The Gospel of Mary Magdalene

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by Jean-Yves Leloup


  70 See Jean-Yves Leloup, L’Enracinement et l’Ouverture (Paris: Albin Michel). [For an interesting compendium of sayings of Jesus from other traditions, see Marvin Mayer, The Unknown Sayings of Jesus (San Francisco: Harper, 1998).—Trans.]

  71 [This is the author’s résumé of 1 Jn 3:2.—Trans.]

  72 See Dt 6:5.

  73 See 1 Cor 15:28.

  74 See Mt 28:20.

  75 Mt 5, Chouraqui translation; see also Jn 15:20: “If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you.”

  76 Mt 27:55.

  77 [This is a free translation of Acts 10:34–35. Conventional translations say “those who fear him,” and Chouraqui says “those whom he makes tremble.”—Trans.]

  78 Acts 10:9–28.

  79 2 Sam 11–12.

  80 [The author’s rendering of Lk 16:15. Chouraqui gives simply “Elohim” rather than “YHWH, the One Who Is.”—Trans.]

  81 Lk 18:9–14.

  82 Jn 15:18; and Jn 16:20–21.

  83 Coptic snaudia, which corresponds to Greek dispsukos, or dipsukia, “to have two souls,” “to have two psyches.”

  84 See Lk 8:52; Mt 21:21; and Mk 11:23.

  85 See footnote 83. Among other early Christian texts, see the First Epistle of Clement 11:2 and the Epistle of Barnaby 19:5.

  86 Aplótès, from the Greek “without folds,”“unwrinkled,”“unconvoluted.”

  87 Irenaeus of Lyon, Adversus Haereses III, 18:7.

  88 See Jean-Yves Leloup, L’Evangile de Thomas (Paris: Albin Michel, 1986), 243.

  89 See Homélies pseudo-clémentines II, 15:3. See passages from Theodotus 21:2–3, and from Asclepius VII, 8 cited by J. E. Ménard in his Evangile de Thomas (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1975), 210.

  90 Pistis Sophia 113, 189, quoted by Ménard in his Evangile de Thomas, 210. For an English translation of this scripture, see C. Schmidt, Pistis Sophia (NHS 9, 460–87), tran. V. MacDermot (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1978).

  91 Mt 19:11–12.

  92 Lk 24:32.

  93 See Lk 7:36–50.

  94 Evagre le Pontique, Praxis et gnosis, French translation by Jean-Yves Leloup (Paris: Albin Michel). In English, see Evagrius Ponticus, Praktikos (Cistercian Press, 1980).

  95 [Leloup’s list is somewhat different from the traditional list in English, which is: pride, lust, envy, anger, covetousness, gluttony, and sloth.—Trans.]

  96 English accidie, French acédie, from Greek akedia.

  97 See Corpus hermeticum (Festugière); in English, see Salaman, et. al., The Way of Hermes: New Translations of the Corpus Hermeticum (Rochester, Vt.: Inner Traditions, 2000), 67.

  98 Festugière, traité XIII, 203.

  99 Testaments des douze patriarches, in Der Hirt des Hermas, 518–19. In English, see The Shepherd of Her- mas, Loeb Classical Library, no. 25 (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1964).

  100 See Lk 10:38–42.

  101 See Jn 11:1–46.

  102 Her “prophetic” gesture of anointing his feet in Jn 12:1–8.

  103 See Mt 27:55–56.

  104 See Jn 20:11–18. [This title has sometimes been edited as “apostle to the apostles” in order to diminish her status to one of subservience to the others.—Trans.]

  105 See Robinson, The Nag Hammadi Library; and Willis Barnstone, ed., The Other Bible (San Francisco: HarperSan Francisco, 1980). See also Ménard, trans and ed., L’Evangile selon Philippe (Strasbourg, 1967), for specific passages: 6–11; 63; 34–64; 59, 62.

  106 1 Jn 1:2; and Jn 8:56.

