부산대학교 도서관

A text entitled "The Hymn of Judas Thomas the Apostle in the country of the Indians" in the apocryphal "The Acts of Thomas" has long been noticeable for the study of Gnosticism. This text, which has a content independent of the general narrative of the book in which it appears, has been discussed for its hymn-like structure and content that recalls many characteristic features of Gnosticism. Various scholars are of the opinion that this hymn carries a burden of meaning in the context of Christian theology and doctrine of salvation, even though it is independent of the general theme of the book in which it appears. On the other hand, many scholars of Gnosticism believe that this hymn is an important text reflecting early Gnosticism. Various opinions have been put forward regarding the origin of the text, which is called “the Hymn of the Pearl" or “the Hymn of the Soul" based on its content, the cultural world to which it belongs, and the characteristics of the themes in its content. This study will examine the text, generally known as the "the Hymn of the Pearl", with reference to the question of whether Gnostic dualism, one of the characteristic features of Gnosticism exists, and will draw attention to its parallelism with the Gnostic doctrines in the Mandaean literature. The main thesis of this study is that the Hymn of the Pearl of which main theme is the salvation of the pearl, that is captive in the world of darkness, is a text within early Christian Gnosticism based on Gnostic dualism and the doctrine of salvation.