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Hypsiphrone is Codex XI, Tractate 4 [1] of the Nag Hammadi writings, [2] named from the translation of a Greek feminine name word 'Hypsiphrone' or 'Hupsiph[rone]' [3] rendered as she of high mind. [4] The text is highly fragmentary, and only parts of several paragraphs have survived. [5]
The text describes a conversation between Hypsiphrone and her brethren Phainops. Hypsiphrone has returned to the world after being in the place of her virginity, and Phainops asks why she has left and suggests she follow him. Phainops then tells Hypsiphrone about a fount of blood that can be revealed by starting a fire. [6]
Gnosticism is a collection of religious ideas and systems that coalesced in the late 1st century AD among Jewish and early Christian sects. These various groups emphasized personal spiritual knowledge (gnosis) above the proto-orthodox teachings, traditions, and authority of religious institutions. Gnostic cosmogony generally presents a distinction between a supreme, hidden God and a malevolent lesser divinity who is responsible for creating the material universe. Consequently, Gnostics considered material existence flawed or evil, and held the principal element of salvation to be direct knowledge of the hidden divinity, attained via mystical or esoteric insight. Many Gnostic texts deal not in concepts of sin and repentance, but with illusion and enlightenment.
The Nag Hammadi library is a collection of early Christian and Gnostic texts discovered near the Upper Egyptian town of Nag Hammadi in 1945.
The Gospel of Philip is a non-canonical Gnostic Gospel dated to around the 3rd century but lost in medieval times until rediscovered by accident, buried with other texts near Nag Hammadi in Egypt, in 1945.
The Apocryphon of John, also called the Secret Book of John or the Secret Revelation of John, is a 2nd-century Sethian Gnostic Christian pseudepigraphical text attributed to John the Apostle. It is one of the texts addressed by Irenaeus in his Against Heresies, placing its composition before 180 AD. It is presented as describing Jesus appearing and giving secret knowledge (gnosis) to his disciple John. The author describes it as having occurred after Jesus had "gone back to the place from which he came".
The Epistle of Eugnostos or Eugnostos the Blessed is a Gnostic epistle found in Codices III and V of the Nag Hammadi library. Both copies seem to be a Coptic translation of a Greek original that was composed in Egypt around the late 1st century; the copy from Codex III is the earlier translation. Scholars note that the text is interrelated with The Sophia of Jesus Christ; SJC adds more specifically Christian elements to the cosmology-focused Eug. The text is a philosophical discourse on the nature of God and the world. The author asserts that previous human inquiries have failed to reach the truth about the nature of God, who is ineffable and beyond human understanding. The author describes a belief system in which there is an Immortal Man who reveals various aeons and powers with different names and authorities over different kingdoms and worlds.
The Sethians were one of the main currents of Gnosticism during the 2nd and 3rd century CE, along with Valentinianism and Basilideanism. According to John D. Turner, it originated in the 2nd century CE as a fusion of two distinct Hellenistic Judaic philosophies and was influenced by Christianity and Middle Platonism. However, the exact origin of Sethianism is not properly understood.
The Thought of Norea is a Sethian Gnostic text. It is the second of three treatises in Codex IX of the Nag Hammadi library texts, taking up pages 27–29 of the codex's 74 pages. The text consists of only 52 lines, making it one of the shortest treatises in the entire library. The work is untitled; editor Birger A. Pearson created the title from the phrase "the thought of Norea" that appears in the final sentence of the text. The text expands Norea's plea for deliverance from the archons in Hypostasis of the Archons. It is divided into four parts: an invocation, Norea's cry and deliverance, her activity in the Pleroma, and salvation.
Allogenes is a series of Gnostic texts. The main character in these texts is Allogenes, which translates as 'stranger,' 'foreigner,' or 'of another race.' The first text discovered was Allogenes as the third tractate in Codex XI of the Nag Hammadi library. The Coptic manuscript is a translation of a Greek original, likely written in Alexandria before 300 AD. In this text, containing Middle Platonic or Neoplatonic elements, Allogenes receives divine revelations.