  107 Israël in Hebrew signifies “who sees God.”

  108 Philo of Alexandria, De migratione Abrahami (Editions du Cerf, 1965), 109. See also De confusione lingarum, 140–48; and De Abrahamo, 150. In English, see his collected works in Philo, Colson and Whitaker, trans., Loeb Classical Library (Cambridge, Mass.:, Harvard Univiversity Press, 1962).

  109 [This is in fact the more literally correct translation of Ex 20:18, though not the usual one. Chouraqui agrees, but has “voices” instead of “voice.”—Trans.]

  110 De migratione Abrahami, p. 123.

  111 Among others, see Ex 33:20; Jgs 6:22–23; Is 6:5.

  112 Ex 24:9–11.

  113 See Clement of Alexandria, Stromates VI, 3.34, 1–3; and Origen VI, Celsius 62.

  114 De migratione Abrahami, 121.

  115 Cf. Jn 20:18, where she says to the disciples: “I have seen the Lord!” prior to relating his words to her.

  116 Lk 12:34; Mt 6:21—Opou gar estin o thesauros umón ekei kai è kardia umón estaï.

  117 Pasquier, L’Evangile de Marie, 73.

  118 [The psyche normally performs these functions, but here the nous uses the psyche to perform them on a higher level, permeated with spirit.—Trans.]

  119 [The word spirit or mind is often used in Cartesian-type philosophies, but there is no distinction between higher and lower mind, or between spirit and soul. Everything non-physical is reduced to the same psychic level.—Trans.]

  120 Jambet, La Logique des Orientaux, p. 60.

  121 Jn 9:39.

  122 See George Berkeley, Philosophical Commentaries, George H. Thomas, ed. (Ohio: Alliance, 1976).

  123 Other translations have rendered this as “powers,” “energies,”or “authorities.” I have preferred “climate.” Some climates are healthy, others unhealthy. A climate is something that can surprise and envelop us; thus it has power and authority over us. This is why people speak of psychological climates or atmospheres. In this gospel the different climates are also personified. We move through the climates of Craving, Ignorance, and so forth, before arriving at the fair and peaceful climate of the presence of Being.

  124 [The author’s translation of this passage differs from most others. The MacRae/Wilson version, for example, has the soul say to Craving: “I served you as a garment . . .” Leloup reverses this, making Craving the garment of the soul, which would seem to make better sense.—Trans.]

  125 From the Indo-European root skeri, which means “to cut,” “divide,”common with Greek krinein, which means “to discern,” “discriminate,” “separate, “ “judge.”

  126 Based on laboratory experiments conducted by the author with “painter”chimpanzees at UCLA in 1980.

  127 This is why Yeshua, who embodies the nous that is turned toward the Pneuma, and who incarnates the Anthropos, or fully human being, is able to say (in Jn 12:44–48): “He who believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me. And he who sees me sees him who sent me. I have come as light into the world, that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. If any one hears my sayings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. He who rejects me and does not receive my sayings has a judge; the word that I have spoken will be his judge on the last day.”

  128 Admiration may take the place of anger when the child loves the adult and does not seek to appear to be as strong as the latter.

  129 Dt 6:14–15.

  [André Chouraqui’s literal translation of this passage from the Hebrew uses the word ardent instead of jealous: “Yes, YHWH your Elohim is an ardent El in your breast, so beware lest the nostril of YHWH be inflamed against you and exterminate you from the face of the earth.”—Trans.]

  130 Dt 6:17–18.

  131 See above, Gospel of Mary 8:26.

  132 [In French the word for wedding ring is alliance. —Trans.]

  133 Cf. Wisdom 2:24: “Through the jealousy of the devil, death entered into the world.”

  134 Jn 2:15.

  135 Eph 2:3.

  136 1 Cor 1: 19–25.

  137 Phil 4:7.

  138 [For example C. G. Jung’s fourfold scheme, which is essentially the same as the one given here.—Trans.]

  139 1 Cor 2: 6–9.

