Adapted from a review
of THE NAG HAMMADI LIBRARY: IN ENGLISH
[Translated by Members of the Coptic Gnostic Library Project of the Institute
for Antiquity and Christianity,
James M. Robinson, Director and General Editor. San Francisco: Harper &
Row, 1977. Pp. xvi + 493.]
by Robert A. Kraft and Janet A. Timbie [updated electronic version of this section,
2002]
An earlier form of this material appeared originally in RELIGIOUS STUDIES REVIEW 8.1 (January 1982) 32-52.
The Nag Hammadi Library and "New Testament Apocrypha" Collections
This rapid survey of the NHL materials shows that the explicitly "Christian" ingredient varies considerably among the various writings. A significant number of tractates claim to speak about Jesus and his immediate companions, although seldom by means of extended narrative reports. The person familiar with "New Testament Apocrypha" collections (most notably those edited by M. R. James or by Hennecke-Schneemelcher-Wilson or by J. K. Elliott) will recognize that NHL provides several new candidates for inclusion in such modern anthologies of ancient Christian literature cast in forms similar to the canonical gospels, acts, letters/homilies and apocalypse. Indeed, the most recent editions already have begun this task of incorporation.
GOSPELS. -- The title "gospel" actually occurs in five writings
published in The Nag Hammadi Library: 1/3 Gospel
of Truth, 2/2 Gospel
of Thomas, 2/3 Gospel
of Philip,
3/2 Gospel
of the Egyptians, and BG 8502/1 Gospel
of Mary. Possibly other NHL tractates of which the titles
and/or subscriptions have not been preserved also bore this designation. But
the four aforementioned "gospels" differ significantly from each other
as well as from their canonical namesakes, and only GTh
and GMary
highlight traditions in which Jesus has a central role as an active participant
(GTruth
is a meditation on the message concerning Jesus, GPh
juxtaposes various anonymously reported teachings; GEgypt
deals mainly with the origins of the heavenly and earthly worlds). None of the
NHL treatises supply explicit narratives about Jesus' activities prior
to his suffering-death-vindication, but several (including GMary
and GTh)
present "the living" Jesus as instructing one or more of his followers,
often in the context of his suffering and/or victory:
5/3 1st Apocalypse of
James -- Jesus' conversation with his brother Jacob/James prior
to as well as after (?) Jesus' suffering (compare also the 2nd
Apocalypse of James);
7/3 Apocalypse
of Peter -- Jesus reveals matters to Peter apparently at the very
time Jesus is being rejected by the Jewish authorities;
2/7 Thomas
the Contender -- Jesus speaks secret words to his twin, Judas Thomas,
prior to Jesus' ascension (l38.23);
1/2 Apocryphon
of James -- Jesus discourses with the disciples (especially James
and Peter) 550 days after his resurrection and prior to his ascension (2.20-24);
BG 8502/1 Gospel
of Mary -- Jesus, presumably after the resurrection, instructs the
disciples and departs from them (Mary, Peter and Andrew continue to discuss
matters);
2/2 Gospel
of Thomas -- a series of sayings by "the living Jesus"
to his disciples (especially Judas Thomas, Peter, Matthew, Mary, Salome; James
the Just also is mentioned);
3/4 Sophia
of Jesus Christ -- Jesus appears on the mountain in Galilee to his
twelve disciples (especially Philip, Matthew, Thomas) and seven women (esp.
Marianne) as "invisible spirit" after the resurrection and reveals
many things;
8/2 Peter
to Philip -- Jesus appears on the Mount of Olives to the apostles
as a great light after he was no longer present "in the body," and
later (in Jerusalem?) he sends them out in peace;
2/1 Apocryphon
of John -- Jesus discourses to John in a revelation appearance sometime
after Jesus had "gone to the place from which he came" (1.13);
3/5 Dialogue
of the Savior -- Jesus discourses and converses with the disciples
(especially Matthew, Judas/Thomas, Miriam) under undesignated conditions.
These ten writings seem to qualify for inclusion as a sub-category of "apocryphal
gospel" materials, and are very similar in some ways to the so-called Epistle
of the Apostles that has been preserved especially in Ethiopic translation
and also depicts the resurrected Jesus teaching his associates. Other fragmentary
"gospel" materials of possibly "gnostic" cast include Gospel
of the Egyptians (from quotations; not the NHL Coptic text),
Traditions
of Matthias (from quotations), and the 11th chapter of Ascension
of Isaiah.
Focus on Jesus and his Followers
The Index of Names will not give the reader much assistance in attempting to locate information about the Jesus traditions in NHL, beyond undifferentiated lists referring to Christ, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Mary, etc. This is unfortunate since NHL contains numerous references to the two poles of Jesus' earthly story -- birth and infancy, death and resurrection -- plus a few other matters. Since this is an area of much popular concern, literature like Dart's The Laughing Savior and Pagels' The Gnostic Gospels will doubtless abound in the next few years.
Jesus as teacher/revealer is especially focal in the NHL, as we have already noticed above. While GTh has spurred on research concerning the origin and development of sayings collections (the old "Q hypothesis" with much wider ramifications), the significance of various aspects of the discourse material for discussions of the Fourth Gospel and the New Testament Apocalypse (especially chapters 1 - 3) as well as early Christian prophecy and apocalyptic perspectives will have a more far-reaching impact in the study of early Christianity.
Of special interest in the NH texts is the focus on certain early disciples -- Judas Thomas, Jacob/James (the brother of Jesus), Peter, Paul, Philip, Mathias, Matthew -- and not the least on "the seven women" (SJC beginning, ApocJas 38.16f), with particular attention to one or more named Mary/Mariam/Mariamme and occasional references to Martha, Salome, Arsinoe. The Index of Names is, of course, useful here. On the whole, however, the disciples serve mostly as the foil for the Redeemer's discoursing, and only occasionally do we learn anything about their independent activities.
/end/