CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER ONE
AN ANALYSIS OF EVANGELIUM VERITATIS
I. THE PROLOGUE (16:31I-17:9)
Ev. Ver. is a meditation or homily on the gospel, the gospel as the author understands it. The prologue gives an introduction to the main emphases of this document. The prologue is Ev. Ver. in miniature.
1. The gospel originates with the Father; it is not self-generated.
What the writer means is that without the Father of truth there can be no gospel of truth. In fact, the gospel has to do primarily with the Father, the problem being that the Father is uncontainable and unknowable. He is able, however, to reveal himself in the Word, the Savior. The language of the prologue at this point clearly reflects the background of the New Testament revelation in Christ.
The Father of truth comes to men, which means that the Word who was in the Father's thought makes his entrance from above.
The ambiguity of Ev. Ver. is evident. There is no mention of time, space, or place, whereby the one who came forth from the Father isrelated to this world. The interest of Ev. Ver. lies in a metaphysical world.
2. The gospel concerns those who are without gnosis of the Father.
Its concern is cosmic in scope for, "The All... came forth from him" (17:5-6), though they do not know the Father. Nevertheless the gospel of truth elicits a joyous response from those who have received grace to know him (16:32-33). The past "'history'' of these elect, their present predicament, and potential destiny, all come under the purview of the writer who, however, fails to nail down these epochs in man's life to time and place. Thus those who were without gnosis and who respond to the gospel of truth comprise the All. They were once in the Father, then departed, but now pursue the goal toward their pristine existence.
3. The gospel is a gospel of hope. Its movement is always forward or upward to the pleroma (16:35) from which the Savior came.
The gnosis which men receive marks the beginning of their existence. But, since the pleroma or completeness lies with the Father,
Suppl. to Novum Test., XXV I
AN ANALYSIS OF EVANGELIUM VERITATIS
it is necessary (AnatKH) that the All ascend up to the Father to receive it (cf. 21:8-11).
In brief, what the prologue presents in broad outline and what the text of Ev. Ver. will develop in detail are that the gospel of truth originates with the Father of truth, centers in the revelation of a unique gnosis of the Father in the Word who is also the Savior, and concerns men who are without gnosis molding them into an elect community and supplying them with the hope or goal of a life in the Father.
II. ERROR AND FORGETTING AND HOW THEY ARE OVERCOME
(17: 9-18:15) The writer now begins to fill in the broad lines of emphasis presented in the prologue. The prologue states that men are without gnosis since they departed from their place in the Father. How this departure happened is the concern of the writer beginning with the last word of 17:9-10, ef¢antatcnoruwn, "As for the not-knowing (the Father)."" This alpha privative noun is related to its verbal form in 16:39-17:1. Man without gnosis descends into the mental state of fear and frustration. Separated from the Father he comes under the control of evil powers (=nAANH or Error) in a material world of beauty, a counterfeit of God's truth
(x7:19-21). There he is made to forget (cf. the causative form thwue in 17:24, 36; 18:8) his high origin in the Father and reduced to a slave of Error (17:34-36). At this critical juncture in his dilemma, through the mercies of the Father the gospel comes to man bringing to him the gnosis of the Father which nullifies the work of Forgetting (18:5-15).
III. ERROR PURSUES JESUS TO THE TREE (= THE CROSS), BUT THE
FRUIT OF THAT TREE GIVES BELIEVERS A GNOSIS THAT IS AN
EARNEST OF THEIR COMPLETENESS IN THE FATHER WHICH THEY
RECEIVE WHEN THEY ASCEND TO HIM (18:15-19:17)
Accepting W. Till's punctuation,! this section begins with the sentence, "It is through Jesus the Christ that this hidden mystery dawned upon those who were in darkness by virtue of the work of Forgetting. It [i.e. the Gospel] dawned upon them. It provided a way, and this way is (the) Truth of which it informed them"
1 "Das Evangelium der Wahrheit," ZNTW, 50 (1959), 170.
ERROR PURSUES JESUS TO THE TREE (=THE CROSS)
(18:15-21).
The above translation understands ''the gospel" as the subject of the main verbs which have the auxiliaries of the third masculine singular. The verbs and objects are important.
They are, 'to produce light," "to provide a way," and "'to proclaim truth."' All this is possible, according to the writer, through the person of Jesus the Christ.
At this point, Error, which formerly was at work to imprison man in a mere material existence, begins to oppress Jesus and bring him to ruin through crucifixion (18:21-24). The section vividly portrays the encounter of the gospel of Truth with Error. Strangly enough, while the gospel centers in its agent, Jesus the Christ through whom the message of the gospel comes, there is no mention of any agent(s) through whom Error works. A similar indefiniteness was seen in 17:9-18:14, where the work of Error was operative not primarily in a "temporal or spatial creation" but in the total involvement of man in a material existence. Here also, there is a disregard for definite persons and places where Error works. The entire opposition to Christ and the gospel is expressed by the writer in mAansH. The writer's philosophy can by-pass the earthly, the temporal, and the personal. He describes the opposition to Jesus and the gospel in one great concept—Error. The one bare allusion to the earthly and the temporal in the clause, ""He was nailed to a tree," soon dispels as the writer is caught up with a description of the fruit of the tree and the results that occur as one partakes of it (18:24 ff.). In 18:24-25, the subject of acwwrte is) othe tree') (==\the cross) and (not) "Jesus, «Thateis, thestree bore as its fruit the gnosis of the Father. In 18:26-29, Grobel sees an allusion to Gen. 2:9 and 3:3,! thereby understanding the verb NTAgTEKO as transitive, "it has not destroyed." But Till? is probably more correct here in interpreting nTayTeKo (18:26) as intransitive. Thus, understanding ovtag "fruit" as the subject of bothntaqTeRo (18:26) andag't (18:28), the translation becomes,
"Moreover it [i.e. the fruit] did not perish because they ate it, but on the contrary it [i.e. the fruit 3] granted to those who ate
1 K. Grobel, The Gospel of Truth, (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1960), p. 53.
2 "Bemerkungen zur Erstausgabe des Evangelium veritatis,' Orientalia, Ile Soy 27 (OBS), QB ; 8 W. Till, ZNTW, 50 (1959), 170, believes that the third masculine singular auxiliary At{-in age (18:28) refers to the Father. He interprets the clause to mean, ''verlieh der Vater die Gnade."
AN ANALYSIS OF EVANGELIUM VERITATIS
it to experience joy [lit. "to become a joy'] in this discovery"
(18:26-29). The discovery (rome) is the fruit of the gospel (= gnosis) that comes through the cross, the discovery to which the prologue has already referred (17:3-4). This discovery is further described by the use of the verb omme. "They were found in him and he indeed was found in them, he, the infinite, incomprehensible Father who is perfect' (18:29-33).
With the mention of the verb "is complete' (qual.), an eschatological emphasis begins which continues on through the beginning of 19:17. Gnosis is the fruit of the cross but it is at the same time only an earnest of the fullness of the perfect life in the Father.
Pl. 19:6-7 describes succinctly this eschatological goal in the clause ovcavne oveer ONOTXOK, "a gnosis unique in completeness.' The implication is that a gnosis without completeness falls short of the Divine goal. In Ev. Ver., gnosis is primarily subjective, that is, gnosis of the Father means basically gnosis of oneself. Completeness, however, is objective; it seems frequently to connote a meaningful relationship with the Father.
IV. THE CoMING OF JESUS, THE BOOK OF THE LIVING ONEs,
AND THE DIVINE CALL (19:17-22:20)
The three themes noted in the title of the section stand interrelated in the passage. Jesus' coming and the word he speaks become the occasion for the manifestation of the book of the living ones who, in turn, are the ones who hear the Divine call and rise up to him who calls them in order to possess the things that are theirs.
The section begins abruptly, "He became a Guide, peaceable and persevering." It is clear from the following context that the Guide is Jesus. He appears in a school where he speaks the "'word"'
(rusuyexe, 19:20). The mention of Jesus as teacher (cag, 19:20) is of interest from the standpoint of the New Testament. The expression "'school'"
(lit. "the place for receiving instruction'"') may mean synagogue. The message of Jesus is not given but two very clear results of his teaching are noted. First, men come to him (€s wapaes "approach" in 19:21, 28). This is clearly the situation in the New Testament gospels (cf. e.g. Mark 1:45).
Second, the teaching of Jesus meets with a two-fold response; the wise reject it while the little ones receive it (19:21 ff.), a fact which, no less than the first, recalls the gospel situation and the
THE COMING OF JESUS, THE BOOK OF THE LIVING ONES
decision which the message of Jesus inevitably elicited from his hearers. By the "wise" (Nceocpoc, 19:21), the writer probably means the Jews. That they are wise "in their own minds alone" indicates that they are not so before God. The Greek word EVTUPATE in 19:23 reflects passages such as Matt. 16:1; 19:3 e¢ al. Jesus' reproof of the wise as being empty may be compared to his denunciation of the Pharisees according to Matt. 23. After the wise come the little ones who receive Jesus' teaching. It is possible that there is a reflection at this point of some kind of historical sequence
—from Jews to Gentiles—but the language is not clear. What does seem clear is the reference to the gospels (e.g. Matt. 11:25;
18:2-6 et al.) through the term "little ones also" (NReKOT! WHA, 19:28-29), though no rebirth is present in Ev. Ver. The clause,
"theirs is the gnosis of the Father' (19:29 f.) may be, as Grobel with some hesitation suggests, '"a Gnostic transmutation of Matt.
5ror'# The writer next states the results of the acceptance of Jesus' word.
(a) They become strong. (b) They enter a life of communion with the Father. (c) They become the manifestation of the living book of the living ones; they are the living ones (19:34 ff.). Here is found one of the most important parts of the section. Grobel says, "This is the book of life of Ps. 69:28; Phil. 4:3, and Rev. 3:5, but singularly enriched: no longer merely the record of the names of the saved but the vehicle of salvation inasmuch as it is the good news, the saving message.' 2 It is doubtful, however, whether this is the sense of the passage before us. The question is, does the book mean '"'a vehicle of salvation" or "the saved ones" themselves ?
The latter apparently gives more of the sense of the passage.
The book is a book of the living ones who are written in the thought and mind (nove) of the Father (19:35-20:1). The restoration of [NTert]rwt at the beginning of 20:1 is quite certain since the language is parallel to what the prologue says about the Word
(= Jesus) ''who is in the thought and mind of the Father" (16:3536). The Biblical parallel to which Ev. Ver. is far more closely related than the passages to which the notes of the Ev. Ver. appeal ®
(or Grobel) is 2 Cor. 3:2-3a, "You yourselves are our letter of 1 OD. cit., Pp. 59:
2 Tbhid.
8 Evangelium Veritatis, ed. by Michel Malinine, Henri-Charles Puech, and Gilles Quispel (Zurich: Rascher Verlag, 1956), p. 53.
AN ANALYSIS OF EVANGELIUM VERITATIS
recommendation, written on your hearts, to be known and read by all men; and you show that you are a letter from Christ" (RSV).
The letter of which Paul speaks is really the believing community at Corinth. The book to which the writer of Ev. Ver. refers is apparently also a community of believers.
The open manifestation of the book was dependent on the sacrificial death of Jesus (20:3-38). Here is one of the most intriguing passages in the document.! It is replete with references to the Bible, especially to Revelation and Hebrews. The writer is certain that Jesus is indispensable. To take the book, Jesus must suffer, and, to give life to many, he must die (20:10-14).
