Second Treatise of the Great Seth

Last updated
Codex VII of the Nag Hammadi library, page 70, which has the end of the Second Treatise and the start of the Gnostic Apocalypse of Peter. The title is only seen here at the end of the work, not the beginning, and is in Greek, while the rest of the work is in Coptic. Nag Hammadi Codex vii 70.png
Codex VII of the Nag Hammadi library, page 70, which has the end of the Second Treatise and the start of the Gnostic Apocalypse of Peter. The title is only seen here at the end of the work, not the beginning, and is in Greek, while the rest of the work is in Coptic.

The Second Treatise of the Great Seth, [note 1] also known as the Second Discourse of the Great Seth and Second Logos of the Great Seth, is a Gnostic text. It is the second tractate in Codex VII of the Nag Hammadi library. It was likely originally written in the Koine Greek language and composed around 200 CE. The surviving manuscript from Nag Hammadi is a translation of the Greek into Coptic. The work's author is unknown; he was perhaps writing in Alexandria, the literary center of Egyptian Christianity.

Contents

The work is a speech given by Jesus, perhaps intended as a homily to rally Gnostic Christians with against opposition from proto-orthodox Christians. It repeatedly denigrates opponents, both material and spiritual, as "jokes" whose bluster hides their weakness. Despite the title, the word "Seth" never appears in the text, nor is a separate work called the First Discourse of Seth extant. The title might refer to Sethian beliefs that the first incarnation of the Great Seth was the son of Adam and Eve, while the second manifestation of Great Seth was Jesus himself.

A variety of Gnostic themes and doctrines are propounded: souls are preexisting and immortal, but the mortal bodies they are attached to have forgotten their noble origin; the false God Yaldabaoth is an inferior being, and those who serve him are deluded fools and laughingstocks; and Jesus's teachings ( gnosis and sophia ) can enable souls to cast off their earthly shackles and achieve spiritual enlightenment. Like the Gnostic Apocalypse of Peter, the text takes a docetic view of the crucifixion of Jesus: that Jesus did not die in reality, but only in appearance. The Passion of Jesus is treated as a joke, with the invulnerable, divine, spiritual Jesus laughing at those who thought they could kill him, but only succeeded in killing "their man", the unimportant physical side of Jesus.

Contents

The text is written from the perspective of Jesus. [1] In it, Jesus reflects on the nature of reality and the existence of a perfect deity, who is at rest in the truth and ineffable light. He speaks about the word of the deity, the thought of the imperishable spirit, and the idea of dying with Christ. He visits a bodily dwelling and reveals himself to be a stranger from above the heavens, causing the rulers of the earthly area to become troubled. Some are persuaded by the wonders he accomplishes, while others flee and bring punishment upon him. The rulers are unable to recognize the true father of truth and the human of greatness, but instead, they take the name out of ignorance. Jesus died because of those who offered praise, but not really, because the archangel was vacuous.

Jesus describes the voice of the world ruler who claims to be the only god, causing Jesus to laugh. He has a single emanation from the eternal and unknowable ones, places a small thought in the world, and visits the angels with fire and flame, causing a disturbance and a fight around the seraphim and cherubim. Jesus says that he did not die in reality but in appearance, and the ignorant ones who punished him condemned themselves. He assumed different shapes and passed by the gates of the angels without being seen, mingled with them, and tramped on those who were harsh. He brought the son of the majesty to the height and revealed the three ways to a perfect bridal chamber of the heavens. His cross was rejected by the world, and after they nailed him to the cross, darkness overtook the world. The veil of the temple was torn, and the souls that were in the sleep below were released.

Jesus criticizes the rulers for not understanding the truth about the ineffable union between the children of light and for instead promoting a doctrine of fear, slavery, and worldly worship. He contrasts the rulers with those who have nothing but desire the truth, and those who live in harmony and love, which is the universal and perfect love. Jesus also speaks of Adam, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, Solomon, the twelve prophets, and Moses, who were all made to be a laughingstock by the realm of seven, and that they never truly knew Jesus or his brothers. The ruler is also criticized for claiming to be god and bringing sin upon generations, but Jesus and his brothers are innocent and have overcome the ruler's false teachings. Jesus addresses those who do not see their blindness, having never known the truth or listened to a reliable report, leading them to a judgment of error.

