This is the most complete, up-to-date, one-volume, English-language edition of the renowned library of fourth-century Gnostic manuscripts discovered in Egypt in 1945, which rivaled the Dead Sea Scrolls find in significance. It includes the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Mary, and the recently discovered Gospel of Judas, as well as other Gnostic gospels and sacred texts. This volume also includes introductory essays, notes, tables, glossary, index, etc. to help the reader understand the context and contemporary significance of these texts which have shed new light on early Christianity and ancient thought.
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About the Author
Marvin Meyer is one of the foremost scholars on early Christianity and texts about Jesus outside the New Testament. He is Griset Professor of Bible and Christian Studies at Chapman University in Orange, California. Among his recent books are The Gospel of Judas, The Gnostic Gospels of Jesus, The Gospels of Mary, The Gospel of Thomas, and The Nag Hammadi Scriptures.
James M. Robinson, consultant for this collection, is widely known for his groundbreaking contribution as the permanent secretary of UNESCO's International Committee for the Nag Hammadi codices, and his many published works on Gnostic texts and the Sayings Gospel Q.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
124 of 127 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Whoever seeks life, this is their wealth. For the world's rest is false, and its gold and silver are deceptive.
June 14, 2010
By John E. Hart
Format:Paperback
For the title of this review I chose an excerpt from "The Dialogue of the Savior" which belonged to NHC III,5. On my quest to better understanding 'gnosticism' I first read Andrew Phillip Smith's book titled, "The Gnostics". His brief treatise on the overall scope of what gnosticism is really all about provided me with a more concise understanding of this exhaustive, scholarly translation of the Nag Hammadi text.
This book is by far the most complete and in-depth translation to date and will probably never be equaled. Scholars such as Marvin Meyer, Elaine Pagels, Madeleine Scopello, Einar Thomassen and John D. Turner are just a few of the names involved with the translation of the Nag Hammadi scriptures. There is an array of backgrounds involved which ultimately provide very different interpretations of the text, but this diversity only helps the reader to draw his/her own conclusions as to interpretation.
One positive aspect to this book is decision NOT to guess what the translation might have been. Quite frankly, much of the text within certain tractates were severely damaged and/or missing. Instead of guessing or including what the text may have said, Meyer and others, merely let the reader know that much of the text itself is missing. This is, of course refreshing, as many modern translations of either other Gnostic or Essene texts, such as the Dead Sea Scrolls, authors will simply insert modern lexicons assuming that it follows suit to what we have today. Meyer and company don't do this, instead they provide a well documented, heavily footnoted, scholarly work. On many occasions, they provide un-biased opinions of certain words and supply the several meanings to what the word could have meant, allowing for the reader themselves to feel as if they are partaking in the translation.
Many of the text can be deciphered as being either Sethian or Valentinian (the names of the two 'truly' gnostic Christian sects). In the beginning of each tractate, an in-depth analysis of the text is provided, supplying interpretation and the dating of the text as well as to the importance of each.
One such text that doesn't perceive to have an origin is the Gospel of Thomas. It has no markers of being either Sethian or Valentinian and as some scholars have suggested, could very well be the 'Q' source that the Synoptic Gospels themselves are based off of. This is by far a minority viewpoint, but nevertheless, an intriguing claim.
This is a must have treatise to any library and it is clear that the Gnostics were well ahead of their time concerning "gnosis," or knowledge, they had achieved with interpretation of the scriptures, something they felt no one else had.
This book is by far the most complete and in-depth translation to date and will probably never be equaled. Scholars such as Marvin Meyer, Elaine Pagels, Madeleine Scopello, Einar Thomassen and John D. Turner are just a few of the names involved with the translation of the Nag Hammadi scriptures. There is an array of backgrounds involved which ultimately provide very different interpretations of the text, but this diversity only helps the reader to draw his/her own conclusions as to interpretation.
One positive aspect to this book is decision NOT to guess what the translation might have been. Quite frankly, much of the text within certain tractates were severely damaged and/or missing. Instead of guessing or including what the text may have said, Meyer and others, merely let the reader know that much of the text itself is missing. This is, of course refreshing, as many modern translations of either other Gnostic or Essene texts, such as the Dead Sea Scrolls, authors will simply insert modern lexicons assuming that it follows suit to what we have today. Meyer and company don't do this, instead they provide a well documented, heavily footnoted, scholarly work. On many occasions, they provide un-biased opinions of certain words and supply the several meanings to what the word could have meant, allowing for the reader themselves to feel as if they are partaking in the translation.
