Yaldabaoth

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Yaldabaoth, Jaldabaoth, or Ildabaoth is an evil deity and creator of the material world in various Gnostic sects and movements, sometimes represented as a theriomorphic, lion-headed serpent.[1][2][3] He is identified as the Demiurge and false god who keeps the souls trapped in physical bodies, imprisoned in the material universe.[1][2][3] The name is derived from the Aramaic expression yaldā bahôt (Imperial Aramaic: ילדא בהות), which means "descendant of Chaos".

Role in Gnosticism[]

Main article: Gnosticism
Further information: Diversity in early Christian theology and Gnostic texts
A lion-faced, serpentine deity found on a Gnostic gem in Bernard de Montfaucon's L'antiquité expliquée et représentée en figures may be a depiction of the Demiurge.

Gnosticism originated in the late 1st century CE in non-rabbinical Jewish and early Christian sects.[4] In the formation of Christianity, various sectarian groups, labeled "gnostics" by their opponents, emphasised spiritual knowledge (gnosis) of the divine spark within, over faith (pistis) in the teachings and traditions of the various communities of Christians.[5][6][7][8] Gnosticism presents a distinction between the highest, unknowable God, and the Demiurge, "creator" of the material universe.[5][6][7][9] The Gnostics considered the most essential part of the process of salvation to be this personal knowledge, in contrast to faith as an outlook in their worldview along with faith in the ecclesiastical authority.[5][6][7][9]

In Gnosticism, the biblical serpent in the Garden of Eden was praised and thanked for bringing knowledge (gnosis) to Adam and Eve and thereby freeing them from the malevolent Demiurge's control.[9] Gnostic Christian doctrines rely on a dualistic cosmology that implies the eternal conflict between good and evil, and a conception of the serpent as the liberating savior and bestower of knowledge to humankind opposed to the Demiurge or creator god, identified with the Hebrew God of the Old Testament.[9][6] Gnostic Christians considered the Hebrew God of the Old Testament as the evil, false god and creator of the material universe, and the Unknown God of the Gospel, the father of Jesus Christ and creator of the spiritual world, as the true, good God.[9][6] In the Archontic, Sethian, and Ophite systems, Yaldabaoth (Yahweh) is regarded as the malevolent Demiurge and false god of the Old Testament who generated the material universe and keeps the souls trapped in physical bodies, imprisoned in the world full of pain and suffering that he created.[1][2][3]

However, not all Gnostic movements regarded the creator of the material universe as inherently evil or malevolent.[10][11] For instance, Valentinians believed that the Demiurge is merely an ignorant and incompetent creator, trying to fashion the world as well as he can, but lacking the proper power to maintain its goodness.[10][11] They were regarded as heretics by the proto-orthodox Early Church Fathers.[9][6][12]

Yaldabaoth is primarily mentioned in the Archontic, Sethian, and Ophite writings of Gnostic literature,[3] most of which have been discovered in the Nag Hammadi library.[1][2] In the Apocryphon of John, "Yaldabaoth" is the first of three names of the domineering archon, along with Saklas and Samael. In Pistis Sophia he has lost his claim to rulership and, in the depths of Chaos, together with 49 demons, tortures sacrilegious souls in a scorching hot torrent of pitch. Here he is a lion-faced archon, half flame, half darkness. Yaldabaoth appears as a rebellious angel both in the apocryphal Gospel of Judas and the Gnostic work Hypostasis of the Archons. In some of these Gnostic texts, Yaldabaoth is further identified with the Ancient Roman god Saturnus.[3]

Cosmogony and creation myths[]

Yaldabaoth is the son of Sophia, the personification of wisdom in Gnosticism, with whom he contends. By creatively turning to matter in goodness and simplicity, Sophia created the imperfect Yaldabaoth, the son of Chaos, without the knowledge of the other aeons. From his mother he received the powers of light, but he used them for evil. Sophia rules over the Ogdoas, the Demiurge over the Hebdomas. Yaldabaoth created six more archons and other fellows.[13] The angels he created rebelled against Yaldabaoth. To keep the angels in subjection, Yaldabaoth generated the material universe.