The clause, ''since he knows that that death of his is life for many"'
(20:13-14) is remarkable for its sacrificial emphasis and its proximity in thought to Mark 10:45. The passage contains the one possible reference in Ev. Ver. to the "'resurrection"' of Jesus (20: 30-34). Jesus divests himself of the '"'rags of corruption" and clothes himself with eternal life (20:30-32). The reference apparently means that Jesus divested himself of material flesh and assumed "'resurrection'' life.
In his resurrection state Jesus comes to those who are naked by reason of the work of Forgetting. Since Jesus is gnosis and completeness he proclaims those things which are in the Father's heart (20:36-21:1).
Several benefits are said to accrue to those who respond:
1. They receive instruction (21: 3-6).
2. They receive themselves from the Father (21:6-7). This apparently means that the Father gives themselves to them.
This strange concept has a clear parallel in 25:1I-12, epertoveers noveer Naxr Magy. The parallel supports the reading suggested above for 21:6-7. Pl. 21:11-14, 19-22, makes a similar emphasis.
Acquisition of gnosis means that one takes the things that are his and draws them to himself. At first sight, the idea is quite far removed from the opening lines of the prologue where the thing received (xs) is grace to know one who comes from without, i.e. from the pleroma (16:32 ff.). Gnosis, however, means that one acquires knowledge of two persons—God and one's true self.
"He who by the good news is made Gnostic receives two things, God and his own lost or 'forgotten' self. Knowledge of God and of one's true self are two sides of the same thing; one cannot have
1 Chap. III, propos. III discusses this passage in detail.
THE DIVINE CALL
either without the other.' ! Thus, to receive oneself and to take the things that belong to oneself mean essentially the same thing.
3. They turn themselves to the Father another time (21:7-8).
This indicates that at one time they were turned toward him, the very thing which the prologue states.
4. They ascend to the Father and receive completeness (21: 8-23).
5. They hear the Divine call (21:23-22:109). a. The call is rooted in the Divine purpose (21:23-27). The text reads, "He enrolled them beforehand for he prepared them to give to those who had gone forth from him, [i.e.] those whom he foreknew, their name.'' This translation understands the form atTees as an infinitive form of } with the preposition a (= e) as preformative.? This infinitive (21:24) then takes as its direct object Anorpen "their name'
(21:26-27). The two clauses in between the infinitive and the direct object are indirect objects,
"those who came forth from him,"' and "'those whom he foreknew."' b. The call comes at the end (21:27), an end which has apparently already begun. Some kind of future eschaton, however, is suggested by 21:35, "until the end." c. The call brings assurance (21: 28-30) since one knows that the Father has called his name. The call, an effectual call, precedes the gnosis of the call. Nevertheless the call and gnosis go together.
The writer means that the call creates the name. Thus since name implies existence, no true eixstence is possible apart from Divine initiative (cf. 39:I1-12). d. The lack of a call implies that one is a-gnostic, in the grip of Forgetting, despised, and basically deaf to the call (21: 30-22:2).
The phrase wa Tea (21:35) reveals an element of hope in a section that otherwise shows a strong predetermination.
The clause, "'he shall perish" (21:36-37) does not necessarily imply suffering. The compound verb BwA abad® (21:37) has a wide variety of meanings such as, 'dissolve, terminate, go to pieces, die, be loose, nullify, absolve," etc. (cf. Crum, pp. 32 f.). Perhaps the idea of "'to pass away and be no more'"' gives the true sense here.
6. Characteristics of the one who is called (22:3-19). a. He has gnosis (22:3). b. His origin is from above (22:3-4). More precisely, "He is a-forth-one from on high.' The expression is made up of the 1 K. Grobel, op. cit., p. 71, note 129.
2 Cf. Till, Ovientalia, N.S., 27 (1958), 274
AN ANALYSIS OF EVANGELIUM VERITATIS
indefinite article ov prefixed to the adverb aba'. A similar construction with the definite article is found in the A, version of John 8:23, anak' anak' [ovjabad one! and in the Sahidic version of 1 Cor. 2:12 aNNa nenna nehordA AMNOTTE, "but the Spirit, the Forth-One of God." c. He answers the call (22: 4-7). d. He rises to the one who calls him (22:7-9). The conjunctive nNqywe carries on the sense of the praesens consuetudinis which is found three times in 22:5-6. The ''ascent of the soul' is not necessarily eschatological, for by the same sequence in this section the writer seems to mean that the ascent occurs when one accepts the Divine call. He rises mystically into a new sphere of existence— in gnosis—where he understands how he was called. e. He performs the Divine will and receives rest and a name
(22:9-13). Once again the use of the praesens consuetudinis shows the normal response and life of the gnostic. f. He understands his origin and destiny (22:13-20).
V. THE GNOSIS OF THE LIVING Book (22:20-25:25)
In brief, this section concerns a gnosis of Jesus and his work in behalf of those who are chosen (22:20-23:2). They are the Father's perfect book (23:2-18), while Jesus is the Father's Word
(23:18-33) who performs the Father's work among the elect (23:33-24:6), and brings them to the place of the perfect Unity in the Father (24:6-25:25).
1. A gnosis of Jesus and his work avails for those who are chosen (22:20-23:2). The section begins abruptly. The subject of ayeto Neag abad on TenAann, "He has turned back many from Error'' is Jesus. A similar abrupt beginning was observed in 19:17. The statement furnishes the third main fact concerning mAanH in Ev. Ver. Error imprisoned man in a mere material existence (17:9 ff.), oppressed Jesus and brought him to the cross (18:21-24), and now is defeated by Jesus who rescues many from Error's grip (22:20-21). The following sentence pictures the ascension of Jesus into the spaces (wansmaest), the sphere which the chosen ones left when they took Error into their hearts
(22:21-24). The reason why the chosen are said to have left the Father is because of the depth (rshaeoc) of the one, i.e. the Father,
* The Gospel of St.
John according to the earliest Coptic manuscript (British School of Archaeology in Egypt, 1924, Vol. 36), p. 15a.
THE GNOSIS OF THE LIVING BOOK
who surrounds' all space without himself being surrounded (22:2527). The idea brings to mind the error of Sophia prominent in the Valentinian speculation as described by Irenaeus.? Sophia, the twelfth aeon becomes absorbed in her agonizing search after the Father.
"She was continually desiring, as they affirm, to comprehend his greatness; since (she) was unable because of her application to an impossible affair and altogether coming to be in much travail, and because of the greatness of the depth [rd doc] and [because of] the unsearchability of the Father ...'' 3
There are, however, sharp differences between Ev. Ver. and the description of Irenaeus. Irenaeus' account deals with a pre-cosmological pleroma of thirty aeons: Ev. Ver. is concerned with chosen human beings whose origin and destiny are in the Father though their lot is cast in a material world. To the writer of Ev. Ver. it is an amazing thing (maesge) that these beings were in (imperf. nevon) the Father though ignorant of him (22:28-29) and yet able to go out of him (22:29-30). These three assertions, i.e. in the Father, not knowing the Father, and able to go forth from the Father, are followed by two explanatory arguments
(one negative, one positive), both introduced by the Greek conjunction tap. First, the situation is as it is because the Father's will had not yet been revealed (22:33-35). Second, his will did become manifest in Jesus Christ (22:35-23:2).
2. The chosen ones are the Father's perfect or complete book (23:3-18). The subject of the copula ne in 23:3 is apparently
"his chosen ones" or the "'All.'"' Since the book is a living book (22:39) of those who live (cf. 19:35-36), quite naturally the writer proceeds to describe it negatively and positively. The book does not constitute a group of vowels and consonants, i.e. a pen-and-ink book (23:3-7), but it is like a perfect book which the Father has written in order that the aeons might know him (23:8-18). In 23:3, authorities generally agree that trrmtoce 'mark' should be read
"1 For the translation 'who surrounds all space,'' the text has the perfect tense, i.e. '"who has surrounded all space.' Till, Ovientalia, N.S., 27 (1958),
275, observes that the verb KTAEsT is qualitative, and thus, it cannot be construed with either the perfect or the future. Till emends the text, therefore from MMETARTAEIT to MMMETKTAEIST (i.e. omit the first a).
ATAU el oa erase 3 A translation of the Greek text of Irenaeus as found in W.W. Harvey,
Sancti Ivenaet, I, 15.
AN ANALYSIS OF EVANGELIUM VERITATIS
instead of Tortoe "place.'' The sense of 23:5 is that the living ones who make up the Father's book have no sound since sound marks out the pronunciation of vowels and consonants in an ordinary book. The living ones can be pronounced only as they are recognized as consonants of truth (23:8-10). This must mean some kind of philosophical or mystical recognition of the true nature of the living ones.1
3. Jesus is the Father's Word (23:18-33). Grobel has placed the Coptic text of this section into "'sense lines" by regularizing the recurring Ntootg and the pattern as a whole,, i.e. "Noun + ntooty + Verb + a single word." ? The single exception, as Grobel observes, to this pattern is found in 23:23-24 where the periphrastic construction requires two words. Some exception should be taken to Grobel's treatment. First, he believes that the close of the preceding section (i.e. 23: 17-18) "sets the exact pattern for the ten clauses that follow." ? How exact is the pattern?
The noun and verb in 23:17-18 are plural whereas all of the ten nouns and verbs that are contained in the pattern are singular.
Also, the ten nouns (23: 18-33) depict what may be termed personal attributes or characteristics of the Father in relation to the Word
(= his Son), while 23:17-18 refers to the living ones who are written by the Father. Furthermore, whereas the ten verbs are singular having in the background as subject, the Father (1.e. "his wisdom,"
"his teaching," etc.), the verb in 23:18 is plural and has for its subject the aeons. Second, Grobel refers the suffix of NTooTE
(23:17) to '"'the book," whereas the preceding context makes it more logical to refer the suffix to "the Father." Third, against 1 An important textual problem appears in the sentence COT ME eQ AHR
TLE TIC HEES TIC YEE! (23: 11-12). The form we is the typical Sahidic word for "truth,'' but since Ev. Ver. is written in the Subakhmimic dialect, one would expect to find the form WHE, as elsewhere in Ev. Ver. (cf. 16:31, 33; 26: 30-31;
32:35; 36:12; 42:25-26). In addition to these occurrences of wHe, Ev. Ver. reveals the noun form ANTAHE, the adverbial forms NAMHE and AAAHE.
In all the occurrences of these forms, however, the basic stem is wHe, not Ae: It is for this reason that Till suggests that the reading eorwe in 2 BS is an abbreviation for cor MEeTE ''a thought,'' and thus he renders the sentence, "'because each letter is a complete thought'' (ein vollkommener
Gedanke). The significance of this translation will appear in chap.
III, propos. II. Till's discussion is found in Ovientalia, N.S., 27 (1958), 275.
ATO PNcit, ps 87.
Swlbid:
THE GNOSIS OF THE LIVING BOOK
af Grobel, the object of the verbs in the hymn is the Word (= Jesus).
The last two strophes of the hymn appear to be quite decisive in this respect.
The first of the ten strophes describes Jesus as the Word (ATuWexe, 23:19-20) which recalls 16:34. Logically the third masc. sing. suffix found as the object of each verb in each of the nine following strophes refers to the Word. The apparent absence of a suffix in the third strophe is explained at the proper place below. It is within the context of the passage (23:18-33) that the Word walks forth among the All, takes the form of the face of the All, and brings the All back to the Father (23:33 ff.). The connection of this section with the preceding portion (23:3-18) is that the chosen ones are the Father's mystical book only by means of the Father's gnosis and Word which Jesus represents.
