Sheol in the Odes of solomon

# Sheol in the Odes of Solomon

The Odes of Solomon, a collection of early Christian hymns composed in the late first or early second century CE, reflect a distinctive soteriological vision rooted in Jewish thought but transformed by belief in the Messiah. One of the most prominent theological motifs in the Odes is the imagery of Sheol—an ancient Hebrew term denoting the grave, the realm of the dead, or the netherworld. Unlike Greek or pagan notions of the immortal soul, the Odes portray Sheol as a real, subterranean domain that imprisons the dead until liberated through divine intervention.

In the Odes, Sheol is consistently paired with Death, often personified, echoing the language of Revelation where “Death and Hades” are named as linked forces of oppression. For example, Revelation 1:18 speaks of the Risen Christ holding “the keys of Death and of Hades,” and Revelation 20:14 states that “Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire.” Similarly, in Hosea 13:14 we read, “O Death, where are your plagues? O Sheol, where is your destruction?” The Odes of Solomon incorporate these themes through poetic proclamation rather than metaphysical speculation.

Similarly, the Odes describe Sheol not as a neutral realm of shadows, but as an adversarial force conquered by the Messiah.

Ode 15 contains one of the clearest declarations of Sheol’s defeat:

> “Death hath been destroyed before my face, and Sheol hath been abolished by my word” (Ode 15:9).

Here, Sheol is not an abstract concept but a concrete realm whose power is overthrown through the Logos, “my word.” This word evokes John 1:1–4 and suggests the active, victorious presence of the Son. The abolishment of Sheol is tied not to a disembodied spiritual ascent but to physical transformation:

> “I have put on incorruption by means of His Name, and I have put off corruption by His grace” (15:8).

In this framework, “incorruption” refers to the transformation of the physical body at the Resurrection, not the escape of an immortal soul. The Odes reflect a corporeal view of salvation—God grants resurrection from Sheol through His power.

This theme is expanded in Ode 29:

> “He brought me up out of the depths of Sheol, and from the mouth of death He drew me” (29:4).

Sheol is described as having "depths" and a “mouth,” echoing its portrayal as a monstrous force that swallows the dead. The Messiah is not depicted as circumventing death but descending into its depths and emerging victorious. The image recalls Jonah’s prayer from the belly of the great fish (Jonah 2:2), and typologically, Jesus’ descent into Sheol.

The climax of Sheol imagery appears in Ode 42, where the Messiah descends to Sheol and confronts its power:

> “Sheol saw Me and was shattered, Death cast Me up and many along with Me” (42:11).

This verse aligns with the Jewish idea of reciprocal justice. As articulated by early Christian commentators, the Messiah is given gall and vinegar in His suffering, and in return, He becomes gall and bitterness to Sheol:

> “I have been gall and bitterness to it, and I went down with it to the extreme of its depth” (42:12).

Here, the victory over Sheol is not passive; it is confrontational. Death and Sheol are forced to disgorge their captives:

> “I made a congregation of living men among his dead... and those who had died ran towards me” (42:14–15).

The dead cry out for deliverance, acknowledging that the Messiah is untouched by death:

> “For we perceive that our death does not touch Thee” (42:17).

There is no mention of immortal souls escaping death. Rather, the captives of Sheol recognize that resurrection comes only through the Messiah. This communal resurrection is concrete and embodied:

> “And I set My Name upon their heads, for they are free men and they are Mine” (42:20).

The Name is not an abstract concept—it is the power that confers incorruption. To be marked with the Name is to be claimed for the resurrection. The context suggests a reversal of fate: those once bound in Sheol are now free men in the land of the living.

This portrayal resonates with Hosea 13:14:

> “O Death, where are thy plagues? O Sheol, where is thy destruction?”

Unlike Paul, who adapts this passage in 1 Corinthians 15:55 by replacing “Sheol” with “Death,” the Odes maintain the personified duality. The Messiah’s descent into Sheol mirrors the vision of the “Living One” in Revelation 1:18, who says:

> “I was dead, and behold, I am alive for evermore, and I have the keys of Death and of Hades.”

The Odes emphasize that the power of death and Sheol has been dismantled by a living, corporeal Christ. The defeat of Sheol is not the liberation of immortal souls but the resurrection of human beings from the grave. Sheol is not a metaphor—it is a realm that held real power over humanity until the Messiah, in solidarity with the dead, broke its dominion.

In conclusion, the Odes of Solomon affirm that Sheol was a real and oppressive force conquered by the Messiah through His death and resurrection. The emphasis is not on disembodied souls escaping death, but on the defeat of death itself and the granting of incorruption to the faithful. The Odes reject the notion of the soul’s immortality and instead proclaim the promise of bodily resurrection from the depths of Sheol through the power of the Living One.

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Welcome to Pleroma Pathways apocalyptic and mystic Christianity where we explore esoteric and apocalyptic texts.

Title: Sheol in the Odes of Solomon

The Odes of Solomon present a profound poetic witness to early Christian experience and understanding of death, resurrection, and deliverance. Among the most striking features is their presentation of Sheol—not as a cosmic underworld or a realm of eternal torment—but as a symbolic expression of the present world or age, saturated with corruption, suffering, and bondage. In this context, Sheol is overcome not by the immortality of a disembodied soul, but by the victorious intervention of the Living One, who conquers Sheol in the flesh and leads others into incorruption.

In the Odes, Sheol is closely linked with Death and often personified, echoing the apocalyptic pairing found in Revelation. For example, Revelation 1:18 speaks of Christ holding “the keys of Death and of Hades [Sheol],” while Revelation 20:14 states, “Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire.” 

Ode 15 offers one of the clearest declarations of Sheol’s defeat:

“I have put on incorruption by means of His Name, and I have put off corruption by His grace. Death hath been destroyed before my face, and Sheol hath been abolished by my word. And there hath gone up deathless life in the Lord's land, and it hath become known to His faithful ones, and hath been given without stint to all those that trust in Him.” (Ode 15:8–10)

In this passage, Sheol and Death represent the old condition of corruption—tied not to the essence of human nature, which is mortal, but to the oppressive reign of sin and injustice in the present age. By God’s grace, the poet “puts on incorruption,” not through an escape from bodily life, but through transformation into a renewed physical mode of existence. The reference to “deathless life in the Lord’s land” signals a future age when mortality no longer dominates, fulfilled in the Resurrection from the dead.

Ode 29 continues this theme in a personal narrative:

“And according to His mercies He exalted me, and according to His excellent beauty He lifted me up. And He brought me up out of the depths of Sheol, and from the mouth of death He drew me. And I laid my enemies low, and He justified me by His grace.” (Ode 29:3–5)

Here, Sheol is described as a depth, a consuming mouth, and a realm of humiliation. But the action is entirely God’s: He lifts the speaker out of it, transforming their condition. The victory is not philosophical, but experiential—it is a rescue from the crushing weight of this corrupt age. The motif of deliverance “from the depths” evokes Psalm 130:1 (“Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD”) but the Ode goes further: the speaker is not just crying out but is bodily raised.