In the act of creation, however, Yaldabaoth emptied himself of his supreme power. When Yaldabaoth breathed the soul into the first man, Adam, the Sophia instilled in him the divine spark of the spirit. After matter, Yaldabaoth produced the serpent spirit (Ophiomorphos), which is the origin of all evil. The light being Sophia caused the fall of man through the serpent. By eating the forbidden fruit, Adam and Eve became enlightened and turned away from Yaldabaoth. Eventually, Yaldabaoth expelled them from the ethereal region, the Paradise, as punishment.

Yaldabaoth continuously attempted to deprive human beings of the gift of the spark of light which he had unwittingly lost to them, or to keep them in bondage. As punishments, he tried to make humanity acknowledge him as God.[2] Because of their lack of worship, he caused the Flood upon the human race, from which a feminine power such as Sophia or Pronoia[14] (Providence) rescued Noah.[2] Yaldabaoth made a covenant with Abraham, in which he was obligated to serve him along with his descendants. The Biblical prophets were to proclaim Yaldabaoth's glory, but at the same time, through Sophia's influence, they reminded people of their higher origin and prepared for the coming of Christ. At Sophia's instigation, Yaldabaoth arranged for the generation of Jesus through the Virgin Mary. For his proclamation, he used John the Baptist. At the moment of the baptism organized by Yaldabaoth, Sophia took on the body of Jesus and through it taught people that their destiny was the Kingdom of Light (the spiritual world), not the Kingdom of Darkness (the material universe). Only after his baptism did Jesus receive divine powers and could perform miracles. But since Jesus destroyed his kingdom instead of promoting it, Yaldabaoth had him crucified. Before his martyrdom, Christ escaped from the bodily shell and returned in the spiritual world.

In popular culture[]

  • In H.P. Lovecraft's short story The Horror at Red Hook (1925), Robert Suydam invokes Yaldabaoth (by the name Samaël) among the likes of Sephiroth and Ashmodai.[15]
  • In the SCP Foundation collaborative writing project (2008-present), Yaldabaoth is a prominent figure in the mythologies of Sarkicism and Mekhanism, two ancient religions from northern Asia and Mycenaean Greece. In Sarkicism, Yaldabaoth (also known as "Važjuma") is the principal power in the universe with six archons that levied several ordeals against the Sarkic prophet, Ion, who himself ascended to godhood upon overcoming them. It is the Sarkites' goal to surpass and destroy Yaldabaoth, and rejoin Grand Karcist Ion in their holy land, "Adí-üm".[16] In Mekhanism, Yaldabaoth was a feral flesh god impaled upon the body of a wise mechanical god named Mekhane (also known as the Broken God), whose sacrifice allowed humanity to advance technologically. It is the goal of the Mekhanites to collect and reassemble Mekhane's broken parts, and to oppose the Sarkites due to association with "The Flesh", Yaldabaoth.[17]
  • In the video game Persona 5 (2016), Yaldabaoth is a malevolent being that appears in the form of the Holy Grail: a Treasure of Mementos created from humanity's wish for order and control. The overarching antagonist of the game, Yaldabaoth leads the conspiracy to give Masayoshi Shido political power and sponsors the Phantom Thieves of Hearts to see which is stronger: their salvation of the world or Goro Akechi's desire to destroy and recreate the world.[18]
  • In the video game Assassin's Creed Valhalla (2020), the names Yaldabaoth, Saklas, and Samael are mentioned as individual members of the Isu, an ancient and highly-advanced species. Known as the "Father of Understanding", the "Mother of Wisdom", and the "Sacred Voice" respectively, the triad were responsible for the early stages of Project Anthropos, which was the creation of humanity.[19][20]
  • In Andrew Hussie's multimedia literary work Homestuck, a character named Yaldabaoth, in the shape of a snake with a sun-like head, appears.

