JEWISH SOtJRC‘t:S IN GNOS’I I(‘ t,t’t’ERA’t URE JEWISH SOURC‘ES IN GNOSTIC‘ LITERATURE I Jewish apocryphon, known from various patristic sources.i7 The same apocryphon under that name now extant in Slavonic.26 It is more likely, group used a ‘Gospel of Eve’ and ‘many books in the name of Seth’ (Haer. however, that the Sethian Apocalypse of Abraham was a Gnostic work, in 26:8, 1). The latter would certainly have included strictly Gnostic material view of the very interesting (though late) information supplied by (‘Ialdabaoth’ is mentioned in connection with them, ibid.) and a number of Theodore Bar Konai (8th century) regarding the Audians, a Gnostic sect books in the name of Seth are now to be found in the Nag Hammadi which seems to have been closely related to the Sethian Gnostics, and who Corpus.l8 Non-Gnostic Jewish books in the name of Seth also circulated in used ‘an apocalypse under the name of Abraham’. This apocryphal work, late antiquity, lg though we have no way of knowing whether such were in typically Gnostic fashion, attributed the creation of the world to ‘Dark- included in the Nicolaitan library. 2o A book of ‘Noria’ is said to have been ness’ and six other ‘powers’.27 used among these same Gnostics (Haer. 26: 1,4-9), consisting of a fanciful The church father Hippolytus does not provide much information of use retelling of the story of Noah’s ark, ‘Noria’ in this instance being Noah’s to us in the present connection, but his notices about the Paraphrase of Seth wife.21 (Ref 5: 19, l-22, 1) in use among the Sethian Gnostics should be mentioned Epiphanius records that books in the name of Seth and Allogenes (= here, as well as his discussion of the Gnostic book entitled Buruch (Ref: Seth) were in use among the Sethians and the closely-related Archontics 5:26, l-27, 5). These items are discussed elsewhere in this article.28 (Haer. 39:5, 1; 40:2,2; 40:7, 4).22 These books were probably, in the main, Clement of Alexandria provides some information of possible relevance. Gnostic compositions, but it cannot be excluded that non-Gnostic Jewish He informs us that Isidore, the son and disciple of Basilides, wrote a book Seth books were also in use. 23 Books in the name of Moses were also to be called Expositions of the Prophet Purchor, in which he refers to the views of found in these Gnostics’ libraries (Huer. 39:5,1), and these may have Pherecydes, who in turn was dependent upon ‘the prophecy of Ham.‘2g included such Jewish apocryphal writings as the Testament of Moses, the While both Parchor and Ham have been placed in the company of Jewish Assumption ofMoses, and the Adam-book now known as the Apocdypse of apocrypha,30 it might be better to accept the view of James and others that Moses, as well as others.24 The Ascension of Isaiah is listed by Epiphanius the ‘prophecy of Ham’ was some’ sort of alchemical writing. Who the among the book used by the Archontics (Huer. 40:2,2), and it is to be noted prophet Parchor was is anybody’s guess.31 that this is not a Gnostic book.25 In our primary sources, i.e. the extant Gnostic literature, it is rather rare One other book cited by name by Epiphanius as in use among the to find specific references to sources utilized, or the names of books to Sethian Gnostics (Huer. 39:5,1) is an Apocalypse of Abraham. This docu- which the reader might turn for further information. One such example ment may have been the same apocryphon as the non-Gnostic Jewish can be found, however, in the Apocryphon of John (NHC II, 19,6-10): ‘Now there are other ones (i.e. angels) over the remaining passions whom I did l7 Cf. James, Lost Apocrypha, 7-8; Denis, Introduction, 1 l-12; Stone, Armenian Apocrypha, not mention to you. But if you wish to know them, it is written in the Book 44-45. of Zoroaster.’ Which ‘Book of Zoroaster’ is referred to here (there were la The Gospel of the Egyp tians (III, 68, l-3); the Second Treatise of the Great Seth; the Three Steles of Seth and Allogenes. Cf. Pearson, ‘The Figure of Seth,’ 491-6; and Tardieu, ‘Les Livres de Seth.’ lg Cf. 2 Enoch 33: 10, and Klijn, Seth, 112. Cf. also below, on the apocalypses of Seth cited in 26 See e.g. Denis, Introduction, 37-38; Collins, Apocalypses, 36-37; cf. above pp. 415-8. the Cologne Mani Codex. *’ See esp. Puech, ‘Fragments retrouves,’ 273. The Audians also had a work called the Apoca- 2o The ‘Gospel of Eve’ sounds like a purely Gnostic work, whose title reflects the appropri- lypse (gelyoneh) or Book (Ptiibii) of the Strangers (d%ukr#ye), which told of the seduction of ation by the Gnostics of the Christian use of the term ‘gospel’ as a literary designation. Cf. Eve by the archons (Puech ibid., 274); see now the discussion by Stroumsa, Another Seed, James, Lost Apocrypha, 8; Denis, Introduction, 302. 58-60. This book may, indeed, have been identical to one of the Allogenes books used by the *’ On Norea and the various books related to this figure see below, pp. 464-9. Cf. also Denis, Archontic (Sethian) Gnostics, according to Epiphanius, who uses the plural form Allogeneis in Introduction, 301. his discussion: Haer. 40:2,2 (Archontics); 39:5, 1 (Sethians). Allogenes (‘stranger’) is a Gnostic 22 Cf. Pearson, ‘The Figure of Seth,’ 495. name for Seth. Cf. Pearson, ‘The Figure of Seth,’ 486. It should be noted that Epiphanius’ *a Cf. n. 19, above. discussion of the Audians (Haer. 70) is clearly deficient; for example, one could not guess, from 24 On the Testament of Moses and the Assumption of Moses see the articles in Nickelsburg, the information given by him, that the Audians were Gnostics. Studies on the Testament of Moses, and Denis, Introduction, 128-41; cf. also above pp. 344-9. ** On the Paraphrase of Seth see the discussion of the Paraphrase of Shem, below, p. 475. On On the Apocalypse of Moses see e.g. Denis, Introduction, 3-7. For another Moses book cited in a Baruch see below, p. 470, and n. 177. Gnostic source, ofa sort which may also have been in use among the Sethians, see below, on the *’ Strom. 6:6, 53, 5. Cf. Foerster, Gnosis 2, 82. ‘Archangelike of Moses the Prophet,’ cited in Orig. World. 3o Cf. Oepke, ‘BipXob &nbxpucpo~ in Christianity’, 994. 2:1 See e.g. Denis, Introduction, 170-6; Hennecke-Schneemelcher, Apocrypha 2, 642-63; cf. 31 Cf. James, Lost Apocrypha, 16, on Ham. Parchor may be the same as Barkdph, who with Nickelsburg, above p. 52-56 (on the Martyrdom of Isaiah, of which the Ascension of Isaiah is Barkabbas is named as a Basilidian prophet by Eusebius (Hist. cccl. 4: 7, 7). Barkabbas is now a part). named as a prophet of the Nicolaitan Gnostics by Epiphanius (Haer. 26:2,2). 446 447 JEWISH SOUR<‘t:S IN GNOST I(‘ LI IkRA I URE JEWISH SOIJKC‘ES IN GNOSTI(‘ LITERATURE apparently many in circulation in Gnostic groups in late antiquity)“2 we tioned, we are pretty much in the dark. 4o ‘Hieralaias the prophet’ is other- have no way of knowing. That it might have had a Jewish colouration is not wise unknown. The subject of his book is apparently cosmology (cf. 112, to be excluded as a possibility.33 lo-25), as is that of the ‘Schemata,’ which also refers to the various ‘good One Nag Hammadi tractate has a number of references to other books, powers’ which inhabit the various levels of the cosmos (cf. 107,4-17). ‘The some of which may be of Jewish origin or colouration. I refer to the treatise Holy Book’ is a Gnostic document of Jewish colouration.41 On the Origin of the World, wherein reference is made to the following In Pistis Sophiu, a Coptic Gnostic manuscript (the Askew Codex) titles: 1. ‘The Archangelike of Moses the Prophet’ (II, 102, 8-9); 2. ‘The discovered in the 18th century, Jesus is quoted as follows:42 First Book of Noraia’ (102, IO-I 1) = ‘The First Logos of Noraia’ (102, 24-25); 3. ‘The Book of Solomon’ (107, 3); 4. ‘The Seventh Cosmos of Because even for the righteous themselves who have never done evil Hieralaias the Prophet’ (112,23-25); 5. ‘The Schemata of the Heimarmene (= the Gnostics), and have not committed sins at all, it is necessary of the Heaven Which is Beneath the Twelve’ (107, 16- 16); and 6. ‘The Holy that they should find the mysteries which are in the Books of Jeu, Book’ (1 IO, 20; 122, 12-13). which I caused Enoch to write in Paradise when I spoke with him The first-named book may have some connection with a magical text from the Tree of Knowledge and from the Tree of Life. And I caused edited by Reitzenstein, an ‘archangelic hymn which God gave to Moses on him to place them in the rock of Ararad, and I placed the archon Mt. Sinai.‘34 The second one recalls the ‘Book of Noria’ already cited in Kalapatauroth, which is over Gemmut, upon whose head are the feet connection with the Nicolaitan Gnostics known to Epiphanius.35 It has also of Jeu, and who goes round all the aeons and the Heimarmene (i.e.