Ode 42 gives the most dramatic account of Sheol's confrontation with the Living One. This is a poetic reflection on the descent of the Messiah—not into a mythological hell, but into the heart of this world’s suffering:

“Sheol saw Me and was shattered, Death cast Me up and many along with Me. I have been gall and bitterness to it, and I went down with it to the extreme of its depth. And the feet and the head it let go, for it was not able to endure My face.” (Ode 42:11–13)

The imagery is rich with reversal. Whereas Sheol gave gall and vinegar to the Messiah, He became gall and bitterness to it. This expresses the Jewish notion of measure-for-measure retribution. In His humiliation (cf. Matthew 27:34), He was treated with bitterness; in His descent, He returned that bitterness upon Death and Sheol, not out of vengeance but through triumphant disruption. Sheol could not hold Him, nor those who were drawn with Him.

The climax follows in a scene of gathering and redemption:

“I made a congregation of living men among his dead, and I spoke with them with living lips… And those who had died ran towards Me… Son of God have pity on us. And do with us according to Thy kindness, and bring us out from the bonds of darkness… Let us also be saved with Thee, for Thou art our Savior.” (Ode 42:14–18)

This congregation among the dead refers not to disembodied souls but to those whose lives were imprisoned in the darkness of Sheol—that is, in the age of corruption. The Messiah, appearing with “living lips,” speaks to the dead and awakens them. The dead are not inanimate; they are those bound by the age of Sheol. Their response is not automatic but one of recognition and supplication: “Let us also be saved with Thee.” This salvation is bodily and corporate, as the Messiah marks them as His own: “I set My Name upon their heads, for they are free men and they are Mine.” (v. 20)

The Odes portray Sheol not as a metaphysical afterlife or a separate dimension, but as a poetic designation for the current age dominated by decay, injustice, and death. It is the world’s condition apart from divine transformation. Sheol is real, but it is not permanent. It is overcome not through philosophical speculation about immortality, but through the concrete, bodily resurrection of the Messiah and His gathering of those likewise freed.

The vision of the Odes is therefore eschatological and political in its implications: the age to come is marked by incorruption, justice, and freedom. The Messiah, having passed through death and shattered Sheol, leads others into that new creation—not by escape from the body, but through its glorification.

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Welcome to Pleroma Pathways apocalyptic and mystic Christianity where we explore esoteric and apocalyptic texts.

Title: Sheol as This Earth in Ode 42 of the Odes of Solomon

Ode 42 of the Odes of Solomon presents a powerful poetic vision of resurrection, liberation, and spiritual transformation. Rather than imagining Sheol as a subterranean place of torment or a cosmic prison for disembodied souls, this ode portrays Sheol symbolically—as a representation of the present age, marked by decay, injustice, and bondage. In this reading, Sheol is not some distant realm, but the very condition of this earth before it is renewed by the presence of the Righteous One.

The opening lines of Ode 42 set the tone for this mystical and bodily vision of redemption:

“I extended my hands and approached my Lord, for the expansion of my hands is His sign. And my extension is the upright cross, that was lifted up on the way of the Righteous One.”

The extension of the hands is a sign of surrender and union with the Lord. The “upright cross” here is not glorified in itself, but as a symbol of the Righteous One’s path—His earthly suffering and triumph. The poet identifies with the crucified one, bearing the same sign. This reference to the cross is corporeal and visible, not metaphysical.

What follows is a declaration of transformation. The speaker, once known by many, is now hidden from those who did not receive him. His allegiance shifts: “I will be with those who love me.” This mirrors the Messianic model, where the Righteous One is rejected by the world, yet exalted by God, and becomes present in those who know Him.

The theme then intensifies: “All my persecutors have died, and they sought me, they who declared against me, because I am living.” The earth-bound persecutors symbolize the structures of this age—oppression, false religion, injustice—all that belongs to the dominion of Sheol. But their search is in vain, for the speaker has passed into a different kind of existence: not escape, but resurrection within the same creation. He now speaks through the mouths of the faithful, empowering them with new life.

“Sheol saw me and was shattered, and Death ejected me and many with me. I have been vinegar and bitterness to it, and I went down with it as far as its depth.”

This pivotal moment reveals the nature of Sheol. The speaker descends—not into a different plane of existence—but into the depths of this world’s corruption. Sheol is not a mythological hell; it is the profound deathliness embedded in this earth, in a world ruled by decay, fear, and injustice. In apocalyptic literature, such as Lamentations 2:1, heaven and Sheol are political terms: heaven refers to Israel’s exaltation, and Sheol to her downfall. Ode 42 echoes that usage, showing that Sheol is the fallen condition of this creation.

The speaker becomes vinegar and bitterness to Sheol. This recalls the offering of vinegar to Jesus on the stake (Matthew 27:34), and in turn suggests that what Sheol intended as humiliation became its own undoing. The Righteous One is not overcome; rather, He subverts the whole system from within.

“Then the feet and the head it released, because it was not able to endure my face.”

Sheol’s grip is broken. Not because of abstract power, but because it cannot endure the face of the Righteous One. His presence—corporeal, resurrected, and holy—destroys the structure of the old world. This image is not about a descent into an afterlife realm; it is the divine entering fully into human history and breaking the chains of this age.

“And I made a congregation of living among his dead; and I spoke with them by living lips; in order that my word may not be unprofitable.”

The speaker forms a community among those considered dead—those who lived under the dominion of Sheol. But they are not disembodied souls waiting in limbo; they are the living who were oppressed, hopeless, forgotten, or bound by this world’s darkness. His “living lips” indicate that the Word is incarnate and active in the earth. His speech gives life to those who hear.

“And those who had died ran towards me; and they cried out and said, Son of God, have pity on us… bring us out from the bonds of darkness.”

These “dead” recognize that their condition was not final. Their running and crying out show that they are not passive souls, but awakened human beings reaching for deliverance. They plead not for release from hell, but from “the bonds of darkness”—the blindness and oppression of this age.

The key turning point comes here:

“And open for us the door by which we may come out to You; for we perceive that our death does not touch You.”

They recognize that the Messiah is untouched by this world’s death—not because He never experienced it, but because He overcame it. Death, in this text, is not the end of bodily life, but a condition of bondage to corruption. The Messiah opens the door—not to escape earth, but to transform it.

“Then I heard their voice, and placed their faith in my heart. And I placed my name upon their head, because they are free and they are mine.”

He does not abandon them but claims them. Their faith is real, heard, and honored. The placement of His name on their heads signifies ownership, protection, and identity. These are not spirits set free from bodies, but humans who are freed for the age to come—resurrected, renewed, and incorruptible.

Ode 42 does not teach flight from creation. Rather, it presents Sheol as the state of this earth in its corrupt condition—its systems of oppression, its mortality, its blindness to the Righteous One. The Messiah enters this Sheol and shatters it, forming a new congregation of living men and women who await the fullness of the age to come. His resurrection is their resurrection. His word is living, and it dwells within them. The hope is not a disembodied afterlife, but a world transformed by incorruption, led by the One who could not be held by Sheol.

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Why Evolution is Incompatible with Epicurean Philosophy

 **Why Evolution is Incompatible with Epicurean Philosophy**

Epicurean philosophy, as preserved and powerfully articulated by the Roman poet Lucretius in *De Rerum Natura*, presents a materialist worldview rooted in the eternal and unchanging nature of atoms and their movements. Epicurus believed that all phenomena, including life, arose from the interactions of these basic, indivisible elements in the void. However, these interactions followed inherent properties, or what Lucretius called "secret powers," that governed the behavior of matter. When considering modern evolutionary theory—especially its core assumptions about random mutation, natural selection, and the transformation of one species into another—it becomes evident that such a framework is incompatible with the Epicurean understanding of nature and causality.

