Krótka odpowiedź
- What it is: An anonymous Sethian gnostic revelation attributed to John, also called the Secret Book of John.
- Origins: Scholars usually date its Greek composition to the second century CE; surviving copies are in Coptic.
- Where it survives: Four manuscripts preserve shorter and longer versions, three at Nag Hammadi and one in the Berlin Codex.
- Biblical status: It stands outside the biblical canons of the major Christian traditions.
The Apocryphon of John, also called the Secret Book of John, is an anonymous Sethian gnostic revelation in which the risen Savior explains divine origins, the creation of humanity, and the salvation of souls to John. Usually dated to the second century CE, it survives in four Coptic manuscripts representing two principal versions. Its account distinguishes the highest divine Spirit from the creator of the lower world, and it is not part of the biblical canons of the major Christian traditions.
This guide covers the work's identity, its probable date and anonymous authorship, and the shape of its revelation. It then explains its relationship to biblical canons, traces the surviving manuscripts and their two versions, and closes with related guides and the site's edition.
What is the Apocryphon of John?
The Greek word apocryphon means a secret or hidden writing. Here it names a revelation attributed to John the son of Zebedee, rather than the canonical Gospel of John or the canonical Revelation of John. Those are distinct works. The title Secret Book of John identifies the same revelation, not a separate text, and reflects the work's presentation of knowledge communicated by the risen Savior.
Scholars generally classify the work among the writings of Sethian Gnosticism. It is a major source for the study of Sethian mythology and the diversity of early Christian interpretations of Genesis. Its subjects connect divine reality with human origins and destiny: the account of creation belongs to an explanation of how humanity comes to possess divine power and how salvation relates to knowledge.
When, where, and by whom was it written?
The work's composition is usually dated to the second century CE. It was originally written in Greek, although its surviving manuscript copies are Coptic and belong to a period centuries later. The evidence therefore distinguishes the composition of the work from the production of the manuscripts through which it survives. Egypt is the place associated with the surviving copies' discovery or acquisition, rather than an established location for its original composition.
The author is anonymous. Attribution to John the son of Zebedee does not establish that the historical apostle wrote it. A related point of reference is Irenaeus, who describes a closely related creation myth in his late-second-century work Against Heresies. That evidence concerns a related account of divine and cosmic origins; it is not an identification of the anonymous author of this revelation.
What does the revelation contain?
The narrative opens with John distressed by a challenge to Jesus' teachings. The risen Savior appears and answers his questions about divine reality and human destiny. The revelation describes an invisible, incomprehensible Spirit and presents Barbelo as the first manifestation of the supreme divine realm, populated by powers called aeons. Sophia produces an offspring without her consort's participation. This offspring, Yaldabaoth, becomes the ignorant ruler associated with the lower world, assisted by subordinate rulers called archons.
The account then reinterprets the creation stories in Genesis. The rulers fashion Adam after a divine image revealed to them, but Adam receives divine power beyond their full control. Epinoia, a saving figure, assists humanity through an awakening associated with divine insight. Salvation is connected with release from ignorance through knowledge of divine origins. John also asks about the different destinies of souls, and the closing frame directs him to communicate the revelation to his spiritual companions.
Why is it not in most Bibles?
The Apocryphon of John is outside the biblical canons of the major Christian traditions. A central theological difference concerns the creator: mainstream Christianity identifies the creator as the highest God, while this work distinguishes Yaldabaoth from the supreme divine Spirit. Within its account, Yaldabaoth's assertions of exclusive divinity express ignorance. The disagreement therefore concerns the identity and knowledge of the creator, not simply a different name for the same divine figure.
This conflict helps explain the work's distance from mainstream Christian teaching, but it does not by itself establish a complete history of its exclusion from biblical canons. Its attribution to an apostle and its account of a revelation from the Savior are features of the text's own presentation. They do not change its canonical status in those traditions or settle the question of its historical authorship.
How does it survive, and how was it found?
Four Coptic manuscript copies are known. Three occur in Nag Hammadi Codices II, III, and IV, discovered in Egypt in 1945. The fourth survives in the Berlin Codex, acquired in Egypt in 1896. These are four witnesses to the work, not four separately named revelations. Their manuscript tradition preserves two principal forms, conventionally described as the shorter version and the longer version.
Nag Hammadi Codices II and IV preserve the longer version; Nag Hammadi Codex III and the Berlin Codex preserve the shorter version. One distinctive feature of the longer form is a concluding discourse in which divine Providence recounts its saving descents. The distinction between versions thus concerns the content transmitted by the copies, while the distinction between codices identifies the manuscripts in which those forms survive.
Where to go next
The guide to the Nag Hammadi library provides context for the collection in which three copies survive. The guide to the gnostic tradition offers a broader setting for the work's classification. The edition on this site is titled The Apocryphon of John.
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Questions about the Apocryphon of John
What is the Apocryphon of John?
It is an anonymous revelation, also called the Secret Book of John, generally classified as Sethian gnostic. The risen Savior answers John's questions about divine reality, creation, and human destiny. Its account connects humanity's salvation with awakening from ignorance to knowledge of divine origins.
Who wrote the Secret Book of John?
Its author is unknown, although the revelation is attributed to John the son of Zebedee. That attribution does not establish authorship by the historical apostle. Scholars usually date its composition to the second century CE; the surviving Coptic copies transmit a work originally composed in Greek.
How many copies of the Apocryphon of John survive?
Four Coptic manuscript copies are known: three in the Nag Hammadi codices and one in the Berlin Codex. Nag Hammadi Codices II and IV contain the longer version. Codex III and the Berlin Codex contain the shorter version. These surviving manuscripts are centuries later than the original composition.
What does the Apocryphon of John say about creation?
It presents the lower world as associated with Yaldabaoth, an ignorant ruler distinct from the supreme Spirit. Subordinate rulers assist him, and the account reinterprets Genesis through its treatment of Adam and Eve. Adam receives divine power that the rulers cannot fully control, while Epinoia assists humanity's awakening.
Is the Apocryphon of John in the Bible?
No, it is not part of the biblical canons of the major Christian traditions. Its separation of the highest divine Spirit from the creator conflicts with mainstream Christianity's identification of the creator as the highest God. It is also distinct from both the canonical Gospel of John and Revelation of John.
