The Gnostic Bible: Gnostic Texts of Mystical Wisdom form the Ancient and Medieval Worlds

871 Pages·2003·11.71 MB·English

by  Willis Barnstone

THE
GNOSTIC
BIBLE
EDITED BY
Willis Barnstone
and Marvin Meyer
S H A M B H A LA
Boston & London
2003
Shambhala Publications, Inc.
Horticultural Hall
300 Massachusetts Avenue
Boston, Massachusetts 02115
www.shambhala.com
©2003 by Willis Barnstone and Marvin Meyer
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or
by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the publisher.
9 8 7 6 5 4 32
Printed in the United States of America
© This edition is printed on acid-free paper that meets the American
National Standards Institute Z39.48 Standard.
Distributed in the United States by Random House, Inc.,
and in Canada by Random House of Canada Ltd
Interior design and composition: Greta D. Sibley & Associates
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
The gnostic Bible/edited by Willis Barnstone and Marvin Meyer.—1st ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN: 1-57062-242-6 (alk. paper)
1. Gnostic literature. I. Barnstone, Willis, 1927- II. Meyer, Marvin W.
BT1390.G4937 2003
299'.932 DC21
2003007148
CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS IX
GNOSTICISM, GNOSTICS, AND THE GNOSTIC BIBLE
• Marvin Meyer l
LETTING IN THE LIGHT: TRANSLATING
HOLY TEXTS • Willis Barnstone 21
PART ONE
Early Wisdom Gospels 29
INTRODUCTION • Marvin Meyer 31
1. The Gospel of Thomas 43
2. The Gospel of John 70
PART TWO
Literature of Gnostic Wisdom 105
INTRODUCTION • Marvin Meyer 107
3. The Book of Baruch • Justin 119
SETHIAN LITERATURE
4. The Secret Book of John 135
5. The Reality of the Rulers 166
6. The Revelation of Adam 178
7. Three Forms of First Thought 189
CONTENTS
8. The Three Steles of Seth 201
9. The Vision of the Foreigner 212
10. The Sermon of Zostrianos 215
11. The Baptismal Ceremony of the
Gospel of the Egyptians 218
12. Thunder 224
13. The Letter of Peter to Philip 233
VALENTINIAN LITERATURE
14. The Gospel of Truth 239
15. The Gospel of Philip 257
16. The Letter to Flora • Ptolemy 299
17. Commentary on the Gospel of John • Herakleon 307
18. The Treatise on Resurrection 326
19. The Prayer of the Messenger Paul 332
20. Valentinian Liturgical Readings 335
21. The Secret Book of James 340
22. The Round Dance of the Cross 351
THOMAS AND OTHER SYRIAN LITERATURE
23. The Songs of Solomon 357
24. The Song of the Pearl 386
25. The Book of Thomas 395
ADDITIONAL LITERATURE OF GNOSTIC WISDOM
26. The Exegesis on the Soul 405
27. On the Origin of the World 414
CONTENTS VII
28. The Paraphrase of Shem 438
29. The Second Treatise of the Great Seth 465
30. The Gospel of Mary 477
31. The Naassene Sermon 482
PART THREE
Hermetic Literature 495
INTRODUCTION • Willis Barnstone 497
32. Poimandres 502
33. The Discourse on the Eighth and Ninth 512
34. The Prayer of Thanksgiving 521
PART FOUR
Mandaean Literature 525
INTRODUCTION • NathanielDeutsch 527
35. The Ginza 536
36. Hibil's Lament from the Book of John 555
37. Songs from the Mandaean Liturgy 561
PART FIVE
Manichaean Literature 567
INTRODUCTION • PaulMirecki 569
38. On the Origin of His Body 581
39. The Story of the Death of Mani 593
40. Kephalaia 598
41. The Coptic Manichaean Songbook 616
VIII CONTENTS
42. Parthian Songs 639
43. The Great Song to Mani 647 '
PART SIX
Islamic Mystical Literature 655
INTRODUCTION • Marvin Meyer 657
44. The Mother of Books 665
PART SEVEN
Cathar Literature 727
INTRODUCTION • Willis Barnstone 729
45. The Gospel of the Secret Supper 740
46. The Book of the Two Principles 751
47. A Nun's Sermon 762
EPILOGUE: HISTORICAL MEDITATION ON THE
INNER LIGHT OF GNOSIS • Willis Barnstone 765
GLOSSARY 801
BIBLIOGRAPHY
FURTHER READING 821
SOURCES CITED 835
INDEX OF PROPER NAMES 849
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We would like to acknowledge several people and organizations that have
helped in the production of this volume. For a number of years Chapman
University has given generous encouragement to the scholarly research of
Marvin Meyer on gnostic texts by providing sabbatical leaves and financial as
sistance, and the work on this volume has been undertaken with the support
of the Griset Chair in Bible and Christian Studies at Chapman University.
Nathaniel Deutsch and Paul Mirecki have contributed insightful introduc
tions to Mandaean and Manichaean literature in this volume, and Heather
Terjung has produced an English translation of the German version of the
Mother of Books. Linden Youngquist has provided essential computer expert
ise for formatting the texts and preparing the bibliography. The editorial staff
of Shambhala Publications has taken on this large publishing project with
creativity and resourcefulness. Joel Segel has brought his editorial vision to the
creation of the book and has been a model of patience, persistence, and pro
fessionalism. Kendra Crossen Burroughs and Dave O'Neal have seen the man
uscript successfully through press. Lastly, we recognize our colleagues, friends,
and family members who have long endured our preoccupations and have
offered us, in many ways, insights into wisdom and gnosis.
Willis Barnstone
Marvin Meyer
IX
GNOSTICISM, GNOSTICS,
AND THE GNOSTIC BIBLE
MARVIN MEYER
Know what is in front of your face
and what is hidden from you
will be disclosed.
—Gospel of Thomas 5
I he gnostics were religious mystics who proclaimed gnosis, knowl-
• edge, as the way of salvation. To know oneself truly allowed gnos-
JL. tic men and women to know god1 directly, without any need for
the mediation of rabbis, priests, bishops, imams, or other religious officials.
1. Throughout the present volume we have tried to avoid unnecessary capitalization of the
word god and the names of personified spiritual powers and aeons. We are aware that the word
god may be used as a name for the divine, but it frequently functions as a general term for the
divine, so that even when "god" appears to be a name, it retains its primary nature as a term
signifying the concept of divinity. For the same reason, other names of divine expressions, such
as divine forethought, afterthought, and wisdom, are likewise left uncapitalized. Conversely, for
the sake of clarity, when the Greek word "Sophia" is used for wisdom, that is capitalized, as are
other names that are transliterated directly from other languages. We also want to avoid the
common practice of singling out a particular deity, for example, the Judeo-Christian-Islamic
deity, for the exclusive honor of the capitalized name "God," while other deities are relegated to
the status of mere "gods" and "goddesses." We do not wish to limit the divine by restricting
deity through name or selectivity. Traditionally the name and face of the divine are essentially
unknowable, and so it is in this volume.