Corpus Hermeticum XIII, On Rebirth

TC, 5

The following translation has been committed to the public domain and may be freely copied and used, changed or unchanged, for any purpose. It is based on the Coptic text of the Tchacos Codex, 5. The Tchacos Codex was written in the fourth century, subsequently buried, and then rediscovered in the 1970s. This fragmentary text features teaching by the legendary Hermes Trismegistus, widely regarded as a pagan Egyptian prophet of the coming of Christianity.

This translation from the Coptic is by Mark M. Mattison. For more information, see Overcoming Personal Demons: A new translation of the Tchacos Codex.

Symbols

[ ]   Gap in the text (known as a “lacuna”)
( )   Editorial insertion to clarify the text

(Tat): “[…] in […] not [… about] divinity [… that] no one (is) [redeemed if they aren’t] born [again], and when I asked [you] to come down […].

“[…] these want […] not [born] again […] which is hidden, O [father …] the Thrice-Greatest […].” […]

(Tat): “[… God], Son of God.”

(Hermes): “[All] in all, out of all [powers].”

(Tat): “O father […].” […]

Bibliography

Kasser, Rodolphe, and Gregor Wurst. The Gospel of Judas, Critical Edition: Together with the Letter of Peter to Philip, James, and a Book of Allogenes from Codex Tchacos. National Geographic, 2007, 29-30

Wurst, Gregor, “Weitere neue Fragmente aus Codex Tchacos: Zum ‘Buch des Allogenes’ und zu Corpus Hermeticum XIII.” Pages 1-12 in E. E. Popkes and G. Wurst, eds., Judasevangelium und Codex Tchacos: Studien zur religiongeschichtlichen Verortung, Mohr Siebeck, 2012, 10-11