Following is a consideration of the ten strophes in this "hymn'' on Jesus, the Father's Word.
(1) "As for his wisdom, it meditates on the Word"' (23:18-20).
The verb paedAeta is taken over from Greek though its usual reproduction in Coptic is by the infinitive, pacAetan.! The writer surely means that the Father's interest centers in the Word (= his Son).
(2) "While his doctrine speaks of him." This is the outward expression of the inner meditation on the Logos.
(3) "His gnosis has revealed (him). Till has observed that ayorang abad stands in the text for ayovangy aha, ice.
"has manifested him.''2 The connection between the Father's gnosis and the revelation of his Son is established in 30:23-26.
(4) "His forbearance [i.e. the Father's] is a crown upon him."
This translation (cf. also Till's rendering Nachsicht*) is uncertain.
1 The form MEAETA (without the n of the inf.) does occur, however, in Psa. 168 of the Manichaean Psalmbook, also in connection with cotyra
(cf. Allberry, The Manichaean Psalmbook, I, 86 line 23). Allberry's translation is, ''I have constantly practised ...in thy holy wisdom"' (cf. also the form M@AeTH in Allberry, ibid., p. 116, lines 14-15). The non-infinitival form is found also in Polotsky, Manichdische Homilien, p. 23, lls. 1-2, also occurring with corbsa, ie. [NjcemeAeTA ONMNAAE NTCOpra "and meditated in the books of wisdom"' (und in den Biichern der Weisheit lesen).
2 Till, Ovientalia, N.S., 27 (1958), 275, 2733 ZNTW, 50 (1959), 173. H.-M. Schenke, op. cit., p. 40, renders the word
Schutz, ''defence, shelter,"' but gives no explanation of his rendering.
AN ANALYSIS OF EVANGELIUM VERITATIS
If correct, the meaning would be that the Father's forbearance is manifest to all in his Son.
(5) "His joy is joined to him." The opening sentence of Ev.
Ver. describes the gospel as a joy. The writer sees this joy as linked to Jesus.
(6) "His glory has exalted him." Comparison may be made to the hymn of Phil. 2. The exaltation of Jesus is to the glory of God the Father (v. 11). Cf. also John 17: 1-5.
(7) "His form (cwat) revealed him." The translation is awkward but it continues the pattern of the hymn as set by the first strophe.
To express this in another way, Jesus is the revelation of the Father's likeness (cf. John 14:8; Phil. 2:6).
(8) "His rest [contentment, pleasure] appropriated him,'' (lit.
"took him to himself'). This may be compared to Mark 1:11 and John 8:20.
(9) "His love put a body (cwwa) about him.' Grobel admits that some kind of incarnation is present in the expression, but since he fails to find reference to Christ in this hymn, he thinks the incarnate body to be the church.' This strophe continues, however, the emphasis upon Jesus, the Father's Word. It is the incarnation of the Word (cf. John 1:1, 14) which is a manifestation of the Father's agape (cf. John 3:16).
(10) "His trust embraced him."' The meaning is apparently the complete confidence which the Father had in the Son (cf., e.g. John 5:20 ff., especially, v. 22).
4. Jesus (= the Logos) performs a work among the chosen ones (= the All)—23:33-24:6. As indicated above
(cf. the introduction to the hymn), the hymn portrays the complete satisfaction of the Father in his Logos. This new section describes the work of the Logos. A translation of 23:33-24:6 is important for the discussion.
"Thus the Word of the Father walks forth among the All, because he is the fruit of his [the Father's] heart and a manifestation of the presence of his will. But he [the Word] supports the All while he chooses them. And moreover [AN=On] he takes the manifestation of the presence of the All (and) purifies them."
The incarnate Word (23:30-31) is at work among the All. The verb eqymaage is the second present As form of moowe (cf. the 1 OD. cit., pp.) 89,91:
THE GNOSIS OF THE LIVING BOOK
nS Arabic verb (4+ "to walk') and perhaps reflects the mention in the Fourth Gospel of the walk of Jesus (cf. John 1:36; 6:66;
7:1; 10:23). The words enortag [nte]... re, "because he is the fruit of his heart' recall 18:24-26 where the crucified Jesus
(or the "tree'') produced the fruit of the knowledge of the Father.
By the phrase, "a manifestation of the presence of his will'' (cf.
19: 30-32; 24:5), the writer seems to say that the will of God is seen in Jesus (cf. John 6:38; 4:34; 5:30; Matt. 26:39, 42). The present tenses of this passage take us beyond the historical manifestation of Jesus which the writer certainly admits (cf. 19:17 ff.), and emphasize a continuous work that he performs. The Christian counterpart of this is the presence of the living Christ in his church.
The purification of the All (24: 4-6) prepares them for their destiny.
5. Jesus brings the All to the place of perfect Unity in the Father (24:6-25:25). a. The revelation of the Father aims to give rest (24:6-21).
That Jesus brings men back to the Father (24: 6-7) is a recurring emphasis in Ev. Ver. The additional phrase agovn attacer "unto the mother' (24:7) is puzzling. Perhaps the word designates the Father from the viewpoint of his power of reproduction or generation. Or, is it a reflection of the feminine égvvo.«, counterpart to the male principle mpométwe, the two comprising the original syzygy in the Valentinian pleroma? 1
The sentence which begins with the second word of 24:9 continues on through the word ansuwTa in 24:21 and includes a long parenthesis of two sentences. This sentence may be rendered as follows:
"The Father reveals his breast, (now his breast is the Holy Spirit who reveals this hidden one of his: this hidden one of his is his Son) in order that through the compassions of the Father, the Aeons might know him and cease striving, as they seek after the Father, as they rest themselves there in him, knowing that this is the Rest which has filled up the Lack."
The main part of the purpose clause beginning with ctyina in 24:14, concludes with nsaswnt in 24:17. To this purpose clause, however, three subordinate clauses are joined which continue through the word answta in 24:21. The ceaseless striving and seeking after the Father reflects not only the prologue (17:4 ff.), but comprises one of the important recurring themes in Ev. Ver.
ANGI Helge ME A
AN ANALYSIS OF EVANGELIUM VERITATIS
Restlessness, disturbance, weariness—these are all the work of Error in the world. All of these disturbing elements, says Ev. Ver., are overcome as men return to the Father and "'rest themselves there in him' (24:18-19).} b. The Father abolishes Lack and gives Completeness (24:2I25:7). The Lack or a-gnostic condition has its own form (ey HAA) of expression in the cosmos (nKoc.voc in 24:23). This is the only place in Ev. Ver. where the Greek word xdcpoc¢ appears, and, significantly enough, it occurs in connection with Jesus' service in the world (nees entaquawe HOHTY, 24:23-24). Itis true that in the immediate context Jesus is not mentioned. It can be remembered, however, that the very object of the revelation with which the long purpose clause (24:9-21) is concerned, is the Son (24:15).
This fact makes the absence of the name of Jesus understandable.
Significantly, the cosmos is said to be the appearance or form exHaad of the Lack (= the a-gnostic state). With the Father, however, there is completeness (24:25-28). When men do not have gnosis of the Father, the Lack exists. But when the Father is known, the Lack ceases to exist from that very hour (24:28-32).
Beginning with the end of 24:32 and continuing through 2576, the writer introduces two parables? concluding with a summary statement on the disappearance of Form (esx¢Hwa). If the Lack disappears (25:2), then its Form, the cosmos, likewise ceases to exist. Thisis all due to (Np pH[t] ON asin 25 :2-3, 10, 12) the harmony
(ritwt) of Unity (= the Father). Apparently "the harmony of Unity" refers to the union with the Father in true gnosis which the chosen ones come to experience. c. Through Unity, the All will overcome matter and attain to themselves and to a new existence free from the 9wAHt (25:7-19).
In 25:8-10, the writer seems to mean that there is a part which the present cosmos has to play, but it is temporary. It will pass away when the Father will complete the spaces (= modes of existence). Three things are said to happen to the Gnostics (25: 1019). First, they receive themselves (25:10-12, cf. the discussion on this concept in 21:6-7). Second, they are separated out of diversity (Crum, 367a) into Unity. It appears that the oneness
* The double MwA in 24: 18-19 is explained by Grobel, op. cit., p. 95, note 215, as the reflex. pron. followed by the adverb (Sah.) ''there.'"'
* For an exegetical treatment of the parables of Ev. Ver., see chap. III, propos. II.
THE COMING OF JESUS MEANS JUDGMENT
iS of God has been lost in the bewildering diversity of the cosmos.
The writer expresses a kind of eschatological goal. The original oneness must be recovered. Third, they consume the hulic nature within themselves. Only light and life remain. No asceticism is present in Ev. Ver. On the other hand the writer implicitly recognizes a hulic sphere of existence to be banished in the future. d. The Need to Meditate on these Facts (25:19-25). The object of meditation is not stated, though it is probably the destiny of the Gnostics (cf. the context).
VI. THE CoMING OF JESUS MEANS JUDGMENT (25:25-27:9)
The emphasis of this section falls on the judgment of two classes of people in the world, depicted as two types of vessel. The bad vessels are removed while the good are purified and filled. The judgment is Divine, i.e. "from above." Error is defeated while
Truth (= the Father's mouth) is embraced. Such a judgment, according to the writer, can only be the manifestation of the Father.
The ''master of the house" is the Father, and the "house," the world. This means that the parable is quite bold. The world does belong to the Father and contains two classes of men—the a-gnostic and the gnostic. The a-gnostic men are removed in judgment, while the Gnostics remain and are a source of joy to the Father. Pl. 25:35-26:1 declares plainly that this is the judgment
(TeKxpsesc) that has come forth from above. Pl. 26:1-4 reads, "Because it [i.e. the judgment] is a drawn sword of two edges, cutting this way and that. It has judged [lit. "given judgment''] each one" (cf. the Sah. of Matt. 7:2). The language used by the writer is close to that found in Hebr. 4:12; Rev. 2:12, 16; 19:15 as the textual notes of Ev. Ver. mention.1 One may also compare the sword of judgment of Ezek. 21:3-5 and r Chron. 21:16. In one sense, the judgment in Ev. Ver. has already begun (cf. 26:4 ff.).
The instrument of judgment is the Logos (cf. John 5:22; Acts 10: 42; 17:31). The writer continues with mystical language by affirming that the Logos is ''in the heart of those who pronounce it" (26:5-6).
In addition, however, he states that the Logos is more than a sound that can be pronounced; it became a body (ayp ovewaa,
26:8). It can hardly be questioned that the writer refers to the incarnation.
A 1E, Gop
AN ANALYSIS OF EVANGELIUM VERITATIS
The result of the appearance of the Logos follows in 26:8 ff.
The parable of the vessels (HeKervoc) is resumed (cf. 25:25 ff.) with a similar two-fold classification of the vessels (26:8-18).
The Logos causes a great stir among the vessels. The verbs which are used to describe this event form themselves into three opposite pairs: emptied filled poured out —— provided for broken —— purified There are thus three predicates ascribed to each of the two types of vessels, the description of each type proceeding from result back to immediate cause. That is, the one type represents vessels that have become emptied because they have been poured out due to the fact that they were broken. The other type represents vessels that have become filled because they were provided for after they were first purified. The net result, however, is clear in the first pair of the three predicates—the empty ones stand in opposition to the full. Till insists that some event (Vorgang) is designated by the perfect tenses that are used in this section and that this fact must be kept in mind in any translation.! Such is the writer's description of Divine judgment.
