Magical, Coptic, Christian:

The Great Angel Eleleth and the 'Four Luminaries'

in Egyptian Literature of the First Millennium CE

DYLAN M. BURNS

Scholars often speak of d ifferent Gnostic literary traditions - Valentinian,

Ophite, Sethian, etc. - as if they were breeds of a particular animal, " Gnos­
t ic ism." We like to debate which texts do and do not belong to this and that
category, and what ought to def ine these categories. Even so, we generally
have a good idea of what constitutes each tradition; the hard part is what
we do w ith phenomena which exhibit just one or two characteristics of a
tradition. Do such cases reflect an early stage of l iterary development w ith­
in the tradition, or "tertiary" developments that come later? Do we bend
the shape of the category we have built in order to make room for these
cases, or do we s imply set them as ide and denote them as "fringe"? Plenty
of examples come to mind: the Gospel of Judas, for instance, seems to ex­
hibit a shared source and at t imes some shared mythologoumena with the
Sethian text called the Egyptian Gospel, but scholars remain at odds over
whether it is evidence of a primitive stage of Sethianism, a later, degener­
ated stage of it, or s imply evidence of d iversity w ithin a l iterary tradition.1
The present contribution examines one of the criteria used in such de­
bates: a set of mythologoumena known as the "Four Luminaries," spirits
by name of Harmozel, Oriael, Daveithe (or Daveithai), and Eleleth. These

1 For the first view, see Tuomas Rasimus, Paradise Reconsidered in Gnostic Myth­
making: Rethinking Sethianism in Light ofthe Ophite Evidence (NHMS 68; Leiden: Brill,
2009), 40 n. 109, and Marvin Meyer, "When the Sethians Were Young," in The Codex
Judas Papers: Proceedings of the International Congress on the Tchacos Codex held at
Rice University, Houston, Texas, March 13-16, 2008 (ed. April D. DeConick; NHMS 71;
Leiden : Brill, 2009), 57-73; for the second view, Gesine Schenke Robinson, "The Gospel
of Judas: Its Protagonist, Its Composition, and Its Community," in D eConick ed., The
Codex Judas Papers, 88-89; John D. Turner, "The Sethian Myth in the Gospel of Judas:
Soteriology or Demonology," in The Codex Judas Papers, esp. 97; for the third view,
Lance Jenott, The Gospel of Judas: Coptic Text, Translation, and Historical Interpreta­
tion of the 'Betrayer 's Gospel' (STAC 64; Tiibingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2011), 72-73, 131-
32.
142 Dylan lvl. Burns Sethian, Coptic, Christian 143

be ings are best known as celestial helpers popping up in various treat ises primordial humans appear, together w ith the pre-existent souls of the
d iscovered at Nag Hammadi classif ied by Hans- Martin Schenke as "Sethi­ saved. They inhabit the " Luminaries":
an."2 I would like to offer a survey of what we know about these beings,
Then, out of the [foreknowledge] of the perfect intellect, through the manifestation of the
and highl ight examples where one of our "luminaries," E leleth, does not will of the Invisible Spirit, and (through the manifestation of) the will of the Autogenes,
quite seem to fit the mold we have made for him based upon what we see <the> perfect human being (came forth) - the first Manifestation, and the truth.4 It is he
in most of the "Sethian" texts, namely, where he appears to be responsible who the Virgin Spirit called "Geradamas." And He (i.e., the Spirit) placed him over the
for producing unpleasant beings who create and rule the f lawed cosmos, first aeon, with the great one, the Autogenes, Christ, under the first Luminary, Har­
and when he appears as a revelatory angel, set apart from the rest of his mozel . . . And he (i.e., Geradamas) established his son, Seth, upon the second aeon, in
the presence of the second Luminary, Oroiel. And in the third aeon, the Seed of Seth was
Sethian gang.
established, over the third Luminary, Daveithai; the souls of the saints were established
It becomes eas ier to understand how Ele leth can play these other, inde­ there. And in the fourth aeon were established the souls of those who were without
pendent roles in Gnostic texts when we turn to non-Gnostic Egyptian mag­ knowledge of the pleroma, and did not repent at once, but, rather, persisted for a time (in
ical and homiletic literature of the first millennium CE, where E leleth and their disbelief), and repented only later. They came into being under the fourth Luminary,
Daveithe appear on occasion as angels of great power and benevolence. As Eleleth. These are begotten ones, who glorify the Invisible Spirit . . . (Ap. John II 8.28-
we w ill see, some of this evidence reaches back to the second or third cen­ 9.24)5
turies CE, and so is contemporaneous with our evidence from Nag Ham­ Similarly, the Egyptian Gospel (NHC III,2; IV,2) depicts the production of
madi. From this perspective, the mere mention of Eleleth in a text does not the Four Luminaries in the Autogenes w ith their consorts, together com­
a "Sethian" text make. Conversely, the renown of the angelic beings prising an "ogdoad of the d ivine Autogenes." 6 The Luminaries then ac­
Eleleth and Daveithe in the world of first-millennium Egyptian Christiani­ quire "ministers" and their own "consorts" (a second ogdoad contained
ty may explain the appeal of the Gnostic literature in which they promi­ w ithin the Autogenes), and the whole bunch erupts in praise to the " [great,
nently feature to the individuals responsible for the Nag Hammadi Codi­ invisible and incorruptible, uncallable, v irgin Spirit], and the male [virgin],
ces. and the great aeon of [Doxomedon]."7 As in the Apocryphon of John, the
second Luminary, Oroiael, serves as home to the celestial Seth, while the
third Luminary, Davithe, serves as home to Seth's celestial seed.8
Four Luminaries Inhabiting the Autogenes Aeon: In Zostrianos (NHC VIII,]) too, the Four Luminaries are associated
A Barbeloite Mythologoumenon with the Autogenes aeon. They appear occasionally throughout the text,
particularly as beings who interact w ith d ifferent c lasses of post-mortem
In the Sethian texts, the Four Luminaries are usually associated w ith the souls in heaven, those amongst the saved who escape reincarnation and
Autogenes (or "self-begotten") aeon, as for instance in the Apocryphon of thus enter the lowest sub-aeon of the Barbelo, the Autogenes: 9
John (NHC 11,1 and par.), where, together w ith their twelve own subaeons, Therefore, there are four luminaries: [first, Harmozel] is established upon the first aeon -
they attend and praise the appearance of the aeon of the Christ.3 Thereaf­ a love of the god of [truth]10 and a union of soul; second, Oroiael is established over the
ter, the "Perfect Human Be ing" - the model of divine humanity - appears,
and, following his praise of the div ine, various celest ia l counterparts of
4 The text here is probably a little corrupt; see the clearer text in the short version.
5 Other "luminaries" appear later in the text, as celestial agents who trick the demi­
2 Hans-Martin Schenke, "Das sethianische System nach Nag-Hammadi-Handschrif­ urge into giving up the creative power he has stolen from Sophia, but it is not clear that
ten," in Studia Coptica (ed. Peter Nagel; BBA 45; Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, 1974), 165- they are to be identified with Harmozel and his partners (Ap. John II 19.15-28).
73; Schenke (trans. Bentley Layton), "The Phenomenon and Significance of Gnostic 6 NHC IV 63.8-64.10 =I I I 51.14-52.16.
Sethianism," in The Rediscovery of Gnosticism: Proceedings of the International Confer­ 7 NHC IV 64.10-65.14 =I I I 52.16-53.20.
ence on Gnosticism (ed. Bentley Layton; 2 vols.; SHR 41; Leiden: Brill, 1981), 2 :588- 8 NHC IV 67.27-68.5 = I I I 56.13-22; IV 77.12-18 =I I I 65.16-22; see further Dylan
616 . The classic monograph on Sethianism is John D. T urner, Sethian Gnosticism and the M. Burns, Apocalypse of the Alien God: Platonism and the Exile of Sethian Gnosticism
Platonic Tradition (BCNH . E 6; Quebec: Les Presses de l'Universite Laval, 2001). (Divinations; Philadelphia: University of Pennyslvania, 2014), 81, 214.
3 Ap. John II 7.29-8.28. For convenience here I refer only to the long recension of the 9 Zost. 18.14-19. For discussion, see John D. Turner, "Commentary: Zostrianos," in
text. All translations given in this essay are my own except as noted; those from the Nag Zostrien (ed. Catherine Barry et al.; BCNH.T 24; Quebec: Presses de l'Universite Laval,
Hammadi texts are made with reference to both COL and BCNH editions, noting differ­ 2000), 483-662, 529; Burns, Apocalypse of the A lien God, 95-106.
ences ad loc. 10 Here following the text of Barry et al., Zostrien.
144 Dylan M. Burns Sethian, Coptic, Christian 145

