Who is Barbelo?

Who is Barbelo and does he/she relate to the father?

This is taken from the Gnostic Scriptures (edited by Marvin Meyer)

"He reflects on his image everywhere see it in the spring of the spirit, and bcomes enamored of his luminous water, for his image is in the spring of pure lumious water surronding him." (pg 141, Secret Book of John)

What does this mean? I'm a little confused by it. I read a bit later in the footnote on that same page, footnote 18(for all those who have it)

"Through this love of the father for his own image the father's thought emanted, and the first thought or forethough comes form the mind of hte father : the divine mother Barbelo."

So I guess what I'm asking on this is, who is Barbelo and is Barbelo a she or a he. It looks by this passage that Barbelo is a she, but what is she? Physical or spirtual?

"When the spirit consented, foreknowledge appeared and stood by forethought" (pg 142, Secret Book of John)

Who is this spirit?

"Incorrubility glorified the invisible one and Barbelo." (pg 142, Secret Book of John)

Who is the invisilble one?

I'll have more questions later on Barbelo! Thanks guys!:dan:

Barbelo is the forethought, or first thought of God. She is the first thing to come into existance that is in any way distinct from God.

She is the reflection of God. She is like God in every way, but is more like an image in the mirror - separate from but also one with God.

She is like God's hands, through Her everything else is created by the will of God.
She is androgynous i.e. male/female. But i think she is referred to as female so that she can be the mother figure to God's father figure. Not that she is God's wife or partner, she is a part of God, not totally a separate being.

The invisible spirit, the incorruptable one, is God - the source of all things.

Halcyon said:

She is like God's hands, through Her everything else is created by the will of God.
She is androgynous i.e. male/female. But i think she is referred to as female so that she can be the mother figure to God's father figure. Not that she is God's wife or partner, she is a part of God, not totally a separate being.

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In another word, you are saying that Barbelo is the extension of the One, not a separate entity (ie Goddess)?

I'd suppose that would make sense, if you want to make the Gnostic One/Barbelo in to the One God.

Comet said:

In the begining there was the word, and the word was with GOD.

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Well, there are some people who believe differently. So let them explain this to me. This is not a debate. Thank you.

gnostic said:

In another word, you are saying that Barbelo is the extension of the One, not a separate entity (ie Goddess)?

I'd suppose that would make sense, if you want to make the Gnostic One/Barbelo in to the One God.

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Kind of. I don't think she is an extension of the One, she is part of the One. There is only one true God, but there are many facets of the divine mind that appear in many different forms.

beckysoup61 said:

Well, there are some people who believe differently. So let them explain this to me. This is not a debate. Thank you.

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I was not trying to debate, I was trying to explain in the way I understand what you asked. Things such as GOD are complicated and we all understand differently. Sorry you took offense to my reply, I intended nothing but help for you.

I think Barbelo is God's consistent Will. The Energy in which He reacts His Thoughts.
Jesus is The Word. Together this is The Holy Trinity of Thought/Word/Action in a Divine perspective. I don't remember exactly, but I think it's the Apocryphon of James that states that Sophia proposed the Creation and Barbelo consented because He knew it was good.

illuminatingtherapy said:

I think Barbelo is God's consistent Will. The Energy in which He reacts His Thoughts.
Jesus is The Word. Together this is The Holy Trinity of Thought/Word/Action in a Divine perspective. I don't remember exactly, but I think it's the Apocryphon of James that states that Sophia proposed the Creation and Barbelo consented because He knew it was good.

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barbelo is not a man

Halcyon said:

Barbelo is the forethought, or first thought of God. She is the first thing to come into existance that is in any way distinct from God.

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That sounds a bit like Athena being born by escaping from the head of Zeus.


eudaimonia,

Mark

Eudaimonist said:

That sounds a bit like Athena being born by escaping from the head of Zeus.

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Kinda, that connection has been made before.

Halcyon said:

Kinda, that connection has been made before.

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thats because mythologies were shared in the ancient world. (well, stolen....)

Bishka said:

Who is Barbelo and does he/she relate to the father?