Lucretius firmly rejects the notion that "all sprang from all things," a key premise underlying the Darwinian model. He writes:

> *"Suppose all sprang from all things: any kind

> Might take its origin from any thing,

> No fixed seed required. Men from the sea

> Might rise, and from the land the scaly breed,

> And, fowl full fledged come bursting from the sky;"*

This hypothetical is immediately dismissed by the Epicurean framework. The idea that any organism could evolve from any other organism, or that traits might emerge without an underlying fixed nature, is contrary to the notion that each thing is produced from "its own primal bodies." For Epicurus, every being arises from a unique configuration of atoms—“fixed seeds”—and this identity is stable and permanent. The diversity of nature is not the result of mutable lineage or gradual transformation but of the varied recombination of immutable atomic structures.

Lucretius continues by emphasizing that:

> *"But, since produced from fixed seeds are all,

> Each birth goes forth upon the shores of light

> From its own stuff, from its own primal bodies.

> And all from all cannot become, because

> In each resides a secret power its own."*

Here, the Epicurean denial of evolution becomes clear. The phrase "all from all cannot become" is an explicit rejection of the Darwinian principle that all life shares a common ancestor and that, through gradual processes, one form can give rise to another. In contrast, Epicureanism holds that each form of life has a distinct atomic origin and possesses an innate power that limits what it can become or give rise to. There is no room in this philosophy for transformation across species lines. The laws governing atoms do not allow such mutable progression; they constrain things to their inherent natures.

Further, Epicurus observes the regularity and order in nature as evidence that all things emerge according to fixed laws and seasons:

> *"Again, why see we lavished o'er the lands

> At spring the rose, at summer heat the corn,

> The vines that mellow when the autumn lures,

> If not because the fixed seeds of things

> At their own season must together stream,

> And new creations only be revealed

> When the due times arrive and pregnant earth

> Safely may give unto the shores of light

> Her tender progenies?"*

This cyclical pattern in nature is not random nor driven by environmental pressures selecting favorable mutations, but by the internal order of atoms responding to cosmic rhythms. According to Epicureanism, life is not sculpted by external struggle or survival but rather unfolds naturally when specific atomic conditions are met. The idea that traits evolve due to selective pressure contradicts the view that each organism’s nature is fixed and only manifests when the right elemental conditions are present.

Moreover, Epicurean materialism is deterministic within the realm of nature’s laws. Though Epicurus famously introduced the concept of the *clinamen*—a random atomic swerve—to allow for human free will, this does not equate to randomness in biological development. Biological forms, according to this view, do not arise from cumulative accidents or random mutations but from consistent atomic structures and their innate properties. Evolution, as a theory based on chance variations and environmental filtering, is therefore at odds with the structured atomic determinism that Epicurus envisions for natural phenomena.

Finally, Epicureanism is explicitly non-teleological—it denies purpose or design in the formation of life. However, evolution, despite claiming to be non-teleological, often implicitly introduces a kind of directionality or progression from simple to complex life. Epicurus would regard this as a metaphysical error. He does not believe that nature improves itself or advances. Life, in the Epicurean view, arises where it can and continues according to its atomic composition. Any perceived "progress" is merely human projection onto what is, in fact, a stable and eternal mechanism of atomic recombination.

In conclusion, modern evolutionary theory is fundamentally incompatible with the Epicurean philosophy. Epicurus taught that all things arise from fixed seeds, composed of eternal atoms with intrinsic properties. The notion that organisms can transform into other organisms, guided by random mutations and environmental selection, violates the Epicurean understanding of nature’s order and the unchanging identity of things. As Lucretius declared:

> *"Nothing can be create, we shall divine

> More clearly what we seek: those elements

> From which alone all things created are,

> And how accomplished by no tool of Gods."*

This poetic yet rigorous declaration captures the Epicurean confidence in a stable, law-bound universe. In such a universe, species do not evolve—they emerge, persist, and perish according to the timeless dance of atoms, not by descent with modification.

The Exegesis on the Soul an allegory of the history of Israel

 The Exegesis on the Soul 

an allegory of the history of Israel

A study on the ancient text from the The Nag Hammadi Library called The Exegesis on the Soul.

The author and date are not certain, however is likely from between the 2nd century AD and the 4th century AD

The text is silent concerning the typical Gnostic cosmology, i.e there is no mention of the pleroma, aeons, Yaldabaoth, the Demiurge  

To interpret the text of the Exegesis on the Soul we should compare the text with itself like comparing scripture with scripture. We should try not to read into the text myths about the fall of Sophia. Instead, we should look for a allegorical interpretation based on scripture  

. It is a self-proclaimed exegesis,4 but one which is not presented in a straightforward manner. Instead we are treated to an allegorical5 exposition presented in the form of a mythical narrative interspersed with commentary, quotations, and more or less oblique allusions. The story focuses on the fallen soul, personified as a woman, and her repentance and redemption

On the historical context of the text's author, Scopello comments, "The attention given to the theme of marriage and the nuptial chamber in the Exegesis on the Soul, in which the soul and the Spirit ultimately come together in an androgynous union, leads us to situate the writer of the tractate in a Valentinian Gnostic context. The text also gives some attention to the sacraments, though not to the extent of other Valentinian texts within the Nag Hammadi scriptures. All these elements suggest that the Exegesis on the Soul was composed in Alexandria, at the beginning of the third century, by a writer with a cultivated, syncretistic background." (The Nag Hammadi Scriptures, p. 226)

From this, we can conclude that The Exegesis on the Soul is a Valentinian Gnostic text this is important for our understanding of the Exegesis on the Soul.

The text quotes copiously from the Old Testament prophets, from the New Testament gospels, and from the epistles of Paul. Curiously, the text also quotes from Homer's Odyssey. These quotes indicate that the author viewed Greek legend and mythology as a type of scripture, just as the author also viewed large portions of the Old and New Testaments as scripture.

Its purpose is to teach that the soul is a woman who fell from perfection (Lamentations 2:1) into prostitution and that the Father will elevate her again to her original perfect state.  

What is the Soul?

Now we need to ask ourselves what is the soul?

According to April D. DeConick in her book The Gnostic New Age "most Gnostics thought that the psyche, or soul, was mortal." page 21

According to most Gnostics, the soul is not immortal, as Plato thought. Rather, it is mortal, just like the physical body, and will not endure. (The Gnostic New Age P. 212 April D. DeConick)

This is true for the Jewish-Christian Gnostics like the Valentinians however some pagan Gnostics believed in the immortal soul.

Heracleon was a Gnostic who flourished about AD 175, probably in the south of Italy. He is described by Clement of Alexandria (Strom.iv. 9) as the most esteemed (δοκιμώτατος) of the school of Valentinus; and, according to Origen (Comm. in S. Joann. t. ii. § 8, Opp. t. iv. p. 66), said to have been in personal contact (γνώριμος) with Valentinus himself.

