(Texts and Editions For New Testament Study 11) Simon Gathercole - The Gospel of Thomas - Introduction and Commentary-Brill Academic Publishers (2014) PDF

The Gospel of Thomas
Texts and Editions for

New Testament Study
Edited by
Stanley E. Porter and Wendy J. Porter
volume 11
The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/tent

Introduction and Commentary
By
Simon Gathercole
leiden | boston
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Gathercole, Simon J.
The Gospel of Thomas : introduction and commentary / by Simon Gathercole.
pages cm. – (Texts and editions for New Testament study ; volume 11)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-90-04-19041-2 (hardback : alk. paper) – ISBN 978-90-04-27325-2 (e-book)
1. Gospel of Thomas (Coptic Gospel)–Criticism, interpretation, etc. I. Title.
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Contents
Acknowledgements vii
Preface ix
Abbreviations xii
Introduction
1 Manuscripts 3
2 A Comparison of the Greek and Coptic Texts 14

Appended Note: Thomas as a ‘Rolling Corpus’? 24
3 Named Testimonia to Thomas 35
4 Early References to the Contents of Thomas 62
5 The Original Language of Thomas 91
6 The Provenance of Thomas 103
7 The Date of Thomas (with Authorship) 112
8 The Structure of Thomas 128
9 The Genre of Thomas 137
10 The Religious Outlook of Thomas 144

Appended Note: Is Thomas “Gnostic”? 168
11 Thomas, the New Testament and the Historical Jesus 176
12 The Plan of the Commentary 185

vi contents
Commentary
Prologue, Logia 1–114, Subscriptio 189–618

Appended Notes:
The Relation between GTh 12 and 13 (after GTh 12) 256
ⲙⲟⲛⲁⲭⲟⲥ in the Gospel of Thomas (after GTh 16) 278
The Five Trees in Paradise (after GTh 19) 293
A Scribal Error in Q? (after GTh 36) 360
Bibliography 619
Index locorum 674
Author Index 709
Subject Index 719
Acknowledgements
I have incurred a number of debts in course of writing this commentary. First,

I must thank my Toshiba Portege R600-140 computer, which, like the apostle
Paul in 1Corinthians, died every day, for about the last two years of this project,
and yet always started up again.
I should thank my former colleagues in the University of Aberdeen, and
present colleagues in Cambridge, who have made New Testament study such
a stimulating and enjoyable experience in both places: Francis Watson (now
in Durham), Andrew Clarke, Howard Marshall, Pete Williams, Judith Lieu,
Andrew Chester, James Carleton Paget, Justin Meggitt, Peter Head, Dirk Jong-
kind, Chip Coakley, Morna Hooker, William Horbury and the late Graham Stan-
ton. I have also learned a considerable amount from Douglas Hedley and Barrie
Fleet in the Plotinus seminar in our Faculty, and have also benefited immensely
from the remarkable learning of the members of the Ancient Philosophy sem-
inar in the Faculty of Classics, not least David Sedley, Malcolm Schofield, Geof-
frey Lloyd, Myles Burnyeat, Nick Denyer and James Warren. David Shaw and
Peter Gurry read the whole of the manuscript and made a great many useful
comments (and corrections), for which I am profoundly grateful. I am grate-
ful to Dr Robert Crellin (formerly of the Faculty of Classics in Cambridge; now,
Greek Bible College, Athens) for helping me to navigate the murky waters of
Greek verbal aspect. Jim Aitken helped me enormously when in trouble with
fonts.
Pete Williams deserves special thanks, because it was initial conversations
with him in Aberdeen which were the stimulus for embarking on this project,
and I am very grateful for his help in Coptic matters.
I am thankful for the staff at Brill, especially Mattie Kuiper, for their patience
before and after receiving the manuscript. Stanley Porter kindly accepted the
proposed volume for inclusion in the Texts and Editions for New Testament
Study series. I must also acknowledge with immense appreciation grants from
the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the British Academy for their
generous provisions of periods of sabbatical leave for the academic years 2004–
2005 (in which the book was started) and 2011–2012 when the bulk of the work
was finished.
My parents have as always been a constant source of encouragement. I am
grateful above all to my wife Rosie, and children Martha and Freddie, without
whom this book would have been finished much sooner, but fortunately wasn’t.
I owe an enormous debt both intellectually and personally to my colleague
James Carleton Paget. As one far more learned in second-century matters than
viii acknowledgements
I, he has been an excellent teacher to me, as well as an extremely generous

friend, reading a great deal of the ‘Thomasina’ here and tirelessly discussing
numerous parts of it. I dedicate this book to him in gratitude. Ad multos
annos!
Preface
The greatest commentary never written was undoubtedly that of Prof. Morris
Zapp of Euphoric State University. In his own words:
I began a commentary on the works of Jane Austen, the aim of which

was to be utterly exhaustive, to examine the novels from every con-
ceivable angle—historical, biographical, rhetorical, mythical, structural,
Freudian, Jungian, Marxist, existentialist, Christian, allegorical, ethical,
phenomenological, archetypal, you name it. So that when each commen-
tary was written, there would be nothing further to say about the novel in
question.
Of course, I never finished it.1
Rather than imitating the promethean project started by Prof. Zapp, any com-
mentator must be subject to a strict self-denying ordinance, and focus only on
particular aspects of the text. This is no less true with such a short book as
the Gospel of Thomas. DeConick’s commentary, for example, seeks to identify
where the various sections of Thomas accrued in the compositional history of
the work.2 Nordsieck aims primarily to identify the extent to which particular
sayings go back to the historical Jesus.3 One approach which Valantasis adopts
is a kind of post-structuralist reading of the text, emphasizing the playfulness
and indeterminacy of Thomas.4
The intention of the present commentary is different. The aim here is princi-
pally to understand the meaning of the sayings of Thomas in its second-century
historical context. That is, it elucidates the religious outlook of Thomas in the
1 D. Lodge, Small World: An Academic Romance (London: Penguin, 1985), 24–25. Lodge based
the character of Zapp on Stanley Fish.
2 A.D. DeConick, The Original Gospel of Thomas in Translation: With a Commentary and New
English Translation of the Complete Gospel (LNTS 287; London/New York: T&T Clark Interna-
tional, 2006).
3 R. Nordsieck, Das Thomasevangelium: Einleitung—Zur Frage des historischen Jesus—Kom-
mentierung aller 114 Logien (Neukirchen: Neukirchener, 2004).
4 See R. Valantasis, The Gospel of Thomas (New Testament Readings; London: Routledge, 1997),
e.g. 65, 179. He notes, for example, the need to exercise play in the interpretation of the parable
here in the light of the lack of ‘interpretative direction provided either by Jesus or by the
narrator’ (179). C.W. Hedrick, Unlocking the Secrets of the Gospel according to Thomas (Eugene,
OR: Wipf & Stock, 2010), similarly emphasises the ambiguity of Thomas’s parables.
x preface
setting in which it was composed.5 This may sound like a standard approach of
a commentary, but, as can be seen from the remarks above, commentators have
not always focused on the actual meaning of the text. As Gagné has recently
put it: ‘What has lacked in Thomasine research is inquiry into the meaning of
the collection of sayings as a whole, and this for a plausible historical implied
reader.’6 This commentary is not concerned with the tradition-history of the
work, asking, for example, whether a saying in Thomas is more primitive than
its parallel in the Synoptics.7 (I have addressed a number of the issues about the
compositional situation of Thomas in a recent monograph.8) It treats the final
form of the text, an approach which is in part defended in the Introduction,
which aims to argue for Thomas as a tolerably unified work which can legiti-
mately be interpreted as such. The reasonable degree of similarity between the
Greek and Coptic texts is shown (Introduction, § 2), and the reasonably coher-
ent religious outlook of the work is set out (§10) in order to defend an approach
based upon Thomas’s relative consistency. Speculative theories about the pre-
history of Thomas are also subjected to scrutiny (see Appended Note following
§2).
A few house-keeping matters are in order. The division of the text into 114
sayings has for a long time been well established, and I have also followed
the subdivisions of sayings adopted by the Berliner Arbeitskreis für koptisch-
gnostische Schriften.9 In the translation, I have used gender-inclusive language
where practicable, though in order to avoid cumbersome renderings, occa-
sional masculine pronouns (‘he’, ‘him’, ‘his’) have been necessary.10 When in
5 See the similar approach set out in R.M. Grant & D.N. Freedman, The Secret Sayings of Jesus
(New York: Doubleday, 1960), 117. This commentary is, however, very dated.
6 A. Gagné, ‘Structure and Meaning in Gos. Thom. 49–53. An Erotapokritic Teaching on
Identity and Eschatology’, in J. Schröter, ed. The Apocryphal Gospels within the Context of
Early Christian Theology (Leuven/ Paris/ Walpole: Peeters, 2013), 23–31 (24). Cf. also idem,
‘Jésus, la lumière et le Père Vivant. Principe de gémellité dans l’ Évangile selon Thomas’,
Apocrypha 23 (2013), 209–221 (211).
7 As is an important concern in U.-K. Plisch, The Gospel of Thomas: Original Text with
Commentary (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2008).
8 S.J. Gathercole, The Composition of the Gospel of Thomas: Original Language and Sources
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012).
9 See the text of Thomas with these subdivisions in K. Aland, ed. Synopsis Quattuor Evange-
liorum (Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 1996), 519–546.
10 On inclusive language in translations, see R. Smith, tr. Aristotle: Prior Analytics (Indi-
anapolis: Hackett, 1989), xxx–xxi; also, S.J. Patterson, ‘Introduction’, in J.S. Kloppenborg,
M.W. Meyer, S.J. Patterson & M.G. Steinhauser, eds. Q-Thomas Reader (Sonoma, CA: Pole-
preface xi
italics, Thomas refers to the work, the Gospel of Thomas; when not, Thomas
refers to the disciple. References to the or a ‘Gospel of Thomas’ not italicised
allude to patristic or other references in cases where the identity of the work
is not clear (e.g. a possible reference to the Infancy Gospel of Thomas). Refer-
ences to a ‘Gospel’ (capitalised) are to a written text; a ‘gospel’ is a preached
message. Translations are my own, unless stated otherwise. A great deal of the
interaction in the commentary is with my fellow adventurers in Thomasine
commentary; for that reason, in the footnotes to the main body of the com-
mentary, commentaries are referred to simply by their authors’ names (see
Abbreviations). On the structure of the individual sections of the commentary,
see Introduction, §10.
bridge, 1990), 77–123 (78–79, 120–121); C.M. Tuckett, ed. The Gospel of Mary (Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 2007), 78–79.
Abbreviations
The abbreviations used in this study follow those in The SBL Handbook of Style
for Ancient Near Eastern, Biblical and Early Christian Studies (1999), with the
following additions:
CII/PH.M. Cotton, L. Di Segni, W. Eck, B. Isaac, A. Kushnir-Stein, H. Misgav,

J. Price & A. Yardeni, eds. Corpus Inscriptionum Iudaeae/Palaestinae. I.
Jerusalem, in two parts. 1–1120 (Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 2010).
EDEJ J.J. Collins & D.C. Harlow, eds. The Eerdmans Dictionary of Early Judaism
(Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2010).
OCD3 S. Hornblower & A. Spawforth, eds. The Oxford Classical Dictionary:
Third Revised Edition (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003).
CT Codex Tchacos
Abbreviations of Nag Hammadi works are those listed in J.M. Robinson, ed. The
Nag Hammadi Library in English (Leiden: Brill, 31988), xiii–xiv.
The principal commentaries are simply referred to with reference to the au-
thors (e.g. Grosso, 51; Hedrick, 102):
A.D. DeConick, The Original Gospel of Thomas in Translation: With a Commentary

and New English Translation of the Complete Gospel (London/New York: T&T Clark
International, 2006).
R.M. Grant & D.N. Freedman, The Secret Sayings of Jesus (New York: Doubleday, 1960).
M. Grosso, Vangelo secondo Tommaso: Introduzione, traduzione e commento (Roma:
Carocci, 2011).
C.W. Hedrick, Unlocking the Secrets of the Gospel according to Thomas (Eugene, OR:
Wipf & Stock, 2010).
J.-E. Ménard, L’ Évangile selon Thomas: Introduction, traduction, commentaire (NHS 5;
Leiden: Brill, 1975).
R. Nordsieck, Das Thomas-Evangelium: Einleitung—Zur Frage des historischen Jesus—
Kommentierung aller 114 Logien (Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener, 2004).
U.-K. Plisch, The Gospel of Thomas: Original Text with Commentary (Peabody, MA:
Hendrickson, 2008).
P. Pokorný, A Commentary on the Gospel of Thomas: From Interpretations to the Inter-
preted (London/New York: T&T Clark, 2009).
R. Valantasis, The Gospel of Thomas (New Testament Readings; London: Routledge,
1997).
Introduction
∵
chapter 1
Manuscripts1
On 21 July, 1897, the London Daily Graphic published a sketch of an eight-year-

old boy, Sabr’ Said, with an accompanying legend, ‘The boy who found the
Logia’.2 These ‘Logia’ were contained in the first of three Greek fragments of
Thomas to be discovered at Oxyrhynchus.3 Half a century later, a complete Cop-
tic text (albeit with frequent but short lacunae) of the work was discovered near
1 Select Bibliography: B.P. Grenfell & A.S. Hunt, eds. The Oxyrhynchus Papyri: Part I (Lon-
don: Egypt Exploration Fund, 1898), 1–21; B.P. Grenfell & A.S. Hunt, The Oxyrhynchus Papyri:
Part IV (London: Egypt Exploration Fund, 1904), 1–22, 22–28; A. Guillaumont, H.-C. Puech,
G. Quispel, W. Till & Y. ʿAbd al Masīḥ, The Gospel according to Thomas (Leiden: Brill, 1959);
J.A. Fitzmyer, ‘The Oxyrhynchus Logoi of Jesus and the Coptic Gospel according to Thomas’,
TS 20 (1959), 505–560 (bibliography: 556–560); J.M. Robinson ed. The Facsimile Edition of
the Nag Hammadi Codices. Introduction (Leiden: Brill, 1984); B. Layton, ed. Nag Hammadi
Codex II,2–7. Together with XIII,2*, Brit. Lib. Or.4926(1), and P. Oxy. 1, 654, 655. Volume One:
Gospel according to Thomas, Gospel according to Philip, Hypostasis of the Archons, and Indexes
(NHS 20; The Coptic Gnostic Library; Leiden: Brill, 1989); H.W. Attridge, ‘Appendix: The Greek
Fragments’, in Layton, ed. Nag Hammadi Codex II,2–7: Volume One, 95–128; D. Lührmann,
Fragmente apokryph gewordener Evangelien in griechischer und lateinischer Sprache (Mar-
burg: Elwert, 2000), 106–131; L.W. Hurtado, ‘The Greek Fragments of the Gospel of Thomas
as Artefacts: Papyrological Observations on Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 1, Papyrus Oxyrhynchus
654 and Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 655’, in J. Frey, J. Schröter & E.E. Popkes, eds. Das Thomase-
vangelium: Entstehung—Rezeption—Theologie (BZNW 157; Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 2008),
19–32; S. Emmel, ‘The Coptic Gnostic Texts as Witnesses to the Propduction and Transmission
of Gnostic (and Other) Traditions’, in Frey, Schröter & Popkes, eds. Das Thomasevangelium,
33–49; A. Luijendijk, ‘Reading the Gospel of Thomas in the Third Century: Three Oxyrhynchus
Papyri and Origen’s Homilies’, in C. Clivaz & J. Zumstein, eds. Reading New Testament Papyri
in Context (Leuven/ Paris/ Walpole MA: Peeters, 2011), 241–267.
2 P.J. Parsons, The City of the Sharp-Nosed Fish: Greek Lives in Roman Egypt (London: Weidenfeld
and Nicolson, 2007), 15.
3 I am grateful to the Bodleian Library (University of Oxford), the British Library, and the
Houghton Library (Harvard University) for permission to examine the fragments. P. Oxy.
IV 654 was examined on 22 December 2005 (with Dr Peter Williams); Dr Peter Head and I
viewed P. Oxy. I 1 on 22 September 2008, and I examined the fragment again on 7 May 2013; I
looked at P. Oxy. IV 655 on 25 November 2008, first with Prof. Larry Hurtado, and then with
Drs Peter Williams, Peter Head, Dirk Jongkind and Tommy Wasserman. I am grateful to all of
the above, without whom I would certainly not have noticed many of the interesting features
of these fragments.
© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2014 | doi: 10.1163/9789004273252_002

4 chapter 1
Nag Hammadi. This Coptic text is conventionally divided into 114 sayings, with
a prologue at the beginning and a title (‘the Gospel according to Thomas’) at
the end. This section will give an account of these four manuscripts in se, and
also explore whether they yield any information about the earliest reception of
Thomas.
1.1 P. Oxy. I 1 (Bodleian Library, Oxford: Bodleian MS. Gr. th. e 7 (P))
In 1897, then, very early on in the excavation of the rubbish tip at Oxyrhynchus,
the first fragment of Thomas was designated P. Oxy. I 1, and also published
separately under the title of Sayings of Our Lord (ΛΟΓΙΑ ΙΗΣΟΥ).4 A photograph
of the text was also printed, and images can now be found in a number of
places.5 The fragment is a leaf from a codex, is numbered (page?) 11 and has
writing on both sides.6 It is approximately 15 × 9.5 cm in size,7 and is written
in very easily legible uncial script.8 There are some notable scribal practices.
On the verso side, a filler mark is found at the end of line 3 (a diple, or ‘⟩’
shape). Unlike the other fragments, P. Oxy. I 1 contains a good number of
‘nomina sacra’:9 the forms ις (ll. 5v, 11v; 1r? [restored], 9r, 15r, 20r), probably
4 B.P. Grenfell & A.S. Hunt, eds. ΛΟΓΙΑ ΙΗΣΟΥ: Sayings of Our Lord (London: Egypt Exploration
Fund, 1897); idem, The Oxyrhynchus Papyri: Part I, 1–3.
5 Plates of the recto and verso can be found in the front matter of Grenfell & Hunt, ΛΟΓΙΑ
ΙΗΣΟΥ. See now A.E. Bernhard, Other Early Christian Gospels: A Critical Edition of the Surviving
Greek Manuscripts (LNTS 315; London/ New York: Continuum/ T&T Clark, 2006), plates 2–3,
and L.W. Hurtado, The Earliest Christian Artifacts: Manuscripts and Christian Origins (Grand
Rapids: Eerdmans, 2006), 239 (verso only).
6 Given what we now know about the size of Thomas, it is very likely that something else was
copied before it in the codex.
7 My measurement agrees with Hurtado, ‘The Greek Fragments’, 21. Attridge, ‘Appendix: The
Greek Fragments’, 96, gives the size as 14.5 × 9.5 cm; Grenfell & Hunt, The Oxyrhynchus Papyri:
Part I, 1, give 15× 9.7 cm.
8 Hurtado, ‘Greek Fragments’, 22.
9 This is not the place to engage in extended discussion about the purpose of ‘nomen sacrum’
forms. I am more persuaded by the view expressed in L.W. Hurtado, ‘The Origin of the
Nomina Sacra: A Proposal’, JBL 117 (1998), 655–673 (659), that the aim of the nomina sacra
‘is clearly to express religious reverence, to set apart these words visually in the way they are
written’ (though they also became simply part of the textual tradition). For some criticisms
of Hurtado’s view, see C.M. Tuckett, ‘ “Nomina Sacra”: Yes and No?’, in J.-M. Auwers & H.J. de
Jonge, eds. The Biblical Canons (BETL 158; Leuven: Peeters, 2003), 431–458; idem, ‘Nomina
Sacra in Codex E’, JTS 57 (2006), 487–499. Note further, Hurtado, Earliest Christian Artifacts,
122–131, for criticism of Tuckett.
manuscripts 5
θυ (line 8v),10 πρα (l. 11v), ανων (l. 19v), and πριδι (l. 11r) all appear. On five
occasions a superlinear stroke replaces a nu at the end of a line (ll. 10v, 16v;
1r, 6r, 14r). There is one instance of a diaeresis on initial upsilon (l. 19v), and
one correction (in l. 1r) of a non-standard spelling (cf. P. Oxy. IV 655, fragment
d l. 2). Scholars date the papyrus to somewhere between the late second to
the end of the third century (see Table below).11 Hurtado speculates that ‘the
smaller-size letters and somewhat greater number of lines per page may signal
that P. Oxy. I 1 was copied more for personal reading/usage’ (i.e. than for
public reading): furthermore, the scribal devices associated with manuscripts
prepared for public reading are also absent.12 (On this question of the status
of the Oxyrhynchus papyri, however, see the discussion in § 1.5 below.) The
fragment contains GTh 26–33 and the end of 77, but because none of this
material is associated with the figure of Thomas, it was not thought initially to
belong to what the Fathers had reported as the Gospel of Thomas (see further
§3, ‘Named Testimonia’, below).
1.2 P. Oxy. IV 654 (British Library, London: Pap. 1531)
Grenfell and Hunt were so bowled over by the discovery of P. Oxy. I 1 that they
commented, in Volume 1 of the Oxyrhynchus Papyri series: ‘It is not very likely
that we shall find another poem of Sappho, still less that we shall come across
another page of the “Logia”’!13 Hence their remark several years later in 1904:
‘By a curious stroke of good fortune our second excavations at Oxyrhynchus
were, like the first, signalized by the discovery of a fragment of a collection
of Sayings of Jesus.’14 The 1903 excavations, then, yielded a second fragment
and the connection with the Gospel of Thomas now received some attention
both because of the mention of Thomas in line 3, and because of the parallel
with Hippolytus’s reference to the Gospel of Thomas (see Introduction, § 3.1
and §4.1, below). Grenfell and Hunt, however, still kept the two collections of
sayings distinct, and, while they noted the possibility, they refused to enter into
conjecture about whether P. Oxy. I 1 and IV 654 were parts of the Gospel of
10 See the discussion of the reading in the treatment of the text of GTh 27 in the commentary
below.
12 Hurtado, ‘Greek Fragments’, 23, 24.
13 Grenfell & Hunt, The Oxyrhynchus Papyri: Part I, vi.
14 Grenfell & Hunt, The Oxyrhynchus Papyri: Part IV, 1.
6 chapter 1
Thomas. (They still—like almost everyone else at the time—operated with the
assumption that the Gospel of Thomas referred to by the church fathers was the
Infancy Gospel.)15 The text of P. Oxy. IV 654 (with a photograph) is published
as the first item in the fourth Oxyrhynchus Papyri volume.16 On the back (or
rather the front: the Greek of Thomas is on the verso), is a survey-list which
Grenfell and Hunt use to date the text, but which has surprisingly never been
published.17 The Thomas text is written in uncial script on a papyrus roll (in a
hand remarkably similar to that of P22), and the fragment is 24.4 × 7.8 cm in size.
The only ‘nomen sacrum’ form is ιης (ll. 2, 27, 36), but GTh 1–2, 2–3, 3–4, 4–5 and
5–6 are each separated by a paragraphus, and—in the cases of GTh 1–2, 2–3, 4–5
and 5–6—by a coronis as well. Diaereses mark off initial iota (l. 14) and upsilon
(ll. 13, 15, 16?, 19, 21), albeit inconsistently. Hurtado judges that P. Oxy. IV 654
is also a private copy for personal use, though this time not on the basis of the
size of script, but because it is written on the back of a document,18 and is also a
text of such poor quality: the scribe is inept (or at least careless) both in spelling
and in consistent letter formation.19 Grenfell and Hunt dated the copy to ‘the
middle or end of the third century’;20 Attridge agrees that it is later than P. Oxy.
I 1, though is more precise and dates it to the middle of the third century.21 (See
further the Table below.) The fragment contains sayings 1–7, with a great many
lacunae.22
15 H.B. Swete, ‘The New Oxyrhynchus Sayings: A Tentative Interpretation’, ExpT 15 (1903–
1904), 488–495, commented that he considered P. Oxy. I 1 and IV 654 to belong to ‘the same
collection’ (488). By 1909, J.A.H. Michelsen, ‘Uittreksels uit het Evangelie volgens Thomas’,
Teyler’s Theologisch Tijdschrift 3 (1909), 214–233, had suggested that all three fragments
came from a Gospel of Thomas.
16 Grenfell & Hunt, Oxyrhynchus Papyri: Part IV, 1–22, and Plate I. Other photographs can be
found in Bernhard, Other Early Christian Gospels, plate 1, and Hurtado, Earliest Christian
Artifacts, 241.
17 Grenfell & Hunt, Oxyrhynchus Papyri: Part IV, 1, comment that the survey-list is written ‘in
a cursive hand of the end of the second or early part of the third century’.
18 In technical parlance, the text is an ‘opisthograph’. Hurtado, ‘Greek Fragments’, 29: ‘It is
almost certain that opisthographs represent economical copies of texts made for private
reading and study …’.
19 Hurtado, ‘Greek Fragments’, 25, 26. In Hurtado’s judgement, the quality of writing is not as
good as is suggested by Grenfell and Hunt (25).
20 Grenfell & Hunt, Oxyrhynchus Papyri: Part IV, 1.
21 Attridge, ‘Appendix: The Greek Fragments’, 97.
22 Not much of saying 7 has survived here, however. See S.J. Gathercole, ‘A Proposed Reread-
ing of P.Oxy. 654 line 41 (Gos. Thom. 7)’, HTR 99 (2006), 355–359.
manuscripts 7
1.3 P. Oxy. IV 655 (Houghton Library, Harvard: Houghton MS Gr

SM4367)
This manuscript actually consists of eight fragments, discovered at Oxyrhyn-

chus in the same season of excavations as was P. Oxy. IV 654 (i.e. 1903), and
published immediately after the British Library fragment.23 The fragments, the
largest of which is 12×8.3cm, come from another papyrus roll, with writing on
the recto only.24 Two columns are visible, and the writing is an informal book
hand. Fragment d is noteworthy because, though very small, it contains a cor-
rection (by a later hand) in line 2, and a filler mark at the end of line 4 (as in
P. Oxy. I 1, a diple, or ‘⟩’ shape); there are no ‘nomina sacra’ in any of the frag-
ments. Grenfell and Hunt judged the handwriting to date from the first half
of the third century: ‘though we should not assign it to the second century, it
is not likely to have been written later than A.D. 250.’25 (Since the dating of
the Oxyrhynchus fragments—especially P. Oxy. IV 655, because it is perhaps
the earliest—is important for establishing a terminus ante quem for Thomas’s
composition, some representative opinions are set out in the Table below.)
The handwriting is skilfully done, Hurtado comments, and the small size of
script leads him to conclude, again, that this was very likely to have been a
personal copy.26 The content corresponds to GTh 24 and 36–39; four of the frag-
ments published by Grenfell and Hunt (two of which are now lost) cannot be
placed.27
23 Grenfell & Hunt, Oxyrhynchus Papyri: Part IV, 22–28 (‘Fragment of a lost gospel’). For a
detailed history of interpretation up to 1960, and comparison with the Coptic text, see
R.A. Kraft, ‘Oxyrhynchus Papyrus 655 Reconsidered’, HTR 54 (1961), 253–262; for observa-
tions on the material evidence, see Hurtado, ‘Greek Fragments’, 26–28.
24 See Grenfell & Hunt, Oxyrhynchus Papyri: Part IV, plate II; also Bernhard, Other Early
Christian Gospels, plates 4–5, and Hurtado, Earliest Christian Artifacts, 241. The best pho-
tographs, however, are those available on the Harvard website, at: http://pds.lib.harvard
.edu/pds/view/7456399 (last accessed 2.9.2008).
25 Grenfell & Hunt, Oxyrhynchus Papyri: Part IV, 23; Attridge, ‘Appendix: The Greek Frag-
ments’, 98, takes the same view.
26 Hurtado, ‘Greek Fragments’, 27, 28.
27 For the text, see Attridge, ‘Appendix: The Greek Fragments’, 125.
8 chapter 1
table 1 Sample of dates assigned to the Greek fragments
P. Oxy. I 1 P. Oxy. IV 654 P. Oxy. IV 655
Grenfell & Hunt 150–30028/ II–III29 mid-late III30 first half of III31
Votaw32 c. mid-III c. mid-III c. mid-III
Wessely33 150–300 III II–III
Schneemelcher/ shortly after 200 end II/beginning III II–III
Jeremias34
Kraft35 before mid-III
Turner36 II–III
Roberts37 end II
Attridge38 shortly after 200 mid-III 200–250
Lührmann39 III III III
Elliott40 c. 200 III II–III
Giversen41 first half of II first half of II
28 Grenfell & Hunt, ΛΟΓΙΑ ΙΗΣΟΥ, 6: ‘The date therefore probably falls within the period
150–300A.D. More than that cannot be said with any approach to certainty … But in the
meantime we are of opinion that the hand of the Logia fragment is far from belonging to
the latest type of uncials used before 300 A.D., and that therefore the papyrus was probably
written not much later than the year 200.’ DeConick misreads them in stating that ‘P. Oxy.
1 is dated by B. Grenfell and A. Hunt to a date no later than 200CE’; A.D. DeConick,
Recovering the Original Gospel of Thomas: A History of the Gospel and its Growth (London/
New York: T&T Clark, 2005), 48.
29 Grenfell & Hunt, Oxyrhynchus Papyri: Part I, xi.
32 C.W. Votaw, ‘The Oxyrhynchus Sayings of Jesus in Relation to the Gospel-Making Move-
ment of the First and Second Centuries’, JBL 24 (1905), 79–90 (80).
33 C. Wessely, Les plus anciens monuments du Christianisme écrits sur papyrus (Paris: Lefeb-
vre, 1906), 151, 158, 177.
34 See E. Hennecke & W. Schneemelcher, eds. Neutestamentliche Apokryphen in der Überset-
zung: I. Evangelien (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1959), 66, 61, 70.
35 Kraft, ‘Oxyrhynchus Papyrus 655’, 257.
36 E.G. Turner, The Typology of the Early Codex (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania
Press, 1977), 143.
37 C.H. Roberts, Manuscript, Society and Belief in Early Christian Egypt (London: British
Academy, 1979), 12–14.
38 Attridge, ‘Appendix: The Greek Fragments’, 97–98.
39 Lührmann, Fragmente apokryph gewordener Evangelien, 23.
40 J.K. Elliott, The Apocryphal New Testament (Oxford: Clarendon, 2005), 130–132.
41 S. Giversen, in an unpublished 1999 SBL paper, as reported in C.W. Hedrick, ‘An Anec-
manuscripts 9
1.4 The Coptic Text (Nag Hammadi, Codex II; Cairo, Coptic Museum,
Inv. 10544)42
The Gospel of Thomas was translated from Greek into Coptic ‘no earlier than
the mid-to-late third century (when, to the best of our present knowledge,
Coptic literature had its beginnings)’.43 The Coptic codex (numbered II, though
previously III or X44) containing Thomas comes probably from the fourth or
fifth century.45 The story of the discovery of the Nag Hammadi codices, in
which the Coptic version of Thomas survives, need not be retold here: in fact,
the details have been hotly contested, as can be seen in particular in the
trenchant first footnote, well over a thousand words long, in James Robinson’s
“official” account,46 and in two illuminating recent discussions by Goodacre,
and Denzey and Blount.47
After its discovery, the codex—along with some of the others—was acquired
by a Miss Dattari, whereafter in 1949 it was confiscated and kept in a bag in the
Egyptian Service of Antiquities: there it lay until it was installed in the Coptic
Museum in Cairo in 1952.48
dotal Argument for the Independence of the Gospel of Thomas from the Synoptic Gospels’,
in H.-G. Bethge, S. Emmel, K.L. King & I. Schletterer, eds. For the Children, Perfect Instruc-
tion: Studies in Honor of Hans-Martin Schenke on the Occasion of the Berliner Arbeitskreis
für koptisch-gnostische Schriften’s Thirtieth Year (NHMS 54; Leiden/ Boston: Brill, 2002),
113–126 (115 n. 17). I have not been able to confirm Hedrick’s report.
42 Regrettably, despite generous funding from the British Academy, I was unable to visit
Egypt to inspect the manuscript at the relevant stage of this project, due to the political
instability in the country.
43 Emmel, ‘The Coptic Gnostic Texts as Witnesses’, 35.
44 H.W. Montefiore & H.E.W. Turner, Thomas and the Evangelists (London: SCM, 1962), 11.
45 Some of the papyrus from the binding of Codex VII is dated to 348ce, making this a
terminus a quo at least for Codex VII. See Emmel, ‘The Coptic Gnostic Texts as Witnesses’,
38. Montefiore & Turner, Thomas and the Evangelists, 11 note that the presence of the ankh
in the codex has also been used as a criterion for dating.
46 Robinson, Facsimile Edition of the Nag Hammadi Codices, 3–14, and 3 n. 1. The dispute here
is particularly with the account in J. Doresse, The Secret Books of the Egyptian Gnostics
(London: Hollis and Carter, 1960), 116–136. See also J.M. Robinson, ‘The Discovery of the
Nag Hammadi Codices’, Biblical Archaeologist 42 (1979), 206–224.
47 M. Goodacre, ‘How Reliable is the Story of the Nag Hammadi Discovery?’, JSNT 35 (2013),
303–322; N. Denzey Lewis & J. Ariel Blount, ‘Rethinking the Origins of the Nag Hammadi
Codices’, forthcoming, JBL.
48 Doresse, Secret Books, 120–121, 123–124.
10 chapter 1
The text of Thomas is copied in Codex II (from page 32, line 10, to page 51,
line 29) after the Apocryphon of John (the first work in the codex), and is fol-
lowed by the Gospel of Philip, The Hypostasis of the Archons, On the Origin of
the World, The Expository Treatise on the Soul, and The Book of Thomas the
Contender.49 A facsimile of the Coptic text was published by J.M. Robinson
in 1974.50 The official critical edition has a marvellously detailed discussion
of the features of the manuscript by Bentley Layton, who dates the copy to
the first half of the fourth century.51 The codex is 28.4 × 15.8 cm in size,52 and
the text, in upright capital script, was copied by two scribes, the second of
whom only copied page 47, lines 1–8 (parts of GTh 78–79).53 The first scribe
(“Scribe A”) apparently left a gap for this section of text to be filled in: Lay-
ton surmises that Scribe A’s model was deficient at this point. This may per-
haps also explain the two blank pages in the middle of GTh 95.54 There are
abbreviations for ‘Jesus’ (generally ⲓ̅ⲥ̅, though ⲓⲏ̅ⲥ̅ in GTh 13.5; 22.4 and 90) and
‘Spirit’ (ⲡ̅ⲛ̅ⲁ̅ or ⲡⲛ̅ⲁ̅ in GTh 14.3; 29.1–2 bis; 44.3; 53.3; 114.2). Diaereses appear
very frequently on iotas, and the syllable divider ` is often used. The language
of this text of Thomas is Sahidic Coptic, but with a great number of non-
standard features.55 Scribe A may also have been the scribe of Nag Hammadi
Codex XIII, which was also constructed in a similar manner to Codex II.56
49 Editio princeps: Guillaumont, Puech, Quispel, Till & ʿAbd al Masīḥ, eds. Gospel according
to Thomas. The definitive edition now is that of Layton, in Layton, ed. Nag Hammadi
Codex II,2–7, 52–93 (including facing English translation by T.O. Lambdin).
50 Robinson, Facsimile Edition, 42–63; photographs had also been published previously in
P. Labib, Coptic Gnostic Papyri in the Coptic Museum at Old Cairo I (Cairo: Government
Press, 1956), plates 80–99.
51 Layton, ed. Nag Hammadi Codex II,2–7, 4.
53 For more on scribal character, see Layton, ed. Nag Hammadi Codex II,2–7, 4–5.
54 Layton, ed. Nag Hammadi Codex II,2–7, 4–5. This may mean that Thomas was originally
longer, if the scribe left space for extra material which was never supplied.
55 Layton classifies the language of Codex II as ‘Crypto-Subachmimic’ (Nag Hammadi Codex
II,2–7, 7). He lists the divergences from Sahidic in Nag Hammadi Codex II,2–7, 8–14.
56 On this, see B. Layton, ‘Introduction’, in idem, ed. Nag Hammadi Codex II,2–7, 1–18 (4),
referring also to idem, ‘The Hypostasis of the Archons: Conclusion’, HTR 69 (1976), 31–101
(84): ‘Considerations of format and codex construction also support this identification’.
See also S. Emmel, ‘The Nag Hammadi Codices Editing Project: Final Report’, American
Research Center in Egypt: Newsletter 104 (1978), 10–32, where he comments that the scribes
are ‘probably to be identified’ (27), and see 28 n. 3 on the history of the identification.
J.D. Turner, ‘Introduction to Codex XIII’, in C.W. Hedrick, ed. Nag Hammadi Codices XI,
XII, XIII (NHS 28; Leiden/ New York/ Köln: Brill, 1990), 359–369 (362–363), allows the
manuscripts 11
There is an extensive discussion, by Linda Ogden, of the binding of the co-

