A Seal, a Cipher, and A Name

In David Wiley’s article, ‘The Forty Day Teachings of Christ in the Books of Jeu and the Pistis Sophia: A Gnostic Endowment’ originally published online circa 1994 he explains the meanings of ‘a seal,’ ‘a cipher,’ and‘a name.’
First Jeu is dominated by the Lord teaching the disciples three things time and time again: a seal, a cipher, and a name. (1 Jeu. pp. 84, 85, 86, 91, 92, 109, 113, 118, etc.. All make similar references to coming to a special place and holding a cipher in the hand, sealing one's self with a seal, and saying a name. To quote all of the occurrences would be needlessly redundant.)

“When you come to this place, seal yourselves with this seal: . . . ,while the cipher 70331 [?] is in your hand. Furthermore say this name. . . three times, and the watchers and the veils are drawn back, until you go into the place of their Father and he gives (you his seal and name) and you cross over (the gate into his treasury).” (1Jeu. p. 83.)

The Gnostics believed they had something secret and precious, which they wanted to keep to themselves and their initiates. Ms. MacDermot's renderings of yhfoz, sfragixein, and sfragiz as "cipher," "to seal," and "seal" help preserve that aura of secrecy and mystery. However, for our purposes, a translation which is clearer, as opposed to one which better preserves atmosphere, will enhance our understanding of exactly what is going on. I found that some work with a few lexicons and context clues went a long way toward blowing away the fog of mysticism.
First consider the word Ms. MacDermot has translated "cipher," yhfoz. One lexicon (Bauer, Walter. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. Second edition of the fourth revised and augmented edition. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 1979. p. 892.) defines it as a "pebble. . .used in voting, in juries and elsewhere; a black one for conviction, a white one for acquittal." A second (Liddel, Henry G. and Robert Scott. A Greek-English Lexicon. Clarendon Press: Oxford. 1968. pp. 892. ) gives "a pebble used for reckoning," "a counter," and "a pebble used in voting." Still a third (The Analytical Greek Lexicon. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1975. p. 442. (Hereafter cited as TAGL).) renders yhfoz "a pebble variously employed" and "a pebble or stone probably given as a token." The meaning now becomes clearer. The Lord is giving His disciples something, which is "in the hand," which will be a token of their "acquittal," or their having received the necessary ordinances and instructions the Lord is giving them. Recognition of this by the watchers will be a essential step in the process of passing the watchers and going through the veil into the place of the Father. Although "cipher," which Ms. MacDermot has chosen, does create a certain atmosphere, for clarity I will use "token" as yhfoz throughout the rest of this paper. (Interestingly enough, this same word "yhfoz" is the word translated "white stone" in Rev. 2:17. " He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth [it]." Read the verse again, substituting "token" in place of "white stone." With the token one receives not only a name, but a "new name.")

Next let us turn to the words rendered as "to seal" and "seal," sfragixein and sfragiz. Our first lexicon (Bauer. p.796.) gives the following for sfragixw: to "mark (with a seal) as a means of identification... so that the mark which denotes ownership also carries with it the protection of the owner." Again, to "provide with a mark of identification." The second (Liddel and Scott. p. 1742. ) gives to "authenticate a document with a seal," and to "certify an object after examination by attaching a seal." And our third lexicon (TAGL. p. 394.) renders it as "to mark distinctively as invested with a certain character." The same lexicons, on the same pages, also define sfragiz as a "seal. . .sign or stamp of approval," "impression of a signet-ring, seal," and "a seal, distinctive mark. . .a token, proof." Once again, the meaning begins to clear up. I feel safe in suggesting that Christ isn't stamping His celestial signet-ring on the fore heads of the disciples. What He is doing is giving them a sign by which they can authenticate or identify themselves as having received the ordinances and instructions to the watchers, and perhaps even to other initiates. Again, I think the words "identify" and "sign" are more easily understood than Ms. MacDermot's readings. Applying our new understanding, the passage most recently quoted would read

When you come to this place, :. . ., while the 70331 is in your hand. Furthermore say this name . . . three times, and the watchers and the veils are drawn back, until you go into the place of their Father and he gives (you his and name) and you cross over (the gate into his treasury).( Text in <> is my rendering. The name is important to know as well, as in The Gospel of Philip "If one does not acquire the name for himself, the name Christian will also be taken from him. . .[for he who receives the name] is no longer a Christian but a Christ.")

Using the tokens, names, and signs which the Lord has taught the disciples, ("Be patient and I will say it to you." Response like this to the disciples' requests to be taught greater and greater mysteries show that the ordinance itself involved oral instruction.) the receiver is allowed to approach the innermost area of the Treasury (of Light, where he will be taught a new series.

"Again you will pass in to their interior to the rank of the veils which are drawn before the great ruler (king) of the Treasury of the Light. They will give to you their great mystery and their and the great name of the Treasury of the Light. And they will be drawn back until you cross over and pass into them, until you reach the great Man, he who is the ruler (king) of this whole Treasury of Light, whose name is Jeu."2Jeu. p. 122.)

By employing the newly learned names, etc. the recipient will be enabled to pass through "until [he] reach[es] the great Man, he who is ruler of this whole Treasury of Light. . . ." Equating the ruler of the Treasury of Light and our Heavenly Father is natural, but the reference to God Himself being a "great Man" is rather unusual. (Unusual to modern Christians, perhaps, but not an uncommon theme in the literature of the time. These people understood that as children of God, we have incredible potential within us as well. Consider these quotes from the Gospel of Philip: "A horse sires a horse, a man begets a man, a god brings god." We are literally children of our Father in Heaven, or gods in embryo. What adult was there who never was a child?) However, it has a familiar ring to those acquainted with the words of the prophet Lorenzo Snow, "as man is, God once was; as God now is, man may be."( Snow, Lorenzo. Teachings of Lorenzo Snow. Bookcraft, 1984. p. 2.) President Snow explained this couplet:

"Now, how is it that God proposes to confer this mighty honor upon us and to raise us to this condition of glory and exaltation? Who are we that God should do all this for us? Why, we are just beginning to find out that we are the offspring of God, born with the same faculties and powers as He possesses, capable of enlargement through the experience that we are now passing through in our second estate. Let me illustrate. Here is an emperor sitting upon his throne, governing and controlling his empire wisely and properly. He has an infant son that sits upon the knee of its mother. That son he proposes to one day set upon his throne, to govern and control his empire. Here is that infant, perfectly helpless, not knowing how to sustain its own life, not able to walk alone, without any knowledge; and here is this mighty emperor sitting upon his throne and governing his vast empire. Who would believe that he could raise that infant up to such a condition as to make it suitable to be placed on his throne? No one would, unless he had seen such things accomplished in his experience; seen the infant develop into boyhood, and then to manhood, possessing all the powers, faculties and possibilities of its father. Now, we are the sons and daughters of God. He has begotten us in His own image. He has given us faculties and powers that are capable of enlargement until His fulness is reached which He has promised -- until we shall sit upon thrones, governing and controlling our posterity from eternity to eternity, and increasing eternally. That is the fact in regard to these matters." (Ibid, p. 2-3. )