Translation and Comments on Gospel of Judas - Chapter 12

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(P.147) Chapters 10-14 of the 'Gospel of Judas' contain the core of Jesus's

teaching. Many things Jesus has only hinted at before are presented here more

systematically. [17] We can best understand the thinking underlying the 'Gospel

of Judas' by grasping some of the core presuppositions the author assumes. The

author of the 'Gospel of Judas', like other early Christians, turned first to

the biblical book of 'Genesis' to answer questions about human nature, moral

order, and their relationship to God. But even as people today read their sacred

stories in terms of what they know about science, so too ancient Christians

interpreted 'Genesis' in the light of ancient philosophical and scientific

thinking, especially astronomy, as well as Jewish interpretations of Scripture.

Ideas from all these sources appear in the 'Gospel of Judas', as we will see.

Another presupposition is that the world we live in was patterned after a

higher, perfect realm of God above. These Christians read 'Genesis' knowing that

the account of the creation of the lower world would contain hints about that

heavenly realm, since this world is patterned upon it. They therefore not only

read 'Genesis' to learn about the nature of this world but also sought clues in

it about the nature of the transcendent realm of God above. In chapters 10-11,

Jesus describes that realm to Judas.

 

Reading Judas - The Gospel of Judas and the Shaping of Christianity,

('Comments on the Translation' Pg. 147)

 

 

 

 

A./ 'English Translation of the Gospel of Judas'

 

Chapter 12:

 

(P.118) [1] " Now it is that crowd of deathless ones who are called 'cosmos',

that is, 'what perishes.' [2] It was by the Father and the seventy-two

luminaries who are with Autogenes and his seventy-two realms that the first

Human appeared in the place (the perishable cosmos) with his imperishable

powers. [3] For this realm, along with its race which appeared, is the one that

has within it the cloud of knowledge and the angel who is called 'El.'

[4]['about 3 lines missing']

 

[5] " [Af]ter these things, he [....] said, 'Let the [tw]elve angels come into

being [so they might r]ule over the chaos and the ob[livion].' [6] And behold an

a[ngel] ap[pear]ed from the cloud whose face was pouring forth fire, [7] while

his likeness was defiled with blood. [8] And he had [one n]ame, 'Nebro,' which

is interpreted as 'apostate,' [9] but some others call him 'I[al]dabaoth.' [10]

And again another angel came forth from the cloud (called) 'Saklas.' [11] Nebro

then created six angels along with Saklas to attend (him). [12] And these

produced twelve angels in the heavens, [13] and each of them received an

allotted portion in the heavens. (P.119) [14] And the twelve rulers, along with

the twelve angels said, 'Let each one of you...'[[15] 'about three lines

untranslatable'] [five] angels.

 

[16] " The first is [se]th, who is called 'Christ'. [17] The [secon]d is

Harmathoth, whom [...........]. [18] The [thir]d is Falida. [19] The forth is

Iobel. [20] The fifth is Adonaios. [21] These are the five who ruled over

oblivion and are first over chaos.

('English Translation of the Gospel of Judas' - Pg. 118-119)

B./ 'Comments on the Translation' (Gospel of Judas) - Chapter 12

[1]-[3] of Chapter 12

(P.118) " Now it is that crowd of deathless ones who are called 'cosmos', that

is, 'what perishes.' It was by the Father and the seventy-two luminaries who are

with Autogenes and his seventy-two realms that the first Human appeared in the

place (the perishable cosmos) with his imperishable powers. For this realm,

along with its race which appeared, is the one that has within it the cloud of

knowledge and the angel who is called 'El.'

Comments:

(P.150) Jesus now introduces a new topic: the creation of the perishable world,

the cosmos. He begins by stressing it was by the will of the Father above and

his highest angels that the First Human, Adamas, accompanied by all his

imperishable powers, appeared in the lower, material world. That realm contained

the race of Adamas, along with the cloud of knowledge and the angel El; these

appear to be references to the material world as a kind of earthly paradise that

contains (the tree of) knowledge and where El walks and the race of Adam is

born. (P.151) We see here, then, the beginning of the account of the creation of

the lower world, but with a clear emphasis on elements of its divine character.

In contrast to other Christian works like 'The Secret Revelation of John', in

which the creation of the world is accomplished by fallen angels acting

'against' God's will, here everything is ordered according to God's will.

[5]-[21] of Chapter 12

(P.118) " [Af]ter these things, he [....] said, 'Let the [tw]elve angels come

into being [so they might r]ule over the chaos and the ob[livion].' And behold

an a[ngel] ap[pear]ed from the cloud whose face was pouring forth fire, while

his likeness was defiled with blood. And he had [one n]ame, 'Nebro,' which is

interpreted as 'apostate,' but some others call him 'I[al]dabaoth.' And again

another angel came forth from the cloud (called) 'Saklas.' Nebro then created

six angels along with Saklas to attend (him). And these produced twelve angels

in the heavens, and each of them received an allotted portion in the heavens.

