

Trimorphic Protennoia -- The Nag Hammadi Library

    (Above image of the Gospel of Thomas courtesy of the
    Institute for Antiquity and Christianity, Claremont Graduate University)

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The Nag Hammadi Library

    Trimorphic Protennoia

Translated by John D. Turner

            I am Protennoia, the Thought that dwells in the Light. I am the movement that dwells in
            the All, she in whom the All takes its stand, the first-born among those who came to be,
            she who exists before the All. She (Protennoia) is called by three names, although she
            dwells alone, since she is perfect. I am invisible within the Thought of the Invisible
            One. I am revealed in the immeasurable, ineffable (things). I am incomprehensible,
            dwelling in the incomprehensible. I move in every creature.

I am the life of my Epinoia that dwells within every Power and every eternal movement,
            and (in) invisible Lights and within the Archons and Angels and Demons, and every soul
            dwelling in Tartaros, and (in) every material soul. I dwell in those who came to be. I
            move in everyone and I delve into them all. I walk uprightly, and those who sleep, I
            awaken. And I am the sight of those who dwell in sleep.

I am the Invisible One within the All. It is I who counsel those who are hidden, since
            I know the All that exists in it. I am numberless beyond everyone. I am immeasurable,
            ineffable, yet whenever I wish, I shall reveal myself of my own accord. I am the head of
            the All. I exist before the All, and I am the All, since I exist in everyone.

I am a Voice speaking softly. I exist from the first. I dwell within the Silence that
            surrounds every one of them. And it is the hidden Voice that dwells within my, within the
            incomprehensible, immeasurable Thought, within the immeasurable Silence.

I descended to the midst of the underworld, and I shone down upon the darkness. It is I
            who poured forth the water. It is I who am hidden within radiant waters. I am the one who
            gradually put forth the All by my Thought. It is I who am laden with the Voice. It is
            through me that Gnosis comes forth. I dwell in the ineffable and unknowable ones. I am
            perception and knowledge, uttering a Voice by means of thought. I am the real Voice. I cry
            out in everyone, and they recognize it (the voice), since a seed indwells them. I am the
            Thought of the Father, and through me proceeded the Voice, that is, the knowledge of the
            everlasting things. I exist as Thought for the All -- being joined to the unknowable and
            incomprehensible Thought -- I revealed myself -- yes, I -- among all those who recognize
            me. For it is I who am joined with everyone by virtue of the hidden Thought and an exalted
            <Voice>, even a Voice from the invisible Thought. And it is immeasurable, since it
            dwells in the Immeasurable One. It is a mystery; it is unrestrainable by the
            Incomprehensible One. It is invisible to all those who are visible in the All. It is a
            Light dwelling in Light.

It is we also who alone have separated from the visible world, since we are saved by
            the hidden wisdom, by means of the ineffable, immeasurable Voice. And he who is hidden
            within us pays the tributes of his fruit to the Water of Life.

Then the Son who is perfect in every respect -- that is, the Word who originated
            through that Voice; who proceeded from the height; who has within him the Name; who is a
            Light -- he revealed the everlasting things, and all the unknowns were known. And those
            things difficult to interpet and secret, he revealed. And as for those who dwell in
            Silence with the First Thought, he preached to them. And he revealed himself to those who
            dwell in darkness, and he showed himself to those who dwell in the abyss, and to those who
            dwell in the hidden treasuries, he told ineffable mysteries, and he taught unrepeatable
            doctrines to all those who became Sons of the Light.

Now the Voice that originated from my Thought exists as three permanences: the Father,
            the Mother, the Son. Existing perceptibly as Speech, it (Voice) has within it a Word
            endowed with every <glory>, and it has three masculinities, three powers, and three
            names. They exist in the manner of Three ... -- which are quadrangels -- secretly within a
            silence of the Ineffable One.

