This original work demonstrates how evidence from gnostic sources may challenge the assumption that Paul writes his letters to combat "gnostic opponents" & to repudiate their claims to secret wisdom. Drawing upon evidence from the gnostic exegesis of Paul, including several Nag Hammadi texts, she examines how gnostic exegetes cite & interpret key passages in the letters they consider Pauline: 1-2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians & Hebrews. Besides offering new insight into controversies over Paul in the 2nd century, this analysis of gnostic exegesis suggests a new perspective for Pauline study, challenging students & scholars to recognize the presuppositions--hermenuetical & theological--involved in their own reading of Paul's letters.
Elaine H. Pagels is Harrington Spear Paine Professor of Religion at Princeton Univ. She's author of The Gnostic Gospels, which won the Nat'l Book Award & the Nat'l Book Critics Circle Award, The Johannie Gospel in Gnostic Exegesis, Adam, Eve & the Serpent & Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas.
Preface
Abbreviations
Introduction
Romans
1 Corinthians
2 Corinthians
Galatians
Ephesians
Philippians
Colossians
Hebrews
Conclusion: Gnostic exegesis of the Pauline letters
Select bibliography
Indexes