second (aeon), a powerful seer of truth; third, Daveithe is established upon the third (ae­ tion takes place.1 7 Baptisms in the name of the Autogenes are administered
on), a vision of knowledge; fourth, Eleleth is established upon the fourth (aeon), an appe­ there by celestial baptizers common to Sethian literature: Michar and Mi­
tition and preparation for truth. And the four exist insofar as [they are] discourses of truth chael, with Barpharanges, Zogenethlos, "and the aeon Autogenes. Inside of
and [knowledge. They] exist, although they do not belong to the Prot ophanes; rather, 1
it were left four luminaries: Eleleth, Daveide, Oroiael [. . .]" 8 In fact, the
they belong to the mother. . . (Zost. 29,1-17)
content and wording of the passage is so similar to what we find on Zostri­
All four luminaries are blessed in heaven amongst celestial beings, such as anos NHC VIII 6 that it is hardly possible that the Untitled Treatise did not
Pleistheia and Emmakha Seth.1 1 They have subaeons, with three heavenly know a version of Zostrianos, or share a source with it.1 9
inhabitants apiece.1 2 Other "luminaries," belonging to the aeons of the Pro­ Returning to Nag Hammadi, the names of the Four Luminaries appear
tophanes and Kalyptos aeons, appear throughout the text, as well as lumi­ in Melchizedek (NHC IX,3) amongst a slew of other celestial beings (some
naries who simply "belong to the Barbelo."1 3 We set aside the evidence of them, such as Geradamas, also known from other Sethian texts) praised
pertaining to these characters here.1 4 by the speaker in a doxology.20 They are called "commanders-in-chief'
Meanwhile, the opaque Untitled Treatise in the Bruce Codex manages (o.px1cTpO.THroc), an epithet used elsewhere in Coptic literature for the
to mention three of the Four Luminaries in a passage that terminates in a archangel Michael, as we will see. They also appear in Trimorphic Proten-
1
noia (NHC XIII,! ) as aeons produced by the Son, or Christ.2 They go on
*

lacuna. The passage seems be part of a cosmogonic description, detailing

the fashioning of the upper reaches of the material realm for the "products to give glory in heaven - and then, as we will see, things begin to go awry.
15
of matter" (Nez.no NeyA.H) . The "aetherial earth" (or "airy earth" nKo.c - First, however, let us summarize what we have observed thus far: the
HO.HP) is created, followed by the "place of the Repentance" and the "strat­ Apocryphon of John, the Egyptian Gospel, Zostrianos, the Untitled Trea­
ospheric reflections (o.NTITynoc NMPOAIOC) ."16 This jargon is known to tise of the Bruce Codex, and Trimorphic Protennoia refer to the Four Lu­
Zostrianos, and likely refers to the realms about the moon where reincarna- minaries as a distinct quartet of active beings - forming a quintet, together
with the Autogenes aeon - who praise the First Principle in heaven (essen­
tially performing a celestial liturgy for eternity), and, at the same time,
11 Zost. 51.12-18.
1 2 Zost. 127.15-128.8. passive locations, places in heaven themselves. (This tension between ac­
13 Those belonging to the Protophanes aeon are mentioned at Zost. 54.17-25; prayed tivity and passivity sounds strange, but is actually typical aeonic behav­
to but not named at 63 .13-17; listed and named on pp. 119-120. A nearly identical ver­ ior).22 This "classic" account of the Four Luminaries is old: the opening
sion of the latter pages is preserved in P.Bodmer XLIII, ed. Rodolphe Kasser and Phi­ theogony of the Apocryphon of John in which the Luminaries appear is
lippe Luisier, "P. Bodmer XLIII: Un Feuillet de Zostrien," Mus 120:3-4 (2007): 251-72.
Those belonging to the Kalyptos aeon are listed and named at Zost. 126. Finally, those
belonging "to Barbelo" are mentioned at 62.17-22: "Thus, invoke now Salamex and 17 Zost. 5.14-27, 12.2-17. See Burns, Apocalypse of the A lien God, 96-98; on the
[Semen] and the absolutely perfect Anne - the luminaries of the [aeon] of Barbelo, and "aetherial earth" as a name for the moon, see Macrobius, Commentmy on the Dream of
the immeasurable knowledge . . . See also 63.17-20. References to "luminaries" in pas­ Scipio (trans. William Harris Stahl; New York: Columbia University Press, 1952),
sages too fragmentary to be clear or useful include NHC VIII 31.12-17 and 32.2-5. 1.11. 7. Plotinus complains about the Gnostic notion of a "new earth," which is mentioned
14 These beings seem to be hypostasizations of heavenly helpers. They have their own elsewhere in the Untitled Treatise (Enn. 2.9 [33] 5.23-26, T�V yfjv Katv�v; Unt. Tr.
sub-aeons, which seem to be servants who assist them with the celestial liturgy and bap­ 249.21 [Schmidt/MacDermot], nKO-('. NBppe), but this is an eschatological notion, rather
tism (see below, n. 21). than a cognomen for the "a(eth)erial earth"; see Burns, Apocalypse of the Alien God, I 07.
15 Text provided in The Books of Jeu and the Untitled Treatise in the Bruce Codex 18 Unt. Tr. 264.5-7; cf. Zost. 6.7-17. Mikhar and Mikheus also appear in Gos. Eg. IV

(ed. Carl Schmidt, trans. and rev. Violet MacDermot; NHS 13; Leiden: Brill, 1978), 76.4, 9-10 =I I I 64.14, 20; Apoc. Adam 84.4-8; Zost. 47.24; on Barpharanges, see below.
19 I hope to investigate this evidence further elsewhere.
263.16-264.6, pp. 49-51 in the manuscript in the reckoning of Schmidt. Eric Cregheur
has recently argued that numeration of the pages should rather follow that proposed by 20 Me/eh. NHC IX 6.2-5, 17.6-19.
Baynes, with the present pages in question then coming at the encl of the Untitled Trea­ 21 Trim. Prat. 38.33-39.7: "The first aeon, now, he established [on the first]:
tise, numbered 60-61. Cregheur, "Edition critique, traduction et introduction des ' deux Harmed5n, Nousa[nion, Harmozel]; [the] second he established [upon the second aeon]:
Livres de Ieou (MS Bruce 96)', avec des notes philogiques et textuelles" (PhD diss., Phaionion Ainion Oroiael; the third (he established) upon the third aeon: Mellephanea,
Universite Laval, 2013), 75-76, 482-83. L5ion, Daveithai; the fourth (he established) upon the fourth: Mousanion, Amethen,
1 6 Or, more parsimoniously, "the antitypes of Aerodios," per MacDermot. The Grae­ Eleleth. Therefore, these are the aeons who were produced through the begotten God, the
co-Coptic word aep68to� is not found in major Greek lexica. Perhaps the term is an ad­ Christ."
jective describing a passage through the li�p, i.e., the stratosphere; thus "celestial," or 22 Dylan M. Burns, "Aion," in The Routledge Encyclopedia of Ancient Mediterranean
"heavenly." Religions (ed. Eric Orlin, et al.; London/New York: Routledge, 2016), 26.
146 Dylan M. Burns Sethian, Coptic, Christian 147

