THE FACSIMILE EDITION OF THE NAG HAMMADI
Codex II
E. J. Brill · Leiden · 1974 · First Edition
Published under the auspices of the Department of Antiquities of the Arab Republic of Egypt · in conjunction with UNESCO
THE APOCRYPHON OF JOHN
DIRECT TRANSLATION — Coptic, Codex II, page 1
The teaching [of the Saviour and the re]velation of the [mysteries and the things] hidden in a silence, [and those which he] taught to John [his disciple] … It happened [one da]y, when he came up namely John, [the brother] of James, who are the sons of Zebedee, he came up to the temple. There approached him a [Phari]- see whose name [was] Arimanios, a[nd] he said to him, "W[here is] your teacher, the one [whom] you followed?" And [he said to him, "The place] … from which he came, he has g[one back to it." Said to him] the Pharisee, ["With deception he has] deceived you, [this Nazarene,] and he fil[led your ears with lies] and he shut [your hearts; he turned you a]- way from the tradit[ions of your fathers." When I] hea[rd] these things, I, [John, turned] away from the tem[ple, up to a desert place,] [an]d I grie[ved greatly in my heart, saying,] "How [was the Saviour appointed,] and why [was he sent into the world] by [his Father, and who is his] Father who [sent him, and of what sort is] that aeon [to which we shall go?] For what, when he sp[oke of it? He said to us] 'This aeon [to which we shall go has taken the ty]- pe of the [imperishable] aeon,' [and he did not tea]- ch us abou[t that one, of what sort it is."] At the momen[t when I was thinking these things, beho]- ld, the [heavens opened and … was shining] with ligh[t, the whole] cr[eation that is] below heaven, and [the world] shook
THE HEAVENS OPENED
John is questioned about his teacher's origin and withdraws to a mountain. His questions turn to the Savior’s and father’s origins, and the destiny of humanity. The final surviving lines begin the transition: the heavens open.
DIRECT TRANSLATION — Coptic, Codex II, page 2
… within the li[ght] … [stand]ing … to me. When I [saw] … he being like a great one. And … [f]orm, being like a … And there was a … [man]y forms within the li[ght] … [a]nd … they were appearing through one ano[ther] … he was of thr[ee] forms. [He said] … "[J]ohn, Jo[hn], why … [do you doubt], or why [are you afraid? Are you] … a stranger to this likeness … faint-[hearted]. I am the one who [is with you] … at all times. I [am the Father] … mother. I am the So[n] … [undef]iled and the unpolluted one. … what it is that exists … what is fitting to … they … … … … you will … … [your fellow spirits], these who … of the perfect … so that … to me: "The M[on]ad … that exists over it … and Father of the [All] … [the invisible] one who exists over … [in]corruptibility, that exis[ts] … this one, for whom there is no … [eye that can look] at him. … it is not fitting … [g]od, or that he is for he is more than a god [who] exists over him, for no one
A LUMINOUS BEING
The revelation that began with the heavens opening takes visible form. John encounters a luminous being whose appearance changes between different human shapes. The text suggests that these are appearances of the same presence.
DIRECT TRANSLATION — Coptic, Codex II, page 3
… is lord [over him. For he does not exist] in any[thing] inferior [to him, since everything ex]ists in him alone. [He is eternal], because he needs [nothing; for he] is total perfection. He did not [lack anything] so that he might be perfected by [it; rather] at all times he is perfect entirely in [light. He is illimit]able, be- cause there is no one [before him to] set a limit to him. He is unsearch[able, because there] is no one who exists before him [to examine him. He is immeasurable] because no o[ne existed before him to measure] him. He is in[visible, because no] one has seen h[im. He is eternal, existing] for ever. He is in[effable, because] no one was able to com[prehend him so as to speak of him. He is un-] nameable, [because there is no one before him] to give [him] a name. [He is the immeasurable light], pure, [holy … in-] effable, … [perfect in incorrupt-] ibility. [Not] in [perfection, nor in] blessed[ness, nor in] divinity, [but far superior. He is] not [corpo]real, [nor is he incorporeal]. He is not great, [nor is he small. There is no] way to say [how much he is, or of what kind he is], [for] it is not possible [for anyone to understand him. He is] not anything [among existing things, but far] superior — [not] as [being superior, but as what] is his own. He does [not] par[take in the aeons, nor] in time. [For] the one [who partakes in an aeon], that is one who was [prepared beforehand. He was not given a portion] in ti[me, since from another] he receives noth[ing. For what is received would be on] [lo]an. [For] he [who is prior does not] l[ack] … him, so th[at] he might receive fr[om him]. For this one gazes after himself a[lone, in his light]
ABOVE ALL AUTHORITY
This passage establishes the hierarchy that existed before humanity’s creation. The beings who later shape the material world exist beneath an older, higher power. The page describes it almost entirely by negation. It is without limit, unsearchable, unseen and unnamed, because no one existed before it to set a limit or give it a name.
