The Gospel of Philip: A Public Domain Translation

Public-domain translation of NHC II,3. (ref)

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The Gospel of Philip:
                             A Public Domain Translation

                                   by Mark M. Mattison

    This translation has been committed to the public domain. It may be freely copied
and used, in whole or in part, changed or unchanged, for any purpose.
    The text is based on NHC II,3 – that is, the third tractate of the second volume of
the Nag Hammadi Codices, a Coptic library of ancient texts dating to the fourth
century. This manuscript is the only surviving copy of Philip’s Gospel to date. It begins
on page 51, line 29, and ends on page 86, line 19.
    Like other Coptic Gospels, Philip’s Gospel may be a translation of an earlier Greek
manuscript. It was probably first composed in Syria, or possibly Egypt, with strong
influence from Syriac Christianity. Many scholars believe that Philip’s Gospel may have
been originally written as early as the second century, but this Coptic text (the only
version known to exist so far) clearly reflects a Christian context no earlier than the
fourth century.
    This translation takes some steps toward mitigating the prevalence of “generic
masculine” language. One strategy is the use of the “singular they.” This is by far the
most common strategy that English speakers use to compensate for the lack of a
gender-inclusive singular third person pronoun; hence, the generic “he” becomes
“they,” even when the antecedent is singular, not plural. When the use of the “singular
they” obscures the antecedent in the text, the subject is clarified in parentheses. None
of the terms in parentheses are found in the original Coptic; rather, they’re editorial
insertions intended to clarify the meaning of the text.
    In addition to parentheses, this translation also uses square brackets. These indicate
gaps (known as “lacunae”) in the manuscript. Words in square brackets are hypothetical
reconstructions (educated guesses) based on the size of the gap, the number of letters
that probably would have fit in that gap, and the surrounding context.
    Finally, angled brackets denote an emendation or correction of what appears to be
a scribal error. Punctuation, paragraph breaks, and section headings are not in the
original Coptic, but are provided for ease of reference. This fact should be kept in mind,
since dividing the text in this way is itself an act of interpretation.
    This translation is based on Coptic transcripts from the following sources:

   Lundhaug, Hugo, Images of Rebirth: Cognitive Poetics and Transformational Soteriology in the
   Gospel of Philip and the Exegesis of the Soul (Brill), 2010

   Robinson, James M., ed., The Coptic Gnostic Library (Brill), 2000

   Till, Walter C., Das Evangelium nach Philippos (Walter de Gruyter), 1963

    For a more colloquial translation along with commentary, see my book The Gospel of
Philip: The Divine Mysteries of Marriage and Rebirth, available from Amazon.com.

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Gentiles, Hebrews, and Christians

    51 A Hebrew creates a Hebrew, and [those] of this kind are called “a proselyte.” But
a [proselyte] doesn’t create (another) proselyte. They’re like […] and they create others
[…] 52 it’s good enough for them that they come into being.
    The slave seeks only freedom; they don’t seek their master’s property. But the son
isn’t just a son; he claims his father’s inheritance for himself. Those who inherit the
dead are themselves dead, and they inherit the dead. Those who inherit the living are
themselves alive, and they inherit (both) the living and the dead. The dead can’t inherit
anything, because how can the dead inherit? If the dead inherits the living they won’t
die, but the dead will live even more! A gentile doesn’t die, because they’ve never lived
in order that they may die. Whoever has believed in the Truth has lived, and is at risk
of dying, because they’re alive since the day Christ came. The world is created, the cities
gentrified, and the dead carried out.
    When we were Hebrews, we were fatherless – we had (only) our mother. But when
we became Christians, we gained both father and mother.

Life, Death, Light, and Darkness

    Those who sow in the winter reap in the summer. The winter is the world, the
summer the other age. Let’s sow in the world so that we may reap in the summer.
Because of this, it’s not right for us to pray in the winter. The summer follows the
winter. But if someone reaps in the winter they won’t reap, but uproot, as this kind
won’t produce fruit […] it doesn’t just come out […] but in the other Sabbath […] it’s
fruitless.
    Christ came 53 to buy some, but to save others, and to redeem yet others. He bought
those who were strangers, made them his own, and set them apart as a pledge as he
wanted to. It wasn’t just when he appeared that he laid down his life when he wanted
to, but since the day the world came into being he laid down his life when he wanted
to. Then he came first to take it, since it had been pledged. It was dominated by the
robbers that had captured it, but he saved it; and those who are good in the world he
redeemed, as well as those who are bad.
    The light and the darkness, the right and the left, are brothers of each other. They’re
inseparable. So, those who are good aren’t good, those who are bad aren’t bad, nor is
life (really) life, nor is death (really) death. Because of this, each one will be dissolved
into its origin from the beginning. But those who are exalted above the world are
indissoluble and eternal.

Names

   The names that are given to those who are worldly are very deceptive, because they
turn the heart away from what’s right to what’s not right, and someone who hears
“God” doesn’t think of what’s right but thinks of what’s not right. So also with “the
Father,” “the Son,” “the Holy Spirit,” “the life,” “the light,” “the resurrection,” “the

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church,” and all the others – they don’t think of [what’s right] but think of what’s [not]
right, [unless] they’ve learned what’s right. The [names that were heard] exist in the
world […] 54 [deceive. If they existed] in the (eternal) age they wouldn’t have been used
as names in the world, nor would they have been placed among worldly things. They
have an end in the (eternal) age.
   There’s one name that isn’t uttered in the world: the name which the Father gave to
the Son. It’s exalted over everything; it’s the Father’s name, because the Son wouldn’t
have become father unless he had taken the name of the Father. Those who have this
name know it, but don’t say it; and those who don’t have it, don’t know it. But Truth
brought names into the world for us, because it’s impossible for us to learn it (Truth)
without these names. There’s only one Truth, but it’s many things for us, to teach this
one thing in love through many things.