The writer continues by describing the effects of judgment on maaan, the basic Force working in the cosmos (26: 18-27). Apparently with purpose, the author sets forth the mt '"'offspring" of Truth
(26: 28-29) in contrast to the offspring of Error or tA ANH (26: 25-26).
The offspring of Truth (= the Gnostics) are said to recognize Truth (26:28-29) and thus, to embrace the Father in truth (26:3031), while a complete (perfect) power joins them to the Father
(26: 31-32). In general, the writer adds that everyone who loves the truth will receive the Holy Spirit and be united to the Father.
By way of summary, it can be said that this entire section connects Divine judgment with the appearance of Jesus. It is precisely when he takes a body (cwwa) that a decisive division among men appears. His coming in judgment is described also as the coming of gnosis and Truth. Judgment is a two-edged sword.
All men are like so many vessels before the Father. Some are to be carried away in judgment because they are empty (i.e. offspring
1 Onentalia, N.S., 27 (1958), 276.
FORM, NAME AND EXISTENCE
1G of Error), while others become a source of joy to the Father because they are full (i.e. offspring of Truth).
VII. THE FATHER GIVES TO HIS ELECT,
Form, NAME, AND EXISTENCE (27:9-33) Name-giving is the Divine prerogative in Ev. Ver. as in the Bible.
This section reveals Hebraic thought where the name signifies what the person is (cf. Isa. 9: 5-6).
VIII. THE FaTHER's WILL AND MAN's BEING AND BECOMING
(27: 34-28: 31) The distinction between the infinitive form of the verb wwme "to become" and its qualitative form woomt "'to exist," is important for the interpretation of this section. At the close of the preceding passage the writer insisted that at one time the Gnostics had not yet come into existence and, hence, did not know the Father.
Does this mean that they were essentially non-entities ? Not at all, says the writer, for not only is their being (cewoon, 27:36) in the Father (28:1) but their becoming (atporwwme, 28:2) depends on the Father's will—if he wills it and when he wills it (28:1-3).
The Divine will is decisive. That their beng refers to some kind of non-visible life and their becoming to some kind of visible manifestation, is a reasonable conclusion from the parable that follows
(28:3-5). It reads, ""Just as the opportune time [Kaspoc] which is about to come, [so, in this case, the opportune moment is about to come, that is] all things have not yet become manifest."" Things are not revealed now but when the opportune time arrives, they will become clear.
Beginning with 28:18 and continuing through 28:31, the writer contrasts the inner thoughts of those who think by themselves
(28:19) and those who think what the Father desires (28:24-25).
This is an intriguing psychological exposition. The first speaker makes his boast of becoming, i.e. "I have come to be, [I do not fear]''
(28:20). The Coptic text of this second statement of the confession is not certain. The translation is only an attempt to fill in the damaged line. Although he confesses his becoming, he has no being and thus, will never become (28:22-24). In contrast, 28:26 ff. presents the confession which the Father desires a man to make.
It is striking to observe that the confession of this second speaker begins like that of the first, ie. "I have become."' In this case,
Suppl. to Novum Test., XXV
AN ANALYSIS OF EVANGELIUM VERITATIS
however, the statement contains an unnerving predicate, i.e.
"T have become as the shadows and phantoms of the night."
He means that, ''as the shades and fantasies do not really exist, neither did I." 1! Thus, the one without root claims that he has come into existence, whereas the one who thinks the Father's thoughts confesses that his becoming is found only in the realms of unreality. This is apparently the Gnostic counterpart to the Christian confession of sin and guilt (cf. the tax collector in Luke
18:13, 'be merciful to me the sinner'). The Gnostic confession, however, is void of any sense of guilt and of any responsibility for the unreality which has become his sphere of existence. It has only one thing in common with the confession of the tax collector— the confession of need. The Gnostic confesses that he has become involved in an unreal existence. And yet, the writer says, his very confession means that the Divine light has dawned revealing the unreality of his existence (28:28-31).
IX. THE PARABLE OF THE NIGHTMARE AND ITS MEANING
(28 : 32-30: 14) This section is an expansion on the previous one. In 28:26 ff., the Gnostic confession was seen to touch briefly upon his phantomlike existence, an existence that is said to continue until the dawn of the Father's gnosis. It is this nightmarish life and the deliverance from it that the writer now proceeds to describe vividly.
The introduction (28:32-29:8) sets the scene for the parable that follows. Those who are without gnosis from the Father experience terror, confusion, and instability. The four verbs in the imperfect tense (nNevroer, 28:32; enerner, 29:1; Necyoer, 29:I-2; Ne€vN, 29:5) emphasize that the condition described, though at one time continually true, now has changed through the dawning of Divine gnosis. That is, the description is that of a gnostic who, from his enlightened standpoint, views the darkness in which he once lived.?
1. The nightmare (29:8-25). The parable proper begins with the last word of 29:8. The human condition is like to those who are settled down to sleep and find themselves in disturbing dreams.
1 Grobel, op. cit., p. 117, note 300.
* Cf. the imperfect verb je in Rom. 6:17. Paul's thanksgiving in behalf of the Christians at Rome was that, though once they were constantly serving sin, now the servitude is ended.
THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN BEHALF OF THE GNOSTICS
2. The awakening (29:25-31). With the final word of 29:25, i.e. wa "until," the awakening from the nightmare is introduced.
The clause beginning with wa should be linked to the beginning of the parable in 29:8-11. That is, the human condition is "like to those who are settled down to sleep and find themselves in disturbing dreams... until the moment when they who normally pass through all these things arise"
(29:8-11, 25-28). To this observation, the writer adds that the awakened one realizes that in all the nightmarish experience which seemed so real at the time, he was actually seeing nothing because they (i.e. the troubling dreams) are nothing (29:28-31).
3. The meaning (29:32-30:14). The clause AnupHTe mpHTe me meer (29:32-33) introduces the meaning of the parable. This means that the anspHTe in 29:32 is the complement to the same word found in 29:8. The translation of the entire section, therefore, from 29:8 to 29:35 is to be construed as follows: "Just as those who are settled down to sleep and find themselves in disturbing dreams 29:8-1r ... until ... they... arise, 29:25-26... just so is the way of those who have tossed Ignorance from them'', 29: 3235.1
The author concludes the section by observing that this is the way each one has acted for so long a time as he was without gnosis, and that this is the way of his straightening up (30:6-12). Finally, the writer pronounces a kind of blessing on the Gnostic who has returned to himself and who has awakened (30:12-14). The end of the paragraph comes in 30:14.?
X. THE WoRK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN BEHALF
OF THE GNOSTICS (30:14-3I:1)
The section begins with an ascription of blessing to the Holy Spirit, the first word being the borrowed Greek term makapsoc
(30:14-15). Although Grobel * and Schenke' think that the writer means that Jesus (or the Father) opens the eyes of the blind, it seems quite probable that the Holy Spirit is the subject of both perfect verbs, nTaqyorHt (30:15), and ayrtwt newey (30:17).
Moreover, the Spirit is said to give his hand to those who are 1 The parable (29:8-31) and its meaning (29:32-30:14) will be considered in greater detail in chap. III, propos. II.
2 Thus Schenke, op. cit., p. 45, against Grobel, op. cit., p. 118.
3 Op. cit., p. 119, note 316.
4 Ob. cit., p. 45.
AN ANALYSIS OF EVANGELIUM VERITATIS
prostrate on the ground and to set them on their feet (for not yet before this time had they ever risen up), and to give them the means of understanding the gnosis which comes from the Father, even the revelation of his Son (30:19-26). The man "prostrate on the ground" reminds the reader of the previous section, Le. the parable of the nightmare. The Holy Spirit is presented as the means or possibility (prte, 30:26) of understanding. This idea approaches the teaching on the Holy Spirit found in John 16:12-15, especially v. 14, ""He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you." If the conjunction oraga (30:24) be understood to mean "even"' (cf. the use of x«t in Greek), then the gnosis which stems from the Father is here identified with the revelation of the Son. This shows a high Christology and a ministry of the Holy Spirit not unlike that found in the New Testament. Pl. 30:
28-32 is to be rendered, "He [i.e. the Spirit] allowed them [i.e. the Gnostics] to take and to smell and to lay hold of the beloved
Son." Certainly, to a degree, the writer shows an appreciation for the work of the Spirit as the gospel of John presents it.
XI. THE WorK OF JESUS FOR THE GNOSTICS (31:1-35)
The writer views the work of Jesus as primarily for the Gnostics.
He affirms that hulic men (ovAH, 31:4) were strangers who were never seeing (two imperfects in 31:1-2, i.e. Nevoer and nerner) his form and thus failed to know him (neXrnorcoTWNY, 31:3-4).
Beginning with the causal xe in 31:4, the writer gives the reason why hulic men failed to know him. He appeared ntacyer abad,
31: 4-5) in flesh (capz) which had such a form that no one could obstruct his manner of life.t That there is some reference to the incarnation can hardly be doubted. The text has, however, a special gnostic turn due to the claim of incorruptibility and incomprehensibility for this sarx. It will not do to say that the position of Ev. Ver. relative to the incarnation is the very position which John attacks
(1 John 4:2 and 2 John 7). There is no denial in Ev. Ver. that Jesus Christ has actually come in the flesh, but only the claim that his flesh was of such a nature that no one could obstruct his manner of life in the world.
1 The word for ''manner of life'' is NTSntAaage (31:6-7), a noun formation based on MAADE, the A, form of MOOWE, "to walk.'' The noun formation is equivalent to the Greek noun dvactpogh.
JESUS, THE GOOD SHEPHERD
Beginning with 31:9 and continuing into 31:35, the writer sets forth three evidences of the incarnation.
1. The teaching ministry of Jesus (31: 9-20). No time or place is expressed, but in view of the preceding context, one understands that the text refers to his ministry on earth. The teaching ministry is stated in broad non-specific terms. One can conclude, however, that Divine teaching is mediated through the Son (cf. John 7: 16-17).
2. The complete defeat of Error (31:21-28). The reference to "fetters" calls to mind the captivity in which Error holds men, according to the writer (17:34 ff.).
3. The significance which Jesus has come to have for men.
He is a way for the straying, gnosis for those without knowledge, a discovery for those who were seeking, strength for those who were trembling, and undefilement for those who were defiled (31: 28-35).
XII. JEsus, THE GOOD SHEPHERD (31:35-32:30)
This section is one that closely relates to the New Testament.
It contains four clear divisions.
1. The parable of the lost sheep (31: 35-32:
4). The opening words in 31:35, €NTAgY me ruywe, "He indeed is the shepherd," reveal both a connection with the immediate context (31:28-35) and with the gospel parables of Jesus the shepherd
(cf. Matt. 18:12-14 and Luke 15:3-7 who uses the term mapaBoay, with John 10:1-18,
25-30 where the term is zapotuta). The five Coptic verbs (four in the perfect, one in the temporal tense) of which the shepherd is the subject, parallel exactly the verbal forms used in Matt. 18:12I4, including their order (d&pyoe, mopevbetc, Cytet, evdpety, yatoer).
