Nag Hammadi Codex II
Encyclopedia
Nag Hammadi Codex II is a papyrus
codex with a collection of early Christian Gnostic texts
in Coptic
(Sahidic dialect). The manuscript has survived in nearly perfect condition. The codex is dated to the 4th century. It is the only complete manuscript with the text of the Gospel of Thomas
.
The text is written in uncial letters. It is well written in an informal book hand. There is no punctuation, no division between sayings. The nomina sacra
are contracted in an usual way, the words at the end of each line are abbreviated and it uses ligatures, including staurograms.
The manuscript was written by two scribes (A and B). Scribe B copied only the first 8 lines of page 47 and is not otherwise represented in the Nag Hammadi collection. Scribe A copied all leaves except the 8 lines on page 47, employed several styles, and left some blank pages because the text from which he copied was imperfect or illegible (probably). Scribe A is identical with the scribe of Codex XIII
.
It was discovered in 1945 at Nag Hammadi
. It was first published in a photographic edition in 1956. The leaves of the codex were separated in 1957 and rejoined in 1974–1975.
On June 8, 1952 the Coptic Museum
received the codex. Currently the manuscript is housed at the Department of manuscripts of the Coptic Museum
(Inv. 10544) in Cairo
.
Greek manuscripts
Papyrus
Papyrus is a thick paper-like material produced from the pith of the papyrus plant, Cyperus papyrus, a wetland sedge that was once abundant in the Nile Delta of Egypt....
codex with a collection of early Christian Gnostic texts
Gnosticism
Gnosticism is a scholarly term for a set of religious beliefs and spiritual practices common to early Christianity, Hellenistic Judaism, Greco-Roman mystery religions, Zoroastrianism , and Neoplatonism.A common characteristic of some of these groups was the teaching that the realisation of Gnosis...
in Coptic
Coptic language
Coptic or Coptic Egyptian is the current stage of the Egyptian language, a northern Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Egypt until at least the 17th century. Egyptian began to be written using the Greek alphabet in the 1st century...
(Sahidic dialect). The manuscript has survived in nearly perfect condition. The codex is dated to the 4th century. It is the only complete manuscript with the text of the Gospel of Thomas
Gospel of Thomas
The Gospel According to Thomas, commonly shortened to the Gospel of Thomas, is a well preserved early Christian, non-canonical sayings-gospel discovered near Nag Hammadi, Egypt, in December 1945, in one of a group of books known as the Nag Hammadi library...
.
Description
The manuscript was written on papyrus in the form of a codex. The measurements of the leaves are 254 mm by 158 mm. Originally the codex contained 76 unnumbered leaves, now 74 leaves. It is written in Sahidic dialect. Pages A–B are blank. The codex contains:- The Apocryphon of JohnApocryphon of JohnThe Secret Book of John is a 2nd-century AD Sethian Gnostic text of secret teachings. Since it was known to the church father Irenaeus, it must have been written before around AD 180. It describes Jesus Christ appearing and giving secret knowledge to the apostle John...
- The Gospel of ThomasGospel of ThomasThe Gospel According to Thomas, commonly shortened to the Gospel of Thomas, is a well preserved early Christian, non-canonical sayings-gospel discovered near Nag Hammadi, Egypt, in December 1945, in one of a group of books known as the Nag Hammadi library...
, a sayings gospel, pages C–D blank - The Gospel of PhilipGospel of PhilipThe Gospel of Philip is one of the Gnostic Gospels, a text of New Testament apocrypha, dating back to around the third century but lost to modern researchers until an Egyptian peasant rediscovered it by accident, buried in a cave near Nag Hammadi, in 1945...
- The Hypostasis of the ArchonsHypostasis of the ArchonsThe Hypostasis of the Archons or The Reality of the Rulers is an exegesis on the Book of Genesis 1-6 and expresses Gnostic mythology of the creations of the cosmos and humanity.- Text's Origin and Content :...
- On the Origin of the WorldOn the Origin of the World (Nag Hammadi)On the Origin of the World is a Gnostic work dealing with creation and end times. It was found amongst the texts in the Nag Hammadi library, in Codex II and Codex XIII, immediately following the Reality of the Rulers, with many parallels between the two texts In particular, it rethinks the entire...
- The Exegesis on the SoulExegesis on the soulThe Exegesis on the Soul is one of the ancient texts found at Nag Hammadi, in Codex II. Its purpose is to teach that the soul is a woman which fell from perfection into prostitution, and that the Father will elevate her again to her original perfect state...