The Rulers

   The rulers wanted to deceive humanity, because they (the rulers) saw that they
(humanity) had a kinship with those that are truly good. They took the name of those
that are good and gave it to those that aren’t good, to deceive them (humanity) by the
names and bind them to those that aren’t good; and then, what a favor they do for
them! They take them from those that aren’t good and place them among those that
are good. They knew what they were doing, because they wanted to take those who
were free and place them in slavery forever. There are powers that exist […] humanity,
not wanting them to be [saved], so that they may be […] because if humanity [was
saved], sacrifices [wouldn’t] happen […] and animals offered 55 up to the powers,
because those to whom offerings were made were animals. They were offered up alive,
but when they were offered up they died. A human was offered up to God dead, and
he lived.
   Before Christ came, there wasn’t any bread in the world – just as Paradise, where
Adam was, had many trees to feed the animals but no wheat to feed humanity.
Humanity used to eat like the animals, but when Christ, the perfect human, came, he
brought bread from heaven so that humanity would be fed with the food of humanity.
   The rulers thought they did what they did by their own power and will, but the Holy
Spirit was secretly accomplishing everything it wanted to through them. Truth, which
has existed from the beginning, is sown everywhere; and many see it being sown, but
few see it being reaped.

The Virgin Birth

    Some say that “Mary conceived by the Holy Spirit.” They’re wrong; they don’t know
what they’re saying. When did a woman ever conceive by a woman? “Mary is the virgin
whom no power defiled” is the great testimony of those Hebrews who became (the
first) apostles and (the) apostolic (successors). The virgin whom no power defiled […]
the powers defiled themselves.

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    And the Lord [wouldn’t] have said, “my [Father who is in] heaven” unless [he] had
another father. Instead, he would simply have said [“my Father.”] The Lord said to the
[disciples, “…] 56 [from] every [house] and bring into the Father’s house, but don’t
steal (anything) from the Father’s house or carry it away.”

Jesus, Christ, Messiah, Nazarene

   “Jesus” is a hidden name; “Christ” is a revealed name. So “Jesus” is not translated,
but he’s called by his name “Jesus.” But the name “Christ” in Syriac is “Messiah,” in
Greek “Christ,” and all the others have it according to their own language. “The
Nazarene” reveals what’s hidden. Christ has everything within himself, whether human
or angel or mystery, and the Father.

The Resurrection

    Those who say that the Lord died first and then arose are wrong, because he arose
first and (then) he died. Anyone who doesn’t first acquire the resurrection won’t die.
As God lives, that one would <die>!
    No one will hide something great and valuable in a great thing, but often someone
has put countless thousands into something worth (only) a penny. It’s the same with
the soul; a valuable thing came to be in a contemptible body.
    Some are afraid that they’ll arise naked. So they want to arise in the flesh, and [they]
don’t know that those who wear the [flesh] are naked. Those […] to strip themselves
naked [are] not naked. “Flesh [and blood won’t] inherit [God’s] kingdom.” What is it
that 57 won’t inherit? That which is on us. But what is it, too, that will inherit? It is
Jesus’ (flesh) and blood. Because of this, he said, “Whoever doesn’t eat my flesh and
drink my blood doesn’t have life in them.” What’s his flesh? It’s the Word, and his
blood is the Holy Spirit. Whoever has received these have food, drink, and clothing.
    (So) I myself disagree with the others who say, “It won’t arise.” Both (sides) are
wrong. You who say, “the flesh won’t arise,” tell me what will arise, so that we may
honor you. You say, “the spirit in the flesh and this other light in the flesh.” (But) this
saying is in the flesh too, because whatever you say, you can’t say apart from the flesh.
It’s necessary to arise in this flesh, since everything exists in it. In this world, people are
better than the clothes they wear. In the kingdom of heaven, the clothes are better than
the people who wear them.
    Everything is purified by water and fire – the visible by the visible, the hidden by the
hidden. Some things are hidden by things that are visible. There’s water in water, and
fire in chrism.

Seeing Jesus

    Jesus took all of them by stealth, because he didn’t appear as he was, but he appeared
as [they’d] be able to see him. He appeared to them (in) [all these] (ways): he [appeared]
to [the] great as great. He [appeared] to the small as small. He [appeared] 58 [to the]

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angels as an angel, and to humans as a human. So his Word hid itself from everyone.
Some did see him, thinking they were seeing themselves. But when he appeared to his
disciples in glory on the mountain, he wasn’t small. He became great, but he made the
disciples great (too) so that they would be able to see him as great.
   He said on that day in the Eucharist, “You who’ve united the perfect light with the
Holy Spirit, unite the angels with us too, with the images!”
   Don’t despise the lamb, because without him it’s impossible to see the door. No one
will be able to approach the king naked.