It is he alone who came to be, that is, the Christ. And, as for me, I anointed him as
            the glory of the Invisible Spirit, with goodness. Now the Three, I established alone in
            eternal glory over the Aeons in the Living Water, that is, the glory that surrounds him
            who first came forth to the Light of those exalted Aeons, and it is in glorious Light that
            he firmly perseveres. And he stood in his own Light that surrounds him, that is, the Eye
            of the Light that gloriously shines on me. He perpetuated the Father of all Aeons, who am
            I, the Thought of the Father, Protennoia, that is, Barbelo, the perfect Glory, and the
            immeasurable Invisible One who is hidden. I am the Image of the Invisible Spirit, and it
            is through me that the All took shape, and (I am) the Mother (as well as) the Light which
            she appointed as Virgin, she who is called 'Meirothea', the incomprehensible Womb, the
            unrestrainable and immeasurable Voice.

Then the Perfect Son revealed himself to his Aeons, who originated through him, and he
            revealed them and glorified them, and gave them thrones, and stood in the glory with which
            he glorified himself. They blessed the Perfect Son, the Christ, the only-begotten God. And
            they gave glory, saying, "He is! He is! The Son of God! The Son of God! It is he who
            is! The Aeon of Aeons, beholding the Aeons which he begot. For thou hast begotten by thine
            own desire! Therefore we glorify thee: ma mo o o o eia ei on ei! The Aeon of Aeons! The
            Aeon which he gave!"

Then, moreover, the God who was begotten gave them (the Aeons) a power of life on which
            they might rely, and he established them. The first Aeon he established over the first:
            Armedon, Nousanios, Armozel; the second he established over the second Aeon: Phaionios,
            Ainios, Oroiael; the third over the third Aeon: Mellephaneus, Loios, Daveithai; the fourth
            over the fourth: Mousanios, Amethes, Eleleth. Now those Aeons were begotten by the God who
            was begotten - the Christ - and these Aeons received as well as gave glory. They were the
            first to appear, exalted in their thought, and each Aeon gave myriads of glories within
            great untraceable lights, and they all together blessed the perfect Son, the God who was
            begotten.

Then there came forth a word from the great Light Eleleth, and said, "I am king!
            Who belongs to Chaos and who belongs to the underworld?" And at that instant, his
            Light appeared, radiant, endowed with the Epinoia. The Powers of the Powers did not
            entreat him, and likewise immediately there appeared the great Demon who rules over the
            lowest part of the underworld and Chaos. He has neither form nor perfection, but, on the
            contrary, possesses the form of the glory of those begotten in the darkness. Now he is
            called 'Saklas', that is, 'Samael', 'Yaltabaoth', he who had taken power; who had snatched
            it away from the innocent one (Sophia); who had earlier overpowered her who is the Light`s
            Epinoia who had descended, her from whom he had come forth from originally.

Now when the Epinoia of the Light realized that he (Yaltabaoth) had begged him (the
            Light) for another order, even though he was lower than she, she said, "Give me
            another order, so that you may become for me a dwelling place, lest I dwell in disorder
            forever." And the order of the entire house of glory was agreed upon her word. A
            blessing was brought for her and the higher order released it to her.

And the great Demon began to produce aeons in the likeness of the real Aeons, except
            that he produced them out of his own power.

Then I too revealed my Voice secretly, saying, "Cease! Desist, (you) who tread on
            matter; for behold, I am coming down to the world of mortals for the sake of my portion
            that was in that place from the time when the innocent Sophia was conquered, she who
            descended, so that I might thwart their aim which the one revealed by her appoints."
            And all were disturbed, each one who dwells in the house of the ignorant light, and the
            abyss trembled. And the Archigenetor of ignorance reigned over Chaos and the underworld,
            and produced a man in my likeness. But he neither knew that that one would become for him
            a sentence of dissolution, nor does he recognize the power in him.

But now I have come down and reached down to Chaos. And I was with my own who were in
            that place. I am hidden within them, empowering them, giving them shape. And from the
            first day until the day when I will grant mighty glory to those who are mine, I will
            reveal myself to those who have heard my mysteries, that is, the Sons of the Light.