dex.57
1.5 The Manuscripts and Their Use
Can anything substantial be said about the origins and usage of Thomas on the
basis of our knowledge of these manuscripts?
First, on the question of origins, it is of some interest that all the material
evidence discussed above comes from Egypt. Might this be an indication of
Egyptian provenance? Similarly, since we are dealing here with Greek frag-
ments and a Coptic text probably translated from Greek,58 does this suggest
an original composition in Greek? We must be cautious on both counts: the
whole body of Oxyrhynchus Papyri consists of many works from much further
afield, but which have only been preserved in Egypt because of the climate.
The questions of original language and provenance will be discussed further in
Introduction, §§5–6, below.
Moving to usage, how are we to assess the number of manuscripts? In one
sense, three early Greek fragments is a reasonably large number: Hurtado
points out that although this score is much lower than the total number of
second- or third-century fragments of Psalms, John and Matthew (16, 15 and
12 respectively), it is higher than, for example, 1Corinthians (2 fragments) and
Mark (only 1).59 Does this mean that Thomas was popular? This is possible,
though speculative: it must be remembered that when we are down to low
single figures, we are dealing with a very small statistical sample.60
As far as the Greek fragments are concerned, Hurtado draws an interesting
correlation between his conclusion that these seem to have been produced
for private study, and ‘the emphasis in this text on the individual and on
possibility ‘that the two hands belong to a student and instructor’, while still concluding
that ‘Codices II and XIII may be assumed to have been copied in the closest proximity to
one another’ (362). Turner’s comments under the heading of “The Scribal Hand” follow
on from similar observations on “Physical Description” (359–361). In another link with
Codex II, Codex XIII has the first ten lines of On the Origin of the World, which take up the
rest of the last page on which the Trimorphic Protennoia is copied.
57 Layton, ed. Nag Hammadi Codex II,2–7, 19–25, and the bibliography on 25.
58 H. Koester, ‘Introduction’, in Layton, ed. Nag Hammadi Codex II,2–7, 38–49 (38, 40).
60 See the appropriate caution in C.M. Tuckett, The Gospel of Mary (Oxford: Oxford Univer-
sity Press, 2007), 9–10.
12 chapter 1
personal spiritual fulfilment.’61 Conversely, if there are not copies in forms

which one would associate with public reading, this would fit with the view
that ‘nothing in GThom (in the extant Greek or the Coptic) seems to me to
promote corporate/ congregational religious life.’62 Hurtado is aware of the
small sample of manuscripts we are dealing with, and that therefore any such
conclusions must remain tentative and provisional. Luijendijk has, moreover,
noted that there may be some counter-evidence to Hurtado’s position: P. Oxy. I 1
is a very clearly written text, and even P. Oxy. IV 654 has markings (line-dividers,
coroneis, diaereses) to facilitate reading, and so it is possible that they may have
featured in worship settings.63
With the Coptic version, although we have only one text, the situation is
more promising because the whole codex in which Thomas is copied has sur-
vived. (As already noted, we have no idea what else was copied in the codex of
which P. Oxy. I 1 was a part.) The collocation of Thomas with the Apocryphon
of John, the Gospel of Philip, the Book of Thomas the Contender and the other
works in Nag Hammadi Codex II is of potential significance here.64 Some have
commented on the relation between Thomas and the Gospel of Philip which fol-
lows it: Schenke points to the common juxtaposition of Thomas and Philip not
only here, but also in the Fathers, as well as in Pistis Sophia 42–43 (see Intro-
duction, §3: ‘Named Testimonia’ below).65 Michael Williams has argued that
the Apocryphon of John and Thomas (with the Gospel of Philip) can be read
together as rewritten Old Testament and Gospel respectively, and further spec-
ulates that Hypostasis of the Archons then represents a reading of Paul: hence
Williams calls the structure of Codex II ‘a “Christian Scripture” arrangement’.66

63 See esp. the discussion in Luijendijk, ‘Reading the Gospel of Thomas in the Third Century’.
64 See the helpful summary of research by J. Leonhardt-Balzer, ‘On the Redactional and The-
ological Relationship between the Gospel of Thomas and the Apocryphon of John’, in J. Frey,
J. Schröter & E.E. Popkes, eds. Das Thomasevangelium: Entstehung—Rezeption—Theologie
(BZNW 157; Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 2007), 251–271 (255–259).
65 H.-M. Schenke, ‘Das Evangelium nach Philippus (NHC II, 3)’, in H.-M. Schenke, H.-G.
Bethge & U.U. Kaiser, eds. Nag Hammadi Deutsch (Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 2001), I.183–
213 (185–186).
66 M.A. Williams, Rethinking “Gnosticism”: An Argument for Dismantling a Dubious Category
(Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1996), 254–255 (254). He is followed on this point
by H.-J. Klauck, Apocryphal Gospels: An Introduction (London/ New York: T&T Clark, 2003),
170, and A. Logan, The Gnostics: Identifying an Early Christian Cult (London/ New York: T&T
Clark, 2006), 20. On this view, On the Origin of the World and the Exegesis on the Soul then
represent eschatological discourses; the Book of Thomas the Contender is more difficult
manuscripts 13
Popkes argues, followed tentatively by Leonhardt-Balzer, ‘that the three texts,

ApocrJoh, GThom and GPhil were linked even before the compilers of NHC II
got their hands on them’, and so are intended to be mutually illuminating in
Codex II.67 Much of this is rather speculative; what is clearer is that the last
work in Codex II, the Book of Thomas the Contender, is influenced by Thomas
(see Introduction, §4: ‘Early References’ below).
Layton speculated that the codex as a whole lends itself in particular to
Valentinian interpretation. The Gospel of Philip is the clearest example of this,
but all the works—Layton argues—would have been amenable to, or at least
familiar to, the Valentinian outlook. This includes Thomas: ‘In some passages,
the Valentinian Gospel of Philip closely parallels the Gospel according to Thom-
as, suggesting the attractiveness of Thomas, and the Jude Thomas tradition,
to Valentinian Gnosticism.’68 This overall picture is supported, Layton notes,
by the colophon at the end of the Codex: ‘Remember me also, my brothers, in
your prayers. Peace to the saints, and to the spiritual.’69 He sees this reference
to the ‘spiritual’, or ‘pneumatics’ as strongly suggestive of a Valentinian read-
ership.70 Against this, one may question whether the title ‘pneumatics’ was so
restricted in usage, as well as how amenable to Valentinian readership was the
Apocryphon of John.71 Another popular suggestion has been to see the Nag Ham-
madi codices as a whole as a collection produced and buried by monks from
the nearby Pachomian monastery.72 This theory is also vulnerable on a number
of fronts.73 As a result, one must probably remain agnostic on the question of
whether a particular theological impulse lay behind Codex II.
to fit into such a scheme, however. See further on this discussion also Leonhardt-Balzer,
‘Redactional and Theological Relationship’, 251.
67 Leonhardt-Balzer, ‘Redactional and Theological Relationship’, 262.
69 Layton, ed. Nag Hammadi Codex II,2–7, 204: ⲁⲣⲓ ⲡⲁⲙⲉⲉⲩⲉ ϩⲱ ⲛⲁⲥⲛⲏⲩ ϩ̣[ⲛ̄] ⲛⲉⲧⲛ̄ⲡⲣⲟⲥⲉⲩⲭⲏ
ⲉ[ⲓ]ⲣⲏⲛⲏ ⲧⲟⲓⲥ ⲁⲅⲓⲟⲓⲥ ⲙⲛ̄ ⲛⲓⲡⲛⲉⲩⲙⲁⲧⲓⲕⲟⲥ.
70 Schröter and Bethge follow Layton in understanding the connection in Codex II to mean
that Thomas was regarded as at least compatible with a Valentinian outlook. H.-G. Bethge
& J. Schröter, ‘Das Evangelium nach Thomas (NHC II, 2)’, in Schenke, et al., eds. Nag
Hammadi Deutsch, I.151–181 (160).
71 On the theological differences between Valentinians and ‘Gnostics’ stricto sensu (the
Apocryphon of John being a product of the latter), see M.J. Edwards, ‘Gnostics and Valen-
tinians in the Church Fathers’, JTS 40 (1989), 26–47 (34–47).
72 See e.g. M. Meyer, The Gnostic Discoveries (New York: HarperCollins, 2005), 29.
73 See the survey of views on either side in Emmel, ‘The Coptic Gnostic Texts as Witnesses’,
36.
chapter 2
A Comparison of the Greek and Coptic Texts1
A detailed saying-by-saying comparison of the Greek and Coptic texts will be

found in the commentary below. Here an overview of the main issues in schol-
arship and in the texts will suffice. The general tenor of scholarship on Thomas
in recent times is that the Greek and Coptic are so different that they should
be treated as different recensions. Zöckler speaks of ‘die Instabilität der Tex-
tüberlieferung’,2 while Popkes has remarked, more agnostically: ‘We just do not
know what the earliest text versions of the Gospel of Thomas looked like.’3 The
most lengthy argument for textual diversity comes in the recent monograph of
Eisele, strikingly titled Welcher Thomas? He talks of ‘unleugbare Unterschiede’
between the Greek and Coptic, arguing ‘dass wir es bei dem Thomasevangelium
nicht mit einem einzigen Thomas zu tun haben’.4 Marcovich emphasises that
one must assign equal weight to the Thomas used by Hippolytus, and so speaks
of ‘three very different recensions’.5
On the other hand, as Turner has commented: ‘The extent of the Coptic
redaction must not, however, be exaggerated.’6 Fitzmyer, while talking of ‘a
difference of recension’, nevertheless conceives of this in a minimal sense, con-
cluding on the same page that ‘in most cases we found an almost word-for-word
identity between the Greek and Coptic versions’: even where there are differ-
ences, ‘the Coptic recension supplies the tenor of the saying’.7 We will examine
1 Bibliography: Fitzmyer, ‘The Oxyrhynchus Logoi’, 505–560; M. Marcovich, ‘Textual Criticism

on the Gospel of Thomas’, JTS 20 (1969), 53–74; Attridge, ‘Appendix: The Greek Fragments’,
99–101; W. Eisele, Welcher Thomas? Studien zur Text- und Überlieferungsgeschichte des Thoma-
sevangeliums (WUNT; Tübingen: Mohr, 2010); T. Ricchuiti, ‘Tracking Thomas: A Text-Critical
Look at the Transmission of the Gospel of Thomas’, in D.B. Wallace, ed. Revisiting the Cor-
ruption of the New Testament: Manuscript, Patristic, and Apocryphal Evidence (Grand Rapids:
Kregel, 2011), 189–228.
2 T. Zöckler, Jesu Lehren im Thomasevangelium (NHMS 47; Leiden: Brill, 1999), 27.
3 E.E. Popkes, ‘About the Differing Approach to a Theological Heritage: Comments on the Rela-
tionship Between the Gospel of John, the Gospel of Thomas, and Qumran’, in J.H. Charles-
worth, ed. The Bible and the Dead Sea Scrolls, vol. 3: The Scrolls and Christian Origins (Waco,
TX: Baylor University Press, 2006), 281–318 (299).
4 Eisele, Welcher Thomas, 342, 250.
5 Marcovich, ‘Textual Criticism’, 64.
6 Montefiore & Turner, Thomas and the Evangelists, 19.
7 Fitzmyer, ‘The Oxyrhynchus Logoi’, 553.

a comparison of the greek and coptic texts 15
below both the differences and the similarities, in order to form a conclusion
about how dramatic the variations between Greek and Coptic are. Part of the
purpose of this section is to justify the enterprise of a commentary on Thomas
as a second-century work which can be presumed to have contained, in sub-
stance, what has come down to us in our fourth-century Coptic manuscript.
There are certainly differences between the Greek and Coptic versions which
exceed the ‘standard deviation’ that one generally sees in the transmission and
translation of the New Testament. Nevertheless, a case will be made here and
in the course of the commentary that (a) the differences are often exaggerated
and that there is a great deal of similarity between the Greek fragments and the
Coptic manuscript, and (b) the normal procedures of textual criticism can be
employed to determine which reading is more likely to be the earlier; in this
respect, Thomas is not a special case.
2.1 Differences: A Brief Sketch
In order to assess of the significance of the differences, it is necessary to group

these differences into their relevant categories. The following groups are in
ascending order of potential significance.
Imaginary Differences
Eisele lists among his ‘Unterschiede im Textinhalt zwischen der griechischen
und der koptischen Überlieferung’ the following:8 (i) ἐν τῇ πατρίδι αὐτοῦ and
ϩⲙ̄ ⲡⲉϥϯⲙⲉ (GTh 31.1); (ii) πόλις οἰκοδομημένη and ⲟⲩⲡⲟⲗⲓⲥ ⲉⲩⲕⲱⲧ ⲙ̄ⲙⲟⲥ (GTh
32); (iii) ὅταν ἐκδύσησθε καὶ μὴ αἰσχυνθῆτε and ϩⲟⲧⲁⲛ ⲉⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ϣⲁⲕⲉⲕ ⲧⲏⲩⲧⲛ̄ ⲉϩⲏⲩ
ⲙ̄ⲡⲉⲧⲛ̄ϣⲓⲡⲉ (GTh 37). In (i), ϯⲙⲉ is a standard equivalent of πατρίς. In (ii), there
is no difference at all, and the Coptic is perhaps the best possible equivalent (to
give one analogy, ἐποικοδομηθέντες and ⲉⲁⲩⲕⲉⲧ ⲧⲏⲩⲧⲛ in Eph. 2.20). The Coptic
in (iii) is a good translation of the Greek.
Differences between Coptic Thomas and restored Greek in lacunae must
also be consigned to this category. For example, the alleged contrast between
Jesus appearing to Thomas in P. Oxy. IV 654 and Thomas writing down in the
Coptic of the Prologue leads to Eisele’s conclusion that in the Coptic, Thomas
is promoted to the role of co-author. This is based, however, on the Greek being
restored on the basis of a parallel in John’s Gospel.9
8 Eisele, Welcher Thomas, 264, and accompanying table.

9 On the other hand, the conventional restoration on the basis of the Coptic (with its difficulty
16 chapter 2
Translation Technique and the Differences between the Greek and

Coptic Languages
A further factor which must be taken into account is the differences between
the Greek and Coptic languages.
For example, Coptic is more tolerant of asyndeton than Greek is. Layton
has commented that asyndeton is ‘one of the most frequent’ ways of linking
clauses.10 In a more specialised study, Perttilä calculated that Greek καί is rep-
resented by asyndeton 43% of the time in the Coptic of 1 Samuel, commenting:
‘Asyndeton, the lack of any connective, is very common.’11 In Thomas, neither of
the two instances of καί in GTh 28.2 has an equivalent word in Coptic; the same
situation applies in GTh 6.1; 26.2?; 27.2; 30.2; 30/77.2 (cf. P. Oxy. I 1’s untranslated
οὐδέ in 31.2), and apparently 38.2. The failure to observe this aspect of Coptic
translation technique mars Ricchuiti’s study: he sees a good deal of the fluidity
of the text of Thomas as consisting of additions in the Greek fragments, noting:
‘Many of those expansions are due to the tendency of the scribe of P. Oxy. 1 to
add the connective καί.’12 (Cf. also the references above to 6.1 in P. Oxy. IV 654
and ?38.2 in P. Oxy. IV 655, however.) Ricchuiti’s overwhelming preference for
the shorter text,13 in combination with missing this aspect of Coptic syntax
means that the fluidity of Thomas’s textual transmission is exaggerated.
In GTh 39.2 the Coptic expands an element: what is probably merely ‘those
entering’ in the Greek corresponds to ‘those wishing to enter’ (ⲛⲉⲧⲟⲩⲱϣ ⲉⲃⲱⲕ⳿
ⲉϩⲟⲩⲛ), for which there is not room in P. Oxy. IV 655.14 As Baarda has noted, how-
ever, this does not necessarily exemplify a free stance of the Coptic version to its
Greek Vorlage, or that it had a different Vorlage; Baarda notes several parallels
to the introduction of ⲟⲩⲱϣ in Coptic versions of Matthew and Luke, which he
explains on grounds of translation technique.15 One might compare with these
instances the French ‘Je vois la mer’ where the English holiday-maker prefers ‘I
can see the sea’.
of perhaps having to take Θωμᾶ(ς) as a nominative) is not without problems either. See
further discussion in the textual comment on the Prologue below (in main commentary).
10 B. Layton, A Coptic Grammar, 2nd rev. edn (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2004), 182 (§237).
11 E. Perttilä, ‘How to Read the Greek Text behind the Sahidic Coptic’, in A. Voitila & J. Joki-
ranta, eds. Scripture in Transition: Essays on Septuagint, Hebrew Bible, and Dead Sea Scrolls
in Honour of Raija Sollamo (Leiden/ New York/ Köln: Brill, 2008), 367–377 (371).
12 Ricchuiti, ‘Tracking Thomas’, 227.
13 One of the criteria named in Ricchuiti, ‘Tracking Thomas’, 193.
14 So, rightly, T. Baarda, ‘The Reading “Who Wished to Enter” in Coptic Tradition: Matt 23.23,
Luke 11.52, and Thomas 39’, NTS 52 (2006), 583–591 (591).
15 Baarda, ‘The Reading “Who Wished to Enter” ’, 583–591.
Scribal Errors
Both the Greek and, especially, the Coptic text contain a number of examples
of transpositions, additions, deletions, and other kinds of errors which are stan-
dard fare in the transmission of any text. In addition to the clearer examples,
which are generally both easily recognisable and more trivial, there are also
some more hypothetical cases where the meaning is affected. For example,
the shift from ‘reigning, shall rest’ in the Greek to ‘reigning over (the) all’ in
Coptic might be explained by a shift from ‘reigning, επαναπαησεται’ to ‘reign-
ing επανω παντα’ or, less likely, ‘reigning ανα παντα’.16 Similarly, in GTh 6.4 the
Greek appears to have ‘before the truth’, whereas the Coptic has ‘before the sky/
heaven’. This has been explained by some as an inner-Coptic corruption, from
ⲧⲙⲉ (‘the truth’) to ⲧⲡⲉ (‘heaven’).17
Substantive Differences
I do not mean to deny the fact that there are some significant differences
between the Greek fragments and the Coptic version (though I question the
quantity of those differences). There are four differences which might be re-
garded as of potential theological significance: (i) the absence of a reference to
‘raising’ in the Coptic of GTh 5; (ii) the Coptic’s removal of a reference to ‘God’
in the Greek of GTh 27; (iii) the placement of Greek 30.2–3 after GTh 77.1 in the
Coptic, and (iv) the substantial abbreviation in the Coptic of GTh 36.
The first case, the omission of the Greek’s ‘nothing … buried which [will
not be raised]’ (5.3) is difficult to evaluate. It would be rather flat-footed to
assert simply that the Greek Thomas espoused a doctrine of bodily resurrection
which the Coptic translator (or some other intermediary in the course of
transmission) wished to expunge. It may well be the case that the statement
was removed because it was regarded as suspicious, but it is far from clear that
the Greek original propounded a doctrine of resurrection. The parallel in the
statement, ‘[For there i]s nothing hidden which will not [become] pla[in], and
buried which [will not be raised]’ (5.2–3), might well suggest that the point
is the revelation and uncovering of what is previously hidden: a reference to
bodily resurrection in 5.3 would make a rather odd parallel to the statement
about the unveiling of what has been kept secret in 5.2. So it is not necessary to
see, indeed improbable that there is, a theological divergence between Greek
and Coptic here.

17 The Berlin edition emends the Coptic text to ⲧⲙⲉ.
18 chapter 2
Secondly, if the reading ‘kingdom of God’ is indeed correct in GTh 27, there
does seem to be an avoidance of such God-language in the Coptic, given the
equivocal use of the term ⲛⲟⲩⲧⲉ in the rest of the text. With the straightfor-
wardly positive sense removed in GTh 27, one is left with the baffling usage
in GTh 30, and the perhaps surprising placement of ‘God’ in second position
between Caesar and Jesus in GTh 100 (‘give to Caesar … give to God … give to
me’). It remains possible, however, that there is nothing suspicious about God
having been left in GTh 100 in this position apparently inferior to Jesus; it may
simply be that a reference to Jesus is appended without thought to the conse-
quences.
It should be remembered that the third case, the moving of Greek 30.2–3
to GTh 77 is a difference of order, rather than of content. It is probably not
theologically motivated: the most commonly adopted explanation of the move
is that GTh 77.2–3 were joined to 77.1 at the Coptic stage by a catchword
connection, because GTh 77.1 and GTh 77.2 are linked by the catchword ⲡⲱϩ,
in the double sense of ‘reach’ and ‘split’.18 On the other hand, it may have some
knock-on effects. As we will see in the commentary, the move may encourage
a pantheistic or panchristic theology which would not arise so easily without
the juxtaposition in the Coptic text.
Fourthly and finally, the Coptic substantially abbreviates of the Greek of
GTh 36. (To make a crude comparison of length, the reduction is from 61
reconstructed words to the 19 words in my English translations of each version.)
The opening statement is similar in Greek and Coptic: ‘Do not worry from
morning to evening and from evening to morning about what you will wear.’
The Greek also adds food as something which should not occasion worry,
and thereafter bolsters these points by referrring to the lilies of the field not
mentioned in the Coptic. Perhaps avoided as suspicious is the Greek’s ‘He will
[g]ive you your garments’, but, rather than theological suspicion, the cause
may have been avoidance of the awkwardness of a juxposition of provision
of garments in GTh 36 and undressing (in both Greek and Coptic) in GTh 37.
Therefore it may be smoothing out an inconsistency rather than theological
correction at work, though one cannot be sure.
18 See e.g. E. Haenchen, ‘Literatur zum Thomasevangelium (I)’, ThR 27 (1961), 147–178 (161–
162); C.M. Tuckett, ‘The Gospel of Thomas: Evidence for Jesus?’, NTT 52 (1998), 17–32
(21 n. 17); E.E. Popkes, ‘ “Ich bin das Licht”—Erwägungen zur Verhältnisbestimmung des
Thomasevangeliums und der johanneischen Schriften anhand der Lichtmetaphorik’, in
J. Frey, ed. Kontexte des Johannesevangeliums (Tübingen: Mohr, 2004), 641–674 (655); Pop-
kes, ‘Differing Approach’, 281–317.
Clearly the Coptic is not a straightforwardly literal translation that would

enable us to reconstruct the Greek behind it.19 There are various kinds of differ-
ences, including substitutions, as well as additions and subtractions (although
we cannot necessarily distinguish between instances of these two).20 It is often
difficult, however, even in the four most substantive cases above, to see any sort
of consistent redactional programme or theological Tendenz in the translation
or transmission process.
2.2 Similarities
One of the problems in scholarship is that scholars often focus on these differ-
ences—which are after all more interesting. Eisele’s study, for example, notes
briefly which sayings exhibit ‘beachtliche Unterschiede’21 but then says noth-
ing more about those which apparently do not. The similarities are also worthy
of note.
Substantial Common Order in Greek and Coptic Texts

As noted above, the Greek fragments contain (imperfectly): Prologue + GTh 1–7
(P. Oxy. IV 654), GTh 24 (P. Oxy. IV 655 fr. d), GTh 26–33 (P. Oxy. I 1), and GTh
36–39 (P. Oxy. IV 655). The only difference in order from the Coptic lies, as has
been noted, in P. Oxy. I 1, where Greek GTh 30 consists of Coptic GTh 30 + GTh
77.2–3. In P. Oxy. I 1 in particular, GTh 30 is the only saying with variation from
the Coptic.
Substantial Common Material in Greek and Coptic

Leaving aside the matter of the wording, the substance of the two sets of
material is very close. The only saying where there is serious discrepancy is in
GTh 37, where, as we have seen, the long Greek saying “against anxiety” is only
a single sentence in the Coptic.22
19 S.J. Gathercole, The Composition of the Gospel of Thomas: Original Language and Influences
(SNTSMS 51; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012), 36–37, and 43–104 passim.
20 We do not know whether, for example, a scribe (or the translator) has added ‘Jesus’ in 37.2,
or if a scribe has omitted it.
21 Eisele, Welcher Thomas, 37.
22 Eisele noted that 5 / 15 had no substantial differences, but the numbering is quite confus-
ing. He lists as the ‘usable’ sayings for comparison Prol. + GTh 1; 2–6; 26–28; 30–32; 36–37;
39, which do add up to 15 (with the Prologue and GTh 1 counting as one). But he then
20 chapter 2
In particular, there is substantial similarity in meaning between the Greek

and the Coptic. As often happens in studies of versions, some scholars rush
to see a theological tendency in a translation on the basis of the meanest of
evidence: the problem lies often in a lack of a consistent pattern. In the case of
Thomas, even if there were an ‘anti-corporeal’ tendency in the omission of the
reference to resurrection in the Coptic of GTh 5, when it comes to GTh 28, the
Coptic clearly reproduces the ‘incarnational’ thought of the Greek.
Common Greek and Graeco-Coptic Vocabulary23

One point not sufficiently recognised is how close the match is between items
of vocabulary in the Greek and Coptic texts. This is evident on examination of
the 27 Greek loan-words in the Coptic text where the Coptic text of Thomas
and the extant Greek overlap. The following is a list of all the Greek loan-words
which occur in sayings in the Coptic text of Thomas which are parallelled by
the Greek fragments:
P. Oxy. IV 654
GTh 1 ⲑⲉⲣⲙⲏⲛⲉⲓⲁ: cf. Gk [τὴν ἑρμηνεί]αν
GTh 2.2 ϩⲟⲧⲁⲛ: cf. Gk ὅταν
GTh 3.2 ⲥϩⲛ̄ ⲑⲁⲗⲁⲥⲥⲁ: cf. Gk τῆς θαλά[σσης]
GTh 3.3 ⲁⲗⲗⲁ: cf. Gk καί
Thereafter, in GTh 3.4–5 (ϩⲟⲧⲁⲛ, ⲧⲟⲧⲉ, ⲇⲉ) the Greek is lacunose.
GTh 4.1 ⲉⲧⲃⲉ ⲡⲧⲟⲡⲟⲥ: cf. Gk περὶ τοῦ τόπου

GTh 5.2 ⲅⲁⲣ: Greek lacunose at this point
GTh 6.1 -ⲛ̄ⲣ̄ⲛⲏⲥⲧⲉⲩⲉ: cf. Gk πῶς νηστεύ[σομεν]
GTh 6.1 ⲉⲗⲉⲏⲙⲟⲥⲩⲛⲏ: Greek lacunose at this point
GTh 6.1 ⲉⲛⲁⲣ̄ⲡⲁⲣⲁⲧⲏⲣⲉⲓ: cf. Gk παρατηρήσ̣ [ομεν]
GTh 7.1 ⲙⲁⲕⲁⲣⲓⲟⲥ: cf. Gk [μα]κ̣ άρι[ος]
notes that 10 out of 15 display notable differences, namely: Prol. + GTh 1; 2–3; 5–6; 30; 36–
37. Hence it is only 8 out of 15 sayings with notable differences, with GTh 4; 26–28; 31–32
and 39 (i.e. seven sayings)—on Eisele’s estimation—very similar.
23 The discussion here closely parallels that in Gathercole, Composition, 106–108. Since
constructing the list of parallel items of vocabulary, I notice that a very similar list appears
in P. Piovanelli, ‘Thomas in Edessa? Another Look at the Original Setting of the Gospel of
Thomas’, in J. Dijkstra, J. Kroesen & Y. Kuiper, eds. Myths, Martyrs, and Modernity: Studies
in the History of Religions in Honour of Jan N. Bremmer (Leiden: Brill, 2010), 443–461.
P.Oxy. IV 655
GTh 24.1 (with ⲛⲉϥⲙⲁⲑⲏⲧⲏⲥ, ⲉⲡⲧⲟⲡⲟⲥ and ⲧⲁⲛⲁⲅⲕⲏ) is not extant.
GTh 24.3 ⲉⲡⲕⲟⲥⲙⲟⲥ: cf. Gk [… κ]ό̣σμῳ
P. Oxy. I 1
GTh 26.2 ϩⲟⲧⲁⲛ: Greek lacunose at this point
GTh 26.2 ⲧⲟⲧⲉ: cf. Gk τότε
GTh 27.1 ⲉⲧⲉⲧⲙ̄ⲣ̄ⲛⲏⲥⲧⲉⲩⲉ: cf. Gk ἐὰν μὴ νησ̣ τεύσητ⟨ε⟩
GTh 27.1 ⲉⲡⲕⲟⲥⲙⲟⲥ: cf. Gk τὸν κόσμ̣ ον
GTh 27.2 ⲉⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ⲧⲙ̄ⲉⲓⲣⲉ … ⲛ̄ⲥⲁⲃ`ⲃⲁⲧⲟⲛ: cf. Gk ἐὰν μὴ σαββατίσητε
GTh 27.2 ⲙ̄ⲡⲥⲁⲙⲃⲁⲧⲟⲛ: cf. Gk τὸ σάββατον
GTh 28.1 ⲙ̄ⲡⲕⲟⲥⲙⲟⲥ: cf. Gk τοῦ κόσμου
GTh 28.1 ϩⲛ̄ ⲥⲁⲣⲝ: cf. Gk ἐν σαρκ⟦ε⟧ί
GTh 28.3 -ⲧⲁⲯⲩⲭⲏ: cf. Gk ἡ ψυχ̣ή̣ μ̣ ου
Thereafter, little of GTh 28 survives in Greek, and so what might have been parallel to
ⲉⲡⲕⲟⲥⲙⲟⲥ, ⲡⲕⲟⲥⲙⲟⲥ, ⲡⲗⲏⲛ, ϩⲟⲧⲁⲛ, ⲧⲟⲧⲉ and ⲥⲉⲛⲁⲣ̄ⲙⲉⲧⲁⲛⲟⲉⲓ is not extant. Only the very
end of GTh 29 survives in Greek, and so, similarly, what would have been parallel to
ⲧⲥⲁⲣⲝ, ⲡⲛ̅ⲁ̅, ⲡⲛ̅ⲁ̅, ⲡⲥⲱⲙⲁ and ⲁⲗⲗⲁ is not extant.
GTh 30.2 ⲏ: No Gk parallel