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

    The children of the heavenly human are more numerous than those of the earthly
human. If Adam has so many children, even though they die, how many children does
the perfect human have – those who don’t die, but are begotten all the time?
    The father makes a son, but it’s impossible for a son to make a son, because it’s
impossible for someone who’s been born to beget (sons); the son begets brothers, not
sons. All who are begotten in the world are begotten physically, and the others in […]
are begotten by him […] out there to the human […] in the […] heavenly place […] it
from the mouth […] the Word came out from there 59 they would be nourished from
the mouth [and] become perfect. The perfect are conceived and begotten through a
kiss. Because of this we kiss each other too, conceiving from the grace within each
other.
    There were three who traveled with the Lord all the time: His mother Mary, her
sister, and Magdalene, who is called his companion; because Mary is his sister, his
mother, and his partner.
    “The Father” and “The Son” are single names; “the Holy Spirit” is a double name,
because they’re everywhere. They’re in heaven, they’re below, they’re hidden, and
they’re revealed. The Holy Spirit is revealed below and hidden in heaven.
    Those who are holy are served through the evil powers, because the Holy Spirit has
blinded them so that they think they’re serving a (regular) human when they’re (really)
working for the holy ones. So a disciple asked the Lord one day about a worldly thing.
He told him, “Ask your Mother, and she’ll give you from someone else.”
    The apostles said to the disciples, “May our entire offering acquire salt.” They called
[…] “salt.” Without it, the offering doesn’t [become] acceptable. But Wisdom [is]
childless; because of this [she’s] called […], this of salt, the place they’ll […] in their own
way. The Holy Spirit […] 60 […] many children.
    What belongs to the father belongs to the son, and he himself – the son – as long as
he’s little, is not entrusted with what’s his. When he becomes a man, his father gives
him everything that belongs to him.
    Those who’ve been begotten by the Spirit and go astray, go astray through it too.
Because of this, through this one Spirit it blazes, that is, the fire, and it’s extinguished.
    Echamoth is one thing and Echmoth another. Echamoth is simply Wisdom, but
Echmoth is the Wisdom of Death, which knows death. This is called “the little
Wisdom.”

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Humans and Animals

   There are animals that submit to humans, like the calf, the donkey, and others of
this kind. Others are not submissive, and live alone in the wilderness. Humanity ploughs
the field with the submissive animals, and consequently nourishes itself and the animals,
whether submissive or not. That’s what it’s like with the perfect human: they plough
with the submissive powers, preparing for everyone that will exist. So because of this
the whole place stands, whether the good or the evil, and the right and the left. The
Holy Spirit shepherds everyone and rules all the powers – those that are submissive,
those that [aren’t], and those that are alone – because truly it […] confines them [so that
…] want to, they won’t be able to [leave].
   [The one who’s been] formed [is beautiful, but] you’d find his children being 61
noble forms. If he weren’t formed but begotten, you’d find that his seed was noble. But
now he was formed, and he begot. What nobility is this? First there was adultery, and
then murder; and he (Cain) was begotten in adultery, because he was the son of the
serpent. Because of this he became a murderer like his father too, and he killed his
brother (Abel). Every partnership between those who are dissimilar is adultery.

Becoming Christians

    God is a dyer. Like the good dyes – they’re called true – die with what’s been dyed
in them, so it is with those who were dyed by God. Because his dyes are immortal, they
become immortal by means of his colors. But God baptizes in water.
    It’s impossible for anyone to see anything that really exists unless they become like
them. It’s not like the person in the world who sees the sun without becoming a sun,
and who sees heaven and earth and everything else without becoming them. That’s the
way it is. But you’ve seen something of that place, and have become them. You saw the
Spirit, you became spirit; you saw Christ, you became Christ; you saw [the Father, you]
will become father. Because of this, [here] you see everything and don’t [see yourself],
but you see yourself [there], because you’ll [become] what you see.
    Faith receives; love gives. [No one will be able to] 62 [receive] without faith, and no
one will be able to give without love. So we believe in order that we may receive, but
we give in order that we may love, since anyone who doesn’t give with love doesn’t get
anything out of it. Whoever hasn’t received the Lord is still a Hebrew.
    The apostles before us called (him) “Jesus the Nazarene Messiah,” that is, “Jesus the
Nazarene Christ.” The last name is “Christ,” the first is “Jesus,” the middle one is “the
Nazarene.” “Messiah” has two meanings: both “Christ” and “the measured.” “Jesus”
in Hebrew is “the redemption.” “Nazara” is “the truth.” So “the Nazarene” is “the
truth.” “Christ” is the one who was measured. “The Nazarene” and “Jesus” are the
ones who were measured.
    A pearl doesn’t become less valuable if it’s cast down into the mud, nor will it
become more valuable if it’s anointed with balsam; but it’s valuable to its owner all the
time. That’s what it’s like with God’s children: no matter where they are, they’re still
valuable to their Father.

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    If you say, “I’m a Jew,” no one will be moved. If you say, “I’m a Roman,” no one
will be disturbed. If you say, “I’m a Greek,” “a Barbarian,” “a slave,” [“a free person,”]
no one will be troubled. [If] you [say,] “I’m a Christian,” the […] will tremble. If only
[… of] this kind, this one [who …] won’t be able to endure [hearing] his name.
    God is a human-eater. 63 Because of this, the human is [sacrificed] to him. Before
the human was sacrificed, animals were sacrificed, because those to whom they were
sacrificed weren’t gods.
    Vessels of glass and pottery come into being by means of fire. But if glass vessels
break they’re remade, because they came into being by means of a breath, but if pottery
vessels break they’re destroyed, because they came into being without breath.
    A donkey turning a millstone traveled a hundred miles. When it was released, it still
found itself in the same place. Many people travel, but don’t get anywhere. When
evening came, they saw neither city nor village, nor anything created or natural, nor
power nor angel. The wretches worked in vain.
    The Eucharist is Jesus, because in Syriac he’s called “Pharisatha,” that is, “the one
who’s spread out,” because Jesus came to crucify the world.
    The Lord went into Levi’s place of dyeing. He took seventy-two colors and threw
them into the vat. He brought all of them out white and said, “That’s the way the Son
of Humanity has come [as] a dyer.”
    The Wisdom who is called “the barren” is the Mother [of the angels] and [the]
companion of the [… Mary] Magdalene [… loved her] more than the disciples [… he]
kissed her on her [… many] times. The rest of […] 64 […] they said to him, “Why do
you love her more than all of us?” The Savior said to them in reply, “Why don’t I love
you like her? When a person who’s blind and one who sees are both in the dark, they’re
no different from one another. When the light comes, the one who sees will see the
light, and the one who’s blind will remain in the dark.”
    The Lord said, “Blessed is the one who exists before existing, because they who exist
did exist, and will exist.”
    The superiority of humanity isn’t revealed, but exists in what’s hidden. So it
(humanity) masters animals that are stronger, that are greater in terms of that which is
revealed and that which is hidden. This allows them to survive; but if humanity separates
from them (the animals), they kill, bite, and eat each other, because they didn’t find
food. But now they’ve found food because humanity has worked the earth.
    If someone goes down into the water and comes up without having received
anything, and says, “I’m a Christian,” they’ve borrowed the name at interest. But if they
receive the Holy Spirit, they have the gift of the name. Whoever has received a gift
doesn’t have it taken away, but whoever has borrowed it at interest has to give it back.
That’s what it’s like when someone comes into being in a mystery.

