 |
Gnostic sects and founders
|
| Part ofa series on |
| New Testament apocrypha |
|---|
 |
|
 Christianity portal |
| Part ofa series of articles on |
| Paul in the Bible |
|---|
 |
ThePrayer of the Apostle Paul is aNew Testament apocryphal work, the first manuscript from the Jung Codex (Codex I) of theNag Hammadi Library. Written on the inner flyleaf of the codex, the prayer seems to have been added after the longer tractates had been copied. Although the text, like the rest of the codices, is written inCoptic, the title is written inGreek, which was the original language of the text. The manuscript is missing approximately two lines at the beginning.[1]
Like other early Christian writings, the author of this prayer identifies themself with the historicApostle Paul to give authority to the text. Consequently, the prayer is widely understood to be apseudepigraphical work. Because the prayer lacks its opening lines, it is unclear whether there was a title at its beginning. However, a title written in Greek is preserved at the bottom of the treatise, reading "Prayer of the Apostle Paul" and followed by acolophon. The colophon, also written in Greek, states "In Peace. Holy is Christ."[2] The prayer in its entirety was likely written in Greek and translated into Coptic.
The prayer shows a distinctiveGnostic tone. It begins with a series ofinvocations addressed to theRedeemer. The term, with numerous meanings in both the Jewish Scriptures and the New Testament, has varied potential implications. The Redeemer is understood to be God in theBook of Job, just as he is known as the "Redeemer of Israel" in theBook of Isaiah. By contrast, in Paul'sLetter to the Romans, Jesus is the Redeemer. In 3:24-25, Paul writes that believers "are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood"—in essence, redemption is the saving nature of Jesus' death.[3] The Redeemer might also be understood as the supreme, hidden God of the Gnostic belief system.
Whomever the prayer intends to address, the author employs the formula "you are" four times to characterize the Redeemer as mind, treasury, fullness orpleroma, and repose. With the exception of the word "treasury"—translated into Coptic asaho, the terms remain in Greek asnous,pleroma, andanapausis, respectively.[2] Although these terms are frequent inValentinian literature, they are also found elsewhere.[2]
Many scholars have dubbed it as a Valentinian work due to characteristic phrases such as the "psychic God"—this would indicate that it was composed between 150 and 300 AD; if it is not of Valentinian origin it could date from as early as 75.[4]
Scholars have found parallels to many other works which may be partial sources, includingCorpus Hermeticum, theThree Steles of Seth, theGospel of Philip, and the authenticPauline letters.[citation needed]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)