GTh 31.1 ⲡⲣⲟⲫⲏⲧⲏⲥ: cf. Gk προφ̣ή̣τ̣ης
GTh 31.2 ⲣ̄ⲑⲉⲣⲁⲡⲉⲩⲉ: cf. Gk ποιεῖ θ̣εραπείας
GTh 32 ⲟⲩⲡⲟⲗⲓⲥ: cf. Gk πόλις
GTh 32 … ⲟⲩⲇⲉ …: cf. Gk οὔτε … οὔτε …
GTh 33.2–3 (ⲅⲁⲣ, ⲟⲩⲇⲉ, ⲁⲗⲗⲁ, ⲧⲗⲩⲭⲛⲓⲁ) is not extant in Greek.
P. Oxy. IV 655
GTh 37.1 ⲛⲉϥⲙⲁⲑⲏⲧⲏⲥ: cf. Gk οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ
GTh 37.2 ϩⲟⲧⲁⲛ: cf. Gk ὅταν
From GTh 37.3 to GTh 39.2 (ⲧⲟⲧⲉ̣, ⲁⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ⲣ̄ⲉⲡⲓⲑⲩⲙⲉⲓ, ⲙ̄ⲫⲁⲣⲓⲥⲁⲓⲟⲥ, ⲛ̄ⲅⲣⲁⲙⲙⲁⲧⲉⲩⲥ, ⲛ̄ⲧⲅⲛⲱⲥⲓⲥ,
ⲟⲩⲧⲉ) the Greek is too lacunose to identify similarities or differences between Greek
and Coptic texts.
GTh 39.3 ⲇⲉ: cf. Gk δέ

GTh 39.3 ⲙ̄ⲫⲣⲟⲛⲓⲙⲟⲥ: cf. Gk [φρόνι]μοι
GTh 39.3 ⲛ̄ⲁⲕⲉⲣⲁⲓⲟⲥ: cf. Gk [ἀ]κέραι[οι]
22 chapter 2
It can be observed that, in almost every case, there is a correspondence

between a borrowed Greek word in the Coptic and the Greek where that Greek
text is extant. The only exceptions are a case of ⲁⲗⲗⲁ (← καί in GTh 3.3), an
unparallelled use of ⲏ in GTh 30.2, and GTh 32’s preference in Coptic for a
single ⲟⲩⲇⲉ over the Greek’s οὔτε … οὔτε … . In the latter two cases the discrep-
ancy arises from a different syntax in the surrounding context; additionally, the
Greek paralleling the ⲏ in GTh 30.2 is uncertain. Moreover, as is widely recog-
nised, particles are the elements least predictably rendered in other Greek-
to-Coptic translations.24 This is a fairly remarkable statistic, making a Greek
Vorlage quite similar to our extant Greek fragments almost certain.
2.3 Some Analogies
A more detailed study of the variations in the transmission of Thomas in com-

parison with the transmission of other works, such as NT books and other
works, is a desideratum.25 In the absence of such a study, we can briefly sketch
some analogous cases. The Greek of the Sophia of Jesus Christ is very close to
the Coptic version (especially the Berlin manuscript): the similarity is greater
than is the case with Thomas. A closer analogy is the Gospel of Mary, where
there are numerous instances of different syntax, and some different vocabu-
lary: Tuckett discusses 21 differences, perhaps more comparable to the quantity
of differences between Greek and Coptic texts of Thomas.26 There is, however,
a very similar overall sense. Too far in the other direction of difference would
be the Aramaic Targums of the Hebrew Bible, which—put simply—are more
paraphrastic than the Coptic translation of Thomas. Or again, the version of
24 Mink comments that the use of Graeco-Coptic particles to translate Greek particles is
‘ziemlich wahllos’. G. Mink, ‘Die koptischen Versionen des Neuen Testaments: Die sprach-
lichen Probleme bei ihrer Bewertung für die griechische Textgeschichte’, in K. Aland, ed.
Die alten Übersetzungen des Neuen Testaments, die Kirchenväterzitate und Lektionare: Der
gegenwärtige Stand ihrer Erforschung und ihre Bedeutung für die griechische Textgeschichte
(Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 1972), 160–299 (242). F. Feder, Ieremias, Lamentationes (Threni),
Epistula Ieremiae et Baruch (Biblia Sahidica; Berlin/ New York: Walter de Gruyter, 2002),
86–87, notes that in the Sahidic version of the Jeremiah corpus, καί can be represented by
Coptic words for ‘and’ (ⲁⲩⲱ, ⲙⲛ̄, ϩⲓ), but also by ⲁⲗⲗⲁ, ⲇⲉ or ⲏ. Perttilä, ‘How to Read the
Greek’, 376, sums up the case of 1 Samuel: ‘To read the Greek behind the Coptic text is in
the case of conjunctions mostly impossible.’
26 Gos. Mary 18,8–9 has ⲉⲕⲣ̄ⲅⲩⲙⲛⲁⲍⲉ where the Greek does not have a form of γυμνάζω. For
discussion of the various differences, see Tuckett, Gospel of Mary, 119–133.
the book of Tobit in the Alcalà Bible (Complutensis 1) may be considered a

different recension, but this is appropriate for a paraphrase which is approxi-
mately 25% longer than other Old Latin texts of Tobit.27 Although in the case of
Thomas we are primarily comparing Greek texts with a Coptic translation, one
can draw a partial analogy with aspects of the transmission of the Greek NT: for
example, Royse’s study of the scribal habits in the earliest NT papyri identifies
and discusses additions, omissions, leaps, transpositions, substitutions, confla-
tions, harmonisations and theological changes in P45, P46, P47, P66, P72 and
P75—the same features which one sees in the textual variation in Thomas.28 As
Ricchuiti has put it, ‘it should be noted that the scribes who copied the Gospel
[of Thomas] appear to fall victim to many of the exact same traps that corrupted
canonical texts.’29 In the light of this, even if the Greek texts are by no means
perfect, and the Coptic is a free or ‘adapted translation’,30 the text-critical pro-
cess is not a hopeless one.
2.4 Conclusion
In sum, there are noteworthy textual differences between the Greek fragments
on the one hand, and the Coptic text on the other. (These differences will be the
subject of more extended textual comment in the relevant sections of the com-
mentary.) However, these differences have sometimes been exaggerated. The
important conclusion for the purposes of the commentary is that it is unneces-
sary to exegete the Greek and Coptic texts separately as different works or very
different recensions in need of separate treatments. There are occasionally dif-
ferent nuances of meaning between a Greek fragment and its corresponding
Coptic text, but these are not sufficient to prevent treating the texts as wit-
nesses to the same work. Rather, the similarities where the Coptic and Greek
do overlap are sufficient to imply that the Coptic text in substance goes back to
a second-century Greek original resembling our Oxyrhynchus fragments. Any
interpretation of Thomas needs to make clear what the textual basis is.31 As a
result of the considerations above, this commentary will not follow the model
27 See S. Weeks, S.J. Gathercole & L.T. Stuckenbruck, The Book of Tobit (Berlin: Walter de
Gruyter, 2004), 23–24.
28 J.R. Royse, Scribal Habits in Early Greek New Testament Papyri (Leiden/ Boston: Brill, 2008).
31 J. Schröter, Erinnerung an Jesu Worte: Studien zur Rezeption der Logienüberlieferung in
Markus, Q und Thomas (WMANT 76; Neukirchen: Neukirchener, 1997), 136.
24 chapter 2
of that of Valantasis, who effectively provides two commentaries, one on the

Greek, one on the Coptic. Rather, it will assess competing readings in the tex-
tual comment on each saying in an attempt to identify which is the earliest.
Appended Note: Thomas as a ‘Rolling Corpus’?
Some scholars have seen the question ‘Welcher Thomas?’ as not merely con-
fined to the question of how to assess the relative significance of the Oxyrhyn-
chus fragments, Hippolytus’ citation and the Coptic text. There is also the
matter of Thomas’s compositional history to consider: surely there were vari-
ous Thomases at various compositional phases before the completion of the
final version? Wilson, for example, likened Thomas to a snowball-like ‘rolling
corpus’.32 Likewise, DeConick’s work sees a core originating in Aramaic in the
mid-first century, with various accretions until the addition of the latest stra-
tum of Thomas in 80–120ce.33 Fieger similarly reckons that we should assume
‘einen längeren Wachstumprozess’.34 Others see less of a rolling corpus, and
more of a bipartite or tripartite composition. For example, Crossan and Arnal
see a process of two stages, whereas Puig reckons on three.35
Although it is impossible to prove the negative that there were no such
compositional stages and layers, I consider the case that there were such stages
not proven.36 There are a number of weaknesses both (1) in the arguments for
32 R.McL. Wilson, ‘Thomas and the Synoptic Gospels’, ExpT 72 (1960), 36–39 (39).
33 See the chart of material in respective strata in A.D. DeConick, The Original Gospel of
Thomas in Translation: With a Commentary and New English Translation of the Complete
Gospel (LNTS 287; London/New York: T&T Clark International, 2006), 10.
34 M. Fieger, ‘Die Frau im Thomasevangelium’, in R. Schulz & M. Görg, eds. Lingua Restituta
Orientalis (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1990), 102–107 (103); cf. F.B. Watson, Gospel Writing:
A Canonical Perspective (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2013), 221.
35 J.D. Crossan, The Historical Jesus: The Life of a Mediterranean Jewish Peasant (San Francisco:
HarperCollins, 1991), 427, on Thomas I, which he considers complete ‘by the fifties’, and
430 on Thomas II (60–80 ce). W.E. Arnal, ‘The Rhetoric of Marginality: Apocalypticism,
Gnosticism, and Sayings Gospels’, HTR 88 (1995), 471–494, gives only a list of what can
be ascribed with confidence to the sapiential stratum (478 n. 17), and to the secondary
‘gnostic stratum’ (479 n. 32). He dates Thomas as a whole to the latter half of the first
century (489 n. 70). See A. Puig, Un Jesús desconocido: Las claves del evangelio gnóstico de
Tomás (Barcelona: Ariel, 2008), 133–178, for what he assigns to different strata. See pp. 116
and 121 for the dates: 100–110 ce for Tomás1; c. 150 for Tomás2–a. and 200 for Tomás2–b.
36 There may be some differences from earlier drafts. E.g. S. Giversen, ‘Questions and Ans-
wers in the Gospel according to Thomas: The Composition of pl. 81,14–18 and pl. 83, 14–27’,
multiple stages of composition, and (2) in the criteria used to place particular
logia in the relevant layers. We will examine these in turn.
1 Arguments for Multiple Stages of Composition

The Argument from Thomas’s Form
There are two main parts to this: the fact that Thomas is a kind of list, and
the analogy of the Sentences of Sextus. On the first point, Sellew is an exam-
ple of one who has remarked that the form of Thomas affords it little protec-
tion against interpolation.37 A problem with this argument, however, is that
there is little evidence of interpolation in the period between the time of the
Oxyrhynchus fragments and the Coptic version. As Haenchen remarks, what-
ever snowballing may have taken place before c. 200 ce (the earliest likely date
for the Oxyrhynchus fragments), there is obviously not much between Greek
and Coptic stages.38 The similarity in order means that, for example, no one
between the Greek and Coptic stages wanted to add a saying between GTh 2
and 3, or between 4 and 5, etc. Given that there is no evidence that Thomas was
regarded as permeable between c. 200–350ce, why should one suppose that it
had previously been?
Additionally, Wilson’s influential comment that Thomas is a ‘rolling corpus’
is influenced by the analogy he draws with Chadwick’s assessment of the
Sentences of Sextus.39 However, the situation with the latter is quite different:
Chadwick’s comment that the two principal texts of Sextus ‘differ profoundly
in their order’ could not be said of the manuscripts of Thomas.40
Acta Orientalia 25 (1960), 332–338, may well be right that sayings 6 and 14 could have been
a single dialogue originally.
37 P. Sellew, ‘The Gospel of Thomas: Prospects for Future Research’, in J.D. Turner & A.
McGuire, eds. The Nag Hammadi Library after Fifty Years: Proceedings of the 1995 Society
of Biblical Literature Commemoration (Leiden: Brill, 1997), 327–346 (335).
38 E. Haenchen, ‘Literatur zum Thomasevangelium (Fortsetzung)’, ThR 27 (1961), 306–338
(314).
39 R.McL. Wilson, ‘“Thomas” and the Growth of the Gospels’, HTR 53 (1960), 231–250 (231). See
A. Gagné, ‘Sectarianism, Secrecy and Self Definition: Relational Features between Jesus,
the Disciples and the Outsiders’, in T. Holmén, ed. Jesus in Continuum (WUNT; Tübingen:
Mohr Siebeck, 2012), 223–242 (230 n. 21), for a survey of those who have taken up this
idea. More recently, note P.-H. Poirier, ‘L’ Évangile selon Thomas (NH II,2; P. Oxy. 1, 654,
655), Témoin de la théologie chrétienne primitive?’, in J. Schröter, ed. The Apocryphal
Gospels within the Context of Early Christian Theology (Leuven/ Paris/ Walpole: Peeters,
2013), 95–125 (118).
40 H. Chadwick, The Sentences of Sextus: A Contribution to the History of Christian Ethics
(Cambridge: Cambridge University, 1959), 3.
26 chapter 2
Theological Inconsistency
This is often alleged to originate in multiple stages of composition.41 On this
issue, however, it is worth noting that assessments of doctrinal diversity within
Thomas do vary greatly from scholar to scholar.42 For some, the reference to
James’ leadership in GTh 12 and the criticism of physical circumcision in GTh
53 display quite incompatible stances toward Jewish Christianity.43 Or again, on
the theme of ‘light’: ‘The interpreter who tries to harmonize this particular con-
tent of log. 24 with other sayings in the collection will be disappointed … The
collection refers to light no fewer than six times, but all attempts to tie these say-
ings to a common underlying doctrine seem forced.’44 On the other hand, other
scholars seem quite capable of discussing particular themes in Thomas and giv-
ing accounts which hold together reasonably well. One thinks, for example, of
Uro’s nuanced treatments of authority in Thomas (which touches on the James
question), and of the topic of asceticism.45 In the latter, Uro identifies tenden-
cies rather than necessarily hard positions.46 Popkes’ treatment of light symbol-
ism in Thomas produces a coherent account of the theme.47 The eschatology
of Thomas, sometimes considered contradictory, is in my judgment not too dif-
ficult to fit together.48 The sayings cannot be boiled down to a neat system,
41 See e.g. A.D. DeConick, ‘The Original “Gospel of Thomas”’, VC 56 (2002), 167–199 (167, 179–
180). DeConick cites the multiplicity of doublets, and the presence of divergent theological
perspectives as the two reasons necessitating explanation: ‘How can we account for, how
can we explain the presence of these contradictory materials and doublets in one text as
well as the presence of so many religious traditions?’ (167).
42 Neller and Davies, for example, have talked of the integrity of Thomas, and therefore do not
consider theological inconsistency to require such radical views of composition as does
DeConick. See K.V. Neller, ‘Diversity in the Gospel of Thomas: Clues for a New Direction?’,
SecCent 7 (1989–1990), 1–18; S.L. Davies, ‘The Christology and Protology of the Gospel of
Thomas’, JBL 111 (1992), 663–682 (664).
43 DeConick, ‘The Original Gospel of Thomas’, 167.
44 T. Zöckler, ‘Light within the Human Person: A Comparison of Matthew 6:22–23 and Gospel
of Thomas 24’, JBL 120 (2001), 487–499 (496).
45 R. Uro, ‘“Who Will be Our Leader?” Authority and Autonomy in the Gospel of Thomas’,
in I. Dunderberg, C.M. Tuckett & K. Syreeni, eds. Fair Play: Diversity and Conflicts in
Early Christianity: Essays in Honour of Heikki Räisänen (Leiden/ Boston/ Köln: Brill, 2002),
457–485, and idem, ‘Asceticism and Anti-Familial Language in the Gospel of Thomas’, in
H. Moxnes, ed. Constructing Early Christian Families: Family as Social Reality and Metaphor
(London: Routledge, 1997), 216–234.
46 See Uro, ‘Asceticism and Anti-Familial Language’, 226.
47 Popkes, ‘Ich bin das Licht’, 641–674.
48 See S.J. Gathercole, ‘ “The Heavens and the Earth Will Be Rolled up”: The Eschatology of the
but neither are they a chaotic mass of contradictions. On the other hand, Stead
offers the heterogeneity of audience as an explanation of Thomas’s diversity of
outlook.49
One might observe that a view that the collection, because of its fissures and
inconcinnities, could not come from a single author merely moves the problem.
Given that Thomas is quite a short work, which ought to be manageable to
edit, we are left instead with an eccentric and/or unintelligent final editor
instead (which is of course perfectly possible). It is important to recognise that
an editor putting into a rather haphazard final form a ‘snowball’ which had
accumulated several layers would be just as capable of producing a similar work
by the compilation of multiple sources. Such inconsistencies are a problem
for any theory, as—if one finds the theological tensions intolerable—such
tensions indicate carelessness on the part of the final editor however long
the process of accretion has been,50 whether over the course of a century
(so DeConick), or in the short time it would take an editor to combine, for
example, the Gospel of the Hebrews and the Gospel of the Egyptians (thus early
Quispel).51
The Presence of Doublets

There is not a problem with the presence of doublets per se, but their frequency
in Thomas has raised questions.52 Matthew and Luke both have doublets,
but just not as many as one finds in Thomas. Some, however, have identified
particular literary reasons for the doublets: this is the conclusion of the most
Gospel of Thomas’, in H.-J. Eckstein, C. Landmesser & H. Lichtenberger, eds. Eschatologie—

Eschatology: The Sixth Durham-Tübingen Research Symposium: Eschatology in Old Testa-
ment, Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity (Tübingen, September 2009) (WUNT; Tübin-
gen: Mohr Siebeck, 2011), 280–302.
49 G.C. Stead, ‘Some Reflections on the Gospel of Thomas’, Studia Evangelica 3 (1964), 390–
402 (399–400).
50 DeConick, ‘The Original Gospel of Thomas’, 178, remarks that Arnal’s model of a kind of
two-stage composition faces the same problems as does a unified composition by a single
author.
51 See e.g. G. Quispel, ‘Gospel of Thomas and the Gospel of the Hebrews’, NTS 12 (1966),
371–382 (373) for Quispel’s view of these two as the only sources. In the same article he
attributes Thomas’s doublets to the combining of these two sources (378). Quispel later
added a Hermetic source: see discussion of the development of his views in F.T. Fallon &
R. Cameron, ‘The Gospel of Thomas: A Forschungsbericht and Analysis’, ANRW Principat
2.25.6 (1988), 4195–4251 (4217–4218).
52 See e.g. DeConick, ‘The Original Gospel of Thomas’, 167.
28 chapter 2
substantial study of them;53 another scholar sees the later versions as the result
of improvisation upon the earlier forms.54 On the other hand, it may well be the
case again that the author of Thomas is simply not a skilled writer. Arnal prob-
ably rightly characterises the author/editor as ‘moderately educated’, but with
‘little literary sophistication’.55 Horman notes, not without some understate-
ment: ‘There is not, I think, a drive to literary excellence in Thomas.’56 As in the
case with theological inconsistency above, the doublets are a problem for any
theory, as—if one excludes the theory of subtle literary sophistication—they
indicate carelessness on the part of the final editor whether one envisages a
snowballing over a century or a process merely of combining multiple sources.
As Neller points out, scholars have taken doublets as evidence in either direc-
tion.57 On the other hand, it may be correct that the doublets are deliberate
rather than the result of carelessness. At least one of the doublets is introduced
in a way that makes it clear that it is known by the author/ editor to be a dou-
blet.58 Thus Dewey’s view that the later versions are reworkings of the earlier
versions may be right.
53 J.Ma. Asgeirsson, ‘Arguments and Audience(s) in the Gospel of Thomas (Part II)’, SBLSP
(1998), 325–342 (329), identifying the doublets as inner-Thomasine growth, rather than
from assimilation of external sources. See also the first part in SBLSP (1997), 47–85, where
the basic data is set out on pp. 49, 50 and 75. Cf. J.-M. Sevrin, ‘Thomas, Q et le Jésus
de l’histoire’, in A. Lindemann, ed. Sayings Source Q and the Historical Jesus (Louvain:
Leuven University/ Peeters, 2001), 461–476 (465), who takes the view that since a number
of the doublets appear in the last 20 sayings, they collectively function as a kind of
recapitulation. The point is also noted by Stead, who deduces a rather different conclusion
from the facts, namely that the original conclusion was perhaps around GTh 100, but that
it was rather repetitiously expanded later (‘Some Reflections on the Gospel of Thomas’,
401).
54 A.J. Dewey, ‘Keep Speaking until you Find …: Thomas and the School of Oral Mimesis’, in
R. Cameron & M.P. Miller, eds. Redescribing Christian Origins (Atlanta: Society of Biblical
Literature, 2004), 109–132 (117).
55 Arnal, ‘Rhetoric of Marginality’, 489; cf. Sellew, who notes that some scholars regard
Thomas as ‘a sub-literary product’ (‘The Gospel of Thomas: Prospects for Future Research’,
328).
56 J.F. Horman, ‘The Source of the Version of the Parable of the Sower in the Gospel of
Thomas’, NovT 21 (1979), 326–343 (343). He had just noted aspects of the phraseology of
Thomas as ‘surprisingly crude’, and reflecting ‘shockingly bad taste’ (342).
57 See discussion in Neller, ‘Diversity in the Gospel of Thomas’, 3.
58 The statement in GTh 46 about knowing the kingdom by becoming a child is introduced
with ‘I have said’, harking back perhaps to the similar thought in GTh 22. According to
some interpreters, the comment about the world not being worthy of the one who finds
Finally, none of the putative previous “editions” appears to have survived.

This may be regarded as a rather facile argument, akin to arguing against Q
on the basis that there is no manuscript of it. It needs to be remembered,
however, how shaky is the foundation on which the theory of multiple stages
of composition rests, and therefore such layers should certainly not be treated
as known entities.
2 The Problem with the Criteria for Assigning Sayings

There are serious difficulties with the criteria adopted by scholars for placing
particular sayings in particular strata. Two influential examples will be exam-
ined here, Crossan and DeConick. Crossan’s account is as follows:
There may be at least two separate layers in it. One was composed by
the fifties C.E., possibly in Jerusalem, under the aegis of James’s author-
ity (see Gos. Thom. 12). After his martyrdom in 62 C.E., the collection and
maybe also its community, migrated to Syrian Edessa. There a second
layer was added, possibly as early as the sixties or seventies, under the
aegis of the Thomas authority (see Gos. Thom. 13). The collection is inde-
pendent of the intracanonical Gospels [citing authorities]. Those twin
layers are identified, but tentatively and experimentally, as follows: the
earlier James-layer is now discernible primarily in those units with inde-
pendent attestation elsewhere and is placed in the first stratum (Gos.
Thom. I), the Thomas-layer is now discernible primarily in that which is
unique to this collection, or at least to the general Thomas tradition, and
is placed in the second stratum (Gos. Thom. II). That rather crude strati-
fication underlines the need for a better one, but it also emphasizes how
much of this collection is very, very early.59
It should be noted that Crossan admits that his reconstruction is ‘crude’ and
proposed ‘tentatively and experimentally’. It nevertheless has a significant im-
pact on his reconstruction of Jesus.60 The ‘tentative’ mood remains, however:
the whole paragraph above rests on a ‘may be’, with a further ‘maybe’ and
two ‘possiblys’ as well. Instead of ‘tentatively and experimentally’, one might
himself in GTh 111 is prefaced with ‘Did not Jesus say …?’, alerting the reader perhaps
to the similar statements in GTh 56 and 80. See commentary on this saying below,
however.
59 Crossan, Historical Jesus, 427–428.
60 So rightly C. Quarles, ‘The Use of the Gospel of Thomas in the Research on the Historical
Jesus of John Dominic Crossan’, CBQ 69 (2007), 517–536 (517–518).
30 chapter 2
substitute ‘speculatively’: is there any substantive reason why sayings with

attestation elsewhere (especially the Synoptics) should be placed in the ear-
lier stratum whereas those not attested elsewhere should be consigned to the
later?
Some of the same problems are found in DeConick’s criteria, acknowledged
by Quarles to be more detailed than the method of Crossan.61 To cite the
explanation of her first criterion at length:
Secondary embellishments are very obvious when allegories and inter-

pretative clauses were added to sayings, especially clauses that represent
ideological positions common to later Christianity (i.e., L. 16c). Sayings
also were developed contextually through the creation of dialogues (i.e.,
L. 52 and 60) and question-answer units (i.e., L. 6a/14a and 51). In these
cases, the saying is interpreted by focusing or extending its discussion to
a particular topic, a topic which may have had little to do with the ker-
nel saying. The questions, usually introduced by the disciples, most often
represent concerns or issues from the later part of the first century (i.e.,
L. 53). The saying following the question most probably entered the ker-
nel simultaneous with the question since they seem to function as units
of explanatory material. It is less likely that a question alone was inserted
before a kernel saying, especially in cases where the saying reflects the
interests of later Christian discussions. The material that can be removed
because it shows signs of secondary literary development includes that
which has been shaped into dialogues (L. 13, 60), material which has been
introduced into the collection by questions from the disciples (6a/14a, 12,
18, 37, 51, 53, and 113) and material which has been added to a Logion in
order to provide an interpretation of that saying (16c, 21c, 23b, 30a, 64b,
68b, 100c, 111b–c).62
This is the first of three ‘principles for discerning intra-traditions’. Its flaws
should be apparent: it is a fallacious form-critical rule that allegory is secondary,
and there is no reason why dialogues should be later accretions. The claim
that ‘the questions that the disciples pose are invariably the questions that the
community has raised and seeks to resolve’63 sees in principle a remarkable
61 Quarles, ‘Use of the Gospel of Thomas’, 517 n. 3.

62 DeConick, ‘Original Gospel of Thomas’, 188–189. See further eadem, Recovering the Origi-
nal Gospel of Thomas, 64–77.
63 DeConick, Recovering the Original Gospel of Thomas, 66.
level of transparency in the text. Such a view is also unworkable in practice: for
example, the indirect questions in GTh 24 (‘show us the place where you are,
since it is necessary for us to seek after it’) and GTh 91 (‘tell us who you are, so
that we might believe in you’) cannot simply be read as reflecting community
concerns straightforwardly, and they are in any case not answered directly by
Jesus in the respective logia.
The second principle is that certain sayings come into the collection as
responses to crises.64 One difficulty with this criterion comes with understand-
ing the principle and the compositional model underlying it (at least in my
understanding). The following statements may be compared:
New sayings did not dribble into the text, one here, one there. On the
contrary, they entered the collection en masse at particular moments as
answers to questions about ideology or responses to crises situations.65
Two pages later, one reads:
First, the leadership of James seems to have been threatened. The commu-
nity responded by promoting the maintenance of that connection (L. 12).
Also, the authority of the community’s hero, Thomas, seems to have been
challenged at some point in their history so they responded by adding the
introductory saying and Logion 13.66
There is a difficulty here with the fact that this second statement seems pre-
cisely to explain the entry of sayings ‘one here, one there’ as the result of very
specific events. (Indeed, the second composition stage is stated explicitly to
have only consisted of two sayings, each added for different reasons.67) The
application of this principle in particular cases is also strained: for example,
DeConick sees responses to the delay of the parousia in a number of places
where it is extremely unlikely: these include the disciples’ question in GTh 20.1
(‘tell us what the kingdom of heaven is like’),68 GTh 38.2 (‘days are coming when
64 DeConick, ‘Original Gospel of Thomas’, 189–191. See further eadem, Recovering the Original
Gospel of Thomas, 77–95.
65 DeConick, ‘Original Gospel of Thomas’, 189.
67 See DeConick, Recovering the Original Gospel of Thomas, 98. The sayings are GTh 12, the
result of a ‘leadership crisis’, and GTh 68.2, the result of ‘relocation’.
68 DeConick, Original Gospel of Thomas in Translation, 106–107.
32 chapter 2
you will seek after me but will not find me’),69 the collection of material in GTh
22,70 and the parable of the woman with the jar.71
The third principle is flawed because it determines the outcome in advance.
DeConick divides it into two parts, each with an opening explanation:
a. Shifts in writing
As new groups of people joined the community, new types of sayings
would have been incorporated into the text, sayings which would have
reflected the needs, desires, beliefs, and interpretations of the shifting
constituency.72
b. Shifts in reading
Not only would changes in the membership of the community have re-
sulted in new material entering the gospel but it would have resulted in
interpretative shifts within the interpretative reading of the gospel.73
Constructing history on the basis of what ‘would have been’ the case is clearly
an unsound procedure.
Finally, one can note the flaw in what DeConick sees as the corroborating
evidence for her approach. She sees remarkable convergences between the
reconstructed kernel of Thomas, on the one hand, and the Diatessaron and Q
on the other: ‘striking agreement between Tatian and the kernel Thomas’,74 and
the fact that no Thomas sayings with a Q parallel can be found in the later strata
(they all appear in the kernel)—‘this also cannot be coincidence’.75 Indeed,
neither of these correlations are coincidental. In the first case, the correla-
tions between the Diatessaron and Thomas (leaving aside here the speculative
nature of any reconstruction of the Diatessaron), which are actually not as exact
as claimed,76 are in fact an inevitable result of the method. The kernel Gospel
69 Thus DeConick, Original Gospel of Thomas in Translation, 155; eadem, Recovering the
Original Gospel of Thomas, 172.
70 DeConick, Original Gospel of Thomas in Translation, 115, repeats the idea that the delay of
the eschaton is a key theme here, though again it is absent.
71 DeConick, Original Gospel of Thomas in Translation, 271.
76 DeConick notes two exceptions, GTh 1 and 113 (‘Original Gospel of Thomas’, 197); in fact,
the article of Quispel which she cites has others (GTh 12; 65; 76), and omits GTh 46; 74. See
G. Quispel, ‘L’ Évangile selon Thomas et le Diatessaron’, VC 13 (1959), 87–117 (89–95).
has been reconstructed on the basis that distinctively Thomasine elements, or

other material reflective of later community concerns, etc., can be straightfor-
wardly be identified as subsequent accretions. The implicit basis for identifying
what is ‘primitive’ (as opposed to what reflects later decades) is therefore the
Jesus tradition in the Synoptics. Ergo, it is no surprise that when one compares
the kernel to the Diatessaron, the former (which contains mainly Synoptic
material) overlaps almost entirely with the latter, which by its very nature con-
tains all that Synoptic material. The same applies with DeConick’s comparison
with Q. When one strips Thomas down with the result that it contains largely
Synoptic material (again, having operated with the implicit assumption that
the Synoptic material defines to a large extent what is primitive), it is hardly
surprising that half of the remaining kernel overlaps with Q. It is no coincidence
at all, but an inevitable consequence.
This can quickly be seen by examining DeConick’s treatment of the dia-
logues.77 These should provide a useful test-case, since, as we have seen, DeCon-
ick avers that dialogues are some of the material most likely to contain easily
identifiable later material. 23 out of the 114 logia in Thomas are dialogues (GTh
6, 12, 13, 18, 20, 21, 22, 24, 37, 43, 51, 52, 53, 60, 61, 72, 79, 91, 99, 100, 104, 113,
114). DeConick sees kernel material in 11 out of these 23.78 Noticeably, with one
exception, all the material in these 11 logia located in the kernel is Synoptic
material, and the one exception might naturally be labeled ‘Synoptic-type’—
it is the negative form of the golden rule (6.2–3). The rest is all paralleled in
the Synoptic Gospels: 20.2–4 (the parable of the mustard seed), 21.10–11 (apho-
risms from the Synoptic Gospels), 24.3 (Synoptic saying), 61.1 (Synoptic saying),
72 and 79 (Synoptic dialogues), 91.2 (Synoptic saying), 99, 100.1–3 and 104 (Syn-
optic dialogues).
Conclusion
DeConick’s method is actually in practice remarkably similar to Crossan’s.

