1 All citations from On the Origin of the World are from The Nag Hammadi Library, ed. James Robinson, rev. ed. (San Francisco: Harper, 1988). For ease of reference, they will be cited in the body of the article by original text page and line number, as indicated in Robinson's edition.

2 Hans Jonas, The Gnostic Religion (Boston: Beacon, 1991, 2nd edition) 32.

3Esoterikos can be defined as private or secret, especially as understood by a select few who have special knowledge,

4 For a concise overview of Gnosticism see: www.gnostic.org.

5 Elaine Pagels, "Adam, Eve and the Serpent in Genesis 1-3," in Images of the Feminine in Gnosticism, 412. Other Nag Hammadi texts which include the Genesis creation account(s) are: Gospel of Philip, Exegesis on the Soul, Hypostasis of the Archon, Thunder: Perfect Mind, Apocryphon of John and Apocalypse of Adam.

6 Giovanni Filoramo, A History of Gnosticism, 52-53.

7 All citations from OW are taken from The Nag Hammadi Library, ed. James Robinson, rev. ed. (San Francisco: Harper, 1988). They will be cited in the body of the article by original text page and line number, as indicated in Robinson's edition.

8 The reader is reminded that in the first chapter of Genesis humankind is created "male and female" simultaneously by God.

9 All biblical quotations are taken from The New Revised Standard Version, issued by the National Council of the Churches of Christ, 1989.

10 In fairness to Paul, it should be noted that he continues this dialogue by stating that "just as woman came from man, so man comes through woman."

11 Ambrose, Paradise, 4.24, 10.48. For a collection of writings from Ambrose and other "Early Church Fathers" see: http://ccel.wheaton.edu/fathers2/ .

12 Augustine, The Literal Meaning of Genesis, 11.37. To view both Latin and English versions of Augustine's works see: http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/jod/augustine.html .

13 The analogy of movement between Adam and the serpent is intriguing here.

14 The etymology of the Hebrew word "Eve" has been interpreted in various ways, including "first woman," "mothers of all living things" or, even "serpent" – thus associating her with the concept that all life originated in a primeval serpent.

15 Martin Luther, Lectures on Genesis, volume I of Luther's Works, 69, 151, 202. Quotations taken from Margaret Miles, Carnal Knowing (New York: Vintage, 1991) 107-112. Some of the works of Luther can be found on the Wittenberg Project's site:

http://www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/wittenberg/wittenberg-luther.html .

16 Michael Williams, "Variety in Gnostic Perspectives on Gender," Images of the Feminine in Gnosticism, (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1988) 8.

17 Jerry D. Meyer, "Profane and Sacred: Religious Imagery and Prophetic Expression in Postmodern Art." Journal of the American Academy of Religion LXV/1, 42.