dependent upon or shares a source with a version of the myth ascribed by on the part of Sophia.2 6In Trimorphic Protennoia, the " Luminaries" praise
Irenaeus of Lyons (ea. 18 0) to certain Gnostics, a myth termed by modern the Invisible Spirit, as in other treatises noted already. But here, immedi­
scholars " Barbeloite" due to its focus on the Barbelo as divine genetrix of ately following their praise, a "logos" appears from Eleleth, and poses a
the intelligible cosmos.23 The "Four Luminaries," here named Armogenes, question presuming a rupture in the heavenly realm, apparently enacting
Raguel, David, and· Eleleth, are therefore a Barbleoite mythologoumenon such a rupture by doing so in what scholars might today call a "performa­
that goes back at least to roughly the mid-second century CE. This formu­ tive speech-act":
lation includes their association with the Autogenes-Christ aeon (also men­ Then, a Logos was issued from the great light, Eleleth, and said, "I am king! Who be­
tioned by Irenaeus), and thus the composition of the Luminaries with the longs to Chaos, and who to Hades?" At that time, his light appeared radiant, possessing
Autogenes as a pentad. 24 We cannot trace their existence, to the best afterthought . . .27
knowledge of this author, further back than Irenaeus.2 5
Next to this nasty logos appears a terrible demon who rules over chaos,
Saklas, and it is he who adopts the familiar unpleasant characteristics of
the Gnostic demiurge in the rest of our narrative.
Eleleth as Responsible for Creation Something similar happens in the Egyptian Gospel; here, after Seth
places his seed in Davithe, "five thousand years" pass, and Eleleth pro­
Yet there are several cases in the "Sethian" corpus delineated by Schenke nounces, "let one reign over the chaos and Hades."28 The precise events
and Turner where one of the Four Luminaries, Eleleth, does not at all walk that follow are unclear due to lacunae in the manuscripts, but the end
or talk like the Eleleth of Apocryphon ofJohn et al. One is a peculiar liter­ products are "Sakla, the great angel," and his partner in creation, "Nebruel,
ary tradition which casts responsibility for the crack in the pleroma that the great demon."29 We seem to find Eleleth in a comparable role in the
eventually produces the demiurge at the feet of Eleleth, rather than a fault Gospel of Judas, where he summons into existence angels to rule over the
underworld, including "Nebro" and "Saklas."3 0 These episodes stick out in
23 Irenaeus, Haer. 1 .29, where the luminares are named Armoges, Raguel, David, and Gnostic literature, where some kind of error of Sophia or another being is
Eleleth. usually responsible for the generation of the demiurge and the cosmos. So,
24 The question of the relationship of this mythologoumenon to the mysterious rite why would Eleleth be singled out as culpable for the malevolent world­
known as the "Five Seals" I forego here. For an argument that the "Five Seals" refers to a
ruler(s) in the Trimorphic Protennoia, the Egyptian Gospel, and the Gospel
fivefold chrismation (corresponding to these five aeonic beings), following a threefold 31
baptism (corresponding to the Barbeloite triad of Father, Mother, and Son), see Alastair
of Judas (if the proposed restoration of the text is correct)? The philo­
H. B. Logan, "The Mystery of the Five Seals: Gnostic Initiation Reconsidered," VC 51 sophical reason is clear enough: by exculpating Sophia of error, these texts
(1997): 188-206, esp. 190; Rasimus, Paradise Reconsidered, 258. attempt to conceive of the Gnostic cosmogony as a providential event,
25 Proposed etymologies of their names run the gamut and tell us nothing certain, ex­
cept that the names are likely of Hebrew or Aramaic origin; for survey, see Soren
Giversen, Apocryphon Johannis: The Coptic Text of the Apooyphon Johann is in the Nag
Hammadi Codex II, with Translation, Introduction and Commentary (ATDan 5; Copen­
hagen: Munksgaard, 1963), 183-85. Meanwhile, Paul-Hubert Poirier and Michel Tardieu 26 Poirier and Tardieu, "Categories du temps," 10; see also John D. Turner, "Nag
have argued the names are of "Zurvanist inspiration," Persian terms referring to a quad­ Hammadi Codex XIII,1 ': Notes to Text and Translation," in Nag Hammadi Codices XI,
partite division of time into four salvific-historical epochs ("Categories du temps dans Jes XII, and XJll (ed. Charles W. Hedrick; NHS 28; Leiden: Brill, 1990), 435-54, 441-43;
erits gnostiques non valentiniens," LTP 37:1 [1981]: 3-13, 12-13, a suggestion admired Turner, Platonic Tradition, 228-30, and in the following discussion.
but rejected by Gedaliahu G. Stroumsa, A nother Seed: Studies in Gnostic Mythology 27 Trim. Prof. 39.13-19.
28
[NHS 24; Leiden: Brill, 1984], 55 n. 7). Eugenia Smagina has instead proposed (without Gas. Eg. III 56.22-25.
evidence) that the names are of Persian origin, referring to the four elements; Smagina, 29 Gas. Eg. I I I 56.26-57.22. See also Alexander Bohlig and Frederik Wisse, "Com­
"Das manichaische Kreuz des Lichts und der Jesus Patibilis," in Augustine and Mani­ mentary: The Gospel of the Egyptians," in Nag Hammadi Codices J!J,2 and JV,2: The
chaeism in the. Latin West: Proceedings of the Fribourg-Utrecht Symposium of the Inter­ Gospel of the Egyptians (The Holy Book of the Great Invisible Spirit) (ed. Alexander
national Association of Manichaean Studies [JAMS} (ed. Johannes van Oort, Otto Wer­ Bohlig and Frederik Wisse; NHS 4; Leiden: Brill, 1975), 183.
melinger, and Gregor Wurst; NHMS 49; Leiden: Brill, 200 I), 248. Dr. Mushegh Asa­ 30 Gos. Jud. 51.1-23, restoring the first word of the page as fi>-.""c[H>-.He], per Turner,
tryan and Dr. Khodadad Rezakhani relate to me that, pace Prof. Smagina, the names of "Sethian Myth," I 00; for detailed discussion, see Jenott, Gospel ofJudas, 94-97.
the Luminaries do not appear to recall Old or Middle Persian terms for air, fire, earth, 31 Indeed, Turner himself wonders what the benefit of this shift in Gnostic mythos ob­
and water. tains (Platonic Tradition, 229 n. 6).
148 Dylan M. Burns Sethian, Coptic, Christian 149

