The history of Sethian Gnosticism

# The History of Sethian Gnosticism

The origins of Sethian Gnosticism can be traced to a turbulent intersection of Jewish tradition, Greek philosophical speculation, and early Christian thought. As early as the first century, figures like Josephus and Philo of Alexandria criticized certain Hellenized Jews who, in their zeal to harmonize Scripture with Greek philosophy, abandoned the plain meaning of the Law for allegorical and speculative reinterpretations. This movement toward mystical and philosophical re-readings of sacred texts would, over time, give rise to the distinctive theological currents known as proto-Gnosticism. Within this context, the Sethians emerged—a small, syncretistic group whose complex mythologies and reinterpretations of biblical figures like Seth and Christ positioned them both within and against the broader developments of early Christianity and Platonism.

Two early witnesses, **Josephus** and **Philo of Alexandria**, offer piercing criticisms of what can rightly be seen as the seeds of early Gnosticism—individuals among the Jews who blended Greek philosophical speculation with the Hebrew Scriptures, leading to mystical reinterpretations that deviated sharply from the Law.

In *Against Apion* (2.256–257), **Josephus** laments:

> “Some among us have been so delighted with Greek culture that they have not only neglected their own laws, but have laughed at them and even attempted to misinterpret them with forced allegories, for the sake of Greek philosophy.”

Here, Josephus describes a trend among certain Hellenized Jews who abandoned the traditional, literal interpretation of the Hebrew Scriptures in favor of allegorized, philosophical reinterpretations. These figures, in Josephus’s eyes, betrayed the integrity of the ancestral Law in their attempt to harmonize Judaism with the dominant intellectual currents of the Greco-Roman world.

**Philo**, a Jewish philosopher deeply immersed in both Torah and Platonic thought, also distinguishes himself from those who went too far. In *On Dreams* (1.29–31), he writes:

> “Some, boasting of wisdom falsely so-called, pervert philosophy into a cloak for impiety, weaving together fictions and monstrous tales, daring to call their own baseless opinions divine oracles… mixing plausible doctrines with ridiculous delusions.”

This scathing rebuke shows that even within Philo’s own allegorical approach, there were individuals or movements he deemed to be going beyond the bounds of reason and reverence. These "boasters" likely represent a form of **proto-Gnosticism**—combining Jewish traditions with speculative myths, secret teachings, and the language of divine revelation.

The **Sethians** (*Latin: Sethoitae*) are first mentioned, alongside the **Ophites**, in the second century by **Irenaeus**, a fierce opponent of Gnosticism. Later accounts from **Pseudo-Tertullian** (Ch. 30) and **Hippolytus** largely repeat the information provided by Irenaeus. According to scholar **Frederik Wisse**, almost all subsequent descriptions of Sethianism depend heavily on this early heresiological tradition.

According to **Epiphanius of Salamis** (c. 375 CE), Sethians were, in his time, found only in Egypt and Palestine. However, fifty years earlier, they were reported to exist as far away as Greater Armenia. This suggests that Sethianism was a **small localized group** of Jewish-Christians, rather than a widespread or dominant movement.

The 4th-century *Catalogue of Heresies* by **Philaster** places the Ophites, Cainites, and Sethians as **pre-Christian Jewish sects**. However, since Sethians identified **Seth with Christ** (as seen in *The Second Treatise of the Great Seth*), the belief that the Sethians were an entirely pre-Christian sect is not widely accepted today. Modern scholarship sees Sethianism as a syncretistic phenomenon that absorbed Jewish and Greek elements while emerging within the broader context of early Christianity.

It is best understood as **a distinctly inner-Jewish, albeit syncretistic and heterodox, phenomenon** that evolved over time under the influence of Christian and Platonic thought.

According to **John D. Turner**, Sethianism developed through six distinct phases:

**Phase 1:**  

Before the 2nd century CE, two groups formed the basis of Sethianism: a Jewish group of possibly priestly lineage known as the **Barbeloites** (named after **Barbelo**, the first emanation of the Highest God) and a group of **Biblical exegetes** known as the **Sethites**, who viewed themselves as the "seed of Seth."

**Phase 2:**  

In the mid-2nd century, the Barbeloites, a baptizing sect, fused with Christian baptizing groups. They began to view the pre-existent Christ as the "self-generated (Autogenes) Son of Barbelo," who was "anointed with the Invisible Spirit’s Christhood." Through baptism, Barbeloites believed they were assimilated into the archetypal "Son of Man." Jesus of Nazareth was seen not merely as a historical figure, but as an appearance of the Divine Logos.

**Phase 3:**  

Later in the 2nd century, the Christianized Barbeloites merged with the Sethites to form the **Gnostic Sethianists**. Seth and Christ were now fully identified together as bearers of the "true image of God," with the view that Christ had appeared in the world to rescue Jesus from the cross—a strongly **docetic** interpretation.

**Phase 4:**  

By the end of the 2nd century, Sethianism grew apart from the developing **Christian orthodoxy**, which rejected the Sethian docetic view of Christ’s body and death.

**Phase 5:**  

In the early 3rd century, Sethianism was fully rejected by Christian heresiologists. As a result, Sethianism shifted more deeply into the **contemplative practices of Platonism**, gradually losing its strong Jewish-Christian identity.

**Phase 6:**  

In the late 3rd century, Sethianism was attacked by **Neoplatonists** like **Plotinus**, who objected to its mythological speculations. Alienated from both Christian orthodoxy and Platonism, Sethianism fragmented into various **sectarian Gnostic groups**, such as the **Archontics**, **Audians**, **Borborites**, and **Phibionites**. Some remnants of these groups survived into the Middle Ages.

As Christianity solidified and became the state religion, other Christian groups, especially those forming the Catholic Church, viewed the Sethians as dangerous heretics. Persecution followed: Sethian writings were banned, their communities were suppressed, and references to their teachings were preserved mainly by opponents eager to refute them.

Thus, Sethian Gnosticism represents an early, bold, and deeply controversial attempt to reinterpret Jewish and Christian tradition through the lens of Platonic philosophy and mystical speculation—an attempt that provoked both fascination and fierce opposition throughout the ancient world.