DIRECT TRANSLATION — Coptic, Codex II, page 4
… [his] light … [For the perfection is] a greatness. He is a [pure] immeasurable [mind]. He is an aeon [giving aeon]; life he is, giving [life; a blessed one] he is, giving [blessed]ness; [knowledge] he is, giving knowledge; [good he is,] giving goodness; [mercy he is, giving mer]cy and redemption; grace he is, [giving grace; not] because he has [it, but because he gives the] immeasurable, [incomprehensible light. How shall I speak with you] about him? His [aeon is indestructible,] at rest, and he [exists in silence, reposing] himself, being [prior to everything. For he is] the head of [all] the aeons [and it is he who gives them] strength in [his goodness.] For we do not [know], we, [the ineffable things, and] we do not understand [the immeasurable things] [except for the one who] appeared [from him, that is the] Father. For this is [he who told it to us.] For it is he who looks at [himself alone in his] light [that] surrounds [him, that is the spring of the] water of life. And [he gives to all the aeons, and in] every way he [gazes] [upon his image, see]ing it in [the spring of the Spirit,] desiring in his [light-water which is in] the spring of the water [of pure light that surr]ounds him. And [his thought became] a deed, and she was revealed, [she who appear]ed, in his presence, [in the shining of] his light. This is [the first power which came into] being before them all, [which appeared from] his thought, which [is the Forethought of the All;] her light which [shines in the likeness of his] light, the power [which is perfect,] which is the image of the invisible virginal [Spirit] who is perfect, [the first pow]er, the glory of Barbelo, the glory
THOUGHT TAKES FORM
The account moves from the higher power to its first emergence. Its thought becomes active and appears before it, beginning the sequence that will eventually lead to the lower creators and humanity.
Aeon — A divine realm or order of existence within the higher celestial world.
DIRECT TRANSLATION — Coptic, Codex II, page 5
…that is perfect … the glory of the mani- festation; [she glorified] the virginal Spirit, and she [praised] him, because on his account she had come forth. This is the first thought, his image. She became the womb of the All, for it is she who is prior to them all: the Mo- ther-Father, the first Man, the Spirit that is ho- ly, the thrice-male, the three powers, the three names, androgynous, and the ae- on that is eternal among the invisible ones, [and] the first to come forth. [She] asked from the invisible, virginal Spirit – that is, Barbelo – to give her [foreknow-] ledge. And the Spirit consented. [When he had consented], the foreknowledge came forth, [and] it stood with the [Fore]thought; this one is [from] the thought of the [in]visible, [vir-] ginal Spirit, glorifying him [and] his perfect power, … Barbelo, for … had come to be [for her sake; and again] she asked to give her [indestructibility; a]nd he con- sented. When [he had consented, … came] forth – the in[destructibility; it stoo]d with the thought and [the foreknowledge], giving glory to the invisible one and Barbelo, the one for [whose sake] they had come to be. And Bar- belo asked to give her life [eter]nal. And the invisible Spirit consented, and when he consented, the life eternal came forth. And they [stood and] gave glory to the invisible [Spirit and Bar]belo, the one for [whose sake] they had come to be. And again she asked to give her [truth]. And the invis- ible Spirit consented. The truth came forth, and they stood and gave glory to the invis[ible] …
BARBELO AND THE DIVINE ORDER
The Thought that appeared on the previous page is now identified as Barbelo and becomes the source from which further powers begin to emerge. She is called the womb of the All, and her titles are both male and female: Mother-Father, first Man, androgynous.
DIRECT TRANSLATION — Coptic, Codex II, page 6
… of the Spirit who … [Bar]belo, she [for whose sake] … came into being … [This is] the pentad of the aeons of the Father, which is the first Man, the image of the invisible Spirit; this is the Forethought, which is Barbelo, and the Thought, and the Foreknowledge, and the Indestructibility, and the Life eternal, and the Truth. This is the pen[tad] of the aeons, male-and-fe- male, which is the de[cad] of the aeons, which is the Father. And he gazed into Barbelo with the pure light that surrounds the invisi- ble Spirit, and his radiance; and she conceived [from him. He] begot a spark of light in a ligh- t resembling blessedness; but it is not equal to his greatness. This was an only child of the Mother-Father, who had appeared; that is the sole [offspring], the only child of [the Father], the pure light. [He] rejoiced, namely the in[visi]ble virginal Spirit, over [the light which] came to be, the one that was first [brought forth by the] first power of his [Forethought, which] is Barbelo. And he [anointed] it … with the goodness … until it became perfect, not lack- ing anything of [good]ness, because he had anointed it … with the [goodness] of the invisible Spirit. An- d it stood in his presence while he poured upon it. [And immediately], when it had received from the [Spirit, it gave glo]ry to the Holy Spirit and the per[fect Forethought]. Through the Spirit it gave glory to the Holy [Spirit] and the Fore- thought, the perfect one, [for whose sake] it came forth on her account. And it asked to be given a fellow- worker, which is the Mind; and he gazed … and [when] the invisible Spirit [had consented]
THE DIVINE CHILD
For the first time, the divine order expands through conception. Barbelo produces a luminous child, introducing a new generation into the hierarchy that existed before the material world.
The page states that the child is not equal to his greatness. The Spirit anoints it with goodness until it lacks nothing, and it asks for a fellow-worker, Mind; the page breaks off before the request is granted.