The Mystery of Marriage

   [The] mystery of marriage [is] great, because [without] it the world would [not exist];
because [the] structure of [the world …], but the structure [… the marriage]. Think

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about the [intimate …] defiled, because it has […] power. Its image 65 exists in a
[defilement].
    The impure spirits take male and female [forms]. The males are those that are
intimate with the souls which dwell in a female form, and the females are those that
mingle with those in a male form through disobedience. No one will be able to escape
being bound by them without receiving a male power and a female one – the groom
and the bride – in the image of the bridal chamber. When the foolish females see a male
sitting alone, they jump on him, play with him, and defile him. In the same way, when
the foolish males see a beautiful female sitting alone, they seduce and coerce her,
wanting to defile her. But if they see the husband and his wife sitting together, the
females can’t go inside the husband, nor the males inside the wife. That’s what it’s like
when the image unites with the angel; no one will be able to dare to go inside the [male]
or the female.

Overcoming the World

    Whoever comes out of the world can no longer be bound because they were in the
world. They’re revealed to be above the desire of the [… and] fear. They’re master over
[…] they’re better than envy. If […] come, they (the powers) bind and choke [them].
How will [they] be able to escape the [great powers …]? How will they be able to […]?
There are some who [say], “We’re faithful,” in order that […] 66 [impure spirit] and
demon, because if they had the Holy Spirit, no impure spirit would cling to them. Don’t
fear the flesh, nor love it. If you fear it, it’ll master you; if you love it, it’ll swallow and
choke you.
    Someone exists either in this world, or in the resurrection, or in the middle places.
May I never be found there! There’s both good and evil in this world. Its good things
aren’t good, and its evil things aren’t evil. But there’s an evil after this world which is
truly evil: that which is called “the middle.” It’s death. While we’re in this world, it’s
right for us to acquire the resurrection for ourselves, so that when we’re stripped of the
flesh we’ll be found in the rest and not travel in the middle, because many stray on the
way.
    It’s good to come out of the world before one sins. There are some who neither
want to nor can, but others who, if they wanted to, (still) wouldn’t benefit, because they
didn’t act. The wanting makes them sinners. But (even) if they don’t want, justice will
(still) be hidden from them. It’s not the will, and it’s not the act.
    An apostle saw [in a] vision some people confined in a burning house, and bound
with burning […], thrown […] of the burning […] them in […] and they said to them
[… able] to be saved […] they didn’t want to, and they received […] punishment, which
is called 67 “the [outer] darkness,” because it […].
    The soul and the spirit came into being from water and fire. The offspring of the
bridal chamber was from water and fire and light. The fire is the chrism, the light is the
fire. I’m not talking about that formless fire, but of the other one whose form is white,
which is bright and beautiful, and which gives beauty.

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   Truth didn’t come into the world naked, but it came in types and images. It (the
world) won’t receive it in any other way. There’s a rebirth, and an image of rebirth. It’s
truly necessary to be begotten again through the image. What’s the resurrection and the
image? Through the image it’s necessary for it to arise. The bridal chamber and the
image? Through the image it’s necessary for them to enter the truth, which is the
restoration. It’s not only necessary for those who acquire the name of the Father and
the Son and the Holy Spirit, but they too have been acquired for you. If someone
doesn’t acquire them, the name will also be taken from them. But they’re received in
the chrism of the […] of the power of the cross. The apostles called this “[the] right
and the left,” because this person is no longer a [Christian], but a Christ.
   The Lord [did] everything in a mystery: a baptism, a chrism, a Eucharist, a
redemption, a bridal chamber […] he [said], “I came to make [the below] like the [above
and the outside] like the [inside, and to unite] them in the place.” […] here through
[types …] Those who say, “[…] there’s one above […,” they’re wrong, because] what’s
revealed 68 is that […], that [which] is called “what’s below,” and what’s hidden is to it
what’s above it, because it’s good, and they say “inside and what’s outside and what’s
outside the outside.” So the Lord called destruction “the outer darkness.” There’s
nothing outside it.
   He said, “My Father who’s hidden.” He said, “Enter your closet, shut the door
behind you, and pray to your Father who’s hidden,” that is, the one who’s within all of
them. But the one who’s within all of them is the fullness. Beyond that, there’s nothing
else within. This is what’s called “that which is above them.”
   Before Christ, some came from where they were no longer able to enter, and they
went where they were no longer able to come out. Then Christ came. He brought out
those who entered, and brought in those who went out.