  140 The Coptic word t-ouasf-ma could also be translated as “wanderer” or “tramp.”

  141 1 Cor 3:1–3.

  142 In the Greek text of Paul, it is definitely Pneuma that is meant. Thus the Breath of man an
d the Breath of God become one in the kiss (nasak) of the nous.

  143 Pneuma ton kosmon.

  144 To Pneuma to ek tou Théou.

  145 Pneumatikois, Pneumatika.

  146 [This may seem odd, but is closer to the original Greek than is the usual translation of “unspiritual man”: psukikos, as opposed to pneumatikos.—Trans.]

  147 1 Jn 3:14–15.

  148 Cf. Jambet, La Logique des Orientaux, 211.

  149 In Greek myth, Chronos is also the god of time who devours his children.

  150 Clement of Alexandria, Excerpts to Theodotus, 29.

  151 See the author’s introductions to Saint John Chrysostom in Homelie sur l’incompréhensibilité de Dieu (Paris: Albin Michel), and to Gregory of Nyssa in La Vie de Moïse (Paris: Albin Michel).

  152 Pistis Sophia 377: 14–17.

  153 Mt 13:34–35. See also Mk 4:33–34.

  154 Mt 13:10–17.

  155 See Teilhard de Chardin’s experience of the Divine in the impalpable aspect of a piece of mineral he was holding in his hand.

  156 Deus Absconditus, “the Hidden God.”

  157 In some texts we find the word kardia substituted. For the Semites, the heart (and sometimes the spirit) is the source of thoughts. See A. Guillaumont, “Le sens des noms du coeur dans l’antiquité,” in Le Coeur (Paris: Etudes carmélitaines, 1950), 67–77.

  158 Mt 6:22–23. See also Lk 11:34–35.

  159 Mk 16:9–11.

  160 Lk 24:10–11.

  161 Version a, quoted by Tardieu, Codex de Berlin, 24.

  162 Acts of Peter, version b, 220.

  163 See Mt 26:31–35; Mk 14:27–31; Jn 13:36–38; and his denial in Mt 26:69–75; Mk 14:66–72; and Jn 18:55–58; 25–27.

  164 To borrow a term from the title of a beautiful book by Emmanuel Lévinas, Autrement qu’Etre. In some of his reflections, Lévinas is not far from our subject.

  165 Mk 2:13–14.

  166 Mt 16:21–23.

  167 Mt 16:17.

  168 Rv 22:17.

  169 [Curiously, the Germanic etymology of the English word world is literally wer-aldh, which means “old man.”—Trans.]

  170 See Gal 3:27; and Col 1:28.

  171 This was a watchword of encouragement among the pilgrims, meaning “still more,” or “further beyond.”

  BIBLIOGRAPHY

  Allberry, C. R. C. A Manichaean Psalmbook, II. Stuttgart: W. Kohlhammer, 1938.

  Bianchi, U. “Docetism: A Peculiar Theory about the Ambivalence of the Presence of the Divine.” In Myths and Symbols: Studies in Honour of Mircea Éliade. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1969.

  Blass, F. and A. Debrunner. A Greek Grammar of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. Translated and revised by R.W. Funk. Cambridge and Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1961.

  Collins, J. J. “Introduction: Towards the Morphology of a Genre.” In Apocalypse: The Morphology of a Genre, Semeia 14. Missoula, Mont.: Scholars Press, 1979.

  Daniélou, Jean. The Theology of Jewish Christianity. Edited and Translated by John A. Baker. London: Darton, Longman, and Todd, 1964.

  Dibelius, Martin. James: A Commentary on the Epistle of James. Revised by Heinrich Greeven. Translated by Michael A. Williams. Edited by Helmut Koester. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1976.

  Fallon, F. T. “The Gnostic Apocalypses.” In Apocalypse: The Morphology of a Genre, Semeia 14. Missoula, Mont.: Scholars Press, 1979.

  Finegan, J. Hidden Records of the Life of Jesus. Philadelphia and Boston: Pilgrim Press, 1969.

