The Prayer of the Apostle Paul in the Context of Nag Hammadi Codex I

The first and perhaps most famous of the Nag Hammadi codices, first known as the “Jung Codex,” contains five gnostic writings, including the well-known “Gospel of Truth.” While most of the individual texts contained in Codex I have been studied intensively, less attention has been paid to the composition and logic of the codex as a whole, despite the fact that paleographical analysis shows that the contents of the codex were carefully chosen and carefully arranged. Particularly interesting is the role played by a brief prayer, ascribed to the apostle Paul, which the compiler of the codex used as an introduction to this collection of esoteric literature. In the hopes of contributing to the illumination of the logic underlying the compiler’s choice and arrangement of her material, in this presentation I will show why this prayer is such an appropriate introduction to the codex as a whole, and how it prefigures and subtly hints at the themes to be addressed in the other texts.