See also
The first complete English translation of the Nag Hammadi Library, titled The Nag Hammadi Library in English, was published in 1977 (hardcover) and 1978 (paperback). Edited by James M. Robinson, it brought together over 50 previously lost Gnostic texts into a single volume for the first time. [1, 3]
Earliest Published Books and Editions
Before the 1977 definitive collection, only individual texts or partial translations were available in print:
- The Jung Codex (Codex I) Partial Translations (1956): The very first published texts from the library appeared in Cairo in 1956, focusing on a specific codex named after psychologist Carl Jung.
- Gospel of Thomas English Translation (1960): The most famous text in the collection, the Gospel of Thomas, was published individually in English by Jean Doresse in 1960.
- The Facsimile Edition (1970s): Under UNESCO sponsorship, a complete set of photographic (facsimile) reproductions of the original Coptic manuscripts was published throughout the 1970s, concluding in 1984.
- Major Revisions (1988): A widely used third revised edition of Robinson’s complete library was released in 1988, which added 10 years of further research and is still a primary scholarly reference. [1, 2, 3, 4]
Key Early Scholarly Projects
- Coptic Gnostic Library Project: Formed at the 1966 Messina Congress, this international team led by James M. Robinson worked to produce the bilingual editions and final translations.
- The Gnostic Gospels (1979): Shortly after the first full translation, Elaine Pagels published this landmark popular work, which introduced the Nag Hammadi findings to a mainstream global audience. [1, 2, 3]
Would you like to know more about the specific translators involved or the details of a particular text like the Gospel of Truth?
