The Exegesis on the Soul

Nag Hammadi Library

The Exegesis on the Soul is a Gnostic text from the Nag Hammadi library that tells the story of the soul's fall and redemption through an extended metaphor: the soul is a virgin woman who falls from her Father's house into the world, where she is prostituted by robbers — the material powers — until she repents, turns her womb inward, and is reunited with her heavenly bridegroom in a bridal chamber

Codex Digital EditionComing soonEdition currently in preparation

Edition098

FormatDigital PDF

Editorial statusIn review

TraditionGnostic Gospels

Before you read

Context without the mythology.

Codex ISO separates the surviving evidence from later interpretation, so you can encounter the text without being told what to believe about it first.

01 / Historical context

2nd century. A Gnostic allegory of the soul as a fallen woman, prostituted to the world, who repents and is reunited with her divine husband. An erotic mysticism the Church could n

02 / Why it matters

The soul as a woman betrayed by the world. The Church burned this metaphor.

From / associated with the text

“"When the soul repents, the Father has mercy on her and makes her womb turn from the external domain and turn it again inward, so that the soul will regain her proper character."”

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The Exegesis on the Soul

Context without the mythology.

Source before story.

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