Since the ‘Synoptic Jesus’ tacitly provides a framework for assessing what is
primitive and what is later in Thomas, Crossan’s ‘Gos. Thom. I’ and DeConick’s
77 See DeConick, Recovering the Original Gospel of Thomas, 67–85. The categories ‘question
and answer units’ (67–68) and ‘dialogues’ (68–69) slightly confusingly do not include all
this material, and it is unclear why the latter category does not include the former.
78 The kernel gospel is that delineated in DeConick, Recovering the Original Gospel of
Thomas, 97–98.
34 chapter 2
kernel both consist almost entirely of material paralleled in the Synoptic Gos-
pels. This occurs through what is largely a circular process. As a result, the cases
above arguing that Thomas is a rolling corpus cannot be regarded as proven.
The present commentary will therefore proceed without reliance on any such
speculative archaeology, and will instead examine the form(s) of the text which
we have in the extant manuscripts.
chapter 3
Named Testimonia to Thomas1
The number of references to Thomas in late antiquity and beyond indicates

just how persistent curiosity or concern about works such as Thomas was.
Testimonia explicitly mentioning Thomas are merely listed here; the individual
passages have been discussed at greater length elsewhere.2 The present list
roughly doubles the number noted in the most extensive previous catalogue,
that of Attridge.3 This list consists of 3.1–39, which are fairly clear testimonia,
and 3.40–48 which are more dubious.
3.1 (?Ps-)Hippolytus, Ref. 5.7.20–21 (c. 225ce)4
οὐ μόνον ⟨δ’⟩ αὑτῶν ἐπιμαρτυρεῖν φασι τῷ λόγῳ τὰ Ἀσσυρίων μυστήρια καὶ Φρυγῶν
⟨ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ Αἰγυπτίων⟩ περὶ τὴν τῶν γεγονότων καὶ γινομένων καὶ ἐσομένων ἔτι
μακαρίαν κρυβομένην ὁμοῦ καὶ φανερουμένην φύσιν, ἥνπερ φησὶ ⟨τὴν⟩ ἐντὸς ἀνθρώ-
που βασιλείαν οὐρανῶν ζητουμένην, περὶ ἧς διαρρήδην ἐν τῷ κατὰ Θωμᾶν ἐπιγραφο-
μένῳ εὐαγγελίῳ παραδιδόασι λέγοντες οὕτως· Ἐμὲ ὁ ζητῶν εὑρήσει ἐν παιδίοις ἀπὸ
ἐτῶν ἐπτά· ἐκεῖ γὰρ ἐν τῷ τεσσαρεσκαιδεκάτῳ αἰῶνι κρυβόμενος φανεροῦμαι.
τοῦτο δὲ οὐκ ἔστιν Χριστοῦ ἀλλὰ Ἱπποκράτους λέγοντος· Ἑπτὰ ἐτῶν παῖς πατρὸς
ἥμισυ. ὅθεν οὗτοι τὴν ἀρχέγονον φύσιν τῶν ὅλων ἐν ἀρχεγόνῳ τιθέμενοι σπέρματι, τὸ
Ἱπποκράτειον ἀκηκοότες ὅτι ἐστὶν ἥμισυ πατρὸς παιδίον ἑπτὰ ἐτῶν, ἐν τοῖς τέσσαρσι
⟨καὶ δέκα⟩ φασὶν ἔτεσι, κατὰ τὸν Θωμᾶν, εἶναι φανερούμενον.
They (i.e. the Naassenes) say not only that the mysteries of the Assyrians and
Phrygians support their own doctrine, ⟨but also that the same is the case with
1 Bibliography: H.-C. Puech, ‘Une collection de paroles de Jésus récemment retrouvée: L’évan-
gile selon Thomas’, Academie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres: Comptes Rendus (1957), 146–166,
esp. 149–152; Attridge, ‘Appendix: The Greek Fragments’, 103–109; M. Grosso, Λόγοι Ἀπόκρυφοι:
Aspetti della ricezione del Vangelo secondo Tommaso nel cristianesimo antico (PhD, University
of Turin, 2007), 24–38; S.R. Johnson, ‘Hippolytus’s Refutatio and the Gospel of Thomas’, JECS 18
(2010), 305–326; S.J. Gathercole, ‘Named Testimonia to the Gospel of Thomas: An Expanded
Inventory and Analysis’, HTR 105 (2012), 53–89.
2 Gathercole, ‘Named Testimonia to the Gospel of Thomas’.
3 Attridge, ‘Appendix: The Greek Fragments’, 103–109.
4 P. Wendland, ed. Hippolytus Werke. Dritte Band: Refutatio Omnium Haeresium (GCS 26; Leip-
zig: Hinrichs, 1916), 83.

36 chapter 3
those of the Egyptians⟩ about the blessed nature—at the same time hidden and
appearing—of those that have been, are, and are yet to come. This, they say, is
the kingdom of heaven to be sought within man, about which they expressly
pass on a statement in the Gospel entitled ‘according to Thomas’, as follows:
‘He who seeks me will find me in children from seven years old. For there, in
the fourteenth aeon I am hidden and yet appear.’
But this is not from Christ but from Hippocrates, who said, ‘The child of
seven years is half of his father.’ From this they locate the original nature of
all things in its original seed, having heard this Hippocratic doctrine that ‘the
child of seven years is half of his father.’ So they say that in four⟨teen⟩ years,
according to Thomas, he is revealed.
3.2 Origen, Hom. in Luc. 1 (c. 233–244ce)5
τὸ μέντοι ἐπιγεγραμμένον κατὰ Αἰγυπτίους εὐαγγέλιον καὶ τὸ ἐπιγεγραμμένον τῶν

δώδεκα εὐαγγέλιον οἱ συγγράψαντες ἐπεχείρησαν. ἤδη δὲ ἐτόλμησε καὶ Βασιλείδης
γράψαι κατὰ Βασιλείδην εὐαγγέλιον. πολλοὶ μὲν οὖν ἐπεχείρησαν. φέρεται γὰρ καὶ
τὸ κατὰ Θωμᾶν εὐαγγέλιον καὶ τὸ κατὰ Ματθίαν καὶ ἄλλα πλείονα. ταῦτά ἐστι τῶν
ἐπιχειρήσαντων· τὰ δὲ τέσσαρα μόνον προκρίνει ἡ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐκκλησία.
Those, however, who composed what is entitled the Gospel according to the
Egyptians, and that entitled the Gospel of the Twelve—they ‘set their hands to
it’. Basilides had already ventured to write the Gospel according to Basilides.
Therefore ‘many have set their hands to it’. For also in circulation is the Gospel
according to Thomas, as well as the Gospel according to Matthias and many
others. These come from those who ‘set their hands to it’, but the church of
God approves four alone.
3.3 Eusebius, HE 3.25.6 (c. 311–323ce)6
… ἵν’ εἰδέναι ἔχοιμεν αὐτὰς τε ταύτας καὶ τὰς ὀνόματι τῶν ἀποστόλων πρὸς τῶν
αἱρετικῶν προφερομένας ἤτοι ὡς Πέτρου καὶ Θωμᾶ καὶ Ματθία ἢ καί τινων παρὰ
5 M. Rauer, ed. Die Homilien zu Lukas in der Übersetzung des Hieronymus und die griechischen
Reste der Homilien und des Lukas-Kommentars (Origenes Werke, 9; GCS 35; Berlin: Akademie-
Verlag, 1959), 5, ll. 9–11.
6 E. Schwarz, ed. Eusebius Werke. Zweiter Band: Die Kirchengeschichte I–V (GCS 9.1; Leipzig:
Hinrichs, 1903), 252.
named testimonia to thomas 37
τούτους ἄλλων εὐαγγέλια περιεχούσας (sc. γραφάς) ἢ ὡς Ἀνδρέου καὶ Ἰωάννου καὶ
τῶν ἄλλων ἀποστόλων πράξεις· ὧν οὐδὲν οὐδαμῶς ἐν συγγράμματι τῶν κατὰ τὰς
διαδοχὰς ἐκκλησιαστικῶν τις ἀνὴρ εἰς μνήμην ἀγαγεῖν ἠξίωσεν …
… so that we might be able to know both these, and those put forward in the
names of the apostles by the heretics—whether writings consisting of Gospels
as if of Peter, or Thomas, or Matthias, or of any others in addition to them; or
Acts as if of Andrew or John or other apostles. For of them, no man from among
those churchmen of the successions has thought it appropriate to make any
reference in a work at all …
3.4 Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechesis 4.36 (c. 348 ce)7
τῆς δὲ καινῆς διαθήκης, τὰ τέσσαρα μόνα εὐαγγέλια· τὰ δὲ λοιπὰ ψευδεπίγραφα καὶ

βλαβερὰ τυγχάνει. ἔγραψαν καὶ Μανιχαῖοι κατὰ Θωμᾶν εὐαγγέλιον, ὅπερ εὐωδίᾳ τῆς
εὐαγγελικῆς προσωνυμίας ἐπικεχρωσμένον, διαφθείρει τὰς ψυχὰς τῶν ἁπλουστέρων.
Of the New Testament, there are only four Gospels. The others are falsely
attributed and harmful. The Manichees wrote the ‘Gospel according to Thom-
as’, which is dabbed on the surface with the fragrance of the title ‘Gospel’, but
which destroys the souls of simpler folk.
3.5 Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechesis 6.31 (c. 348 ce)8
τούτου μαθηταὶ τρεῖς γεγόνασι, Θωμᾶς καὶ Βαδδᾶς καὶ Ἑρμᾶς. μηδεὶς ἀναγινωσκέτω
τὸ κατὰ Θωμᾶν εὐαγγέλιον· οὐ γάρ ἐστιν ἑνὸς τῶν δώδεκα ἀποστόλων, ἀλλ’ ἑνὸς τῶν
κακῶν τριῶν τοῦ Μάνη μαθητῶν.
He (Mani) had three disciples, Thomas, Baddas and Hermas. Let no-one read
the Gospel according to Thomas. For it is not from one of the twelve apostles,
but from one of the three evil disciples of Mani.
7 PG 33.500B.
8 PG 33.593A.
38 chapter 3
3.6 Didymus the Blind, Commentary on Ecclesiastes 8,3–7 (second half

of fourth cent. ce)9
διὰ τοῦτο γοῦν καὶ ὁ ἡμέτερος λόγος ἀπαγορεύει τὴν ἀνάγνωσιν τῶν ἀποκρύφων, ἐπεὶ
πολλὰ ἐ[ψευ]δογραφήθη. καὶ γράψας τις ἐπέγραψεν αὐτὸ εὐαγγέ[λι]ον εἰ τύχοι κατὰ
Θωμᾶν ἢ κατὰ Πέ[τρον]. καὶ καλόν τις ἀρχαῖος ἐπίσκοπος εἶπεν ἐκκλησιασ[τι]κός·
Διὰ τοῦτο, φησίν, κωλύομεν τὴν [ἔντ]ευξιν τῶν ἀποκρύφων διὰ τοὺς μὴ δυναμένους
δια[στ]έλλειν τὰ ἐν αὐτοῖς καταμιγέντα ὑπ[ὸ αἱρ]εθικῶν.
Therefore also our teaching forbids the reading of the apocrypha, since many
have been written under false names. Someone writes and then calls his book
a Gospel, whether it might be ‘according to Thomas’ or ‘according to Peter’!
But one ancient bishop of the church has put it well: ‘For this reason’, he says,
‘we prevent the study of the apocrypha: because of those who are not able to
distinguish what has been combined in them by heretics.’
3.7 Jerome, Commentarium in Mattheum, Prologue (late fourth

cent. ce)10
… Et perseverantia usque ad praesens tempus monumenta declarant, quae a

diversis auctoribus edita, diversarum hereseon fuere principia, ut est illud iuxta
Aegyptios, et Thoman, et Matthian, et Bartholomeum, duodecim quoque apos-
tolorum, et Basilidis atque Apellis, ac reliquorum quos enumerare longissimum
est.
… And works surviving up to the present time, which were composed by

various authors and have been the founts of diverse heresies, make it clear.
I am referring to that (Gospel) according to the Egyptians, and Thomas, and
Matthias, and Bartholomew, as well as ‘of the Twelve Apostles’, and of Basilides,
and of Apelles, and of others whom it would take too long to enumerate.
9 G. Binder & L. Liesenborghs, eds. Didymos der Blinde. Kommentar zum Ecclesiastes. Teil I.1:
Kommentar zu Eccl. Kap. 1,1–2,14 (Papyrologische Texte und Abhandlungen 25; Bonn:
Habelt, 1979), 22.
10 D. Hurst & M. Adriaen, eds. S. Hieronymi Presbyteri Commentariorum in Mattheum Libri IV
(CC, SL 77; Turnhout: Brepols, 1969), 1; also PL 26.17A.
3.8 Ambrose, Expositio Evangelii secundum Lucam 1.2 (c. 389 ce)11
Et aliud quidem fertur euangelium, quod duodecim scripsisse dicuntur. ausus

etiam Basilides euangelium scribere, quod dicitur secundum Basilidem. fertur
etiam aliud euangelium, quod scribitur secundum Thoman. novi aliud scrip-
tum secundum Matthian. legimus aliqua, ne legantur; legimus, ne ignoremus;
legimus, non ut teneamus, sed ut repudiemus et ut sciamus qualia sint in quibus
magnifici isti cor exaltant suum.
And indeed there is another Gospel in circulation, which the Twelve are said
to have written. Basilides has also ventured to write a Gospel, which is called
‘According to Basilides’. There is also in circulation another Gospel, which
is entitled ‘According to Thomas’. I know of another entitled ‘According to
Matthias’. We have read some of them so that they may not be read; we have
read them so that we may not be ignorant of them; we have read them not in
order to hold to them, but to reject them and to know what the nature is of
these books in which those prideful men have elevated their hearts.
3.9 Philip of Side, Church History, Fragment (after 430 ce)12
πλεῖστοι τῶν ἀρχαίων τὴν Ἰωάννου ἐπιστολὴν οὐ προσίενται ἑτέρου τινὸς Ἰωάννου
ταύτην οἰόμενοι. τὸ δὲ καθ’ Ἑβραίους εὐαγγέλιον καὶ τὸ λεγόμενον Πέτρου καὶ Θωμᾶ
τελείως ἀπέβαλλον αἱρετικῶν ταῦτα συγγράμματα λέγοντες.
Most of the ancients did not accept the epistle of John, thinking it to be
of a different John. But they completely rejected the Gospel according to the
Hebrews and those called ‘of Peter’, and ‘of Thomas’, saying that they were the
compositions of heretics.
11 C. (Karl) Schenkl, ed. Sancti Ambrosii Opera. Pars Quarta: Expositio Evangelii secundum
Lucan (CSEL 32.4; Leipzig: Freytag, 1902), 10–11.
12 C. de Boor, Neue Fragmente des Papias, Hegesippus und Pierius in bisher unbekannten
Excerpten aus der Kirchegeschichte des Philippus Sidetes (TU 5/2; Leipzig: Hinrichs, 1888),
169 (no. 4).
40 chapter 3
3.10 Pseudo-Athanasius, Synopsis scripturae sacrae (c. 550 ce?)13
Τῆς Νέας πάλιν Διαθήκης ἀντιλεγόμενα ταῦτα.

Περίοδοι Πέτρου, Περίοδοι Ἰωάννου, Περίοδοι Θωμᾶ, Εὐαγγέλιον κατὰ Θωμᾶ, Δι-
δαχὴ ἀποστόλων, Κλημέντια, ἐξ ὧν μετεφράσθησαν ἐκλεγέντα τὰ ἀληθέστερα καὶ
θεόπνευστα. ταῦτα τὰ ἀναγινωσκόμενα.
These are the disputed works of the New Testament:

The Journeys of Peter; the Journeys of John; the Journeys of Thomas; the Gospel
according to Thomas; the Teaching of the Apostles; the Clementines. By these,
quite true and divinely inspired matters have been selected and paraphrased.
These are read.
3.11 Decretum Gelasianum 5.3 (sixth cent. ce)14
Euangelium nomine Mathiae, apocryphum.

Euangelium nomine Barnabae, apocryphum.
Euangelium nomine Iacobi minoris, apocryphum.
Euangelium nomine Petri apostoli, apocryphum.
Euangelium nomine Thomae quibus Manichaei utuntur, apocryphum.
Euangelia nomine Bartholomaei, apocrypha.
Euangelia nomine Andreae, apocrypha.
Euangelia quae falsavit Lucianus, apocrypha.
Euangelia quae falsavit Hesychius, apocrypha.
The Gospel with the name of Matthias, apocryphal.

The Gospel with the name of Barnabas, apocryphal.
The Gospel with the name of James the Less, apocryphal.
The Gospel with the name of the apostle Peter, apocryphal.
The Gospel with the name of Thomas, which the Manichees use, apocryphal.
Gospels with the name of Bartholomew, apocryphal.
Gospels with the name of Andrew, apocryphal.
Gospels which Lucianus has fabricated, apocryphal.
Gospels which Hesychius has fabricated, apocryphal.
13 PG 28.432B.
14 E. von Dobschütz, Das Decretum Gelasianum de libris recipiendis et non recipiendis (TU
38/4; Leipzig: Hinrichs, 1912), 11.
3.12 Pseudo-Leontius of Byzantium, De sectis 3.2 (mid–late sixth

cent. ce)15
οὗτοι καὶ βιβλία τινὰ ἑαυτοῖς καινοτομοῦσι. λέγουσι γὰρ εὐαγγέλιον κατὰ Θωμᾶν καὶ
Φίλιππον, ἅπερ ἡμεῖς οὐκ ἴσμεν.
These people also invent various books for themselves. For they talk of a Gospel
according to Thomas, and of that according to Philip, books which we do not
recognise.
3.13 Timothy of Constantinople, De receptione haereticorum (late sixth

cent.?)16
οἱ δ’ ἀπ’ αὐτοῦ θεοστυγεῖς Μανιχαῖοι καινοτομοῦσιν ἑαυτοῖς δαιμονιώδη βιβλία, ἅπερ

εἰσὶ τάδε·
αʹ Τὸ ζῶν Εὐαγγέλιον
βʹ Ὁ θησαυρὸς τῆς ζωῆς
γʹ Ἡ τῶν Ἐπιστολῶν ὁμάς
δʹ Ἡ τῶν Μυστηρίων
εʹ Ἡ ἑπτάλογος Ἀλογίου
ςʹ Ἡ τῶν Εὐχῶν
ζʹ Ἡ τῶν κεφαλαίων
ηʹ Ἡ τῶν γιγάντων Πραγματεία
θʹ τὸ κατὰ Θωμᾶν εὐαγγέλιον
ιʹ τὸ κατὰ Φίλιππον εὐαγγέλιον
ιαʹ Αἱ πράξεις Ἀνδρέου τοῦ ἀποστόλου
ιβʹ Ἡ πεντεκαιδεκάτη πρὸς Λαοδικεῖς Ἐπιστολή
ιγʹ Τὰ Παιδικὰ λεγόμενα τοῦ Κυρίου …
Those accursed Manichees after him (sc. Mani) invent devilish books for them-
selves, which are as follows:
1. The Living Gospel

2. The Treasure of Life
15 PG 86-I.1213C.
16 PG 86-I.21C.
42 chapter 3
3. The Collection of Letters

4. The Collection of Mysteries
5. The Heptalogus of Alogius
6. The Collection of Prayers
7. The Collection of Kephalaia
8. The Deeds of the Giants
9. The Gospel according to Thomas
10. The Gospel according to Philip
11. The Acts of the Apostle Andrew
12. The Fifteenth Epistle: to the Laodiceans
13. The So-called Childhood Deeds of the Lord …
3.14 Bede, In Lucae evangelii expositio 1, Prologue (late seventh, early

eighth cent.)17
Denique nonnulli Thomae, alii Bartholomaei, quidam Matthiae, aliqui etiam

duodecim apostolorum titulo reperiuntur falso sua scripta praenotasse.
Finally, a few ‘Thomases’, various ‘Bartholomews’, certain ‘Matthiases’, even

some ‘twelve apostles’ are found to have named their writings with false ti-
tles.
3.15 John of Damascus, Orationes de imaginibus tres II 16 (c. 730 ce)18
Μανιχαῖοι συνέγραψαν τὸ κατὰ Θωμᾶν εὐαγγέλιον· γράψατε καὶ ὑμεῖς τὸ κατὰ

Λέοντα εὐαγγέλιον.
The Manichees composed the Gospel according to Thomas. As for you—go and
write the Gospel according to Leo!
17 PL 92.307C
18 P.B. Kotter, ed. Die Schriften des Johannes von Damaskos, vol. 3 (Patristische Texte und
Studien 17; Berlin: De Gruyter, 1975), 113.
3.16 Acts of the Second Council of Nicaea 6.5 (787 ce)19
καὶ τὸ κατὰ Θωμᾶν Μανιχαῖοι παρεισήγαγον εὐαγγέλιον, ὅπερ ἡ καθολικὴ ἐκκλησία

ὡς ἀλλότριον εὐσεβῶς ἀποστρέφεται.
And the Manichees have introduced that “Gospel according to Thomas”, which
the Catholic Church piously rejects as foreign.
3.17 (Anon.) Quaestiones uel Glosae in euangelio nomine: Quaestiones

euangelii 2 (late eighth cent.)20
Sanctus Hieronimus dicit plures fuisse qui euangelia scripserunt, ut Lucas euan-
gelista testatur dicens: quoniam quidem multi conati sunt ordinare narrationem
rerum, quae in nobis conpletae sunt, sicut tradiderunt nobis qui ab initio ipsi
uiderunt, quia multos hereses ⟨et⟩ eorum doctores inuenimus praesumptiuo spir-
itu euangelia conscripsisse ⟨et⟩ nomina non sua sed aliorum praenotasse, quos
et Iohannis in epistola sua anticristos uocat, qui et in carne minime dominum
confitebantur uenisse, et ideo ipsa falsa euangelia, quae scribebant, non sua sed
aliorum nomina praenotauerunt, ut facilius in errore inducerent; ut est illud apud
Aegiptios, euangelium Thoman, Mathian, Bartholomeum, duodecim quoque
apostolorum nomina, Basilidis atque Apellis et reliquorum quos enumerare long-
issimum est.
Saint Jerome says that there have been many who have written Gospels, as
Luke the Evangelist testifies: “Since many have undertaken to make an orderly
account of the things which have been fulfilled among us, just as those who
themselves saw from the beginning have passed down to us”, since we have
found many heresies and their teachers, with prideful spirits, to have composed
Gospels and called them not by their own names but by the names of others.
These teachers John calls in his Epistle ‘antichrists’, those who do not really
confess that the Lord has come in the flesh. And as such, they have not named
these same false Gospels, which they have written, with their own names
but with those of others, in order more easily to lead people into error. I am
19 Giovanni Domenico [J.D.] Mansi, ed. Sacrorum Conciliorum Nova et Amplissima Collectio,
vol. 13 (Florence: Zatta, 1767), 293B.
20 R.E. McNally, ed. Scriptores Hiberniae Minores. Pars I (CCSL 108B; Turnhout: Brepols, 1973),
133.
44 chapter 3
speaking of that according to the Egyptians, the Gospel according to Thomas,

according to Mat(t)hias, Bartholomew, also the names of the twelve apostles,
of Basilides, and of Apelles, and of others whom it would take too long to
enumerate.
3.18 Paul the Deacon, Homily 59: In natali Sancti Lucae evangelistae
(end of eighth cent.)21
et perseverantia usque ad praesens tempus monumenta declarant, quae diversis

auctoribus edita, diversarum haeresum fuerunt principia, ut est illud quod appel-
latur Evangelium juxta Aegyptios, secundum Thomam et Matthiam, et Bartholo-
maeum, duodecim quoque apostolos, ac Basilidem atque Apellem, et caeteros
quos enumerare longum est …
… And works surviving up to the present time, which were composed by

various authors and have been the founts of diverse heresies, make it clear.
I am referring to that which is called the Gospel according to the Egyptians,
that according to Thomas, according to Matthias, and according to Bartholomew,
as well as according to the Twelve Apostles, and according to Basilides, and
according to Apelles, and others which it would take too long to enumerate
…
3.19 (Anon.), Commentariolus Byzantinus, Scholion § 1 (no later than

ninth cent.)22
κρίσις ποιημάτων μὲν ἡ ἀκριβὴς γνῶσις τῶν ποιημάτων λέγεται· ταύτῃ τῇ ἠκριβω-
μένῃ γνώσει χρώμενος ὁ γραμματικὸς δεῖ γινώσκειν τὰ βιβλία τῆς ἐκκλησίας πάντα,
τουτέστιν τὴν παλαιὰν καὶ καινὴν διαθήκην, ἵνα ὅταν ἀκούσῃ φωνὴν ξένην καὶ σύγ-
γραμμα ἢ ποίημα ψευδές, μὴ δέξηται αὐτὸ ὡς ἀληθινόν, ἐπειδὴ ἔστιν εὐαγγέλιον κατὰ
Θωμᾶν λεγόμενον. δεῖ δὲ γινώσκειν τὸν γραμματικὸν τὰ ὀνόματα καὶ τὰς φωνὰς τῶν
εὐαγγελιστῶν, ἵνα μὴ ἀλλότριον καὶ ψευδὲς εὐαγγέλιον δέξηται·
21 PL 95.1533B.
22 A. Hilgard, ed. Scholia in Dionysii Thracis artem grammaticam (Grammatici Graeci I/3;
Leipzig: Teubner, 1901), 565–586 (568), and xxxvii on the date.
Judgment of works is said to be accurate knowledge of those works. In making

use of this refined knowledge, the scholar must know all the books of the
church, that is, the Old and New Testaments, so that when he hears a foreign
phrase and a false book or work, he does not receive it as true—there is, after
all, also a Gospel according to Thomas! It is necessary for the scholar to know
the words and phrases of the Evangelists, so that he does not receive a different
and false Gospel.
3.20 Nicephorus, Chronographia brevis (c. 850 ce, perhaps earlier)23
καὶ ὅσα τῆς νέας εἰσὶν ἀπόκρυφα·
αʹ Περίοδοι Πέτρου στίχων ͵βψνʹ

βʹ Περίοδος Ἰωάννου στίχων ͵βχʹ
γʹ Περίοδος Θωμᾶ στίχων ͵αχʹ
δʹ Εὐαγγέλιον κατὰ Θωμᾶν στίχων ͵ατʹ
εʹ Διδαχὴ ἀποστόλων στίχων ͵ςʹ …
And these are the apocrypha of the New Testament:
1. The Journeys of Peter: 2750 lines.

2. The Journey of John: 2600 lines.
3. The Journey of Thomas: 1600 lines.
4. The Gospel according to Thomas: 1300 lines.
5. The Teaching of the Apostles: 200 lines …
3.21 George the Sinner, Chronicon breve 3.162 (ninth cent., after
842ce)24
τούτου δὲ μαθηταὶ γεγόνασι τρεῖς· Θωμᾶς, καὶ Βουδδᾶς, καὶ Ἑρμᾶς, ἐξ ὧν οὗτος ὁ
Θωμᾶς βίβλον ἐξέδωκε λεγομένην Εὐαγγέλιον κατὰ Θωμᾶν· μηδεὶς τοίνυν ἀναγινω-
σκέτω τὸ κατὰ Θωμᾶν Εὐαγγέλιον. οὐ γάρ ἐστιν ἑνὸς τῶν ιβʹ, ἀλλ’ ἑνὸς τῶν τριῶν
κακῶν τοῦ Μάνη μαθητῶν.
23 C. de Boor, ed. Nicephori Archiepiscopi Constantinopolitani opuscula historica (Leipzig:

Teubner, 1880), 135; also PG 100.1060B.
24 PG 110.556C.
46 chapter 3
He (Mani) had three disciples: Thomas, Bouddas and Hermas. Of these, this
Thomas produced a book called the ‘Gospel according to Thomas’. As such,
let no-one read the Gospel according to Thomas. For it is not from one of the
Twelve, but from one of the three evil disciples of Mani.
3.22 Peter of Sicily, Historia Manichaeorum seu Paulicianorum 67–68

(c. 870ce)25
μαθηταὶ δὲ τούτου τοῦ ἀντιχρίστου Μάνεντος γεγόνασι δώδεκα· Σισίννιος ὁ τούτου

διάδοχος, καὶ Θωμᾶς ὁ τὸ κατ’ αὐτὸν μανιχαϊκὸν εὐαγγέλιον συντάξας, Βουδδᾶς τε
καὶ Ἑρμᾶς, Ἄδαντος καὶ Ἀδήμαντος, ὃν ἀπέστειλεν εἰς διάφορα κλίματα κήρυκα τῆς
πλάνης. ἐξηγηταὶ δὲ αὐτοῦ καὶ ὑπομνηματισταὶ γεγόνασιν Ἱέραξ καὶ Ἡρακλείδης
καὶ Ἀφθόνιος. ὑπῆρχον δὲ αὐτῷ καὶ ἕτεροι μαθηταὶ τρεῖς Ἀγάπιος ὁ τὴν Ἑπτάλογον
συντάξας, καὶ Ζαρούας καὶ Γαβριάβιος. μηδεὶς ἀναγινωσκέτω τὸ κατὰ Θωμᾶν εὐαγ-
γέλιον· οὐ γάρ ἐστιν ἑνὸς τῶν δώδεκα ἀποστόλων, ἀλλ’ ἑνὸς τῶν δώδεκα κακῶν τοῦ
ἀντιχρίστου Μάνεντος μαθητῶν· μήτε τὴν Ἑπτάλογον Ἀγαπίου, μήτε κτλ.
There were twelve disciples of this antichrist Mani: Sisinnius his successor;
Thomas, who composed the Manichaean Gospel named according to him;
Bouddas and Hermas; Adantus, and Ademantus whom he (Mani) sent to dif-
ferent regions as a herald of that deception. Hierax, Heracleides and Aphtho-
nius were his interpreters and recorders. He had three other disciples: Agapius
(who composed the Heptalogus), Zarouas and Gabriabius. Let no-one read the
Gospel of Thomas. For it is not from one of the twelve disciples, but from one
of the twelve evil disciples of the antichrist Mani. Neither should one read the
Heptalogus of Agapius, nor … etc.
3.23 Long Greek Abjuration Formula 3 (c. 870s)26
ἀναθεματίζω τὸν πατέρα Μάνεντος, Πατέκιον, οἷα ψευστὴν καὶ τοῦ ψευδοῦς πατέρα,
καὶ τὴν αὐτοῦ μητέρα Κάροσσαν καὶ Ἱέρακα καὶ Ἡρακλείδην καὶ Ἀφθόνιον, τοὺς
25 D. Papachryssanthou, ‘Les sources grecques pour l’histoire des Pauliciens d’Asie Mineure
I. Pierre de Sicile. Histoire des Pauliciens’, Travaux et mémoires 4 (1970), 3–67 (31); also
PG 104.1265C.
26 S.N.C. Lieu, ed., G. Fox & J. Sheldon, trs. Greek and Latin Sources on Manichaean Cosmogony
and Ethics (Corpus fontium Manichaeorum Series subsidia 6; Turnhout: Brepols, 2010),
140.
ὑπομνηματιστὰς καὶ ἐξηγητὰς τῶν τούτου συγγραμμάτων, καὶ τοὺς λουποὺς αὐτοῦ
μαθητὰς ἅπαντας, Σισίννιον τὸν διάδοχον τῆς τούτου μανίας, Θωμᾶν τὸν συνταξάμε-
νον τὸ κατ’ αὐτὸν λεγόμενον Εὐαγγέλιον, Βουδᾶν, Ἑρμᾶν κτλ.
I anathematize the father of Mani, Patecius, as a liar and the father of the lie, and
his mother Carossa, and Hierax, Heraclides and Aphthonius, the commenta-
tors and interpreters of his writings, and all the rest of his disciples: Sisinnius the
successor of his mania, Thomas who composed the Gospel said to be according
to him, Boudas, Hermas, etc.
3.24 Synodicon Orthodoxiae, Anathemata synodica 10 (tenth–eleventh

cent.)27
τῷ ἀποδεχομένῳ ἢ στέργοντι τὸ βιβλίον τὸ καλούμενον Λῆμμα, ἢ τὰς συνταγείσας