willed by the divine.32 What remains is the question of why Eleleth in par­ (Norea cried), " Deliver me from the rulers of unrighteousness! Save me from their
ticular is assigned responsibility for creation . clutches! - Right now!"
A <great> angel descended from the heavens, saying to her, "why do you shout up at
God? Why do you dare to (act this way before) the Holy Spirit?"
Norea replied: "Who are you?" The rulers of unrighteousness had withdrawn from
Eleleth in the Hypostasis of the Archons her.
He said, "It is I, Eleleth, Wisdom, the great angel who stands in the presence of the
John D. Turner has argued that we can understand what is happening with Holy Spirit. I have been sent to speak with you, and to save you from the clutches of the
lawless ones. And I shall teach you about your root."
Eleleth in Trimorphic Protennoia and the Egyptian Gospel if we turn to the
Now, as for that angel, I could never speak of his power; his appearance is like fine
evidence preserved in the Hypostasis of the Archons (NHC II,4). Scholars gold, and his robe is like snow. Nay, my mouth should be unable to bear speaking of his
generally recognize that the treatise is a revealer-discourse in two parts, of power, and the look on his face!
clearly distinct provenances .33 It was designated "Sethian" by Schenke and The great angel Eleleth spoke to me. "It is I," he said, "understanding. I come from
34 the Four Luminaries, beings who stand in the presence of the Great Invisible Spirit . . . "38
Turner on the basis of the appearance of Eleleth as revelator. However,
the text has no other references to Sethian mythologoumena - in fact, Seth Eleleth then narrates the creation of the world, and the eventual redemp­
himself only "appears" in a mutilated passage, where his name has to be tion of the "kingless generation" by a "True Man" through salvific
restored to the text. He is not the revealer, savior, or cosmic being who we chrism.39
find in the undisputedly "Sethian" material; in fact, he plays no role at all The revelator in this passage refers to himself once as one of the Four
in the rest of the narrative, which proceeds to introduce and focus on his Luminaries, but everything else about the scene leads us to think other­
sister, the virgin Norea.35 Indeed, Rasimus has argued convincingly that wise . The revealer is dubbed three times a "great angel (TNOG Nb..rT6-
the text's theology should be considered " Ophite," in light of mytholo­ A.oc)."40 He has a physical appearance recalling that of traditional Jewish
goumena shared with several other Nag Hammadi texts, and especially its theophanies, in stark contrast to the decidedly opaque aeons of the Auto­
1
revisionary speculation on the famous story of Adam and Eve's encounter genes we know from other "Sethian" literature.4 Indeed, the other Lumi­
with the Serpent in the Garden of Eden . 3 6 naries appear nowhere throughout the rest of the text; nor do the Auto­
Significantly, the revealer in the second half of the text is our friend genes aeon, nor the Invisible Spirit. In fact, the rest of the treatise prefers
Eleleth. Poor Norea comes under assault from the archons,37 and cries to an entirely different appellation for the divine - "The Immortality" (often
heaven for help:
Almqvist & Wiksell, 1977), 143-52; Pearson later argued that Norea is effectively a
32 Thus Jenott, Gospel ofJudas, 97-99. salvatrix salvanda: "Revisiting Norea," in Images of the Feminine in Gnosticism (ed.
33 The basic insight of Rodolphe Kasser, "Formation de 'L'Hypostase des Archon­ Karen L. King; Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1988), 265-75; cf. Stroumsa, Another Seed,
tes,"' BSA C 21 (1971-1973): 88, even if one is skeptical about his reconstruction of a 54-60.
redaction-history for the text, as is Roger A. Bullard, "The Hypostasis of the Archons: 38 Hyp. Arch. 93.1-22.
'
Introduction," in Nag Hammadi Codex II,2-7, together with XIII, 2 , Brit. Lib. 39 Hyp. Arch. 96.27-97.16.
Or.4926(1), and P.Oxy. 1. 654, 655 (ed. Bentley Layton; NHS 20; 2 vols.; Leiden: Brill, 40 Hyp. Arch. 93.8, 93.18, 94.3.
1989), 1:220-33, 222, 225. 41 The "appearance like fine gold" (rmoyB €T'coTn') recalls 4QShirShabbg 4Q405 23 ii

34 For summary of scholarship, see Ursula Ulrike Kaiser, Die Hypostase der Archonten 9-10: "the substance of the spirit of glory is like work from Ophir, that shines" ('ill�1"::l
(Nag-Hammadi-Codex JI, 4). Neu herausgegeben, iibersetzt und er/dart (TUGAL 156; i [1t\] 'i't\1" IJ'i'!J1t\), i.e. quality gold (trans. Florentino Garcia Martinez and Eibert J. C.
Berlin : Walter de Gruyter), 33-35. Tigchelaar, The Dead Sea Scrolls: Study Edition [2 vols.; Leiden: Brill, 1997], 837; for
35 Hyp. Arch. 91.30-92.3: "And Adam [had knowledge] of his partner, Eve, and she Ophir, the Biblical "El Dorado," as roughly synonymous with fine gold, see Brown­
birthed [Seth] to Adam, and said, 'I [have given birth to another] man, through God, in Driver-Briggs, Hebrew and English Lexicon, 20b). For the "robe like snow" on the An­
place [of Abel].' Again Eve became pregnant, and gave birth [to Norea]. And she (Eve) cient of Days, see Dan 7:9 ("his clothing was white as snow"); similarly 1 En. 14:20-21,
said, 'he (Adam) has begotten [me on a virgin], as aid [from] generation to generation of and the transfiguration of Jesus on the mountain (Mark 9:2-3, Luke 9:29). For beings
humanity. She is the virgin, who none of (the) powers have defiled."' with hair as white as snow, see: Apoc. Abr. 11:1-3, Jos. Asen. 22:7. For citation and
36 On "Ophite" Gnosticism, see Rasimus, Paradise Reconsidered, 54-62. discussion of these passages, I am indebted to Peter R. Carrell, Jesus and the A ngels:
37 For a summary of ancient traditions about the figure of Norea, see Birger Pearson, Angelology and the Christology of the Apocalypse of John (SNTSMS 95; Cambridge:
"The Figure of Norea in Gnostic Literature," in Proceedings of the International Collo­ Cambridge University Press, 1997), 37, 61, 82-84, 163-64; cf. Kaiser, Hypostase der
quium on Gnosticism, Stockholm, August 20-25, 1 973 (ed. Geo Widengren; Stockholm: Archonten, 291.
15 0 Dylan M Burns Sethian, Coptic, Christian 151

rendered by translators as "indestructibility" - Copt. TMNT2'TT2>..KO Grk . = chons (93.2 0-22) is a gloss on the text by a scribe who found these Bar­
acp6ap0ta). This term is rare to the other Sethian treatises, although it is beloite mythologumena to be attractive authorities . The "four holy helpers"
used once in Apocryphon of John to denote the Sethian first principle, the of Norea could refer to any group of four angelic beings; indeed, angels
Great Invisible Spirit, a point we shall return to below.42 In short, even like to travel in packs of four, as Turner himself recognizes.4 8 The "Immor­
though Eleleth is a central character to the second half of the Hypostasis of tality" of the Hypostasis of the Archons plays none of the usual roles of the
the Archons, the only other evidence of Barbeloite mythologumena in the Barbelo (i.e., the divine mother, providence, etc.), and instead seems to
text - the reference to the Four Luminaries and the Great Invisible Spirit - refer to a first principle - indeed, as it once does in the Apocryphon of
appears as an afterthought, distinct from the language used about divine John. This would make sense in the context of Jewish sapiential literature,
beings (including Eleleth himself !) throughout the rest of the treatise. for the Wisdom of Solomon refers to God's creative, "immortal spirit"
Turner synthesizes the evidence on Eleleth - which he delimits to the (Copt. n€nN€yMo.. N2>..TT2>..KO), and the "immortality" (MNT2>..TT2>..KO) in which
Nag Hammadi corpus and Irenaeus as follows: "Immortality" is also one God created Adam, which can be recovered by following the Law and re­
of five characteristics assigned to Barbelo in the Apocryphon of John, and turning to God.49 Rather than serving as a cognomen for Barbelo, then, the
so he speculates that the "Immortality" in the Hypostasis of the Archons is term "Immortality" as an appellation for God in the Hypostasis of the Ar­
nothing else than a cognomen for Barbelo.43 He observes further that chons draws from a greater wellspring of Jewish lore in which immortality
Norea calls for help, and Eleleth answers; now, in Trimorphic Protennoia, is the binding agent between God and humanity, a wellspring from which
after Eleleth calls for the creation of the world, Epinoia-Sophia calls for the Apocryphon of John must have drunk as well. The Hypostasis of the
help, and is forthwith restored to pleroma . Even though her cry is ad­ Archons is thus a complex textual unit comprised of multiple sources and
dressed to no one in particular, its proximity to Eleleth's short speech leads indebted to multiple literary traditions ( Ophite and Barbeloite).
Turner to suppose that Epinoia beseeches Eleleth.44 He then also recalls a If it is probably the case that the reference to the Four Luminaries and
short, fragmentary treatise from NHC IX, in which the character Norea is the Invisible Spirit in the Hypostasis of the Archons is a scribal gloss, lend­
aided by "four holy helpers (nljT2>..Y NBOHeoc €TOY2'2>..B')."45 Turner con­ ing the "great angel" the weighty authority of Barbeloite tradition, was the
cludes that that "the Thought ofNorea, the Trimorphic Protennoia, and the name of the "great angel" Eleleth, or was this name added along with the
Gospel of the Egyptians" witness a stage in the Christianization of the reference to the Invisible Spirit and the Four Luminaries? We cannot say .
Barbeloite-Sethian myth, taking place in the late second century, where Yet, should we turn to evidence about Eleleth and the "Four Luminaries"
Epinoia/Sophia is innocent, "such that her restoration to the Light no long­ outside of the Nag Hammadi corpus, we are forced to entertain the possi­
er requires repentance for a willful act performed without her consort, as is bility that the references to the "Four Luminaries" and the "Great Invisible
46
the case in the Apocryphon of John." We are asked to read the "four Spirit" entered the text of the Hypostasis of the Archons as glosses to
helpers" of Norea in NHC IX as substitutes for the Barbeloite Four Lumi­ Norea's dialogue with "the great angel, Eleleth" (and not simply "the great
naries; Sophia's cry for help to no one in Trimorphic Protennoia as angel"): Eleleth possessed his own authority in later first-millennium
Norea's cry for help answered by Eleleth in the Hypostasis of the Archons; Egypt, apart from the Barbeloite mythologoumenon of the "Four Luminar�
the "Immortality" of the Hypostasis of the Archons as Barbelo in the Apoc­ ies," as a benevolent superhuman being.
47
ryphon ofJohn.
Turner's analysis is a remarkable presentation of what could have been .
But must it have been? I find it at least as likely that the reference to the
"Four Luminaries" and the "Invisible Spirit" in the Hypostasis of the Ar-