Many of the text can be deciphered as being either Sethian or Valentinian (the names of the two 'truly' gnostic Christian sects). In the beginning of each tractate, an in-depth analysis of the text is provided, supplying interpretation and the dating of the text as well as to the importance of each.
One such text that doesn't perceive to have an origin is the Gospel of Thomas. It has no markers of being either Sethian or Valentinian and as some scholars have suggested, could very well be the 'Q' source that the Synoptic Gospels themselves are based off of. This is by far a minority viewpoint, but nevertheless, an intriguing claim.
This is a must have treatise to any library and it is clear that the Gnostics were well ahead of their time concerning "gnosis," or knowledge, they had achieved with interpretation of the scriptures, something they felt no one else had.
81 of 91 people found the following review helpful
By tepi
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
The Nag Hammadi Scriptures: The Revised and Updated Translation of Sacred Gnostic Texts - The International Edition. Edited by Marvin Meyer. New York: Harper Collins, 2008. Paperback, 844 pages. ISBN 9780061626005
The present work, as the most complete and up-to-date English-language edition of the Nag Hammadi Scriptures, is probably the finest available edition for the general reader today and should appeal to a wide range of readers with varying interests.
Judging by the reviews, most readers seem to come to these texts with a strong Biblical background and are surprised to see how strikingly different they can be to the Bible.
In my own case I come to them with a background in Asian thought and am amazed at how strikingly similar they can at times be to the sacred texts of the East.
This is understandable since, as Duncan Greenlees pointed out in his excellent anthologyThe Gospel of The Gnostics (page xxvi): "We have not yet worked out the actual influence of India upon the Western ... Gnostics; yet it is clear to the sympathetic, and therefore to the honest, student it must have been very great. At times we can almost recognize a direct quotation from some Indian scripture."
To realize that he is right we need only turn, for example, to logion 24 of the Gospel of Thomas where we find Jesus saying (page 143):
"There is light within a person of light, and it shines on the whole world. If it does not shine, it is dark."
Turning next to the Astavakra Samhita II.8, which Dr. Satkari Mookerjee in his Introduction explains "is a very early and pure Advaitic text which gives us the essentials of the Advaita Vedanta position," we find King Janaka announcing to the sage Ashtavakra:
"Light is my very nature; I am no other than light. When the universe manifests itself, verily then it is I that shine."
The translator comments: "The nature of the Self is Effulgence itself. Whatever is manifested is nothing but the Self. The manifestation of the world really implies the manifestation of the Self."
We should note that in Vedanta this Light (Skt. prakasha) is a property, not of a God-man such as Jesus, but of ordinary men such as King Janaka, or you and me.
We are dealing here with something very deep, far too deep to go into here. Readers whose curiosity may have been aroused should check out my Listmania List: The Ashtavakra Gita - A Very Early and Pure Advaita Text. This will set them on the path to understanding what logion 24 is really all about, and possibly much else in The Nag Hammadi Scriptures.
The present work, as the most complete and up-to-date English-language edition of the Nag Hammadi Scriptures, is probably the finest available edition for the general reader today and should appeal to a wide range of readers with varying interests.
Judging by the reviews, most readers seem to come to these texts with a strong Biblical background and are surprised to see how strikingly different they can be to the Bible.
In my own case I come to them with a background in Asian thought and am amazed at how strikingly similar they can at times be to the sacred texts of the East.
This is understandable since, as Duncan Greenlees pointed out in his excellent anthologyThe Gospel of The Gnostics (page xxvi): "We have not yet worked out the actual influence of India upon the Western ... Gnostics; yet it is clear to the sympathetic, and therefore to the honest, student it must have been very great. At times we can almost recognize a direct quotation from some Indian scripture."
To realize that he is right we need only turn, for example, to logion 24 of the Gospel of Thomas where we find Jesus saying (page 143):
"There is light within a person of light, and it shines on the whole world. If it does not shine, it is dark."
Turning next to the Astavakra Samhita II.8, which Dr. Satkari Mookerjee in his Introduction explains "is a very early and pure Advaitic text which gives us the essentials of the Advaita Vedanta position," we find King Janaka announcing to the sage Ashtavakra:
"Light is my very nature; I am no other than light. When the universe manifests itself, verily then it is I that shine."
The translator comments: "The nature of the Self is Effulgence itself. Whatever is manifested is nothing but the Self. The manifestation of the world really implies the manifestation of the Self."
We should note that in Vedanta this Light (Skt. prakasha) is a property, not of a God-man such as Jesus, but of ordinary men such as King Janaka, or you and me.