παρ’ αὐτῶν πέντε ἐπιστολάς, ἢ τὸ κατὰ στοιχεῖον βιβλίον, ἢ τὸ κατὰ Θωμᾶν εὐαγγέ-
λιον, καὶ μὴ βδελυσσομένῳ ταῦτα καὶ διαπτύοντι ὡς ἄξια ὄντα πυρὸς παρανάλωμα
γενέσθαι, ἀνάθεμα.
To whomever accepts or has affection for the book called The Oracle, or the five
Epistles composed by them, or the Alphabetical Book, or the Gospel according
to Thomas, and does not abominate these and spit upon them as being worth
only to be burned: Anathema.
3.25 Pseudo-Photius, On the Recent Reappearance of the Manichaeans 50

(eleventh cent.)28
μαθηταὶ μέντοι τοῦ δυσωνύμου Μάνεντος γεγόνασι δώδεκα· Σισίνιος ὁ καὶ τὸ ἀξίωμα
αὐτοῦ τῆς δυσσεβοῦς διδασκαλίας ἀναδεξάμενος, καὶ Θωμᾶς ὁ τὸ κατ’ αὐτὸν ὀνομα-
ζόμενον συνταξάμενος Εὐαγγέλιον, Βούδας τε καὶ Ἑρμᾶς καὶ Ἀδάμαντος καὶ Ἀδεί-
μαντος, ὃν καὶ διαφόροις διέπεμψε κλίμασι τῆς πλάνης καὶ τῆς ἀποστασίας αὐτῶν
κήρυκα …
27 J. Gouillard, ‘Le Synodikon de l’ Orthodoxie’, Travaux et mémoires 2 (1967), 1–316. For the
anathemas, see ‘Appendix III. Les anathèmes parasites de Ma, fol. 74–75’ (= pp. 306–313;
also pp. 17–18).
28 W. Wolska-Conus, ‘Les sources grecques pour l’ histoire des Pauliciens d’Asie Mineure III.
Photius: Récit de la réapparition des Manichéens’, Travaux et mémoires 4 (1970), 99–173
(137); also PG 102.41B.
48 chapter 3
There were, however, twelve disciples of the disreputable Mani: Sisinius, who
also succeded to his rank in impious teaching, and Thomas who composed the
Gospel named according to him, and Boudas and Hermas and Adamantus, and
Adimantus whom he also dispatched to various regions as a herald of their
deception and apostasy …
3.26 Basilica (Scholia) Book 21, Title 1: Chapter 45.3 (eleventh cent.)29
οἱ Μανέντος τοῦ Πέρσου μαθηταὶ δύο ἀρχὰς εἰσάγοντες καὶ δύο θεούς, ἀγαθὸν καὶ
πονηρόν, τὴν πᾶσαν θρησκείαν ἀθετοῦσι τῷ πονηρῷ αὐτὴν ἀπονέμοντες καὶ τὴν κενὴν
βλασφημοῦσιν. ἔχουσι δέ τινα εὐαγγέλια παρέγγραπτα κατὰ Φίλιππον καὶ Θωμᾶν.
The disciples of the Persian Mani adduce two principles and two Gods, a good
and an evil. They reject all piety, assigning it to the evil and blaspheming it
as vain. They have some Gospels which they have written additionally, that
‘according to Philip’ and that ‘according to Thomas’.
3.27 Athos, Iviron, 728 (56) = NT Ms. GA 1006: Gloss on Jn 7.53–8.11 (11th
cent.)30
τὸ κεφάλαιον τοῦτο τοῦ κατὰ Θωμᾶν εὐαγγελίου ἐστιν.
This chapter is from the Gospel according to Thomas.
3.28 Euthymius of Constantinople, Epistula Invectiva (c. mid–11th

cent.)31
γράφει δὲ εἰς τὰ στηλιτευτικὰ τῶν αἱρετικῶν ὁ ἅγιος Κύριλλος Ἱεροσολύμων καὶ

τοῦτο, ὅτι· προσέχετε, ἀδελφοί, τοῦ μὴ ἀναγινώσκειν τὸ κατὰ Θωμᾶν εὐαγγέλιον,
29 D. Holwerda & H.J. Scheltema, eds. Basilicorum libri LX, Series B: Scholia (Scripta Univer-
sitatis Groninganae; Groningen: Wolters, 1959), 4:1268.
30 K. Lake, Texts from Mount Athos (Studia Biblica et Ecclesiastica, Vol. V, Part II; Oxford:
Clarendon, 1903), 173.
31 G. Ficker, Die Phundagiagiten: Ein Beitrag zur Ketzergeschichte des byzantinischen Mitte-
lalters (Leipzig: J.A. Barth, 1908), 161.
ἐπεὶ οὐκ ἔστι τοῦ ἀποστόλου Χριστοῦ τοῦ ἀληθινοῦ θεοῦ ἡμων, ἀλλ’ ἑτέρου Θωμᾶ
αἱρετικοῦ, τοῦ Μάνεντος μαθητοῦ.
Saint Cyril of Jerusalem also writes against the records of the heretics the fol-
lowing: ‘Be careful, brothers, not to read the Gospel according to Thomas, since
it is not of the apostle of Christ our true God, but of another—heretical—
Thomas, the disciple of Mani.’
3.29 Theophylact of Ohrid, Vita Clementis Ochridensis 28 (late

eleventh–early twelfth cent.)32
εἰ μὲν οὖν ὡς Μανιχαῖοι τὸ κατὰ Θωμᾶν εὐαγγέλιον, οὕτως ὑμεῖς ἄλλο τι προενεγκεῖν
ἔχετε τὴν τοιαύτην περὶ τοῦ πνεύματος διδασκαλίαν εἰσηγησάμενον, δείξατε τοῦτο
κεκανονισμένον καὶ σιωπήσομεν, μᾶλλον δὲ καὶ ὡς εὐεργέτας τιμήσομεν. εἰ δὲ τέσ-
σαρσι μὲν ἀρχαῖς ὁ τῆς ἐκκλησίας παράδεισος ἐκ μιᾶς πηγῆς χεομέναις ποτίζεται,
Ματθαῖον, Μάρκον, Λουκᾶν καὶ Ἰωάννην, οἶμαι, συνήκατε. ὁ δὲ πέμπτον εἰσάγων
εὐαγγέλιον τρισκατάρατος.
So if, like the Manichees with the Gospel according to Thomas, you likewise have
something else to offer which has introduced this teaching about the Spirit,
show us that it has been canonised, and we will be silent. More than that—we
will even honour you as benefactors. If the paradise of the church is watered
by four principles (albeit flowing from a single spring), then understand them,
as it were, to be Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. But he who introduces a fifth
Gospel is thrice-accursed.
3.30 Sargis Chnohali, Commentary on the Catholic Epistles, ‘Preface to

2Peter’ (1154)
(Armenian original)
Works produced by lost spirits:

…
The Feast of Mary, and the Gospel which is called ‘of Thomas’, and the Book of
32 A. Milev, Gruckite zitija na Kliment Ochridski (Sofia, 1966), 76–146 (102).

50 chapter 3
the Infancy of Christ, and others similar which, under a semblance of truth, have
aimed to introduce what the church of God has not accepted … .33
3.31 Gratian, Decretum Pars 1, Distinctio 15, Canon 3, § 35 (early–mid

twelfth cent.)34
Euangelium nomine Thaddei, apocrifum.

Euangelium nomine Thomae apostoli, quo utuntur Manichei, apocrifum.
Euangelium nomine Barnabae apostoli, apocrifum.
Euangelium nomine Bartolomaei apostoli, apocrifum.
Euangelium nomine Andreae apostoli, apocrifum.
Euangelia quae falsavit Lucianus, apocrifa.
Euangelia quae falsavit Hyrcius, apocrifa.
Gospel with the name of Thaddeus: apocryphal.

Gospel with the name of the Apostle Thomas, which the Manichees use:
apocryphal.
Gospel with the name of Barnabas: apocryphal.
Gospel with the name of Bartholomew: apocryphal.
Gospel with the name of Andrew: apocryphal.
Gospels which Lucianus has fabricated: apocryphal.
Gospels which Hyrcius has fabricated: apocryphal.
3.32 Ivo of Chartres, Decretum IV, 65 (c. eleventh–twelfth cent.)35
Evangelium nomine Thaddaei, apocryphum.

Evangelium nomine Barnabae, apocryphum.
Evangelium Thomae apostoli quo Manichaei utuntur, apocryphum.
Evangelium nomine Bartholomaei apostoli, apocryphum.
Evangelium nomine Andreae apostoli, apocryphum.
33 On this, see V. Calzolari, ‘Les récits apocryphes de l’enfance dans la tradition arménienne’,
in C. Clivaz, A. Dettwiler, L. Devillers & E. Norelli (with the assistance of B. Bertho), Infancy
Gospels: Stories and Identities (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2011), 560–587 (577).
34 E. Friedberg, ed. Corpus Iuris Canonici I: Decretum magistri Gratiani (Leipzig: Tauchnitz,
1879), 38.
35 PL 161.280C.
Evangelia quae falsavit Lucianus, apocrypha.

Evangelia quae falsavit Ysius, apocrypha.
The Gospel in the name of Thaddaeus: apocryphal.

The Gospel in the name of Barnabas: apocryphal.
The Gospel of the apostle Thomas, which the Manichees use: apocryphal.
The Gospel in the name of the apostle Bartholomew: apocryphal.
The Gospel in the name of Andrew the apostle: apocryphal.
The Gospels which Lucian fabricated: apocryphal.
The Gospels which Ysius fabricated: apocryphal.
3.33 Peter Abelard, Sic et Non: Ex decretis Gelasii papae de libris

apocryphis (c. 1122–1142)36
Evangelia Taddei nomine, apocrifa.

Evangelia nomine Barnabae apostoli, apocrifa
Evangelia Thomae apostoli, quibus Manichaei utuntur, apocrifa.
Evangelia nomine Bartholomei apostoli, apocrifa.
Evangelia nomine Andreae apostoli, apocrifa.
Evangelia quae falsavit Lucianus, apocrifa.
Evangelia quae falsavit Ycius, apocrifa.
Gospels with the name of Thaddeus: apocryphal.

Gospels with the name of the apostle Barnabas: apocryphal.
Gospels with the name of the apostle Thomas, which the Manichees use:
apocryphal.
Gospels with the name of the apostle Bartholomew: apocryphal.
Gospels with the name of the apostle Andrew: apocryphal.
Gospels which Lucianus has fabricated: apocryphal.
Gospels which Ycius has fabricated: apocryphal.
36 B.B. Boyer & R. McKeon, eds. Peter Abailard. Sic et Non: A Critical Edition (Chicago/
London: University of Chicago Press, 1976–1977), 108–109 (109).
52 chapter 3
3.34 Nicetas Seides, Conspectus librorum sacrorum 23 (twelfth cent.)37
τὸ μέντοι ἐπιγεγραμμένον κατὰ Αἰγυπτίους εὐαγγέλιον καὶ τὸ ἐπιγεγραμμένον τῶν

δώδεκα εὐαγγελίων οἱ συγγράψαντες ἐπεχείρησαν. φέρεται δὲ καὶ τὸ κατὰ Θωμᾶν
εὐαγγέλιον. ἤδη δὲ ἐτόλμησε καὶ Βασιλείδης γράψαι κατὰ Βασιλείδην εὐαγγέλιον.
πολλοὶ μὲν οὖν ἐπεχείρησαν καὶ κατὰ Ματθίαν καὶ ἄλλα πλείονα …
But those who composed the Gospel entitled ‘according to the Egyptians’ and
that entitled ‘Gospels (sic) of the twelve’—they ‘set their hands to it’. There
is also a ‘Gospel according to Thomas’ in circulation. Basilides had already
ventured to write his ‘Gospel according to Basilides’. Indeed, then, ‘many have
set their hands to it’; there is also that according to Mathias, and many others …
3.35 Thomas Aquinas, Catena aurea in Matthaeum, Preface (c. 1264)38
Hieronymus Super Matth. Circa numerum vero Evangelistarum sciendum est

plures fuisse qui Evangelia scripserunt, sicut et Lucas Evangelista testatur dicens:
Quoniam quidem multi conati sunt ordinare etc., et sicut perseverantia usque
ad praesens tempus monumenta declarant, quae a diversis auctoribus edita,
diversarum haereseum fuere principia, ut est illud iuxta Aegyptios, et Thomam et
Matthiam et Bartholomaeum, duodecim quoque apostolorum, et Basilidis, atque
Apellis, et reliquorum, quos enumerare longissimum est.
Jerome, On Matthew: Indeed, concerning the number of Evangelists, it is nec-

essary to know that there are rather many who have who have written Gospels,
just as Luke the Evangelist testifies: ‘Since indeed many have attempted to put
in order, etc.’. And works surviving up to the present time, which were com-
posed by various authors and have been the founts of diverse heresies, make it
clear. I am referring to that (Gospel) according to the Egyptians, and Thomas,
and Matthias, and Bartholomew, as well as ‘of the Twelve Apostles’, and of
Basilides and Apelles, and others whom it would take too long to enumerate.
37 P.N. Simotas, Νικήτα Σεΐδου Σύνοψις τῆς Ἁγίας Γραφῆς (Analecta Vlatadon 42; Thessalonica:
Patriarchal Institute for Patristic Studies, 1984), 270.
38 A. Guarienti, Catena Aurea in Quattuor Evangelia I. Expositio in Matthaeum et Marcum
(Turin/ Rome: Marietti, 1953), 6.
3.36 Thomas Aquinas, Catena aurea in Lucam 1.1 (between 1264 and
1274)39
Ambrosius in prooem. in Lucam. Nam sicut multi in Iudaeorum populo divino

infusi spiritu prophetaverunt, alii autem pseudoprophetae erant potius quam
prophetae; sic et nunc in novo testamento multi Evangelia scribere conati sunt,
quae boni nummularii non probarunt: et aliud quidem fertur Evangelium quod
duodecim scripsisse dicuntur: ausus est etiam Basilides Evangelium scribere: fer-
tur aliud secundum Thomam, et aliud secundum Matthiam.
Ambrose, on the Prologue to Luke. For just as many among the people of
the Jews were inspired by the divine Spirit and prophesied while others were
false prophets rather than prophets, so also now in the New Testament many
have tried to write Gospels which good moneyers have not approved. There
is indeed another Gospel in circulation which the Twelve are said to have
written. Basilides also ventured to write a Gospel; there is another in circulation
according to Thomas, and another according to Matthias.
3.37 Mechitar of Ayrivank, Chronicle I, 33 (c. 1285)40
(Armenian original.)
Then according to the New [Testament]:
The Book of the Infancy of the Lord

The Revelation of Peter
Three Wanderings of Paul
The Catholic Epistles of Barnabas and Judas (and) Thomas.
39 A. Guarienti, Catena Aurea in Quattuor Evangelia II. Expositio in Lucam et Ioannem (Turin/
Rome: Marietti, 1953), 6.
40 Translation here from M.E. Stone, ‘Armenian Canon Lists VI: Hebrew Names and Other
Attestations’, HTR 94 (2001), 477–491 (485). For the original text, see H.S. Anasyan, Arme-
nian Bibliology, 5–18th Centuries (Erevan: Academy of Sciences, 1959), I.xl (in Armenian;
non vidi).
54 chapter 3
Of St. Clement, “Which books are to be accepted?”

Acts, and
Apostolic Canons
The Revelation of John, which is called Pilalimsis
The Counsel of the Mother of God to the Apostles
The Books of Dionysius of Athens
The Epistle of Timothy
The Book of Crispos
The Words of Justos
The Orthodox Sermon
The Epistle of Barnabas.
3.38 Nicephorus Callistus, Historia ecclesiastica Book II, 46 (late

thirteenth–early fourteenth cent.)41
Πέτρου φέρε εἰπεῖν, Θωμᾶ τε καὶ Ματθαίου, ἴσως δὲ καί τινων ἄλλων εὐαγγέλια
περιεχούσας καὶ Πράξεις ἀποστόλων ἑτέρων, ὥσπερ ἃςἈνθρέου καὶ Ἰωάννου προ-
βάλλονται· ὧν οὔτις τῶν ἀποστολικῶν διαδόχων καὶ τῶν καθεξῆς ἐκκλησιαστικῶν
συγγραφέων μνείαν πεποίηται.
Let us take the writings of Peter, and of Thomas and of Matthias, perhaps
also those which consist of some other Gospels and Acts of other Apostles,
just as they put out those of Andrew and John: of these none of the apostolic
successors and generations of ecclesiastical writers have kept any record.
3.39 Samaritan Chronicle II (manuscript dated 1616 ce)42
‫ועדת הנוץרים היה להם חמשה ושלשים בשורה בלתי ערבעת הבשורות אשר אתקדם זכרונם‬
‫אמרו עליהם כלם כזובים ואלה שמותם‬
‫הראש ספר בשורת מצרים‬

‫השני ספר בשורת מולד הבתולה מרים הטובית‬
‫השלישי ספר בשורת הקדיש יעקב הראש‬
41 PG 145.888C.
42 See J. Macdonald & A.J.B. Higgins, ‘The Beginnings of Christianity according to the Samar-
itans’, NTS 18 (1971), 54–80: date on 54; text and translation on 66–67.
‫הרביעי ספר בשורת הטפלית‬

‫החמישי ספר בשורת לוקיס וגם סלוקס‬
‫הששי ספר בשורת הקדיש תומה‬
The community of the Nazarenes possessed thirty-five Gospels, apart from the
four which have already been mentioned. They are held to be all false. Here are
their titles:
The first: The Gospel-book of the Egyptians

The second: The Gospel-book of the Birth of Blessed Virgin Mary
The third: The Gospel-book of Saint James the Greater
The fourth: The Gospel-book of the Infancy
The fifth: The Gospel-book of Leucius and Seleucus
The sixth: The Gospel-book of Saint Thomas
Etc.
Possible Additional Instances
3.40 Origen, Commentary on John, Fragment 106 (mid-third century)43
περὶ δὲ τοῦ πῶς λέγεται αὐτῷ “Μὴ γίνου ἄπιστος ἀλλὰ πιστὸς” καὶ εἰς τὸ ὄνομα
δὲ τοῦ Θωμᾶ τοιαῦτα ἂν λεχθείη, ὅτι τῶν μὲν ἀξιωθησομένων ὑπὸ τοῦ σωτῆρος
μείζονος θεωρίας περὶ τῆς ἐν τῷ ὄρει μεταμορφώσεως αὐτοῦ καὶ τῶν ὀφθέντων ἐν δόξῃ
Μωσέως καὶ Ἠλίου τὰ ὀνόματα μετεποίησεν, τῶν δὲ λοιπῶν διὰ τοῦτο τὰ ὀνόματα
οὐ μετεποίησεν, ἐπεὶ καὶ αὐτάρκη καὶ καθ’ ἑαυτὰ ἦν παραστῆσαι τὸ ἑκάστου ἦθος.
περὶ μὲν οὖν τῶν λοιπῶν ἀποστόλων οὐ νῦν πρόκειται λέγειν, περὶ δὲ τοῦ Θωμᾶ, ὃς
ἑρμηνεύεται Δίδυμος, διὰ τοῦτο, ἐπεὶ δίδυμός τις τὸν λόγον ἦν ἀπογραφόμενος τὰ θεῖα
δισσῶς καὶ μιμητὴς Χριστοῦ τοῖς μὲν ἔξω ἐν παραβολαῖς λαλοῦντος, κατ’ ἰδίαν δὲ τοῖς
ἰδίοις μαθηταῖς τὰ πάντα ἐπιλύοντος.
Concerning how it is said to him, ‘Do not be unbelieving, but believe!’, such
things could be addressed to the name of ‘Thomas’, because he (the author
John) altered the names of those to be counted worthy by the Saviour of the
greater vision of his transfiguration when Moses and Elijah also appeared in
glory, but he did not change the names of the others, by reason of the fact that
43 E. Preuschen, ed. Origenes Werke, vol. 4, Das Johannesevangelium (GCS; Leipzig: Hinrichs,
1903), 561–562.
56 chapter 3
those (names) were sufficient in and of themselves for presenting the person of
each. It is, therefore, not proposed at present to speak about the other apostles,
but about Thomas, which means ‘Twin’, by reason of the fact that he was a twin
with respect to the word, recording the divine things twice, and an imitator of
the Christ who spoke to those outside in parables, but explained everything
privately to his particular disciples.
3.41 Pistis Sophia I, 42–43 (c. third cent.)44
ⲁⲥϣⲱⲡⲉ ϭⲉ ⲛ̄ⲧⲉⲣⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ⲥⲱⲧ̅ⲙ̅ ⲉⲫⲓⲗⲓⲡⲡⲟⲥ ⲡⲉϫⲁϥ ⲛⲁϥ ϫⲉ ⲥⲱⲧ̅ⲙ̅ ⲫⲓⲗⲓⲡⲡⲉ ⲡⲙⲁⲕⲁⲣⲓⲟⲥ
ⲛ̄ⲧⲁϣⲁϫⲉ ⲛ̅ⲙ̅ⲙⲁⲕ ϫⲉ ⲛ̄ⲧⲟⲕ ⲙ̅ⲛ̅ ⲑⲱⲙⲁⲥ ⲙ̅ⲛ̅ ⲙⲁⲑⲑⲁⲓⲟⲥ ⲛⲉⲛⲧⲁⲩⲧⲁⲁⲥ ⲛⲏⲧ̅ⲛ̅ ϩ̅ⲙ̅ ⲡϣⲟⲣ̅ⲡ̅
ⲙ̄ⲙⲩⲥⲧⲏⲣⲓⲟⲛ ⲉⲥⲉϩ ϣⲁϫⲉ ⲛⲓⲙ ⲉϯⲛⲁϫⲟⲟⲩ ⲙ̅ⲛ̅ ⲛⲉϯⲛⲁⲁⲁⲩ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲙ̅ⲛ̅ ϩⲱⲃ ⲛⲓⲙ ⲉⲧⲉⲧⲛⲁⲛⲁⲩ
ⲉⲣⲟⲟⲩ …
ⲧⲉⲛⲟⲩ ϭⲉ ⲛ̄ⲧⲱⲧ̅ⲛ̅ ⲙ̄ⲡϣⲟⲙ̅ⲧ̅ ⲛⲉⲧⲛⲁⲥϩⲁⲓ̈ ⲛ̄ϣⲁϫⲉ ⲛⲓⲙ ⲉϯⲛⲁϫⲟⲟⲩ ⲙ̅ⲛ̅ ⲛⲉϯⲛⲁⲁⲁⲩ ⲙ̅ⲛ̅
ⲛⲉϯⲛⲁⲛⲁⲩ ⲉⲣⲟⲟⲩ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲛ̄ⲧⲁⲣ̄ⲙ̅ⲛ̅ⲧⲣⲉ ⲛ̄ϩⲱⲃ ⲛⲓⲙ ⲛ̄ⲧⲉ ⲧⲙ̅ⲛ̅ⲧⲉⲣⲟ ⲛ̄ⲙ̄ⲡⲏⲩⲉ ⲛⲁⲓ̈ ϭⲉ ⲛ̄ⲧⲉⲣⲉϥ-
ϫⲟⲟⲩ ⲛ̄ϭⲓ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ⲡⲉϫⲁϥ ⲛ̄ⲛⲉϥⲙⲁⲑⲏⲧⲏⲥ ϫⲉ ⲡⲉⲧⲉ ⲟⲩⲛ̄ ⲙⲁⲁϫⲉ ⲙ̄ⲙⲟϥ ⲉⲥⲱⲧ̅ⲙ̅ ⲙⲁⲣⲉϥⲥⲱⲧ̅ⲙ̅ …
ⲉⲧⲃⲉ ⲡϣⲁϫⲉ ⲛ̄ⲧⲁⲕϫⲟⲟϥ ⲉⲫⲓⲗⲓⲡⲡⲟⲥ ϫⲉ ⲛ̄ⲧⲟⲕ ⲙ̅ⲛ̅ ⲑⲱⲙⲁⲥ ⲙ̅ⲛ̅ ⲙⲁⲑⲑⲁⲓⲟⲥ ⲛⲉ ⲛ̄ⲧⲁⲩ-
ⲧⲁⲁⲥ
ⲛⲏⲧ̅ⲛ̅ ⲙ̄ⲡϣⲟⲙ̅ⲧ̅ ϩⲓⲧ̅ⲙ̅ ⲡϣⲟⲣ̅ⲡ̅ ⲙ̄ⲙⲩⲥⲧⲏⲣⲓⲟⲛ ⲉⲥϩⲁⲓ̈ ⲛ̄ϣⲁϫⲉ ⲛⲓⲙ ⲛ̄ⲧⲉ ⲧⲙ̅ⲛ̅ⲧ̅ⲉⲣⲟ ⲙ̄ⲡⲟⲩ-
ⲟⲓ̈ⲛ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲛ̄ⲧⲉⲧ̅ⲛ̅ⲣ̄ⲙ̅ⲛ̅ⲧⲣⲉ ϩⲁⲣⲟⲟⲩ ⲥⲱⲧ̅ⲙ̅ ϭⲉ ⲧⲁⲧⲁⲩⲉ ⲡⲃⲟⲗ ⲙ̄ⲡⲉⲓ̈ϣⲁϫⲉ ⲡⲁⲓ̈ ⲡⲉ ⲛ̄ⲧⲁ ⲧⲉⲕ-
ϭⲟⲙ ⲛ̄ⲟⲩⲟⲉⲓⲛ
ⲡⲣⲟⲫⲏⲧⲉⲩⲉ ⲙ̄ⲙⲟϥ ⲙ̄ⲡⲓⲟⲩⲟⲉⲓϣ ϩⲓⲧ̅ⲙ̅ ⲙⲟⲩ̈ⲥⲏⲥ ϫⲉ ϩⲓⲧ̅ⲛ̅ ⲙ̅ⲛ̅ⲧⲣⲉ ⲥⲛⲁⲩ ⲁⲩⲱ ϣⲟⲙ̅ⲧ̅ ⲉⲣⲉ
ϩⲱⲃ ⲛⲓⲙ ⲛⲁⲁϩⲉⲣⲁⲧ̅ϥ̅ ⲡϣⲟⲙ̅ⲧ̅ ⲙ̄ⲙ̅ⲛ̅ⲧⲣⲉ ⲡⲉ ⲫⲓⲗⲓⲡⲡⲟⲥ ⲙ̅ⲛ̅ ⲑⲱⲙⲁⲥ ⲙ̅ⲛ̅ ⲙⲁⲑⲑⲁⲓⲟⲥ.
It happened that when Jesus heard Philip, he said to him: ‘Hear, Philip, you
blessed one, with whom I spoke; for you and Thomas and Matthew are those
to whom was granted, through the first mystery, to write all the words I will say,
and the things I will do, and everything you will see … At this time now, it is
you three who will write every word I will say, and the things I will do, and the
things I will see. And I will bear witness to all things of the kingdom of Heaven.’
When Jesus had said these things, he said to his disciples: ‘He who has ears to
hear, let him hear.’ …
(Mary said:) ‘Concerning the word which you said to Philip: “You and Thom-
as and Matthew are the three to whom it has been given through the First
Mystery to write every word of the kingdom of Light, and to bear witness to
44 C. Schmidt & V. MacDermot, Pistis Sophia (NHS 9; Leiden: Brill, 1978), 71–72 (= alt. 142,
144).
them”, hear now that I give the interpretation of these words. It is this which
your light power once prophesied through Moses: “Through two and three
witnessess everything will be established.” The three witnesses are Philip and
Thomas and Matthew.’
3.42 P. Kell. Copt. 19, ll. 13–18 (mid–late fourth century)45
ⲙⲉⲗⲉⲧⲉ ⲛ̄ⲛ̣[ⲉⲕ]ⲯⲁⲗⲙⲟⲥ ⲉⲓⲧⲉ ⲛ̄ⲟⲩⲓⲁⲛⲓⲛ ⲉⲓⲧⲉ ⲛ̄ⲣⲙ̄ⲛ̄ⲕⲏⲙⲉ ϩⲟⲟⲩ ⟨ⲛⲓⲙ⟩ ⲉⲣⲉ ⲧ̄ⲥⲣⲁϩ[…]ⲡ̣
ⲙⲡⲣ̄ⲕⲉ ⲧⲉⲕⲉⲡⲁⲅⲅⲉⲗⲓⲁ ⲉⲃⲁⲗ ⲉⲓⲥ ⲧ̄ⲕⲣⲓⲥⲓⲥ ⲙ̄ⲡⲉⲧⲣⲟⲥ ϩⲁⲧ̣ⲏⲕ ⲉ[ⲣⲓ ⲡⲁⲡ]ⲟⲥⲧⲟ̣ⲗⲟⲥ ⲏ ⲙ̄ⲙⲁⲛ
ⲁⲙⲁϩⲧⲉ ⲛ̄ⲛ̄ⲛⲁϭ ⲛ̄ϣⲗⲏⲗ ⲙⲛ̄ ⲛ̄ⲯⲁ̣[ⲗ]ⲙⲟⲥ ⲛ̣[ⲟⲩⲓⲁⲛ]ⲓ̣ⲛ ⲉⲓⲥ ⲛ̄ⲣⲏⲙⲁ ⲁⲛ ϩⲁⲧⲏⲕ ⲁⲣⲓ ⲙ[ⲉ]ⲗⲉⲧⲉ
ⲙ̄ⲙⲁⲩ ⲉⲓⲥ ⲛ̄ⲕⲗⲓⲥⲓⲥ ⲥ̣ϩ̣ ϩⲛ̄ⲕ[ⲟⲩⲓ ϩ]ⲛ̄ ϩⲛ̄ⲥⲁⲡ ⲥⲁⲡ ⲛ̄ϩⲟⲩⲟ ⲛ̄ϩⲟ[ⲩⲟ]
Study [your] Psalms, whether Greek or Coptic, ⟨every⟩ day (?) … Do not aban-
don your vow. Here, the Judgment of Peter is with you. [Do the] Apostolos; or
else master the Great Prayers and the Greek Psalms. Here too, the Sayings are
with you: study them! Here are the Prostrations. Write a little from time to time,
more and more …
3.43 Faustus (late fourth century), apud Augustine, Contra Faustum 30.4
(397–398ce)46
mitto enim ceteros eiusdem domini nostri apostolos, Petrum et Andream, Thom-
am et illum inexpertum Ueneris inter ceteros beatum Iohannem, qui per diversa
possessionem boni istius inter uirgines ac pueros diuino praeconio cecinerunt for-
mam nobis atque adeo uobis ipsis faciundarum uirginum relinquentes. sed hos
quidem, ut dixi, praetereo, quia eos vos exclusistis ex canone facileque mente sac-
rilega uestra daemoniorum his potestis inportare doctrinas.
I pass over the other apostles of our Lord—Peter, Andrew, Thomas, and that
one unacquainted with Venus and blessed among the others, John. These in
various ways gave to young men and maidens by divine proclamation the
45 I. Gardner, A. Alcock & W.-P. Funk, Coptic Documentary Texts from Kellis. Volume 1 (Oxford:
Oxbow, 1999), 157, 160.
46 J. Zycha, ed. Sancti Aureli Augustini De utilitate credendi: De duabus animabus. Contra For-
tunatum. Contra Adimantum. Contra epistulam fundamenti. Contra Faustum (CSEL XXV/1;
Vienna: Tempsky 1891), 751–752.
58 chapter 3
possession of that good, leaving to us, and to you too, the pattern for making
virgins. But I pass over them, as I say, because you (pl.) have excluded them from
the canon, and with your sacrilegious minds you are easily able to attribute to
them doctrines of demons.
3.44 Etheria, ‘Peregrinatio’ 19 (c. 400ce)47
Unde denuo proficiscens, peruenimus in nomine Christi dei nostri Edessam. Ubi
cum peruenissemus, statim perreximus ad ecclesiam et ad martyrium sancti
Thomae. Itaque ergo iuxta consuetudinem factis orationibus et cetera, quae con-
suetudo erat fieri in locis sanctis, nec non etiam et aliquanta ipsius sancti Thomae
ibi legimus.
From there I set off again, and we arrived in the name of our God Jesus Christ
at Edessa. When we had arrived, we immediately went to the church and the
martyry of St Thomas. So then, after saying prayers according to custom, and
doing everything else customary in holy places, we also read there a certain
number of works of St Thomas himself.
3.45 Innocent I, Epistula 6.7 (405ce)48
Caetera autem, quae vel sub nomine Matthiae sive Jacobi minoris, vel sub nomine
Petri et Joannis, quae a quodam Leucio scripta sunt [vel sub nomine Andreae,
quae a Nexocharide et Leonida philosophis], vel sub nomine Thomae, et si qua
sunt alia, non solum repudianda, verum etiam noveris esse damnanda.
Others, however, which appear either under the name of Matthias or James
the Less, or under the name of Peter and John, which were written by a certain
Leucius [or under the name of Andrew, written by the philosophers Nexocharis
and Leonidas], or under the name of Thomas, and whatever others there may
be: these are not merely to be rejected, but are actually (as you know) to be
condemned.
47 H. Pétré, ed. Éthérie: Journal de voyage (SC 21; Paris: Cerf, 1971), 162.
48 PL 20.502A.
3.46 Attr. to John of Caesarea, Capita VII contra Manichaeos (late

5th–early 6th cent.?)49
ἀναθεματίζω πάσας τὰς μανιχαϊκὰς βίβλους, τὸν λεγόμενον παρ’ αὐτοῖς Θησαυρὸν
καὶ τὸ νεκρὸν καὶ θανατηφόρον αὐτῶν Εὐαγγέλιον, ὅ ἐκεῖνοι πλανώμενοι Ζῶν Εὐαγ-
γέλιον ἀποκαλοῦσι, νεκρωθέντες ἐντεῦθεν ἤδη ἀπὸ θεοῦ, καὶ τὴν παρ’ αὐτοῖς ὀνομα-
ζομένην βίβλον τῶν Ἀποκρύφων.50
I anathematize all the Manichaean books, that which is called Treasure by

them, and their dead and deadly Gospel which they in their deception call the
Living Gospel, such that they are already thereby mortified from God, and what
is called by them the Book of Secrets.
3.47 Severus, Fragment (Cairo 8010a), Verso, Col. 1 (early sixth cent.)51
… ⲛⲛⲕⲩⲛⲏⲅⲓⲟⲛ ⲙⲛⲛϩⲓⲡⲡⲓⲕⲟⲥ ⲉⲁϥⲕⲱ ⲛⲥⲱϥ ⲛⲛϫⲱⲱⲙⲉ ⲛⲧⲉⲅⲣⲁⲫⲏ ⲛⲛⲓ[ⲃ]ⲉ ⲛⲧⲉ ⲡⲛⲟⲩ-

ⲧⲉ ⲁϥⲱϣ ϩⲛⲛⲉⲛⲧⲁⲛⲣⲉϥϫⲉ ϣⲃⲱ ϫⲟⲟⲩ ⲉⲧⲉⲛⲁⲧⲉϥϩⲁⲓⲣⲉⲥⲓⲥ ⲉⲧⲥⲟⲟϥⲛⲉ ⲉⲓϣⲁϫⲉ ⲉⲙⲁⲛⲏ
ⲙⲛⲑⲱⲙⲁⲥ ⲡⲉϥⲙⲁⲑⲏⲧⲏⲥ ⲙⲛⲛⲉⲛⲧⲁⲩϫⲟⲟⲩ ⲛϭⲓ ⲛϩⲁⲓⲣⲉⲧⲓⲕⲟⲥ ⲧⲏⲣⲟⲩ
… the circus games and the horse-races, when he foresook the books of divinely-
inspired Scripture, and read from the things which the myth-makers—who
are those of his abominable heresy—have spoken. I am speaking of Mani and
Thomas his disciple and all that the heretics have said.
3.48 Second Council of Lyons: Synopsis of the Canons against the Latins
10 (1273–1277)52
τῇ δὲ ἀληθείᾳ τοῦτο τὸ δόγμα, τὸ πιστεύειν ὅτι καὶ ἐκ τοῦ Υἱοῦ τὸ Πνεῦμα ἐκπο-
ρεύεται, Θωμᾶ τινός ἐστιν αἱρετικοῦ, μαθητοῦ τοῦ Μάνεντος, ὡς ὁ ἅγιος καὶ μέγας
μαρτυρεῖ Κύριλλος μετὰ καὶ ἄλλων ἁγίων.
49 Lieu, Greek and Latin Sources on Manichaean Cosmogony, 118.