The Lucan parallel has xatodetre: for apyoct and omits the verb Cytetv. Moreover, Luke includes the additional ideas of the lamb placed on the shoulders of the shepherd and the celebration of the shepherd with his friends. On the whole, one finds that the Ev. Ver. text reproduces the parable in a simple, terse way.
2. The meaning of the parable (32:4-17). The interest of the writer centers in the numbers 99 and roo. As the lost sheep is found, the number 99 which indicates deficiency, becomes 100 which indicates completeness. That is, 99 = the left hand, roo, the right.
It has been observed that Ev. Ver. reflects an ancient method of counting, by means of the left hand (up through 99), and by means
AN ANALYSIS OF EVANGELIUM VERITATIS
of the right (from 100 on).! The real question, however, is, what does the writer of Ev. Ver. mean? a. First, it seems certain that the number 100 is the sign (mWaeine, 32:16) of the Father. Pl. 32:16-17 reads, "'It [i.e. I00] is the sign of the one who is in their voice. It is the Father." The reading movopar, "their voice" (32:17) is difficult, though it probably means that the Gnostics alone can "'voice'' or articulate the Father's name.? Thus, the fact that the shepherd seeks out the one sheep that has strayed means that men by themselves cannot come to know the Father and speak of him, and that without the work of the shepherd the Father would not be known. b. Second, the parable means that completeness is to be found only in the Father ( = the right hand). c. Third, the writer apparently alludes to passages in the New
Testament which refer to the "hand" or "right hand"
(Matt.
25:31 ff.; John 10:25-30; Hebr. 1:13). Moreover, the use of the verb cwk "to draw, attract' (32:12) may be an allusion to the magnetic power of the Father or of Jesus in John's gospel (cf. the use of cw in the Sahidic and A, versions of John 6:44; 12:32).
3. The day of the discovery in the parable (32:18-22). By the clause, ''for the sheep which he found seeing that it had fallen into the pit,' the writer identifies the sheep with the one described earlier (32:3-4). He thus weaves together two different parables of Jesus (Luke 15:4-6 or Matt. 18:12-14 and Luke 14:5) as though they were one. The day is the Sabbath.
4. The lesson derived from the day (32:22-30). Beginning with the conjunction xeKace (32:22), the writer becomes the preacher by directing the attention of the readers first-hand to the meaning of the second part of the parable. As the plates of the original text indicate (by marginal signs) at 32:23 and 32:38, and as the editors have observed,? lines 38-39 are to be read after the first two words of 32:23, i.e. after Mae NOHT. The scribal error was due undoubtedly to homoioteleuton. The scribe discovered the error and remedied it before he completed the page.* Once before (17:28-29) the writer has used the direct approach with his readers. In this case, however, his exhortation is sustained
1 Cf., e.g. the discussion in Grobel, op. cit., pp. 129, 131.
2 Thus Schenke, op. cit., p. 48.
3 Ev. Ver., 'notes critiques," p. 58.
* Cf. Till, Orientalia, N.S., (1958), 278, and Grobel, op. cit., p. 137, note 366.
EXHORTATION TO THE GNOSTICS
continuing into the next section in pl. 33. He draws two meanings from the parable. a. First, the parable is told "in order that you, the children of understanding, may understand... what the Sabbath is, in which it is not fitting that salvation be idle' (32:22-23a, 38-39).
The writer shows not only an awareness of the Jewish economy— there is a Sabbath—but he implies that Divine salvation was operative in that economy. The new thing indicated by the second part of the parable is that Jesus works to bring salvation to men even on the Jewish day of rest. He did this when he was here
(cf. the verb nTayormnTg in 32:19); he continues to do it. Pl. 32:24
-25 is to be rendered, "It doesn't go [cf. Crum, 697b, line 3] for salvation to be idle in it [i.e. in the Sabbath]."' That is, it didn't go when Jesus was here and it doesn't go now. An allusion to the fifth chapter of John's gospel is quite clear in this section. b. Second, the parable is told "in order that! you may speak'"'
(32:26). The parable means that the Gnostics are to bear some kind of witness. Pl. 32:26-30 is to be rendered, "'in order that you may speak concerning the Day which is above—it has no night there— and concerning the Light which does not grow dim because it is perfect."' By the word "Light," the writer probably means Christ.?
That is, just as the section begins with a reference to Jesus the Shepherd, so it closes with a reference to Jesus the Light (also Day) from above.
Thus the two-fold lesson is drawn from the parable. First, salvation is not idle. Second, Gnostics are not to be idle either; they are to speak forth concerning the light which they have received from above. Thus the writer senses that Gnostics have a mission to perform, a witness to bear. It is this note of witness which the writer continues in the next section.
XIII. ExHORTATION TO THE GNOSTICS CONCERNING
THEIR LIFE IN THIS WORLD (32:31-33:32)
The stage has been set for this section by the previous passage on the Gnostic witness (32:22-30). Now the writer is ready to speak in detail concerning that witness.
1 The conjunction of purpose X€KACE introduces both meanings which the parable is said to contain (32:22, 26).
2 Against Grobel, op. cit., p. 139, note 372, but cf. his reference to the Manichaean Psalm-Book 193:19.
AN ANALYSIS OF EVANGELIUM VERITATIS
1. Exhortation concerning the Gnostic word of witness (32 : 31-37).
The imperative wexe occurs twice in this section (32:31, 35), yet the exhortation is basically the same—''speak concerning the Truth ... and Gnosis" (32:35-36). The word of witness is to come from the heart (32:31). The writer affirms that his readers can bear this witness because they are possessed by Divine revelation.
In the clause, "the Light is set (qual. eqyorrtg) in you which does not go out,"' the writer indicates two things; first, the Light is from God, and second, God will sustain this Light in the Gnostics.
The word of witness pertains to the Truth (aTAHE, 32:35), Le. the Truth concerning the Father. It is a discriminating witness, directed to those who seek the Truth. The difference from the witness of the disciples of Jesus is at once apparent (cf. e.g. Matt.
28:18-20; Acts 1:8).
2. Exhortations concerning the Gnostic life of witness (33: 1-32).
In 33:1-8, the first group of six imperatives—all positive—may have been suggested to the writer by the six-fold ministration that the followers of Christ perform in his behalf (Matth. 25:35-36) though there is a clear parallel between only two of the six parts.
Ev. Ver. 33:1-8 Matt. 25:35-36 . Strengthen feet of stumbling ones 1. Hungry—you fed me . Stretch hands to the sick 2. Thirsty—you gave me to drink . Feed the hungry 3. Stranger—you took me in . Give rest to the weary 4. Naked—you clothed me . Raise those who desire it 5. Sick—you visited me
. Wake the sleeping . In prison—you came to me Ankh WN H The text of 33:8-11 is difficult to understand. It seems, however, to mean that as Gnostic believers minister to others (cf. 33:1-8), they, in turn, become stronger.
Another group of imperatives (mainly negative) follow:
1. Take heed to yourselves alone (33:11-12, cf.
1 Tim. 4:16).
2. Do not heed other things which you have cast forth from yourselves (33:12-14).
3. Don't turn back to eat what you have vomited forth (33: 14-16).
Both this prohibition and the previous one express a strong injunction not to go back to the old life of Ignorance and darkness.
4. Do not be moth-eaten, do not be worm-eaten because you have discarded it? (33:14-18). The sentences are apparently a * The third person sing. masc. suffix in the form MAACY (33:18) is difficult.
The antecedent should be a masc. sing. also, whereas the main sentence with
THE FORTUNE OF THE FATHER'S AROMA
development of the thought of 33:13-14. That is, the writer is apparently saying, "Because you have already discarded that life in which moths and worms are active (i.e. the material jAulic existence), don't allow yourselves to become embroiled again in it."
5. Don't give any place to the Devil because you have already brought him to ruin (33:19-21). The verb "bring to ruin" is common in the Coptic New Testament (cf. e.g. r Cor. 15:26; Rom. 4:14).
The writer's thought may be similar to Mark 3:27 where the strong man is bound and rendered inoperative.
6. Don't strengthen your obstacles (33:22-23). The meaning is obscure. Schenke! believes the "'obstacles'' refer to the earthly body, Grobel,? "earthly treasures."
Difficulties in translation and meaning continue from 33:24-30.
Whatever else the passage may mean, the writer does attempt to distinguish a lawless man from a righteous man. As a kind of summary of this entire section, the writer urges his readers to do the will of God (33:30-31), the reason being added, '"'because you are forth-ones of him," i.e. you are from him.
In general, one can conclude that the "negative" imperatives (33: 11-23) provide the necessary back-drop for an understanding of the "'positive'" commands (33:1-8). The Gnostic word of witness
(32:31-37) and life of witness (33:1-32) are geared to one main purpose—to bring to the one who is engulfed in ignorance and darkness the "'gospel'' of the Father's gnosis. This means that those who have stumbled, the sick, the hungry, and the weary
(33:1-5), are not so physically but spiritually. The concern of the writer is not for man's body but for his soul.
XIV. THE FoRTUNE OF THE FATHER'S AROMA (33:3-35:22)
This section begins with an assurance that the Father is gracious and good (33:33-35), and that he has exercised foreknowledge with respect to his sons (33:35-39). The main theme of the section begins at the end of 33:39, "Because the sons of the Father are his aroma" (33:39-34:1). They are the Father's aroma (cTaer) by virtue of the fact that they are forth-ones from the grace of its double prohibition (33:16-17) contains two possible antecedents— '"worm'' and ''moth."' Perhaps the suffix is to be taken as a collective object referring to both antecedents. Till, ZNTW, 50 (1959), 179, suggests that the suffix means "this stage,"' i.e. of life.
1 Op. cit., p. 49, note 5a.
2 Op. cit., p. 145, note 397.
AN ANALYSIS OF EVANGELIUM VERITATIS
his presence. The metaphor of the Father's aroma has two New Testament passages in the background—z Cor.
2:14-16 and Mark 14:3-9 (cf. also Matt. 26:6-13; John 12:3-8). It should be observed that the Matthaean and Markan references connect the anointing incident with the eduyyéov (cf. Matt.
26:13; Mark 14:9) just as Ev. Ver. connects the idea of the Father's aroma with the Logos of the good news of the discovery of the pleroma
(cf. 34:34-36). Thus, according to Ev. Ver., 1. The sons of the Father are his aroma.
2. The Father unstintingly manifests his aroma in every place.
3. The Father's aroma becomes mixed with owAn, i.e. matter (34:5-6). The writer's thought in 34:5-7 is somewhat obscure.
The text may be translated, "And although it [i.e. the aroma] is mixed with matter, he [i.e. the Father] gives his aroma to the Light."" This may mean the eventual separation of the aroma from matter by means of death. Thus the Father demonstrates the complete supremacy of his aroma over everything material, i.e. sight and sound (34:8-9).
4. The Father's aroma can only be sensed by the gift of the Spirit (34:9-12).
5. The Spirit or the Aroma draws the imparted aroma back to the place from which it went forth (34:12-18). The praesens consuetudims wayewk (34:12) points to a recurring work. The paragraph reveals that the aroma that has been given to men is now attracted back to the Father who gave it, i.e. back to the place from which it went forth. For the use of the verb cw, one may compare John 6:44; 12:32 where the A, version uses the same word. Drawn back toward him, the aroma sinks down (34:13) in the aroma of the Father. From 34:9-18a, the text contains one continuous sentence which may be rendered,
"And it [the imparted aroma] sinks down into the aroma of the Father, and he allows it to settle there from whence it [i.e. the imparted aroma] went forth out of that first aroma [i.e. the Father], which [i.e. the imparted aroma] became cold."