From Heracleon we learn that the Valentinian Gnostics reject the doctrine of the immortal soul

Fragment 40, on John 4:46-53 (In John 4:46, “So he came again to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine. And at Capernaum there was an official whose child was ill.) The official was the Craftsman, for he himself ruled like a king over those under him. Because his domain is small and transitory, he was called an “official,” like a petty princeling who is set over a small kingdom by the universal king. The “child” “in Capernaun” is one who is in the lower part of the Middle (i.e. of animate substance), which lies near the sea, that is, which is linked with matter. The child’s proper person was sick, that is, in a condition not in accordance with the child’s proper nature, in ignorance and sins. (In John 4:47, “When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went and begged him to come down and heal his child , for it was at the point of death.”) The words “from Judea to Galilee” mean ‘from the Judea above.’. . . By the words “it was at the point of death,” the teaching of those who claim that the soul is immortal is refuted. In agreement with this is the statement that “the body and soul are destoyed in Hell.” (Matthew 10:28) The soul is not immortal, but is possessed only of a disposition towards salvation, for it is the perishable which puts on imperishability and the mortal which puts on immortality when “its death is swallowed up in victory.” (1 Corinthians 15:54) (Heracleon: Fragments from his Commentary on the Gospel of John.)

This is a Biblical view as both the Old and New Testament teach that the soul is mortal and can die and does die in death. The soul has many meanings in the Bible however it is never used as an eternal or immortal part of man in fact it is used in the opposite way always relating to mortal life which is destructible.

The Soul a Collective Noun

The Scriptures contain examples of the use of a singular noun to refer to a collective group:

Israel All the descendants of Jacob, collectively, at any one time. (Ex 9:4; Jos 3:7; Ezr 2:2b; Mt 8:10) 

“The Amorite” appears among the list of the sons of Canaan, but elsewhere this term, always in the singular in the Hebrew text, is used collectively of the Canaanite tribe descended from the original Amorite. They were, therefore, a Hamitic race.—Ge 10:6, 15, 16; 1Ch 1:13, 14.

The word soul is sometimes used collectively for a group of people in some parts of the Bible Genesis 14:21 Genesis 23:8 Jeremiah 48:6

Genesis 14:21 After that the king of Sodom said to Abram: “Give me the souls, but take the goods for yourself.”

The souls,” (Hebrew., han·ne´phesh, singular. but used collectively)

23:7 Thereupon Abraham got up and bowed down to the natives, to the sons of Heth, 

8 and spoke with them, saying: “If YOUR souls agree to bury my dead out of my sight, listen to me and urge Ephron the son of Zohar for me, 

9 that he may give me the cave of Mach·pe´lah, which is his, which is at the extremity of his field. For the full amount of silver let him give it to me in the midst of YOU for the possession of a burial place.” (Genesis 23:7-9 NWT)　

NWT Footnote: Lit., "with your soul," used collectively. Heb., 'eth-naph·shekhem´; Gr., psy·khei´.

Gen 23:8  and spoke to them, saying, If it be your will that I should bury my dead from before me, hear me, and entreat for me Ephron the son of Zohar, (Derby)

Gen 23:8  And said to them: If it please your soul that I should bury my dead, hear me, and intercede for me to Ephron the son of Seor. ()

Gen 23:8  and he speaketh with them, saying, ‘If it is your desire to bury my dead from before me, hear me, and meet for me with Ephron, son of Zoar; (Youngs)

KJV translates nephesh (H5315) as "mind" here!

Gen 23:8  And he communed with them, saying it be your mind (H5315) that I should bury my dead out of my sight; me, and intreat for me to Ephron

The phrase "If it be your will" (Derby) or "you are willing" (NIV) indicates "will" is also involved in this translation of nephesh:

"If you are willing to let me bury my dead." - Gen. 23:8 - NIV; NEB

So the noun soul can be used collectively for a group of people  and will help us to understand the soul in the text in the Exegesis on the Soul. this also  agrees with the understand of the psychic aeon in the The Concept of Our Great Power

Then, in this aeon, which is the psychic one, the man will come into being who knows the great Power. He will receive (me) and he will know me. He will drink from the milk of the mother, in fact. He will speak in parables; he will proclaim the aeon that is to come, just as he spoke in the first aeon of the flesh, as Noah. Now concerning his words, which he uttered, he spoke in all of them, in seventy-two tongues. And he opened the gates of the heavens with his words. And he put to shame the ruler of Hades; he raised the dead, and he destroyed his dominion. (The Concept of Our Great Power)

The soul-endowed aeon is the human race after the flood. This aeon will remain in place until the final consummation. That aeon is a colletive noun here is indicated by the fact that the soul-endowed aeon singular has congress with bodies" plural the soul-endowed differs from the fleshly in that souls with which it is endowed are eligible for eternal life

Soul in the text of the Exegesis on the Soul

Since the Exegesis on the Soul has many quotations from the Hebrew Scriptures and the Christian Scriptures we should look for a Judeo-Christian understanding of the soul in the text turning to Greek philosophy and mythology could lead to misinterpreting the text symbolically the text should not be understood literally but as a allegory..

Here at the end of the text we find a clear understanding of who the soul is in the Exegesis on the Soul it is the nation of Israel, used collectively as the soul in the the text which is speaking allegorically about the nation of Israel using symbolic language. The "We" of the text could be the spiritual Israel called the church as the text is addressing a group calling them to repentance.

remember the soul is personified as a woman in the the Exegesis on the Soul  and it is  used collectively for groups of people in Genesis 14:21 Genesis 23:8 Jeremiah 48:6 therefore in the the Exegesis on the Soul  the soul is a personified woman who repsents the nation of israel

The text seems to be referring to the nation of Israel or the Israel of God 

Galatians 6:16

(the church) collectively has the soul which needs to repent this can be seen at the end of the document:

Certainly Israel would not have been visited in the first place, to be brought out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, if it had not sighed to God and wept for the oppression of its labors.

Again it is written in the Psalms (6:6-9), "I was greatly troubled in my groaning. I will bathe my bed and my cover each night with my tears. I have become old in the midst of all my enemies. Depart from me, all you who work at lawlessness, for behold the lord has heard the cry of my weeping and the lord has heard my prayer."

If we repent, [we like Israel need to ask for forgiveness] truly God will listen us, he who is long suffering and abundantly merciful, to whom is the glory for ever and ever. Amen! (Exegesis on the Soul )

"Certainly Israel " The story of the fall of the soul begins at the start of the text but at the end of the book the meaning is given 

Here at the end of the text instead of speaking about the soul the writer speaks about the nation of Israel instead this is show that the soul is used has an allegory for the sons of Israel.

It is only here at the end of the text we find a clear understanding of who or what the soul is.

"Certainly Israel would not have been visited in the first place if it had not sighed to God and wept for the oppression of its labors." 

The word repent is a Jewish or Hebrew term and would be understood by Jewish-Christian readers

"If we repent, truly God will listen us,"

The soul is used collectively for the nation of Israel and the church or the Israel of God. The author of the Exegesis on the Soul is using figurative language the soul is symbolic of a group of people

In the phrase "If we repent, truly God will listen us"  It is obvious "We" is the members of the Church or the spiritual Israel. It also shows the text is addressing a group of people calling them to repentance.

Thus these words here at the end confirm my understanding that the soul here is allegorical of the fall of Israel and are own repentance. 

When the text uses the word Israel it is talking about the nation of Israel used collectively as the soul in the rest of the text. 