42 Ap. John II 2.30 = BG 22.22. I thank Kristine Toft Rosland for the reference. 48 For instance, in J En. 9-10, the four archangels Raphael, Urie!, Michael, and Ga­
43 Ap. John II 5.21, 23 =BG 28.15-16; Turner, Platonic Tradition, 107. briel descend from heaven to battle the Watchers. Cf. Stroumsa, A nother Seed, 55 n. 7,
44 Trim. Prof. 39.32-40.4. followed by Turner, Platonic Tradition, 229 n. 6; Kaiser, Hypostase der Archonten, 289;
45 Norea 28.24-30. see also n. 59 below.
46 Turner, Platonic Tradition, 99; similarly, 228-30, and 169-70 on this stage of 49 Wis 12:1, 2:23, 6:19-20; Coptic text in Paul de Lagarde, A egyptiaca (Giittingen:
Christianization of "the Sethian descent myth." Arnoldi Hoyer, 1883). The term &.cpOapcria refers to "immortality" in early Christian lit­
47 Turner, Platonic Tradition, I 08. erature more widely: e.g., Apoc. Pet. 75.7.
152 Dylan M Burns Sethian, Coptic, Christian 153

Eleleth and Davithe Equally striking is another papyrus at the British Museum (P.Lond. Or.
in Egyptian Magical and Homiletic Literature 5987), dated by Crum to the seventh or e ighth century and republished by
Kropp, where an exorcism and general call for power is laden with occa­
Indeed, Eleleth possesses h is own life, not as a Barbeloite " Luminary" but s ional "Gnostic" language (i.e., to "aeons" and Yao Sabaoth) and invoca­
a s imply a powerful angel, throughout ancient and early medieval Egyptian t ions of many angelic beings.53 The magician calls upon "Arimiel Davithe
Christian l iterature, particularly in magical texts. The name Eleleth - usu­ Eleleth Ermukratos Adonai Ermusr, the invisible Bainchooch." 54 Then,
ally together with Davithe, himself also a distinct character - appears in Davithe is described as a k ind of supra-angelic figure:
many extant texts, six of which we shall review here. F ive are preserved in Davithe, with the golden hair, whose eyes are lightning-bolts, it is you, in whose hand
Coptic, one in Greek; they range in date from the third or fourth century lies the keys to divinity; when you close something, one cannot open it again; when you
CE to the end of the first m illennium of our era.5 0 open, one cannot close it again. It is you, who gives from the golden cup to the church of
the first-born. Davithe, you are the Allfather, you are the one who blows the golden
The first spell is a papyrus from the British Museum published by
trumpet of the Father; you blow to gather all to you who exist throughout all creation -
Kropp. The spell is used to acquire a good vo ice. Davithe and Eleleth (or: whether principality or angel or archangel.55
a single entity, Davithe-Eleleth) are amongst the beings invoked:
Here, Davithe seems to enjoy supra-archangelic status, almost l ike what
I invoke you (sg.) today, Daveithea, ye who lie upon the bed of the Tree of Life, ye in
whose right hand lies the golden ring, in whose left hand lies the spiritual lyre; ye, gath­
we would expect of a celestial vice-regent.
ering all the angels for the greeting of The Father. We also come across Daviethe and Eleleth in a magical text copied onto
I invoke you (sg.) today, Davithea, Eleleth (TITO.PKO MHOK i1nooy A0.6€10€0. €�€�fie), a parchment codex, probably in the later tenth century CE, 5 6 at the climax
in the names of the seven holy archangels: Michael, Gabriel, Souriel, Hraphael, Asouel,
Sarafouel, Abael - those who are established at the right hand of the forearm of the Fa­
ther, prepared to fulfill his will entire - so that you (pl.) might obey everything that will 52 P.Lond.Or. 6794 1.6-17 (ed. Angelicus Kropp, Ausgewiihlte koptische Zaubertexte;
be uttered by my mouth and act under my control,51 descend upon this cup. . .52 3 vols.; Brussels: Edition de la fondation egyptologique, 1930-3 J ), 1 :29-30 (text),
2:104-5 (trans.). Daviethe remains a focal point of the spell throughout what follows. See
also C. Detlef G. MUiler, Die Engellehre der koptischen Kirche: Untersuchungen zur
Geschichte der christlichen Frommigkeit in Agypten (Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz,
50 I am indebted to members of the 2014 Koptische Lesegruppe Lipsiensis Joost Hagen, 1959), 295-96.
Frederic Krueger, Franziska Naether, and Tonio Sebastian Richter - with whom I read 53 "Certain features of the language might indicate an archaic idiom, though some of
the texts discussed in this section, for their commentary on this fascinating material, these often characterize 7'11 and 9'11 cent. documents from Hermopolis (Ashmunain)"
some of which is reflected in the present translations and notes. Any errors remain my (Walter E. Crum, Catalogue of the Coptic Manuscripts in the British Museum [London:
own of course. By incorporating not only extra-Nag Hammadi but post-conquest materi­ British Museum, 1905], 418). The text is re-edited, with English translation, as an appen­
als into the present study, I am inspired in part by recent historiographical reflection on dix in A Coptic Handbook of Ritual Power (P.Macq. I 1) (ed. Malcolm Choat and Iain
the virtues of mapping trajectories across the first millennium CE, rather than simply late Gardner; Macquarie Papyri l ; Turnhout: Brepols, 2014). One "Seth" is mentioned on line
antiquity; see chiefly Garth Fowden, Before and After Muhammad: The First Millenium 98, whom Crum and Kropp (Catalogue, 420a n. 5; Zaubertexte, 2:159, respectively)
Refocused (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2014). In the interest of brevity, I surmise to be the Egyptian god Seth-Typhon, contrasted with Jesus Christ. This is all but
set aside a questionable reference to Eleleth: P.Mich. inv. 593 18.4 mentions the name impossible, for "neither Seth, the son of Adam, nor Christ is ever welded with the Egyp­
"Eielaeilath" in a long list of voces magicae and names of superhuman entities (Paul tian god Seth-Typhon" in extant ancient literature (Jar! Fossum and Ben Glazer, "Seth in
Mirecki, "The Coptic Wizard's Hoard," HTR 87:4 [1994]: 435-60, 451). Less questiona­ the Magical Texts," ZPE 100 [1994]: 92).
ble is the m..riA.u8 we meet alongside, Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and Ouriel in P.Med. I 54 P.Lond.Or. 5987 1.13-14 (Kropp, Zaubertexte, 1:22, 2:149). Similarly, 1.45-46. For
20, a Greek spell written on papyrus dated to the fifth-sixth century CE and used as an further commentary, see MUiler, Engellehre, 295.
amulet. See Robert W. Daniel and Franko Maltonmini, Supplementum Magicum Vol. II 55 P.Lond.Or. 5987 1.71-80 (Kropp, Zaubertexte, 1:24-25, 2:152-53).
(Abhandlungen der Rheinisch-Westfalischen Akademie der Wissenschaften Sonderreihe 56 Thus Marvin Meyer, The Magical Book of Mary and the Angels (P. Heid.Jnv.Kopt.
Papyrologica Coloniensia 16.2; Opladen: Westdeutscher Verlag, 1992), 204-8, for edi­ 685). Text, Translation, Commentary (Heidelberg: Universitiitsverlag C. Winter, 1996),
tion, translation, and commentary. However, Eleleth's appearance on the gold amulet 5, following the analysis of Hans Quecke, "Palimpsestfragmente eines koptischen Lek­
housed at the J. Paul Getty Museum (discussed below) suffices to demonstrate the an­ tionars (P. Heid. Kopt. Nr. 685)," Mus 85 (1972): 5-24. See further Marvin Meyer, "The
gel's circulation in Greek-language magical texts at an earlier date. Persistence of Ritual in the Magical Book of Mary and the Angels: P.Heid.Jnv.Kopt.
5 1 A somewhat free rendering of NTf?[nt]€1p€ co. No.TOOT; on the idiom €Ip€ NO.TOOT�, 685," in Practicing Gnosis: Ritual, Magic, Theurgy and Liturgy in Nag Hammadi, Mani­
see Crum, Coptic Dictionary, 426a. Cf. Kropp (following note), ". . . auf dafl ihr alien chaean and Other Ancient Literature. Essays in Honor of Birger A. Pearson (ed. April
AussprUchen meines Mundes gehorchet, gemafl den Winken meiner Hand handelt." DeConick et al.; NHMS 85; Leiden: Brill, 2013), 360-61.
154 Dylan M. Burns Sethian, Coptic, Christian 155

