A Valentinian Exposition and Liturgical Readings

NHC XI, 2

The following translation has been committed to the public domain and may be freely copied and used, changed or unchanged, for any purpose. It is based on the Coptic text of Nag Hammadi Codex XI, 2. The Nag Hammadi texts were written in the fourth century, subsequently buried, and then rediscovered in 1945. This tractate is called A Valentinian Exposition with Liturgical Readings because it succinctly describes the story of salvation history from the perspective of the followers of the influential second-century teacher Valentinus, followed by a series of prayers to be recited in the sacraments of anointing, baptism, and the Eucharist.

This translation from the Coptic is by Samuel Zinner and was edited by Mark M. Mattison with the generous support of Other Gospels.

Symbols

 [ ]   Gap in the text (known as a “lacuna”)
( )   Editorial insertion to clarify the text
< >   Editorial correction of a scribal error
[22]  Page number of the Coptic codex (hyperlinked)

A Valentinian Exposition

Introduction

[22] [. . .] my [mystery . . . those who] belong to me and [those who will become] mine. So these are the ones who have [. . .] are.

The Root of the All

The Father, who [is the root] of the All, even the [Inexpressible One], subsists as a unity, [existing alone] in Silence, “Silence” meaning “Serenity,” given that [he was] indeed One, and there was nothing that existed before he did. He additionally subsists [as] Two, even as a dyad, his companion being Silence. He moreover possessed the All abiding [within] him, together with Desire, Being, Love, and Stability, these being unborn.

God [emerged] outward, (that is,) the Son, (who is) Mind of the All. This implies that his Thought is also included in what derives its existence from the root of the All, given that he had him in Mind. In fact, on account of the All, he pondered a Thought of an entity different from himself, because nothing apart from him existed before he did, he being the one who exited from that place [23] [. . .].

[. . .] surging [spring]. So this [is the] root [of] the All, One preceded by nothing. [Additionally, he is] Two, dwelling in Silence, and conversing with himself alone, and (he is) [Four], inasmuch as he preserved himself [in] Four while additionally dwelling in Three Hundred Sixty. He produced himself. In Two he disclosed his Desire, and in Four he extended himself outward. This is sufficient for (the topic of) the root of the All.

The Father of the All is Revealed in the Only One

Let us now [continue] on to (the topic of) his revelation, of his goodness, his arrival here below, and all the remaining (topics), this being the Son, the Father of the All, (and) the Mind of the Spirit. He possessed him before [24] [. . .].

[. . .] that [. . .]. (As) a spring [he] is the disclosure [from the] Silence, and a Mind of the All, subsisting as Two together with [Depth], because he is the maker of the All, even the realization [of the thought] of the Father, which is [Aspiration], as well as the descent to (here) below. When the Primal Father desired it, he unveiled himself inside him.

Consequently, given that [it is] by means of [him that] the appearance of the All transpires, referring to the All I call him the desire of the All, and given that he imagined this type of Thought concerning the All, referring to the Thought I call him the Only One, because to behold the God of Truth is to praise the root of the All.

Consequently, he disclosed himself in the Only One, and by means of him he disclosed what is unspeakable [25] [. . .].

The Limit

[. . .] truth. [They] beheld him dwelling in One, in Two, and in Four, producing the Only One as well as the [Limit], and the Limit [. . . divided] the All [. . .].[. . .] is utterly unspeakable for the All, and the confirmation and realization of the All, the veil of [Silence].

He is the [authentic] High Priest, the [one who possesses] the right to enter into the Holies of Holies, manifesting glory to the aeons, and delivering lavish riches to <the aroma>. The east [26] [. . .].

[. . .] in [him, he being the one] who unveiled [him] as the primordial [. . .], the treasure of [the All], and [the one] who encloses the All, the one who is superior [over the] All.

Now these [. . .] Christ [. . .] in the manner [it] was granted [. . .] the fathers [. . .].

[. . .] is [unseen] by [them], being [. . .] the Limit, and it possesses four powers, (namely,) one that divides, one that fortifies, one that bestows form, and [one that produces substance].

[So these] are the authentic [powers]. If we are to determine their attributes, temporal duration, and positions, which some [people] have confirmed, because they have [27] [. . .].

