Nag Hammadi Library
(Above image of the Gospel of Thomas courtesy
of the Institute for Antiquity and Christianity, Claremont Graduate
University)
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and texts:
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About the Nag Hammadi Library (The Nag Hammadi Scriptures)
The Nag Hammadi Library, a collection of thirteen
ancient books (called "codices") containing over fifty texts, was discovered in upper Egypt
in 1945. This immensely important discovery includes a large number of
primary "Gnostic Gospels" – texts once thought to have been entirely
destroyed during the early Christian struggle to define "orthodoxy" –
scriptures such as the
Gospel of Thomas
, the
Gospel of Philip
, and the
Gospel of Truth
. The discovery and translation of the Nag Hammadi
library, initially completed in the 1970's, has provided impetus to a major
re-evaluation of early Christian history and the nature of Gnosticism.
For an introduction to the Nag Hammadi discovery and the texts in this ancient library, we offer several resources. First, read an excerpt from
Elaine Pagels'
excellent popular introduction
to the Nag Hammadi texts,
The Gnostic Gospels.
Then, for an overview of the Gnostic scriptures and a discussion of ancient Gnosis, read this excerpt from
Dr. Marvin Meyer's introduction to
The Gnostic Bible.
For another brief general overview, we offer an
Introduction to Gnosticism and the Nag Hammadi
Library
by Lance Owens.
For further reading, The
Gnostic Society Library Bookstore
provides a selection of the foremost books on the Nag Hammadi library and Gnostic tradition.
Texts in the Collection:
All the
texts discovered at Nag Hammadi are available in the Gnostic Society Library; the collection is indexed in
alphabetical order
and by
location in the original codices
A subject categorized list of the writings is also given below.
You may
search the entire collection
of
texts for keywords or phrases using our custom
Nag Hammadi Search function
We have special collections of
resources dealing with two particularly important texts,
the Gospel of Thomas
, and
The Secret Book (Apocryphon) of John
. Several introductory lectures on the Nag Hammadi materials are provided, below.
For many of the major writings in the Nag Hammadi collection more than one translation is provided in our library; where multiple translations are made
available, we have listed the translators' names in parenthesis below the
name of the scripture. Many of these translations are based on the work originally sponsored by the Coptic Gnostic Library Project of the Institute for Antiquity and Christianity, Claremont, California.
Several prominent scholars have granted us permission to present their original translations of Nag Hammadi texts here in the Gnostic Society Library. We are particular indebted to the assistance and contributions of Dr. Willis Barnstone, Dr. John Turner, Dr. Stevan Davies, and the late Dr. Marvin Meyer. Copyright information is given with the various translations in the library; contributors to this collection retain all copyright to their works.
The International Edition of
The Nag Hammadi Scriptures
(published in 2007, edited by Marvin Meyer) provides authoritative translations for all of the Nag Hammadi texts, along with introductions and notes on the translations. We also highly recommend
The Gnostic Bible
, edited by Willis Barnstone and Marvin Meyer; this comprehensive volume includes excellent introductory material and provides beautiful translations for the most important Nag Hammadi scriptures.
In preview, we provide an excerpt from
Dr. Marvin Meyer's introduction to
The Gnostic Bible
Other important primary Gnostic texts
– ancient writings discovered in the century
before
the
recovery of the Nag Hammadi Library, including texts like the
Gospel of Mary
– are cataloged in the
Classical Gnostic Scriptures
section of the
The Gnostic Society Library
. Many scriptures in the Nag Hammadi collection were influence by Valentinus (c. 100–160 AD) and his tradition of Gnosis. Due to his importance, we have a large section of the library dedicated specifically to
Valentinus
and the Valentinian Tradition
If you would like to see the ancient manuscripts themselves, digital images of the original Nag Hammadi Codices are available online at the
Claremont Colleges Digital Library
An Overview of the Nag Hammadi Scriptures
When analyzed according to subject matter, there are roughly six separate major
categories of writings collected in the Nag Hammadi codices:
Writings of creative and redemptive mythology
including Gnostic alternative versions of creation and salvation:
The Apocryphon of John
The Hypostasis of the Archons
On the Origin of the World
The Apocalypse of Adam
The Paraphrase of
Shem
.  (For an in-depth discussion of these, see the Archive
commentary on
Genesis and Gnosis
.)