DIRECT TRANSLATION — Coptic, Codex II, page 7
the mind was revealed, and it stood with [the] Christ, glorifying him and Barbelo. Now all these came into being in silence. And the thought wi- -shed, through the word of the invisible spirit, to make a work. And his will be- -came a deed, and it was revealed with the mind and the light, glorifying him. And the word followed the will. For because of the word he created the All, namely the Christ, the divine Self-begotten. And life eternal, in his will, and the mi[nd] and foreknowledge stood; they gave [glo-] -ry to the invisible spirit and Barbe[lo], for because of her they came into being. And the holy spirit completed the divine Self-begotten, [his] son, with Barbe[lo], so that he might stand before the gre[at an]d invi- -sible virgi[na]l [sp]irit, as the divine Self- -begotten, [the] Chr[ist], whom he hon- -oured with a great voice. [He] appeared through fore[thou]ght. And the invi- -sible vi[rg]inal spirit set the divine Self-begotten of truth over the All. And he subjected to him every authority and the truth which [is] in him, so that he might know the All, this one who was called by [a name] exalted above every name. For [that] name will be told to those who are worthy of it. For [out of] the li- -ght, which is the Christ, and the incorrupt- -ibility, through the [gift] of the spirit, the four luminaries from the divine Self-begotten, he looked out so that they might sta[nd] …
AUTOGENES SET OVER THE ALL
The divine order takes a defined structure around Autogenes. Mind, will and word appear. In turn, and the invisible Spirit sets him over the All, subjecting every authority to him and giving him a name above every name, to be told only to those worthy of it. The four lights are first mentioned in the last lines, which are damaged and break off before any of them is named.
Autogenes — “self-generated” or “self-begotten,” the divine figure produced through Barbelo and identified here with Christ.
DIRECT TRANSLATION — Coptic, Codex II, page 8:
… [standing] before him. And the three (are): will, thought, and life. And the four powers (are): understanding, grace, perception, prudence. Now grace exists be- side the aeon of the luminary Armozel, who is the first angel. And with this aeon there are three other aeons: gra- ce, truth, form. And the second luminary (is) Oriel, who has been set up over the second aeon. And with him there are three other aeons: reflection (epinoia), percep- tion, memory. And the third lumi- nary is Daveithai, who has been set up over the third aeon. And with him there are three other aeons: understan- ding, love, i[d]ea. And the fourth aeon was set up over the fourth luminary, Eleleth. And with him there are three other aeons: perfection, peace, [wis]dom. [These] are the four lumi- naries that stand before the divine Self-Generated; these are the twelve aeons that stand before the son of the great one, the Self-Generated, the Christ, through the will and the gift of the invisible Spirit. And the twelve aeons belong to the son of the Self-Generated. And the All was made firm by the will of the holy Spirit, [through] the Self-Generated. And from the [foreknowledge] of the perfect mind, through the reve[lation] of the will of the invi- sible Spirit and the will of the Self-Genera- ted, the perfect human [appeared], the first manifes- tation and the truth. He it is whom the virginal Spirit called Pigera- daman, and he set him up over …
The Heavenly Human — Adamas
The four lights are now named. Armozel, Oriel, Daveithai and Eleleth stand before Autogenes, each with three further aeons called after divine qualities, twelve in all. From the foreknowledge of the perfect mind the perfect Human then appears, and the virginal Spirit names him Pigeradaman, the heavenly Adam known elsewhere as Adamas. The page ends as he is about to be set in his place.
DIRECT TRANSLATION — Coptic, Codex II, page 9
… the first aeon, with the great one, the Self-Generated (Autogenes), the Christ, beside the first luminary, Armo- zel; and his powers are with him. And the Invisible One gave him a power, intellectual and unconquerable. And he spoke, he gave glory and blessed the invisible Spirit, saying: "Because of you the All came to be, and the All will return to you. And I shall bless and glorify you, and the Self-Generated and the aeons, the three: the Father, the Mother, the Son, the perfect power." And he set up his son Seth over the sec- ond aeon, before the second lu[minary], Oroiel. And in the third [aeon] the seed of Seth was set up [o]ver the third luminary, Daveith[ai]. And the souls of the hol[y ones] were set up. And in the fourth aeon were set up the souls of tho[se who are] ignorant of the Fullness (Pleroma) and did [not] repent at once, but persisted for a while, and after- wards repented; they came to be beside the four- th lu[min]ary, Eleleth. These are creatures (begotten beings) who give glory to the invisible Spirit. Now the Wisdom (Sophia) of Reflection (Epinoia), being an aeon, thought a thought out of herself, with the pondering (enthymesis) of the invisible Spirit and the Foreknowledge. She wished to bring forth a likeness out of herself with[out the will] of the Spirit (he had not approved) an[d without h]er consort and without his consideration. And though the person of her maleness had not consented, and she had not found her agreement (partner), she deliberated apart from the will of the Spirit and the knowledge of her agreement, and she brought forth …
HUMANITY IN THE FOUR LIGHTS — SOPHIA ACTS ALONE
The four lights become connected to humanity: the perfect Human beside Armozel in the first; his son, Seth, in the second. Seth’s descendants and the holy souls in the third; and souls who repented late in the fourth. The account then turns to Sophia, the Wisdom of Reflection, an aeon who seeks to create a likeness from herself without the Spirit’s approval or her consort’s consent.
