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Nag Hammadi Codex II (designated by siglum CG II) is a
''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, p. 2. The codex contains: * ''The Apocryphon of John'' * ''The
''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, p. 3. The text is written in
''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, p. 5. 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.Bentley Layton
''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, p. 4. 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.C2SRC Images of Facsimiles
/ref> Currently the manuscript is housed at the Department of manuscripts of the Coptic Museum (Inv. 10544) in
''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.
Nag Hammadi Archive
in the Claremont Colleges Library
Antiquities of the Institute for Antiquity and Christianity
in the Claremont Colleges Digital Library
Gospel of Thomas Bibliography, Coptic & Greek Texts
{{Authority control Gnostic Gospels 4th-century manuscripts Nag Hammadi library
Nag Hammadi Codex II (designated by siglum CG II) is a papyrus
Papyrus ( ) is a material similar to thick paper that was used in ancient times as a writing surface. It was made from the pith of the papyrus plant, '' Cyperus papyrus'', a wetland sedge. ''Papyrus'' (plural: ''papyri'') can also refer to a ...
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 from antiquity with the text of the Gospel of Thomas
The Gospel of Thomas (also known as the Coptic Gospel of Thomas) is an extra-canonical sayings gospel. It was discovered near Nag Hammadi, Egypt, in December 1945 among a group of books known as the Nag Hammadi library. Scholars speculat ...
.
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.Bentley Layton''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, p. 2. The codex contains: * ''The Apocryphon of John'' * ''The
Gospel of Thomas
The Gospel of Thomas (also known as the Coptic Gospel of Thomas) is an extra-canonical sayings gospel. It was discovered near Nag Hammadi, Egypt, in December 1945 among a group of books known as the Nag Hammadi library. Scholars speculat ...
'', a sayings gospel, pages C–D blank
* ''The Gospel of Philip''
* ''The Hypostasis of the Archons''
* '' On the Origin of the World''
* ''The Exegesis on the Soul
The Exegesis on the Soul is one of the ancient texts found at Nag Hammadi, in Codex II. The text emphasizes the importance of prayer and repentance. It states that prayer should be done not just with words but with the spirit, which comes from wit ...
''
* ''The Book of Thomas the Contender''.Bentley Layton''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, p. 3. The text is written in
uncial
Uncial is a majuscule Glaister, Geoffrey Ashall. (1996) ''Encyclopedia of the Book''. 2nd edn. New Castle, DE, and London: Oak Knoll Press & The British Library, p. 494. script (written entirely in capital letters) commonly used from the 4th to ...
letters. It is well written in an informal book hand. There is no punctuation, no division between sayings. The nomina sacra are contracted in a usual way, the words at the end of each line are abbreviated and it uses ligatures
Ligature may refer to:
* Ligature (medicine), a piece of suture used to shut off a blood vessel or other anatomical structure
** Ligature (orthodontic), used in dentistry
* Ligature (music), an element of musical notation used especially in the me ...
, including staurogram
The staurogram (⳨), also monogrammatic cross or ''tau-rho'', is a ligature composed of a superposition of the Greek letters tau (Τ) and rho (Ρ).
Early occurrence and significance
The symbol is of pre-Christian origin. It is found on ...
s.Bentley Layton''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, p. 5. 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.Bentley Layton
''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, p. 4. 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.
/ref> Currently the manuscript is housed at the Department of manuscripts of the Coptic Museum (Inv. 10544) in
Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo met ...
.
See also
; Coptic manuscripts * British Library Or 4926 * Nag Hammadi Codex XIII * Nag Hammadi Library ; Greek manuscripts * Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 1 * Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 654 * Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 655References
Further reading
* Nicholas Perrin, 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 Layton''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.
External links
Nag Hammadi Archive
in the Claremont Colleges Library
Antiquities of the Institute for Antiquity and Christianity
in the Claremont Colleges Digital Library
Gospel of Thomas Bibliography, Coptic & Greek Texts
{{Authority control Gnostic Gospels 4th-century manuscripts Nag Hammadi library