Here is the cycle of Gnostic redemption in Ev. Ver. God lays claim to something in the world. The aroma which he himself gave is to find its destiny in the Father. He draws it back to himself.
6. The aroma departs into the world and is delivered (34:181 Thus Grobel, op. cit., p. 149, note 421.
THE FORTUNE OF THE FATHER'S AROMA
34). The aroma that was once warm became cold in the world.
Its fortune, says the writer, is like the fortune of the cold rain that strikes the soil (34:18-22). The warm breeze (= the Holy Spirit) blows upon that soil imparting warmth to the cold water (= the imparted aroma) that has entered the soil, and thus it evaporates ewagqhwrA, 34:24), ie. it is lifted out of the soil back into the atmosphere (= the return of the imparted aroma, now aglow with the warmth of the Spirit, to the Father).
The application of the metaphor begins in 34:27. It may be summed up in three main thoughts. a. The cold aromas are due to (a wall of) separation (34:26-27).
The separation (rusmiw[we]) refers, of course, to the separation from the Father or the Father's place. The imparted aroma left the Father to enter the world, away from the warmth of the Father's love. b. God? came to demolish the wall of separation (34:28-29). c. God came to make the coldness his redemption (34:30-34).
Thus, what pl. 34:28 ff. emphasizes is the Father's concern for his claim in the world, his concern that the wall of separation between him and his imparted aroma (= his elect) might be broken.
In the conclusion of the section, the writer identifies his previous metaphorical treatment with the gospel. His first sentence begins at the end of 34:34 and does not end until 35:6a. It can be rendered as follows:
1 The force of the metaphor has been lost in various translations. Thus Till, ZNTW, 50 (1959), p. 180, Schenke, op. cit., p. 50, Grobel, op. cit., p.
154, and the three translations in Ev. Ver. Supplementum, pp. 5, 25, 31, all give the meaning, '"'to draw, attract' to the verb CWKR (CAR, 34:26). It is true that CWwK has the meaning "to draw" in this very context (34:12). But the verb has also the well-attested meaning to "blow as wind" (Crum, 32524).
Quite probably this is the sense of the verb in 34:25-26. The writer arrived at this meaning of the verb in Ev. Ver. 34:26 quite independently. Later he found the same meaning assigned to the passage by E. Segelberg in an article titled, '""Evangelium Veritatis—a Confirmation Homily and its Relation to the Odes of Solomon," Ovientalia Suecana, VIII (1959), 3-42.
2 Thus understanding with Schenke, op. cit., p. 50, and Grobel, of.cit., p. 155, note 446, the reading MNOwTE in 34:28-29. The reading MNAgTE
"faith" or "'trust,"' is printed in the text of Ev. Ver. Supplementum, p. 4, while the notes critiques, p. 16, suggest that the writer introduces successively in this section the triad of New Testament words—faith, love, and hope
(x Thess. 1:3). Thus "faith" (34:28-29), "'love" (FacanH, 34:31), and "hope" (QEAIIIC, 35:3).
AN ANALYSIS OF EVANGELIUM VERITATIS
"This is the Logos of the good news of the discovery of the pleroma for those who wait before him for the salvation which comes forth from above downward, while stretched out is the (lit. ''their"'] hope of the ones who wait in it, whose likeness is the light which has no shadow."
The sentence emphasizes two things; Divine salvation is a discovery and involved in that discovery is the earnest hope and expectation of men: No less than three times does the writer use the verb caw "'to stretch out." Both the meaning of the word and its repetition lay stress on the human element. Those who possess the hope of the good news resemble the light, "because they are akin to it, because they came from it and are now coming to it.'"'1 It is in response to men who expect his coming that the Father comes and effects their repentance (35:6-23). The work referred to in 35:18 may very well include the sweep of the wider context of this whole section, a work manifested in the Father's aroma, in the response of the imparted aroma to the wooing of the Holy Spirit, in the coming of God, in the discovery of salvation and hope, etc. (33:33 ff.). All of this is a work for falling down, i.e. a work that produces adoration and worship in believing
Gnostic hearts,? "a giving-rest-and-raising-one-up-work"' > (35: 1820). All of this occurs, says the writer, "in (the time of) the discovery of that one who came to him [i.e. to the Gnostic], of that one who will cause him [i.e. the Gnostic] to return'
(35:20-22). Thus, the writer tries to strike a balance between the salvation wrought by God and the human response to it. It is a work of God for only he can give rest to the troubled one and only he can set upright the prostrate one (35:18-20) and only he can cause the straying one to return (35:21-22). Man, however, must make the discovery of this person and of his work, i.e. "of that one who came to him"' and of "'that one who will cause him to return."
The final sentence, "For this return is called repentance''
(AeTANOrA) is a fitting conclusion to this section. The section began with an emphasis on the sons of the Father who go forth as his aroma. Now they return, says the writer, in repentance.
1 Grobel, op. cit., p. 157, note 456.
2 But cf. Grobel, ibid., p. 161, note 469.
° Cf. Till, ZNTW, 50 (1959), 180, eine ruhende Sich-aufrichte-Sache.
XV. THE FATHER'S FULLNESS (= FORGIVENESS)
FOR THE ONE WHO LACKS (35:24-36:13)
The introductory ethe mees "on account of this," in 35:24 shows the close connection of this section to the preceding one.
In order to effect repentance (35:23), the Father (= the Imperishable one) breathes out, i.e. he pursues the one who has sinned
(35:24-26). In one sense the verb nucye (35:25) carries on the thought of the previous section, where, in the metaphor of the aroma from the Father which has grown cold, a breath (breeze, i.e. nuqye) blows on it and it becomes warm (34:25-26). So here, in 35:24-27, in order to bring back the one who has sinned and give rest to him, the Father's breath goes forth in pursuit of the erring one. This text and 32:37 comprise the only references to "sin" in Ev. Ver. The idea of the text is a bold one. The Imperishable one pursues the sinner not to punish him but to give him rest.
With the mention of sin, it is natural to read of forgiveness in the next line (35:27). What is forgiveness? The writer's answer is found in 35:27-29. First, he affirms that forgiveness is the excess of the light (shining) in the Lack (35:27-28). Apparently the writer is emphasizing the boundlessness of the Father
(cf. 35:10-11).
The Divine light always shines, far beyond this material world.
One experiences in forgiveness merely an "'extra'' or an "'excess"' of that Light in much the same way, apparently, that one enjoys the extra or excess of sunlight which strikes the earth. The main point of the definition, however, is that God is at work with the Light of his forgiveness in the very place of Lack or need, i.e. in the material world. The Father has a definite interest in the cosmos.
Second, forgiveness is the word of the pleroma (35:29). It is the manifestation of Divine wholeness or completeness for human lack.
Forgiveness is a Divine word. In this respect, Ev. Ver. is in basic agreement with the New Testament (cf., e.g. Mark 2:5; Luke 7:
48).
By means of the conjunction tap in 35:30, the writer illustrates the point he has made. The Imperishable one pursues the one who has sinned to bring him rest and forgiveness (35:24 ff.): the doctor hastens to the bedside of the one who is ill (35:30 ff.).
No fewer than three marks of the true doctor are found in the parable; he hastens to the bedside of the patient, he desires to be there where the patient is, and he has what the patient lacks."
1 Cf. chapter III, propos. II for a further treatment of the parable.
AN ANALYSIS OF EVANGELIUM VERITATIS
The application of the parable (35:35-36:5) goes far beyond the illustration. The Father's fullness fills the one who lacks in order that he might receive grace (36:1-3). The "'sick one' (wwne) of the parable is now seen to be the one who dwindles away in the place where there is no grace. The brief statement of the parable to the effect that the doctor has what the patient lacks, is developed.
That is, the fullness that the Father manifests to the who is abased is nothing less than the discovery of the Light of the Truth, Truth which cannot change (36:12-13).
The entire section, 35:24-36:13, is dominated by the doctorpatient parable. The Father with his fullness is able and willing to act in behalf of man in his need. Man uncovers the need (cf.
28:26-28). As that need is revealed, the Divine fullness is said to appear and fill the deficient one and enlighten him with the light of Truth.
XVI. THE ANOINTING OF CHRIST (36:13-35a)
The anointing is the mercy of the Father. At the same time the anointing is a seal placed on those whom the Father has filled
(cf. the preceding section). Unlike the anointing-seals with which men seal ordinary jars and which are sometimes destroyed, the anointing-seal of Christ is permanent. Even if lack is found in the human vessel that he has sealed, the Father being perfect ordinarily fills it again. The parable or metaphor of the anointingseals (36:21-29) is intended by the writer to enforce his argument.
The parable contains the following parts:
1. Men anoint a full vessel with a seal.
2. If the seal breaks, the contents of the vessel are lost.
3. A wind blows on the open vessel and the contents evaporate( ?).1
There are also three parts apparent in the application of the parable:
1. Christ anoints those who have received the Father's fullness or completeness (36:19-20).
2. The anointing-seal is the Father's mercy (36:17-18).
3. The seal of the Father on his own is not ordinarily broken, Le. they are kept by him (36:29-32). This third part contrasts
1 The difficulty in rendering 36:27-29 is discussed in Ev. Ver. Supplementum, p. 20, and in Grobel, op. cit., p. 171, note 511. Whether one translates
''a wind draws it," or, "'a wind blows upon it' is not of great importance.
The clause, '"'one with the force which is with it" apparently is to be taken in apposition to "'wind,'' but this is not clear.
THE FATHER'S PARADISE
sl sharply with the parable. The parable ends by observing the possible dissolution of the anointing-seal of a vessel, and thus, the loss of its contents. In the application, however, the writer insists that the anointing-seal is not broken. The text reads,
"But [ava] indeed [NtTagq] from this one who is without lack, no seal is ordinarily separated."' And, the writer adds, should there be any lack, the Father being perfect fills it.
XVII. THE FATHER'S PARADISE (36:35-37:3)
The connection of this section with what precedes is not very clear. One may possibly conclude that just as the Father through his anointing-seal preserves those vessels that are his (36:29-35), so he plants them as his plantings in his Paradise (36:35 ff.).
The concluding statement of this brief section (36: 39-37:3) evidently holds in view the plantings and the paradise. The word nees
(36:39) is singular in number and thus probably has paradise as its antecedent. Paradise constitutes the very acme of perfection in the Father's thought. The word neers (37:2) is plural and thus has nsxo (36:36) as its logical antecedent. Contrary to Grobel,? the prefix mecy in meq AARMER (37:3) probably refers to the Father.
The Gnostics are his plantings and likewise they are the '"'words"' of his meditation.
XVIII. THE FATHER'S WorRD AND WorDs (37:4-18) The following steps are indicated in this section:
1. The words were in the depth of his thought.
2. The Word came forth first. The time of his coming was set by the Father's will.
3. The Word revealed the words and the Father's nous.
The writer emphasizes twice that the Logos was the first to come forth (37:8-9, 15-16). This may be his way of expressing the New Testament idea of Jesus as mpmtétoxog év moAAotc aSeApotc (Rom. 8:29; cf. also Col. 1:15, 18; Rev. 1:5; Hep. tO}.
The Logos alone can manifest the various logot who exist (evo, qual. of expe, 37:7) in the Father's thought. Once again, the writer may be reflecting a New Testament background, e.g. Ephes. 1: 4 seagEato huac ev alt mod xataPoayce xdopov.