I am their Father, and I shall tell you a mystery, ineffable and indivulgeable by any
            mouth: Every bond I loosed from you, and the chains of the demons of the underworld I
            broke, these things which are bound on my members, restraining them. And the high walls of
            darkness I overthrew, and the secure gates of those pitiless ones I broke, and I smashed
            their bars. And the evil force, and the one who beats you, and the one who hinders you,
            and the tyrant, and the adversary, and the one who is King, and the present enemy, indeed
            all these I explained to those who are mine, who are the Sons of the Light, in order that
            they might nullify them all, and be saved from all those bonds, and enter into the place
            where they were at first.

I am the first one who descended on account of my portion which remains, that is, the
            Spirit that dwells in the soul, which originated from the Water of Life, and out of the
            immersion of the mysteries. And I spoke, I, together with the Archons and Authorities. For
            I had gone down below their language, and I spoke my mysteries to my own - a hidden
            mystery - and the bonds and eternal oblivion were nullified. And I bore fruit in them,
            that is, the Thought of the unchanging Aeon, and my house, and their Father. And I went
            down to those who were mine from the first, and I reached them and broke the first strands
            that enslaved them. Then everyone of those within me shone, and I prepared a pattern for
            those ineffable Lights that are within me. Amen.

The Discourse of Protennoia: One

I am the Voice that appeared through my Thought, for I am 'He who is syzygetic' since I
            am called 'the Thought of the Invisible One'. Since I am called 'the unchanging Speech', I
            am called 'She who is syzygetic'.

I am a single one, since I am undefiled. I am the Mother of the Voice, speaking in many
            ways, completing the All. It is in me that knowledge dwells, the knowledge of
            <things> everlasting. It is I who speak within every creature, and I was known by
            the All. It is I who lift up the Speech of the Voice to the ears of those who have known
            me, that is, the Sons of the Light.

Now I have come the second time in the likeness of a female, and have spoken with them.
            And I shall tell them of the coming end of the Aeon and teach them of the beginning of the
            Aeon to come, the one without change, the one in which our appearance will be changed. We
            shall be purified within those Aeons from which I revealed myself in the Thought of the
            likeness of my masculinity. I settled among those who are worthy in the Thought of my
            changeless Aeon.

For I shall tell you a mystery of this particular Aeon, and tell you about the forces
            that are in it. The birth beckons; hour begets hour, day begets day. The months made known
            the month.Time has gone round succeeding time. This particular Aeon was completed in this
            fashion, and it was estimated, and it (was) short, for it was a finger that released a
            finger, and a joint that was separated from a joint. Then, when the great Authorities knew
            that the time of fulfillment had appeared - just as in the pangs of the parturient it (the
            time) has drawn near, so also had the destruction approached - all together the elements
            trembled, and the foundations of the underworld and the ceilings of Chaos shook, and a
            great fire shone within their midst, and the rocks and the earth were shaken like a reed
            shaken by the wind. And the lots of Fate and those who apportion the domiciles were
            greatly disturbed over a great thunder. And the thrones of the Powers were disturbed,
            since they were overturned, and their King was afraid. And those who pursue Fate paid
            their allotment of visits to the path, and they said to the Powers, "What is this
            disturbance and this shaking that has come upon us through a Voice <belonging> to
            the exalted Speech? And our entire habitation has been shaken, and the entire circuit of
            the path of ascent has met with destruction, and the path upon which we go, which takes us
            up to the Archgenitor of our birth, has ceased to be established for us."

Then the Powers answered, saying, "We too are at loss about it, since we did not
            know what was responsible for it. But arise, let us go up to the Archgenitor and ask
            him." And the powers all gathered and went up to the Archgenitor. They said to him,
            "Where is your boasting in which you boast? Did we not hear you say, "I am God,
            and I am your Father, and it is I who begot you. and there is none beside me"? Now
            behold, there has appeared a Voice belonging to that invisible Speech of the Aeon which we
            know not. And we ourselves did not recognize to whom we belong, for that Voice which we
            listened to is foreign to us, and we did not recognize it; we did not know whence it was.
            It came and put fear in our midst and weakening in the members of our arms. So now let us
            weep and mourn most bitterly! As for the future, let us make our entire flight before we
            are imprisoned perforce, and taken down to the bosom of the underworld. For already the
            slackening of our bondage has approached, and the times are cut short, and the days have
            shortened, and our time has been fulfilled, and the weeping of our destruction has
            approached us, so that we may be taken to the place we recognize. For as for our tree from
            which we grew, a fruit of ignorance is what it has; and also its leaves, it is death that
            dwells in them, and darkness dwells under the shadow of its boughs. And it was in deceit
            and lust that we harvested it, this (tree) through which ignorant Chaos became for us a
            dwelling place. For behold, even he, the Archgenitor of our birth, about whom we boast,
            even he did not know this Speech."