  Grant, R. M., ed. Gnosticism: A Source Book. New York: Harper, 1961.

  Long, H. S. Diogenis Laertii: Vitae Philosophorum. Book 7. Oxford, 1964.

  MacDermot, Violet. The Fall of Sophia: A Gnostic Text on the Redemption of Universal Consciousness. Great Barrington, Mass.: Lindisfarne Books, 2001.

  Ménard, J. É. L’Évangile selon Philippe: Introduction, texte, traduction et commentaire. Strasbourg, 1967.

  ———. L’Évangile selon Thomas. (NHS, 5). Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1975.

  ———. La Lettre de Pierre à Philippe. Québec: Presses de l’Université Laval, 1977.

  Pagels, Elaine. “Visions, Appearances, and Apostolic Authority: Gnostic and Orthodox Traditions.” In Gnosis: Festchrift für Hans Jonas. Edited by B. Aland. Göttingen, 1978.

  ———. The Gnostic Gospels. New York: Random House, 1980.

  Pasquier, A. “L’Eschatologie dans l’Évangile selon Marie: Étude des notions de nature et d’image.” In Colloque international sur les textes de Nag-Hammadi. Québec and Louvain: 1981.

  Perkins, Pheme. The Gnostic Dialogue: The Early Church and the Crisis of Gnosticism. New York: Paulist Press, 1980.

  Puech, Henri-Charles. “Gnostic Gospels and Related Documents.” In New Testament Apocrypha. Edited by E. Hennecke and W. Schneemelcher. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1963.

  Roberts, Colin H. Catalogue of the Greek and Latin Papyri in the John Rylands Library. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1938.

  Schmidt, Carl. Pistis Sophia. Edited and translated by Violet MacDermot. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1978.

  Schneemelcher, Wilhelm, ed. and R. McL. Wilson, trans. New Testament Apocrypha. Rev. ed. Cambridge, England: J. Clarke and Co., 1991–1992.

  Tardieu, M. Trois Mythes gnostiques, Adam, Éros et les animaux d’Égypte dans un écrit de Nag-Hammadi. Paris, 1974.

  Wilson, R. McL. Gnosis and the New Testament. Oxford: Blackwell, 1968.

  Wilson. R. McL. and G. W. MacRae. “The Gospel According to Mary.” In Nag-Hammadi Library in English. Edited by James M. Robinson. San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1988.

  ———. “The Gospel According to Mary.” In Nag-Hammadi Codices V, 2–5 and VI with Papyrus Berolinensis 8502, 1 and 4. Edited by Douglas M. Parrott. Leiden E. J. Brill, 1979.

  van Winden, J. C. M. An Early Christian Philosopher. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1971.

  Also by Jean-Yves Leloup

  The Gospel of Philip

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  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Jean-Yves Leloup is a theologian and founder of the Institute of Other Civilization Studies and the International College of Therapists. His books include Jesus and Judas, The Sacred Embrace of Jesus and Mary, The Gospel of Mary Magdalene, The Gospel of Philip, and The Gospel of Thomas. He lives in France.

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  First U.S. edition published by Inner Traditions in 2002

  Originally published in French under the title L’Évangile de Marie: Myriam de Magdala by Albin Michel

  Copyright © by Éditions Albin Michel S.A., 1997

  English translation copyright © 2002 by Inner Traditions International

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA

  Evangile de Marie. English & Coptic.

  The gospel of Mary Magdalene / Coptic translation and commentary by Jean-Yves Leloup; English translation and notes by Joseph Rowe; preface by Jacob Needleman.—1st U.S. ed.

  p. cm.

  Includes bibliographical references.

  print ISBN: 978-0-89281-911-9

  ebook ISBN: 978-1-59477-641-0

  1. Gospel of Mary—Commentaries. 2. Gnosticism. I. Leloup, Jean-Yves. II. Rowe, Joseph, 1942–III. Title.

  BT1392.G65 A3 2001

  229’ .8—dc21

  2001006735

 

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