Quite clearly, however, whether it be the coming of the Logos or the manifestation
1 Op. cit., p. 173, note 520.
AN ANALYSIS OF EVANGELIUM VERITATIS
of the logoi, everything hinges upon the Divine will. The final sentence (37:15-18) reads, '"'So it happened that he [i.e. the Logos] was the first to come forth at the time when it was pleasing to the will of him who willed it."'
XIX. THE FATHER'S WILL (37:19-38:6)
This section is developed as follows:
1. The satisfaction of the Father in his will (37:19-21). The first sentence is closely linked to the previous one (37:15-18) and is to be rendered, ''Now the will is that in which the Father rests himself and that which pleases him."'
2. The sovereignty of his will (37:21-24). Grammatically, the sense of this sentence could be either, "nothing ever happens without him... apart from his will," or, "no one ever comes into existence without him... apart from his will."
3. The transcendence of his will (37:24-34). A unique idea occurs in 37: 25-26, 'His footstep is the will." A footstep or footprint is that which one leaves behind him as he goes where he wills or does what he wills. The idea seems to be that man cannot embrace
God's will. He can only understand from some trace of his presence that God's will is at work in the world. So transcendent is his will, says the writer, that one can neither know it nor observe it, and, as a result (wyrna, 37:28), one cannot comprehend it. The writer probably alludes to Rom. 11:33.1 The writer continues by insisting that the will of God stands firm even though the sight of that will at work is not pleasing to men, adding that, "The [sovereign] will is in everything before God' (37:29-34). The translation of 37: 33-34 understands nowwuye to be the subject of on which has a verbal meaning, "'to be in" (cf. 18:17; 22:28; 27:14). The ordinary particle nos which precedes the nominative is missing, according to this explanation. Compare, however, 18:16 for a similar omission.
The rendering offered above avoids the insertion of the particle ne after ON Aave such as Till suggests.? The one certain reference in Ev. Ver. to the name "God" occurs in 37:33 (cf. the discussion on 34:28).
4. The eternity of his will (37:34-37). The Father's will spans the extent of time. He knows both the beginning and the end of all
(37:34-35)- 1 Cf. Schenke, op. cit., p. 52.
2 ZNTW, 50 (1959), 182, note 45.
THE FATHER'S NAME
5. The aim of his will (37:37-38:6). Context rules that the noun Toan "the goal,'' expresses the true aim of the Father's will, as the writer understands it. In brief, the Father wills that men receive gnosis of the hidden one (= the Father, cf. 20: 19-20, though cf. also the use of the qual. form of gwm for the Son in 24:12-13; 27:8). The text of 37:38-38:6 may be rendered, '"'Now this is the Father, the one from whom went forth the beginning, the one to whom shall return all of those who went forth from him and became manifest (as) a glory and (as) a joy of his name."
This is one of the clearest sections in Ev. Ver. At the beginning, men went forth from the Father in whom they existed. The goal consists in a return to him by means of redemption, a redemption accomplished as men receive gnosis of him. It is this gnosis of him that enables men here in this world to reveal the glory and joy of his name.
This entire section (37:19-38:6) is important because of the positive way it affirms the sovereignty of the Father's will and for the evident way it differs from other gnostic doctrine. Grobel} draws attention to Irenaeus' statement concerning God's will, a statement which Irenaeus affirms to be diametrically opposed to the gnostic doctrine of his day. Irenaeus writes, Homo etenim a se non videt Deum. Ille autem volens videtur ab hominibus, a quibus vult, et quando vult, et quemadmodum vult.2 The affirmation is in basic agreement with 37:19-38:6.
XX. THE FATHER'S NAME (38: 6-40: 29)
This is the longest section in Ev. Ver. It sustains throughout an emphasis on the main subject. It begins with the claim, "Now the name of the Father is the Son" (38:6-7) and closes with the assurance, ""He gave the name to him who came forth from the depth..." (40:26 ff.).The writer affirms that the Son who is the Logos bears the Father's name and is himself the Father's name.?
The Son is the revelation of the Father (cf. John 14:9; 17:6).
The closing sentence of the previous section prepares the way for this treatment. Those who return to the Father were manifest
(in the world) as a glory and joy of his name (37:3-6). What is the name?
1 Op. cit., p. 177, note 542.
2 Adv. H., IV. 20, 5 (Harvey, op. cit.), II, 216.
3 Cf. Schenke, op. cit., p. 53, note Ig.
Suppl. to Novum Test., XXV
AN ANALYSIS OF EVANGELIUM VERITATIS
The writer answers:
1. The name of the Father is the Son (37:6-7).
2. The Father at the first (Nwapr, 38:7-8, cf. Crwm, 587b) gave a name to the one who came forth from him (38:7-9). To this statement the writer adds, "Yea [entac] he [the Father] is the same [i.e. the Son]" (38:9-r0). This is the reading of the text.
It is comparable to John 10:30, 'I and the Father are one" (RSV).
And yet, "the Father -begot him as a Son'' (38:10-11), perhaps another allusion to the incarnation.
3. The Father gave his name to the Son (38:11-15).
4. The name is invisible (38:16-27). The claim is supported by an argument (38:17-21), '""Because it [the name] alone is the mystery of the Invisible one which comes to ears which are full through it [i.e. through the name]."' If by "name,"' the writer means "nature," then the argument is clear. The Son can be seen and was seen in that he came into the midst (cf. 19:19), but his name, 1.e. his essential nature, is invisible. This is a mystery, says the writer, but it is not insoluble since it comes to the ears of those who are filled with his name (cf. Exod. 6:3; Isa. 9:5-6; Matt. 1:21). The writer insists that the name is great and able to be pronounced by God alone (38:24-27).
5. There are sons of the name (38:28-39:3). Grobel says that the phrase, "'sons of the name," has a Semitic sound. The "'sons" are described as '"'those in whom the name of the Father was resting'' (38:29-30), and who "'rest themselves in his name" (38: 3132). Finally, the writer observes that the very plan of the Father was that his name might be on their heads (38: 36-37).
6. The name is invisible (39:3-8). The writer has already stated this (cf. 38:16-21). Now, however, he contrasts the invisible name with words and titles. It is in a different category from that of words and titles because it is invisible. Only the Father who has given the name to the Son sees it (eqnev apagy ovaeceTy,
39:8). To give a name means to give character. "The name of a thing is the real essence behind, and denoted by, its name." 2
7. The Father's name is for the one who exists (39:9-20). The Father alone can give a name to the Son. The word "alone," oraeeTy occurs frequently in this section (39:7, 8, 9, 17, 18-19,
23-24; 40:19-20), and, with the exception of 39:17 where it refers 1 Op. cit., p. 183, note 565.
2 Ibid., p. 185, note 574.
THE FATHER'S NAME
to the Gnostic, it always describes the Father. The writer observes that existence is necessary for one to possess a name. The text of 39:II-20 portrays two main types of person in this world—the a-gnostic and the gnostic, or, in the words of the text, meTenqiuwoon en "the one who does not exist"' (39: 11-12) and meerntagy eTWOOTT,
"but he who does exist"' (39:15). Grobel! calls attention to the error in the Ev. Ver. translations which make God the subject of 39:11-12, and thus fail to see the contrast between two classes of men. This section should be compared to the section on the Father's will and man's being and becoming (27: 34-28: 31, especially
28: 16-18). In a succinct way the writer states the essential lack of the a-gnostic—he has no name (i.e. no definite nature or character) because he has no being (39:11-14). The description is tautological.
Not to have a name means not to have real existence. The writer has more to say concerning the Gnostic, the one who has being
(39:15-20). The contrast which he represents is set off by the pronoun of contrast ntTagy (39:15, cf. Crum, 232b). The Gnostic is said to exist "with his other name." Neither Schenke? nor Till® show by translation the presence of the adjective rke-, "other, also,' which is found in the form neykepen (39:16). The meaning
"his other name' perhaps indicates a new name distinct from that one received from parents in the cosmos. The sentence,
"He alone knows it" (carne Maa oraeeTy, 39:17) forms a close parallel to Rev. 2:17, "with a new name written on the stone which no one knows except him who receives it'"' (RSV). What is the Gnostic's name or "'his other name?" The writer says that it is the Son (39:19-20). The reference is puzzling. Does it mean that the name is yorotiavéc, or does it mean that the name of Christ is invoked upon the baptismal candidate as he is baptized ?
Certainly it is not the latter. Ev. Ver. has no clear reference to baptism. Perhaps the writer means that the nature of Christ is given to believers (cf. Rev. 3:12; 14:1).
8. Name-giving is the prerogative of the Father; its direction is from the Father to the offspring (39:20-40:2). The believer receives the name of the Son which shows that the Father did not conceal the name "'in the affair" (9m rmugwey, 39:21), ie. in the affair of 1 Tbid., p. 187, note 578.
45 OD, Cit., Ds 54.
3 ZNTW, 50 (1959), 183. Till simply translates, mit seomem Namen.
AN ANALYSIS OF EVANGELIUM VERITATIS
the having, giving, and receiving, of the name.t Thus the Father did not conceal the name but the name was there (ANAa NEqwoon;,
39:22), ie. with him. The contrast in 39:24-26 is probably purposeful. The contrast in Coptic involves a single letter, i.e. between ma "belongs to" and ne "'is."' "Moreover, the name belongs to [rta] the Father just as the name of the Father is [rte] the Son, the compassionate one." The writer means that even though the name is, in one sense, "the name of the Father'' (38:37), yet the Father can bestow this name without any loss to his own being. The Son, however, does not possess the name: He is the name. In no way is he distinct from the name. The Son and the name are synonymous.
Or, as the writer expresses the idea in 40:8, the name is "Lord," the Son is Lord. The Father's prerogative in name-giving is noted also in 39:27-28, '"'Because where is one great of name outside of the. Father." g. The name needs to be understood as the true name, the name
"Lord" (40:2-16). A climax appears to be reached as the writer uses the first personal plural, urging his readers to understand with him what the name really is. The name is the true name (40:5-6).
In 40:6, since the word ense is not otherwise known to exist, Till 2 divides the word into two parts, the negative en and Ge.
The text can thus be rendered, '"'His [name], moreover, is not the name [sent] forth from the Father, because his is that [name] which exists, the name Lord" (40:6-9). The sense is that because the name exists, it cannot come into existence by being sent forth from the Father. What is already in existence cannot come into existence.
It is quite certain that "the name Lord" stands in an attributive position to metwoon "that which exists.'' The phrase thus construed fits in every way the evidence Crum gives (p. 215 a-b) on the use of the genitive particle N with a following attributive.
Some of his examples are as follows:
Josh. 4:7 (B) nisopaanne nrapo "the Jordan river."
Sir. 36:6 (S) whup ppegewke "fellow jester."
1 Till, Ovtentalia, N.S., 27 (1958), 280, shows that Owe is not the equivalent of Quit "secret, "' but of owk "work, event, affair' (cf. Crum, 653a). Both ouwk and Owe are A, spellings, according to the references in Crum. Both spellings are present in Ev. Ver.
2 Orientalia, N.S., 27 (1958), 280.
THE FATHER'S NAME
John 18:17 (S) TOMPAA MaAnooTeE "the maid servant, porter."
(Az) TOMPEA NAneorTe Miss 4 644 (S) meneswT ArtpocbHtTHe "our father, prophet."
