27. On the Origin of the World
n the Origin of the World is a gnostic treatise that offers ex-
planations of key gnostic themes, particularly themes having
to do with first things, last things, and hidden things.
On the Origin of the World appears in the Nag Hammadi library, Codex II,
immediately after the Sethian text Reality of the Rulers, the text it most closely
resembles. The parallels between the two texts are extensive. On the Origin of
the World reflects many of the Sethian gnostic themes found in other Sethian
texts as well, but the present text is not easily classified as Sethian. Sometimes
it seems Sethian, sometimes Valentinian, sometimes Manichaean. It always is,
in some sense, gnostic.
On the Origin of the World opens with a philosophical issue that sounds
disarmingly modern in its formulation: What, if anything, existed prior to the
original chaos, the primal ooze, the beginning as described in Genesis 1 and
other ancient Middle Eastern creation myths? On the Origin of the World
seeks to demonstrate that before chaos was the root of chaos, the infinite.
The plot that unfolds in the text features the creative and salvific roles of
Sophia and her mother, Pistis (faith). The daughter is also called Sophia Zoe
(life) or simply Zoe, the mother Pistis Sophia. From Pistis Sophia, in a manner
O