DIRECT TRANSLATION — Coptic, Codex II, page 10
But because of the unconquerable power that is in her, her thought did not remain idle, and there appeared out of her a work that was imperfect and different from her form, because she had made it without her consort. And it was unlike in form to the likeness of its mo- ther, having another shape. But when she saw her desire, it became a figure that was chang- ed, a serpent with a lion's face. And its eyes were like fires of lightning, giving light. She cast it away from her, outside those places, so that none among the immortals might see it, for she had made it in ignorance. And she surrounded it with a cloud of light, and she set a thro- ne in the middle of the cloud, so that no one might see it except the Holy Spirit, who is called the Mother of the Living. She called … his name Yaltabaoth. This is the first [ar]chon, the one who took a great power from his mother. And he withdrew from her, and he moved a- way from the places in which he had been born. He became strong; he made for himself other aeons in a flame of luminous fire, which exists now. And he was stupefied in (or: joined with) his madness (aponoia), which is within him, and he begot authorities for himself. The first, his name is Athoth, the one whom the gene- rations call [the reaper]; the second is Harmas, who i[s the eye] of envy; the third is Kalila-Oumbri; the fourth is Yabel; the fifth is Adonaiou, who is called Sabaoth; the sixth is Cain, the one whom the generations of hu- mankind call the sun; the seventh is Abel; the eighth is Abrisene; the ninth is Yobel.
The Imperfect Creator — Yaldabaoth
What results is clearly described as imperfect and unlike her: a serpent with a lion’s face and eyes like lightning. Sophia casts it out, conceals it from the immortals inside a luminous cloud, and names him Yaldabaoth, the first ruler.
Although several names are familiar from Genesis, they appear here first as celestial authorities.
BEFORE THE EARTHLY CREATION
DIRECT TRANSLATION — Coptic, Codex II, page 11
11 The tenth is Armoupieel. The elev- enth is Melcheir-Adonein. The twel- fth is Belias; he it is who is over the depth of the underworld. And he set up seven kings, one for each firmament of heaven, up over the sev- enth heaven, and five over the depth of the abyss, so that they might reign. And he shared out to them from his fire; but he did not send forth [any] of the power of the light which he had taken from his mo- ther; for he is ignorant darkness. The li- ght, when it mixed with the darkness, made the dark- ness shine; but the darkness, when it mixed with the light, darkened the light, and it beca- me neither light nor darkness, but it beca[me] dim. Now the ruler who is dim has three names. The first name is Yaltab[aoth], the second is Saklas, the third i[s] Samael. And he is impious in his ar[roga]nce which is within him. For he said: "I am God, and there is no other god beside me", being ignorant of his strength, the place from which he had come. And the rulers created seven powers for themselves, and the powers created for themselves six angels for each one, until they made 365 angels. [These] are the bodies of the names: the first is Athoth, he is a sheep's face; the second is Elo- aiou, a face of Typhon; the third is Astaphaios, a fa[ce of a hyena]; the fou- rth is Yao, a fa[ce of a serpent], hav- ing seven heads; the f[if]th is Sabaoth, a dragon's face; the sixth is Adonin, an ape's face; the seventh is Sabbed[e], a face of fire that gives light. This is the heb- domad of the week. Now Yaltabaoth had a multitu[de] …
APPOINTMENT OF POWERS AND 365 ANGELS
The twelve authorities are completed, and Yaldabaoth sets seven kings over the heavens and five over the abyss. He keeps Sophia’s inherited light, giving his rulers only fire.
He is unaware of the higher realm from which his power came and declares himself the only God. His rulers create seven powers, and from them come 365 angels.
DIRECT TRANSLATION — Coptic, Codex II, page 12
… of faces, added on top of them all, so that he can bring a face before them all, according to his desire, while he is in the midst of seraphim. He shared out to them from his fire. Because of this he became lord over them. Because of the power of the glory that was his, of the light of his mother, because of this he called himself "God". But he was not obedient to the place from which he had come. And he joined with the authorities that were under him seven powers, in his thought; and when he spoke, it came to be. And he gave a name to each power. He began from above. The first is goodness, with the first, Athoth. The second is forethought (pronoia), with the second, Eloaio. [The third is divinity, with] the third, … Astraphaio. The fourth is lordship, with the fourth, Iao. The fifth is kingship, with the fifth, Sanbaoth. The sixth is envy, with the sixth, Adonein. The seventh is understanding, with the seventh, Sabbateon. And these have a firmament for each aeon-heaven. These were given names according to the glory of those of heaven, for the [destruction of the] powers. But the names that were given to [them by] their Archigenetor (first begetter) have power in them. But the names that are laid on them according to the glory of those of heaven are for them destruction and powerlessness. So that they have two names. And everything he set in order after the likeness of the first aeons that had come into being, so that he might …
THE SEVEN POWERS AND THEIR TWO NAMES
Yaldabaoth can show whatever face he chooses, and his claim to be God is traced here to the glory of his mother’s light. He joins seven powers to his authorities in his thought: he speaks, and it comes to be. Each receives the name of a quality, from goodness and forethought to envy and understanding, paired with the seven already listed.
DIRECT TRANSLATION — Coptic, Codex II, page 13
“… made them after the pattern of the imperishable ones; not that he himself had seen the imperishable ones, but the power that is in him, which he had taken from his mother, since it produced in him the likeness of the ordered world. And seeing the creation that surrounds him, and the multitude of the angels that are around him, who had come into being from him, he said to them: "I, I am a jealous God, and there is no other god besides me." But in announcing this he indicated to the angels who are … with him that there is another god in existence. For if there were no other, who is it he would be jealous of? So the mother began to move to and fro. She became aware of the deficiency when the brightness of her light diminished, and she grew dark, because her consort had not agreed with her. But I said: "Lord, what is 'she moved to and fro'?" And he smiled and said: "Do not think it is as Moses said, 'above the waters.' No; rather, when she saw the wickedness that had come about and the theft that her son had committed, she repented. And forgetfulness came over her in the darkness of ignorance, and she began to be ashamed with a movement. Now the movement is the going to and fro. And the arrogant one took a power from his mother. For he was ignorant, thinking that there was no [other in existence] except his mother alone. And [seeing] the multitude of the angels, those he had [created], he exalted himself, then, above them. But the mother, when she recognised that the garment of darkness had not come to be in perfection, she knew then that her consort had not agreed with her. She repented …
A JEALOUS GOD — SOPHIA REPENTS
Yaldabaoth has ordered his creation after the pattern of the imperishable realm, which he has never seen. The power taken from his mother supplies the likeness. Surveying his angels, he repeats his claim, now as a jealous God, and the text draws the inference itself: jealousy presupposes another god.