(P.119) And the twelve rulers, along with the twelve angels said, 'Let each one

of you...'['about three lines untranslatable'] [five] angels.

" The first is [se]th, who is called 'Christ'. The [secon]d is Harmathoth, whom

[...........]. The [thir]d is Falida. The forth is Iobel. The fifth is

Adonaios. These are the five who ruled over oblivion and are first over chaos.

Comments:

(P.151) It is not clear who is speaking here and creating the lower-world angels

- perhaps Autogenes. We see him now bringing forth angels to rule over " chaos

and the oblivion, " the formless void described in 'Genesis' 1:2. We are not told

where this realm came from; it is simply there, following the ancient belief

that a dead, formless matter existed as a kind of dark chaos before God gave it

form and life. God's goodness thus consists in setting limits on its turbulent

and destructive essence, bringing some kind of light and purpose into the dark

void by establishing angelic beings to rule over it.

Twelve angels come into being to rule over the chaos. The first has a face of

fire - reminiscent of divine light, but this likeness is the color of blood,

showing that his " light " is defiled; it consumes rather than illumines. His

name, Nebro, also tells us about his character, for it is interpreted as

" apostate, " leading one immediately to think of fallen angels like Satan.

Next comes Saklas with six other angels to attend him - just as the divine

luminaries above had angels to serve and worship them. These allotted a portion

in the heavens to another twelve angels. And finally five rulers come into being

over oblivion - modelled after Autogenes and his four angels, who preside over

the divine realm. The first of those lowest angels has two names: Seth and

Christ.

Strange as it may seem, this description conforms very closely to widespread

ancient thinking about the structure of the heavens. (P.152) Certain followers

of Plato argued, for example, that astronomy was the one essential science for

those seeking to attain true wisdom and piety. [20] Ancient astronomers

envisioned a geocentric universe in which the earth appeared as a stable,

unmoving sphere, around which the sun, moon, and stars revolved. Starting from

this assumption, they developed sophisticated mathematical formulas to chart the

movement of the celestial bodies. Like physicists and astronomers today,

mathematicians in ancient times noted that they could describe the movement of

the moon, stars, and planets, as well as their relationships, with numbers. Does

this mean that numbers are simply an efficient language to describe the matter

and energy of the universe? Or does the universe itself conform to mathematical

relationships? Mathematicians from Pythagoras to Albert Einstein have speculated

that numbers describe universal principles, including the shape and movement of

the heavenly bodies.

Ancient scientists held that the sun is predominant, since its movement

determines the cycles of night and day, as well as the seasons of the year. They

recognized, too, that the earth's closest luminary, the moon, determines the

pattern of the months. They gave special notice to five other stars that seemed

to move irregularly, since from any fixed point of observation on Earth,

Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, Mercury, and Venus (Uranus, Neptune, and the dwarf Pluto

were not visible to the naked eye) looked as if they were progressing forward

and then turning backward in their courses. Because of this irregularity,

ancient observers often called these stars " planets, " taking the term from the

Greek verb 'planeo' which means to " err " or " wander. " By the time the 'Gospel of

Judas' was written, however, astronomers had realized that this term was a

misnomer, since they observed that the courses of the planets were regular,

although opposite to those of the stars. Ancient astronomers apportioned places

to the myriad other stars, which appear to move in fixed patterns, by dividing

the visible heavens into twelve parts, which we know as the zodiac. (P.153) They

calculated the standard year as one of 360 days, although this required

occasional adjustment to account for an additional five and a quarter days every

year.

In this way, philosophers and scientists conceived of numbers both as

establishing principles of order and as marking intervals of time and setting

boundaries in space. And while they used astronomic data for practical matters,

including navigation and seasonal agricultural activities, they also regarded

the harmony and stability of the heavens as proof of divine order and purpose.

Ancient astronomers believed that mathematical descriptions of the universe

prove that divine intelligence, not chance or necessity, pervades the universe.

A work written by a later Platonist, titled the 'Epinomis', even calls numbers

" the cause of all good things. " [21]

The author of the 'Gospel of Judas', too, relies on numbers to demonstrate the

orderliness of God's creation. He uses the numerical relationships of the

heavenly world to establish the pattern for the creation of our lower cosmos

with its twelve months, heavenly zodiac, and 360-day year. Judging from their

descriptions and numbers, we can probably associate these beings with the sun

(Nebro with his face of fire), the seven-day week (Saklas and his six

attendants), the zodiac (twelve, each governing a portion of heaven), and the

five planets (set over chaos). The author of the 'Gospel of Judas' takes the

correlation between our cosmos and these heavenly numbers to prove not only that

there is a world above but that divine purpose pervades the world in which we

live.

