Valentinian Interpretation of Genesis 1

Valentinian Interpretation of Genesis 1

By the late second century, the Gnostic movement had developed a rather involved cosmology. Although it varied widely and should not be oversimplified, a basic outline can be useful for our understanding

The "classical" Gnostic mythology posits a sort of prologue to the Judeo-Christian version of creation as described in the Book of Genesis.

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness [a]was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. [b]So the evening and the morning were the first day.
6 Then God said, “Let there be a [c]firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” 7 Thus God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so. 8 And God called the firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day.

9 Then God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so. 10 And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good.

11 Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth”; and it was so. 12 And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 13 So the evening and the morning were the third day.

14 Then God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; 15 and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so. 16 Then God made two great [d]lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also. 17 God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18 and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 So the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

20 Then God said, “Let the waters abound with an abundance of living [e]creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the [f]firmament of the heavens.” 21 So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” 23 So the evening and the morning were the fifth day.
24 Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind”; and it was so. 25 And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over [g]all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that [h]moves on the earth.”
29 And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. 30 Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is [i]life, I have given every green herb for food”; and it was so. 31 Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

Against Heresies (Book I, Chapter 18):

Moses, then, they declare, by his mode of beginning the account of the creation, has at the commencement pointed out the mother of all things when he says, In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth; Genesis 1:1 for, as they maintain, by naming these four —God, beginning, heaven, and earth — he set forth their Tetrad. Indicating also its invisible and hidden nature, he said, Now the earth was invisible and unformed. Genesis 1:2 They will have it, moreover, that he spoke of the second Tetrad, the offspring of the first, in this way — by naming an abyss and darkness, in which were also water, and the Spirit moving upon the water. Then, proceeding to mention the Decad, he names light, day, night, the firmament, the evening, the morning, dry land, sea, plants, and, in the tenth place, trees. Thus, by means of these ten names, he indicated the ten Æons. The power of the Duodecad, again, was shadowed forth by him thus:— He names the sun, moon, stars, seasons, years, whales, fishes, reptiles, birds, quadrupeds, wild beasts, and after all these, in the twelfth place, man. Thus they teach that the Triacontad was spoken of through Moses by the Spirit. Moreover, man also, being formed after the image of the power above, had in himself that ability which flows from the one source. This ability was seated in the region of the brain, from which four faculties proceed, after the image of the Tetrad above, and these are called: the first, sight, the second, hearing, the third, smell, and the fourth, taste. And they say that the Ogdoad is indicated by man in this way: that he possesses two ears, the like number of eyes, also two nostrils, and a twofold taste, namely, of bitter and sweet. Moreover, they teach that the whole man contains the entire image of the Triacontad as follows: In his hands, by means of his fingers, he bears the Decad; and in his whole body the Duodecad, inasmuch as his body is divided into twelve members; for they portion that out, as the body of Truth is divided by them — a point of which we have already spoken. But the Ogdoad, as being unspeakable and invisible, is understood as hidden in the viscera.

According to this passage, the Gnostic believers saw the creation account in Genesis as a representation of the emanation of the aeons, which are divine beings or spiritual powers. The first Tetrad is represented by God, beginning, heaven, and earth, while the second Tetrad is represented by an abyss, darkness, water, and the Spirit. The Ten Æons are represented by light, day, night, the firmament, the evening, the morning, dry land, sea, plants, and trees. The Duodecad is represented by the sun, moon, stars, seasons, years, whales, fishes, reptiles, birds, quadrupeds, wild beasts, and man.

The believers also believed that man was formed after the image of the power above, and that man had in himself the ability that flows from the one source. This ability was seated in the region of the brain, from which four faculties proceed after the image of the Tetrad above, namely, sight, hearing, smell, and taste. The Ogdoad, as being unspeakable and invisible, is understood as hidden in the viscera.

Therefore, according to this passage, the Gnostic believers saw the creation account in Genesis as a representation of the emanation of the aeons, and they interpreted the different elements of the creation account as symbols of the different aeons or spiritual powers.

The Gnostics believed that Genesis 1 contains hidden symbolic meanings that reveal the emanation of the 30 Aeons, or divine attributes, from the one ultimate source. They interpreted the text as follows:

• The first Tetrad (God, beginning, heaven, and earth) represents the ultimate source from which the Aeons emanate. This source is invisible and hidden, like the earth before it was formed.
• The second Tetrad (abyss, darkness, water, and Spirit) represents the four Aeons that emanate from the first Tetrad. These Aeons are also invisible and hidden.
• The Decad (light, day, night, firmament, evening, morning, dry land, sea, plants, trees) represents the next 10 Aeons that emanate from the second Tetrad. These Aeons are more visible and manifest than the first four.
• The Duodecad (sun, moon, stars, seasons, years, whales, fishes, reptiles, birds, quadrupeds, wild beasts, and man) represents the final 12 Aeons that emanate from the Decad. These Aeons are the most visible and manifest of all.
• The Ogdoad (eight Aeons) is unspeakable and invisible, but is hidden within man's body. Man is created in the image of the ultimate source and contains within himself the same abilities as the Aeons.

The Gnostics also believed that man's physical form reflected the divine order of the Aeons. Man's four senses (sight, hearing, smell, taste) correspond to the first Tetrad, and his eight bodily orifices (two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, and a twofold taste) correspond to the Ogdoad. Man's 12 body parts correspond to the Duodecad, and his 10 fingers correspond to the Decad.

In summary, the Gnostics believed that Genesis 1 contains a hidden message about the emanation of the 30 Aeons from the ultimate source. They saw this message reflected in the physical form of man, who is created in the image of the divine.