The Teachings of Silvanus
Home > Gnostics > The Teachings of Silvanus The Teachings of Silvanus 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: 250-300 A.D. Chronological List of Early Christian Writings Discuss this text on the Early Writings forum. Text The Teachings of Silvanus Offsite Links French Translation Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia: The Teachings of Silvanus Nag Hammadi Codex VII The facsimile edition of the Nag Hammadi Codices Studies in Gnosticism and Alexandrian Christianity God and Man in "The Teachings of Silvanus" Gnosticism: Beliefs and Practices The New Testament and Gnosis The Ransom Logion in Mark and Matthew: Its Reception and Its Significance Along the Path: Studies in Kabbalistic Myth, Symbolism, and Hermeneutics On Not Being a Sausage 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 the Teachings of Silvanus Birger A. Pearson writes, "The Teachings of Silvanus is the only non-Gnostic tractate in Nag Hammadi Codex VII and one of the few non-Gnostic tractates in the corpus as a whole. In form, it is a wisdom writing similar to classical Jewish wisdom compendia such as the biblical book of Proverbs or the deuterocanonical Ecclesaisticus (Sirach). In such literature a teacher offers instruction and admonition to a pupil whom he refers to as his 'son.' The tractate also utilizes two other literary genres common in early Hellenistic Judaism, the 'diatribe' form, derived from popular Stoic and Cynic philosophy, and the 'Hellenistic hymn,' in which praises are offered up to God or to personified Wisdom.
Pagan examples of the latter are the hymns or aretalogies associated with the cult of the Greco-Egyptian goddess Isis." (The Nag Hammadi Scriptures, p. 499) P. Bruns writes, "A Coptic treatise in the Nag Hammadi library (NHC 7, 4) contains the teachings of a certain Silvanus. It contains a hortatory address with sapiental teachings of Jewish-Egyptian provenance and a gnostic anthropology and christology. Redemption takes place through the acquisition of a liberating knowledge that is brought by Christ the redeemer and enables those living an enslaved existence to free themselves from the bondage of the material through asceticism and mortification and to make the journey hom to the divine pleroma." (Dictionary of Early Christian Literature, p.
537) Birger A. Pearson writes, "There can be no question where this author was active, namely, Alexandria. Although the original Greek version of the Teachings of Silvanus as we know it in translation has been dated to the fourth century, after the Council of Nicea in 325, it more likely comes from a time before Nicea. Since the tractate reflects knowledge of the teachings of Origen, it should probably be dated to sometime after his death in 254, sometime in the late third century. What is important to remember, however, is that the tractate contains very early material, including traditions that could even go back to first-century Alexandrian Christianity." (The Nag Hammadi Scriptures, pp.
502-503) Some Contemporary Texts Firmilian of Caesarea (230-268 A.D.) Commodian (240-260 A.D.) Cyprian (246-258 A.D.) Gospel of Mani (250-274 A.D.) Teachings of Silvanus (250-300 A.D.) Excerpt from the Perfect Discourse (250-300 A.D.) Coptic Apocalypse of Elijah (250-350 A.D.) Apocalypse of Paul (250-400 A.D.) Pope Cornelius (251-253 A.D.) Go to the Chronological List of all Early Christian Writings Please buy the CD to support the site, view it without ads, and get bonus stuff! Early Christian Writings is copyright © Peter Kirby <E-Mail&gt. Follow @mrpeterkirby MLA Style Kirby, Peter. "The Teachings of Silvanus." Early Christian Writings. <http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/silvanus.html>.