of a protracted apotropaic spell that also invokes the Father, the Son, mighty, king of all the aeons, forever alive in the holy aeons, with the keys
countless angels, and particularly the Virgin Mary: of Tavithe in his hand; if he closes, no one is able [to] open; if he opens,
no one is able to close . . ." 64 Sabaoth is again intoned, "in the name of
I adjure you today, by the chalice of blood from which the angels drank, until they re­
Mosel, Piel, the great Hermosel, Hermopiel, Elethe, Davithe, Eleleth,
ceived the Holy Spirit, that (you) send me your holy hand upon the water and the oil; set
before me - me, NN - and let St. Mary, the Holy Virgin, come down upon them, and may Souriael - these who are within the four great luminaries, luminous, inef­
she bless the water, that it becomes salvation and purification, so that at the moment that fable. Davithe, prepare for me your 24 0, 000 angels . . ." 65 In part of the
NN is washed in it, s/he becomes saved. Yea, yea, at once, at once! I adjure you today, text sharing a source with P.Lond. Or. 5987, Davithe is a kind of heavenly
(by) his four imperishable mysteries: Daveithea, Eleleth, Orem, Mosiel, who are spread gatekeeper, key and trumpet in hand, eyes blazing; it is he, not Eleleth,
out upon the four sides of heaven . . .57
who is repeatedly invoked as a kind of celestial vice-regent:
Here Daviethe and Eleleth appear with two other beings (and so in a group IB Davithe, he who possesses the golden palm-branch. The Father, the Invisible one. It is
of four), but are not dubbed "luminaries." No other Sethian mythologu­ you whose eyes shoot out fiery, invisible lightning. You are the new aeon; it is you who
mena appear in the text. This "prayer of Mary" was popular, and is pre­ wears the golden girdle of the father. It is you who has the keys (to) the luminous heav­
served (more or less) in at least eight other versions. 58 The Barbeloite ens of God in your hand . . . It is you who has the golden trumpet in your hand. When
you blow the trumpet, they all gather.66
" Luminaries" pop up in some of these parallels as well.59
Fourthly, a newly-published parchment codex from the later first mil­ The incantation mentions Eleleth again, as well as " Makhar Seth, Seth, the
lennium CE (P.Macq. I 1) begins with an incantation which is beholden to living Christ . . . the one whom they call Bainchooch, Bainchonoth," and,
a variety of Gnostic mythologoumena, many of them familiar to us from 67
in a string of nomina barbara, "Sesengenbarpharankes."
Sethian literature. 60 Much of the text of this incantation is shared with Fifthly, three of the Luminaries are encountered as august angels in a
P.Lond. Or. 5987 and P. Berl. inv. 5527, 61 suggesting a shared source which Coptic homily entitled the Investiture of the Archangel Gabriel. The text is
the editors identify as a "Sethian Gnostic" incantation, perhaps resembling preserved in J. Pierpont Morgan M593, copied 892/93 CE, 68 which only
the Three Steles of Seth (NHC VII, 5). 62 Barbelo appears, identified as a offers us a terminus ante quem.69 Here, the apostles regale Jesus with ques­
"living wisdom, filled by the two loins of the Father. She has birthed for us tions about the "aeon of light" and the angels, and he responds by having
a Perfect Man." 63 The magician calls upon "Sabaoth, the Lord God Al- angels come down from heaven and introduce themselves. An angel with
I OOO eyes who rules over 24 0, 000 angels introduces himself as follows:
57 7.22-8. l 0 (trans. Meyer, Magical Book of Mary, modified). 2>..NOK ne MA.He.70 The initial epsilon in "Eleleth" was likely elided, follow­
58 Given in Meyer, Magical Book of Mary, 58.
ing ne. "Harmosiel, trumpeter of the aeons of light" arrives not long after­
59 E.g., P. Copt. Mus. 4958: "Yea, yea, for I adjure you by these great luminaries 71
(N1N06' €<j>illCTHP10N), ineffable in their glory, whose names are Taveithe, Ori­
wards, leading the souls of the righteous to "City of the Beloved One."
el . . . [E]leleth, who are spread out over the four corners of heaven" (tr. Meyer, Magical
Book of Mmy, 77 modified). Smagina is thus right to suspect that the Sethian Four Lumi­
naries were associated by at least some with the famous Jewish tradition of four angels
64 P.Macq. 1, 2.6-12.
surrounding the throne of God (e.g., Rev 7: 1), one over the domain of each of the four
directions, north, south, east, and west ("Das manichaische Kreuz," 248-49). Meyer 65 P. Macq. 1, 2.21-27.
66 P. Macq. l, 4.11-19.
notes that the "luminaries" are "'stars' in ancient gnostic, astronomical, and astrological
67 P. Macq. J, 5.13, 7.26-8.1, 10.18-19, respectively.
reflection," and that they appear in P.Lond.Or. 5987 and Ap. John (Magical Book of
68 Leo Depuydt, Catalogue of Coptic Manuscripts in the Pierpont Morgan L ibrmy (2
Mmy, 79).
60 See Choat and Gardner, Magical Handbook. The text I cite by MS page and line vols.; Corpus of Illuminated Manscripts 4-5, Oriental Series 1-2; Leuven: Peeters,
number, the editors' commentary by the edition's page number. I thank Profs. Choat and 1993), 1:214-15.
69 C. Detlef G. Millier, ed., Die Bucher der Einsetzung der Erzengel Michael und
Gardner for sharing their text and translation with me in advance of its publication.
61 On the former text, see above, n. 53; the latter is published in Walter Beltz, "Die Gabriel (CSCO 225, Scriptores Coptici 31; Leuven: Secretariat de CorpusSCO, 1962),
koptischen Zauberpapyri der Papyrus-Sammlung der Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin," APF vi. For a summary of the text's contents, see MUiler, Engellehre, 223-35.
29 (1983): 61. 70 Millier, Biicher der Einsetzung, 66.30-31.
62 Although I generally concur with its broad strokes, the argument of Choat and 71 MUiler, Biicher der Einsetzung, 67.8-12. The same Harmosiel appears, together
Gardner is complex and calls for a point-by-point critical discussion. For reasons of with Daueithe and his lyre, in O.Cairo 49547, published by L. Saint-Paul Gerard, "Un
space, I therefore will set it aside in the present contribution. fragment de liturgie magique copte sur ostrakon," in ASAE 27 (1927): 62-68; see further
63 P.Macq. 1, 1.16-20. Kropp, Zaubertexte, 2:102; Millier, Engellehre, 311.
156 Dylan M Burns Sethian, Coptic, Christian 157

