How to read this list
Texts are cited by codex and position — “NHC II,2” means Nag Hammadi Codex II, second tractate. The type column gives the work's genre and school where scholars assign one (see Sethian vs. Valentinian). The last column tells you where to read it: texts marked Read it here can be read on this site now, and where a text is a selection the page itself says so; Roadmap texts are being prepared for the library — new renderings arrive on this site and in the app, free for All Access owners.
The thirteen codices
Codex I (the Jung Codex)
| Ref | Text | Type | Status |
|---|
| I,1 | Prayer of the Apostle Paul | Valentinian prayer | — |
| I,2 | Secret Book (Apocryphon) of James | Revelation dialogue | Read it here |
| I,3 | Gospel of Truth | Valentinian homily | Read it here |
| I,4 | Treatise on the Resurrection | Valentinian letter | — |
| I,5 | Tripartite Tractate | Valentinian treatise | — |
Codex II
| Ref | Text | Type | Status |
|---|
| II,1 | Secret Book (Apocryphon) of John | Sethian revelation | Read it here |
| II,2 | Gospel of Thomas | Sayings gospel | Read it here |
| II,3 | Gospel of Philip | Valentinian anthology | Read it here |
| II,4 | Hypostasis of the Archons | Sethian treatise | Roadmap |
| II,5 | On the Origin of the World | Gnostic treatise | Roadmap |
| II,6 | Exegesis on the Soul | Homily on the soul | — |
| II,7 | Book of Thomas the Contender | Revelation dialogue | — |
Codex III
| Ref | Text | Type | Status |
|---|
| III,1 | Secret Book (Apocryphon) of John | Sethian revelation | Roadmap |
| III,2 | Gospel of the Egyptians | Sethian ritual text | Roadmap |
| III,3 | Eugnostos the Blessed | Theological letter | — |
| III,4 | Sophia of Jesus Christ | Revelation dialogue | Roadmap |
| III,5 | Dialogue of the Savior | Revelation dialogue | — |
Codex IV
Duplicate copies of two Codex II/III works.
| Ref | Text | Type | Status |
|---|
| IV,1 | Secret Book (Apocryphon) of John | Sethian revelation | Read it here |
| IV,2 | Gospel of the Egyptians | Sethian ritual text | Roadmap |
Codex V
| Ref | Text | Type | Status |
|---|
| V,1 | Eugnostos the Blessed | Theological letter | — |
| V,2 | Apocalypse of Paul | Ascent apocalypse | — |
| V,3 | First Apocalypse of James | Revelation dialogue | — |
| V,4 | Second Apocalypse of James | Revelation discourse | — |
| V,5 | Apocalypse of Adam | Sethian apocalypse | — |
Codex VI
| Ref | Text | Type | Status |
|---|
| VI,1 | Acts of Peter and the Twelve Apostles | Allegorical acts | — |
| VI,2 | Thunder: Perfect Mind | Paradox aretalogy | Read it here |
| VI,3 | Authoritative Teaching | Homily on the soul | — |
| VI,4 | Concept of Our Great Power | Apocalyptic discourse | — |
| VI,5 | Plato, Republic 588a–589b | Excerpt (Coptic Plato) | — |
| VI,6 | Discourse on the Eighth and Ninth | Hermetic initiation | — |
| VI,7 | Prayer of Thanksgiving | Hermetic prayer | — |
| VI,8 | Asclepius 21–29 | Hermetic excerpt | — |
Codex VII
| Ref | Text | Type | Status |
|---|
| VII,1 | Paraphrase of Shem | Gnostic apocalypse | — |
| VII,2 | Second Treatise of the Great Seth | Christ discourse | — |
| VII,3 | Apocalypse of Peter (gnostic) | Vision of the crucifixion | — |
| VII,4 | Teachings of Silvanus | Wisdom instruction | — |
| VII,5 | Three Steles of Seth | Sethian liturgy | — |
Codex VIII
| Ref | Text | Type | Status |
|---|
| VIII,1 | Zostrianos | Sethian ascent apocalypse | — |
| VIII,2 | Letter of Peter to Philip | Letter + dialogue | — |
Codex IX
| Ref | Text | Type | Status |
|---|
| IX,1 | Melchizedek | Sethian apocalypse | — |
| IX,2 | Thought of Norea | Sethian hymn | — |
| IX,3 | Testimony of Truth | Polemical homily | — |
Codex X
| Ref | Text | Type | Status |
|---|
| X,1 | Marsanes | Sethian ascent apocalypse | — |
Codex XI
| Ref | Text | Type | Status |
|---|
| XI,1 | Interpretation of Knowledge | Valentinian homily | — |
| XI,2 | A Valentinian Exposition | Treatise + liturgical notes | — |
| XI,3 | Allogenes | Sethian ascent apocalypse | — |
| XI,4 | Hypsiphrone | Fragmentary revelation | — |
Codex XII
| Ref | Text | Type | Status |
|---|
| XII,1 | Sentences of Sextus | Wisdom maxims | — |
| XII,2 | Gospel of Truth (fragments) | Valentinian homily | Read it here |
| XII,3 | Unidentified fragments | — | — |
Codex XIII
Eight leaves tucked inside the cover of Codex VI in antiquity.