50 It is intended here to raise the possibility that the βίβλιον τῶν Ἀποκρύφων might be the
Gospel of Thomas, given the Manichaean usage of Thomas, and the opening words of the
Gospel.
51 W.E. Crum, ‘Coptic Anecdota (II. Severus and the Heretics)’, JTS 44 (1943), 179–182.
52 J. Darrouzès & V. Laurent, Dossier grec de l’ Union de Lyon (1273–1277) (Archives de l’orient
chrétien 16; Paris: Institut Français d’ Études Byzantines, 1976), 564–573 (566).
60 chapter 3
In truth, this dogma, this belief that the Spirit proceeds from the Son, comes
from a certain heretic Thomas, a disciple of Mani, as Saint Cyril the Great along
with other saints testifies.
Conclusions
It cannot be decisively ruled out that we may not always be dealing with
references to the same Gospel of Thomas in these references. It is possible that
some other work may be indicated, such as the Book of Thomas the Contender,
the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, or the Acts or Revelation of Thomas: as noted,
an Armenian list even mentions an Epistle of Thomas (3.37). Various factors
make these possibilities very improbable, however. The first and last of these
are unlikely candidates, since they do not appear to have been well-known
in antiquity. The Infancy Gospel of Thomas is an unlikely candidate because
the attribution of that work to Thomas is late: the name does not appear, for
example, in the early versions (the Syriac and the Old Latin).53 Additionally,
some of our authors above explicitly refer to a Gospel of Thomas, an Infancy
Gospel and a Revelation under separate names (n.b. two or all of these in
3.13, 37, and in a later part of the Gelasian Decree not cited above).54 It is
more probable that the testimonia in 3.1–39 refer to the same work, perhaps
in different forms.
It remains to ask the question of whether these testimonia may contribute
to the interpretation of Thomas. There are three possible lines of approach to
the work which are suggested by the Fathers. First there is Hippolytus’s sugges-
tion of a Naassene-Gnostic origin for Thomas; the view that Thomas is in any
conventional sense ‘Gnostic’, however, has now rightly been criticised (see dis-
cussion in Appended Note after Introduction, § 10 below). Secondly, there is the
claim of the anonymous glossarist (3.17) of Thomas’s dubious christology. There
is a potential link here with GTh 28 and the statement of Jesus, ‘I appeared to
them in flesh’, but this is in fact not dissimilar from many conventional state-
ments about Jesus (see commentary on GTh 28). Furthermore, the glossarist
merely mentions Thomas in a list of other Gospels and is clearly intending to tar
them all with the same brush indiscriminately. Thirdly, although Theophylact
(3.29 above) adopts the anachronistic view of Manichaean origin, it is interest-
53 See A. Chartrand Burke, The Infancy Gospel of Thomas: The Text, its Origins, and its Trans-
mission (PhD, University of Toronto, 2001) 118, 249, 270 et passim.
54 See also Chartrand Burke, Infancy Gospel of Thomas, 15, 16.
ing that he appears to identify the centre of gravity of the Gospel of Thomas as
pneumatological.55 This is a questionable attribution as well, however.
One way in which these testimonia may contribute to our understanding of
Thomas, however, is in their possible relevance to the investigation of Thomas’s
date, original language and provenance. The testimonium in § 3.1 provides a
helpful terminus ante quem, which helps to rule out Manichaean authorship
(see §7.5 below). The earliest instances here (up to the middle of the fourth
century: 3.1–6) are all Greek, which may be further support for a Greek original,
given that—to my knowledge—there is no balancing evidence in Syriac.56 On
the other hand, the earliest evidence is very widely scattered geographically
(and so perhaps not so useful for the discussion of provenance): first, in the
third century, in Rome (?Ps.-Hippolytus: 3.1) and Caesarea (Origen: 3.2), then
Jerusalem (Cyril: 3.4–5) and Alexandria (Didymus: 3.6) in the fourth century,
and so on. By the seventh and eighth centuries, Thomas is referred to as far
west as the British Isles (3.14, 17), and by the twelfth and thirteenth as far east
as Armenia (3.30, 37).
55 E. Hammerschmidt, ‘Das Thomasevangelium und die Manichäer’, OrChr 46 (1962), 120–

123, argues that the appeal of Thomas to the Manichees lay in connection between the
‘twin theology’ and the conversion of Mani.
56 On the other hand, some Syriac literature (e.g. the Acts of Thomas) does betray knowledge
of the contents of Thomas, so this point cannot be pressed too far.
chapter 4
Early References to the Contents of Thomas1
We move to surveying references to the contents of Thomas in later writers,

where there is no explicit reference to the title, but where dependence upon
Thomas may be likely, with a focus here on the strongest and most clear cases.
Discussion of such influence has been much more abundant than has treat-
ment of references to Thomas by name. Some of the more ambitious proposals
have been attempts to see the influence of Thomas on the canonical Gospels,
but these have generally been weighed in the balance and found wanting.
Mark’s,2 Luke’s3 and John’s Gospels4 have all been the focus of attention in this
regard. Helmut Koester and Elaine Pagels have also argued in some detail for
the influence of Thomas upon the Dialogue of the Saviour, although this is by
no means unproblematic either.5
1 Bibliography: Many instances were noted early on by G. Garitte, ‘Le Premier Volume de
l’édition photographique des manuscrits gnostiques coptes et l’Évangile de Thomas’, Muséon
70 (1957), 59–73 (66–67), and Puech, ‘Une collection de paroles de Jésus récemment retrouvée’,
149–152 and 165–166; See now Grosso, Λόγοι Ἀπόκρυφοι. For bibliography on Thomas and
Origen, and Thomas and Manichaean literature, see the notes accompanying the relevant
sections below.
2 S.L. Davies, ‘The Use of the Gospel of Thomas in the Gospel of Mark’, Neot 30 (1996), 307–334;
and (with K. Johnson), ‘Mark’s Use of the Gospel of Thomas: Part 2’, Neot 31 (1997), 233–261.
3 See esp. G.J. Riley, ‘The Influence of Thomas Christianity on Luke 12:14 and 5:39’, HTR 88 (1995),
229–234.
4 G.J. Riley, Resurrection Reconsidered: Thomas and John in Controversy (Minneapolis: Fortress,
1995); A.D. DeConick, Voices of the Mystics: Early Christian Discourse in the Gospels of John and
Thomas and Other Ancient Christian Literature (JSNTSuppS; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic
Press, 2001); E.H. Pagels, Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas (New York: Random House,
2003). See the critical remarks to this school of thought in I. Dunderberg, The Beloved Disciple
in Conflict? Revisiting the Gospels of John and Thomas (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006),
and C.W. Skinner, John and Thomas—Gospels in Conflict? Johannine Characterization and
the Thomas Question (PTMS 115; Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2009). See further N. Perrin
& C.W. Skinner, ‘Recent Trends in Gospel of Thomas Research (1989–2011). Part II: Genre,
Theology and Relationship to the Gospel of John’, Currents in Biblical Research 11 (2012), 65–86
(77–81), and most recently, I. Dunderberg, ‘Johannine Traditions and Apocryphal Gospels’, in
J. Schröter, ed. The Apocryphal Gospels within the Context of Early Christian Theology (Leuven/
Paris/ Walpole: Peeters, 2013), 67–93 (70–82).
5 Koester and Pagels describe one section of Dialogue of the Saviour as ‘a commentary on Gos.
Thom. 2’: see H. Koester & E. Pagels, ‘Introduction’, in S. Emmel, ed. Nag Hammadi Codex III,5:

early references to the contents of thomas 63
The principal area of difficulty lies in assessing the relationship between

Thomas and other roughly contemporaneous literature. It is not clear, for exam-
ple, whether GTh 22 has influenced the ‘two-one, outside-inside, male-female’
saying roughly paralleled in various places such as 2 Clem. 12.2 and the Gospel
of the Egyptians: we face similar difficulties dating these two works as we do
in the case of Thomas.6 The same must be said for the Gospel of the Hebrews
cited by Clement of Alexandria, and so one must remain similarly agnostic
about the relationship between the ‘seeking-finding-marvelling-ruling-resting’
saying there, and the almost identical GTh 2.7 The very similar openings of
Thomas and the Gospel of Judas also suggest some relationship, but the nature
of that relationship remains obscure.8 Again, despite the confident assertions
of many, it is very difficult to draw meaningful comparisons between the almost
completely lost text of the Diatessaron (which needs to be reconstructed) and
Thomas, most of which only survives in Coptic.9 The question of the direction
of influence in the case of Thomas’s relationship to some of the textual tradi-
tions of the NT is also a knotty problem for the same reason.10
The Dialogue of the Savior (NHS XXVI; Leiden: Brill, 1984), 1–17 (7). Later, they comment
that Dial. Sav. knows GTh 49, but not the Synoptic Gospels (‘Introduction’, 10). In Koester’s
own statement, ‘The Dialogue of the Savior (CG III,5) makes use of the GTh or a source
closely related to it; but the date of this Nag Hammadi text cannot be established with cer-
tainty’: see H. Koester, ‘Introduction’, in B. Layton, ed. Nag Hammadi Codex II,2–7. Together
with XIII,2*, Brit. Lib. Or.4926(1), and P. Oxy. 1, 654, 655. Volume One: Gospel according to
Thomas, Gospel according to Philip, Hypostasis of the Archons, and Indexes (NHS XX; Lei-
den: Brill, 1989), 38–49 (39). The problem with the idea that Thomas influences Dial. Sav.,
however, is that, while there are themes and language in common, there is nothing very
exact. Additionally, it is very hard to know which came first.
6 See e.g. W. Pratscher, Der zweite Clemensbrief (KAV 3; Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ru-
precht, 2007), 62–64, on the problems of dating 2 Clement.
7 G. Heb./ Clement, Strom. 2.9.45.5 and 5.14.96.3; cf. also Eusebius, HE 2.13.7. For one con-
strual of the relationship between Thomas and G. Heb., see the tangled web woven in
Quispel, ‘Gospel of Thomas and the Gospel of the Hebrews’, 371–382.
8 Cf. (1) terminology for speech; (2) ‘which is hidden’ (ⲉⲑⲏⲡ / ⲉⲧϩⲏⲡ); (3) relative clause:
‘which (the living) Jesus spoke’ (ⲉⲛⲧⲁ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ … ϫⲟⲟⲩ / ⲛ̄ⲧⲁ ⲓ̅ⲏ̅ⲥ̅ ϣⲁϫⲉ); (4) reference to the epony-
mous recipient of the revelation (Thomas/ Judas). On the similarities, see C. Gianotto, ‘Il
Vangelo secondo Tommaso e il problema storico di Gesù’, in E. Prinzivalli, ed. L’enigma
Gesù. Fonti e metodi della ricerca storica (Rome: Carocci, 2008), 68–93 (71 n. 7).
9 Cf. the conclusions, from different viewpoints, of e.g. G. Quispel, Tatian and the Gospel of
Thomas: Studies in the History of the Western Diatessaron (Leiden: Brill, 1975), and N. Perrin,
Thomas and Tatian: The Relationship between the Gospel of Thomas and the Diatessaron
(Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2002).
10 See e.g. G. Quispel, ‘L’Évangile selon Thomas et le “Texte Occidentale” du Nouveau
64 chapter 4
Even in the case of certain church fathers, such as Irenaeus and Clement,
who are likely to post-date Thomas, there remains the muddy question of
whether the author knows Thomas or both share a common source. Irenaeus,
for example, alludes to something like GTh 38.1 (‘Many times you have desired
to hear these words which I speak to you, and you have no other one from whom
to hear them’) in quoting a saying of Jesus from the works of the Marcosians,
which he takes as authentic: ‘Often have I desired to hear one of those words,
but I have had no-one who might say it to me’ (AH 1.20.2).11 Later, in the Demon-
stratio, a parallel to GTh 19.1 (‘Blessed is he who has come into being before
he has come into being’) is quoted, but attributed to Jeremiah: ‘Blessed is he
who was, before he became man’ (Dem. 44; tr. Robinson).12 In Clement, there is
some similarity between GTh 27.1 (ἐὰν μὴ νηστεύσητε τὸν κόσμον) and Clement’s
reference to the necessity ‘to fast from worldly things’ (Ecl. 14.1: τῶν κοσμικῶν
νηστεύειν), and to blessing on those who fast from the world (Strom. 3.15.99.4:
μακάριοι οὗτοί εἰσιν οἱ τοῦ κόσμου νηστεύοντες).13 GTh 38.2 (‘Days are coming
when you will seek after me but will not find me’) finds a close parallel in some
manuscripts of Cyprian’s Testimonia (attributed to Baruch or Barach): ‘For the
time will come when both you and those who will have come after you seek
me … but you will not find it/ me.’14 In this as in the other cases, however, there
remains doubt about whether there is even indirect influence from Thomas.
On the other hand, there is a good deal that can be said, and which has
already been said, especially in the early days by H.-C. Puech and now by
M. Grosso.15 The aim here is merely to offer a brief summary of instances of the
influence of Thomas, whether that influence is direct or indirect. The texts are
generally presented here in English translation to facilitate comparison, and
because in some cases I claim no knowledge of the language (e.g. Armenian,
Sogdian).
Testament’, VC 14 (1960), 204–215. On the other hand, Jongkind thinks that Scribe A of
Codex Sinaiticus might know some Thomas readings: D. Jongkind, ‘“The Lilies of the Field”
Reconsidered: Codex Sinaiticus and the Gospel of Thomas’, NovT 48 (2006), 209–216 (215).
11 Saepius concupivi audire unum ex sermonibus istis, et non habui qui diceret mihi; cf. Epipha-
nius, Pan. 34.18.13.
12 Something like this is cited also by Lactantius (Div. Inst. 4.8.1), who applies it to Jesus alone:
‘Blessed is he who was, before he was born’ (beatus qui erat antequam nasceretur). A looser
parallel exists in Gos. Truth 27,30–28,4.
13 On Clement and Thomas more broadly, see Grosso, Λόγοι Ἀπόκρυφοι, 141–187.
14 Testim. 3.29: veniet enim tempus, et quaeretis me et vos et qui post vos venerint, audire verbum
sapientiae et intellectus, et non invenietis.
15 In addition to the literature already noted, see the helpful synopsis in Grosso, Λόγοι
Ἀπόκρυφοι, 46–59.
4.1 Reception among the Fathers
Hippolytus (c. 225ce)

We have already noted the reference to the actual title of Thomas along with
the accompanying quotation (very roughly) of GTh 4.1 (Greek: ‘a man old in
days will not hesitate to ask a child seven days old about the place of life, and
he will live’) in Hippolytus, Refutatio 5.7.20: ‘He who seeks me will find me
in children from seven years old …’ Following shortly after this statement is
another possible allusion to Thomas, which Hippolytus also attributes to the
Naassenes:
Logion 11.3 Hippolytus, Refutatio 5.8.32
In the days when you ate what is dead, If you ate what was dead
you made it live. and made it live,
When you come into the light, what will you do when you eat what is
what will you do?! alive?!
Logan also takes the Preaching quoted by Hippolytus as containing ‘clear allu-
sions to the ascetic Nag Hammadi Gospel of Thomas’,16 and Grosso discusses a
number of other cases.17
Origen (mid-third cent.)18

GTh 23.1 (‘Jesus said, “I will choose you, one out of a thousand, and two out of
ten thousand”’) may be alluded to by Origen: ‘As it says, I suppose, “one out of
a thousand and two out of ten thousand”, who are (also) the blessed apostles’.19
16 Logan, The Gnostics, 78.

17 See Grosso, Λόγοι Ἀπόκρυφοι, 65–138.
18 On Origen and Thomas, see M. Grosso, ‘Osservazioni sui testimonia origeniani del Vangelo
secondo Tommaso (in Luc. hom. I,1; contra Celsum VIII,15; in Jer. hom. lat. I,3; in Jesu Naue
hom. IV,3)’, Adamantius 15 (2009) 177–194; S.C. Carlson, ‘Origen’s Use of the Gospel of
Thomas’ (Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature, New
Orleans, November 24, 2009) forthcoming in print.
19 Peri tou Pascha 2.6.3; see B. Witte, ed. Die Schrift des Origenes “Über das Passa”: Textausgabe
und Kommentar (Altenberger: Oros Verlag, 1993), 126: ὡς λέγει, εἷς που [ἐκ] χιλίων καὶ δύο
ἐκ μυρίων, [ὧν] καὶ οἱ μ[α]καριοι ἀπόστολοι [ὑπ]ῆρχον.
66 chapter 4
Origen’s introductory formula (‘As it says …’) suggests he is quoting a written

text here, and he shows clear signs elsewhere of knowing Thomas both by name
and by its contents (see also the parallels to this statement in §§ 4.4–5 below).
A version of GTh 69.2 (‘Blessed are those who hunger so that they may fill
belly of the one who desires’) is also found in Origen, Hom. in Lev. 10.2: ‘For we
have found it stated by the apostles in a certain book: “Blessed is he who, so
that he may help the poor man, even fasts for him.” ’20
The fire saying in GTh 82 is quoted twice in Origen.21 Here we have an
interesting difference between the two passages in which Origen cites this
saying:22
GTh 82 Hom. Jer. L. I (III), 3 Hom. Josh. 4.3.
Jesus said, I have read somewhere But remember what is

the Saviour as saying—in written:
fact, I am not sure (either
someone has imagined it
of the Saviour or has really
remembered it) whether it
is true that it was said. In
any case, the Saviour said
there:
‘He who is near me ‘He who is near me ‘those who come near to
is near the fire; is near the fire; me, come near to the fire.’
and he who is far from me he who is far from me is far

is far from the kingdom.’ from the kingdom.’
20 inuenimus enim in quodam libello ab apostolis dictum: beatus est qui etiam ieiunat pro eo
ut alat pauperem. On this, see S. Witetschek, ‘Going Hungry for a Purpose’, JSNT 32 (2010),
379–393, as well as the commentary below.
21 See on the saying J. Jeremias, The Unknown Sayings of Jesus (London: SPCK, 21964), 66–73.
22 For texts, see A. Jaubert, ed. Origène. Homélies sur Josué (SC 71; Paris: Cerf, 1960), 154: sed
memento quod scriptum est: qui approximant mihi approximant igni; P. Nautin & P. Husson,
eds. Origène. Homélies sur Jérémie II: XII–XX et Homélies latines (SC 238; Paris: Cerf, 1977),
324: legi alicubi quasi Salvatore dicente—et quaero sive quis personam figuravit Salvatoris
sive in memoriam adduxit, an verum sit hoc quod dictum est—ait autem ibi Salvator: qui
iuxta me est, iuxta igne est; qui longe est a me, longe est a regno.
The Jeremiah Homilies probably predate those on Joshua (both c. 240–

250),23 so Origen’s initial doubts about the saying may have been forgotten
by the time of writing the later abbreviated version; his memory of the con-
tent also fades. The saying is quite probably derived from Thomas: both ref-
erences are introduced by a comment about Origen’s knowledge of a writ-
ten source. The comments of Hedrick and Mirecki here are extremely odd:
they remark that the reference here in Origen (as well as in other places)
is ‘due to independent acquisition from the oral tradition’, and ‘represents
an independent performance of a saying acquired from the oral tradition.’24
This is strange considering that, despite the differences in Origen’s two state-
ments, he says first (in Hom. Jer.) that this is something he has read, and
second that this ‘is written’ (in Hom. Josh.). On the other hand, it is unlikely
that Origen would consciously have associated the saying with Thomas, given
his comments on it in his Luke commentary (see ‘Named Testimonia’: § 3.2
above).25
A looser parallel, to GTh 62 (‘I speak my mysteries to those who [are worthy
of my] mysteries’), might be present in Origen’s Commentary on Matthew. The
fact that Thomas’s text is restored (and perhaps even restored on the basis of
a passage such as that of Origen) means that there is a degree of speculation
here, however.26
23 Jaubert, following Harnack, gives a date of c. 249–250 for the Joshua Homilies (Homélies
sur Josué, 9); Nautin & Husson, Origène. Homélies sur Jérémie I: I–XI (SC 232; Paris: Cerf,
1976), 20, suggest a probable date of 240–246 for those on Jeremiah.
24 C.W. Hedrick & P.A. Mirecki, Gospel of the Savior: A New Ancient Gospel (Santa Rosa:
Polebridge Press, 1999), 23. Similarly, Hedrick’s thought that Origen knew this saying from
somewhere other than Thomas is unnecessary (‘Thomas and the Synoptics: Aiming at a
Consensus’, SecCent 7 (1990), 39–56 (45)).
25 One does not need to suppose that Origen has suppressed a reference to Thomas here,
contra R.M. Grant & D.N. Freedman, The Secret Sayings of Jesus (New York: Doubleday,
1960), 90.
26 E. Klostermann, ed. Origenes Matthäuserklärung, vol. I (Origen X; GCS 40; Leipzig: Hin-
richs, 1935), 315, ll. 22–27: καθὸ ὁ μεν τις παρέδωκε τοῖς ὑποχειρίοις μυστήρια καὶ τελετὰς οὐκ
ἐπαινετῶς, ὁ δέ τις μυστήρια θεοῦ τοῖς ἀξίοις, καὶ ἀνάλογον τοῖς τοιούτοις μυστηρίοις τελετάς.
For discussion, see M. Grosso, ‘ “I misteri ai degni”. Un possibile testimonium del Vangelo
secondo Tommaso in Origene, in Matth. Comm. XIV,14’, Adamantius 16 (2010), 389–398;
idem, ‘A New Link between Origen and the Gospel of Thomas: Commentary on Matthew
14,14’, VC 65 (2011), 249–256.
68 chapter 4
Didymus the Blind (mid-fourth cent.)

The first part of GTh 7.2 (‘and cursed is the man whom the lion eats …’) survives
in Greek in Didymus, In Psalmos (on Ps. 43.12): οὐαὶ (γὰρ) τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ ὃν φάγεται
λέων.27
Secondly, we have another parallel to GTh 82, which may resemble the
original Greek of GTh 82:28
GTh 82 Didymus, In Psalmos 88.8
Jesus said, Therefore the Saviour said:
‘He who is near me ‘He who is near me

is near the fire; is near the fire;
and he who is far from me he who is far from me

is far from the kingdom.’ is far from the kingdom.’
Here the wording is identical, and may well—again—reflect direct influence

from Thomas: in addition to the striking parallel with GTh 7, we saw above
(‘Named Testimonia’, §3.6) that Didymus knew the Gospel of Thomas by name.
Furthermore, he was also acquainted with Manichees and claims to have con-
versed with them.29 On the other hand, it is possible that he may know GTh 82
(though probably not GTh 7) from his Alexandrian forebear, Origen.
27 M. Gronewald, Didymus der Blinde: Psalmenkommentar, vol. V (Papyrologische Texte und

Abhandlungen 12; Bonn: Habelt, 1970), 138–140; D. Lührmann, ‘Die Geschichte von einer
Sünderin und andere apokryphe Jesusüberlieferungen bei Didymos von Alexandrien’,
NovT 32 (1990), 289–316 (312–316: ‘Anhang: Logion 7 des Thomasevangeliums be Didymos
von Alexandrien’).
28 PG 39.1488: διὸ φησιν ὁ Σωτήρ· ἐγγύς μου ἐγγὺς τοῦ πυρός· ὁ δὲ μακρὰν ἀπ᾿ ἐμου μακράν ἀπὸ
τῆς βασιλείας.
29 I. Gardner & S.N.C. Lieu, trs. Manichaean Texts from the Roman Empire (Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 2004), 119–120.
Ephrem (mid-fourth cent.?)

We encounter another close parallel to the fire saying in GTh 82 in a work
attributed to—and perhaps written by—Ephrem.30 The Syriac original is lost,
and the work only survives in Armenian.31
GTh 82 Exposition of the Gospel 83
Jesus said, This is what our Saviour-redeemer said:

he says,
‘He who is near me ‘He who joins with me

is near the fire; joins with fire;
and he who is far from me is far from the and he who is far from me is far from
kingdom.’ life.’
Here, interestingly, we have a close parallel to the saying in the form in which
it is found in Gos. Sav. 71 (see §4.2 below). Since the form of the saying with
‘life’ instead of ‘kingdom’ gained a life of its own, it is even harder to discern the
character of the influence.
Part of Ephrem’s Commentary on the Diatessaron (also surviving in Arme-
nian), shows perhaps the influence of GTh 30.1/2. Thomas has, in Greek καὶ ὅπου
εἷς ἐστιν μόνος, λέγω· ἐγώ εἰμι μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ (cf. Coptic GTh 30.2: ‘Where there are
two or one, I am with them’). To this one can compare Ephrem: ‘Where there
is one, there am I also … and where there are two, there am I also.’32
30 On the problem of authenticity, see G.A. Egan, ed. Saint Ephrem: An Exposition of the Gospel
(CSCO; Scriptores Armeniaci 5–6; Louvain: Sécretariat du CorpusSCO, 1968), I:ix–xviii.
31 For the text and translation, see Egan, Exposition of the Gospel, 1:67 (text) and 2:62 (ET)
= J. Schäfers, ed. Eine altsyrische antimarcionitische Erklärung von Parabeln des Herrn
(Münster: Aschendorff, 1917), 79.
32 Ephrem, Comm. Diat. 14.24; see L. Leloir, ed. Saint Éphraem: Commentaire de l’évangile
concordant (CSCO 137, 145; S.Arm. 1–2; Louvain: Durbecq, 1954), 1:200 (text), 2:144 (Latin
translation).
70 chapter 4
The Pseudo-Macarian Corpus (late fourth cent.)33

In the early days of Thomas scholarship, Quispel and Baker independently
produced a list of parallels between Thomas and the Macarian corpus, with
both articles being published in the same issue of the Vigiliae Christianae.34
As Quispel put it, ‘Macarius most probably knew the Gospel of Thomas and
alluded to it in his writings.’35 Although there is a good number of potential
parallels to be considered, for reasons of space we will merely present some of
the better examples.36
GTh 113 Ps.-Macarius, Homilies 35.1.5
(Jesus said) As the Lord has said,

‘Rather, the kingdom of the Father is ‘The kingdom of God is spread out on
spread out upon the earth, and people the earth, and people do not look into
do not see it.’ it.’37
This instance is rightly regarded by Quispel and the editors of the Homilies as
the most compelling parallel, though there are others,38 including a possible
allusion to the doublet GTh 87/ 112:
33 For the date, see M. Plested, The Macarian Legacy (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004),
16. On parallels with Thomas, see Grosso, Λόγοι Ἀπόκρυφοι, 189–276.
34 A. Baker, ‘Pseudo-Macarius and the Gospel of Thomas’, VC 18 (1964), 215–225; G. Quispel,
‘Syrian Thomas and the Syrian Macarius’, VC 18 (1964), 226–235.
35 Quispel, ‘Syrian Thomas and the Syrian Macarius’, 227.
36 Grosso, Λόγοι Ἀπόκρυφοι, 189–276.
37 ὥς φησιν ὁ κύριος· ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ χαμαὶ ἥπλωται καὶ οἱ ἄνθρωποι οὐκ ἐμβλέπουσιν αὐτήν.
Text in H. Berthold, ed. Makarios/ Symeon. Reden und Briefe (GCS; Berlin: Akademie Verlag,
1973), II.43. See further P. Nagel, ‘Apokryphe Jesusworte in der koptischen Überlieferung’,
in J. Frey & J. Schröter, eds. Jesus in apokryphen Evangelienüberlieferungen (WUNT 254;
Tübingen: Mohr, 2010), 495–526 (513–514).
38 Berthold, Makarios/Symeon. Reden und Briefe, I.lxix n. 1.
Spiritual
GTh 87 GTh 112 Homilies 9.3.739 Homilies 140
‘Wretched is ‘Woe to the flesh ‘Woe to the body, ‘Woe to the body,
the body which which depends on when it stands on its when it stands on
depends on a the soul. own nature, because its own nature,
body, it is destroyed and because it is
dies. destroyed and dies.
and wretched is Woe to the soul And woe also to the And woe to the soul,
the soul which which depends on soul, if it stands on its if it stands on its
depends on these the flesh.’ own nature alone …’ own nature alone …’
two.’
The thought in Thomas and Macarius is rather different, though the language
and structure are similar. Perhaps dependent upon Pseudo-Macarius here is a
passage in Gregory Palamas, although his language moves further away from
Thomas, and he introduces his citation with the words, ‘I have also heard a
Father say …’.41
Another parallel to Thomas can be noted from Homilies 9, which is not
picked up by Quispel or Baker:42
39 Berthold, Makarios/Symeon. Reden und Briefe, I.132–133: οὐαὶ τῷ σώματι ὁπόταν εἰς τὴν
ἑαυτοῦ φύσιν ἕστηκεν, ὅτι διαφθείρεται καὶ ἀποθνῄσκει· καὶ οὐαὶ δὲ καὶ τῇ ψυχῇ, ὁπόταν εἰς
τὴν ἑαυτῆς φύσιν μόνον ἕστηκε … .
40 H. Dörries, E. Klostermann & M. Kroeger, eds. Die 50 geistlichen Homilien des Makarios
(Patristische Texte und Studien 4; Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 1964), 12: οὐαὶ σώματι, ὁπόταν
εἰς τὴν ἑαυτοῦ φύσιν ἕστηκεν, ὅτι διαφθείρεται καὶ ἀποθνῄσκει· καὶ οὐαὶ ψυχῇ, εἰ εἰς τὴν ἑαυτῆς
φύσιν μόνον ἕστηκε καὶ εἰς τὰ ἑαυτῆς ἔργα μόνον πέποιθε, μὴ ἔχουσα θείου πνεύματος κοινωνίαν,
ὅτι ἀποθνῄσκει ζωῆς αἰωνίου θεότητος μὴ καταξιωθεῖσα.
41 In Defence of the Hesychasts, I 1.19: Ἐγὼ δὲ καὶ τοῦ λέγοντος ἀκούω πατρός· Οὐαὶ σώματι, ὅταν
μὴ τὴν ἔξωθεν προσενέγκηται τροφήν, καὶ οὐαὶ ψυχῇ, ὅταν μὴ τὴν ἄνωθεν ἐπιδέξηται χάριν.
42 For text, see Berthold, Makarios/ Symeon. Reden und Briefe, I.127.
72 chapter 4
GTh 24.2–3 Homilies 9.2.1
He said to them: ‘Whoever has ears, let Therefore the Lord said, exhorting them:
him hear.
There is light within a person of light, ‘If you stand and do not turn,
and he gives light to the whole world. and are a light to the body,
behold, the whole body of the world is
lit.
If he does not give light, But if you, who are light, become dark
as you turn away from the good,
he is darkness.’ how great that darkness which is the

world.’
In both Thomas and Macarius, the object of illumination is the world (unlike in
the Synoptic parallels). The resemblance of language here is perhaps confirmed
by the fact that it is only shortly afterward that the preacher refers to the ‘woe’
from GTh 87/ 112.
Quispel adds two more examples which are reasonably good, and a number
of more speculative ventures which nevertheless are possible signs of influence
given what is clearer elsewhere in the corpus.43
Baker’s article adds six further parallels, though none is quite as close as
the initial example by Quispel. One which may be important is Thomas’s
supplement to Matt. 8.20/Lk. 9.58, in GTh 86: ‘Jesus said, “Foxes have holes
and birds have their nests, but the Son of Man has does not have a place to
lay his head and rest himself ”’. This Thomasine plus ‘and rest’ is picked up in
Pseudo-Macarius (New Homilies 6.4: καὶ ἀναπαῇ).44
Baker also notes that both Thomas and Macarius turn the statement about
the least in the kingdom being greater than John the Baptist into a statement
43 Quispel, ‘Syrian Thomas and the Syrian Macarius’, 228, 232.

