Texts in Conversation
The Gospel of Philip echoes Genesis' breath of life but gives Adam the Spirit as a companion and mother. Life received from God becomes a family relationship, connecting the creation of Adam with Philip's concern for reunion and birth through the Spirit.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Genesis 2:7
Hebrew Bible
6 Springs would well up from the earth and water the whole surface of the ground. 7 The Lord God formed the man from the soil of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. 8 The Lord God planted an orchard in the east, in Eden; and there he placed the man he had formed. 9 The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow from the soil, every tree that was pleasing to look at and good for food. (Now the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil were in the middle of the orchard.)
Gospel of Philip 9:20
Nag Hammadi
If the female had not separated from the male, she would not have died together with the male. His separation was the beginning of death. Consequently, Christ came, in order that the separation that took place in the beginning could be cured. He will join them both together again, and those who died in the separation, he will grant them life, and he will unite them, and the woman will unite with her husband in the bridal chamber, and those who have united in the bridal chamber will be separated no longer. Eve separated from Adam because it was not in the bridal chamber that she united with him. It was from a breath that Adam’s life began. Its companion was the Spirit. What was granted to him was his Mother. His soul was [removed], and he was granted [life] to replace it.
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Notes and References
“... 80. The soul of Adam came into being from a breath.*" Its consort is the (spirit. The spirit) which was given to him is his mother. The soul was (taken) from him and replaced by (spirit). Since when he had united (with the spirit) he (spo]ke words which are too high for the powers, they were envious of him. They [separated) die spiri[tual un]ion themselves ( ]. which is hidden ( oc]casion( ) themselves alone ( b]ridal chamber, in order that [ ). [...] 50. Cf Gen. 2:7. ...”
Schenke, Hans-Martin
"The Gospel of Philip" in Schneemelcher, Wilhelm; Wilson, R. McL. (ed.) New Testament Apocrypha, Volume 1: Gospels and Related Writings
(p. 198, 208) James Clarke & Co., 1991
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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