Yaldabaoth

A depiction of Yaldabaoth as a lion-faced, serpentine deity on a Gnostic gem in Bernard de Montfaucon's L'antiquité expliquée et représentée en figures.

Yaldabaoth, sometimes spelled Jaldabaoth or Ialdabaoth (/ˌjɑːldəˈbeɪɒθ/; Koine Greek: Ιαλδαβαώθ, romanized: Ialdabaóth; Latin: Ialdabaoth; Coptic: ⲒⲀⲖⲦⲀⲂⲀⲰⲐ Ialtabaôth), is a malevolent god and demiurge (creator of the material world) according to various Gnostic sects, represented sometimes as a theriomorphic, lion-headed serpent. He is identified as a false god who keeps souls trapped in physical bodies, imprisoned in the material universe.

The origins of the name Yaldabaoth are heavily debated, with scholars proposing a variety of meanings generally stemming from Hebrew and Aramaic. David M. Litwa traces the myth of Yaldabaoth himself to the practice of interpretatio graeca, which Egyptians of the Ptolemaic Kingdom adopted from the Greeks. They identified traits of Yahweh, the Jewish god, with the Egyptian god Set, whom they considered malevolent. Set's Hellenistic depiction as having a donkey head was used by Egyptians to mock Yahweh and Jews in response to Jews mocking Egyptians as beast worshippers. This concept of Yahweh as an evil donkey-headed god spread among the Greco-Roman world, leading some Gnostics to conceive of Yaldabaoth as an evil version of the Christian god.

Depending on the particular Gnostic tradition, Yaldabaoth is considered the uniparental son of Sophia. Yaldabaoth works to suppress the divine spark within humans which was instilled by Sophia, as well as demanding that humans acknowledge him as God. Some Gnostic sects regard Yaldabaoth as the God of the Old Testament whom they consider malevolent, as opposed to the good Monad who created the spiritual world, though others consider him incompetent rather than malevolent. Biblical events such as the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, the Flood, and the crucifixion of Jesus are viewed as punishments by Yaldabaoth upon those who reject him.