interests they ig
What he desires, he says with
norantly created him. And they do not
reason.
realize what they are about to do. The
I am in the process of becoming.
reason she anticipated them and made her
Yet I have borne a man as lord.”
own human being first, was in order that
Now these through the will � . . . �.
he might instruct their modelled form
The souls that were going to enter the
how to despise them and thus to escape
modelled forms of the authorities were
from them.
manifested to Sabaoth and his Christ.
Now the production of the instructor
And regarding these the holy voice said,
came about as follows. When Sophia let
“Multiply and improve! Be lord over all
fall a droplet of light, it flowed onto the
creatures.” And it is they who were taken
water, and immediately a human being
captive, according to their destinies, by
appeared, being androgynous. That dropthe prime parent. And thus they were let she molded first as a female body.
shut into the prisons of the modelled
Afterwards, using the body she molded
forms. . . . And at that time, the prime
it in the likeness of the mother which had
parent then rendered an opinion concernappeared. And he finished it in twelve ing man to those who were with him.
months. An androgynous human being
Then each of them cast his sperm into
was produced, whom the Greeks call
the midst of the navel of the earth. Since
Hermaphrodites; and whose mother the
that day, the seven rulers have fashioned
Hebrews call Eve of Life (Eve of Zoe),
man with his body resembling their
ON THE ORIGIN OF THE WORLD
315
body, but his likeness resembling the
wards he appeared as prior to him. He
man that had appeared to them. His
became a soul-endowed man. And he
modelling took place by parts, one at a
was called Adam, that is, “father,” ac-
time. And their leader fashioned the
cording to the name of the one that ex-
brain and the nervous system. After-
isted before him.
The First Thought in
Three Forms
Discovered at Nag Hammadi (see p. 19), the “First Thought in Three Forms”
(sometimes called the “Trimorphic Protennoia”) contains a series of three mystical discourses on the world, humans, and salvation through knowledge, placed on the lips of a female aeon (� divine being). Comparable in many ways to the Secret Book of John, the discourses contain several of the key elements of the Gnostic myth. Particularly emphasized are the revelations of divine knowledge from on high, culminating in the incarnation of the Word (cf. John 1:1–18).
The “First Thought” (� Protennoia), is the first emanation from the one true inscrutable God. She begins her discourse by revealing her own mysterious greatness, which is so great that it cannot even be spoken of.
She then describes the three descents that she made from the heavenly realm in order to bring humans the heavenly knowledge that can illuminate their souls, delivering them from darkness into light. Each of these descents is associated with one of her three forms, since she is the Thought of the Father (or Voice), the Mother (or Sound), and the Son (or Word, i.e., the Logos). It is her final descent in the appearance of human flesh that brings the ultimate illumination to those who dwell in ignorance and darkness, leading to their ascent into the world of Light.
It is difficult to date this work, but many scholars think it was written around 200 ce.
[I] am [Protennoia, the] Thought that
among those who [came to be, she who
[dwells] in [the Light. I] am the move-
exists] before the All. [She (Protennoia)
ment that dwells in the [All, she in whom
is called] by three names, although she
the] All takes its stand, [the first]-born
dwells alone, [since she is perfect]. I
Translation by John D. Turner, in James Robinson,
Nag
Hammadi
Library
in
English,
3rd ed. (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1988) 13–22; used with permission.