Publisher: Harper, 1988
The Nag Hammadi library is a collection of religious texts that vary widely from each other as to when, where, and by whom they were written. The focus of this library has much in common with primitive Christianity, with eastern religion, and with ‘holy men and women’ of all times, as well as with more secular equivalents of today. The library of fourth century papyrus manuscripts consists of twelve codices plus eight leaves from a thirteenth comprising a complete text and contains fifty-two separate tractates. Because of duplications, there are forty-five separate titles. Most of the tractates derive from the Hellenistic sects now called gnostic but survive in Coptic translations.
Since the original manuscripts are fragmentary in many places, ellipsis dots (. . .) are included to indicate the place, but not the extent of all lacunae. The page and line numbers of the papyrus codex, given in the translations, should indicate the extent of the damage. There is no clean control copy to allow for correction when compared. Thus, there may be many unintentional errors.
The manuscripts were buried about 400 C. E. and were discovered in 1945. They were found not far from a Panchomian monastery at Chenoboskia in Egypt. Two brothers, while fertilizing their crops in the Naj’ Hammadi region of Upper Egypt, came across a jar at the base of a boulder. When they broke the jar, the books appeared. The brothers took the books to their home. A long story follows until the manuscripts reached the Department of Antiquities in Cairo. The manuscripts received their final conservation about thirty years later. The library is kept in The Coptic Museum in Cairo.
This library makes an important contribution not only to the history of religion, but also to the history of philosophy. It draws on material not only those of Judeo-Christian heritage, but also of Egyptian lore. However, the collection is of Christian Gnosticism.
I,1: The Prayer of the Apostle Paul
I,2: The Apocryphon of James
I,3: The Gospel of Truth
I,4: The Treatise on the Resurrection
I,5: The Tripartite Tractate
II,1: The Apocryphon of John
II,2: The Gospel of Thomas
II,3: The Gospel of Philip
II,4: The Hypostasis of the Archons
II,5: On the Origin of the World
II,6: The Exegesis on the Soul
II,7: The Book of Thomas the Contender
III,1: The Apocryphon of John
III,2: The Gospel of the Egyptians
III,3: Eugnostos the Blessed
III,4: The Sophia of Jesus Christ
III,5: The Dialogue of the Savior
IV,1: The Apocryphon of John IV,2: The Gospel of the Egyptians
V,1: Eugnostos the Blessed
V,2: The Apocalypse of Peter
V,3: The First Apocalypse of James
V,4: The Second Apocalypse of James
V,5: The Apocalypse of Adam
VI,1: The Acts of Peter and the Twelve Apostles
VI,2: The Thunder: Perfect Mind
VI,3: Authoritative Teaching
VI,4: The Concept of Our Great Power
VI,5: Plato, Republic 588a-589b
VI,6: The Discourse on the Eighth and Ninth
VI,7: The Prayer of Thanksgiving
VI,7a: Scribal Note
VI,8: Asclepius 21-29
VII,1: The Paraphrase of Shem
VII,2: The Second Treatise of the Great Seth
VII,3: Apocalypse of Peter
VII,4: The Teachings of Silvanus
VII,5: The Three Steles of Seth
VIII,1: Zostrianos
VIII,2: The Letter of Peter to Philip
IX,1: Melchizedek
IX,2: The Thought of Norea
IX,3: The Testimony of Truth
X: Marsanes
XI,1: The Interpretation of Knowledge
XI,2: A Valentinian Exposition
XI,2a: On the Anointing
XI,2b: On Baptism A
XI,2c: On Baptism B
XI,2d: On the Eucharist A
XI,2e: On the Eucharist B
XI,3: Allogenes
XI,4: Hypsiphrone
XII,1: The Sentences of Sextus
XII,2: The Gospel of Truth
XII,3: Fragments
XIII,1: Trimorphic Protennoia
XIII,2: On the Origin of the World
BG,1: The Gospel of Mary
BG,2: The Apocryphon of John
BG,3: The Sophia of Jesus Christ
BG,4: The Act of Peter
