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Second Discourse of the Great Seth

Second Treatise of the Great Seth

About this book

The Patriarchs Were a Farce

Chapter 8

With beneficial friendship I will fulfill all things by means of the Good One, because the harmony of truth is that they should be without an enemy. However, none of those who cause division learns wisdom, because causing division is not to be a friend, but an enemy to everyone. The one, however, who lives in the union and friendship of brotherly love, out of nature and not just out of obligation, perfectly and not just partly, that one is truly the desire of the Father, being universal and perfect love, because Adam was a farce, and he was created by the Hebdomad from the image of a type of a man,⁠ as if he had grown stronger than myself and my brethren, but we are innocent with regard to him, given that we did not sin. Abraham, however, was a farce, like Isaac and Jacob were, given that the Hebdomad gave them a name, that is, “patriarchs,” from the image, as if he had grown stronger than myself and my brethren, but we are innocent with regard to him, given that we did not sin. David was a farce, given that his son was named Son of Man, having been put into action by the Hebdomad, as if he had grown stronger than myself and my race, but we are innocent with regard to him. We did not sin. Solomon was a farce, given that he grew proud by means of the Hebdomad, even thinking he was Christ, as if he had grown stronger than myself and my brethren, but we are innocent with regard to him. I did not sin. The 12 prophets were a farce, given that they appeared as mimicries of the true prophets.⁠ They came to exist from the image by means of the Hebdomad, as if it had grown stronger than myself and my brethren, but we are innocent with regard to it, and we did not sin. Moses was a farce, “a faithful servant” called “friend.” They testified of him falsely, given that he never knew me. He knew me not, and not one of those who preceded him, from Adam to Moses and John the Baptizer, knew myself or my brethren. They possessed teaching from angels to keep dietary rules, even bitter bondage. They never knew the truth, and they will never know it, because their souls are in bondage, and they will never be able to find a free mind in order for them to know, unless they come to know the Son of Man. However, owing to my Father, I was the one the world knew not, and this is why it rose up in opposition to me and my brethren, but we are innocent with regard to it. We did not sin, because the archon was a farce, given that he said, “I am God, and there is no one who is greater than I am. I am the only one who is Father and Lord, and no one exists other than me. I am a jealous God, and I assign the sins of the fathers to the children for three and four generations” – as if he had grown stronger than myself and my brethren, but we are innocent with regard to him, because we did not sin. Although we learned his teaching, he abides in pride, and he does not concur with our Father, because he was a farce, with his judgment and false prophecy.

Texts in conversation

Compare Gospel of Thomas 52 and Second Discourse of the Great Seth 8:8

Nag Hammadi

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Summary

In the Gospel of Thomas, Jesus dismisses dead prophets in favor of himself as living. In the Second Discourse of the Great Seth, prophets are dismissed as imitations, a stronger criticism of what they were rather than the fact that they died.

Passages

Gospel of Thomas 52

Nag Hammadi
51 His disciples said to him, “When will the repose of the dead come about, and when will the new world come?” He said to them, “What you look forward to has already come, but you do not recognize it.” 52 His disciples said to him, “Twenty-four prophets spoke in Israel, and all of them spoke about you.” He said to them, “You have omitted the Living One who is in your presence and have spoken only of the dead.” 53 His disciples said to him, “Is circumcision beneficial or not?” He said to them, “If it were beneficial, their father would beget them already circumcised from their mother. Rather, the true circumcision in spirit has become entirely profitable.”
135–200 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Gospel of Thomas

Second Discourse of the Great Seth 8:8

Nag Hammadi · Second Treatise of the Great Seth
Solomon was a farce, given that he grew proud by means of the Hebdomad, even thinking he was Christ, as if he had grown stronger than myself and my brethren, but we are innocent with regard to him. I did not sin. The 12 prophets were a farce, given that they appeared as mimicries of the true prophets. They came to exist from the image by means of the Hebdomad, as if it had grown stronger than myself and my brethren, but we are innocent with regard to it, and we did not sin.
190–230 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Second Discourse of the Great Seth

References

“... Naturally, however, there were more than two views about Scripture on the table in the mid-second century. This raises the question of where Thomas belongs on the spectrum of first- and second-century attitudes. [...] Similarly, the Second Treatise of the Great Seth identifies the prophets as counterfeit, and fit only to be mocked (62,27–64,1). Although the more positive views advocated by scholars do not do justice to the tone of Jesus’ response, there is not sufficient evidence that Thomas has a clearly worked out view of the prophets as had the Second Treatise of the Great Seth. GTh 52 belongs near—though not at—the radical end of re-evaluations of Jewish Scripture in the second century. ...”
Simon Gathercole, The Gospel of Thomas: Introduction and Commentary (Leiden: Brill, 2014), 416.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Gospel of Thomas 52 and Second Discourse of the Great Seth 8:8

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