These views were also confirmed by the way the author of the 'Gospel of Judas'

reads the creation accounts in 'Genesis'. According to 'Genesis'1:3-8, God

brought forth light, separating night and day, and created the firmament of

heaven to divide above and below. He brought forth the sun, moon, and stars and

established them as signs for seasons, days, and years, and to rule over day and

night. (P.154) When he was finished, " God saw that it was good "

('Genesis'1:14-18). In this way, the 'Gospel of Judas' shows that the true God

is ultimately responsible for the whole universe, both the heavens above and the

world below. Our world is a continuation of God's creation of the world above.

Because of the high regard for the heavenly bodies, many people in the ancient

Mediterranean world regarded the stars as living, even divine, beings - led by

gods, some said, or images of gods. They offered sacrifices and devoted

festivals to these astral deities, and they especially revered the sun.

Because the 'Gospel of Judas' identifies the rulers of the lower world with the

heavenly bodies, he is accusing Jesus's disciples of worshipping astral deities

when they " sacrifice " Jesus and martyrs to Saklas. " Cease sacrificing, " Jesus

commands them.

This author is not alone in denouncing the science of astronomy as well as the

popular reverence for stars and planets, for certain philosophers, as well as

many Jews and Christians, did so as well. Plutarch, for example, said that many

people dismissed astronomers because " they frittered away divinity into

irrational causes, unforeseen forces, and necessary occurrences. " [22] Not

unlike opponents of science today, Plato had warned that natural philosophy

leads to atheism, because it suggests " that the world had come into being not by

mind, God, or skill, but by nature and chance. " [23] Jews and Christians who

relied on 'Genesis', which describes the sun, moon, planets, and stars as

natural phenomena that God created, opposed the notion that the stars were

living gods. Instead, many Jews insisted, the one true God had created all these

heavenly bodies and appointed angels to rule over them. Christians, too,

attributed everything to God's providence and free will, so that whenever

celestial events appeared as signs, they indicated only what God intended them

to show - that God's purpose was at work in the life of Jesus, as, for example,

when it was claimed that an especially brilliant star led the Magi to Jesus's

birthplace or that an eclipse of the sun occurred at the time of his death or

when Christians prophesied that heavenly events would announce his return. [24]

Those who believe the astrologers fail to see that God rules over these heavenly

signs, the church father Origen said, so that in effect " the determinism

presupposed by astrology would empty all meaning out of Christ's redemption, the

efforts of the apostles, human endeavor, and prayer, and would make God unjust. "

[25]

The author of the 'Gospel of Judas' agrees. The movement of the heavenly bodies

follows God's plan - it is the stars that will bring everything to completion

(Judas 14:2-5). Yet at the same time the stars can lead people astray. Jesus

refers to Judas's star twice, in ways that seem contradictory: " Your star is

leading you astray, " he says, when Judas wrongly interprets his dream about the

heavenly temple above (Judas 9:15). But later Jesus tells Judas, " The star that

leads the way, that is your star " (Judas 15:16). Contradictory as this appears,

we see at work one of the Gospel of Judas's main assumptions: that the heavenly

bodies are set in place by God, but nonetheless they can go astray and err.

Where does this notion come from?

Partly it derives from observation of the planets, who seem to " err " in their

courses. But the more accurate answer with regard to the 'Gospel of Judas' is

that although the angels in charge of the world were created and appointed by

God, they are deficient beings, because they share in the nature of the lower

realm over which they rule. Unlike the angels in heaven above, these beings are

mortal. They are limited in other ways as well: God set terms for their rule,

and allowed them only limited understanding as well, for as we have seen, they

also can err and lead people astray.

This portrait of the angelic world rulers draws much from the kind of thinking

we find in Jewish apocalyptic literature, most of which was written later than

the books of the Hebrew Bible but before the beginning of Christianity. (P.156)

For example, a book ascribed to the great prophet Enoch describes how the exact

computation of the times and seasons was revealed to him by Uriel, the angel who

has " the power in the heaven over both day and night so that he may cause the

light to shine over the people - sun, moon, and stars, and all the

principalities of the heaven which revolve in their (respective) circuits " ('1

Enoch 82'). [26] Uriel explains that God appointed angelic leaders and captains

over each of the four seasons, the twelve months, and the 360 days, along with

the names, orders, and the subordinates of those captains over thousands. As in

the 'Gospel of Judas', these angels are imperfect; sometimes they err, and even

lead humanity into error:

Many of the chiefs of the stars shall make errors in respect to the orders given

to them; they shall change their courses and functions and not appear during the

seasons which have been prescribed for them. All the orders of the stars shall

harden (in disposition) against the sinners and the conscience of those that

dwell upon the earth. They (the stars) shall err against them (the sinners); and

modify all their courses. Then they (the sinners) shall err and take them (the

stars) to be gods. And evil things shall be multiplied upon them; and plagues

shall come upon them, so as to destroy all ('1 Enoch' 80:6-8).