Wise men of old gave the soul a feminine name. Indeed she is female in her nature as well. She even has her womb. (Exegesis on the Soul )

The word soul is used as a personification of a woman this female figure is the wife of God. Who has fallen into prostitution. In the Bible the same is recorded about Israel she is also personified as a women who again is the wife of God fallen into prostitution.

Therefore the personification of the soul is an allegorical interpretation of the falling away of Israel into sin, 

The Text of The Exegesis on the Soul 

 Wise men of old gave the soul a feminine name. Indeed she is female in her nature as well. She even has her womb. (The Exegesis on the Soul)

The soul in Hebrew, Coptic, and Greek is a feminine noun, here it is used as a personification as a woman in The Exegesis on the Soul and as an allegory for Israel both the natural seed of Israel and the Israel of God the spiritual Israel or the Church. The word woman is sometimes used in the Bible to refer to a weak and helpless man (Is.:3:12; 19:16). 

There is a literal understanding to this when once a child had been conceived, the developing embryo or fetus was considered a soul. Action that resulted in killing a developing child in the womb was handled according to the rule “soul for soul.” (Ex 21:22, 23)  

Indeed she is female in her nature as well. She even has her womb.  (The Exegesis on the Soul)

Jas 3:15  This wisdom is not one, from above, coming down, but is earthly, born of the soul, demoniacal! (Rotherham's Emphasized Bible)
earthly wisdom is born of the soul showing the soul has a womb 

The womb of the soul refers to sin. Sin is a Female Principle which comes from the desires of the soul (1 cor 2:14 But, a man of the soul, doth not welcome the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him, and he cannot get to know them, because, spiritually, are they examined; compare  Jude 1:19)

 in the Bible sinners are referred  to has giving birth see Psalm 7 and the lettter to James 

Psalm 7:14 Look! There is one that is pregnant with what is hurtful, And he has conceived trouble and is bound to give birth to falsehood

James 1:13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. 14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. 

Job 15:35 They conceive mischief and bring forth vanity, and their belly prepareth deceit. The wicked's iniquity is as his children: he nourishes them, and at last they turn on him.

Isa 59:4 None calleth for justice nor any pleadeth for truth : they trust in vanity , and speak lies; they conceive mischief , and bring forth iniquity.

Isa 59:5 They hatch cockatrice eggs , and weave the spider’s web : he that eateth of their eggs dieth , and that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper. 


The language of child-bearing in connection with lust and sin in Psalm 7 is echoed by James (Jam 1:13-15). So wicked men bring forth "children" (that is sin) after their own "likeness" (Gal 5:19-21; Rom 1:29-31; 1Co 6:9,10), and are thus known by their "fruits" (Mat 7:16,20). The melancholy litany of birth, procreation, and death in Gen 5 ("and then he died") is the result of Adam's "likeness" being distorted, in his descendants, into the likeness of the serpent.

Philo: Now the female offspring of the soul are wickedness and passion, by which we are made effeminate in every one of our pursuits; but a healthy state of the passions and virtue is male, by which we are excited and invigorated.

Philo: But the passions are female by nature, and we must study to quit them, showing our preference for the masculine characters of the good dispositions.  

As long as she was alone with the father, she was virgin and in form androgynous. (.The Exegesis on the Soul)

Often the term “virgin” is used in connection with cities, places, or peoples. Reference is made to the “virgin” or “virgin daughter” of “my people” (Jer 14:17), as well as of Israel (Jer 31:4, 21; Am 5:2), Judah (La 1:15), Zion (2Ki 19:21; La 2:13), Egypt (Jer 46:11), Babylon (Isa 47:1), and Sidon (Isa 23:12).

The sense of this figurative use appears to be that the various peoples or locations thus referred to either had not been seized and ravished by foreign conquerors or at one time enjoyed an unsubdued state like a virgin.

So with this figurative use of the word virgin we can see how it has a symbolic use in the Exegesis on the Soul 

"and in form androgynous" 

Androgynous being both male and female in that the nation of Israel is referred to as the wife of God and it is also called the sons of Israel This also explains how the soul can conceive trouble within herself without the help of an external agent

"When she fell down into a body and entered this life, then she fell into the hands of thieves."

Falling from heaven is figurative of losing authority, e.g. it is used about the demise of the king of Babylon in Isaiah 14. Falling from heaven is also used of the nation of Israel in Lamentations 2:1 

O how Yahweh in his anger beclouds the daughter of Zion!

He has thrown down from heaven to earth the beauty of Israel.

And he has not remembered his footstool in the day of his anger.

Luke 11:23 And you, Capernaum, will you perhaps be exalted to heaven? Down to Hades you will come; because if the powerful works that took place in you had taken place in Sodom, it would have remained until this very day

Matthew Henry (18 October 1662 – 22 June 1714) the English Presbyterian minister in his Complete Commentary writes .

—(1.) There was a great earthquake. This may be taken in a political sense; the very foundations of the Jewish church and state would be terribly shaken, though they seemed to be as stable as the earth itself. (2.) The sun became black as sackcloth of hair, either naturally, by a total eclipse, or politically, by the fall of the chief rulers and governors of the land. (3.) The moon should become as blood; the inferior officers, or their military men, should be all wallowing in their own blood. (4.) The stars of heaven shall fall to the earth (v. 13), and that as a fig-tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. The stars may signify all the men of note and influence among them, though in lower spheres of activity; there should be a general desolation. (5.) The heaven should depart as a scroll when it is rolled together. This may signify that their ecclesiastical state should perish and be laid aside for ever. (6.) Every mountain and island shall be moved out of its place. The destruction of the Jewish nation should affect and affright all the nations round about, those who were highest in honour and those who seemed to be best secured; it would be a judgment that should astonish all the world

From this we can see that Matthew Henry understands  figurative language to be political speeches this is how we should understand the Exegesis on the Soul 

So we can see that the falling of the soul should be understood to be figurative language for the Kingdom of Israel to be in spiritual and political apostasy but how should we understand that she the soul fall into a body? 

Well the word body Is used figuratively many times in the bible 

(2) "the temple of the Holy Spirit" (1 Corinthians 6:19);

(3) "temple" (John 2:21);

(4) "the old man," the flesh as the servant of sin or the sphere in which moral evil comes to outward expression (Romans 6:6; Romans 7:7; compare Paul's use of sarx, "flesh");

(5) the "church" as Christ's body, the organism through which He manifests His life and in which H is spirit dwells (Ephesians 1:23 Colossians 1:24);

(6) the spiritual "unity" of believers, one redeemed society or organism (Ephesians 2:16; a corpus mysticum, Ephesians 4:4);

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

A number of individuals spoken of collectively, usually as united by some common tie, or as organized for some purpose; a collective whole or totality; a corporation; as, a legislative body; a clerical body.

A number of things or particulars embodied in a system; a general collection; as, a great body of facts; a body of laws or of divinity.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary 

A political body is seen in the valley full of bones in Ezekiel 37 Israel was in a death state politically. The Jews regarded the lands of their captivity and dispersion as their "graves"; their restoration was to be as "life from the dead" ( Romans 11:15 ). Before, the bones were in the open plain ( Ezekiel 37:1 Ezekiel 37:2 ); now, in the graves, that is, some of the Jews were in the graves of actual captivity, others at large but dispersed. Both alike were nationally dead.