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Litwa, M. David (2016) [2015]. "Part I: The Self-deifying Rebel – "I Am God and There is No Other!": The Boast of Yaldabaoth". Desiring Divinity: Self-deification in Early Jewish and Christian Mythmaking. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 47–65. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190467166.003.0004. ISBN 9780199967728. LCCN 2015051032. OCLC 966607824.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Fischer-Mueller, E. Aydeet (January 1990). "Yaldabaoth: The Gnostic Female Principle in Its Fallenness". Novum Testamentum. Leiden and Boston: Brill Publishers. 32 (1): 79–95. doi:10.1163/156853690X00205. eISSN 1568-5365. ISSN 0048-1009. JSTOR 1560677.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Arendzen, John Peter (1908). "Demiurge". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 4. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  4. ^ Magris, Aldo (2005). "Gnosticism: Gnosticism from its origins to the Middle Ages (further considerations)". In Jones, Lindsay (ed.). Macmillan Encyclopedia of Religion (2nd ed.). New York: Macmillan Inc. pp. 3515–3516. ISBN 978-0028657332. OCLC 56057973.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b c May, Gerhard (2008). "Part V: The Shaping of Christian Theology - Monotheism and creation". In Mitchell, Margaret M.; Young, Frances M. (eds.). The Cambridge History of Christianity, Volume 1: Origins to Constantine. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 434–451, 452–456. doi:10.1017/CHOL9780521812399.026. ISBN 9781139054836.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Ehrman, Bart D. (2005) [2003]. "Christians "In The Know": The Worlds of Early Christian Gnosticism". Lost Christianities: The Battles for Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 113–134. doi:10.1017/s0009640700110273. ISBN 978-0-19-518249-1. LCCN 2003053097. S2CID 152458823.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b c Brakke, David (2010). The Gnostics: Myth, Ritual, and Diversity in Early Christianity. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. pp. 18–51. ISBN 9780674066038. JSTOR j.ctvjnrvhh.6. S2CID 169308502.
  8. ^ Layton, Bentley (1999). "Prolegomena to the Study of Ancient Gnosticism". In Ferguson, Everett (ed.). Doctrinal Diversity: Varieties of Early Christianity. Recent Studies in Early Christianity: A Collection of Scholarly Essays. New York and London: Garland Publishing, Inc. pp. 106–123. ISBN 0-8153-3071-5.
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Kvam, Kristen E.; Schearing, Linda S.; Ziegler, Valarie H., eds. (1999). "Early Christian Interpretations (50–450 CE)". Eve and Adam: Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Readings on Genesis and Gender. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. pp. 108–155. doi:10.2307/j.ctt2050vqm.8. ISBN 9780253212719. JSTOR j.ctt2050vqm.8.
  10. ^ Jump up to: a b Bousset, Wilhelm (1911). "Valentinus and the Valentinians" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 27 (11th ed.). pp. 852–857.
  11. ^ Jump up to: a b Logan, Alastair H. B. (2002) [2000]. "Part IX: Internal Challenges – Gnosticism". In Esler, Philip F. (ed.). The Early Christian World. Routledge Worlds (1st ed.). New York and London: Routledge. pp. 923–925. ISBN 9781032199344.
  12. ^ Brakke, David (2010). The Gnostics: Myth, Ritual, and Diversity in Early Christianity. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. pp. 18–51. ISBN 9780674066038. JSTOR j.ctvjnrvhh.6. S2CID 169308502.
  13. ^  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Arendzen, John Peter (1909). "Gnosticism". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 6. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  14. ^ "The Secret Book of John (Apocryphon of John)". gnosis.org. Retrieved 2022-10-18.
  15. ^ Lovecraft, H. P. (August 2, 1925). The Horror at Red Hook. p. 3. Retrieved September 23, 2022.
  16. ^ Metaphysician (9 March 2016). "Sarkicism Hub". SCP Foundation. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
  17. ^ HammerMaiden (23 June 2014). "Church of the Broken God Hub". SCP Foundation. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
  18. ^ P-Studio (2016). Persona 5 (PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S). Atlus Co., Ltd.
  19. ^ Ubisoft Montreal (2020). Assassin's Creed Valhalla (Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Google Stadia, Amazon Luna). Ubisoft Entertainment SA.
  20. ^ Russo, Jamie (19 July 2022). "Assassin's Creed: Every Known Isu In The Series' Mythology". Screen Rant. Retrieved 23 September 2022.

Bibliography[]

  • Matthew Black: An Aramaic Etymology for Jaldabaoth? In: Alastair H. Logan, Alexander J. M. Wedderburn (Hrsg.): The New Testament and Gnosis. T&T Clark International, New York 1983, ISBN 0-567-09344-1, S. 69–72. (Paperback-Ausgabe 2004, ISBN 0-567-08228-8)
  • Attilio Mastrocinque: From Jewish Magic to Gnosticism (Studien und Texte zu Antike und Christentum 24). Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen 2005, ISBN 3-16-148555-6.
  • Karen L. King: The Secret Revelation of John. Harvard University Press, 2006, ISBN 0-674-01903-2, S. 89–105.

See also[]

External links[]

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