C 89 30 (B) ovcon Mwonayoe "a brother, monk."
In each case, whether the relative clause or noun which precedes the n is definite or indefinite, the word that follows and which is joined to m does not have the article. Thus, e.g., in John 18:17
(S) p.wxoaXd has the feminine article preceding it, but wmnoote that is joined to nN does not. The word whrp however, in Sir. 36:6 is indefinite, likewise the noun petyewhe which follows the nN (pbecause of assimilation). Thusin Ev. Ver. 40:7-9, the word netwoon is a definite relative clause. Therefore, the two attributive nouns
(double example of the attributive noun after m) that follow are also to be understood as definite. The proper noun xaese is followed by the noun to which it refers, i.e. "the Lord with respect to name,' = "'the name Lord.' Compare the example given from Josh. 4:7 (B) nmopaanne nsapo, "the Jordan with respect to rivers' = "the river Jordan.''! Thus the writer of Ev. Ver. is saying that the reason why the name does not go forth from the Father is because the name is the name Lord, and because of this it exists with the Father. In another sense, however, the name is given, a fact that the writer has affirmed by repeating the verb
+ pen. The indication is that the Son received the name not on loan (en artorgyen, 40:10, cf. Crum, 503b and the Sah. of 2 Kings
6:5), "according to the way in which each one is supplied with a name'"' (lit. "with it'). The illustration which the writer offers beginning with 40:10 is not clear. Each person is supplied with a name. Does the writer mean that, in this case, the name 7s given on loan, i.e. for the span of life which one lives in the cosmos, at the end of which life it has no further use ? The answer is not clear.
Likewise when the writer says that the Son did not receive the name Lord on loan, does he mean that he received it permanently ?
What the writer does state clearly is that the Father gave the name Lord to no one else (40:13-16).
10. The name was spoken by the Father when the Son came forth 1 The attributive genitive functions (in the above illustrations) like the Greek genitive of content and apposition.
Cf. F. Blass, A. Debrunner, R. W. Funk, A Greek Grammar of the New Testament and other early Christian Literature (Chicago: University Press, 1961), p. 92, § 167.
AN ANALYSIS OF EVANGELIUM VERITATIS
(40:16-29). The writer's idea in this section seems to be as follows: a. The name cannot be uttered except by the Father, the perfect one (Chr -Core1223). b. The Father was pleased to have the name in the Son. c. The Father gave the name to the Son and the Son came forth and spoke the hidden things of the Father.
XXI. THE FATHER'S PLACE AND HIS OWN WHO COME
TO BE THERE (40:30-43:24)
Ev. Ver. opened with the theme of the one who came forth from the pleroma for the redemption of those who were in ignorance.
Now it concludes with an extended description of that pleroma (= the Place) and of those who will enjoy it.
Beginning with 41:5, the writer describes the work of the Son in bringing men to the place.
I. The Son will speak concerning the place (41:5).
2. He will hasten to effect a return to it (41:7).
3. He will hasten to take the Gnostic away from this place, i.e. the world, to that place, i.e. the pleroma (41:8). The infinitive of the compound verb, "'to take away," has no expressed object, but, in view of the context, it may be assumed that the object is the Gnostic. The place from which the Son removes him is the world, further described as "'the place where he stood" (41:9-I0).
This implies that the Gnostic has a life to live as a Gnostic in the world because he stands, i.e. he has gnosis. Men without gnosis are prostrate as men in sleep. Their whole a-gnostic life is an illusory non-existence. But this man stands for he has gnosis.
He stands in the world. This world, however, is not his true home and thus the Son hastens to take him away from the world. The writer affirms, however, that even in the world, the one who stands can taste a portion of that place (= the pleroma) and take nourishment and grow (41:8-12).
Beginning with 41:13, the writer says that the place (i.e. beyond) is the true portion of believers because they are actually tt "'offspring" (?) of the Father (41:14-15) and pleromata (41:15-16) of the pleroma who is their root (41:17, 26). In 41:19-20, Grobel translates, '""He gave them their constitution,' and comments,
"He created them and constituted them as they are." 1 Schenke, 1 Op. cit., pp. 192, 194, and 195 (note 607).
THE FATHER'S PLACE AND HIS OWN WHO COME TO BE THERE
however, comes closer to the meaning. He interprets the verse to mean that he (the Father) set up their limits, i.e. in the Father.
The fact that the pleroma is the place to which gnostics direct their thoughts shows once again that their true portion, according to the writer, lies with the Father. The Father himself is their portion (41: 28-35). His head becomes their resting-place (41: 28-20) and they are welcomed into the pleroma so that they are near
(ostn, qual.) to the Father (41: 30-32), and thus they can say that they have received a portion of his face (i.e. his presence) through his favors (41:32-35).
The portion and presence of the Gnostics in the pleroma is due entirely to the Father (41:35-42:17). A translation of 41:35-42:2 is important in this connection. It may be rendered, "'But [ae] these do not confess in this way [i.e. by saying that they have received a a portion of his presence, cf. the preceding lines, 41: 32-35], because they themselves did not overcome." The particle ae indicates some kind of contrast with what precedes. The translation "do not confess" for ceovang ... en (41:35) has ample confirmation in Crum (487a) as does also the translation "overcome" for p Tite
(Crum, 259b). The sense of the passage seems quite clear. The Gnostics do not confess that they overcame but they do confess that the Father has overcome.? The advantage of this translation and interpretation is its close connection with the context, both the preceding context (cf. the notations above) and the following.
The following passage reads, '""They have not degraded the glory of the Father nor do they consider him as contemptible, nor harsh, nor wrathful'" (42:3-6). The translation ""degraded"' * approximates
Till's rendering, Sie haben weder den Ruhm des Vaters herabgesetzt.* 1 Op. cit., p. 55. Strangely enough, only the Engl. translation of the Ev. Ver. text, p. 109, has sensed that the Coptic noun NOTTWU (41:20) is plural (cf. the French and German renderings by the singular, pp. 45, 83.
Till, Ovrientalia, N.S., 27 (1958), 282, has corrected the German translation.
2 Other translators render these lines in quite a different way. Isenberg, op. cit., p. 160, translates, '"But these of this kind were not manifest, because they have not risen above themselves."' A translation of Till's German rendering is, 'They have not raised themselves above themselves," i.e. they do not consider themselves as more than they are (ZNTW, 50 (1959,) p. 184).
Grobel, op. cit., p. 195, note 614, suggests that the passage means, '"'they have risen above their former selves.'' Cf. also the textual notes of the text of Ev. Ver., p. 60. Amid such diversity of understanding one must exercise caution.
8 Lit., "cut off, " (cf. Gr. xé6mtewv and compounds, also Crum, 5914).
4 ZNTW, 50 (1959), 184.
AN ANALYSIS OF EVANGELIUM VERITATIS
The writer describes who the Father is (42:4-10) adding that the Gnostics are from him and stretch out in ardor after him (42:11-17).
Ev. Ver. closes with a full description of the Father's place and the life of the '""redeemed"' there (42:17-43:24). Their destiny is not Hades but a life of rest in the Father (42:21-23). The "redeemed" know neither envy nor groaning. No death occurs among them nor do they weary themselves in a search for truth, but they themselves are the Truth, for the Father exists in them and they in the Father, and they are never to be separated from the truly Good one (42:18-30). The writer of Ev. Ver. thus recognizes the reality of evil and suffering in this life. And he sees beyond this life. The enlightened ones "'stretch out" after the Unique and Perfect One which means that they recognize that the world is not their home and that the Father is calling them to the fullness of life with him in that place (= the pleroma). One can discern in this description Christian elements (cf. especially Rev. 21:1-4,
22-27). There is, however, at least one important element that is alien to the Christianity of the New Testament. It is found in the statement, "But they themselves are the Truth"
(42:25-26).
The New Testament speaks of the indwelling of one person by another, which may be a blessing (Col. 1:27) or a curse (John 13:27).
But the New Testament knows of no absorption of one person into another, or of concrete persons into abstract concepts. Perhaps the absorption concept in Ev. Ver. is due to the inherent belief in the original unity of all things—in itself a Biblical idea—and to the belief that in the eschatological day, Unity will perfect the spaces (25:9-10). But whatever the reason, Ev.
Ver. suggests that the destiny of the Gnostics is absorption into deityi.e. deification. Ev. Ver. has shown that man's basic need is for gnosis of God's nature which is Truth. To meet this need it declares that the gospel of Truth has come forth from the pleroma (16:31-35) and entered the midst (where men are) through the manifestation of Jesus Christ (26:27-28), and elicited a response from the Father's elect (26:28-32). But, according to Ev. Ver., the destiny of the elect is in the Father. Thus they are caught up into him, absorbed into the Truth which he is. Grobel thinks that this is, "One more example of the tendency of the meditation to identify the redeemed with abstracts which properly describe the transcendent realm.
They are the perfect day 32:32, each is a pleroma 41:16, they are the understanding 33:8; so here they ave the truth. This is probably
THE FATHER'S PLACE AND HIS OWN WHO COME TO BE THERE
4I more than hyperbole for 'you are of the Truth.' It seems to arise from identification of the redeemed with the Redeemer..." !
"But they themselves indeed are the Truth." The syntax of the statement merits attention. The Greek word ada is the strong adversative while mtav, the independent personal pronoun, and pw, an emphatic particle, serve to heighten the contrast.
The word ne is a particle indicating subject and predicate in a nominal sentence. The rule that the particle agrees with the predicate in number and gender is violated since ne is singular and ntav is plural. The syntax is purposeful because the writer wants to identify the redeemed Gnostics with the abstract concept of truth.
A similar emphasis is present in 42:32-36 where, on the one hand, the Gnostics listen to their root, but, on the other hand, they are already those in whom the Father finds his root. Hence the Father will not cause hurt to his soul (42:36-37), his soul being the Gnostics themselves.
In 42:39, the question arises as to the identity of "'the remnant, the rest (of men)." Grobel? suggests that the writer probably means "non-Christian mankind," or possibly a faction in the church.
The term, however, may mean simply potential Gnostics.
The problem in 42: 40-43:3 is an evident contradiction of the writer. He affirms that he has been in the place of rest (eagrugwrte,
43:1), and in the same breath he says that he shall be in it ne}ntawre, 43:3). Grobel suggests that the writer is thus declaring that the experience of the new life is operative here as well as hereafter.2 Thus to paraphrase the passage, "I have settled down there and even now am living the life of gnosis. And yet I shall settle down there fully one day and be occupied all the time with the Father."
The agape of the Father that flows upon the true brothers (43:6-7) seems to echo the words of Paul in Rom. 5:5.4
Ev. Ver. closes (43:9-24) with a description of the character and life of the Gnostics. The description is apparently one of the life which they live in this world.
1. They live truly (43:9-10).
1 Op. cit., pp. 197, 199, note 624.
2 Tbid., p. 199, note 630 (cf. Schenke, of. cit., p. 57, alle Menschen).
3 Op. cit., pp. 199, 201, note 632.
4 Thus Schenke, op. cit., p. 57.
AN ANALYSIS OF EVANGELIUM VERITATIS
2. They witness, i.e. '"they speak concerning the perfect light"'
(43:12-13) which is full of the seed of the Father (cf. 1 John 3:9).
3. They prove to be worthy sons, the kind which the Father loves.
For this cause, his Spirit rejoices within him and gives glory to him (43:16-24).