So here in the Exegesis on the Soul we can see that when the soul fell down into a body it is to be understood that Israel and Judah loses her place of preeminence (cp Lam 1:1; Isa 14:12; Jer 51:53; Mat 11:23; Luk 10:18). And falls into a dead body or the body of sin (Romans 6:6; Romans 7:24).  a house of  prostitution 

The Exegesis on the Soul is figurative language  about the apostasy in Israel the text than quotes from the Old Testament  to establish this has fact 

Wise men of old gave the soul a feminine name. [the soul in Hebrew, Coptic, and Greek is a feminine noun, here it is used as an allegory for Israel both the natural seed of Israel and the Israel of God the spiritual Israel. The word woman is sometimes used in the Bible to refer to a weak and helpless man (Is.:3:12; 19:16). ] Indeed she is female in her nature as well. She even has her womb. [ Even men can give birth Psalm 7:14 Look! There is one that is pregnant with what is hurtful, And he has conceived trouble and is bound to give birth to falsehood. the natural Israel gave brith to the Saviour and thus the spiritual Israel being the Jerusalem above the mother of us all]

As long as she was alone with the father, she was virgin and in form androgynous. [androgynous being both male and female in that she is the wife of God and she is always called the sons of Israel] But when she fell down into a body [that is a body of sin, now the Greek word for body Strong’s 4983 can be translated slave and in the AVKJ bible it is translated slave some 146 times and the word body is used of a (large or small) number of men closely united into one society, or family as it were; a social, ethical, mystical body i.e. the church, and also that which casts a shadow as distinguished from the shadow itself and thus a shadow of the truth. so we could translate this however when shell descend from her higher place to a lower she became a "slave" or "servant" to sin or a house of sin] and came to this life [being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God], she fell down into this body and entered this life when she listened not to the commandments of God 

 then she fell into the hands of many robbers [Isa 42:22  But this is a people robbed and plundered; they are all of them snared in holes, and they are hid in prison-houses: they are for a prey, and none delivereth; for a spoil, and none saith, Restore.]. And these shameless men [Reabome, Ahab, Manasseh] passed her from one to another and they violated her. [in setting up the revival baal-worship] Some raped her, [in killing the true prophetess of god and the exiles] while seduced her with gifts. In short, they defiled her, and she lost her virginity. Israel “kept building for themselves high places and sacred pillars and sacred poles upon every high hill and under every luxuriant tree. And even the male temple prostitute [New World Translation Reference Bible, footnote, “effeminate men”] proved to be in the land. They acted according to all the detestable things of the nations whom Yahweh had driven out from before the sons of Israel. 

 

And in her body [as a slave to the house of sin ] she prostituted herself [here the soul or body of Israel is likened to an adulterous wife who prostituted herself ] and gave herself to one and all, considering each one she was about to embrace to be her husband. [Here the soul is guilty of spiritual adultery which is  unfaithfulness to Yahweh on the part of those who are joined to him in a covenant. Natural Israel in the Law covenant was, therefore, guilty of spiritual adultery because of false religious practices, some of which included sex-worship rites and disregard for the seventh commandment. (Jer 3:8, 9; 5:7, 8; 9:2; 13:27; 23:10; Ho 7:4) For similar reasons Jesus denounced as adulterous the generation of Jews in his day. (Mt 12:39; Mr 8:38) Likewise today, if Christians who are dedicated to Yahweh and who are in the new covenant defile themselves with the present age (aeon), they commit spiritual adultery.—Jas 4:4.] When she had given herself to shameless, unfaithful adulterers, [The Assyrians, the Egyptians and the Babylon . Frequent condemnation was made of the reliance placed upon such pagan nations by apostate Israel and Judah, like “a simpleminded dove without heart.” (Jer 2:18, 36; La 5:6; Eze 16:26, 28; 23:5-12; Ho 7:11) The disastrous results of such a course were vividly described. (Eze 23:22-27 ] 

Jer 23:10  For the land is full of adulterers forsakes of God, Israel‘s true Husband; for because of swearing the land mourneth; the pleasant places of the wilderness are dried up, and their course is evil, and their force is not right.] so that they might make use of her, then she sighed deeply and repented. But even when she turns her face from those adulterers, she runs to others and they compel her to live with them and render service to them upon their bed, as if they were her masters. [The Assyrians, the Egyptians and the Babylon . Frequent condemnation was made of the reliance placed upon such pagan nations by apostate Israel and Judah, often vacillating between Egypt and Assyria, like “a simpleminded dove without heart.” (Jer 2:18, 36; La 5:6; Eze 16:26, 28; 23:5-12; Ho 7:11) The disastrous results of such a course were vividly described. (Eze 23:22-27 ] Out of shame she no longer dares to leave them, whereas they deceive her for a long time, pretending to be faithful, true husbands, as if they greatly respected her. And after all this they abandon her and go. 

She then becomes a poor desolate widow, without help; not even a measure of food was left her from the time of her affliction. For from them she gained nothing except the defilements they gave her while they had sexual intercourse with her. And her offspring by the adulterers are dumb, blind and sickly. They are feebleminded. 

then she fell into the hands of thieves. [Isa 42:22  But this is a people robbed and plundered; they are all of them snared in holes, and they are hid in prison-houses: they are for a prey, and none delivereth; for a spoil, and none saith, Restore.] Wanton men [Reabome, Ahab, Manasseh] passed her from one to the other, used her, some by force, [in setting up the revival baal-worship] others by seducing her with a gift. They defiled her and took her virginity from her.

In her body she became a whore and gave herself to everyone, seeing each one she hugged as a husband. After she let herself be taken by lecherous, unfaithful adulterers, she sighed deeply and repented. But even when she turned her face from the adulterers, she ran to others, and they compelled her to live with them and make love with them on their beds as if they were her masters. Then, out of shame, she no longer dared leave them, while they double-crossed her, pretending to be faithful, true husbands, as if they respected her. After all these acts, they took off, abandoning her.

She became a poor desolate widow, helpless. In her affliction she had no food. From them she had gathered nothing but the defilements when they coupled with her. Her offspring from the adulterers are mute, blind, and sickly. They are disturbed. But when her father who is above looked down on her and saw her sighing, suffering and in disgrace, and repenting of her prostitution, then she began to call on him for help with all her heart, saying, “Save me, my father. Look, I will report to you, for I left my house and fled from my woman’s quarters. Restore me to yourself.”

When he saw her in this state, he thought her worthy of his mercy. She had many afflictions for having abandoned her house.

The Treatise on the Resurrection: The Imperishable Aeon

The Treatise on the Resurrection: The Imperishable Aeon

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

The Treatise on the Resurrection, a Valentinian text from the Nag Hammadi library, presents a profound theological vision of the transformation from mortality to incorruptibility, centered on the figure of Jesus the Savior. It declares with clarity:

"The Savior swallowed up death - (of this) you are not reckoned as being ignorant - for he put aside the world which is perishing. He transformed himself into an imperishable Aeon and raised himself up, having swallowed the visible by the invisible, and he gave us the way of our immortality."

This declaration reveals that Jesus was once subject to the perishing world, participating fully in human nature. His resurrection was not a return to the same mortal state but a transformation: he became an imperishable Aeon. This term—Aeon—within Valentinian cosmology denotes an eternal, incorruptible emanation of divine being, thus indicating a shift in Jesus’ ontological status from the perishable to the imperishable.

