The Gospel of Judas: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary (The Anchor Yale Bible Commentaries)

255 Pages·2022·2.758 MB·English

by  David Brakke

The Gospel of Judas
VOLUME 45
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John J. Collins
General Editor
THE ANCHOR YALE BIBLE
The Gospel of Judas
A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary
DAVID BRAKKE
THE ANCHOR YALE BIBLE
Yale UNIVERSITY PRESS
New Haven & London
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In memory of Dan Otto Via, Jr. (1928–2014)
Contents
Preface
Acknowledgments
List of Abbreviations and Editorial Signs
INTRODUCTION
I. The Testimonia to and Coptic Text of The Gospel of Judas
A. Ancient Testimonia to a Gospel of Judas
B. The Coptic Gospel of Judas
C. The Correspondence Between the Coptic Text and the Testimonia
II. The Date and Sectarian Context
III. The Literary Background
A. Dialogue Gospels and Other Genres
B. Structure
IV. Major Themes in the Interpretation of The Gospel of Judas
A. Aeons, Angels, Rulers, and Stars: The Gnostic Myth(s)
B. The Mighty and Holy Race: Ethnic Reasoning and Soteriology
C. Eucharist, Sacrifice, and Priesthood: Intra-Christian Polemic
D. The Thirteenth Demon: The Character and Role of Judas
BIBLIOGRAPHY
TRANSLATION
NOTES AND COMMENTS
Incipit (33.1–6)
Notes
Comments
Prologue: The Earthly Ministry of Jesus (33.6–21)
Notes
Comments
Four Appearances of Jesus,
First Appearance: Judas’s Recognition of Jesus (33.22–36.10)
Notes
Comments
Second Appearance: The Mighty and Holy Race (36.11–37.20)
Notes
Comments
Third Appearance: The Disciples’ Dream and Its Interpretations (37.20–44.14)
Notes
Comments
The Sins of the Disciples (41.9–42.22)
Notes
Comments
The Races of Human Beings (42.22–44.14)
Notes
Comments
Fourth Appearance: Judas’s Vision (44.15–46.4)
Notes
Comments
Erotapokriseis (Questions and Answers),
1. The Domination of the Rulers and the Rule of Judas (46.5–53.7)
Notes
Comments
The Primary Aeons (47.1–48.21)
Notes
Comments
Adamas, the Incorruptible Race of Seth, and Their Luminaries and Heavens (48.21–49.24)
Notes
Comments
The 360 Firmaments and the Corruptible World (49.25–51.3)
Notes
Comments
Nebrō, Saklas, and Their Rulers and Angels (51.3–52.14)
Notes
Comments
Creation and Mortality of Adam and Eve (52.14–53.7)
Notes
Comments
2. The Life Span of Humanity (53.8–16)
Notes
Comments
3. The Fate of the Human Spirit (53.16–54.12)
Notes
Comments
4. The Corruption of Humanity (54.13–55.14)
Notes
Comments
5. The Destruction of the Stars (55.15–22)
Notes
Comments
6. The Fate of the Baptized (55.23–57.15)
Notes
Comments
Conclusion of the Dialogues (57.16–58.6)
Notes
Comments
Epilogue: Judas Hands Jesus Over (58.6–26)
Notes
Comments
Index of Subjects
Index of Modern Authors
Index of Ancient Sources
Preface
This book presents my second published translation of The Gospel of Judas; the first I made for
the second edition of Bentley Layton’s The Gnostic Scriptures in the Anchor Yale Bible
Reference Library (2021). The translation here differs from that earlier one in numerous places.
Some of the modifications reflect the distinct purposes of the two volumes: my translation for
The Gnostic Scriptures conforms to the vocabulary that Layton established for that collection,
and the opportunity in this book to offer explanations and qualifications in the NOTES and
COMMENTS has permitted me to make more debatable choices in translation and in the filling
of lacunae. In many and possibly most cases, however, my mind changed after more extensive
reading in and consideration of the primary and secondary literature.
In accord with the format of the Anchor Yale Bible, I do not offer a new text, but I do discuss
the gospel’s many text-critical problems, especially the restorations of lacunae and readings of
illegible text, and I assess the proposals found in the several critical editions and other studies.
Only rarely do I offer an entirely new suggestion, for in most instances previous editors and
commentators appear to have exhausted the plausible options. The reader will need access to an
edition of the Coptic text that includes the fragments that first appeared in late 2009 (Jenott 2011;
Bermejo Rubio 2012; Devoti 2012; Nagel 2014; Brankaer and van Os 2019). I have relied
primarily on Jenott, but I have consulted and taken into account all the published editions and
often adopt one of their readings over that of Jenott. The text remains fragmentary, and even
what survives is terse and allusive, rendering interpretation uncertain on many points.
I refer to the text of Judas (and of other works preserved in Coptic manuscripts) by manuscript
page and line number(s). In the translation, because it is impossible to indicate every new line, I
have inserted line numbers only at breaks in punctuation. Elsewhere I refer precisely to the
relevant lines.
My transliteration of Coptic follows the system recommended by the SBL Handbook of Style,
2nd ed., but normally separates bound groups and includes hyphenation according to the system
in Layton 2011, in order to make transparent my grammatical analysis of the text. My
transliteration of Greek likewise follows that in the SBL Handbook; I have chosen, however, to
transliterate upsilon always with u in order to be consistent across the transliteration of Greco-
Coptic and Greek words. Translations from the Septuagint are taken from A New English
Translation of the Septuagint, edited by Albert Pietersma and Benjamin G. Wright (2007),
sometimes slightly modified, and those from the New Testament are the New Revised Standard
Version, except when indicated otherwise. Because the authors and works discussed here held a
range of views concerning the status of the god of Israel (and of other divine beings), I do not
capitalize “god” except when I quote another modern translation without modification.
Despite its fragmentary and succinct character, this enigmatic work provides compelling new
evidence for the early history of the gnostic school of thought and its teachings and for diversity,
conflict, and the persistence of apocalyptic eschatology among Christ-worshiping groups in the
second century. These are the themes that I explore most fully in this book. I completed and
revised the first draft in the spring and summer of 2020, when early Christian philology seemed
trivial even if it provided some welcome distraction; probably The Gospel of Judas and this book