Gospel of Thomas

Not to be confused with Acts of Thomas, Book of Thomas the Contender, or Infancy Gospel of Thomas.

Gospel of Thomas
Nag Hammadi Codex II:
The beginning of the Gospel of Thomas
Information
ReligionChristianity
AuthorAttributed to Thomas
LanguageCoptic, Greek
PeriodEarly Christianity
(possibly Apostolic Age)
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The Gospel of Thomas (also known as the Coptic Gospel of Thomas) is an extra-canonical[1] sayings gospel. It was discovered near Nag Hammadi, Egypt, in 1945 among a group of books known as the Nag Hammadi library. Scholars speculate the works were buried in response to a letter from Bishop Athanasius declaring a strict canon of Christian scripture. Most scholars place the composition during the second century, [2][3] while others have proposed dates as late as 250 AD with signs of origins perhaps dating back to 60 AD.[4][5] Many scholars have seen it as evidence of the existence of a "Q source" that might have been similar in its form as a collection of sayings of Jesus, without any accounts of his deeds or his life and death, referred to as a sayings gospel, though most conclude that Thomas depends on or harmonizes the Synoptics.[6][7][8]

The Coptic-language text, the second of seven contained in what scholars have designated as Nag Hammadi Codex II, is composed of 114 sayings attributed to Jesus. Almost two-thirds of these sayings resemble those found in the canonical gospels[9] and its editio princeps counts more than 80% of parallels,[10] while it is speculated that the other sayings were added from Gnostic tradition.[11] Its place of origin may have been Syria, where Thomasine traditions were strong.[12] Other scholars have suggested an Alexandrian origin.[13]

The introduction states: "These are the hidden words that the living Jesus spoke and Didymos Judas Thomas wrote them down."[14] Didymus (Koine Greek) and Thomas (Aramaic) both mean "twin". Most scholars do not consider the Apostle Thomas the author of this document; the author remains unknown.[15] Because of its discovery with the Nag Hammadi library, and the cryptic nature, it was widely thought the document originated within a school of early Christians, proto-Gnostics.[16][17] By contrast, critics have questioned whether the description of Thomas as an entirely gnostic gospel is based solely on the fact it was found along with gnostic texts at Nag Hammadi.[18][17]

The Gospel of Thomas is very different in tone and structure from other New Testament apocrypha and the four canonical Gospels. Unlike the canonical Gospels, it is not a narrative account of Jesus' life; instead, it consists of logia (sayings) attributed to Jesus, sometimes stand-alone, sometimes embedded in short dialogues or parables; 13 of its 16 parables are also found in the Synoptic Gospels. The text contains a possible allusion to the death of Jesus in logion 65[19] (Parable of the Wicked Husbandmen), but does not mention his crucifixion, his resurrection, or the Last Judgment; nor does it mention a messianic understanding of Jesus.[20][21]

  1. ^ Foster (2008), p. 16.
  2. ^ Bock (2006), p. 61,63.
  3. ^ Ehrman, Bart (2003). Lost Christianities. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. xi–xii. ISBN 978-0-19-514183-2.
  4. ^ Valantasis (1997), p. 12.
  5. ^ Porter (2010), p. 9.
  6. ^ Meier (1991), pp. 135–138.
  7. ^ Schnelle (2007), p. 230.
  8. ^ McLean, Bradley H. (1994). "Chapter 13: On the Gospel of Thomas and Q". In Piper, Ronald A. (ed.). The Gospel behind the Gospels: Current Studies on Q. Brill. pp. 321–345. ISBN 978-90-04-09737-7.
  9. ^ Linssen (2020).
  10. ^ Guillaumont et al. (1959), pp. 59–62.
  11. ^ Ehrman (2003b), pp. 19–20.
  12. ^ Dunn & Rogerson (2003), p. 1574.
  13. ^ Brown (2019).
  14. ^ Patterson, Robinson & Bethge (1998).
  15. ^ DeConick (2006), p. 2.
  16. ^ Layton (1987), p. 361.
  17. ^ a b Ehrman (2003a), p. 59.
  18. ^ Davies (1983a), pp. 23–24.
  19. ^ DeConick (2006), p. 214.
  20. ^ McGrath (2006), p. 12.
  21. ^ Dunn & Rogerson (2003), p. 1573.