44 E. Klostermann & H. Berthold, eds. Neue Homilien des Makarios/ Symeon I. Aus Typus III
(TU 72= V/17; Berlin: Akademie Verlag, 1961), 26, ll. 27–29; Baker, ‘Pseudo-Macarius and
the Gospel of Thomas’, 219–220. Some have labelled this a Tatianic reading. See e.g. the
Diatessaron readings in Quispel, Tatian and the Gospel of Thomas, 187.
about the ‘little one’.45 The others are less convincing.46 Grosso’s excellent
treatment includes discussion of those places already discussed by Quispel and
Baker, and adds others: in all, he discusses 24 possible allusions to Thomas. He
concludes, however, that Quispel’s reference to the saying about the kingdom
being spread over the earth (GTh 113) and Baker’s Son of Man saying are the two
most compelling instances.47 There is also an intriguing connection between
the Macarian parable of the man carrying a bag of sand, and GTh 97 (see
commentary on this saying below), although the precise literary relationship
between the two is elusive.
The Liber Graduum (c. late fourth cent.)48

Baker has noted a number of parallels with the Syriac Liber Graduum, generally
of the nature of short phrases.49 One of the more striking is the occurrence in
both works of ‘fasting to the world’ (GTh 27, and 5 × in LG).50 Or again, the
opponents of Jesus in LG 660, 10 ‘call him the son of adultery’, a statement
parallel to GTh 105: ‘Whoever knows the Father and the Mother will be called
“son of an prostitute”’.51 There are various other parallels which also suggest
influence from the Gospel, even if that influence on the Liber Graduum is rather
slender and perhaps indirect.
45 GTh 46/ Spiritual Homilies 28.6: see Baker, ‘Pseudo-Macarius and the Gospel of Thomas’,
217–218.
46 E.g. the saying of Jesus about washing the outside and inside of the cup has some very
small shared variants in Thomas and Pseudo-Macarius: they have ‘you wash’ instead of
‘you cleanse’: see Baker, ‘Pseudo-Macarius and the Gospel of Thomas’, 217. This is clearly
very minor, however, and again perhaps a Tatianic reading: see Quispel, Tatian and the
Gospel of Thomas, 187.
47 Grosso, Λόγοι Ἀπόκρυφοι, 273–274.
48 R.A. Kitchen & M.F.G. Parmentier, The Book of Steps: The Syriac Liber Graduum (Kalama-
zoo: Cistercian, 2004), viii, gives date of mid-late fourth century. I. Hausherr, ‘Quanam
aetate prodierit Liber Graduum’, Orientalia Christiana Periodica 1 (1935), 495–502, gives
a date at the end of the fourth or beginning of the fifth century.
49 A. Baker, ‘The “Gospel of Thomas” and the Syriac “Liber Graduum”’, NTS 12 (1965–1966),
49–55.
50 Baker, ‘Gospel of Thomas and Syriac Liber Graduum’, 50, as well as his ‘“Fasting to the
World”’, JBL 84 (1965), 291–294; cf. also A. Guillaumont, ‘ΝΗΣΤΕΥΕΙΝ ΤΟΝ ΚΟΣΜΟΝ
(P. Oxy. 1, verso, l. 5–6)’, BIFAO 61 (1962), 15–23.
51 Baker, ‘Gospel of Thomas and Syriac Liber Graduum’, 51.
74 chapter 4
Augustine (late fourth/ early fifth cent.)

Augustine had access to Mani’s Fundamental Epistle and may have become
acquainted with Thomas when a Manichee (see § 4.4 below). Augustine adopts
Thomasine phraseology (probably unwittingly) for his own purposes in Sermon
on the Mount (c. 393ce):52
GTh 3 (Co) Serm. Dom. Mont. II, 5, 17
‘If those who lead you say to you, But if the place of God is believed to
“Behold, the kingdom is in heaven”, be in the heavens—as it were, in the
superior parts of the world,
then the birds of heaven would precede then the birds are of greater
you.’ value because their life is nearer to
God.
Shenoute ( fourth–fifth cent.)

Richardson and Young have seen reference to the ‘making Mary male’ saying
(GTh 114) in Shenoute:53 ‘Does she (i.e. the wife) not need to pray, to hear the
sermon and to become godly in all things? Is the kingdom of heaven prepared
for males alone? Is it not prepared for women that they may enter it?’54 Young
also mounts an argument for a possible usage of GTh 21 by Shenoute.55
52 For text, see A. Mutzenbecher, ed. Sancti Aurelii Augustini de Sermone Domini in Monte
(CCSL XXXV; Turnhout: Brepols, 1967), 107: sed si in caelis tamquam in superioribus mundi
partibus locum dei esse creditur, melioris meriti sunt aves, quarum vita est deo vicinior. For
discussion, see G. Quispel, ‘Saint Augustin et l’ Évangile selon Thomas’, in (no editor),
Mélanges d’Histoire des Réligions offerts à Henri-Charles Puech (Paris: Presses Universi-
taires de France, 1974), 375–378.
53 C.C. Richardson, ‘The Gospel of Thomas: Gnostic or Encratite?’, in D. Neiman & M.A. Schat-
kin, eds. The Heritage of the Early Church: Essays in Honor of Georges Vasilievich Florovsky
(Rome: Pont. Institutum Studiorum Orientalium, 1973), 65–76 (65 n. 1); D.W. Young, ‘Milieu
of Nag Hammadi: Some Historical Considerations’, VC 24 (1970), 127–137 (135; cf. 130).
54 J. Leipoldt, Sinuthii Archimandritae Vita et Opera Omnia, vol. IV (Paris: Gabalda, 1913), 38
ll. 21–24 (tr. Young).
55 Young, ‘Milieu of Nag Hammadi’, 132–134.
Didascalia (third/fourth cent.)

A final example (perhaps not strictly ‘patristic’) is a striking parallel between
GTh 48 (‘If two make peace with one another in this one house, they will say
to the mountain, “Move away”, and it will move’) and the Latin version of the
Didascalia: ‘since it is written in the Gospel: “If two agree as one, and said to
this mountain, ‘Get up and throw yourself in the sea’, it will happen”’ (Didasc.
15).56
4.2 Reception in Nag Hammadi and Related Literature
Book of Thomas the Contender (late second cent.)

A number of scholars have drawn attention to the very probable influence of
Thomas upon other literature bearing the name of Thomas, such as the Book of
Thomas the Contender and the Acts of Thomas. Layton even talks of a ‘School of
St. Thomas’.57 Poirier helpfully depicts the influence of Thomas on these other
two books as follows:58
Thomas
Act. Thom.
Thom. Cont.
The particular instances are these:
56 Quoniam scriptum est in evangelio: Duo si convenerunt in unum et dixerint monti huic: Tolle
et mitte te in mari, fiet. Text from R.H. Connolly, Didascalia Apostolorum: The Syriac Version
Translated and Accompanied by the Verona Latin Fragments (Oxford: Clarendon, 1929), 135
(cf. the Syriac in translation on 134); also cf. M.D. Gibson, tr. The Didascalia apostolorum in
English (London: Clay, 1903), 73; H. Achelis & J. Flemming, Die syrische Didaskalia (TU 25.2;
NF 10.2; Leipzig: Hinrichs, 1904), 345.
57 See e.g. B. Layton, The Gnostic Scriptures (London: SCM, 1987), 357–409. For criticism
of this idea, see P.-H. Poirier, ‘Évangile de Thomas, Actes de Thomas, Livre de Thomas’,
Apocrypha 7 (1996), 9–26 (24).
58 Poirier, ‘Évangile de Thomas, Actes de Thomas, Livre de Thomas’, 25.
76 chapter 4
GTh Prologue (Coptic) Thom. Cont. 138,1–4 (= Prologue)
These are the secret sayings The secret words

which the living Jesus spoke and which the saviour spoke to Judas
Didymus Judas Thomas wrote them Thomas
down. which I, Mathaias, wrote down,
as I was walking, listening to them
speaking with one another.
GTh 2 (Greek [restored]) Thom. Cont. 140,42–141,2
Jesus says, ‘He who seeks should not stop And th[e saviour] answered, saying,
seeking until he finds. And when he ‘[Bles]sed is the wise man who has
finds, he will be astonished, and when he sou[ght the truth, and who,] when he
is astonished he will reign, and having has found it, has rested upon it forever
reigned he will rest.’ and has not feared those who wanted to
disturb him.’
In the latter case, because this saying is fairly widely distributed (see commen-
tary below), it is possible that Thom. Cont. is dependent upon a different source;
if Thomas is the influence here, however, it is very probably the Greek version,
which is likely to have the element of ‘rest’ at the end, even though it is recon-
structed.
The Gospel of Philip (second–third cent.)

On the fairly well-founded assumption that the Gospel of Philip postdates
Thomas, there is a probable reference to GTh 19.1 (Jesus said, ‘Blessed is he who
has come into being before he has come into being’) in Gos. Phil. 64,9–12: ‘The
Lord said, “Blessed is he who is before he came into being” ’.59 One might com-
pare the parallels in Irenaeus and Lactantius noted above.
59 See discussion in see Nagel, ‘Apokryphe Jesusworte in der koptischen Überlieferung’, 519–
520; E.E. Popkes, ‘Von der Eschatologie zur Protologie: Transformationen apokalyptischer
Motive im Thomasevangelium’, in M. Becker & M. Öhler, eds. Apokalyptik als Heraus-
forderung neutestamentlicher Theologie (WUNT II/214; Tübingen: Mohr, 2006), 211–233
(230–231).
Also in Philip is a parallel to GTh 22.4 (‘When you make the two one, and
when you make the inside like the outside, and the outside like the inside, and
the above like the below …’). There is just enough extant in the text of Philip
to see the influence here: ‘He said, “I have come to make [the things] be[low]
like the things [above, and the things] outside like those [inside]” ’ (Gos. Phil.
67,30–34). The other versions of the saying (G. Egy. / Cassian/ Clem. Strom.
3.13.92; 2Clem. 12; Mart. Petr. 9; Act. Phil. 140) do not have reference to both
‘below/ above’ and ‘inside/ outside’, and these are adjacent in both Thomas and
Philip (albeit not in the same order). As such, a literary relationship is probable.
The Gospel of the Saviour (second–sixth cent.)

A fairly recently discovered example comes in the Gospel of the Saviour (or
Unknown Berlin Gospel):
GTh 82 Gos. Sav. 7160
Jesus said,
‘He who is near me ‘[He who is near me]

is near the fire; is near [the f]ire;
and he who is far from me he who is far from me

is far from the kingdom.’ is far from life.’
The statement of Hedrick and Mirecki that the latest possible date is the second
half of the second century has been criticized by Plisch as optimistic and by
Emmel as speculative.61 As such, the insistence of Hedrick and Mirecki that
60 This number of 71 follows the versification in S. Emmel, ‘The Recently Published Gospel of
the Savior (“Unbekanntes Berliner Evangelium”): Righting the Order of Pages and Events’,
HTR 95 (2002), 45–72. A translation can be found there (p. 57 for the relevant saying). For
the text, see Hedrick & Mirecki, Gospel of the Savior, 40.
61 See. U.-K. Plisch, Was nicht in der Bibel steht: Apokryphe Schriften des frühen Christen-
tums (Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 2006), 28; Emmel, ‘The Recently Published
Gospel of the Savior’, 46, and further, J.L. Hagen, ‘Ein anderer Kontext für die Berliner und
Strasburger “Evangelienfragmente”: Das “Evangelium des Erlösers” und andere “Apostele-
vangelien” in der koptischen Literatur’, in J. Frey & J. Schröter, eds. Jesus in apokryphen
78 chapter 4
Gos. Sav.’s version of this saying must go back to oral sources (as in their
interpretation of the situation in Origen) is questionable. As Emmel has shown,
Gos. Sav. knows Matthew and John (and perhaps also Revelation) in their final,
written forms.62 Nevertheless, it is more probable that Gos. Sav. is not referring
to Thomas directly here, given that the modification of the saying with ‘life’ is
sufficiently well established to enter Ephrem’s Exposition as well.
2 Jeu (third cent.?)

Among various slight allusions in the works in the Bruce Codex, perhaps the
most substantive parallel to Thomas is the reference to the ‘five trees of the
Treasury of the Light, which are the unmoved trees’ (2 Jeu 50): cf. GTh 19.3: ‘five
trees in paradise, which do not move’.
4.3 Reception in Apocryphal Acts
Acts of Thomas (early third cent.)63

This is the work which is probably most deeply influenced by Thomas. The
first relevant reference comes in the marvellous scene in which the donkey
addresses Thomas in the Acts. After addressing Thomas as the ‘twin of Christ’,
the donkey—like Thom. Cont.—alludes to the Prologue of Thomas:
GTh Prologue (Coptic) Ac. Thom. 39
These are the secret sayings which the … the twin (δίδυμος) of Christ, the
living Jesus spoke and Didymus Judas apostle of the Most High, the summustēs
Thomas wrote them down. of the hidden word of Christ, the one
who received his hidden sayings …
Evangelienüberlieferungen: Beiträge zu ausserkanonischen Jesusüberlieferungen aus ver-

schiedenen Sprach- und Kulturtraditionen (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2010), 339–371.
62 Emmel, ‘The Recently Published Gospel of the Savior’, 46, 51, 53, 55, 59.
63 See further Fallon & Cameron, ‘The Gospel of Thomas: A Forschungsbericht and Anal-
ysis’, 4204; G.J. Riley, ‘Thomas Tradition and the Acts of Thomas’, SBLSP (1991), 533–542.
P.-H. Poirier, ‘The Writings Ascribed to Thomas and the Thomas Tradition’, in J.D. Turner
& A. McGuire eds. The Nag Hammadi Library after Fifty Years: Proceedings of the 1995 Soci-
ety of Biblical Literature Commemoration (NHMS 44; Leiden: Brill, 1997), 295–307 (302),
notes that Ac. Thom.’s ‘precise knowledge’ of Thomas is ‘a well-known fact’.
The similar language of hidden sayings (in Greek: οἱ λόγοι οἱ [ἀπόκρυφοι]/ τὰ

ἀπόκρυφα λόγια) in connection with Thomas probably indicates influence here.
Again, there is influence in a later section of the Acts of Thomas, in which
Thomas is the speaker:
GTh 13.6, 8 Ac. Thom. 47
And he (Jesus) took him (Thomas), and … you who separated me privately from
withdrew, and spoke three words to him all my companions, and spoke to me
… three words by which I am inflamed, and
Thomas said to them, ‘If I told you one of which I am unable to speak to others.
the words which he spoke to me, you
would pick up stones and throw them at
me. But fire would come out of the
stones and burn you.’
Another probable mark of influence, albeit a fleeting one, appears in Ac. Thom.
136 with its reference—reversing the order in the Gospel of Thomas—to ‘those
who rest, and, having rested, reign’ (cf. GTh 2.4–5 Greek: ‘he will reign, and
having reigned, he will rest’).
Martyrdom of Peter
Mart. Petr. 9 has some features in common with Thomas’s version of the ‘mak-
ing the two one’ saying (cf. 2Clem. 12; Clem. Strom. 3.13.92). GTh 22 has as the
condition for salvation ‘if you make …’ (cf. ἐὰν μὴ ποιήσητε … in Mart. Petr. 9),
and they share a reference to ‘the above like the below’ not present in other
versions.64
There may be other allusions in other Acts, but these are rather more dis-
tant.65
64 ‘The above like the below’ does appear in Ac. Phil. 140, but this seems to be dependent
upon Mart. Petr. For the texts and discussion, see Pratscher, Der zweite Clemensbrief, 162.
65 In Ac. Jn 39, John says to the men of Ephesus: ‘And yet you are blinded in your hearts and
cannot recover your sight.’ This may refer to GTh 28.3 (τυφλοί εἰσιν τῇ καρδίᾳ αὐτῶν καὶ οὐ
βλέπουσιν …). The language is fairly close, but the collocation of of hearts and seeing is a
common one.
80 chapter 4
4.4 Reception in Manichaean Literature66
We noted above (Introduction, §3: ‘Named Testimonia’) the abundance of

Patristic references to a connection between the Manichees and Thomas, even
though the work is not mentioned by name in any extant Manichaean text.
Despite this absence, there are numerous points at which Manichaean works
allude to Thomas, in one case in the form of an actual citation. Hammerschmidt
ascribes the importance of Thomas in Manichaeism to the parallel between
Mani’s “conversion” and the identity of Thomas as the twin of Jesus, and even
identified Thomas with the Gospel of the Manichaeans.67 Funk has a slightly
different explanation of the function of Thomas in this context, arguing that
Mani or his followers were interested in Thomas because it helped to articulate
their ecclesiology and doctrine of election.68 Coyle is much more cautious
66 On Thomas and Manichaean literature in general, see Hammerschmidt, ‘Thomasevan-

gelium und die Manichäer’, 120–123; J. Helderman, ‘Manichäische Züge im Thomase-
vangelium’, in S. Emmel, et al., eds. Ägypten und Nubien in spätantiker und christlicher
Zeit: Akten des 6. Internationales Koptologenkongresses, Münster, 20.–26. Juli (Wiesbaden:
Reichert, 1999), II.483–494; H.-J. Klimkeit, ‘Apocryphal Gospels in Central and East Asia’,
in idem & M. Heuser, eds. Studies in Manichean Literature and Art (NHMS XLVI; Lei-
den: Brill, 1999), 189–211; W.-P. Funk, ‘ “Einer aus tausend, zwei aus zehntausend”: Zitate
aus dem Thomasevangelium in den koptischen Manichaica’, in H.-G. Bethge, S. Emmel,
K.L. King & I. Schletterer, eds. For the Children, Perfect Instruction: Studies in Honor of Hans-
Martin Schenke (NHMS 54; Leiden/ Boston: Brill, 2002), 67–94; J.K. Coyle, ‘The Gospel of
Thomas in Manichaeism?’, in L. Painchaud & P.-H. Poirier, eds. Colloque internationale:
“L’Évangile selon Thomas et les textes de Nag Hammadi”: Québec, 29–31 mai 2003 (Leuven:
Peeters, 2007), 75–91; P. Nagel, ‘Synoptische Evangelientraditionen im Thomasevangelium
und im Manichäismus’, in J. Frey, J. Schröter & E.E. Popkes, eds. Das Thomasevangelium:
Entstehung—Rezeption—Theologie (BZNW 157; Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 2008), 272–293;
Grosso, Λόγοι Ἀπόκρυφοι, 277–304, and n.b. Grosso’s list on p. 303, which expands con-
siderably the number of possible influences of Thomas upon Manichaean literature (cf.
the list in Helderman, ‘Manichäische Züge’, 484–486). Studies of specific sayings include
P.A. Mirecki, ‘Coptic Manichaean Psalm 278 and Gospel of Thomas 37’, in A. van Tonger-
loo & S. Giversen, eds. Manichaica Selecta: Studies Presented to Professor Julien Ries on the
Occasion of his Seventieth Birthday (Manichaean Studies, 1; Leuven: International Associa-
tion of Manichaean Studies and the Centre of the History of Religions, 1991), 243–262, and
J. Helderman, ‘Log 97 vom manichäischen Gesichtspunkt ausgesehen’, in W. Beltz, ed. Der
Gottesspruch in der koptischen Literatur: Hans-Martin Schenke zum 65. Geburtstag (Halle:
Druckerei der Martin-Luther-Universität, 1994), 149–161.
67 Hammerschmidt, ‘Thomasevangelium und die Manichäer’, 123.
68 Funk, ‘Einer aus tausend, zwei aus zehntausend’, 91–92.
(indeed, over-cautious) in his conclusion that Manichaeans do not necessarily

know Thomas at all.69
Mani, Epistula Fundamenti (mid-third cent.)

The first allusion, to Thomas’s Prologue + GTh 1, comes in Mani’s own Epistula
Fundamenti, preserved by Augustine: ‘These are the saving words, from the
eternal and living source. Whoever hears them and first believes in them and
thereafter keeps what they point to, will never be liable to death …’ (Epistula
Fundamenti fr. 2).70 Compare Thomas: ‘These are the secret sayings which the
living Jesus spoke and Didymus Judas Thomas wrote them down. And he said,
“Whoever finds the interpretation of these sayings will not taste death.” ’
Kephalaia of the Teacher (1 Keph.) (late third cent.)

We have what looks like a quotation of GTh 5.1 (‘know the one who is before
your face, and what is hidden from you will be revealed to you’) in 1 Keph.
163:28–29: ‘Indeed, concerning the mystery that is hidden from the sects, the
saviour cast an allusion [to] his disciples: “Understand that which is before your
faces and that which is hidden from you will be revealed to you.”’71 A reference
to GTh 23.1 (‘I will choose you, one from a thousand, and two from ten thousand
…’) is also apparent in 1 Keph. 285:24–25: ‘I have [ch]o[sen] yo[u], one [from a
thousand], two from ten thousand’ (cf. also §§4.1, 5).72
Kephalaia of the Wisdom of My Lord Mani (2 Keph.) (late third

cent.)73
It is unclear whether the Kephalaia of the Wisdom of my Lord Mani from the
Chester Beatty collection (2 Keph.) is simply a continuation of the Kephalaia of
69 Coyle, ‘The Gospel of Thomas in Manichaeism?’, 90–91.

70 Epistula Fundamenti, fr. 2 = Augustine, Contra epistulam fundamenti 11. See Zycha, ed.
Sancti Aureli Augustini De utilitate credendi, 206, and Contra Felicem 1.1 (J. Zycha, ed. Sancti
Aureli Augustini Contra Felicem de natura boni … [CSEL XXV/2; Vienna: Tempsky, 1892],
801).
71 I. Gardner, The Kephalaia of the Teacher: The Edited Coptic Manichaean Texts in Translation
with Commentary (NHMS; Leiden: Brill, 1995), 173; Funk, ‘Einer aus tausend, zwei aus
zehntausend’, 74–75; Nagel, ‘Synoptische Evangelientraditionen’, 288–289.
72 For a rougher parallel to the ‘one out of a thousand …’ saying, see Psalm-Book 4,18–21
(Bema-Psalm 220): see Nagel, ‘Apokryphe Jesusworte’, 506.
73 See Funk, ‘Einer aus tausend, zwei aus zehntausend’, 79–85; Nagel, ‘Synoptische Evan-
gelientraditionen’, 282–284.
82 chapter 4
the Teacher (the Berlin Kephalaia, or 1 Keph.), or a distinct work.74 Nevertheless,

it too has an important parallel with Thomas.
2 Keph.
Matt. 12.31–32 GTh 44 416:12–16/417:25–29
Therefore I say to you, Jesus said, (Mani the speaker, in

every sin and blasphemy 417:25–29).
will be forgiven men, but
blasphemy of the Spirit
will not be forgiven.
Whoever blasphemes the The one who blasphemes

Father, he will be forgiven. the Father, he will be
forgiven;
And whoever speaks a And whoever blasphemes the one who blasphemes
word against the Son of the Son, the Son,
Man, it will be forgiven he will be forgiven. he will be forgiven;
him.
But whoever speaks But whoever blasphemes the one who blasphemes
against the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit, he will not the Holy Spirit,
it will not be forgiven him, be forgiven, he will not be forgiven,
either in this age or in the either on earth or in either on earth or in
one to come. heaven. heaven.
(But he is guilty of an But he will be condemned

everlasting sin [Mk 3:29]). under […] forever.
Thomas, then, can be seen to have introduced (a) a trinitarian structure to

what was originally only a bipartite contrast between the Son of Man and the
Holy Spirit, and (b) the gloss ‘neither on earth nor in heaven’ (instead of the
‘this age’/ ‘the age to come’ pairing).75 The Kephalaia adopts both of Thomas’s
74 Gardner, Kephalaia, xix, notes the uncertainty, but comments that ‘the two codices may
well belong together.’
75 On Thomas’s adaptation of the saying, see Gathercole, Composition, 179–183. The trinitar-
modifications here, while reintroducing an element of the canonical tradition

as well (Mk 3.29).
Manichaean Psalm-Book (end of third cent.)

The Psalm-Book provides three further instances. In the first, we find a close
parallel to GTh 3.3 (‘but the kingdom is inside you and outside of you’) in
Psalm-Book 160,20–21: ‘The kingdom of heaven, behold it is inside us and,
behold, it is outside [us].’76
Shortly after this there appears to be a reference to Thomas in ‘[…] trees in
paradise [… …] summer and winter’ (Psalm-Book 161,17–29); cf. GTh 19.3: ‘For
you have five trees in paradise, which do not move in summer or winter …’.
Although the number in the Psalm-Book is missing, the context is a list of fives,
and so it is clear that we are dealing with five trees.
A little later is another:
Matt. 6.24/ Luke 16.13 GTh 47 Psalm-Book I 179:24–27
No-one (Lk: No servant) And it is impossible for It is impossible for a

can serve two masters: a servant to serve two servant ever to serve two
masters; masters.
either he will hate one and

love the other,
or he will cling to one otherwise he will honour He will please one

one
and despise the other. and insult the other. and despise the other.
ian structure of the blasphemy formula survives into medieval Catharism: see T. Baarda,
‘“Vader—Zoon—Heilige Geest”: Logion 44 van “Thomas”’, NedThT 51 (1997), 13–30 (21–
22). One of the passages cited by Baarda is translated into English, with its wider context
in F.P. Badham & F.C. Coneybeare, ‘Fragments of an Ancient (?Egyptian) Gospel used by
the Cathars of Albi’, Hibbert Journal 11 (1913), 805–818 (814); see also the Tuscan gospel har-
mony: V. Todesco, A. Vaccari & M. Vattasso, Il Diatessaron in volgare Italiano: Testi inediti
dei secoli XIII–XIV (Vatican City: Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, 1938), 244. ‘Son’, rather
than Son of Man, is also found outside of the triadic structure (i.e. merely in contrast to
the Holy Spirit) in Synodicon Orthodoxiae 9.
76 See Nagel, ‘Apokryphe Jesusworte’, 514.
84 chapter 4
Nagel notes two similarities between GTh 47 and the Psalm-Book, over
against the Synoptic version: first, the similarity of the introduction (‘It is
impossible for a servant …’), and second, the reproduction in the Psalm-Book
of the Thomasine “minus”.77
Later in the Psalm-Book there is a more difficult case:78
GTh 37.2 Psalm-Book II 278,26–30
Jesus said, The word of Jesus …
‘When you undress and are not ‘The vain garment of this flesh I put off
ashamed, and take your clothes (saved and sanctified!);
and leave them under your feet like little I caused the clean feet of my soul to
children and tread upon them, trample confidently upon it;
then [you will s]ee the Son of the Living the gods who are clothed with Christ,
One and you will not be afraid.’ with them I stood in line.’
The metaphorical use of undressing and trampling on the clothes, attributed

to Jesus in both Thomas and the Psalm perhaps indicates influence.79 A poten-
tial difficulty here is that a similar statement can also be found in Clement
of Alexandria’s Gospel of the Egyptians. The Psalm-Book’s version is closer to
Thomas in this case, however.80
77 On the other hand, in its use of ‘despise’ (καταφρόνησει/ ⲙ̄ϥⲕⲁⲧⲁⲫⲣⲟⲛⲏ), the form in the
Psalm-Book is closer to that of Matthew/ Luke than Thomas. For text and discussion, see
Nagel, ‘Synoptische Evangelientraditionen’, 284–288, and further, P. Nagel, ‘Der Spruch
vom Doppeldienst im Thomasevangelium (Logion 47) und im manichäischen Psalmen-
buch (Part I pl. 179, 27–29)’, in W. Beltz, ed. Der Gottesspruch in der koptischen Literatur:
Hans-Martin Schenke zum 65. Geburtstag (Hallesche Beiträge zur Orientwissenschaft 15;
Halle: Institut für Orientalistik, 1994), 75–83, which has a very helpful synopsis of the var-
ious versions of this saying (81–83).
78 Text and translation in Mirecki, ‘Psalm 278 and Gospel of Thomas 37’, 253.
79 Cf. Psalm-Book 254,23–24: ‘You [Jesus] have been released from the grievous bonds of the
flesh … You have thrown upon the earth the garment of sickness. You have trampled upon
overweening pride.’ (Mirecki, ‘Coptic Manichaean Psalm 278 and Gospel of Thomas 37’,
256).
80 Clement, Strom. 3.13.92.2, merely makes reference (in citing Julian Cassian and G. Egy.) to
Parthian and Sogdian Texts (seventh–tenth century?)