In the conclusion, Jesus describes himself as the despised human son. The text emphasizes the importance of unity among Gnostics and the avoidance of negative qualities such as jealousy, division, anger, and fear. Jesus is depicted as a mystery who, along with others, was spiritually married in union before the foundation of the world. The text also mentions that the rulers around Yaldabaoth were disobedient due to their envy, but Jesus is a friend of Sophia and is a member of the children of truth and greatness. The ending encourages the readers to rest with Jesus, his fellow spirits, and his brothers and sisters, forever. [2]

Authorship, date, and manuscript

The author of the original Greek text is unknown, but he is speculated to have written at some point from the late second century to the early third century (c.150230 CE), and most likely in Roman Egypt. The city of Alexandria is a reasonable guess as to the site of composition, largely on grounds that it was a wealthy and prosperous city that was a hub of literary activity. The text was probably a unity composed by one author, rather than a composite work created by a later editor. The surviving manuscript from Nag Hammadi is a translation of the Greek into Coptic; while the translation is adequate, there remain many confusing and ambiguous passages, with it unclear whether the original Greek was similarly opaque. The manuscript is in excellent condition as far as reading the text. The work is the second in Codex VII, following the Paraphrase of Shem, and is itself followed by the Gnostic Apocalypse of Peter. [3] [4]

The Nag Hammadi library was discovered in 1945, but due to a variety of reasons, it was not until 1972 that a reproduction of Codex VII was published and available to the public. [5] The manuscript is held in the Coptic Museum in Old Cairo. The section of Codex VII with the Second Treatise is 21 pages long, from page 49 to page 70. As there is only a single manuscript extant, citations to passages are done via page number and line number. [3]

Analysis

Sethianism

I [Jesus] approached a bodily dwelling and evicted the previous occupant, and I went in.

Second Treatise of the Great Seth 51, 20 [4]

Gnosticism was a broad movement containing many different strands, although it remains poorly understood due to the rarity of surviving documents from the Gnostic perspective, with the Nag Hammadi library being the main guide. One variety classified by scholars is Sethianism, seen in works such as the Apocryphon of John. An idea in Sethianism is that of emanations over the aeons (ages). While the Second Treatise of the Great Seth is not very explicit on what is going on, the best guess is that the title is implying that both Seth and Jesus were emanations of the same powerful immortal soul, sent to the mortal world to dispense wisdom ( sophia ). The immortal spiritual Jesus is who mattered in this view, not the unimportant physical body it possessed during its time in the mortal realm. [3]

While the Gospel of Matthew was the most popular gospel in Egypt by far, the "logos" of the title might refer to the divine logos usually associated with Johannine works, where the preexisting essence of Jesus is associated with the "Word". [4]

Yaldabaoth

The ruler was a joke, for he said, "I am God, and no one is greater than I. I alone am Father and Lord, and there is no other beside me. I am a jealous god, and I bring the sins of the fathers upon the children for three and four generations" as though he had become stronger than I [Jesus] and my siblings.

Second Treatise of the Great Seth 64,17 65, 1 [4]

The text mocks Yaldabaoth, the evil ruler of the material world, as a joke who has greatly exaggerated his power. However, he has fooled various people into attempting to worship both him and the true God at the same time, with ineffective results. Adam, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, Solomon, the twelve prophets, Moses, and John the Baptist were all jokes, either fooled by Yaladbaoth's bluster or in Adam's case, creations of him. [4]

Interestingly, the text includes a single "good" archon who, unlike the other archons, is welcoming to Jesus's arrival, while the other archons are hostile. This good archon is called Adonaios, presumably taken from the Hebrew adonai, "my lord". This archon might be the same as Sabaoth, seen in other works as a sympathetic archon. [4]

Docetism

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.

Second Treatise of the Great Seth 56,1 56,20 [4]

Like the Gnostic Apocalypse of Peter, the text takes a docetic view of the crucifixion of Jesus: Jesus "did not die in reality but in appearance." The evil archons, the rulers of the mortal world, attempted to kill Jesus, but failed and only killed his unimportant material side. After the sham crucifixion, Jesus celebrates in heaven at a "wedding of truth" and a "feast of love". [1] [6] [3]

According to the proto-orthodox heresiologist Irenaeus, some Gnostics propounded a substitution hypothesis wherein Simon of Cyrene was crucified instead of Jesus. [6] [7] While the Second Treatise does mention Simon, it does not appear to say Simon was crucified; rather, it seems Jesus was crucified, but only the unimportant mortal body the spiritual Christ had possessed. Gnosticism sought to liberate its followers from the constraints of the mortal body and awaken their immortal souls, so the crucifixion of Jesus's mortal body was not perceived as that problematic. [1] [4]

