LUTILISATION DES PARABOLES DANS LINTERPRÉTATION DE LA GNOSE (NH XI,1)
[Article]
Louis Painchaud
Leiden
Brill
Of all the various Nag Hammadi texts that use parables drawn from the New Testament, the Interpretation of Knowledge (NHC XI,1) has attracted the least scholarly attention, no doubt due to the text's extremely lacunous state of conservation. But despite the fact that two thirds of the work have been lost, it is still possible to identify references to the parable of the Sower (IntKnow 5,16-19 ; cf. Mt 13,3b-9 and parallels) and the parable of the Good Samaritan (6,19-23 ; cf. Lk 10,29-35), as well as an amalgamation of allusions to the parable of the Lost Sheep (Mt 18,10-14 and parallels), that of the lamb which must be rescued on the Sabbath (Mt 12,11-12) and the tale of the Good Shepherd ( Jn 10,1-21), at IntKnow 10,20a-38. In this article, the function of this material in the Interpretation of Knowledge will be examined and its use will be situated within the wider context of both gnostic and non-gnostic exegesis in early Christianity. Of all the various Nag Hammadi texts that use parables drawn from the New Testament, the Interpretation of Knowledge (NHC XI,1) has attracted the least scholarly attention, no doubt due to the text's extremely lacunous state of conservation. But despite the fact that two thirds of the work have been lost, it is still possible to identify references to the parable of the Sower (IntKnow 5,16-19 ; cf. Mt 13,3b-9 and parallels) and the parable of the Good Samaritan (6,19-23 ; cf. Lk 10,29-35), as well as an amalgamation of allusions to the parable of the Lost Sheep (Mt 18,10-14 and parallels), that of the lamb which must be rescued on the Sabbath (Mt 12,11-12) and the tale of the Good Shepherd ( Jn 10,1-21), at IntKnow 10,20a-38. In this article, the function of this material in the Interpretation of Knowledge will be examined and its use will be situated within the wider context of both gnostic and non-gnostic exegesis in early Christianity.