"Daueithel" later appears as part of a different group of angels, and an­ mous Aramaic inscription alongside the name Sesengen Barpharan ges (an­
76 Some of the
nounces that he is "in the church of the first-born." 72 other title we find both in magical and Gnostic sources).
Finally, we possess one Greek spell written on a thin sheet of gold-foil, "Four Luminaries" may have started out as denizens of magical literature,
likely for use as an amulet, where Eleleth appears amongst a plenitude of whence Irenaeus' "Gnostics" - and, perhaps, the author(s) of the Hyposta­
73 sis of the Archons - discovered them.
other deities and angels adjured to cure one "Aurelia" of epilepsy. The
pantheon includes the "God of Abraham," " Lord Iao, Sabaoth," "Raphael,
Gabriel . . . Abrasax," and "Sesengenbarpharanges Iao aieiuaei Ieou Iao
Sabaoth, Adonaie, Eleleth, [I]ako." On paleographical grounds, it was as­ Conclusion
signed by Potansky to the third-century CE, but Kearsley argues that its
reference to the "Gnostic deity" Eleleth, as well as use of the Chi-Rho It is thus impossible to say whether Eleleth was originally a "magical" or
sign, indicate a fourth-century provenance.74 Although the document is "Gnostic" deity, and this should not surprise us. We face this quandary
relatively short and its description of these superhuman entities curt, it is with many characters from Gnostic literature who are said to be "Gnostic"
crucial evidence for ascertaining the development of traditions about the or "magical" (depending on who you ask): our earliest certain attestation to
Four Luminaries, for we see that at least one of the classic " Barbeloite" Abrasax, for instance, is in the thought of Basilides, at the beginning of the
77
Luminaries also lived in the world of Egyptian Christian magic, at least as second century, yet, given Abrasax's ubiquity in magical papyri and
early as the fourth century CE - the earliest possible time the Nag Ham­ gems, Jackson presumes that Basilides "borrowed the name from the mag-
. 78
madi Codices could have been assembled. ic tradition," and thus we find Abrasaxes throughou t Gnostic l'
1terature.
One might be tempted to describe that the texts discussed here as What we can say is that at least some traditions that were associated with
"Sethian," or at least "Gnostic," since they mention Eleleth and, often, Sethianism (e.g., nomenclature for benevolent superhuman beings, like
Davithe. Yet what they make clear is that mention of one or two of the Eleleth) also circulated amongst magicians in third or fourth-century Ro­
Four Luminaries in a spell does not make it "Sethian," given the absence man Egypt, and these traditions continued to circulate all the way through
of other characteristics associated with "Sethianism," as is quite obvious in the end of the first millennium CE, both in spells, as we see in MSS like
the case of the Investiture, where (E)leleth, Daueithel, and Harmosiel are P.Macq. I 1 or P.Heid.Inv.Kopt. 685, as well as in angelological texts, like
simply angels. Given that our earliest attestation of any of the names of the that of as J. Pierpont Morgan M593. There are other examples of nomen­
Luminaries is in the account of " Barbeloite" myth given by Irenaeus in the clature shared between treatises from Nag Hammadi and later angelologi­
second century, it is possible that the mythologumenon of the Four Lumi­ cal Coptic texts: Melchizedek calls each of the Four Luminaries "com­
naries is of Gnostic provenance. At the same time, as Howard Jackson has mander-in-chief' (o.px1cTpO.THroc), an epithet for the archangel Michael
79
argued, a significant amount of Gnostic nomenclature seems to ultimately common to later Coptic manuscripts. " Lithargoel," a title used by Christ
derive from the culture of magical practice preserved in the Egyptian papy­
ri.75 Recent studies support this perspective: Einar Thomassen, for in­ 76 Einar Thomassen, "Sethian Names in Magical Texts: Protophanes and Meirotheos,"
in Gnosticism, Platonism, and the Late Ancient World: Essays in Honor of John
D.
stance, has demonstrated how the name " Meirotheos" - hitherto only
Turner (ed. Kevin Corrigan et al.; NHMS 82; Leiden: Brill, 2013), 71-75. On Sesengen
known from the Sethian texts Zostrianos, Trimorphic Protennoia, Egyp­
Barpharanges, Gershom Scholem, Jewish Gnosticism, Merkabah Mysticism, and Talmud­
tian Gospel, and the Three Steles of Seth (NHC VII,5) - appears in a fa-
ic Tradition (New York: The Jewish Theological Seminary of America, 1960), 84-100,
remains useful.
72 Millier, Bucher der Einsetzung, 70.26-27. 77 Irenaeus, Haer. l.24.7.
73 Roy Kotansky, "Two Amulets in the Getty Museum: A Gold Amulet for Amelia's 78 Jackson, "Origin of Some Names," 75.
Epilepsy: An Inscribed Magical Stone for Fever, 'Chills', and Headache," J. Paul Getty 79 See, e.g., the Encomium on the Four Bodiless Living Creatures attributed to John
Museum Journal 8 ( 1980): 181-84. Chrysostom, in Homiletica from the Pierpont Morgan Library (ed. Leo Depuydt; CSCO
74 Kotansky, "Two Amulets," 181; R. A. Kearsley, in New Documents Illustrating 524; Louvain: Peeters, 1991), pp. 29.7-9, 35.34 -37). The manuscript, M61 l , which may
century
Early Christianity, Volume 6: A Review of the Greek Inscriptions and Papyri published have belonged to the same codex as M612, contains a colophon dates to the ninth
attribut­
in 1980-81 (ed. S. R. Llewelyn, with R. A. Kearsley; Macquarie University: Ancient CE (Depuydt, ad Joe., vii-viii). See also an Encomium on John the Baptist, also
History Documentary Research Centre, 1992) 19 5.
, ed to John Chrysostom, in E. A. Wallis Budge, Coptic Apocrypha in the Dialect of
Upper
75 Howard Jackson, "The Origin in Ancient Incantatory Voces Magicae of Some Egypt (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1913), 139.11-15, and the Discourse on Mi­
Names in the Sethian Gnostic System," VC 43 (1989): 69-79. chael the Archangel attributed to Timothy of Alexandria, in Budge, Miscellaneous Cop-
158 Dylan M Burns Sethian, Coptic, Christian 159