[. . .] from these [places . . .] love [. . .] pour forth [. . .] the complete Fullness [. . .] the Stability [persists at] all times, and [. . .], because including from [. . .] the time [. . .] this wealth [. . .].

[. . .] the proof of its [. . .], yet why is it a power [that divides], one that fortifies, one that produces substance, and one that bestows form, as others have [protested], in that [they] claim the Limit possesses but two powers, one that divides, and one that fortifies, to the degree that it divides [the Depth] apart from the aeons so that [28] [. . .].

So these [. . .] of the [Depth . . .], because [this] is the form [. . .], so of the Father of [Truth . . .] say that Christ [. . .] the Spirit [. . .] of the Only One [. . .] which [. . .] possesses [. . .].

The Fullness

[. . .] we must [. . . with] more conviction [. . .] in the Scriptures, and articulate the ideas.

Indeed, this is why the ancients state that [they] were declared by God. Let [us], therefore, endeavor to recognize his unknowable wealth. He desired [29] [. . .].

[. . .] slavery [. . .] he [did not] become [. . .] guide their lives [. . .] look vigilantly [into the . . .] of knowledge [. . .], however, toward their individual [attributes].

[Indeed], the [first] Four produced [a different Four, belonging] to [Logos and] Life, [and Man and Church . . .], he produced Logos and Life, Logos [for] praising the Unspeakable One, Life for praising Silence, Man for praising himself, and Life [for] praising Truth.

So, this is the Four that was produced in accord with the likeness of the Unborn One, and [this] Four that is produced [30] [. . .].

[. . . the Ten] from [Logos and Life], and the [Twelve from Man] and [Church increased to] Thirty.

Next, it is [. . . Thirty] of the [aeons . . .] from [. . .] enter into [. . .] exit out of [. . .] the aeons [and the] ones [that cannot be uncontained, and when] the [ones that cannot be contained had] seen [. . . they . . .] on account of [. . . cannot be contained, and] exists inside the Fullness, but

the Ten from Logos and Life produced Tens, which resulted in the Fullness becoming a Hundred, and the Twelve from Man and Church [pro]duced and made Thirty, which resulted in Three Hundred Sixty coming into being, as the annual Fullness, even the year of the Lord [31] [. . .].

The Fall and Repentance of Sophia

[. . . perfect . . .] perfect [. . .] and in accord with the [. . . Limit] and [. . .] Limit [. . .]. Greatness, which [. . .] goodness [. . .] life [. . .] grieve [. . .] by means of the [. . .] in front of the [Fullness . . .] that he desired [. . .] and he desired to exit [from] the Thirty, even though he was [a member] of Man and Church, namely, Sophia, in order to pass beyond [the Limit] of the Fullness. [32] [. . .].

[. . .], but [. . .] and she [. . .], who [. . .] and [. . .], because [. . .] the All [. . .].

[. . .] they [recalled . . .], but [. . .] themselves [. . .] the All [. . .] him, and he [. . .] he fashioned [. . .] memory together with the [. . .] the Fullness, by means of the Logos [. . .] his flesh. So [these are the . . . that . . .] after [Christ] entered into it, precisely as [I] stated previously, and the [. . .] toward the one who cannot be contained [ . . . pro]duced [33] [. . .].

[. . .] before they [pro]duced [. . .] concealed himself from [. . .] the companion, and [. . .] the motion and [. . .] project Christ [. . .] and the seeds. Jesus [. . . rectification] of the <error> [. . .] completion [. . .] a complete form. [He who had] ascended into the Fullness did not desire [to] permit the pain, [but] he [was] blocked from [passing over] by being [restrained] by the Limit, namely, by the companion, because the rectification was unable to come to pass unless by means of his very Son, who possesses the complete divine Fullness. He was delighted to form his body by inserting the powers into him, and he descended.

 Next, Sophia suffered all this after her son had quickly ascended away from her, [because] she understood that she was in [34] [. . .].

[. . .] as one and [. . .] are gone. Their [. . .] the seeds [. . .], they failed to [. . .]: “I have become [. . .] they also [. . .]. [My] power of thought has departed, but [insight] is intact.”

Then [she cried, speaking] to [herself]: “[. . .] look [at] me. Those [insights] I contemplated [. . .] have all departed, but their [memory] is intact.”