While the work does not go into great detail, it includes some presumed criticisms of proto-orthodox Christianity's understanding of the Passion. In this view, they have misunderstood what occurred and worship "the doctrine of a dead man," while true salvation is achieved by allowing the spiritual Christ within. [4]

Unity of Gnostics and the powerlessness of other Christians

You who are perfect and undefiled, I have presented this to you on account of the mystery that is undefiled and perfect and ineffable, that you understand that we ordained these things before the foundation of the world, so that when we appear throughout the world, we may present the symbols of incorruption from the spiritual union with knowledge.

Second Treatise of the Great Seth 69, 23 70,1 [4]

The text encourages unity among Gnostics, assuring them that Jesus will help them overcome the false rulers and their followers. Jesus himself has already unified with his faithful followers, presumably Gnostics, and is the "friend of Sophia." Meanwhile, the proto-orthodox are "ignorant and of no significance." If Gnostics live in harmony and harmony and friendship, they demonstrate perfect love and reflect the "will of the Father." [4] [3] [6]

Notes

  1. Ancient Greek: Δευτερο λόγος του Μεγάλου Σεθ, romanized: Deuteros logos tou megalou sēth

Related Research Articles

In the Platonic, Neopythagorean, Middle Platonic, and Neoplatonic schools of philosophy, the demiurge is an artisan-like figure responsible for fashioning and maintaining the physical universe. The Gnostics adopted the term demiurge. Although a fashioner, the demiurge is not necessarily the same as the creator figure in the monotheistic sense, because the demiurge itself and the material from which the demiurge fashions the universe are both considered consequences of something else. Depending on the system, they may be considered either uncreated and eternal or the product of some other entity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nag Hammadi library</span> Collection of Gnostic and Christian texts

The Nag Hammadi library is a collection of early Christian and Gnostic texts discovered near the Upper Egyptian town of Nag Hammadi in 1945.

<i>Apocryphon of John</i> Second century gnostic text

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 Holy Book of the Great Invisible Spirit, also known as the Coptic Gospel of the Egyptians, is a Sethian Gnostic text found in Codices III and IV of the Nag Hammadi library. The text describes the origin of three powers: the Father, the Mother, and the Son, who came forth from the great invisible Spirit. The text emphasizes Seth as the origin of the seed of eternal life and the great, incorruptible race. It concludes with a prayer and a statement that it was written by the great Seth and placed in the mountain Charaxio to be revealed at the end of times.

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.

Zostrianos is a Sethian Gnostic text. It is the first tractate of two in Codex VIII of the Nag Hammadi library. It takes up 132 of the 140 pages in the codex, making Zostrianos the longest tractate of the entire library. However the text is extensively damaged, especially in the center, making the document difficult to fully understand. The Coptic manuscript is a translation of a Greek original, likely written in Alexandria in c. 200 AD. In the text, Zostrianos goes on a heavenly journey and receives divine knowledge from the aeons.

The Sethians were one of the main currents of Gnosticism during the 2nd and 3rd century AD, along with Valentinianism and Basilideanism. According to John D. Turner, it originated in the 2nd century AD 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 Three Steles of Seth is a Sethian Gnostic text. It is the fifth tractate in Codex VII of the Nag Hammadi library. The writing is in Coptic and takes up the last nine pages of the codex.

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.

Trimorphic Protennoia or Three Forms of First Thought is a Sethian Gnostic text from the New Testament apocrypha. The only surviving copy comes from the Nag Hammadi library. The text describes three descents using the voice of Barbelo in first person. The voice is the source of life, knowledge, and the first thought. The voice is said to have three names, three masculinities, and three powers, and it is described as androgynous. It explains that Sophia descended to help counter the plan of the demon Yaldabaoth and the archons. The speaker invites the reader to enter the high perfect light and receive glory, enthronement, and baptism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gnostic Apocalypse of Peter</span> Gnostic Christian text (c. 200 CE)

The Gnostic Apocalypse of Peter, also known as the Coptic Apocalypse of Peter and Revelation of Peter, is the third tractate in Codex VII of the Nag Hammadi library. The work is associated with Gnosticism, a sect of early Christianity, and is considered part of the New Testament apocrypha and a work of apocalyptic literature. It was likely originally written in the Koine Greek language and composed around 200 CE. The surviving manuscript from Nag Hammadi is a poor-quality translation of the Greek into Coptic, and likely dates from the 4th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gospel of Truth</span> Gnostic text from the New Testament apocrypha

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 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.