So now, O sons of the Thought, listen to me, to the Speech of the Mother of your mercy,
            for you have become worthy of the mystery hidden from the Aeons, so that you might receive
            it. And the consummation of this particular Aeon and of the evil life has approached, and
            there dawns the beginning of the Aeon to come, which has no change forever.

I am androgynous. I am Mother (and) I am Father, since I copulate with myself. I
            copulated with myself and with those who love me, and it is through me alone that the All
            stands firm. I am the Womb that gives shape to the All by giving birth to the Light that
            shines in splendor. I am the Aeon to come. I am the fulfillment of the All, that is,
            Meirothea, the glory of the Mother. I cast voiced Speech into the ears of those who know
            me.

And I am inviting you into the exalted, perfect Light. Moreover, (as for) this (Light),
            when you enter it, you will be glorified by those who give glory, and those who enthrone
            will enthrone you. You will accept robes from those who give robes, and the baptizers will
            baptize you, and you will become gloriously glorious, the way you first were when you were
            <Light>.

And I hid myself in everyone and revealed myself within them, and every mind seeking me
            longed for me, for it is I who gave shape to the All when it had no form. And I
            transformed their forms into (other) forms, until the time when a form will be given to
            the All. It is through me that the Voice originated, and it is I who put the breath within
            my own. And I cast into them the eternally Holy Spirit, and I ascended and entered my
            Light. I went up upon my branch and sat there among the Sons of the holy Light. And I
            withdrew to their dwelling place which [...] become glorious [...]. Amen.

On Fate: Two

I am the Word who dwells in the ineffable Voice. I dwell in undefiled Light and a
            Thought revealed itself perceptibly through the great Speech of the Mother, although it is
            a male offspring that supports me as my foundation. And it (the Speech) exists from the
            beginning in the foundations of the All.

But there is a Light that dwells hidden in Silence, and it was first to come forth.
            Whereas she (the Mother) alone exists as Silence, I alone am the Word, ineffable,
            unpolluted, immeasurable, inconceivable. It (the Word) is a hidden Light, bearing a fruit
            of life, pouring forth a living water from the invisible, unpolluted, immeasurable spring,
            that is, the unreproducible Voice of the glory of the Mother, the glory of the offspring
            of God; a male virgin by virtue of a hidden Intellect, that is, the Silence hidden from
            the All, being unreproducible, an immeasurable Light, the source of the All, the root of
            the entire Aeon. It is the foundation that supports every movement of the Aeons that
            belong to the mighty glory. It is the foundation of every foundation. It is the breath of
            the powers. It is the eye of the three permanences, which exist as Voice by virtue of
            Thought. And it is a Word by virtue of Speech; it was sent to illumine those who dwell in
            the darkness.

Now behold! I will reveal to you my mysteries, since you are my fellow brethren, and
            you shall know them all.

            (5 lines missing)

            I told all of them about my mysteries that exist in the incomprehensible, inexpressible
            Aeons. I taught them the mysteries through the Voice that exists within a perfect
            Intellect, and I became a foundation for the All, and I empowered them.

The Second time I came in the Speech of my Voice. I gave shape to those who took shape,
            until their consummation.

The Third time I revealed myself to them in their tents as Word, and I revealed myself
            in the likeness of their shape. And I wore everyone's garment, and I hid myself within
            them, and they did not know the one who empowers me. For I dwell within all the
            Sovereignties and Powers, and within the angels, and in every movement that exists in all
            matter. And I hid myself within them until I revealed myself to my brethren. And none of
            them (the Powers) knew me, although it is I who work in them. Rather, they thought that
            the All was created by them, since they are ignorant, not knowing their root, the place in
            which they grew.