Sophia recognizes the consequences of her creation as her own light dims. The page ends with her repentance.
DIRECT TRANSLATION — Coptic, Codex II, page 14
… with much weeping. And they heard the entreaty of her repentance, and they offered up praise on her behalf, the whole Full- ness, to the invisible, virginal Spirit. The Spirit poured down upon her, the holy one, out of their whole Fullness. For it was not her consort who came to her, but he came to her through the Fullness, so that he might set right her deficiency. And they brought her up, not to her own aeon, but above her son, so that she might be in the ninth until she has set right her deficiency. And a voice came forth from the heaven of the exalted aeon: "The Man exists, and [the] Son of Man." And the first ruler, Ialtabaoth, heard, thinking that the voice had come from his mo- ther, and he did not know where it had come from. And the Mother-Father taught them, the holy and perfect one, the complete Forethought, the image of the Invisible One, who is the Father of the All, in whom the All came to be, the First Man; for in a male form he revealed his likeness. And the whole aeon of the first ruler trembled, and the foundations of the abyss shook. And through the waters that are over matter, the underside [became light] through the [appearing] of his image, which had appeared. [And] when all the authorities and the first ruler gazed, they saw the whole region of the underside, that it had become light. And through the light they saw in the water the form of the image.
THE HEAVENLY HUMAN — REVEALED BELOW
Her repentance is heard by the Fullness, and the Spirit is “poured” upon her. Lifted above Yaldabaoth to the ninth realm, but not her own aeon, she remains until her deficiency is corrected.
A voice from the higher realm announces the Human and the Son of the Human. Yaldabaoth mistakes the announcement for his mother’s. The First Human reveals his likeness in male form; Yaldabaoth and his authorities see it reflected in the waters below — the model they will try to reproduce.
DIRECT TRANSLATION — Coptic, Codex II, page 15
And he said to the authorities that were with him: "Come, let us make a human being after the image of God and after our likeness, so that his image may become for us a light." And they created by means of one another's powers, according to the marks that were given. And each one of the authorities gave a mark in the pattern of the image which he had seen in its psychic (form). He made a substance after the likeness of the first, perfect Human. And they said, "Let us call him Adam, so that his name may become for us a power of light." And the powers began. The first, Goodness, made a soul of bone. And the second, Forethought, made a soul of sinew. The third, Divinity, made a soul of flesh. And the fourth is Lordship; it made a soul of marrow. The fifth is Kingship; it made a soul of blood. The sixth is Envy; it made a soul of skin. The seventh is Understanding; it made a soul of hair. And there stood before him the multitude of the angels. They received from the authorities the seven substances of the psychic (kind), so that they might make the proportion of the limbs and the proportion of the trunk and the composition of the arrangement of each one of the limbs. The first [began] to make the head: Eteraphaōp[e-Abron] made his head; Mēniggesstrōēth made the brain; Asterechmē(n) the right eye; Tha[s]pomocha(m) the left eye; Ierōnymos the right ear; Bissoum the left ear; Akiōreim the nose …
Terrestrial Adam — Created After a Higher Image
The creation of earthly humanity begins. Yaldabaoth and his authorities form Adam after the higher human image that already existed above them, with each power contributing to his body. The earthly Adam is a copy of a form that preceded him.
DIRECT TRANSLATION — Coptic, Codex II, page 20
… the rest of the powers, because he had come into being through all of them, and they had given their power to the man; and his under- standing grew stronger than those who had made him, and more than the first archon. But when they realised that he was luminous, and that he thought better than they, and that he was stripped of evil, they took him and cast him into the lowest part of the whole of matter. But the blessed one, the Mother-Fa- ther, the beneficent and compassionate one, had compassion on the power of the mo- ther, which had been brought out of the chief archon, and also because they would gain power over the psychic and perceptible body. And he sent, through his beneficent Spi- rit, whose mercy is great, a helper for Adam: a luminous Epinoia (reflection, afterthought), she who is from him, who has been called Zoe (Life). And she assists the whole creature (or: creation), toiling with him and restoring him to his fullness (pleroma), and teaching him about the descent of his se- ed, teaching him the way of ascent, the way by which it (or: he) had come down. And the Epinoia of the light is hidden in A- dam, so that the archons might not know, but that the Epinoia might become a correc- tion of the mother's deficiency. And the man appeared because of the shadow of the light that is within him. And his think- ing rose above all those who had made him. When they gazed upward, they saw that his thinking was exalted. And they took counsel with the whole company of archons and an- gels. They took fire and earth …
THE LUMINOUS LIFE WITHIN ADAM
Jealous of Adam’s clearer thought, the powers who made him cast him into matter’s lowest region. The Mother-Father sends a helper: luminous Thought, Epinoia, called Zoe (Life), the name for Eve in the Greek Genesis. Hidden within Adam and unknown to the rulers, she teaches him how his seed descends and how to ascend, correcting Sophia’s deficiency.
DIRECT TRANSLATION — Coptic, Codex II, page 21
… and water. They mixed them with one another and with the four fiery winds, and they beat [them] together into one another, and they made a great disturbance. And they brought him into the sha- dow of death, so that they might mould [him] once more out of earth and water and fire and the spirit that is from matter, which is the ignorance of the darkness, and desi- re, and their altered (counterfeit) spirit, which is the cave of the remoulding of the body, this which the robbers put upon the man, the bond of forgetfulness. And this one became a mortal man. This is the one who came [down] first, and the first separation. But the Epinoia (Thought) of the light, which … is in him, she is the one who will awaken his thinking. And the rulers brought him and set him in paradise. And they said to him, "Eat", that is, at leisure. For indeed their luxury is bitter and their beauty is law- less. And their luxury is deception, and their trees are impiety, and their fru- it is a poison without cure, and their promise is death. And the tree of their life, which they set in the middle of para- dise, I myself will teach you what is the mystery of their life, which is the counsel that they made with one an- other, which is the likeness of their spirit. This one, its root is bitter and its branches are deaths; its shadow is hatred, and deception is what dwells in its lea- ves, and its blossom is the anointing of wicked- ness, and its fruit is death, and desire is its seed, and it sprouts out of the darkness. Those who taste …
THE MORTAL BODY AND THE RULERS’ PARADISE
Adam is moulded a second time, from earth, water, fire and the spirit of matter, and only here becomes a mortal man. The text calls this body a bond of forgetfulness, put on him by robbers. The luminous Thought, Epinoia, remains within him and will awaken his mind. They set him in paradise and tell him to eat.
DIRECT TRANSLATION — Coptic, Codex II, page 22
… out of it. Their dwelling place is Amente (Hades), and darkness is their place of rest. But that which was called by them "the tree of knowing what is good and what is evil", which is the Epinoia (Reflection) of the light, they stayed in front of it, so that he might not look up to his fullness (pleroma) and [so that he might] recognise the nakedness of his shame- fulness. But I, I set them upright, so that they ate. And I said to the Saviour, "Lord, was it not the serpent that taught Adam to eat?" The Saviour smiled and said, "The serpent taught them to eat out of a wickedness of [begetting], of desire, of destruction, so that he might be- come useful to him. And he knew that he was dis- obedient to him, because of the light of the Epinoia that is in him, which makes him more correct in his thinking than the first ruler. And he wanted to bring out the power that he had given to him from himself. And he brought a forgetfulness over Adam." And I said to the Saviour, "What is the forgetfulness?" And he said, "Not in the way that Mo- ses wrote and you heard. For he said in his first book, 'He laid him down [to sleep]', but [it was] in his perceptions. For indeed he said through the prophet, 'I will make heavy their hearts, so that they may not pay heed nor see.' Then the Epinoia of the light hid in him. And the chief ru- ler wanted to bring her out of his rib. But the Epinoia of the light cannot be grasped. Though the darkness pursued her, it did not catch her. And he brought out a part of his power from him, and he fashioned another moulded form in a woman's shape, after the likeness of the Epi- noia that had appeared to him. And he bro[ught] …
EVE — POWER TAKEN FROM ADAM
The rulers cloud Adam’s perception to regain power. Yaldabaoth takes some of it and creates a female form to receive it.
SLEEP AND THE RIB
The text directly rejects Moses's account of sleep and the rib: what is transferred from Adam is power. When Adam sees the woman, the luminous Thought returns, restoring his perception.
DIRECT TRANSLATION — Coptic, Codex II, page 24
… preparing herself for her husband. He was lord over her, though he did not know the mystery that had come to be from the holy counsel. But they were afraid to rebuke him. And he revealed to his angels his ignorance, which is within him. And he cast them out of paradise, and he clothed them in a gloom of darkness. And the chief archon saw the virgin who was standing beside Adam, and that there had appeared in her the luminous Epinoia of life. And [Y]aldabaoth was filled with ignorance. But when the Pronoia of the All perceived it, she sent some, and they snatched Zoe (Life) out of Eve. And he defiled her, the chief archon, and he begot from her two sons, the first and the second: Eloim and Yave. Eloim has a bear's face, and Yave has a cat's face. The one is righteous, the other is unrighteous. Yave he set over the fire and the wind, and Eloim he set over the water and the earth. And these he called by the names Cain and Abel, with a view to his trickery. Now up to the present day there has continued this sexual intercourse, because of the chief archon. And he sowed a seed of desire in her who belongs to Adam. And he raised up, through intercourse, the begetting of the likeness of bodies, and he supplied them from his counterfeit spirit. And the two archons he set over principalities, so that they might rule over the cave. And when Adam perceived the likeness of his own foreknowledge, he begot the likeness …
THE LUMINOUS LIFE WITHIN EVE
Cast out of paradise and clothed in darkness, the pair are introduced. Eve, named for the first time, is a distinct human form containing the higher Life, luminous Epinoia, which can be withdrawn from her.
When Yaldabaoth turns toward her, Forethought removes Life before he can defile her. His sons, Eloim and Yave — one bear-faced, the other cat-faced — are set over the elements and deceptively named Cain and Abel.
