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Concept
Yaldabaoth
Summary
Yaldabaoth, otherwise known as Jaldabaoth or Ialdabaoth (ˌjɑːldəˈbeɪɒθ; ⲒⲀⲖⲦⲀⲂⲀⲰⲐ, Ialdabaoth, Greek: Ιαλδαβαώθ ) is a malevolent God and creator of the material world in various Gnostic sects and movements, sometimes represented as a theriomorphic, lion-headed serpent. He is identified as the Demiurge and false god who keeps the souls trapped in physical bodies, imprisoned in the material universe.
The etymology of the name Yaldabaoth has been subject to many speculative theories. Until 1974, etymologies deriving from the unattested Aramaic: בהותא, romanized: bāhūthā, supposedly meaning "chaos", represented the majority view. Following an analysis by the Jewish historian of religion Gershom Scholem published in 1974, this etymology no longer enjoyed any notable support. His analysis showed the unattested Aramaic term to have been fabulated and attested only in a single corrupted text from 1859, with its claimed translation having been transposed from the reading of an earlier etymology, whose explanation seemingly equated "darkness" and "chaos" when translating an unattested supposed plural form of בוהו.
The first etymology was advanced in 1575 by Feuardentius, supposedly translating it from Hebrew to mean a patribus genitus. A theory proposed by Matter in 1828 claimed to have identified the name as descending from ילדא and from בהות, a supposed plural form of בוהו. Matter however interpreted it to mean 'chaos', thus translating Yaldaboath as "child of darkness [...] an element of chaos".
This etymology was popular due to its perceived literary merits. It inspired Hilgenfeld to keep Matter's proposed 'chaos' translation, while fabulating a more plausible sounding, but unattested second noun: Aramaic: בהותא, romanized: bāhūthā. Claiming the name to derive from Aramaic: ילדא בהותא, romanized: yaldā bāhūthā supposedly meaning 'child of chaos' in 1884. This became the late 19th, early 20th century majority view, which was supported by Schenke, Böhlig, and Labib. The latter two also cited a supposed attestation for Aramaic: בהותא, romanized: bāhūthā, lit.
Official source
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