| Ref | Text | Type | Status |
|---|
| XIII,1 | Trimorphic Protennoia | Sethian revelation | Roadmap |
| XIII,2 | On the Origin of the World (fragment) | Gnostic treatise | Roadmap |
Recovered outside Nag Hammadi
The jar of 1945 was the biggest find, not the only one. These manuscripts complete the recovered library:
Berlin Codex (BG 8502) — purchased 1896
| Ref | Text | Type | Status |
|---|
| BG 1 | Gospel of Mary | Revelation dialogue | Read it here |
| BG 2 | Secret Book (Apocryphon) of John | Sethian revelation | Roadmap |
| BG 3 | Sophia of Jesus Christ | Revelation dialogue | Roadmap |
| BG 4 | Act of Peter | Apostolic act | — |
Codex Tchacos — found 1970s, published 2006
| Ref | Text | Type | Status |
|---|
| CT 1 | Letter of Peter to Philip | Letter + dialogue | — |
| CT 2 | James (First Apocalypse of James) | Revelation dialogue | — |
| CT 3 | Gospel of Judas | Sethian dialogue gospel | Read it here |
| CT 4 | Book of Allogenes | Fragmentary revelation | — |
Askew Codex — purchased 1785
| Ref | Text | Type | Status |
|---|
| Askew | Pistis Sophia (Selections) | Revelation dialogue, 148 chapters — 12 here | Read it here |
Other recoveries
| Ref | Text | Type | Status |
|---|
| Akhmîm, 1886–87 | Gospel of Peter (fragment) | Passion gospel | Read it here |
| Akhmîm, 1886–87 | Apocalypse of Peter | Judgment apocalypse (same codex) | Read it here |
| P.Egerton 2 | Egerton Gospel | Unknown gospel fragments | Read it here |
| Acts of Thomas 108–113 | Hymn of the Pearl | Poem of the soul | Read it here |
| Mar Saba letter, 1958 | Secret Gospel of Mark (disputed) | Two quoted excerpts | Read it here |
What you can read here now
14 texts from the recovered library are on this site today — every one free to read, every one credited to its manuscript and translator, selections labeled as selections, every gap shown as a gap. Start anywhere: the full shelf is here.
Common questions
How many texts are in the Nag Hammadi library?
Fifty-two tractates across thirteen codices; removing duplicate copies leaves about forty-six distinct works. They range from gospels (Thomas, Philip, Truth) to apocalypses, Hermetic treatises, wisdom collections, and even a Coptic excerpt of Plato's Republic.
Are all Nag Hammadi texts gnostic?
No. The library is a mixed shelf: Sethian and Valentinian works sit beside Hermetic treatises, wisdom texts like the Sentences of Sextus, the Gospel of Thomas (which teaches no gnostic myth), and Plato. It was someone's library, not a denomination's canon.
Where are the Nag Hammadi codices kept today?
In the Coptic Museum in Old Cairo, Egypt, essentially complete. Facsimile editions and translations have made the entire collection publicly available since the late 1970s.
Which Nag Hammadi texts can I read on this site?
The Gospel of Thomas, Gospel of Philip, Gospel of Truth, Secret Book of James, the Secret Book of John (the long version of Codex II), and Thunder Perfect Mind (our own rendering, the whole poem) are here now, free — with Hypostasis of the Archons, and more arriving on the public roadmap. Texts recovered elsewhere — the Gospel of Mary, Gospel of Judas, Gospel of Peter — are here too.
What is the oldest text in the Nag Hammadi library?
The physical books were copied around 340–400 CE, but the works they preserve are older — most were composed in the second century, and the Gospel of Thomas may reach back into the first. The oldest item by original composition is arguably the excerpt of Plato's Republic, written some seven centuries before the codices.