Adam, Eve, and the Bridal Chamber

    When Eve was [in] Adam, death didn’t exist. When she separated from him, death
came into being. If he [enters] again and receives it for himself, there will be no death.
    “[My] God, my God, why, Lord, [have] you forsaken me?” He said this on the cross,
because he was divided in that place. […] that he was begotten through that which […]
from God. The […] from the dead […] exists, but […] he’s perfect […] of flesh, but
this […] is true flesh […] isn’t true, [but …] image of the true.
    69 A bridal chamber isn’t for the animals, nor for the slaves, nor for the impure, but
it’s for free people and virgins.
    We’re begotten again through the Holy Spirit, but we’re begotten through Christ by
two things. We’re anointed through the Spirit. When we were begotten, we were united.
    Without light, no one can see themselves in water or in a mirror; nor again will you
be able to see in light without water or mirror. Because of this, it’s necessary to baptize
in both: in the light and in the water, but the light is the chrism.
    There were three houses of offering in Jerusalem. The one which opens to the west
is called “the Holy.” The other one, which opens to the south, is called “the Holy of
the Holy.” The third, which opens to the east, is called “the Holy of the Holies,” the

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place where the high priest enters alone. Baptism is “the Holy” house. [Redemption] is
“the Holy of the Holy.” “The [Holy] of the Holies” is the bridal chamber. The [baptism]
includes the resurrection [with] the redemption. The redemption is in the bridal
chamber. But [the] bridal chamber is better than […] You won’t find its […] those who
pray […] Jerusalem. […] Jerusalem who [… Jerusalem], being seen […] these that are
called “[the Holies] of the Holies” [… the] veil torn […] bridal chamber except the
image [… which] 70 [is above. So] its veil was torn from top to bottom, because it was
necessary for some from below to go up above.
    The powers can’t see those who have put on the perfect light, and they can’t bind
them. But one will put on that light in the mystery of the union.
    If the female wouldn’t have been separated from the male, she wouldn’t have died
with the male. His separation was the beginning of death. Because of this, Christ came
to repair the separation that existed since the beginning by uniting the two again. He’ll
give life to those who died as a result of the separation by uniting them. Now, the wife
unites with her husband in the bridal chamber, and those who have united in the bridal
chamber won’t be separated any longer. Because of this, Eve separated from Adam,
because she didn’t unite with him in the bridal chamber.
    It was through a breath that Adam’s soul came into being. Its partner was the spirit.
That which was given to him was his mother. His soul was [taken] and he was given
[life] (Eve) in its place. When he was united […] words that were better than the powers,
and they envied him […] spiritual partner […] hidden […] that is, the […] themselves
[…] bridal chamber so that […] Jesus appeared [… the] Jordan, the [fullness of the
kingdom] of heaven. He who [was begotten] before everything 71 was begotten again.
He [who was anointed] first was anointed again. He who was redeemed, redeemed
again.
    If it’s necessary to speak of a mystery: the Father of everything united with the virgin
who came down, and a fire enlightened him on that day. He revealed the great bridal
chamber, so his body came into being on that day. He came out of the bridal chamber
like the one who came into being from the groom and the bride. That’s the way Jesus
established everything within himself. It’s also necessary for each of the disciples to
enter into his rest through these things.
    Adam came into being from two virgins: from the Spirit and from the virgin earth.
So Christ was begotten from a virgin, to rectify the fall that occurred in the beginning.
    There are two trees growing in Paradise. One begets [animals], the other begets
humans. Adam [ate] from the tree that begot animals, [and he] became an animal, and
he begot [animals]. So Adam’s children worship the [animals]. The tree […] is fruit […]
this they […] ate the […] fruit of the […] beget humans […] of the human of […] God
makes the human, [… humans] make [God]. 72 That’s what it’s like in the world:
humans make gods and worship their creation. It would be better for the gods to
worship humans!
    The truth is that the work of humankind comes from their power, so they’re called
“the powers.” Their works are their children, who come into being through rest; so
their power exists in their works, but the rest is revealed in their children. And you’ll

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find that this extends to the image. And this is the person in the image: they do their
works through their power, but they beget their children through rest.
   In this world, the slaves work for the free. In the kingdom of heaven, the free will
serve the slaves. The children of the bridal chamber will serve the children of the
[marriage. The] children of the bridal chamber have a [single] name: “Rest.” [Being]
together they don’t need to take form, [because they have] contemplation […] they’re
many […] with those who are in the […] the glories of the […] not […] them […] go
down to the [water …] they’ll redeem themselves […] that is, those who have […] in
his name, because he said: “[That’s the way] we’ll fulfill 73 all righteousness.”

