
Contents
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Introduction Introduction
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The Secret Book of John The Secret Book of John
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The Nature of True Divinity The Nature of True Divinity
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The Boast The Boast
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The Rebuke The Rebuke
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The Creation of Adam The Creation of Adam
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Eve Eve
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The Reality of the Rulers The Reality of the Rulers
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The Rebuke The Rebuke
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The Creation of Adam The Creation of Adam
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Eve Eve
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The Serpent The Serpent
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Norea Norea
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Sabaoth Sabaoth
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The Devil’s End The Devil’s End
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On the Origin of the World On the Origin of the World
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The Boast The Boast
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The Rebuke The Rebuke
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Sabaoth Sabaoth
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The Creation of Adam The Creation of Adam
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The Serpent The Serpent
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The Devil’s End The Devil’s End
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Conclusion Conclusion
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3 “I Am God and There is No Other!”: The Boast of Yaldabaoth
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Published:October 2016
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Abstract
In one of the ironies of mythic history, Yahweh himself became guilty of self-deification. In the book of Isaiah, the Jewish deity declares: “I am God and there is no other!” (46:9). In gnostic sources, this declaration becomes the mantra of the foolish creator, Yaldabaoth. This chapter examines three versions of Yaldabaoth’s myth (all found in Nag Hammadi codex II) in (1) The Apocryphon of John, (2) The Nature of the Rulers, and (3) The Origin of the World. It is argued that Gnostic Christians created the character of Yaldabaoth not to subvert Judaism itself but to criticize fellow Christians who adopted Yahweh’s superiority. By fitting the Jewish deity into the typology of self-deification, gnostics showed how foolish it was to believe in a jealous god who tried to prevent the deification of others.
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