What Is The Nag Hammadi Library
“What is the Nag Hammadi library?”Nag Hammadi is a town in northern Egypt where a collection of ancient writings was discovered in 1945. The collection of writings has since been titled the Nag Hammadi library, or the Nag Hammadi scrolls, or the Nag Hammadi codices. The vast majority of the scrolls in the Nag Hammadi library represent the writings of what was/is known as Christian Gnosticism.The Nag Hammadi library is frequently pointed to as an example of “Lost books of the Bible.” According to the conspiracy theory, the early Christians tried to destroy these Gnostic writings because they contained secret teachings about Jesus and Christianity.
The Nag Hammadi library was supposedly the result of faithful efforts of Gnostic monks to save the truth about Jesus Christ from the persecution of non-Gnostic Christians.
The Nag Hammadi scrolls include works known as the "gospel of Truth", the "gospel of Philip", the "apocryphon of John", "the apocalypse of Adam", and the "acts of Peter and the Twelve Apostles".
The most famous Nag Hammadi scroll is the only known complete copy of the "gospel of Thomas".So, what are we to make of the Nag Hammadi library? Should some or all of the scrolls be in the Bible?
Absolutely not.
First, the Nag Hammadi scrolls are forgeries. The Apostle Philip did not write the gospel of Philip. The Apostle Peter did not write the acts of Peter. The gospel of Thomas was not written by the Apostle Thomas. These scrolls were fraudulently written in their names in order to give them legitimacy in the early church. Thankfully, the early church fathers were nearly unanimous in recognizing these Gnostic scrolls as fraudulent forgeries that espouse false doctrines about Jesus Christ, salvation, God, and every other crucial Christian truth. There are countless contradictions between the Nag Hammadi library and the Bible.While the Nag Hammadi library was an exciting find, the only “value” in the Nag Hammadi library is that the scrolls give us insight into what early “heretics” taught and practiced. Recognizing the false doctrine that plagued the early church will help us better to understand it and refute it today.
The Nag Hammadi Library Alphabetical Index
Several of the major texts in the Nag Hammadi collection have more than one English translation; where more than one translation is available, we have listed the translators’ names in parenthesis below the name of the text. Texts marked with the {*} had more than one version extant within the Nag Hammadi codices; often these several versions were used conjointly by the translators to provide the single translation presented here.
All translations of texts here presented have undergone some modification, editing and minor revision for presentation in this internet edition. For academic use, always read and reference the standard print editions. The International Edition of The Nag Hammadi Scriptures (published in 2007) provides vastly improved translations for most of these texts, and is highly recommended.
The Nag Hammadi Library
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About the Nag Hammadi Library (The Nag Hammadi Scriptures)
The Nag Hammadi Library, a collection of thirteen ancient 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, completed in the 1970’s, has provided impetus to a major re-evaluation of early Christian history and the nature of Gnosticism. Readers unfamiliar with this history may wish to read an excerpt from Elaine Pagels’ excellent popular introduction to the Nag Hammadi texts, The Gnostic Gospels. We also offer another brief Introduction to Gnosticism and the Nag Hammadi Library.
Visit the Bookstore to purchase the The Nag Hammadi Scriptures and to find information on other important introductory works that will help explain this material — or just click here to buy The Nag Hammadi Scriptures.
Texts in the Collection:
All the texts discovered at Nag Hammadi are available in the Gnostic Society Library; they are indexed here in alphabetical order, and by their 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 thesearch form.
We have a 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.
Many of the major writings in the Nag Hammadi collection have more than one English translation; where more than one translation is made available, we have listed the translators’ names in parenthesis below the name of the text. Texts marked with the {*} have more than one version extant within the Nag Hammadi codices; often these were used conjointly by the translators to provide the single text presented here. All 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.
left000The International Edition of The Nag Hammadi Scriptures (published in 2007) provides greatly improved translations relative to the original versions provided here, and we highly recommended you acquire a copy.
Other important primary Gnostic texts — 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. We also have a comprehensive collection of resources focused on Valentinus and the Valentinian Tradition.
If you would like to look at 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 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 JohnThe 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 Gnostic 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; A 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 MindThe 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. (These texts were all also thankfully very well preserved and have few lacunae.) There are various translations of most of these scriptures available; the most complete being the one volume collection The Nag Hammadi Scriptures, edited by Marvin Meyer, and published in 2007. Translations provided here are based on the earlier edition, The Nag Hammadi Library in English, edited by James Robinson, published in 1990.
Lectures about the Nag Hammadi Scriptures
To help place the Nag Hammadi materials into a better focus, the Library has developed a series of introductory lectures and commentaries upon NHL materials, 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 tests; 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 – Dr. Marvin Meyer
On August 16, 2012 there passed from this earthly life a great light of the Gnosis, and one of the most delightful and insightful men of our epoch.
Marvin Meyer held the chair of Griset Professor of Bible and Christian Studies and was co-chairman of Religious Studies at Chapman University in Orange, California. He also served as director of the Albert Schweitzer Institute at the same university. He was arguably the most prolific author and prestigious scholar of Gnostic literature in the world today. Among the very large number of translations and commentaries dealing with Gnostic texts, some of the best known are the international edition of The Nag Hammadi Scriptures (which he edited and to which he made major contributions), the normative edition the The Gospel of Thomas, his several works dealing with “The Gospel of Judas”, and the splendid anthology, The Gnostic Bible, co-authored with Willis Barnstone.
Marvin Meyer was a man after our heart. We were personally acquainted with him for several decades, back to the time when he acted as assistant to Professor James Robinson at the Institute for Antiquity and Christianity in Claremont, California. More importantly, he was truly sympathetic to our Gnostic tradition, while rejecting the academic fads of some of his colleagues which came to sow confusion in recent years. In this regard he refuted the contention that the word “Gnostic” had no legitimacy in the present discourse. (See his Introduction to The Gnostic Bible.) I recall him laughingly asking me if we were going to re-name our church “The Alternative Christian Ecclesia”.
I and two of my associates last saw him on April 2nd of this year when over a 3 hour lunch we discussed many issues as fellow Gnostics. The news of his death shocked and saddened all of us who knew him or knew of him.
May God’s Holy Angels receive him and guide him to the light of the Pleroma!