The Apostle’s experience is echoed in the Treatise:

"Then, indeed, as the Apostle said, 'We suffered with him, and we arose with him, and we went to heaven with him'."

Here, “heaven” is not to be understood as a distant celestial location but as the reign of God—the new political order and spiritual communion of the elect. This ascent is symbolic of the spiritual transformation, which is echoed again:

"Now if we are manifest in this world wearing him, we are that one's beams, and we are embraced by him until our setting, that is to say, our death in this life. We are drawn to heaven by him, like beams by the sun, not being restrained by anything."

This metaphor of light—“beams by the sun”—aligns with the Messianic imagery found in Malachi:

"Unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in his beams; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall."

Thus, the Sun is not merely a cosmic object but represents Jesus as the source of righteousness and healing, whose transformative beams draw forth the faithful into resurrected glory.

The Treatise goes further:

"This is the spiritual resurrection which swallows up the psychic in the same way as the fleshly."

Here, the term “psychic” derives from the Greek ψυχικός (psychikos), meaning soulful, sensual, or natural—equivalent to the soulish body. This aligns with Paul’s teaching:

"It is sown a body of the soul, it is raised a body of the spirit; if there is a body of the soul, there is also of the spirit:—Thus, also, it is written—The first man, Adam, became, a living soul, the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. Howbeit, not first, is the [body] of the spirit, but that, of the soul,—afterwards, that of the spirit." (1 Corinthians 15:44–46)

This distinction between the body of the soul and the body of the spirit is central to the Valentinian understanding of resurrection. The transformation involves not an abandonment of the body, but its reconstitution into a higher, incorruptible mode.

Heracleon, a Valentinian teacher, reinforces this when he writes in Fragment 40 on John 4:46–53:

"By the words 'it was at the point of death,' the teaching of those who claim that the soul is immortal is refuted. In agreement with this is the statement that 'the body and soul are destroyed in Hell.' (Matthew 10:28) The soul is not immortal, but is possessed only of a disposition towards salvation, for it is the perishable which puts on imperishability and the mortal which puts on immortality when 'its death is swallowed up in victory.'" (1 Corinthians 15:54)

This clearly rejects the notion of an inherently immortal soul. Instead, both body and soul are subject to death and can only be transformed through union with the imperishable Aeon.

In Fragment 15 on John 2:19, Heracleon comments on Jesus’ words:

"'Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.' The words 'in three days' are used instead of 'on the third day.' The third day is the spiritual day, on which the resurrection of the Church is revealed."

This interpretation emphasizes that the resurrection is not only about Jesus but about the Church—those united with him—rising into incorruptibility.

Theodotus, another Valentinian teacher, confirms the corporeal nature of soul and spirit:

"The demons are said to be incorporeal, not because they have no bodies (for they have even shape and are, therefore, capable of feeling punishment), but they are said to be incorporeal because, in comparison with the spiritual bodies which are saved, they are a shade. And the angels are bodies; at any rate they are seen. Why even the soul is a body, for the Apostle says, 'It is sown a body of soul, it is raised a body of spirit.' And how can the souls which are being punished be sensible of it, if they are not bodies? Certainly he says, 'Fear him who, after death, is able to cast soul and body into hell.' Now that which is visible is not purged by fire, but is dissolved into dust. But, from the story of Lazarus and Dives, the soul is directly shown by its possession of bodily limbs to be a body."

The transformation from dust to glory is further described through the imagery of dew and manna. The cloud of witnesses are described in Hebrews 12:1 and echoed in this vision:

"From these waters have been exhaled by 'the Spirit, which is the truth,' from the generations of the past, particles which, when viewed in mass, constitute, as Paul terms them, 'a great cloud of witnesses.' But this cloud is only seen as a matter of testimony... When he shall 'arise with healing in his rays,' they will come forth from the womb of the dawn as dew."

The dew symbolizes those resurrected, who then shine like the Sun of Righteousness:

"Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father" (Matthew 13:43)

In this vision, the Sun of Righteousness rises on the morning of the new creation. The faithful, like dew transformed by the morning sun, become incorruptible. As Paul writes:

"To him that overcomes I will give to sit down with me upon my throne, as I overcame and sit down with my Father upon his throne" (Revelation 3:21)

Thus, the resurrection is not the rescue of an immortal soul from the body, but the transformation of the whole human being—body and soul—into the likeness of the imperishable Aeon. This is the glory of the resurrection: that mortality is clothed with incorruption, and humanity is refashioned in the image of the risen Christ.

Valentinian Treatise on the Resurrection: The Nature of the Resurrected Body

*Valentinian Treatise on the Resurrection: The Nature of the Resurrected Body

In Valentinian Christianity, the resurrection is not merely a realized eschatological event occurring in the present experience of gnosis, but also a concrete, future transformation culminating in the glorification of the corporeal body. The Valentinian understanding of resurrection is both mystical and physical, reflecting the integral unity between spirit and body. It affirms that salvation is not an escape from the body but the redemption and perfection of it.

The Treatise on the Resurrection provides a clear articulation of this dual aspect of resurrection, urging believers not to doubt the future transformation:

“But if there is one who does not believe, he does not have the (capacity to be) persuaded. For it is the domain of faith, my son, and not that which belongs to persuasion: the dead shall arise! There is one who believes among the philosophers who are in this world. At least he will arise. And let not the philosopher who is in this world have cause to believe that he is one who returns himself by himself - and (that) because of our faith! For we have known the Son of Man, and we have believed that he rose from among the dead. This is he of whom we say, ‘He became the destruction of death, as he is a great one in whom they believe.’ Great are those who believe” (Treatise on the Resurrection).

This passage emphasizes that resurrection is not a matter of philosophical speculation or persuasion but a matter of faith grounded in the revelation of Jesus' own resurrection. He rose from the dead and destroyed death not merely in an abstract spiritual sense, but in the fullness of his being.

Valentinians stress that the mind and thought of those who are saved will endure. Those who have received gnosis—true knowledge—are predestined for redemption and are not subject to the perishing foolishness of the ignorant. As the Treatise continues:

“The thought of those who are saved shall not perish. The mind of those who have known him shall not perish. Therefore, we are elected to salvation and redemption since we are predestined from the beginning not to fall into the foolishness of those who are without knowledge, but we shall enter into the wisdom of those who have known the Truth. Indeed, the Truth which is kept cannot be abandoned, nor has it been. ‘Strong is the system of the Pleroma; small is that which broke loose (and) became (the) world. But the All is what is encompassed. It has not come into being; it was existing.’ So, never doubt concerning the resurrection, my son Rheginos! For if you were not existing in flesh, you received flesh when you entered this world. Why will you not receive flesh when you ascend into the Aeon? That which is better than the flesh is that which is for (the) cause of life. That which came into being on your account, is it not yours? Does not that which is yours exist with you? Yet, while you are in this world, what is it that you lack? This is what you have been making every effort to learn” (Treatise on the Resurrection).

This affirms that those who entered this world in the flesh will also receive flesh when they enter the Aeon. The resurrection does not deny the body but glorifies it. This future flesh is not the same as our current corruptible form—it is a spiritual, incorruptible body. As the Treatise declares: “Why will you not receive flesh when you ascend into the Aeon?” This is the promise of the resurrection body: a true flesh, the same which Jesus now possesses.