Baptism, Chrism, Eucharist, Bridal Chamber

    Those who say that they’ll die first and (then) they’ll rise are wrong. If they don’t
first receive the resurrection while they’re living, they won’t receive anything when they
die. It’s the same when they talk about baptism and they say “Baptism is a great thing,”
because those who receive it will live.
    Philip the apostle said, “Joseph the carpenter planted a garden because he needed
wood for his trade. It was he who made the cross from the trees he planted, and his
offspring hung from what he planted. His offspring was Jesus, and the plant was the
cross.” But the Tree of Life is in the middle of Paradise, and from the olive tree came
the chrism, and from that the resurrection.
    This world eats corpses. All that are eaten in it die also. Truth eats life, so no one
nourished by [Truth] will die. Jesus came from that place, he brought food from there,
and to those who wanted, he gave them [to eat, so that] they won’t die.
    [God …] a Paradise, [human …] Paradise, there are […] and […] of God […] those
in [it …] I wish that [Paradise …] they’ll say to me, “[… eat] this,” or “don’t eat [that
…] 74 wish.” The tree of knowledge is the place where I’ll eat everything. It killed
Adam, but here it makes humanity live. The Law was the tree. It has the power to give
the knowledge of good and evil. It neither kept them from evil nor placed them in the
good, but it created death for those who ate from it; because when it said, “Eat this,
don’t eat that,” it became the beginning of death.
    The chrism is better than baptism, since we’re called “Christians” because of the
chrism, not because of baptism. And it was because of the chrism that Christ was
named, because the Father anointed the Son, and the Son anointed the apostles, and
the apostles anointed us. Whoever is anointed has everything: the resurrection, the light,
the cross, the Holy Spirit. The Father gave this to him in the bridal chamber, and he
received it. The Father was in the Son and the Son in the Father. This is [the kingdom]
of heaven.
    The Lord said [it] well: “Some went to the kingdom of heaven laughing and they
came out […] a Christian […] and as soon as [… went down] into the water and he […]
everything about […] it’s [a] game, [but … disregard] this […] to the kingdom of
[heaven …] if they disregard […] and if they scorn it as a game, [… out] laughing. It’s
the same way 75 with the bread and the cup and the oil, though there’s one better than
these.

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    The world came into being through a transgression, because the one who created it
wanted to create it imperishable and immortal. He fell away and didn’t get what he
wanted, because the world wasn’t imperishable, and the one who created it wasn’t
imperishable; because things aren’t imperishable, but rather children. Nothing will be
able to receive imperishability without becoming a child. But whoever can’t receive,
how much more will they be unable to give?
    The cup of prayer has wine and water, since it’s laid down as the type of the blood
over which they give thanks. It fills with the Holy Spirit, and it belongs to the completely
perfect human. Whenever we drink this, we’ll receive the perfect human. The living
water is a body. It’s necessary for us to put on the living human. So coming down to
the water, they strip themselves so that they’ll put on that one.
    A horse begets a horse, a human begets a human, and a god begets god. It’s the same
way with [the groom] and [brides too]. They [come into being] from the […] No Jew
[…] from […] exists and […] from the Jews […] the Christians […] called these […]
“the chosen race of […]” 76 and “the true human” and “the Son of the Human” and
“the seed of the Son of the Human.” This true race is known in the world. These are
the places where the children of the bridal chamber exist.
    In this world, union is between male and female, the place of power and weakness;
in the (eternal) age, the union is like something else, but we refer to them by the same
names. There are other names, however, that are above every name that’s named, and
they’re better than the strong, because where there’s force, there are those who are even
more powerful. They’re not (two) different things, but they’re both the same thing. This
is what won’t be able to come down upon the fleshly heart.
    Isn’t it necessary for everyone who has everything to know themselves completely?
Some who don’t know themselves won’t be able to enjoy what they have, but those
who’ve come to understand themselves will enjoy them.
    Not only won’t they be able to bind the perfect human, they won’t be able to see
them (the perfect human), because if they see them they’ll bind them. There’s no other
way for someone to acquire this grace for themselves [except by] putting on the perfect
light [and] becoming the perfect [light. Whoever has put it on] themselves will go […]
this is the perfect […] for us to become […] before we came to […] whoever receives
everything […] these places, they’ll be able to […] that place, but they’ll [… the middle]
as incomplete. 77 Only Jesus knows the end of this one.
    The holy man (priest) is completely holy, down to his (very) body, because if he
receives the bread he’ll make it holy, or the cup, or anything else that he takes and
purifies. Why won’t he purify the body too?
    As Jesus perfected the water of baptism, that’s the way he poured out death. So we
go down into the water, but we don’t go down into death, so that we won’t be poured
out into the spirit of the world. When it blows, the winter comes. When the Holy Spirit
breathes, the summer comes.
    Whoever knows the truth is a free person, and the free person doesn’t sin, because
“whoever sins is the slave of sin.” Truth is the Mother, but knowledge is the joining.
Those who aren’t given to sin are called “free” by the world. These who aren’t given to
sin are made proud by the knowledge of the truth. That’s what makes them free and

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exalts them over everything. But “love builds up,” and whoever has been made free
through knowledge is a slave because of love for those who aren’t yet able to attain
[the] freedom of knowledge, [but] knowledge makes them able [to] become free. Love
[…] anything its own […] it […] its own. It never [says “…”] or “this is mine,” [but
“…] are yours.” Spiritual love is wine with fragrance. 78 All those who will anoint
themselves with it enjoy it. While those who are anointed stay around, those who are
nearby also enjoy it. If those who are anointed with ointment leave them and go, those
who aren’t anointed but are only nearby remain in their stench. The Samaritan didn’t
give anything to the wounded man except wine with oil. It wasn’t anything but the
ointment, and it healed the wounds, because “love covers a multitude of sins.”
    The children to whom a woman gives birth will look like the man she loves. If it’s
her husband, they look like her husband; if it’s an adulterer, they look like the adulterer.
Often, if a woman sleeps with her husband because she has to, but her heart is with the
adulterer with whom she is intimate and she bears a child, the child she bears looks like
the adulterer. But you who exist with the Son of God, don’t love the world; rather, love
the Lord, so that those you’ll beget may not come to look like the world, but will come
to look like the Lord.
    The human unites with the human, the horse unites with the horse, the donkey
unites with the donkey. Species unite [with] similar species. That’s what it’s like when
spirit unites with spirit, the [Word] is intimate with the Word, [and light is] intimate
[with light. If you] become human, [it’s the human who will] love you. If you become
[spirit], it’s the Spirit who will unite with you. [If] you become Word, it’s the Word that
79 will unite with you. If [you] become light, it’s the light which will be intimate with
you. If you become one of those from above, those from above will rest upon you. If
you become horse or donkey or calf or dog or sheep or any other of the animals which
are outside or below, neither human nor spirit nor Word nor light nor those from above
nor those inside will be able to love you. They won’t be able to rest within you, and
you’ll have no part in them.
    Whoever is an unwilling slave will be able to be made free. Whoever has become
free by the grace of their master and has sold themselves (back) into slavery won’t be
able to be made free any longer.

