Nag Hammadi Library

Discovery of the Nag Hammadi Texts

It is the year 1945. In middle Egypt, not far from the town of Nag Hammadi, three brothers ride their camels towards Jabal al-Tarif, a jagged, sand-colored cliff that towers over the land. The sky behind it is a pale, clear blue, and the air is parched by the burning sun.

They dismount their camels at the base of the cliff, where the ground is covered by stray boulders and piles of broken rock.

The brothers begin to dig through the stony debris, searching for the rich soil beneath, which farmers use as a fertilizer. Shoveling through the layers of broken rock shards, accumulated over thousands of years, the brothers do not suspect that they are about to discover one of Christianity's best kept secrets.

One of the brothers unearths something remarkable. It is a red, clay jar, almost 60 cm tall, and the mouth is sealed by a small bowl. The object appears ancient, and the men at first are hesitant to touch it, fearing an evil spirit lies within. However, lured by the thought of hidden treasure, the eldest brother finally raises his mattock and shatters the jar. He finds no gold, only crumbling papyrus and leather.

Disappointed, he eventually packages up the scrolls and brings them home to his small village, where they are mostly ignored. Some are burned as fuel, and the rest are forgotten—although not forever. These scrolls will eventually be translated and published, and their contents will bring into view an obscure group of early Christians known as the Gnostics. 

About 16 centuries earlier, members of this little-known Christian sect lived within reach of this remote cliff. Until recent times, their ideas and practices had been largely unknown, and their existence almost forgotten. Powerful interests attempted to destroy every trace of this group of mystics, and this attempt very nearly succeeded.

However, the desperate impulse to preserve and hide their sacred texts has allowed the voice of the Gnostics to survive the passing centuries. In a startling series of events, Gnostic texts have begun to emerge over the last several decades, discovered by farmers and other locals, sold, resold, neglected, and eventually preserved and brought to the public eye. The scrolls discovered by these brothers at Jabal al-Tarif, commonly known today as the Nag Hammadi Library, are authentic Gnostic texts with astonishing names such as the Gospel of Thomas, The Gospel of Philip, and The Gospel of Truth. In these documents, we can find fascinating insights into the Gnostics and their practices.