This is taken from the Gnostic Scriptures (edited by Marvin Meyer)

"He reflects on his image everywhere see it in the spring of the spirit, and bcomes enamored of his luminous water, for his image is in the spring of pure lumious water surronding him." (pg 141, Secret Book of John)

What does this mean? I'm a little confused by it. I read a bit later in the footnote on that same page, footnote 18(for all those who have it)

"Through this love of the father for his own image the father's thought emanted, and the first thought or forethough comes form the mind of hte father : the divine mother Barbelo."

So I guess what I'm asking on this is, who is Barbelo and is Barbelo a she or a he. It looks by this passage that Barbelo is a she, but what is she? Physical or spirtual?

"When the spirit consented, foreknowledge appeared and stood by forethought" (pg 142, Secret Book of John)

Who is this spirit?

"Incorrubility glorified the invisible one and Barbelo." (pg 142, Secret Book of John)

Who is the invisilble one?

I'll have more questions later on Barbelo! Thanks guys!:dan:

Click to expand...

Barbelo is not a person - in Hebrew the name means "The field of the Tribute", as I discuss in my book *EDIT*

Bishka said:

Who is Barbelo and does he/she relate to the father?

This is taken from the Gnostic Scriptures (edited by Marvin Meyer)

"He reflects on his image everywhere see it in the spring of the spirit, and bcomes enamored of his luminous water, for his image is in the spring of pure lumious water surronding him." (pg 141, Secret Book of John)

What does this mean? I'm a little confused by it. I read a bit later in the footnote on that same page, footnote 18(for all those who have it)

"Through this love of the father for his own image the father's thought emanted, and the first thought or forethough comes form the mind of hte father : the divine mother Barbelo."

So I guess what I'm asking on this is, who is Barbelo and is Barbelo a she or a he. It looks by this passage that Barbelo is a she, but what is she? Physical or spirtual?

"When the spirit consented, foreknowledge appeared and stood by forethought" (pg 142, Secret Book of John)

Who is this spirit?

"Incorrubility glorified the invisible one and Barbelo." (pg 142, Secret Book of John)

Who is the invisilble one?

I'll have more questions later on Barbelo! Thanks guys!:dan:

Click to expand...

Barbelo is a place known as the immortal realm. when he says, "he reflects..." he is speaking of those who find themselves in the immortal realm. That is why it is interchangeable with he/she.

The spirit is the life giving truth. The truth is not an actual person. The truth is living but does not necessarily manifest a body. The spirit is within all and has to manifest himself as our own bodies. The invisible one is the same as the truth. The life spirit cannot be seen because he manifests no body and yet manifests himself in everything. In the beginning there was just this very same spirit and that same time he manifested the light as his own body. Then we appeared within that light. And from there we were dispersed into creation. The truth is invisible, that very same spirit, however, he becomes known through the body. We know the truth exists because we are the body and his life within the body. That's what a man must realize is the life-giver in our own bodies. When a man can do this he can return to the light.

illuminatingtherapy said:

I think Barbelo is God's consistent Will. The Energy in which He reacts His Thoughts.
Jesus is The Word. Together this is The Holy Trinity of Thought/Word/Action in a Divine perspective. I don't remember exactly, but I think it's the Apocryphon of James that states that Sophia proposed the Creation and Barbelo consented because He knew it was good.

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Illuminatingtherapy,
You can read the Apocryphon of James here:
The Secret Book of James
It does not mention Sophia or Barbelo, but there are some things about the Apocryphon of James that I did not understand, so I made a thread asking about it here:
The Apocryphon of James (1st - mid-2nd century) Questions.

To address what you said, the Apocryphon of John talks about Barbelo. Wikipedia's article on Barbelo says:

In the Apocryphon of John, a tractate in the Nag Hammadi Library containing the most extensive recounting of the Sethian creation myth, the Barbēlō is described as "the first power, the glory, Barbēlō, the perfect glory in the aeons, the glory of the revelation". All subsequent acts of creation within the divine sphere (save, crucially, that of the lowest aeon Sophia) occurs through her coaction with God.

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