Observations and commentaries on diverse Gnosti
themes,
such as the nature of reality, the nature of the
soul, the relationship of the soul to the world:
The
Gospel of Truth
The Treatise on the Resurrection
The Tripartite Tractate
Eugnostos the Blessed
The Second Treatise of the Great Seth
The Teachings of Silvanus
The Testimony of Truth
Liturgical and initiatory texts
The Discourse on the Eighth and Ninth
The Prayer of Thanksgiving
Valentinian Exposition
The Three Steles of Seth
The Prayer of the Apostle Paul
. (
The
Gospel of Philip
, listed under the sixth category below, has great
relevance here also, for it is in effect a treatise on Gnostic sacramental
theology).
Writings dealing primarily with the feminine deific
and spiritual principle, particularly with the Divine Sophia:
The Thunder, Perfect Mind
The Thought of Norea
The Sophia of Jesus Christ
The Exegesis on the Soul
Writings pertaining to the lives and experiences of some of the
apostles
The Apocalypse of Peter
The Letter of Peter to Philip
The Acts of Peter and the Twelve Apostles
The (First) Apocalypse of James
The (Second) Apocalypse of James
The Apocalypse
of Paul
Scriptures which contain sayings of Jesus as well as
descriptions of incidents in His life
: The Dialogue of the
Saviour;
The Book of Thomas the Contender
The Apocryphon of James
The
Gospel of Philip
The Gospel of Thomas
This leaves a small number of scriptures of the Nag Hammadi Library
which may be called "unclassifiable." It also must be kept in mind that
the passage of time and translation into languages very different from the
original have rendered many of these scriptures abstruse in style. Some of
them are difficult reading, especially for   those readers not
familiar with Gnostic imagery, nomenclature and the like. Lacunae are also
present in most of these scriptures – in a few of the texts extensive
sections have been lost due to age and deterioration of the manuscripts.
The most readily comprehensible of the Nag Hammadi scriptures is
undoubtedly
The Gospel of Thomas
, with
The Gospel of Philip
and the
The
Gospel of Truth
as close seconds in order of easy comprehension.
(Thankfully, these texts were all very well preserved and have few
lacunae.) There are now several published editions and translations of most of these scriptures
available; the standard complete edition is the
The Nag Hammadi Scriptures,
edited by Marvin Meyer, published in 2007.
Audio Lectures about the Nag Hammadi Scriptures
To help place the Nag Hammadi materials into a better focus, the Library has
collected a series of introductory lectures and commentaries by Dr. Stephan Hoeller on Nag Hammadi texts; these are all in mp3 format.  (You will find a much more extensive catalog of lectures
by Dr. Stephan Hoeller introducing Gnosticism and the Nag Hammadi Library
available at
BC Recordings
.)
Christ:  The Misunderstood Redeemer
An understanding of the Gnostic perception of Christ
is crucial to any meaningful reading of texts in the Nag Hammadi
collection.  In this lecture Dr. Stephan Hoeller uses several of
the works in the Nag Hammadi Library to introduce the Gnostic Christ.
(MP3 format, 75 min.)
Gnosticism: New Light on the Ancient Tradition of Inner Knowing
, a brief introductory lecture on the sources of Gnostic tradition (hosted at
BC Recordings
).
Thomas and Philip: Gospels of the Gnostic Christ
, discussing Gnostic soteriology as revealed in these principal Nag Hammadi texts; a presentation introducing the ten part set of lectures on the most popular and valued writings from the Nag Hammadi Library (hosted at
BC Recordings
).
Redemption and Redeemer in the Gospel of
Thomas
– The Gospel of Thomas is one of the most important Gnostic
texts discovered at Nag Hammadi. In this lecture, Dr. Hoeller explores
the "soteriology" – the concept of a redeemer and the process of
redemption – as developed in the text of the Thomas Gospel.
(MP3 format, 75 min.)
The Sorrow of Sophia:  Feminine Divine
Image of Suffering
Gnosticism developed a unique
understanding of the feminine aspects within divinity. In this lecture
Dr. Hoeller explores the Gnostic image of the suffering and the
alienation of the divine feminine, using as his text a reading from
The Exegesis on the Soul
(NHL II,6). (MP3 format, 80
min.)
____________________________________
In Memoriam
Marvin W. Meyer
1948 - 2012
____________________________________
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