DIRECT TRANSLATION — Coptic, Codex II, page 25
… of the Son of Man. He called him Seth, after the manner of the begetting in the aeons. Like- wise the other Mother sent down her spirit, in the likeness of her who resembles her, and as a coun- terpart of her who is in the pleroma, for she will prepare a dwelling place for the aeons that will come down. And he made them drink a water of forgetfulness, from the chief archon, so that they might not know where they are from. And this is how the seed existed for a while, giving assistance, so that when the Spirit comes forth from the holy aeons, he may raise it up and [heal] it of the deficiency, so that the whole ple- roma may become holy and without deficiency. And I said to the Saviour, "Lord, will all the souls then be saved into the pure light?" He answered and said to me, "Great are the matters that have risen up in your mind, for it is diffi- cult to reveal them to oth- ers, except to those who are from the immovable race. Those upon whom the Spirit of life will come down and be with the power, they will be saved and become perfect, and be worthy of greatnesses, and they will be purified in that place from all wickedness and the concerns of evil, having then no care for anything except incorruptibility alone, meditating on it from here on, without anger or envy or jeal- ousy or desire and greed for everything. They are not held fast by anything except the substance alone of the flesh, which they wear while looking out for the time when they will be vis- ited …
YALDABAOTH — INTERVENTION IN HUMAN REPRODUCTION
Through sexual reproduction, Yaldabaoth establishes a means of producing bodies supplied with his counterfeit spirit. Cain and Abel arise from his intervention, while Seth follows a different lineage, modeled after the higher Son of Man.
DIRECT TRANSLATION — Coptic, Codex II, page 26
… in it, through those who receive. Such ones, then, of this kind are worthy of the imperishable, eternal life and of the calling, as they endure everything and bear up under everything, so that they may complete the good and inherit life for ever." I said to him, "Lord, the souls that did not do these works, upon whom the power and the Spirit of life came down — … the Spirit … in any case they will be saved and these will change (migrate). For the power will come down upon every person, for without it no one can stand. And after they are born, then, if the Spirit of life increases and the power comes and strengthens that soul, no one is able to lead it astray in the works of wickedness. But those upon whom the counterfeit (lit. altered) spirit comes down are drawn away by it and go astray." And I said, "Lord, the souls, then, of these, when they come out of their flesh, where will they go?" And he smiled and said to me, "The soul in which the power will become greater than the despicable spirit — for this one is strong, and she flees from wickedness, and through the visitation of the incorruptible one she is saved and is taken up to the repose of the aeons." And I said, "Lord, those, for their part, who have not known to whom they belong — their souls, where will they be?" And he said to me, "In those the despicable spirit has …
THE SPIRIT WITHIN THE HUMAN SOUL
The higher power seen in Adam and Eve is extended to humanity. Power flows into every human being, while the Spirit of Life strengthens the soul against Yaldabaoth’s opposing “counterfeit spirit,” which tries to lead it away from the higher realm.
DIRECT TRANSLATION — Coptic, Codex II, page 29
… upon the fashioning of the human being. But the greatness of the light of Providence (Pronoia) instructed Noah, and he proclaimed it to [the] whole seed, that is, the children of humankind. And those who were strangers to him did not listen to him. Not as Moses said, "They hid themselves in an ark", but they hid themselves in a place: not only Noah, but also many other people from the immovable generation. They went into a place and hid themselves in a cloud of light. And he recognised his authority, and she who belongs to the light was with him, she who had shone upon them, because he had brought darkness down upon the whole earth. And he made a plan with his powers. He sent his angels to the daughters of humankind, so that they might take some of them for themselves and raise up a seed for their pleasure. And they did not succeed at first. So when they had not succeeded, they gathered together again with one another and made a plan together. They made a despicable spirit in the likeness of the Spirit who had come down, so as through it to defile the souls. And they changed themselves in their likeness, the angels, after the likeness of their mates, filling them with [the] spirit of darkness which they had mixed for them, and with wickedness. They brought gold and silver and a gift and copper and iron and metal and every kind of things. And they drew the people into great anxieties, those who …
The Flood — Yaldabaoth Moves to Destroy Humanity
Yaldabaoth turns against humanity under his rule and plans a Flood to destroy it. Noah receives warning from the higher realm, and others survive with him.
NOAH’S ARK REJECTED
The text then clearly rejects the ark story, describing their refuge instead as a hidden place inside a luminous cloud.
THE EXEGESIS ON THE SOUL
DIRECT TRANSLATION — Coptic, Codex II, page 127
… of that which has not come to be. And the work which the darkness followed will be dissolved, and the deficiency will be plucked out by its root, down into the darkness. And the light will withdraw up- ward to its root. And the glory of the unbe- gotten will appear, and it will fill all the aeons, when the prophecy and [the] account of those who are kings is revealed and is fulfilled by those who are called perfect. But those who have not become perfect in the unbegotten Father will receive their glo- ries in their aeons and in the kingdoms of the immortals; but they will never enter the kingless realm. For it is necessary that everyone go to the place from which he came. For each one, by his conduct and his knowledge, will reveal his nature. The Exegesis on the Soul The wise who were before us gave the soul a feminine name. Indeed, in her nature too she is a woman; she even has her womb. As long as she was alone with the Father, she is a virgin and male-female (androgynous) in her likeness. But when she fell down into a body and came into this life, then she fell into the hands of many robbers. And the [insolent] ones tossed her into one another's hands [and] … [her]. Some made use of her [by force], while others were persuading her by [a] deceit of gift[s]. [Once and for all,] in short, they defiled her, a[nd] … …
THE SOUL DESCENDS INTO THE BODY
The page’s upper half closes another codex work, On the Origin of the World: the deficiency is uprooted, light returns to its source, and everyone returns to where they came from.
