Exegesis on the Soul

The Exegesis on the Soul is one of the ancient texts found at Nag Hammadi, in Codex II. The text emphasizes the importance of prayer and repentance. It states that prayer should be done not just with words but with the spirit, which comes from within, and should involve confessing sins, recognizing past deception, mourning past actions, and even hating oneself. The beginning of salvation is repentance, and the Father is good and loving, and will hear the soul that calls out to him. The text references Biblical passages and stories from Greek mythology to illustrate its points, such as the story of Odysseus and Helen, and the Psalms. It is said that through repentance and sighing, God will have pity on the soul and restore it to its original state. The text concludes by emphasizing God's mercy and His willingness to hear the prayers of those who truly repent.

According to Irenaeus, this teaching was a foundational pillar of the doctrine of Simon Magus, which Simon viewed as so important that he actually married a prostitute and elevated her in society in order to demonstrate the point. Hence, it is possible that the text was written by the Simonian school of Gnostics.

The text quotes copiously from the Old Testament prophets, from the New Testament gospels, and from the Pauline epistles. The text also quotes from Homer's Odyssey, which is given equally authoritative weight. These quotes indicate that the author viewed Greek legend and mythology as a type of scripture, just as the author also viewed large portions of the Old and New Testaments as scripture.

The author and date are not certain, however is likely from between the 1st century AD and the 4th century AD. Although it is silent concerning the typical Gnostic cosmology, its placement in the same codex with such texts as the Apocryphon of John, Hypostasis of the Archons, and On the Origin of the World indicate that it may well have been produced by a school which accepted Gnostic cosmology. In this context, the female personification of the soul resembles the passion of Sophia, which is a theme pervasively found in Gnostic cosmology. Also, the text's placement toward the back of the codex may indicate that it was written later and/or was of relatively lesser importance than the other texts in the codex.

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