'1 Enoch' teaches here that errant angels can cause violence and false worship

among human beings. Such is also the nature of the angels God appoints to rule

the world in the 'Gospel of Judas'. Jesus tells Judas how God brought order to

the lower, material world by placing it under the rule of these lower angels for

a limited time.

Reading Judas - The Gospel of Judas and the Shaping of Christianity,

'Comments on the Translation' Pg. 147; 150-156

Elaine Pagels and Karen L. King

Penguin Group - London, England

ISBN 978-0-713-99984-6

Notes:

[17] Many elements of the theology and cosmology of the 'Gospel of Judas' are

similar to a set of newly discovered writings found in Egypt that scholars

classify as " Sethian Gnosticism " or simply " Sethianism. " One of these is 'The

Secret Revelation of John', with which several scholars have compared the

'Gospel of Judas', notably Marvin Meyer ( " Judas and the Gnostic Connection " in

Kasser, Meyer, and Wurst, editors, 'The Gospel of Judas', op. cit. Not only are

there important similarities, crucial differences also appear. For example, in

'The Secret Revelation of John', the true God is not responsible for appointing

the lower beings who shape the material world, but rather against God's will,

the world comes into being at the hand of an ignorant and arrogant pretender

god. An extensive episode tells of how this happens when a divine being, named

Sophia ( " Wisdom " ) acts without the permission of the Invisible Spirit and her

male consort, thus setting in motion the creation of the lower world and the

enslavement of humanity to its wicked rulers. For more on these topics, see

Karen L. King, 'The Secret Revelation of John', op.cit., for more on Sethianism,

see Karen L. King, 'What is Gnosticism'?, pp.154-169.

[20] See, for example, a treatise called the 'Epinomis' (which ancients wrongly

attributed to Plato) that argued that life and death are controlled by number,

and since the heavenly bodies teach humanity about numbers, the study of

astronomy is essential to attain wisdom and piety.

[21] 'Epinomis' 978A, Loeb Classical Library edition. As David Sedley puts it,

referring to Plato ('Timaeus' 90c-d): " (A)stronomy is the privileged route to

human understanding, since by discovering the mathematical laws underlying the

revolutions of the heaven it makes our rational soul share the thought patterns

of the worlds' divine soul " ( " 'Becoming like god' in the 'Timaeus' and

Aristotle, " in 'Interpreting the Timaeus-Critias: Proceedings of the IV

Symposium Platonicum Selected Papers.' Tomas Calvo and Luc Brisson, editors

[sankt Augstin: Academia Verlag, 1997]), p.332.

[22] Plutarch, 'Nicias' 23, cited from Alan Scott, 'Origen and the Life of the

Stars: A History of an Idea' (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1991), p.6.

[23] Scott, 'Origen and the Life of the Stars', op.cit., p.16, referring to

'Laws' 889b-c. According to Scott, Plato countered this charge by arguing that

" the movements of heaven corresponded to mathematical law " of numbers, offering

the strongest proof for the existence of God as the mind that controls the

heavens through the working of the living soul. " The perfectly ordered movements

of the stars proves the existence of the supreme soul which directs them "

(ibid).

[24] See star of the Magi (Matthew 2:1-12); eclipse at death of Christ (Matthew

27:45; Mark 25:33; Luke 23:44); celestial signs to announce Christ's return

(Matthew 24:29; Mark 13:24-25; Luke 21:25). Yet whatever assumptions about the

effectiveness of astrology, the practice came to be thoroughly condemned, and

this is the position still used to describe early Christian attitudes; see

Everett Ferguson, " Astrology, " in 'Encyclopedia of Early Christianity'. Second

ed. (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998), pp. 136-137. Tamsyn S. Barton argues

that once the power of the church was established, it worked to undermine

astrology, which threatened the church's authority. See a brief history of the

attitudes toward astrology by Christians in the first centuries in Barton,

'Power and Knowledge: Astrology, Physiognomics, and Medicine under the Roman

Empire' (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1994), pp.62-69, and 'Ancient

Astrology' (London: Routledge, 1994), pp. 64-85.

[25] Scott, 'Origen and the Life of the Stars', op.cit., p.145, referring to

Philocalia' 23.1,2; 'In Jeremias' fragment 49.

[26] All translations and references to '1 Enoch' are from 'The Old Testament

Pseudepigrapha: Apocalyptic Literature and Testaments', James H. Charlesworth,

editor (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1983), pp. 5-89.