From
Ismo O. Dunderberg, “Paul and Valentinian morality,” in Valentinianism: New Studies, 2020, Brill,
The Prayer of the Apostle Paul (NHC I,1) provides us with an example of Paul in the Valentinian imagination. This Paul is recognizable through the use of language derived from Paul’s letters: leaning on the language used in Philippians 2:9, Paul utters his prayer “in the name exalted above every name, through Jesus Christ, [Lord] of lords, King of the eternal realm” (A:11–12).
The more distinctly Valentinian character of Paul becomes visible in the Pr. Paul’s expanded form of 1 Corinthians 2:9:
The saying used here is a Wanderlogion in the truest sense of the word, and the parallel in the Gospel of Thomas shows that it also circulated as a dominical saying. Pr. Paul (unlike Gos. Thom.) clearly draws upon the Pauline version of this saying. The expanded version of 1 Cor 2:9 in Pr. Paul suggests that “the hidden wisdom” Paul referred to in 1 Cor 2:6–10 was understood as containing teaching about the demiurge and the creation of humankind.
The first addition in Pr. Paul, mentioning “eye of angels” and “ear of rulers,” is faithful to Paul’s own intention since he used this saying to explain why the cosmic rulers did not recognize “the Lord of glory” and crucified him (1 Cor 2:8). The second addition in Pr. Paul is more distinct in describing “the human heart” as being of an “angelic” nature and made “after the fashion of the ensouled God (ⲕⲁⲧⲁ ⲙ̄ⲡⲛⲟⲩⲧⲉ ⲙ̄ⲯⲩⲭⲓⲕⲟⲥ).”
While these qualifications bring in a good deal of Valentinian mythic speculation, they also respond to a question left open in Paul’s text. For what Paul did not explain in 1 Cor 2:8–10 was why the human heart lacks understanding; the amplified version in Pr. Paul explains this lack as due to the heart’s conformity with the creator-God.
Whereas the soul-nature is here, as in 1 Corinthians, linked with an inferior level of understanding, Pr. Paul also mentions another kind of soul, one allied with the “spirit”: Paul asks the Savior to “rescue my luminous, eternal soul (ⲛ̄ⲧⲁⲯⲩⲭⲏ ⲛ̄ⲟⲩⲁⲉⲓⲛ [ϣⲁ ⲉ]ⲛⲏϩⲉ) and my spirit.” (A:1) Thus the soul can be – but is not necessarily – of inferior quality. There is also a soul of the right quality, which can and will experience salvation together with the spirit. This view about the soul’s double inclination comes very close to what we have in other Valentinian sources
Ismo O. Dunderberg, “Paul and Valentinian morality,” in Valentinianism: New Studies, 2020, Brill,
The Prayer of the Apostle Paul (NHC I,1) provides us with an example of Paul in the Valentinian imagination. This Paul is recognizable through the use of language derived from Paul’s letters: leaning on the language used in Philippians 2:9, Paul utters his prayer “in the name exalted above every name, through Jesus Christ, [Lord] of lords, King of the eternal realm” (A:11–12).
The more distinctly Valentinian character of Paul becomes visible in the Pr. Paul’s expanded form of 1 Corinthians 2:9:
| 1 Cor 2:8-10 | The Prayer of the Apostle Paul | |
| . But none of the rulers of this age (οὐδεὶς τῶν ἀρχόντων τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου) understood this; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him, these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. . | . Grant what no eye of angels has [seen], nor ear of rulers heard, nor the human heart conceived. It became angelic, made after the fashion of the ensouled God, when it was formed in the beginning. . | . cf. Gos. Thom. 17: Jesus said, “I shall give you what no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor hand touched, nor the human heart conceived.” . |
The saying used here is a Wanderlogion in the truest sense of the word, and the parallel in the Gospel of Thomas shows that it also circulated as a dominical saying. Pr. Paul (unlike Gos. Thom.) clearly draws upon the Pauline version of this saying. The expanded version of 1 Cor 2:9 in Pr. Paul suggests that “the hidden wisdom” Paul referred to in 1 Cor 2:6–10 was understood as containing teaching about the demiurge and the creation of humankind.
The first addition in Pr. Paul, mentioning “eye of angels” and “ear of rulers,” is faithful to Paul’s own intention since he used this saying to explain why the cosmic rulers did not recognize “the Lord of glory” and crucified him (1 Cor 2:8). The second addition in Pr. Paul is more distinct in describing “the human heart” as being of an “angelic” nature and made “after the fashion of the ensouled God (ⲕⲁⲧⲁ ⲙ̄ⲡⲛⲟⲩⲧⲉ ⲙ̄ⲯⲩⲭⲓⲕⲟⲥ).”
While these qualifications bring in a good deal of Valentinian mythic speculation, they also respond to a question left open in Paul’s text. For what Paul did not explain in 1 Cor 2:8–10 was why the human heart lacks understanding; the amplified version in Pr. Paul explains this lack as due to the heart’s conformity with the creator-God.
Whereas the soul-nature is here, as in 1 Corinthians, linked with an inferior level of understanding, Pr. Paul also mentions another kind of soul, one allied with the “spirit”: Paul asks the Savior to “rescue my luminous, eternal soul (ⲛ̄ⲧⲁⲯⲩⲭⲏ ⲛ̄ⲟⲩⲁⲉⲓⲛ [ϣⲁ ⲉ]ⲛⲏϩⲉ) and my spirit.” (A:1) Thus the soul can be – but is not necessarily – of inferior quality. There is also a soul of the right quality, which can and will experience salvation together with the spirit. This view about the soul’s double inclination comes very close to what we have in other Valentinian sources
Statistics: Posted by MrMacSon — Sat Oct 05, 2024 7:41 pm