Spiritual Growth

   The world is farmed through four things. They gather into barns through water,
earth, wind, and light. And in the same way, God farms through four things too:
through faith, hope, love, and knowledge. Our earth is the faith in which we’re rooted.
[And] the [water] is the hope through which [we’re] nourished. The wind is the love
through which we grow. And the light [is] the knowledge through which we [ripen].
Grace exists in [four kinds. It’s] earthly, it’s [heavenly, …] the heaven of the heaven […]
through [….] Blessed is the one who hasn’t […] 80 a soul. This one is Jesus Christ. He
went all over the place and didn’t burden anyone. So, blessed is someone like this;
they’re a perfect person, because the Word tells us about how hard it is to keep up.
How will we be able to achieve such a great thing? How will he give rest to everyone?

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First and foremost, it’s not right to cause anyone grief – whether great or small, or
faithless or faithful – and then give rest to those who are (already) at rest among those
who are well off. There are some who benefit from giving rest to the one who’s well
off. Whoever does good can’t give rest to them because they can’t just do whatever they
want; they can’t cause grief because they can’t cause distress, but sometimes the one
who’s well off causes them grief. They’re not like that, but it’s their (own) evil that
causes them grief. Whoever has the nature (of the perfect person) gives joy to the one
who’s good, but some grieve terribly at this.
    A householder acquired everything, whether child or slave or cattle or dog or pig or
wheat [or] barley or straw or hay or […] or meat and acorn. [But they’re] wise and
understand what to feed each [one]. To the children they served bread […] but [… the]
slaves they served […], and to the cattle [they threw barley] and straw and hay. To [the]
dogs they threw bones [and] to [the pigs] they threw acorns 81 and slops. That’s what
it’s like with the disciple of God. If they’re wise, they understand what it means to be a
disciple. The bodily forms won’t deceive them, but they’ll look at the condition of the
soul of each one and speak with them. There are many animals in the world that are
made in human form. They (the disciple) recognizes them. To the pigs they’ll throw
acorns, but to the cattle they’ll throw barley with straw and hay. To the dogs they’ll
throw bones, to the slaves they’ll give the appetizer, and to the children they’ll give the
perfect (food).
    There’s the Son of Humanity, and there’s the son of the Son of Humanity. The Lord
is the Son of Humanity, and the son of the Son of Humanity is the one who creates
through the Son of Humanity. The Son of Humanity received from God the ability to
create. He (also) has the ability to beget. The one who received the ability to create is a
creature; the one who received the ability to beget is begotten. The one who creates
can’t beget; the one who begets can create. They say, “The one who creates, begets.”
But what they beget is a creature. [So] their begotten aren’t their children, but they’re
[…]. The one who creates works [publicly], and are themselves [revealed]. The one who
begets, begets [secretly], and they’re hidden […] the image. [Again], the one who
[creates, creates] publicly, but the one who begets, [begets] children secretly.
    No [one will be able to] know [when the husband] 82 and the wife are intimate with
each other, except they themselves, because the marriage of the world is a mystery for
those who have married. If the defiled marriage is hidden, how much more is the
undefiled marriage a true mystery! It’s not fleshly, but pure. It isn’t of desire, but of the
will. It isn’t of the darkness or the night, but it’s of the day and the light. If a marriage
is stripped naked, it becomes pornography – not only if the bride receives the seed of
another man, but even if she leaves the chamber and is seen, she commits adultery. Let
her reveal herself to her father, her mother, the best man, and the groom’s children.
They’re allowed to enter the bridal chamber every day. But let the others yearn just to
hear her voice and enjoy her perfume, and, like dogs, let them eat the crumbs that fall
from the table. Grooms and brides belong to the bridal chamber. No one will be able
to see the groom and the bride unless [they become] such.