We are dealing here with something very deep, far too deep to go into here. Readers whose curiosity may have been aroused should check out my Listmania List: The Ashtavakra Gita - A Very Early and Pure Advaita Text. This will set them on the path to understanding what logion 24 is really all about, and possibly much else in The Nag Hammadi Scriptures.
76 of 93 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
"Split the Wood and I Am There; Lift the Stone and You Will Find Me."
July 4, 2009
Format:Paperback
The Gospel of Thomas is likely the best-known of the extra-biblical texts found at the Egyptian village of Nag Hammadi in 1945, as it offers evidence of the early compilation of sayings of Jesus which overlap (in part) and supplement (in other parts) New Testament writings. Numerous editions of the Gospel of Thomas in English translation have been published. Those seeking popular, non-techical translations of Thomas will do well with those by Marvin Meyer, Stevan Davies, Stephen Patterson and others. A more comprehensively annotated version of Thomas is that of April DeConick, who includes numerous ancient parallels to each saying attributed to Jesus (saying number 77 is given as the title to this review).
Those seeking to study Thomas in context with the rest of the Nag Hammadi texts may turn to Bentley Lion (Anchor Bible Reference Library), James Robinson (Nag Hammadi Library), and, now, Meyer's compilation (Nag Hammadi Scripture), the latter expanded to include the Gospels of Mary and Judas as well. Those seeking basic translations with brief introductions to many of these (and other) early Christian texts may turn to Bart Ehrman's "Lost Scriptures." Willis Barnstone's "Gnostic Bible" (now also available in briefer, excerpted form with accompanying CD) offers a more readable if less scholarly format which includes a selection of ancient "gnostic" texts beyond those found at Nag Hammadi. For a look at what "gnostic" means to begin with, and whether it is a useful category to place (confine?) texts in at all, Karen King provides a helpful overview.
Those seeking to study Thomas in context with the rest of the Nag Hammadi texts may turn to Bentley Lion (Anchor Bible Reference Library), James Robinson (Nag Hammadi Library), and, now, Meyer's compilation (Nag Hammadi Scripture), the latter expanded to include the Gospels of Mary and Judas as well. Those seeking basic translations with brief introductions to many of these (and other) early Christian texts may turn to Bart Ehrman's "Lost Scriptures." Willis Barnstone's "Gnostic Bible" (now also available in briefer, excerpted form with accompanying CD) offers a more readable if less scholarly format which includes a selection of ancient "gnostic" texts beyond those found at Nag Hammadi. For a look at what "gnostic" means to begin with, and whether it is a useful category to place (confine?) texts in at all, Karen King provides a helpful overview.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Quite a bit to think about ...
This isn't a book! It's actually a magic portal through which the reader tumbles from one dimension to another. Read more
Published 10 days ago by Roger H. Fisher
4.0 out of 5 stars
Modern translation
Opens these ancient writings for the beginning study of writings of the same historical period as Christian scriptures.. Interesting and more easily read.
Published 11 days ago by Housekeeper
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is an amazing collection of early Christian Gnostic writings
This is an amazing collection of early Christian Gnostic writings. Even though there are many of these texts that echo the Roman, Greek, Egyptian, and Hindu mythologies of sacred... Read more
Published 17 days ago by Raymond J. Jerome
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Nag Hammadi Scriptures
Crazy hard to read, the hardest reading i have done so far, like reading all that eastern, "everything is nothing and nothing is everything" book, but as described and... Read more
Published 22 days ago by steve
1.0 out of 5 stars
STILL WAITING !!!
I'm waiting for when people will really see that the bible are " eyewitness accounts". it was never meant for to believe In it or not. Read more
Published 27 days ago by Anna M. Garramone
3.0 out of 5 stars
A bit dry
The book is informitave but not exciting reading.
I bought it on a whim-- what was I thinking of--hmmm .
I bought it on a whim-- what was I thinking of--hmmm .
Published 28 days ago by John From LI
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great Book!!
For sure this book is by far the most complete and in-depth translation of manuscripts to date and good summary and overview of each one in the beginning of each chapter! Read more
Published 29 days ago by JORGE
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful!
First explored this when it was published many yrs. ago. Nice revision. What can I say..except many of these words resonate with me taking me deeply into my self and therefore... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Megan
3.0 out of 5 stars
Doesnt quite read with any flow
Many of the texts are broken and much of the text just seems dumped-in.
Unless you are an Oxford scholar, this probably isnt the book for you. Read more
Unless you are an Oxford scholar, this probably isnt the book for you. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Ckerr17
5.0 out of 5 stars
On my spiritual journey
This book has been very influential on my spiritual journey. I am a person who was more interested in the life that Jesus lived rather than just resolving that he "died" for our... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Ms.Cochran
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