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Three Steles of Seth
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Three Steles of Seth
The Three Steles of Seth is a Sethian Gnostic text. It is the fifth tractate in Codex VII of the Nag Hammadi library. The writing is in Coptic and takes up the last nine pages of the codex.
A common theme in Sethian works is a descent or ascent theme. The Three Steles of Seth—along with Zostrianos, Allogenes, and Marsanes—uses the ascent pattern. Furthermore, these four Sethian texts are grouped together because of their extensive use of terminology from Platonic philosophy. Thus, the original work was likely written before Plotinus's Against the Gnostics in c. 265. The text lacks specifically Christian elements; the triadic nature of God is instead a Neoplatonic belief. Thus, the traditional two steles made of brick and stone are increased to three to represent the threefold divine: the Father, the mother Barbelo, and the son Autogenes.
In the text, Seth uses the three steles to record three doxologies or hymns of praise. The text is framed as a revelation of Dositheos, who sees the steles inscribed by Seth.
Stele one assumes the voice of Seth, and then of Seth together with Geradamas praising their respective creators. It is not entirely clear whether Hymn two is referring directly to the Barbelo or the “One”, though the title points to the Barbelo.
Hymn 1: Seth's Hymn to Pigeradamas (the Divine Adam) and Autogenes (the Self-Generated)
Emmakha Seth’s Praise of the Geradamas is, as the title indicates a hymn dedicating to the glorifying of Seth’s father, Geradamas, better known as Adamas, or Adam. The Hymn is from the perspective of Emmakha Seth, his spiritual archetype, and when he refers to Geradamas he is likewise referring to Adam’s spiritual archetype which resides in the lowest realm within Barbelo. He praises Geradams for creating him (Seth) and praises “god” for creating Geradamas. He praises the great self-originated aeon, Barbelo, for “staying in rest”, which is philosophical jargon for non-changing, stable being, as opposed to instability and the to-become. He continues on to refer to the Barbelo as engendered, existent, and glorified through intellect. There is a rather confusing excerpt from Verse 120:3 until the end of the first hymn:
And you derive from a foreign thing: and it presides over a foreign thing.
But now, you derive from a foreign thing: and it presides over a foreign thing.
You derive from a foreign thing: for you are [dissimilar].
The “foreign thing” here refers to the Invisible Parent, that is, the highest being in the gnostic mythology that the Barbelo was created from. A Sethian of the gnostic race would consider themselves a foreigner, born of foreigners (those within Seth’s immovable race). The actual lineage the author is likely referring to is that Adam, was derived from Barbelo, who resides over Adam, Seth, and the rest of the lower realms, while Barbelo itself was derived from the Invisible Parent. The word dissimilar was only partially preserved.
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Three Steles of Seth
The Three Steles of Seth is a Sethian Gnostic text. It is the fifth tractate in Codex VII of the Nag Hammadi library. The writing is in Coptic and takes up the last nine pages of the codex.
A common theme in Sethian works is a descent or ascent theme. The Three Steles of Seth—along with Zostrianos, Allogenes, and Marsanes—uses the ascent pattern. Furthermore, these four Sethian texts are grouped together because of their extensive use of terminology from Platonic philosophy. Thus, the original work was likely written before Plotinus's Against the Gnostics in c. 265. The text lacks specifically Christian elements; the triadic nature of God is instead a Neoplatonic belief. Thus, the traditional two steles made of brick and stone are increased to three to represent the threefold divine: the Father, the mother Barbelo, and the son Autogenes.
In the text, Seth uses the three steles to record three doxologies or hymns of praise. The text is framed as a revelation of Dositheos, who sees the steles inscribed by Seth.
Stele one assumes the voice of Seth, and then of Seth together with Geradamas praising their respective creators. It is not entirely clear whether Hymn two is referring directly to the Barbelo or the “One”, though the title points to the Barbelo.
Hymn 1: Seth's Hymn to Pigeradamas (the Divine Adam) and Autogenes (the Self-Generated)
Emmakha Seth’s Praise of the Geradamas is, as the title indicates a hymn dedicating to the glorifying of Seth’s father, Geradamas, better known as Adamas, or Adam. The Hymn is from the perspective of Emmakha Seth, his spiritual archetype, and when he refers to Geradamas he is likewise referring to Adam’s spiritual archetype which resides in the lowest realm within Barbelo. He praises Geradams for creating him (Seth) and praises “god” for creating Geradamas. He praises the great self-originated aeon, Barbelo, for “staying in rest”, which is philosophical jargon for non-changing, stable being, as opposed to instability and the to-become. He continues on to refer to the Barbelo as engendered, existent, and glorified through intellect. There is a rather confusing excerpt from Verse 120:3 until the end of the first hymn:
And you derive from a foreign thing: and it presides over a foreign thing.
But now, you derive from a foreign thing: and it presides over a foreign thing.
You derive from a foreign thing: for you are [dissimilar].
The “foreign thing” here refers to the Invisible Parent, that is, the highest being in the gnostic mythology that the Barbelo was created from. A Sethian of the gnostic race would consider themselves a foreigner, born of foreigners (those within Seth’s immovable race). The actual lineage the author is likely referring to is that Adam, was derived from Barbelo, who resides over Adam, Seth, and the rest of the lower realms, while Barbelo itself was derived from the Invisible Parent. The word dissimilar was only partially preserved.