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Uprooting Evil

    When Abraham […] to see what he was going to see, [he] circumcised the flesh of
the foreskin, [telling] us that it’s necessary to destroy the flesh.
    [Most (things)] of [the] world can stand up and live as long as their [insides are
hidden. If they’re revealed], they die, as [illustrated] by the visible human. [As long as]
the human’s guts are hidden, 83 the human is alive. If their guts are exposed and come
out of them, the human will die. It’s the same way with the tree. While its root is hidden,
it blossoms and grows. If its root is exposed, the tree dries up. That’s what it’s like with
everything that’s born in the world, not only the revealed, but also the hidden; because
as long as the root of evil is hidden, it’s strong. But if it’s recognized, it dissolves, and if
it’s revealed, it dies. So the Word says, “Already the axe is laid at the root of the trees.”
It won’t (just) cut, (because) that which will be cut blossoms again. Rather, the axe digs
down into the ground until it brings up the root. Jesus plucked out the root completely,
but others did so partially. As for us, let every one of us dig down to the root of the evil
within and pluck it out from its root in us. It’ll be uprooted if we recognize it. But if we
don’t recognize it, it takes root within us and bears its fruit in us. It masters us, and
we’re forced to serve it. It captures us so that we do what we do [not] want to; and we
do [not] do what we want to. [It’s] powerful because we haven’t recognized it. It’s active
as long as [it exists]. [Ignorance] is the mother of [all evil]. Ignorance will cause [death,
because] what exists from [ignorance] neither did exist nor [does exist], nor will they
come into being […] 84 they’ll be perfected when the whole truth is revealed, because
the truth is like ignorance. When it’s hidden, it rests within itself, but if it’s revealed and
recognized, it’s glorified inasmuch as it’s stronger than ignorance and error. It gives
freedom. The Word says, “If you’ll know the truth, the truth will make you free.”
Ignorance is slavery; knowledge is freedom. If we know the truth, we’ll find the fruits
of truth within us. If we unite with it, it’ll receive our fullness.
    Now we have what’s revealed of creation. We say, “Those who are strong are
honorable, but those who are hidden are weak and scorned.” That’s what it’s like with
those who are revealed of the truth; they’re weak and scorned, but the hidden are strong
and honorable. But the mysteries of the truth are revealed in types and images.
    The chamber is hidden, however; it’s the Holy in the Holy. At first, the veil concealed
how God managed the creation, but when the veil is torn and what’s inside is revealed,
then this house will be left behind [like] a desert, or rather, will be [destroyed]. And all
divinity will flee [from] these places, not into the Holies [of the] Holies, because it won’t
be able to unite with the pure [light] and the [flawless] fullness, [but] it’ll come to be
under the wings of the cross [and under] its arms. This ark will [become their] salvation
when the flood 85 of water surges over them. If some belong to the priesthood, they’ll
be able to enter inside the veil with the high priest. So the veil wasn’t torn only at the
top, since it would’ve been open only to those at the top; nor was it torn only at the
bottom, since it would’ve been revealed only to those at the bottom; but it was torn
from the top to the bottom. Those at the top opened to us the bottom, so that we’ll
enter the secret of the truth. This truly is what’s honorable, what’s strong, but we’ll enter
there through scorned types and weaknesses. They’re humbled in the presence of the

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perfect glory. There’s glory that’s better than glory; there’s power that’s better than
power. So the perfect was opened to us with the secrets of the truth, and the Holies of
the Holies were revealed, and the chamber invited us in.
    As long as it’s hidden, evil is inactive, but it hasn’t been removed from among the
Holy Spirit’s seed. They’re slaves of evil. But whenever it’s revealed, then the perfect
light will flow out upon everyone, and all of them who are in it will [receive the chrism].
Then the slaves will be made free and the captives will be redeemed. “[Every] plant
[which] my Father who’s in heaven [hasn’t] planted [will be] uprooted.” Those who are
separated will unite […] will be filled.

Conclusion

    Everyone who will [enter] the chamber will kindle their [lamp], because [it’s] like the
marriages which are […] happen at night, the fire […] 86 at night and is put out. But
the mysteries of this marriage are fulfilled in the day and the light. Neither that day nor
its light ever sets.
    If anyone becomes a child of the bridal chamber, they’ll receive the light. If anyone
doesn’t receive it while they’re here, they won’t be able to receive it in the other place.
Whoever will receive that light won’t be seen or bound, and no one will be able to
trouble someone like this even while they dwell in the world. Moreover, when they leave
the world, they’ve already received the Truth in the images. The world has become the
(eternal) ages, because the (eternal) age is the fullness for them, and it’s like this: it’s
revealed to them alone. It’s not hidden in the darkness and the night, but it’s hidden in
a perfect day and a holy light.

                                                                              The Gospel
                                                                       According to Philip

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Text Notes

Page 52: since the day Christ came. It’s not clear whether this phrase is the end of the
previous sentence or the beginning of the next. This translation follows Hugo
Lundhaug, Images of Rebirth: Cognitive Poetics and Transformational Soteriology in the Gospel of
Philip and the Exegesis of the Soul (Brill), 2010, p. 236, n. 309. gentrified. Literally, “adorned.”

Pages 54 and 55: humanity. The term translated “humanity” on these pages is literally
“the human” in Coptic, but it clearly refers to humankind as a whole or humans in
general. It’s the same term used of the “human … offered up to God,” where it clearly
refers to Christ in a clever wordplay.

Page 57: saying. Literally, logos or “word.” Lundhaug translates this phrase, “It is a Logos,
‘this other’ that is ‘in the flesh.’”

Page 60: humans. Literally, “the human.”

Page 61: person. Literally, “the human.”

Pages 64 and 65: intimate. Literally, koinōnia, also translated as “communion” or
“fellowship.” However, the word is also “a favorite expr[ession] for the marital
relationship as the most intimate betw[een] human beings.” William F. Arndt and F.
Wilbur Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian
Literature, Fourth Revised and Augmented Edition (The University of Chicago Press), 1952,
p. 439.

Page 65: male … female … husband … wife. In the Coptic, the word for “male” and
“husband” is the same, as is the word for “female” and “wife.” The same words could
also be translated as “man” and “woman.”

Page 67: but they too have been acquired for you. This phrase seems garbled in the Coptic.

Page 71: the Father of everything. The Word. the virgin. The Spirit. him. Jesus. on that day.
When he was baptized. his body came into being. The Word becomes Jesus’ flesh and the
Spirit Jesus’ blood, received in the Eucharist which unites the Christian with the body
of Christ. the groom and the bride. The Word and the Spirit.

Pages 72, 77 and 80: person. Literally, “human.”

Page 81: The Son of Humanity. The Lord, or Jesus. The son of the Son of Humanity. The
priest.

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References

1. Mark M. Mattison, "The Gospel of Philip: A Public Domain Translation." Academia.edu. The Gospel of Philip: A Public Domain Translation (download: Direct Download).
2. Public-domain translation of NHC II,3.
3. Academia page: The Gospel of Philip: A Public Domain Translation.
4. Direct download: Direct Download.
5. Translation: English-only PDF (same text as the Translation section above).

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