The Shelves · Philosophy
Commentary on the Gospel of John
Known · Probablein Alexandria?Conjectured · Our reconstructionour placement
◇ Doubted: where it was written is uncertain.
I · The entry, in his form
In the table of Philosophy
Conjectured · Our reconstructionour placementHeracleon
Commentary on the Gospel of John
Opening words not preserved.
Length: not counted
◇ Doubted: where it was written is uncertain.
Above, his entry form, filled from what we know. Below, ours.
II · Does it survive? Where to read it
Survives in fragments
About 48 fragments quoted and refuted by Origen.
Was it in Alexandria?
Known · ProbableProbably held in the Library.
In the cupboard: no source names the Alexandrian copy, but its scholars' use of it makes one very likely.
Read it today
- Origen, Commentary on John (Menzies translation, New Advent) · a translation · link checked 31 Oct 2026
III · In the show
- Heresiologists and early Christian doctrine, episode 2, at 43 secondsTranscriptHeresiologists: the early schools known through their opponents.Known: attested
- Gnostic readings of the serpent and demiurge, episode 2, at 37 minutes 33 secondsTranscriptGnostic readings of the serpent and the demiurge.Known: attested
- Gnostic texts and orthodoxy, episode 11, at 19 minutesTranscriptKnown: attested
+ 6 more
- Gnosticism, Material vs Spiritual Reality, episode 23, at 37 minutes 20 secondsTranscriptValentinians and Basilideans.Known: attested
- Plato’s Demiurge vs. the Gnostic Demiurge, episode 36, at 1 hour 54 minutes 33 secondsTranscriptPlato's demiurge against the Gnostic demiurge.Known: attested
- Gnostic texts and orthodoxy, episode 11, at 20 minutes 11 secondsTranscript“The the Coptic schools in Alexandria in and around Alexandria”Known: attested
Correction
- What was said
- "The Coptic schools in Alexandria".
- What the sources say
- The Alexandrian teachers wrote in Greek; Coptic belongs to the later translations made in Upper Egypt.
- Gnosticism · Traditions: Sethian, Valentinian, BasilideanKnown: attested
- Gnosticism · Chronology: Great system-buildersKnown: attested
IV · Sources and the living entry
Ancient references (2)
- Origen, Commentary on John (passim)
- Clement, Stromata 4.71
Modern scholarship (2)
- E. Thomassen, The Spiritual Seed: The Church of the 'Valentinians' (Leiden: Brill, 2006).
- B. Layton, The Gnostic Scriptures (New York: Doubleday, 1987)
Entry checked 31 Oct 2026 · no corrections · Suggest a correction ›
COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN