The Development of the Canon of the New Testament

Gospel of Basilides (Alexandria, 117-138 CE)

Nothing from the Gospel of Basilides survives to us. The book is mentioned by Origen, Jerome, Ambrose, Philip of Side, and Venerable Bede.

Basilides was a scholarly Gnostic who taught in Alexandria during the reign of Emperor Hadrian 117-138 CE. In the 130s he wrote the Exegetica, a considerable work comprising 24 books of which only a few fragments have been preserved in quotes from Clement, Origen, and Irenaeus. From these fragments some scholars have put forth conjectures on what this Gospel may be like, but all of them must remain uncertain. For discussion see [Schneemelcher] v. 1 pp. 398.