MANUSCRIPT GUIDE

Nag Hammadi Library: A Guide to the Texts

A source-aware route into the Nag Hammadi codices: what they contain, what survives, and which Codex ISO editions can be read now.

What is the Nag Hammadi Library?

The name refers to a group of Coptic papyrus codices discovered in Upper Egypt in the twentieth century. They preserve a diverse body of Christian, philosophical and revelatory literature.

Codex II

Nag Hammadi Codex II preserves the Secret Book of John, Gospel of Thomas, Gospel of Philip and several other works.

Manuscript date is not composition date

The surviving codices are later copies of works that may have been composed earlier. Responsible dating distinguishes the physical manuscript from the history of the text it transmits.

READ THE PRIMARY TEXTS

Related Codex ISO editions