On the Origin of the World
Home > Gnostics > On the Origin of the World On the Origin of the World At a Glance Treatise Genre: (5/5) ***** Reliability of Dating: (5/5) ***** Length of Text: Greek Original Language: Ancient Translations: Modern Translations: Estimated Range of Dating: 270-330 A.D. Chronological List of Early Christian Writings Discuss this text on the Early Writings forum. Text On the Origin of the World Offsite Links French Translation Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia: On the Origin of the World The Nag Hammadi Library in English The Gnostic Bible The Jewish Background of the Gnostic Sophia Myth A Reading Plan for the Nag Hammadi Codices: On the Origin of the World Eros, Orpheus and On the Origin of the World Books Bentley Layton, The Gnostic Scriptures: A New Translation With Annotations and Introductions (Doubleday 1987) Marvin Meyer, ed., The Nag Hammadi Scriptures (HarperOne 2009) Birger A.
Pearson, Ancient Gnosticism: Traditions And Literature (Fortress Press 2007) Recommended Books for the Study of Early Christian Writings Information on On the Origin of the World Marvin Meyer writes, "On the Origin of the World, the fifth tractate in Nag Hammadi Codex II, is a long and thoughtful essay (97,24-127,17) that addresses questions about the creation of the world, the formation of humankind, and the end of the age. In addition to the complete Codex II version, the text is also known from a short fragment from Nag Hammadi Codex XIII and several fragments from a Coptic version housed in the British Library. The text is untitled in the extant manuscripts, and it has been given its present title on the basis of its contents.
Elsewhere in the literature on the text, it is sometimes referred to with the unfortunate title 'Untitled Work,' 'Schrift ohne Titel,' and 'crit sans titre.'" (The Nag Hammadi Scriptures, p. 199) Birger A. Pearson writes, "In broad outline, the tractate as we now have it is organized according to ancient rhetorical conventions, consisting of a prologue (exordium, 97,24-98,11), an exposition (narratio, 98,11-132,2), a confirmation (probatio, 123,2-31), and an extended epilogue (peroratio, 123,31-127,17). In terms of literary genre, however, it is hard to categorize, for it is essentially a compendium of Gnostic ideas taken from a variety of Gnostic sources, and from Jewish apocrypha, Jewish traditions of biblical exegesis, Christian ideals, Greek philosophical concepts, aspects of Greek mythology, magic and astrology, and Egyptian lore.
Much of its mythology is based on early Sethian Gnostic literature. Especially notable is the material it shares in common with the Hypostasis of the Archons (NHC II,4). It also reflects the influence of Valentinian Gnosticism and Manichaeism. The way the tractate is put together, with apparent glosses and excursuses, leads us to believe that it has grown over time. An earlier work has been expanded with new additions to the text, possibly in several stages." (Ancient Gnosticism, pp. 221-222) Marvin Meyer writes, "From the many parallels between the present text and the one immediately preceding it in Codex II, the Nature of the Rulers, it is obvious that there is a relationship between these two texts, though the precise nature of that relationship remains unknown.
Louis Painchaud also sees similarities between On the Origin of the World and Eugnostos the Blessed. Further, the song of Eve, rehearsed in On the Origin of the World 114,2-24, is introduced in such a way as to recall the comments of Adam in Nature of the Rulersr 89,14-17, but the song itself closely follows lines from the poetry of Thunder 13,19-14,9 ... In addition to these parallels, the text of On the Origin of the World includes other features that help it inform and entertain. Within the text are numerous references to additionl literature that, according to the author, may be consulted for further reading, and these references function as viritual notes to the essay. Among these notes are references to two texts of Norea, the First Book of Noraia and the First Treatise of Oraia, and others attributed to Moses and Solomon.