Second Treatise of the Great Seth is an

apocryphal Apocrypha are works, usually written, of unknown authorship or of doubtful origin. The word ''apocryphal'' (ἀπόκρυφος) was first applied to writings which were kept secret because they were the vehicles of esoteric knowledge considered ...

Gnostic Gnosticism (from grc, γνωστικός, gnōstikós, , 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems which coalesced in the late 1st century AD among Jewish and early Christian sects. These various groups emphasized pe ...

writing discovered in the Codex VII of the Nag Hammadi codices and dates to around the third century. The author is unknown, and the Seth referenced in the title appears nowhere in the text. Instead

Seth Seth,; el, Σήθ ''Sḗth''; ; "placed", "appointed") in Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Mandaeism, and Sethianism, was the third son of Adam and Eve and brother of Cain and Abel, their only other child mentioned by name in the Hebrew Bible. A ...

is thought to reference the third son of

Adam and Eve Adam and Eve, according to the creation myth of the Abrahamic religions, were the first man and woman. They are central to the belief that humanity is in essence a single family, with everyone descended from a single pair of original ancestors. ...

to whom gnosis was first revealed, according to some gnostics.

Perspective and style

The Treatise of the Great Seth is written from the

first-person perspective A first-person narrative is a mode of storytelling in which a storyteller recounts events from their own point of view using the first person It may be narrated by a first-person protagonist (or other focal character), first-person re-teller ...

of Jesus. The author appears to belong to a group of gnostics who maintain that

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

was not

crucified Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagin ...

on the

cross A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a sa ...

. Instead the text says that

Simon of Cyrene Simon of Cyrene (, Standard Hebrew ''Šimʿon'', Tiberian Hebrew ''Šimʿôn''; , ''Simōn Kyrēnaios''; ) was the man compelled by the Romans to carry the cross of Jesus of Nazareth as Jesus was taken to his crucifixion, according to all three ...

was mistaken for Jesus and crucified in his place. Jesus is described as standing by and "laughing at their ignorance." Those who believe Jesus to have died on the cross are said to believe in "a doctrine of a dead man." All those without

gnosis Gnosis is the common Greek noun for knowledge ( γνῶσις, ''gnōsis'', f.). The term was used among various Hellenistic religions and philosophies in the Greco-Roman world. It is best known for its implication within Gnosticism, where it ...

- including those who had what would become orthodox beliefs, as well as the figures of Adam,

Abraham Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Jew ...

Isaac Isaac; grc, Ἰσαάκ, Isaák; ar, إسحٰق/إسحاق, Isḥāq; am, ይስሐቅ is one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He was the ...

Jacob Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. J ...

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

Solomon Solomon (; , ),, ; ar, سُلَيْمَان, ', , ; el, Σολομών, ; la, Salomon also called Jedidiah (Hebrew language, Hebrew: , Modern Hebrew, Modern: , Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: ''Yăḏīḏăyāh'', "beloved of Yahweh, Yah"), ...

, the prophets, and

Moses Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu (Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pro ...

- are all referred to as a "laughingstock." The text shows the derision which the gnostics felt towards those who did not realize their claimed truth; that the biblical text was false (in at least certain important respects) and that the God of the Jews was not the true God. Jesus also makes statements claiming that Adam, Moses, and

John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

were all also "laughingstocks". He says: He says these prominent figures were "laughing stocks" because they believed that the Demiurge was the One True God, and did not know the Gnostic truth.

Nature of Jesus and the Demiurge

Some Gnostics believed Jesus was not crucified but it was someone else, and therefore he was not killed. From the translation by Roger A. Bullard and Joseph A. Gibbons: At the beginning of the book, Jesus states: This statement indicates that Jesus inhabited a human body that had previously belonged to someone else, which meant the body was not his own. He also explains that the being that created the world is not the One True God. Jesus instead proclaims: This demonstrates the gnostic view that the God of the Hebrew Bible was not the One True God, but rather an inferior being called the

Demiurge In the Platonic, Neopythagorean, Middle Platonic, and Neoplatonic schools of philosophy, the demiurge () is an artisan-like figure responsible for fashioning and maintaining the physical universe. The Gnostics adopted the term ''demiurge''. Al ...

, which was created by Sophia.

References

External links

''The Second Treatise of the Great Seth''
Translation by Roger A. Bullard and Joseph A. Gibbons, The Nag Hammadi Library

{{The Nag Hammadi Codices , state=collapsed S The Second Treatise of the Great Seth Apocalyptic literature 3rd-century Christian texts Denial of the crucifixion of Jesus Treatises First-person narrative fiction Nag Hammadi library

Perspective and style

Nature of Jesus and the Demiurge

See also

References

External links