The Second Apocalypse of James is a Gnostic writing. It is the fourth tractate in Codex V in the Nag Hammadi library, immediately following the First Apocalypse of James. The order is a deliberate scribal choice, since the first text prepares James the Just for his death as a martyr, and the second text describes his death in detail. The existing Coptic version was likely translated in c. 300 AD from a Greek original written in c. 150 AD. In the text, James serves as a Gnostic redeemer who tries unsuccessfully to persuade the people to understand God before his martyrdom.
The Gospel of the Truth is one of the Gnostic texts from the New Testament apocrypha found in the Nag Hammadi codices ("NHC"). It exists in two Coptic translations, a Subakhmimic rendition surviving almost in full in the first Nag Hammadi codex and a Sahidic in fragments in the twelfth codex.
The Acts of Peter and the Twelve or the Acts of Peter and the Twelve Apostles is a Christian text from about the 4th century. It is the first treatise in Codex VI of the Nag Hammadi library texts, taking up pages 1–12 of the codex's 78 pages. The writing extends the Parable of the Pearl from Matthew 13:45–46. In the text, Peter the Apostle meets a pearl merchant named Lithargoel, who is later revealed to be Jesus. Jesus commands the apostles to care for the poor.
John D. Turner was the Cotner Professor of Religious Studies and Charles J. Mach University Professor of Classics and History Classics & Religious Studies at the University of Nebraska. He was well known for his translations of the Nag Hammadi library.
The Prayer of the Apostle Paul is a New Testament apocryphal work, the first manuscript from the Jung Codex of the Nag Hammadi Library. Written on the inner flyleaf of the codex, the prayer seems to have been added after the longer tractates had been copied. Although the text, like the rest of the codices, is written in Coptic, the title is written in Greek, which was the original language of the text. The manuscript is missing approximately two lines at the beginning.
The Hypostasis of the Archons, also called The Reality of the Rulers or The Nature of the Rulers, is a Gnostic writing. The only known surviving manuscript is in Coptic as the fourth tractate in Codex II of the Nag Hammadi library. It has some similarities with On the Origin of the World, which immediately follows it in the codex. The Coptic version is a translation of a Greek original, possibly written in Egypt in the third century AD. The text begins as an exegesis on Genesis 1–6 and concludes as a discourse explaining the nature of the world's evil authorities. It applies Christian Gnostic beliefs to the Jewish origin story, and translator Bentley Layton believes the intent is anti-Jewish.
Marvin W. Meyer was a scholar of religion and a tenured professor at Chapman University, in Orange, California.
Stephen Emmel is a Coptologist and musician.
Nag Hammadi Codex XIII is a papyrus codex with a collection of early Christian Gnostic texts in Coptic. The manuscript is generally dated to the 4th century, though there is some debate regarding the original composition of the texts.
Authoritative Discourse, also known as Authoritative Teaching or Authentikos Logos is a text about the journey of the soul. It is the third of eight treatises in Codex VI of the Nag Hammadi library texts, taking up pages 22–35 of the codex's 78 pages. The text uses metaphors extensively to describe the origin, condition, and ultimate destiny of the soul, calling the soul a prostitute, a seed of wheat, a contestant, an invalid, a fish, and a bride. Researchers have debated whether the text should be classified as Gnostic and/or Christian.
A Valentinian Exposition is the second tractate from Codex XI of the Nag Hammadi Library. Less than half of the text has been preserved. The text explores the relationship between God, the created world, and humanity. It states that the material world is a shadow of the spiritual world and that humanity is a mixture of spiritual and carnal elements. The Demiurge, a lower deity, is responsible for creating the physical world and humanity, and the Devil, who is one of the divine beings, expelled his root from the body of humanity and caused the world to fall into sin. It also explores themes such as salvation through knowledge and understanding of one's true identity.
Wolf-Peter Funk was a historian of religion and Coptologist known for his pioneering studies on Gnosticism, Manichaeism, and Coptic manuscripts such as the Nag Hammadi library.
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