This idea is echoed in the Gospel of Philip, where Valentinian theology confronts both extremes of error—those who deny the resurrection of the flesh and those who misunderstand its nature:

“And I also disagree with others who say that the flesh will not arise. Both views are wrong. You say that the flesh will not arise? Then tell me what will arise, so we may salute you. You say it is the spirit in the flesh, and also the light in the flesh? But what is in the flesh is the word, and what you are talking about is nothing other than flesh. It is necessary to arise in this sort of flesh, since everything exists in it. In this world those who wear clothes are superior to the clothes. In heaven’s kingdom the clothes are superior to those who wear them” (Gospel of Philip).

The body is not merely a shell to be discarded. Rather, it is the vessel of the Word, and it is transformed, not abandoned, in the resurrection. The clothing metaphor here suggests a reversal: in the world, the person is superior to their garment, but in the resurrection, the "clothing"—the spiritual body—is superior, glorified, and incorruptible.

The apostolic scriptures also support this future glorification. Paul affirms that resurrection follows judgment, and immortality is granted afterward:

“I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom” (2 Timothy 4:1).
“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for what he has done in the body, whether good or bad” (2 Corinthians 5:10).

Immortality is not inherent in human nature but granted upon approval. This immortality is what Paul elsewhere calls the “spiritual body” (1 Corinthians 15:44), which swallows up mortality—not to eliminate it but to transform it.

Finally, the Gospel of Philip further clarifies the nature of Jesus' resurrection body:

“[The master] was conceived from what [is imperishable], through God. The [master rose] from the dead, but [he did not come into being as he] was. Rather, his [body] was [completely] perfect. [It was] of flesh, and this [flesh] was true flesh. [Our flesh] is not true flesh but only an image of the true” (Gospel of Philip 69).

Jesus' resurrected body is true flesh—a perfected, incorruptible, spiritual body. What we possess now is only an image or shadow of this reality. Yet we are promised to be transformed into that same incorruptible image when we enter the Aeon.

Valentinian Christianity thus upholds a corporeal, spiritual resurrection—not as a return to fleshly corruption, but as a glorification of the body into the likeness of Christ’s risen form. The resurrection is both now, in the transformative knowledge of Truth, and not yet, in the promised renewal of our bodies into incorruptibility.

**Valentinian Treatise on the Resurrection: The Nature of the Resurrected Body**

In Valentinian Christianity, the resurrection is not merely a realized eschatological event—a spiritual awakening in the present—but also a future event of profound transformation. This transformation is both corporeal and spiritual, culminating in a perfected body, an incorruptible state which Jesus Christ now possesses. The Valentinian view sharply contrasts with both purely spiritualized and purely physical conceptions of resurrection. For Valentinians, the resurrection is embodied, but it is a new type of body—spiritual, incorruptible, and real.

The *Treatise on the Resurrection* opens with a sharp contrast between faith and persuasion, drawing attention to the unique nature of belief in the resurrection:

> “But if there is one who does not believe, he does not have the (capacity to be) persuaded. For it is the domain of faith, my son, and not that which belongs to persuasion: the dead shall arise!” (*Treatise on the Resurrection*)

This emphasizes that resurrection is not a matter of philosophical speculation or rhetorical persuasion. It belongs to the domain of faith. This faith is not blind, but grounded in knowledge—gnosis—of the Son of Man, Jesus Christ, who rose bodily from the dead:

> “We have known the Son of Man, and we have believed that he rose from among the dead. This is he of whom we say, ‘He became the destruction of death, as he is a great one in whom they believe.’ Great are those who believe.” (*Treatise on the Resurrection*)

Jesus’ resurrection is not merely a symbolic or spiritual event; it is the basis and prototype for the believer’s own future resurrection. His body was not discarded—it was transformed.

The Valentinian affirmation continues with a focus on the immutability of truth and the certainty of salvation for those predestined from the beginning:

> “The thought of those who are saved shall not perish. The mind of those who have known him shall not perish. Therefore, we are elected to salvation and redemption since we are predestined from the beginning not to fall into the foolishness of those who are without knowledge.” (*Treatise on the Resurrection*)

Valentinians believed that the truth, or *gnosis*, had always existed in the Pleroma and could not be lost. The cosmos is a small rupture in the fullness, yet it too is encompassed and will ultimately be redeemed:

> “‘Strong is the system of the Pleroma; small is that which broke loose (and) became (the) world. But the All is what is encompassed. It has not come into being; it was existing.’” (*Treatise on the Resurrection*)

The text then argues for the bodily nature of the resurrection with a rhetorical question:

> “So, never doubt concerning the resurrection, my son Rheginos! For if you were not existing in flesh, you received flesh when you entered this world. Why will you not receive flesh when you ascend into the Aeon?” (*Treatise on the Resurrection*)

This indicates that the resurrection will involve a true embodiment—not a mere continuation of mortal flesh, but a higher form. It asserts that believers will receive a superior flesh in the Aeon to come:

> “That which is better than the flesh is that which is for (the) cause of life. That which came into being on your account, is it not yours? Does not that which is yours exist with you?” (*Treatise on the Resurrection*)

This “better than the flesh” is not a rejection of bodily form, but the transformation of the current flesh into something incorruptible—a spiritual, corporeal body.

The *Gospel of Philip* reinforces this by confronting the denial of fleshly resurrection:

> “You say that the flesh will not arise? Then tell me what will arise, so we may salute you... It is necessary to arise in this sort of flesh, since everything exists in it.” (*Gospel of Philip*)

This passage affirms the necessity of bodily resurrection, but not as a mere reanimation of decaying flesh. Rather, it’s a transformed body, in which the Word now dwells:

> “What is in the flesh is the word, and what you are talking about is nothing other than flesh.” (*Gospel of Philip*)

Heavenly garments surpass earthly ones:

> “In this world those who wear clothes are superior to the clothes. In heaven’s kingdom the clothes are superior to those who wear them.” (*Gospel of Philip*)

In this metaphor, the resurrected body is like a heavenly garment—superior to the soul it contains.

The perfected nature of Christ’s resurrected body is central to the Valentinian doctrine. The *Gospel of Philip* clarifies:

> “The \[master] was conceived from what \[is imperishable], through God. The \[master rose] from the dead, but \[he did not come into being as he] was. Rather, his \[body] was \[completely] perfect. \[It was] of flesh, and this \[flesh] was true flesh. \[Our flesh] is not true flesh but only an image of the true.” (*Gospel of Philip*, logion 69)

Here, Jesus’ body after the resurrection is described as "true flesh," in contrast to our current flesh, which is only an image or shadow of the true. The resurrection body is thus real, incorruptible, and made of perfected matter.

This aligns with the apostolic writings. Paul teaches that judgment leads to either incorruption or loss:

> “I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom.” (2 Timothy 4:1)

And again:

> “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.” (2 Corinthians 5:10)

In the Valentinian view, this judgment results in transformation: the fleshly body is swallowed up by the spiritual body and made incorruptible.

Thus, resurrection in Valentinian Christianity is not a mere return to life or escape from the body. It is the full transfiguration of the human being into an incorruptible, spiritual body that reflects the glory of the risen Christ.