On the Origin of the World · 3 of 28

The Manifestation of Yaldabaoth

1. Instead, matter dwelt inside Chaos, dwelling inside one of its sections, and when these things had transpired, Pistis then arrived and manifested above the matter of Chaos, which had been ejected like an aborted fetus, given that nothing of spirit dwelt in it, because it was completely infinite darkness and bottomless water.

2. When Pistis had seen what resulted from her defect, she then grew troubled, and the troubling manifested as a frightful created entity which hastened to her in the Chaos.

3. She turned herself toward it and blew into its face inside the Abyss, which dwells beneath all the heavens, and when Pistis Sophia willed that the entity without spirit would be formed into a likeness and would rule over matter, as well as over all her hosts, an androgynous archon looking like a lion manifested itself for the first time from out of the waters, possessing great authority inside himself, and not knowing from where he had come to be.

4. Now, as Pistis Sophia watched him moving around inside the watery depths, she said to him, “Child, pass over to here,” which is the same as yalda-baoth.

5. From that day, the law of verbal articulation manifested itself, which extended to the gods, and to the angels, and to humanity, and what had come to be as a consequence of verbal articulation was completed by the gods, and the angels, and humanity.

6. Now, regarding the archon Yaltabaoth, he was unaware of the force of Pistis, not seeing her face, but instead seeing in the water the likeness that conversed with him, and on account of that voice, he called himself “Yald‹ab›aoth.”

7. “Ariael,” however, is what the perfect ones call him, because he resembled a lion.

8. Now, when he had gained authority over matter, Pistis Sophia retreated up into her light.