She repented, even praying to the Father of Truth, [saying]: “It is a given that I have [forsaken] my companion, on account of [which I] also dwell beyond the region of firmness. I have earned the things I must suffer. I once dwelt in the Fullness, producing aeons and bearing fruit with my companion.”

She understood her former state and what she had become, and she suffered accordingly for both. It was (at first) said: “She laughs over her continual isolation, and in this way imitated the Inconceivable One.” It is (now) said: “She [cries] over her severing herself from her companion.” [35] [. . .].

The Creation

[. . . Jesus and] Sophia made ready the creation. Next, given that the seeds [of] Sophia were incomplete and formless, Jesus contrived a creation of [this] type, creating it out of the seeds, while Sophia collaborated with him. Given that they were seeds, and [form]less, he descended [and made] the Fullness [appear to them]. [He taught] them concerning the place [of what has] not been created. [He made] everything [after] the nature[1] of the Fullness, even the Father, the one who cannot be contained. What has not been created [involves the] scenario of an action that has not been created [producing being], because it is out of what has not been created that the Father produces form, but what is created is the shadow of what existed previously.

So, Jesus fashioned the creation, even executing his task from out of the passions around the seeds. He separated them from each other, and into spirit he inserted the better passions, but into flesh he inserted the worse ones. Of all these passions, he first [36] [. . .].

The Creation of the Angels

[Given that] Providence had supplied the rectification for the projection of the pre-existent shadows and images, the administration of the present and future matters [was] delegated to Jesus. [That] was why he inscribed the All with [likenesses], images, and [shadows, because] when Jesus [de]scended, he [also] conveyed [the seeds of the messages] of the All, those whom the Fullness and the companion possess, name[ly], the angels, because with the approval of the Fullness, simultaneously her companion [pro]jected the angels, in accord with the desire of the Father, given that this is the desire of the Father, that no one who dwells in the Fullness should lack a companion. In this way, the desire of the Father is constantly to produce and yield fruit. So the Father did not desire that she would bear pain, because she dwelt entirely alone, apart from her companion.

Let us [37] [. . .] a different one [. . .] the second [. . .] as well as the Son [. . .] a different one [. . .] is the cosmic Four, and this Four then projected [Three], causing the cosmic Fullness to become Seven.

Entering [into it] were images, [likenesses], angels, [archangels], divinities, and [. . .]. When every[thing] had transpired by means of Providence, [. . .] Jesus, while he [. . .] the seeds [. . .] the Only One [. . .]. They comprise [spiritual] entities as well as fleshly, the kinds dwelling in heaven and the kinds dwelling on earth, for whom he[2] fashioned the kind of position and school to supply them with teaching and with form.

Next, this demiurge commenced fashioning a man, on the one hand after his own image, and on the other hand after the likeness of the pre-existent ones. This was the kind of dwelling-place [Sophia] deployed for the seeds [38] [. . .].

From the Fall to the Flood

[. . .] God, after they [. . .] on account of the man. Actually, the devil is one of God’s creations, but he fell away, even taking away with him the whole host of angels, and from out of that place he [uprooted] his own root, by means of [. . .] as well as [. . .], because he [caused the man] from God to fall, and the [. . .] him.

That is why sons [were] born [to him] who [became furious] with each other. Cain [killed] his brother Abel because [the devil] breathed his spirit into [him]. Warfare and apostasy [arose] among both the angels and humans, between those on the right and the left, between those in heaven and on earth, between the spiritual and fleshly powers, and the devil opposed to God. On account of this, the angels lusted after the human daughters, and they fell into flesh. So God produced a flood, and nearly repented that he had created the world. [39] [. . .].

The All will be Rectified

[. . .] the companion, Sophia, the Son, and the angels, as well as [the seeds], while the companion of [Sophia], Sophia (herself), Jesus, [the angels], and the seeds comprise [images of] the Fullness. Furthermore, the demiurge [is a] shadow [of] the companion, the Fullness, Jesus, Sophia, the angels, and the seeds. The companion of Sophia comprises an image [of the Father] of Truth, while Sophia and Jesus [comprise images of Truth and] of the Only One, [while the] male [angels] and the female [. . .] seeds, all of them [comprise images of the] Fullness, [and these comprise ourselves].