On the Origin of the World is a Gnostic work dealing with creation and the end time. It was found among the texts in the Nag Hammadi library, in Codex II and Codex XIII, immediately following the Reality of the Rulers. There are many parallels between the two texts. The work is untitled; modern scholars call it “On the Origin of the World” based on its contents. It may have been written in Alexandria near the end of the third century, based on its combination of Jewish, Manichaean, Christian, Greek, and Egyptian ideas. The unknown author's audience appears to be outsiders who are unfamiliar with the Gnostic view of how the world came into being. The contents provide an alternate interpretation of Genesis, in which the dark ruler Yaldabaoth created heaven and earth, and a wise instructor opened the minds of Adam and Eve to the truth when they ate from the Tree of Knowledge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Substitution hypothesis</span> Theory regarding Jesus Christ

The substitution hypothesis or twin hypothesis states that the sightings of a risen Jesus are explained not by physical resurrection, but by the existence of a different person, a twin or lookalike who could have impersonated Jesus after his death, or died in the place of Jesus on the cross. It is a position held by some Gnostics in the first to third century, as well as some modern Mandaeans and Muslims and a few skeptics.

Archons, in Gnosticism and religions closely related to it, are the builders of the physical universe. Among the Archontics, Ophites, Sethians and in the writings of Nag Hammadi library, the archons are rulers, each related to one of seven planets; they prevent souls from leaving the material realm. The political connotation of their name reflects rejection of the governmental system, as flawed without chance of true salvation. In Manichaeism, the archons are the rulers of a realm within the "Kingdom of Darkness", who together make up the Prince of Darkness. In The Hypostasis of the Archons, the physical appearance of Archons is described as hermaphroditic, with their faces being those of beasts.

Melchizedek is the first tractate from Codex IX of the Nag Hammadi Library. It is a Gnostic work that features the Biblical figure Melchizedek. The text is fragmentary and highly damaged. The original text was 750 lines; of these, only 19 are complete, and 467 are fragmentary. The remaining 264 lines have been lost from the damage to the text. Like much of Nag Hammadi, the text was likely used by Gnostic Christians in Roman Egypt. It makes reference to Seth, suggesting it may have been used in Sethianism, a school of Gnosticism. The date it was written is unknown; all that can be said is that it was created during the period of early Christianity, presumably at some point during the 3rd century.

The Untitled Text in the Bruce Codex—also called the Untitled Treatise, the Untitled Apocalypse, and The Gnosis of the Light—is a Gnostic text. When James Bruce acquired the codex in Egypt in 1769, "very little knowledge" was available about this period of Gnostic Christianity. It was one of the few known surviving Gnostic works until the discovery of the Nag Hammadi library in 1945. Carl Schmidt described the text's author as having "full knowledge of Greek philosophy" and being "full of the doctrine of the Platonic ideas."

References

  1. 1 2 3 Robinson, Stephen E. (1991). "Second Treatise of the Great Seth". Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia . Claremont Graduate University. School of Religion. pp. 2117b–2118b.
  2. Barnstone, Willis. "The Second Treatise of the Great Seth". The Gnostic Society Library. The Nag Hammadi Library. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Riley, Gregory (1996). "Introduction to VII,2 Second Treatise of the Great Seth". In Pearson, Birger (ed.). Nag Hammadi Codex VII. Brill. pp. 129–199. doi:10.1163/9789004437333_009. ISBN   978-90-04-43733-3.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Meyer, Marvin W. (2007). "The Second Discourse of the Great Seth". The Nag Hammadi Scriptures. HarperOne. pp. 473–486. ISBN   9780060523787.
  5. Robinson, James M., ed. (1972). The Facsimile Edition of the Nag Hammadi Codices: Codex VII. Leiden: Brill. pp. vii–xii. ISBN   9004036024.
  6. 1 2 3 Gibbons, Joseph A. (1981). "The Second Treatise of the Great Seth (VII,2)". The Nag Hammadi library in English. San Francisco: Harper & Row. p. 329. ISBN   9780060669294.
  7. Irenaeus (1885) [c.180]. "Against Heresies (Book I, Chapter 24)". Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 1. Translated by Roberts, Alexander; Rambaut, William. Philip Schaff. Buffalo: Christian Literature Publishing Co.