Apocryphon of John 11

1He also established seven kings, each corresponding to the heavenly firmaments above the seven heavens, and five over the depths of the abyss, so that they would rule.

2He also shared his fire with them, but he did not send out any of the power of the light he had obtained from his mother, because he is ignorant darkness. When the light combined with the darkness, it made the darkness shine; and when the darkness combined with the light, it darkened the light. It became neither light nor darkness, but grew gloomy.

3The feeble archon has three names. The first name is Yaltabaoth, the second is Saklas, and the third is Samael. He is wicked in the pride within him, because he said, “I am God, and there is no god other than me.” For he is unaware of his own strength and of the place from which he originated.

4The archons also created seven powers for themselves, and each of the powers created six angels for themselves, so that they numbered 365 angels. These are the bodies that pertain to the names:

5The first ‹is› Athoth—he has the face of a sheep; the second is Eloaiou—he has the face of a donkey; the third is Astaphaios—he has the face of a [hyena]; the fourth is Yao—he has the face of a seven-headed [dragon]; the fifth is Sabaoth—he has the face of a dragon; the sixth is Adonin—he has the face of a monkey; the seventh is Sabbede—he has the face of a glowing fire.

6These are the sevenfold (aspect) of the week.

7Yaltabaoth, however, had a multitude «12» of faces—more than all the others—so that when he was among the seraphs, he was able to put on any face before all of them, as he wished.

8Because he shared his fire with them, he became their overlord.

9Because of the glorious power he possessed through his mother’s light, he called himself God, and he was disobedient to the place from which he had originated.

10He also joined the seven powers within his thought together with the authorities who were with him. When he spoke, it happened, and he named each of the powers, beginning with the highest:

11The first is Goodness, together with the first authority, Athoth; the second is Providence, together with the second authority, Eloaio; the third is Divinity, together with the third authority, Astraphaio; the fourth is Lordship, together with the fourth authority, Yao; the fifth is Kingdom, together with the fifth authority, Sabaoth; the sixth is Jealousy, together with the sixth authority, Adonein; the seventh is Sophia, together with the seventh authority, Sabbateon.

12These also have a firmament corresponding to each heavenly aeon.

13They were given names corresponding to the glory of the heavenly beings, to bring about the [annihilation of the] powers. But power dwelt in the names given to [them by] their originator, while the names given to them in accordance with the glory of the heavenly beings will mean annihilation and feebleness for them.

14In this way, they have two names.

15[Further, after] creating [everything, he organized] them according to the likeness of the first aeons that had come into being, so that he could «13» create them after the likeness of the indestructible ones.

16It was not because he had seen the indestructible beings, but because of the power within him, which he had obtained from his mother, that he generated within himself the likeness of the world. When he saw the creation around him and the host of angels around him, which had issued from him, he declared to them, “I am a jealous God, and there is no God other than me.”

17By declaring this, however, he indicated to the angels attending him that there is another God. For if there were no other, how could he be jealous of another?

18The mother then began “to {move:3} back and forth,” becoming aware of the deficiency as the brightness of her light decreased, and she grew dark because her companion had not agreed together with her.