I am the Light that illumines the All. I am the Light that rejoices in my brethren, for
            I came down to the world of mortals on account of the Spirit that remains in that which
            descended (and) came forth from the innocent Sophia. I came, and I delivered [...], and I
            went to ...

            (5 lines missing)

            ... which he had formerly, and I gave to him from the Water of Life, which strips him of
            the chaos that is in the uttermost darkness that exists inside the entire abyss, that is,
            the thought of the corporeal and the psychic. All these I put on. And I stripped him of
            it, and I put upon him a shining Light, that is, the knowledge of the Thought of the
            Fatherhood.

And I delivered him to those who give robes - Yammon, Elasso, Amenai - and they covered
            him with a robe from the robes of the Light; and I delivered him to the baptizers, and
            they baptized him - Micheus, Michar, Mnesinous - and they immersed him in the spring of
            the Water of Life. And I delivered him to those who enthrone - Bariel, Nouthan, Sabenai -
            and they enthroned him from the Throne of Glory. And I delivered him to those who glorify
            - Ariom, Elien, Phariel - and they glorified him with the glory of the Fatherhood. And
            those who snatch away snatched away - Kamaliel, [...]anen, Samblo, and the servants of
            <the> great holy luminaries - and they took him into the light-place of his
            Fatherhood. And he received the Five seals from the Light of the Mother, Protennoia, and
            it was granted him to partake of the mystery of knowledge, and he became a Light in Light.

So now ...

            (5 lines missing)

            ... I was dwelling in them in the form of each one. The Archons thought that I was their
            Christ. Indeed, I dwell in everyone. Indeed, within those in whom I revealed myself as
            Light, I eluded the Archons. I am their beloved, for in that place I clothed myself as the
            son of the Archgenitor, and I was like him until the end of his decree, which is the
            ignorance of Chaos. And among the angels I revealed myself in their likeness, and among
            the Powers, as if I were one of them; but among the Sons of Man, as if I were a Son of
            Man, even though I am Father of everyone.

I hid myself within them all until I revealed myself among my members, which are mine,
            and I taught them about the ineffable ordinances, and (about) the brethren. But they are
            inexpressible to every Sovereignty and every ruling Power, except the Sons of the Light
            alone, that is, the ordinances of the Father. These are the glories that are higher than
            every glory, that is, the Five Seals, complete by virtue of Intellect. He who possesses
            the Five Seals of these particular names has stripped off <the> garments of
            ignorance and put on a shining Light. And nothing will appear to him that belongs to the
            Powers of the Archons. Within those of this sort, darkness will dissolve and ignorance
            will die. And the thought of the creature, which is scattered, will present a single
            appearance and dark Chaos will dissolve and ...

            (6 lines fragmentary)

            ... until I reveal myself to all my fellow brethren, and until I gather together all my
            fellow brethren within my eternal kingdom. And I proclaimed to them the ineffable Five
            Seals in order that I might abide in them and they also might abide in me.

As for me, I put on Jesus. I bore him from the cursed wood, and established him in the
            dwelling places of his Father. And those who watch over their dwelling places did not
            recognize me. For I, I am unrestrainable, together with my seed; and my seed, which is
            mine, I shall place into the holy Light within an incomprehensible Silence. Amen.

The Discourse of the Appearance: Three

Trimorphic Protennoia, in Three Parts

    A Sacred Scripture written by the Father with perfect Knowledge

   Original translation of this text was prepared by members of the

Coptic Gnostic Library Project of the Institute for Antiquity and Christianity, Claremont Graduate School.

The Coptic Gnostic Library Project was funded by UNESCO, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and other Institutions.

 E. J. Brill has asserted copyright on texts published by the Coptic Gnostic Library Project.

The translation presented here has been edited,  modified and formatted for use in the Gnostic Society Library.

For academic citation, please refer to published editions of this text.

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