Consequently, when Sophia obtains her companion, and Jesus obtains Christ, and the seeds are joined with the angels, the Fullness will then joyfully obtain Sophia, and the All will be mutually joined and rectified. At that time the aeons will obtain their wealth, because they will have understood that even though they were mutable, they have become perpetually immutable.

Liturgical Reading: On Anointing

[40] [. . .].
[. . .] in accord with [. . .],
[. . .] symbol [. . .] behold him.

It is appropriate [that you] now
dispatch your Son, Jesus Christ,
to anoint us,
so that we can be able
to tread on [serpents],
and [defend from] scorpions,
and [all] the power of the devil,
[by means of] the [chief] shepherd,
Jesus Christ.
By means of him we have come to know you,
and we [praise] you.

May praise be yours,
Father in the [aeon],
[Father] in the Son,
Father [in] the holy Church,
as well as among the holy [angels].

From [the beginning]
he subsists [always]
[in the] unity of the aeons,
[from] the (first)
to the infinite aeons
of the aeons.
Amen.

Liturgical Reading: On the First Baptism

[This] is the Fullness
of the summit of knowledge,
which was disclosed to us
by our Lord, Jesus Christ,
the Only Son.
These matters are firm and required,
so that we can walk in them.
They comprise the first baptism.
[41] [. . .].

[The first] baptism [is the forgiveness] of sins,
[. . .], someone who uttered:
“[I baptize] you
so that your sins be [forgiven].”
This [. . .] is a symbol
of the [. . . action] of Christ
[being] equivalent [. . .]
in him [. . .],
because the [action] of Jesus is [. . .].

The first [baptism] is the forgiveness [of sins].
[By means of it we] are transferred
from [people of the left]
to people of the right,
from [destructibility]
to [indestructibility],
[which] is the Jordan,
a place that is, however, of the world,
for which reason we have been [transferred] from out of the world
into the aeon.
“John” symbolizes the aeon,
the Jordan symbolizes the descent that (coincides with) the ascent,
(which is) [our] exodus from out the world
[into] the aeon.

Liturgical Reading: On Baptism

[42] [. . .],
[from the] world [to the Jordan],
from worldly [things to the vision] of God,
from [the fleshly] to the spiritual,
from the material [to the] angelic,
from [creation] to Fullness,
from the world [to the] aeon,
from [bondages] to being sons,
[from] confusions to virtue,
from [roaming] to our being at home,
from [coldness] to warmth,
[from . . .] to [. . .],
we also [. . .] to [. . .].

[This] is the way we were transferred
[from] spermatic [bodies] into a completed form.
The purification is the symbol
by means of which Christ has saved us
by means of his [gracious] Spirit.
[He] rescued us who dwell [in him].

From now on
souls [will be] completed spirits.
[What is] bestowed on us [by the first] baptism
[43] [. . .].
[. . .] unseen [. . .],
[. . . which] belongs to him,
given that [we have been rendered eternal . . .],
we have obtained [the salvation of Christ].

Liturgical Reading: On the Eucharist (A)

[We] give [you] thanks,
[and we celebrate] the Eucharist, Father,
[recalling] your Son, [Jesus Christ],
come [. . .]
unseen [. . .]
your [Son . . .]
his love [. . .].
[. . .] to knowledge [. . .].

They fulfill your desire
[by means of the] name of Jesus Christ,
and they will fulfill your desire,
[now and] continually.
They are replete
[with] all gifts
and [with all] purity.

May praise be yours,
by means of your firstborn Son,
Jesus Christ,
now and always.
Amen.

Liturgical Reading: On the Eucharist (B)

[44] [. . .].
[. . .] we obtain
[. . .] the Logos [. . .]
sacred [. . .].
[. . .] food and [drink . . .],
[your] Son,
given that you [. . .]
food [. . .]
for us [. . .]
in life [. . .]
[. . .].
[. . .] he is [. . .]
which is [. . .]
the Church [. . .].
[. . .] you are pure [. . .].

Whenever you, who are the Lord,
die in purity,
you will become pure,
so that all who obtain
food and [drink] from this (purity)
will [live].

May praise be yours,
always.
Amen.

Notes

[1] “Nature,” or “type.”

[2] “He,” the demiurge.