Below is the title Exegesis on the Soul. The soul, described by the wise as feminine, begins with the Father in a higher state—virgin and androgynous. Its descent begins with embodiment and earthly life, where other beings take possession of it and it loses its original purity.
DIRECT TRANSLATION — Coptic, Codex II, page 128
… virgin[ity]. And she prostituted herself in her body, and she gave herself to everyone, and whomever she is about to embrace, she thinks that he is her husband. When she had given herself in- to the hands of adulterers, insolent and un- faithful, for them to make use of her, then she sighed deeply and repented. Again, when she turns her face away from these adulterers, she runs to others, and they compel her to be with them and to serve them like masters, upon their bed. But out of shame she no longer dares to leave them. And they, for their part, deceive her for a long time, in the manner of hus- bands who are faithful and true, as though they honoured her greatly. And at the end of all these things they leave her behind and go. And she, for her part, becomes a poor, desolate widow, having no help; not even as much as a mea- sure does she have left from her affliction. For she gained nothing from them except the defilements that they gave her when they had intercourse with her. And those whom she bore by the adulterers are dumb, and they are blind, and they are sick- ly; their mind is deranged. But whenever the Father who is above visits her and looks down upon her and sees her sigh- ing, with her passions and disgrace- fulness, and repenting of her prosti- tution which she committed, and she begins to call {call} upon … [his name] that he might help her, … [her] whole heart, saying: "[Sa]ve me, [my] Father, for behold, [I w]ill render an account [to you, for I have left] my house behind me,
THE SOUL ASKS TO RETURN HOME
The soul now recalls the place she has left and asks the Father to restore her to Himself. Her earthly existence is conveyed as having abandoned her “house” and “maiden chamber,” making repentance a return to her former home.
DIRECT TRANSLATION — Coptic, Codex II, page 131
… of the soul. Out of it the prostitution of the body too comes about. For this reason Paul, wri- ting to the Corinthians, said: "I wrote to you in the letter: Do not mix with forni- cators – not at all the fornicators of this wor- ld, or the greedy, or the robbers, or the idol-worshippers, since then you would be obliged to go out of the world." This is how he spe- aks spiritually: "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood," as he said, "but against the world-rulers of this darkness and the spiritual (powers) of wick- edness." As long, then, as the soul runs about [here and there], uniting with whomever she meets and defiling herself, she is under the suffer- ing of what she deserves to receive. But when she perceives the afflictions she is in, and weeps up to the Father and repen- ts, then the Father will have mercy on her and turn her womb away from the things of the outside; again he turns it inward, and the soul receives her proper character. For they are not like those of wo- men: for the wombs of the body are inside the body like the other inward parts; but the wo- mb of the soul turns around the outside, like the natural parts of the male, which are external. So when the womb of the soul turns itself, by the will of the Father, to the in- side, it is baptised, and immedi- ately it is cleansed of the defilement of the out- side, which was pressed upon it, like the [garments, when they are] soiled, are put into the [water and] turned about until their dirt [is removed] and they become clean. Now the cleansing of the soul is to receive her [newness of] …
THE SOUL RETURNS TO ITS ORIGINAL STATE
Three pages on, the text derives the prostitution of the body from that of the soul and cites Paul in support. When she weeps and repents, the Father turns her womb inward, away from external things. The image is anatomical: the womb of the soul lies outside, like the male organs. Its turning is called her baptism, and she is cleansed to her original state.
SABAOTH
DIRECT TRANSLATION — Coptic, Codex II, page 105
… [before] his dwelling-place he made a throne, a great one, upon a chariot that is four-faced, which is called "Cherubin". Now the Cherubin has eight forms at each of the four corners: lion forms and calf (bull) forms and human forms and eagle forms, so that all the forms make sixty-four forms, and seven archangels standing before it (him). He is the eighth, having authority. All the forms make seventy-two. For from this chariot the seventy-two gods took their pattern; they took a pattern so as to rule over the seventy-two languages of the nations. And upon that throne he made other angels, serpent-shaped (dragon-shaped), who are called "Saraphin", giving glory to him at all times. Afterwards he made an assembly of angels, thousands and ten-thousands, without number, resembling the assembly that is in the Eighth; and a first-born called Israel, that is, "the man who sees God"; and another, Jesus the Christ, who resembles the Saviour who is above, in (literally: on the upper side of) the Eighth, sitting at his right upon a throne that is glorious. And at his left there sits the virgin of the Holy Spirit upon a throne, giving glory to him. And there stand before her the seven virgins, having thirty ci[th]aras (harps) in their hands, and psalteries …
THE FOUR-FACED CHERUBIN
Sabaoth is enthroned above on a celestial structure called Cherubin, associated with four forms: lion, bull, human and eagle. Archangels and an assembly of heavenly beings surround him.
Reader’s Note: Cherubim (also Cherubin) are supernatural beings associated with thrones in ancient Jewish and related traditions. In Ezekiel’s visions, they have four faces — human, lion, bull, and eagle — and accompany a moving heavenly throne with wheels. The Nag Hammadi account similarly describes Sabaoth enthroned above the Cherubin, suggesting a celestial throne structure, although its exact nature is not explained.
