Summary
Summary of The Nag Hammadi Scriptures
Key ideas
Key idea 1
Buried books return to view
Men digging for fertilizer near Nag Hammadi in Upper Egypt struck a sealed jar holding leather-bound papyrus books. They did not know what they had found. Some pages were reportedly burned, while other books passed through dealers before most reached the Coptic Museum in Cairo.
The discovery brought back writings that had been lost for centuries or known mainly through attacks by church writers. Who buried the books, and why, remains debated. Their recovery opened a way to hear the writers themselves.
Key idea 2
Gnostic names a varied world
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Key idea 3
Creation becomes a story of captivity
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Key idea 4
Thomas turns attention toward recognition
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Key idea 5
Knowledge and ritual take different forms
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Key idea 6
Hidden teaching raises questions of authority
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Key idea 7
Wisdom reaches beyond the gospels
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Key idea 8
The biblical boundary formed over centuries
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Key idea 9
Each voice deserves its own hearing
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Read the rest freeWho it’s for
For readers curious about early Christianity, the history of the Bible, or ancient spiritual thought, and anyone who enjoys exploring gospels, secret books, prayers, and visions.
What this book is
The Nag Hammadi Scriptures gathers the writings found in 1945 near the town of Nag Hammadi in Upper Egypt, where a buried jar gave up thirteen ancient books. They are papyrus books, called codices, written in Coptic, the language of Christian Egypt. Together they hold about fifty texts. Many are Coptic translations of Greek works from the second and third centuries, written by authors whose names we do not know.
The texts include gospels, secret books, prayers, hymns, visions, and even short pieces of Greek philosophy. Many present Jesus as a teacher of hidden wisdom. Many retell the creation story with a very different cast, in which the maker of the world is a flawed and ignorant ruler. Modern collections also place beside them related works such as the Gospel of Mary and the Gospel of Judas, which come from other Coptic manuscripts but belong to the same world of thought.
In this summary you will hear how the books were found and how they are arranged. You will meet the debate over the word Gnostic, and you will hear what the best-known texts say, from the Secret Book of John to the Gospel of Thomas. You will also learn why these books stand outside the Bible, and how to read them today. Let us begin with the day the jar was opened.
In this summary
- 1Farmers Unearth a Buried Library in EgyptFree
- 2Fifty Texts in Coptic from Greek Originals
- 3Gnostic: A Useful Word Under Debate
- 4The Secret Book of John Retells Creation
- 5Thomas Gives Sayings Instead of a Story
- 6Valentinian Gospels of Truth and Philip
- 7Mary and Judas Receive Hidden Teaching
- 8Poems, Visions, and Philosophy Beyond the Gospels
- 9Why These Books Stand Outside the Bible
Key point 1 of 9
Farmers Unearth a Buried Library in Egypt
In December 1945, a group of men were digging for fertilizer near a cliff called Jabal al-Tarif, close to Nag Hammadi in Upper Egypt. They struck a large sealed jar. The best-known account comes from one of the men, Muhammad Ali al-Samman, and it has been retold many times. The details differ from one telling to the next, but all agree on what the jar held. Inside were books bound in leather, made of papyrus.
The men were unsure what they had found. They feared that a spirit might be inside the jar, yet they hoped it held treasure. They took the books home, and some pages were reportedly used to light a fire. Others were sold to dealers, and the books began to travel through several hands in Cairo.
Most of the codices came at last to the Coptic Museum in Cairo, where they remain. One of them was taken out of Egypt and offered for sale abroad. It was bought for the Jung Institute in Zurich, and it came to be called the Jung Codex. It returned to Cairo in 1975. Because of this scattering, scholars waited many years before the whole find could be studied together.
The find consists of twelve complete books and part of a thirteenth. The thirteenth had been tucked inside the cover of another. Some titles appear more than once in different codices. Counting every copy, there are fifty-two texts, and scholars usually speak of about forty-six different works. Many of them had been lost for some sixteen centuries, or were known only because church writers had attacked them.
The codices were copied in the fourth century, as scraps of old paper used in their covers show. Who buried them, and why, is still debated. Some scholars point to a nearby monastery of Pachomius and suggest monks owned the books. Others doubt this.
That’s 1 of 9 key points.
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Check yourself
Why do scholars debate the label Gnostic?
Right. “They say the word hides the variety of these books and can carry the old judgment of the church writers.”Not quite. “They say the word hides the variety of these books and can carry the old judgment of the church writers.”
What does the Gospel of Thomas emphasize?
Right. “The text says that to know yourself is to know the living Father.”Not quite. “The text says that to know yourself is to know the living Father.”
Why did most of these writings remain outside the New Testament?
Right. “So the reasons were mostly about dates, authorship, and teaching.”Not quite. “So the reasons were mostly about dates, authorship, and teaching.”
Questions about The Nag Hammadi Scriptures
What are the Nag Hammadi texts?
They are about fifty ancient writings, found in 1945 in thirteen papyrus books near Nag Hammadi in Egypt. Written in Coptic, they include gospels, secret books, prayers, poems, and visions from early Christian and related circles.
What does Gnostic mean?
The word comes from the Greek gnosis, meaning knowledge. It is used for teachings that stress insight into one's divine origin. Scholars debate whether it names one movement or many different groups, so the term is used with care.
Why are the Gnostic gospels not in the Bible?
The New Testament was shaped over centuries as churches chose texts tied to the apostles and matching their faith. Most Nag Hammadi writings are later, and their teaching differed, so churches did not include them.
When were the Nag Hammadi books written?
The books were copied in the fourth century. Most scholars place the Greek originals in the second and third centuries, though some, like the Gospel of Thomas, are dated earlier by some and later by others.
Is the Gospel of Thomas hard to read?
No. The Gospel of Thomas has no plot to follow. It is simply a list of one hundred and fourteen sayings, each opened by the words Jesus said. Many echo familiar parables, like the sower, the mustard seed, and the lost sheep.
