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Glite Dictionary
Nag Hammadi

Nag Hammadi

9.9
A collection of thirteen ancient books found in Egypt in 1945 that contain early Christian and Gnostic writings
  • proper noun
  • /næɡ hɑːˈmɑːdi/
translation icon : Nag Hammadi
  • The discovery of the Nag Hammadi codices provided scholars with new insights into early Christian and Gnostic beliefs.

Examples

  • Researchers continue to study the Nag Hammadi manuscripts to better understand ancient religious thought.

  • Many of the texts found at Nag Hammadi had been lost for centuries and are invaluable to historians of religion.

  • The Nag Hammadi library contains many significant early Christian texts.

  • Have you read the Nag Hammadi scriptures?

  • In 1945, a farmer discovered the Nag Hammadi library, which contained ancient Gnostic texts.

  • Scholarly interest in the Nag Hammadi collection has grown since its discovery in Egypt, revealing new insights into early Christianity.

  • The Nag Hammadi manuscripts offer a unique perspective on Gnostic beliefs from the early centuries of the Christian era.

Synonyms

Nag Hammadi Library
vsNag Hammadi
9.9

A group of 13 old books found near Nag Hammadi, Egypt, in 1945 containing early Christian and Gnostic writings

focuses on texts translated from Greek into Coptic rather than originally written

Surface Forms

Nag Hammadi main

Morphology

Nag + Hammadi

Nag Hammadi is a proper name (a toponym and the title of a manuscript collection) whose meaning depends on specific historical and cultural knowledge; the individual parts 'Nag' and 'Hammadi' do not contribute compositional semantic information that would let a B1 learner infer 'a collection of ancient texts'. Because understanding this term requires encyclopedic background rather than knowledge of constituent words or standard compositional patterns, it is not transparent to learners.

Etymology

Nag Hammadi is the name of an Egyptian town where, in 1945, a farmer found a buried jar of old religious books hidden near the town. One popular story says these books became an important 'collection of ancient texts', so today Nag Hammadi is used to name those manuscripts found there.