The Hymn of the Pearl (also Hymn of the Soul, Hymn of the Robe of Glory or Hymn of Judas Thomas the Apostle) is a passage of the
apocryphal
Apocrypha are works, usually written, of unknown authorship or of doubtful origin. The word ''apocryphal'' (ἀπόκρυφος) was first applied to writings which were kept secret because they were the vehicles of esoteric knowledge considered ...
''
Acts of Thomas''. In that work, originally written in
Syriac, the
Apostle Thomas sings the
hymn while praying for himself and fellow prisoners. Some scholars believe the hymn predates the Acts, as it only appears in one Syriac manuscript and one Greek manuscript of the Acts of Thomas. The author of the Hymn is unknown, though there is a belief that it was composed by the Syriac
gnostic Bardaisan from
Edessa
Edessa (; grc, Ἔδεσσα, Édessa) was an ancient city (''polis'') in Upper Mesopotamia, founded during the Hellenistic period by King Seleucus I Nicator (), founder of the Seleucid Empire. It later became capital of the Kingdom of Osroene ...
due to some parallels between his life and that of the hymn.
It is believed to have been written in the 2nd century
or even possibly the 1st century,
and shows influences from heroic folk epics from the region.
Synopsis
The hymn tells the story of a boy, "the son of the king of kings", who is sent to
Egypt to retrieve a
pearl from a
serpent. During the
quest
A quest is a journey toward a specific mission or a goal. The word serves as a plot device in mythology and fiction: a difficult journey towards a goal, often symbolic or allegorical. Tales of quests figure prominently in the folklore of ever ...
, he is seduced by
Egyptians and forgets his origin and his family. However, a letter is sent from the king of kings to remind him of his past. When the boy receives the letter, he remembers his mission, retrieves the pearl and returns. That the boy is implicitly Thomas rather than
Jesus is indicated by the eventual assertion that he is next in line to his elder brother, this unnamed brother not otherwise mentioned in the text.
Interpretation
The hymn is commonly interpreted as a
Gnostic view of the
human condition, that we are spirits lost in a world of matter and forgetful of our true origin. This state of affairs may be ameliorated by a revelatory message delivered by a messenger, a role generally ascribed to Jesus. The letter thus takes on a
symbol
A symbol is a mark, sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, object, or relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by creating linkages between otherwise very different conc ...
ic representation of
gnosis.
The hymn has been preserved and especially treasured in
Manichaeism – a version of it appears as part of a
Coptic
Coptic may refer to:
Afro-Asia
* Copts, an ethnoreligious group mainly in the area of modern Egypt but also in Sudan and Libya
* Coptic language, a Northern Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Egypt until at least the 17th century
* Coptic alphabet ...
Manichaean psalm book and is called the
Psalms of Thomas. The Hymn of the Pearl has also been admired by
Orthodox Christian
Orthodoxy (from Greek: ) is adherence to correct or accepted creeds, especially in religion.
Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical councils in Antiquity, but different Churche ...
thinkers and members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (
Mormons
Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...
).
Extracts from the text
The following text is from
Wikisource, which contains the
full text of the hymn.
References
Further reading
* Barnstone, Willis; Meyer, Marvin (2005).
The Gnostic Bible: Gnostic Texts of Mystical Wisdom from the Ancient and Medieval Worlds' Shambhala Publications, Boston MA. . pp. 386–394.
* Myers, Susan E. (2010).
Spirit Epicleses in the Acts of Thomas'. Mohr Siebeck, . pp. 71–74.
External links
Audio with commentaryAudio of the Hymn of the Pearl translated and read by Willis BarnstoneChiastic outline of Hymn of the Robe of Glory
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hymn Of The Pearl
2nd-century Christian texts
Texts in Syriac
Gnostic texts
New Testament apocrypha
Pearls in religion