- The Book of Thomas the ContenderBook of Thomas the ContenderThe Book of Thomas the Contender, also known more simply as the Book of Thomas , is one of the books of the New Testament apocrypha represented in the Nag Hammadi library , a cache of Gnostic gospels secreted in the Egyptian desert...
.
The text is written in uncial letters. It is well written in an informal book hand. There is no punctuation, no division between sayings. The nomina sacra
Nomina sacra
Nomina sacra means "sacred names" in Latin, and can be used to refer to traditions of abbreviated writing of several frequently occurring divine names or titles in early Greek language Holy Scripture...
are contracted in an usual way, the words at the end of each line are abbreviated and it uses ligatures, including staurograms.
The manuscript was written by two scribes (A and B). Scribe B copied only the first 8 lines of page 47 and is not otherwise represented in the Nag Hammadi collection. Scribe A copied all leaves except the 8 lines on page 47, employed several styles, and left some blank pages because the text from which he copied was imperfect or illegible (probably). Scribe A is identical with the scribe of Codex XIII
Nag Hammadi Codex XIII
Nag Hammadi Codex XIII is a papyrus codex with a collection of early Christian Gnostic texts in Coptic . The manuscript is dated to the 4th century.- Description :...
.
It was discovered in 1945 at Nag Hammadi
Nag Hammâdi
Nag Hammadi , is a city in Upper Egypt. Nag Hammadi was known as Chenoboskion in classical antiquity, meaning "geese grazing grounds". It is located on the west bank of the Nile in the Qena Governorate, about 80 kilometres north-west of Luxor....
. It was first published in a photographic edition in 1956. The leaves of the codex were separated in 1957 and rejoined in 1974–1975.
On June 8, 1952 the Coptic Museum
Coptic Museum
The Coptic Museum is a museum in Coptic Cairo, Egypt with the largest collection of Egyptian Christian artifacts in the world. It was founded by Marcus Simaika Pasha in 1910 to house Coptic antiquities. The museum traces the history of Christianity in Egypt from its beginnings to the present day...
received the codex. Currently the manuscript is housed at the Department of manuscripts of the Coptic Museum
Coptic Museum
The Coptic Museum is a museum in Coptic Cairo, Egypt with the largest collection of Egyptian Christian artifacts in the world. It was founded by Marcus Simaika Pasha in 1910 to house Coptic antiquities. The museum traces the history of Christianity in Egypt from its beginnings to the present day...
(Inv. 10544) in Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
.
See also
Coptic manuscripts- British Library Or 4926British Library Or 4926British Library Or 4926 , known also as P. Lond. Copt. 522 , is a papyrus codex with a collection of early Christian Gnostic texts in Coptic . The manuscript has survived in a fragmentary condition. The codex is dated to the 4th century...
- Nag Hammadi Codex XIIINag Hammadi Codex XIIINag Hammadi Codex XIII is a papyrus codex with a collection of early Christian Gnostic texts in Coptic . The manuscript is dated to the 4th century.- Description :...
Greek manuscripts
- Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 1Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 1Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 1 is a papyrus fragment of the logia of Jesus written in Greek. It was the first of the Oxyrhynchus Papyri discovered by Grenfell and Hunt in 1897 in the Egyptian town of Oxyrhynchus. The fragment is dated to the early half of the 3rd century...
- Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 654Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 654Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 654 is a papyrus fragment of the logia of Jesus written in Greek. It is one of the Oxyrhynchus Papyri discovered by Grenfell and Hunt between 1897 and 1904 in the Egyptian town of Oxyrhynchus. The fragment is dated to the middle or late of the 3rd century...
- Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 655Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 655Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 655 is a papyrus fragment of the logia of Jesus written in Greek. It is one of the Oxyrhynchus Papyri discovered by Grenfell and Hunt between 1897 and 1904 in the Egyptian town of Oxyrhynchus. The fragment is dated to the early 3rd century...
Further reading
- Nicholas PerrinNicholas PerrinNicholas Perrin is a scholar of New Testament and early Christianity. He is currently Associate Professor of New Testament at Wheaton College, Illinois...
, HC II,2 and the Oxyrhynchus Fragments (P. Oxy 1, 654, 655): Overlooked Evidence for a Syriac "Gospel of Thomas", Vigiliae Christianae, Vol. 58, No. 2 (May, 2004), pp. 138–151 - Bentley LaytonBentley LaytonBentley Layton , is Professor of Religious Studies and Professor of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at Yale University...
, Nag Hammadi codex II, 2–7: together with XIII, 2*, Brit. Lib. Or.4926(1), and P.OXY. 1, 654, 655 : with contributions by many scholars, BRILL, 1989.