qua healer in the Acts of Peter and the Twelve Apostles (NHC VI, ]), is the scholars choose to dub "Sethianism." In first-mil lennium Egyptian magical
name of an angel in the aforementioned Investiture of the Archangel Ga­ and homiletic l iterature, the Luminary Eleleth is a great angel indeed, and
briel. 80 Thus we are in a position to ask: if E leleth can appear as a distinct this is how he appears in N HC II,4 - not Sethian or magical, but Coptic,
character, unmoored from other Sethian mythologumena, in many non­ Christian.
Gnostic Greek and Coptic texts, why could he not appear in a s imilar way
in a Gnostic text, like the Hypostasis of the Archons?
Indeed, the Eleleth of the Hypostasis of the Archons behaves much more Bibliography
like the Davithe or E leleth of Egyptian magical and homiletic l iterature Barry, Catherine, Wolf-Peter Funk, Paul-Hubert Poirier, and John D. Turner, eds. Zostri­
than one of the Four Luminaries we know from the Apocryphon of John or en. Bibliotheque copte de Nag Hammadi section "Textes" 24. Quebec: Les presses de
Zostrianos. Eleleth in the Hypostasis of the Archons is a superhuman being l'Universite Laval, 2000.
dir ectly invoked w ith respect to personal problems (in this case, unwanted Beltz, Walter. "Die koptischen Zauberpapyri der Papyrus-Sammlung der Staatlichen
attention from archons) who admits of (theophanic !) physical description Museen zu Berlin." Archiv fiir Papyrusforschung 29 ( 1983): 59-86.
-. "Die koptischen Zaubertexte der P apyrus-Sammlung der Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin.
and even speaks. The El eleth of the Apocryphon ofJohn and Zostrianos is
Register." Archiv fiir Papyrmforschung 32 ( 1 986): 55-66.
a more traditional Gnostic "aeon," empty of personality and anthropomor­ Bohlig, Alexander, and Frederik Wisse, eds. Nag Hammadi Codices IIl,2 and IV,2: The
phisms; he is a projection of space and time. It is therefore altogether pos­ Gospel of the Egyptians (The Holy Book of the Great Invisible Spirit). Nag Hammadi
s ible that the revelation-discourse in the second half of the Hypostasis of Studies 4. Leiden: Brill, 1975.
the Archons featured the "great angel, Eleleth," a figure well-known to Budge, E. A. Wallis, ed. Coptic Apocrypha in the Dialect of Upper Egypt. Oxford: Ox­
readers of Egyptian Christian r itual texts, even before the angel 's speech ford University Press, 19 1 3.).
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was glossed w ith the authority of the Four Luminaries and the Invisible
versity Press, 1 9 15.
Spirit. Eleleth's same reputation as benevolent celestial entity amongst this Bullard, Roger A . "The Hypostasis of the Archons: Introduction." Pages 1 :220-33 i n Nag
readership could explain why the authors of texts l ike the Trimorphic Hammadi Codex II,2-7, together with XIII, 2, Brit. Lib. Or. 4926(1), and P. Oxy. 1.
Protennoia, the Egyptian Gospel, and the Gospel of Judas would choose 654, 655. 2 Vols. Edited by Bentley Layton. Nag Hammadi Studies 20-2 1 . Leiden:
Eleleth (as opposed to Sophia, or any of the other manifold beings populat­ Brill, 1 9 89.
ing the Sethian aeons) to be the agent responsible for generating unpleas­ Burns, Dylan M. Apocalypse of the A lien God: Platonism and the Exile of Sethian Gnos­
ticism Divinations. Philadelphia, University of Pennyslvania Press, 20 1 4.
ant, angelic world-rulers: what has one to fear from Saklas if it is Eleleth, a
-. "Aion." Page 26 in The Routledge Encyclopedia of Ancient Mediterranean Religions,
familiar angel, who produced him? In any case, it is all but certain that the ed. Eric Orlin, Lisbeth S. Fried, Jennifer Wright Knust, Michael L. Satlow, and Mi­
fame of Eleleth and Daveithe in Egyptian Christianity must have led those chael E. Pregill. London/New York: Routledge, 20 16.
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Sethian literature they copied, bound, collected, and buried. of John. Society for New Testament Studies Monograph Series 95. Cambridge, Cam­
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I). Macquarie Papyri 1 . Turnhout: Brepols, 20 1 4.
at a ll . In one second-century account, the Four Luminaries are four aeons Cregheur, Eric. "Edition critique, traduction et introduction des 'deux Livres de Jeou (MS
that, with the Autogenes, form a d iv ine pentad; they are associated w ith Bruce 96)', avec des notes philogiques et textuelles." PhD. dissertation, Universite
"Gnostics" interested in the Barbelo-aeon. In some of the Nag Hammadi Laval, 20 1 3.
literature, the Four Luminaries of these "( Barbe lo)-Gnostics" comprise one Crum, Walter E. Catalogue of the Coptic Manuscripts in the British Museum. London:
of many pockets of arcana utilized in a discrete literary tradition that we British Museum, 1 905.
Daniel, Robert W. and Franko Maltonmini, eds. and trs., Supplementum Magicum Vol. II.
Abhandlungen der Rheinisch-Westfalischen Akademie der Wissenschaften Sonder­
reihe Papyrologica Coloniensia 1 6.2. Opladen: Westdeutscher Verlag, 1 992.
tic Texts in the Dialect of Upper Egypt (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1 9 15), 5 1 7.6-
Depuydt, Leo. Catalogue of Coptic Manuscripts in the Pierpont Morgan Librmy. 2 Vais.
1 0, 522.20-23, 523. 1 -4.
80 Robert McLachlan Wilson and Douglas Parrott, "Acts of Peter and the Twelve Corpus of Illuminated Manscripts 4-5, Oriental Series 1 -2. Leuven: Peeters, 1 993.
-., ed. Homiletica fi·om the Pie1pont Morgan Librmy. Corpus Scriptorum Christianorum
Apostles," in Nag Hammadi Codices V,2-5 and VJ, with Papyrus Berolinensis 8502, "l "
Orientalium 524; Corpus Scriptorum Christianorum Orientalium, Scriptores Coptici
and "4. " (ed. Douglas M. Parrott; NHS 1 1 ; Leiden: Brill, 1 979), 2 1 4- 1 5, with comments
43. Louvain: Peeters, 1 99 1 .
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JULIO CES A R DIAS CHAYES

The subject of the present article derives from a specific topic treated in
my PhD dissertation, in which I analysed Nag Hammadi Codex V (NHC
V) in light of the literature that circulated in Coptic at the time of its pre­
sumed compilation in the fourth century. Since nothing can convincingly
establish a terminus ante quern for the compilation of the Nag Hammadi
Codices, and since certain other sources, such as Shenoute 's I am Amazed, 1
also known as Catechesis against Apocrypha, 2 c learly demonstrate that
apocryphal texts continued to circulate in fifth-century Egypt, my com­
paranda for the Nag Hammadi texts include Coptic literature that was
probably composed or circulated in the fifth century.
My dissertation research employed two literary theoretical perspectives,
namely reception theory and a literary-comparative approach. The goal of
the first was to deal with NHC V from the perspective of its Coptic read­
ers, as suggested by Stephen Emmel, 3 analysing the Coptic text and its

1 Hans-Joachim Cristea, Schenute van A tripe: Contra Origenistas: Edition des kopti­

schen Textes mit annotierter Ubersetzung und Indizes einschliejJlich einer Ubersetzung
des I 6. Osterfestbrieft des Theophilus in der Fassung des Hieronymus (ep. 96) (STAC
60; Ttibingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2011).
2 See Tito Orlandi, "A Catechesis against Apocryphal Texts by Shenoute and the
Gnostic Texts of Nag Hammadi," HTR 75 (1982): 85-95.
3 Stephen Emmel, "Religious Tradition, Textual Transmission and the Nag Hammadi

Codices," in The Nag Hammadi Library after Fifty Years: Proceedings of the 1995 So­
ciety of Biblical Literature Commemoration (ed. John D . Turner and Anne Maguire;
NHMS 44; Leiden: Brill, 1997), 42: "Regarding the Coptic phases of transmission, there
is one obvious task that has not yet been carried out thoroughly and consistently, that is,
to read the Nag Hammadi Codices as a part of Coptic literature . . . The task is to read the
texts exactly as we have them in the Nag Hammadi Codices in an effort to reconstruct the
reading experience of whoever owned each of the Codices. This reading would have to
be undertaken in full cognizance of contemporary Coptic literature, and the culture of
Upper Egypt during, say, the third to the seventh centuries. It would be a primarily Cop­
tic enterprise, with nothing directly to do with Christian origins, nor necessarily even
with ' Gnosticism."'