The ‘one out of a thousand, two out of ten thousand’ saying is again (cf. 1 Keph.
above) paralleled in a Parthian fragment of uncertain date, and is concerned,
like GTh 23.1, with election: ‘(Mani says:) Chosen and select are you out of many,
one from a thousand, and two from ten thousand’ (M 763, r II, 24–28).81 The
‘one out of a thousand, two out of ten thousand’ formula is known beyond the
Gospel of Thomas and the Manichaean tradition (see § 4.1 above), but it is in
these places—and in one Mandaean usage (see § 4.5 below)—that it is closely
associated with election.82 There are also looser parallels in other Manichaean
texts.83
The saying about ‘what eye has not seen, what ear has not heard etc.’ in
GTh 17 is distinctive in that it attributes the saying to Jesus, makes Jesus the
giver of the secret gift and adds the additional restriction ‘what hand has not
touched.’84 These peculiarities of Thomas survive in M 789 = M 551,85 and the
reference to the hand (but not Jesus as giver) survives in So 18220,86 a Sogdian
fragment from an account of the mission of Mar Adda and Patek the teacher,
‘trampling on the garment of shame’, so there is no talk of ‘undressing’ or the mention of

‘feet’, both of which occur in GTh and the Psalm-Book.
81 Text in M. Boyce, Reader in Manichaean Middle Persian, and Parthian: Texts with Notes (Lei-
den: Brill, 1975), 176; for discussion, see Funk, ‘Einer aus tausend, zwei aus zehntausend’,
85–92; Nagel, ‘Synoptische Evangelientraditionen’, 278–279.
82 Recall Funk’s point on election, already cited above (‘Einer aus tausend, zwei aus zehn-
tausend’, 91–92).
83 See 1 Keph. 187:32–188:1: ‘I have chosen some from among many.’ For text and German
translation, see Funk, ‘Einer aus tausend, zwei aus zehntausend’, 87; ET: Gardner, Kepha-
laia, 196; and Homilies 59:13–14: for ET, see Gardner & Lieu, Manichaean Texts, 88: ‘Where
are (they), the thousands whom you chose and the tens of thousands who (believed in)
you?’
84 The less prominent element of Jesus as the giver appears in Act. (Mart.) Petr. 39; on this,
and other attributions to Jesus see Nagel, ‘Apokryphe Jesusworte’, 504.
85 For texts and German translations of M 551 and M 789, see F.W.K. Müller, ‘Handschriften-
Reste in Estrangelo-Schrift aus Turfan, Chinesisch-Turkistan. II. Teil’, Abhandlungen der
königlichen preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften (1904), 67–68, where he comments
that they are two copies of the same work.
86 For So 18220, see text and German translation in W. Sundermann, Mitteliranische mani-
chäische Texte kirchengeschichtlichen Inhalts (Berliner Turfantexte 11; Berlin: Akademie,
1981), 38. ET in Gardner & Lieu, Manichaean Texts, 112. Bibliography: Funk, ‘Einer aus
tausend, zwei aus zehntausend’, 68–69; Nagel, ‘Synoptische Evangelientraditionen’, 280–
281. On the date, see W. Sundermann, ‘Iranische Lebensbeschreibungen Manis’, AO
(Copenhagen) 36 (1974), 125–149 (145).
86 chapter 4
produced in Central Asia, but probably going back to an account produced in

Syriac or Parthian.87
Unnamed Apocryphon
Another case may be from a Manichaean source, but is not clearly so. In
c. 421, Augustine in his Contra adversarium Legis et Prophetarum (against both
Manichees and Marcionites: 1.1.1) cites ‘from some apocryphal scripture or
other’ (de scripturis nescio quibus apocryphis, 2.4.14). He quotes it with consid-
erable disapproval:88
GTh 52 Augustine, C. adv. Leg. Prophet. 2.4.14
His disciples said to him, But when the apostles asked

‘Twenty-four prophets spoke in Israel what should be thought about the
prophets of the Jews,
and did all of them speak about you?’ who were thought to have sung
something in the past about his coming,
He said to them, he was disturbed that they should still

think such things, and replied:
‘You have neglected the living one ‘You have abandoned the living one who
in front of you, is before you,
and spoken of the dead.’ and are talking about the dead.’
Despite these numerous instances (including or excluding the last case), it

needs to be remembered that Thomas does not really have a deep influence
on Manichaean literature.89
87 In addition to Sundermann’s observations about dating, see also Gardner & Lieu, Mani-
chaean Texts, 111 n. 2.
88 PL 42.647: Sed Apostolis, inquit, Dominus noster interrogantibus de Iudaeorum Prophetis
quid sentiri deberet, qui de adventu eius aliquid cecinisse in praeteritum putabantur, com-
motus talia eos etiam nunc sentire, respondit: Dimisistis vivum qui ante vos est, de mortuis
fabulamini. See e.g. J.B. Bauer, ‘De agraphis genuinis evangelii secundum Thomam coptici’,
Verbum Domini 37 (1959), 129–146 (142); T. Baarda, ‘The Gospel of Thomas and the Old Tes-
tament’, PIBA 26 (2003), 1–28 (4–6) on the meaning of the Latin of this apocryphal saying.
89 See, for example, the conclusion of Nagel’s essay: ‘Der konkrete Textvergleich zeitigt
indessen nur marginalen Gebrauch des Thomasevangeliums bei den Manichäern’ (Nagel,
‘Synoptische Evangelientraditionen’, 293).
4.5 Mandaean Literature
This is an area which merits further exploration. One instance with possible
influence from Thomas is Mandaean Prayers 90: ‘He chose one of out of a
thousand, and from two thousand he chose two’ (cf. references to GTh 23.1
already cited in §§4.1 and 4.4 above).90 Similar in the use of the 1:1000, 2:10000
language, but without reference to election is the Ginza.91
4.6 The Oxyrhynchus Shroud (fifth–sixth cent.)92
One of the most interesting cases is the quotation from GTh 5 on a shroud
discovered in Oxyrhynchus:
GTh 5 (Greek) GTh 5 (Coptic) Oxyrhynchus Shroud
Jesus says, ‘K[now the one Jesus says, ‘Know the one Jesus says,
who is befo]re your face, who is before your face,
and [what is hidden] from and what is hidden from

you will be reveal[ed to you will be revealed to you.
you.]
[For there i]s nothing For nothing which is ‘There is nothing

hidden which will not hidden will not be
[become pl]ain, revealed.’
and buried which [will not buried which will not be

be raised].’ raised.’
90 W.D. Stroker, Extracanonical Sayings of Jesus (Atlanta: Scholars, 1989), 187.

91 Right Ginza 305, 307.
92 First notice and text in H.-C. Puech, ‘Un logion de Jésus sur bandelette funéraire’, Rev.
Hist. Rel. 147 (1955), 126–129: λέγει Ἰησοῦς· οὔκ ἐστιν τεθαμμέ| νον ὃ οὐκ ἐγερθήσεται. He dates
the item to the fifth or sixth century on palaeographical grounds (127). For a photograph,
see the frontispiece of H.-C. Puech, En Quête de la Gnose II: Sur l’Évangile selon Thomas.
Esquisse d’une interprétation systématique (Paris: Gallimard, 1978), in which volume the
article with the text is reprinted (59–62). See now especially A. Luijendijk, ‘“Jesus says:
‘There Is Nothing Buried That Will Not Be Raised’.” A Late-Antique Shroud with Gospel of
Thomas Logion 5 in Context’, ZAC 15 (2011), 389–410.
88 chapter 4
The overlap here is clearly with the Greek version, and not the Coptic.
Unfortunately, however, although the text has been published, the location of
the artefact itself is unknown to me. Puech reports that it was bought in 1953
by Roger Rémondon, and that he, Puech, then acquired it, but no-one to my
knowledge claims to have seen the object thereafter.93
4.7 Medieval Literature
There is a curious, and perhaps coincidental parallel to P. Oxy. I 1’s ἔγειρον τὸν
λίθον (GTh 30.1) in the Suda (c. 1000ce), which is followed by the Etymologicum
Gudianum (c. 1100).94
From the same Greek saying, something similar to GTh 30.2’s version of the
Matthean minyan καὶ ὅπου εἷς ἐστιν μόνος, λέγω· ἐγώ εἰμι μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ appears
much later in words attributed to God in an Albingensian Gospel: ‘Where there
was one who was his little one, he would himself be with him, and where there
were two likewise, and where there were three in the same manner.’95 The same
work shares the trinitarian structure of Jesus’ blasphemy saying with GTh 44
and 2 Keph. 416:12–16/417:25–29 discussed in 4.4 above.96
In material related to the source of the Albigensian saying, there are various
parallels to the content of GTh 114, with Peter’s claim about the exclusion
of women from life (114.1), and Jesus’ promise to make them male (114.2),
so that thus transformed they have access to the kingdom (114.3). In various
confessions, similar points are made:
Confessio et depositio Arnaldi Cicredi: ‘[the female spirits] go out from the
body of the woman and are changed into men … because no woman can
enter his kingdom.’97
93 Luijendijk, ‘Late-Antique Shroud’, 390.

94 For the Suda reference, see G. Bernhardy, ed. Suidae lexicon Graece et Latine (Halle/ Braun-
schweig: Schwetschki, 1853), 78, line 17. On the Etymologicum Gudianum, see R. Reitzen-
stein, ‘Ein Zitat aus den Λόγια Ίησοῦ’, ZNW 6 (1905), 203. For the text, see E.L. de Stefani,
ed. Etymologicum Gudianum, I.2 (Amsterdam: Hakkert, 1965 [1920]), 393 line 22.
95 I. von Döllinger, Beiträge zur Sektengeschichte des Mittelalters, vol. 2 (Munich: Beck, 1890),
210; Badham & Coneybeare, ‘Fragments of an Ancient (? Egyptian) Gospel’, 809.
96 See Badham & Coneybeare, ‘Fragments of an Ancient (? Egyptian) Gospel’, 814–815.
97 Döllinger, Beiträge zur Sektengeschichte des Mittelalters, 151–152: egressi de corpore mulieris
convertebantur in viros … quod nulla mulier … ingrederetur regnum suum. I owe this and the
subsequent references to Puech, ‘Collection de paroles’, 166.
William Belibasta: ‘Women never enter, when they die, into the glory of
paradise, but, when they die, their souls enter into the bodies of males …
they are changed into males, and God sends 18 angels to them and they
bring them in to the glory of paradise.’98
Confessio Johannis Maurini: ‘No woman has entered paradise, but when
women—heretical or believing—die, they are changed into men so that
thus they are able to enter paradise.’99
Confessio Petri Maurini: ‘No women may enter paradise, and therefore
women … when they die are turned into men in order to be saved.’100
The verbal similarities here are such as perhaps to suggest actual dependence
in some indirect way.
4.8 Conclusion
It is evident here that the contemporary scholarly confusion about Thomas is

to some extent reflected in the Protean character of Thomas in antiquity. The
diversity of its content and its literary form clearly meant that it was especially
amenable to very different groups. We have seen influence upon Manichaean
literature, with Thomas also influencing ascetic Syrian Christianity as well as
literature usually characterised as Sethian.
Might these allusions to Thomas also be suggestive for the illumination of
its origins? As far as the question of Thomas’s original language is concerned,
the evidence is too diverse to be of much help: we have influence even quite
early on of Thomasine phraseology in works originally composed in Latin,
Greek, Syriac, Coptic, as well as in Coptic, Armenian, Parthian and Sogdian
translations. As far as questions of Thomas’s provenance are concerned, the
98 Döllinger, Beiträge zur Sektengeschichte des Mittelalters, 176–177: mulieres nunquam in-
trant, quando moriuntur, in gloriam paradisi, sed, quando moriuntur, animae earum subin-
trant corpora masculorum … convertuntur in homines masculos, et deus mittit eis xviii ange-
los, et introducuntur ad gloriam paradisi.
99 Döllinger, Beiträge zur Sektengeschichte des Mittelalters, 191: nulla mulier paradisum intra-
vit, sed quando mulieres haereticae vel credentes moriuntur, convertuntur in viros, ut sic
intrare possint paradisum.
100 Döllinger, Beiträge zur Sektengeschichte des Mittelalters, 219: nulla mulier intraret par-
adisum, et propter hoc mulieres … quando moriuntur convertuntur in viros, ut salventur.
90 chapter 4
same is probably true: Thomas seems to have enjoyed a wide distribution rather
quickly. The spread of Manichaeism meant that Thomas has been found in
works from the Latin West to Central Asia. There is some concentration of early
influence in Syria, but also evidence from Egypt as well.
Finally, we will see in the course of the commentary on individual sayings
that these references also offer some assistance with the exegesis of Thomas.
Some of the evidence here is particularly useful because the reception is often
not of the Coptic, but reflects pre-Coptic Greek forms of the sayings, as in
Hippolytus’ probable reference to GTh 11, which makes a good deal more sense
in Hippolytus’ Greek than it does in our Coptic version. Similarly, we have a
Greek form of part of GTh 113 in Pseudo-Macarius. Caution is needed here,
as we should not suppose that these authors preserve tout simple the original
form of Thomas, but the evidence should at least be borne in mind. To give
some examples, we will see in the commentary that the allusion to GTh 52 in
Augustine may clear up some of the difficulties in that saying, Pseudo-Macarius
may help with the puzzling parable in GTh 97, and Didymus with GTh 7.
chapter 5
The Original Language of Thomas
The original language of Thomas began to be debated as soon as the Coptic

text was discovered.1 One of the earliest effects of this discovery was that
Coptic became a candidate for the language of Thomas’s composition: this was
proposed by Garitte, but soon refuted.2 Scholars have occasionally talked about
Hebrew underlying particular words or phrases, but none to my knowledge
have argued for a Hebrew composition in toto.3 The three serious options,
which have been argued for from the beginning and which are still maintained
by scholars, are Western Aramaic, Syriac and Greek.
1 Bibliography: A. Guillaumont, ‘Semitismes dans les logia de Jésus retrouvés à Nag Hamâdi’,
Journal Asiatique 246 (1958), 113–123; G. Garitte, ‘Les “Logoi” d’Oxyrhynque et l’apocryphe
copte dit “Évangile selon Thomas” ’, Muséon 73 (1960), 151–172; A. Guillaumont, ‘Les logia
d’Oxyrhynchos sont-ils traduits du copte?’, Muséon 73 (1960), 325–333; G. Garitte, ‘Les “Logoi”
d’Oxyrhynque sont traduits du copte’, Muséon 73 (1960), 335–349; K. Kuhn, ‘Some Obser-
vations on the Coptic Gospel according to Thomas’, Muséon 73 (1960), 317–323; P. Nagel,
‘Erwägungen zum Thomas-Evangelium’, in F. Altheim & R. Stiehl, eds. Die Araber in der
alten Welt, vol. V, part 2 (Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 1969), 368–392; J.E. Ménard, ‘Les Prob-
lèmes de l’Évangile selon Thomas’, in M. Krause, ed. Essays on the Nag Hammadi Texts in
Honour of Alexander Böhlig (Leiden: Brill, 1972), 59–73; J.E. Ménard, ‘La tradition synoptique
et l’Évangile selon Thomas’, in F. Paschke, J. Dummer, J. Irmscher & K. Treu, eds., Über-
lieferungsgeschichtliche Untersuchungen (Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, 1981), 411–426 (415–417);
A. Guillaumont, ‘Les semitismes dans l’ Évangile selon Thomas: essai de classement’, in R. van
den Broek & M.J. Vermaseren, eds. Studies in Gnosticism and Hellenistic Religions Presented
to Gilles Quispel on the Occasion of his 65th Birthday (Leiden: Brill, 1981), 190–204; A. Böh-
lig, ‘Das Problem aramäischer Elemente in den Texten von Nag Hammadi’, in F. Junge, ed.
Studien zu Sprache und Religion Ägyptens. Band 2: Religion (FS W. Westendorf) (Göttingen:
F. Junge, 1984), 983–1011; reprinted in A. Böhlig, Gnosis und Synkretismus: Gesammelte Auf-
sätze zur spätantiken Religionsgeschichte. 2. Teil (WUNT 48; Tübingen: Mohr, 1989), 414–453;
Perrin, Thomas and Tatian; N. Perrin, ‘NHC II,2 and the Oxyrhynchus Fragments (P.Oxy 1, 654,
655): Overlooked Evidence for a Syriac Gospel of Thomas’, VC 58 (2004), 138–151; DeConick,
Original Gospel of Thomas in Translation, 14–15 and passim; N. Perrin, ‘The Aramaic Origins
of the Gospel of Thomas—Revisited’, in J. Frey, J. Schröter & E.E. Popkes, eds. Das Thomase-
50–59; Gathercole, Composition, 19–125.
2 The criticisms of Haenchen, ‘Literatur zum Thomasevangelium (I)’, 157–160, are particularly
effective.
3 Marcovich, ‘Textual Criticism on the Gospel of Thomas’, 53–74 (59 on GTh 3).

92 chapter 5
I will not repeat here how the discussion has unfolded, and this section
as a whole is an abbrevation of a longer treatment elsewhere.4 I will confine
the discussion here to a survey of the problems attending Semitic theories of
Thomas’s composition on the one hand, and the positive evidence for a Greek
original on the other.
5.1 Problems with Semitic Theories of Thomas’s Composition
The problems with Semitic theories can be seen at both the general and the
particular level. Arguments in favour of Western Aramaic or Syriac are usually
based on what is deemed to be a critical mass of Semitisms: so, for example,
DeConick prints a double-page table in the Introduction to her commentary,
listing 47 sayings out of 114 attesting possible Semitisms;5 Perrin concludes that
a retroversion into Syriac reveals 502 catchwords.6 If correct, these would be
almost incontrovertible evidence.
At the general level, however, there are considerable methodological prob-
lems with identifying Semitisms underneath our Greek and Coptic texts of
Thomas. Many Semitisms of course are insignificant as elements in an argu-
ment for a composition in a Semitic language, as they are elements of biblical
idiom, or ‘Septuagintalisms’, or Jewish idiom which exists in various different
languages.7 One needs to be sure that the phrase in question is not merely
Greek or Coptic idiom, and conversely that the phrase can be Aramaic or Syr-
iac from the period of purported composition: this is especially difficult with
Syriac, where we have only a few inscriptions from the first two centuries ce.8
The most compelling instances of Semitisms are those where we can iden-
tify mistranslation (or simply overly wooden translation), or divergent trans-
lations: i.e. a Semitic original having been translated one way in the Synoptic
Gospels and a different way in Thomas. Even in these cases, however, detect-
ing such phenomena is extremely difficult.9 Torrey remarked a century ago
that identification of mistranslation is ‘immensely valuable in the rare cases
where it is convincing: there is no other internal proof of translation which
is so immediately cogent’, but immediately added: ‘But the need of caution is
4 Gathercole, Composition, 19–125.

5 DeConick, Original Gospel of Thomas in Translation, 14–15.
6 Perrin, Thomas and Tatian.
8 Gathercole, Composition, 25–29, 38–39.
the original language of thomas 93
greater here than anywhere else. The more experience one has in this field, the
more plainly he sees the constant danger of blundering … Hence it happens
in nine cases out of ten that renewed study of the “mistranslations” which we
have discovered shows us that there was no translation at all, or else that it
was quite correct.’10 The problem here—as also with supposed catchwords—
is that there is an awful lot of room for scholarly guesswork without controls.
The difficulty can be illustrated especially from GTh 61, as we will see, with the
explanations given for the statement that Jesus comes ‘as from one’ (ϩⲱⲥ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ
ϩⲛ̄ ⲟⲩⲁ).
Moving to the particular level, we can explore GTh 61 among a small sample
of others.11
GTh 8.3. In this parable Matthew’s fisherman collected the good fish (συν-
έλεξαν τὰ καλά in Matt. 13.48), while that of Thomas chose the large fish (ⲁϥ-
ⲥⲱⲧⲡ ⲙ̄ⲡⲛⲟϭ ⲛ̄ⲧⲃ̅ⲧ̅). Some argue that ‘choosing’ and ‘collecting’ derive from Ara-
maic/Syriac gbʾ, which can mean both.12 The difference in the verbs, however,
is demanded by the two quite different stories: Matthew’s parable concerns
God’s vindication of the plural righteous (hence gathering), whereas Thomas
has a parable about choosing a single fish (in which a verb to ‘gather’ would be
nonsensical).
GTh 13.8. Here a mistranslation is alleged, in a reference to fire (masculine
in Coptic) burning with a feminine singular prefix on the verb (ⲟⲩⲕⲱϩⲧ …
ⲛ̄ⲥⲣⲱϩⲕ), on the grounds that fire in Aramaic (ʾštʾ, or nwrʾ) is feminine, unlike
Coptic ⲕⲱϩⲧ (masc.) and Greek πῦρ (neut.).13 However, if it is true that the
feminine subject of the Coptic verb is the result of interference from the source
language, one could equally explain this on the basis of Greek, perhaps by
πυρινή (‘fire’), or by the common biblical word φλόξ (‘flame’, which would work
well in the context).
10 C.C. Torrey, ‘The Translations Made from the Original Aramaic Gospels’, in D.G. Lyon &
G.F. Moore, eds. Studies in the History of Religions, Presented to Crawford Howell Toy (New
York: Macmillan, 1912), 269–317 (283, 284).
11 These are excerpted from the treatment in Gathercole, Composition, 43–104.
12 For Quispel’s arguments and (negative) evaluation of them, see T. Baarda, ‘Chose or
Collected’, HTR 84 (1991), 373–397 (384). Guillaumont, ‘Les semitismes dans l’Évangile
selon Thomas’, 197–198, offers the Syriac on the basis of the verb gbʾ being used in the
Syriac versions of Matt. 13.48; see also Baarda, ‘Chose or Collected’, 386, although he is
very tentative about Thomas reflecting an Aramaic/ Syriac substratum here; cf. Perrin, ‘The
Aramaic Origins of the Gospel of Thomas—Revisited’, 56.
13 Guillaumont, ‘Les semitismes dans l’ Évangile selon Thomas’, 196; DeConick, Original
Gospel of Thomas in Translation, 15, 84.
94 chapter 5
GTh 21.5. One case which seems strikingly plausible is the curious phrase
‘his house of his kingdom’ (ⲡⲉϥⲏⲉⲓ ⲛ̄ⲧⲉ ⲧⲉϥⲙⲛ̄ⲧⲉⲣⲟ), with the double-possessive
apparently a compelling instance of a Semitism.14 However, among other dif-
ficulties with the theory, this might simply be a Copticism (cf. the examples in
Exegesis on the Soul 132,1; 133,13–14; and Prov. 2.1 bo).
GTh 39.1. This woe condemns those who ‘receive’ or ‘take’ (ϫⲓ) the key of
knowledge, whereas the Lukan parallel has them ‘taking away’ (αἴρειν) the
key. Guillaumont, Quispel, DeConick and Perrin see this as evidence for a
divergent translation of an Aramaic original.15 However, it must be questioned
whether the difference between Luke’s Greek and Thomas’s Coptic is sufficient
to warrant appeal to a hypothetical tertium. The verbs ϥⲓ (a standard equivalent
for Greek αἴρω) and ϫⲓ frequently appear as variants for each other.16 This is
hardly surprising, given that the two Coptic verbs have overlapping semantic
fields. The divergence is not a considerable one.
GTh 61.2. As mentioned above, Jesus is said here to come (literally) ‘as from
one’ (ϩⲱⲥ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ϩⲛ̄ ⲟⲩⲁ). Some see this as textually corrupt, but there are also
two equally ingenious proposals for both Greek and Aramaic Vorlagen: either
ὡς ξένος → ὡς ἐξ ἑνός → ϩⲱⲥ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ϩⲛ̄ ⲟⲩⲁ because Jesus is a guest (ξένος) of
Salome, or mn ḥdʾ, mḥdʾ (‘suddenly’) → ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ϩⲛ̄ ⲟⲩⲁ, hence Salome’s question of
surprise.17 On the other hand, the Coptic might make sense as it stands, given
that according to Excerpta Theodoti 36.1, Theodotus’s Valentinians say that our
angels were put forth in unity and ὡς ἀπὸ ἑνὸς προελθόντες.18
GTh 100.1. Scholars have suggested that ‘tribute penny’ in the Synoptics
became Thomas’s ‘gold coin’ because both go back to Aramaic/ Syriac dynr.19
There are difficulties with this, however. The earliest evidence cited by Guey
for this is a bilingual Aramaic-Greek inscription from 193ce. Additionally, in
14 H. Quecke, ‘“Sein Haus seines Königsreiches”. Zum Thomasevangelium 85. 9f.’, Muséon 76
(1963), 47–53; Guillaumont, ‘Les semitismes dans l’Évangile selon Thomas’, 195.
15 Quispel, ‘The Gospel of Thomas and the New Testament’, 202; Guillaumont, ‘Les semi-
tismes dans l’ Évangile selon Thomas’, 199; DeConick, Original Gospel of Thomas in Trans-
lation, 157, appears to allow either of Guillaumont’s or Quispel’s proposals; Perrin, ‘Aramaic
Origins of the Gospel of Thomas’, 56–57.
16 For examples, see Crum 620a–b, 748a.
17 See commentary below for a fuller discussion of the scholarship.
18 I. Dunderberg, ‘Thomas’ I-sayings and the Gospel of John’, in R. Uro, ed. Thomas at the
Crossroads (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1998), 33–64 (51–53).
19 J. Guey, ‘Comment le “denier de César” de l’ Évangile a-t-il pu devenir une pièce d’or?’,
Bulletin de la Société française de Numismatique 15 (1960), 478–479, followed by DeConick,
Original Gospel of Thomas in Translation, 274.
this particular case, the inscription does not take it for granted that the denarii
are gold, but rather needs to specify this by referring to ‘three hundred old gold
denarii’ (χρυσᾶ παλαιὰ δηνάρια τριακόσια/ dnryn dy dhb ʿtyqyn tltmʾh).20 As such,
the argument that a gold dinar/ denarius can only go back to a Semitic language
is left somewhat exposed.21 There is a problem of anachronism here in the idea
that an Aramaic dynr would naturally be translated into Greek in Thomas as
‘gold coin’. There is also considerable variability in how currency is translated
in versions of the Bible.
These six examples illustrate different aspects of the problem: (1) in GTh
8.3, the parable is actually very different from Matthew’s version, and so it is
impossible to see the two parables as both literal, but divergent, translations
of a shared Semitic source; (2) in GTh 13, a Greek explanation for the oddity in
the Coptic is just as readily available as an Aramaic/ Syriac one; (3) the oddity
(for English readers) in GTh 21.5 is explicable as a Copticism; (4) GTh 39.1 is an
instance of an alleged divergent translation where the divergence in reality is
so small as to be insignificant; (5) in GTh 61.2, the two apparently compelling
explanations of mistranslations cannot possibly both be correct, and may well
indeed both be redundant since the Coptic could make sense as it stands; (6) in
GTh 100 the explanation relies on an anachronistic vocabulary of the Aramaic/
Syriac language.
5.2 Positive Evidence for an Original Greek Thomas
Even if the evidence for a Semitic composition is not strong, is there any
positive evidence that the original was Greek? Six points can be made briefly
here.22
Firstly, we can apply here the evidence, adduced for a different purpose
earlier (§2: ‘A Comparison of the Greek and Coptic Texts’), of the correspon-
dences between the Greek vocabulary of the Oxyrhynchus fragments and the
20 CIS II/3/1 3948 (pp. 121–122). It is not always the case that this is specified, however: see
the discussions of the Res Gestae Divi Saporis, in which it is probably the case that the
500,000 denarii are gold (because we are dealing with the ransom price of a whole army):
see J. Guey, ‘Autour des Res Gestae Divi Saporis: 1. Deniers (d’or) et deniers d’or (de compte)
anciens’, Syria 38 (1961), 261–274; T. Pekáry, ‘Autour des Res Gestae Divi Saporis: 2. Le “tribut”
aux perses et les finances de Philippe l’ arabe’, Syria 38 (1961), 275–283.
21 For further, more detailed criticism, see S. Witetschek, ‘Ein Goldstück für Caesar? Anmer-
kungen zu EvThom 100’, Apocrypha 19 (2008), 103–122.
22 For a more substantial discussion, see Gathercole, Composition, 105–125.
96 chapter 5
Graeco-Coptic words employed in the Nag Hammadi text. We see there that
of the 27 Greek loan-words in the sections of the Coptic paralleled in the
Greek fragments, 24 are the same in Greek (e.g. in GTh 2.2 ϩⲟⲧⲁⲛ and ὅταν,
in GTh 3.2 ⲥϩⲛ̄ ⲑⲁⲗⲁⲥⲥⲁ and τῆς θαλά[σσης], etc.); the only exceptions are
three cases of the translation of particles. This striking level of correspon-
dence means at the very least that a Greek Vorlage to our Coptic text is a near
certainty (although this is different from proving a Greek original composi-
tion).
Secondly, we find in the Coptic manuscript a considerable density of Greek
loan-words in the whole of the text. This sort of density can also be found in
Coptic compositions, but there are also aspects of the Graeco-Coptic vocab-
ulary which merit comment as indicative of, again, a Greek Vorlage. These
include elements which are unusual in Coptic compositions, such as ⲙⲉⲛ …
ⲇⲉ … (GTh 73) and ⲇⲓⲁ ⲧⲟⲩⲧⲟ (GTh 21). The latter is particularly notewor-
thy, because pronouns are sometimes said to be elements of Greek which are
not found in Coptic.23 Also unusual are the inflected Greek forms in 14.3 (ⲕⲁ-
ⲕⲟⲛ), 45.2 (ⲁⲅⲁⲑⲟⲛ), 45.3–4 tris (ⲡⲟⲛⲏⲣⲟⲛ), and especially, in 87.1, ⲧⲁⲗⲁⲓⲡⲱⲣⲟⲛ.
The implication of these second and third points is that to suppose a direct
translation from a Semitic language into Coptic (as required e.g. by the Semitic
explanation of GTh 13.8 discussed above) is extremely difficult.
In addition to these two points, which are strongly suggestive of a Greek
Vorlage to our Coptic manuscript, the remaining observations go further and
point in the direction of an original composition in Greek.
Thirdly, then, we can consider the testimonia to Thomas, and the mate-
rial evidence of the manuscripts. The fact that we have three Greek fragments
and a Coptic manuscript (with Greek being the language of origin of many
early works preserved in Coptic manuscripts) means that there is a prima
facie case for Greek as the original language of Thomas. Moreover, as noted
in the conclusion to Introduction, §3, above, the fact that the first six testi-
monia (up to the middle of the fourth century) are in Greek is also sugges-
tive.
Fourthly, we have the fact that the overwhelming majority of ‘Gospels’ from
the period were composed in Greek. (Later, Gospels began to be written in Latin
and Coptic, but these are not really relevant to the time-frame of Thomas.24)
23 W.A. Girgis, ‘Greek Loan Words in Coptic (I)’, Bulletin de la Société d’Archéologie Copte 17
(1964), 63–73 (63); cf. the comment on Thomas by H.P. Houghton, ‘The Coptic Gospel of
Thomas’, Aegyptus 43 (1963), 107–140 (136): ‘Pronouns appear to be the form most rarely
borrowed.’ In fact, the ⲧⲟⲩⲧⲟ in this ⲇⲓⲁ ⲧⲟⲩⲧⲟ is the only case.
24 E.g. the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew, composed in Latin.
As far as Mark, Luke and John are concerned, the consensus now is for Greek
originals; the only debate has been over a possible Hebrew Matthew. The other
works to which Thomas is most closely related are also unanimously held to be
Greek: the Gospel of Judas,25 the Gospel of Peter,26 and the Gospel of Mary;27 the
Gospel of Philip is almost always taken to have been written in Greek, despite
its interest in Syrian themes and provenance.28 The same may well be true of
P. Oxy. V 840, for which Kruger assumes a Greek original but suggests a Syr-
ian provenance.29 Even the corpus of so-called “Jewish-Christian” Gospels is by
no means a Semitic-language collection. As far as the Ebionite Gospel is con-
cerned, Epiphanius notes that the work twists the true diet of John the Baptist
from ἀκρίδες (‘locusts’) to a honeyed ἔγκρις (a cake), a misprision that makes
best sense in Greek (Pan. 30.13.4–5).30 The Gospel of the Hebrews is known
in the second and third centuries in Greek, and only later in a Semitic lan-
guage. The earliest authors to refer to it are Greek authors based in Alexandria:
Clement, Origen, and Didymus seem to know it in Greek.31 About a Gospel of
the Nazoraeans (if such a work distinct from the other two Gospels existed)
hardly anything can be said with any certainty.32 Of the Infancy Gospels, the
Infancy Gospel of Thomas was sometimes regarded as a Syriac composition,
25 See e.g. R. Kasser, M. Meyer & G. Wurst, eds. The Gospel of Judas (Washington DC: National
Geographic, 2006), 11.
26 See e.g. H.B. Swete, The Gospel of St. Peter: The Text in Greek and English with Introduction,
Notes and Indices (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2005 [1893]), xliiii.
27 Tuckett, Gospel of Mary, 10–11; K. King, The Gospel of Mary Magdala (Santa Rosa, CA:
Polebridge Press, 2003), 8; A. Pasquier, L’ Évangile selon Marie (BG 1) (BCNH 10; Québec:
Laval, 1983), 2.
28 J.E. Ménard, L’Évangile selon Philippe: Introduction, texte, traduction, commentaire (Stras-
bourg: Faculté de Théologie Catholique, 1967), 33–35, suggests that the Vorlage of the
Coptic text at least is Greek, and comments that the work originated in a ‘milieu syriaque’
(34) and an ‘ambiance syriaque’ (35), but makes no mention of a Syriac-language original.
W. Isenberg, ‘Tractate 3: The Gospel according to Philip: Introduction’, in Layton, ed. Nag
Hammadi Codex II,2–7 (Volume 1), 131–139 (134). He is followed by P. Foster, ‘The Gospel
of Philip’, in idem, ed. The Non-Canonical Gospels (New York/ London: T&T Clark, 2008),
68–83 (70 n. 24).
29 T.J. Kraus, M.J. Kruger & T. Nicklas, Gospel Fragments (OECGT; Oxford: Oxford Univer-
sity Press, 2009), 167 (in reference to Syria), and 168 (in reference to the ‘Greek origi-
nal’).
30 Klauck, Apocryphal Gospels, 51.
31 It is only in the fourth century, with Jerome, that we have reference to the work as written
in Hebrew: Jerome apparently had to translate it himself into Greek and Latin (Vir. Ill. 2).
32 Klauck, Apocryphal Gospels, 37.
98 chapter 5
but is not any longer.33 The Protevangelium of James is equally clearly a Greek
composition.34 The Armenian Gospel of the Infancy has been suggested as a Syr-
iac work, but has not yet been the subject of a study.35 A possible analogy to
an Aramaic Thomas might be Q, although—even leaving aside the question
of its existence—its original character is much debated. Additionally there is
τὸ Συριακόν associated with Hegesippus (HE 4.22.8), though this epithet could
be geographical or ethnic rather than linguistic. Overall, where we are deal-
ing with known extant texts for which we have enough information on which
to draw reasonably secure conclusions, the evidence points almost without
exception to Greek originals. The Gospel genre is overwhelmingly a Greek-
language genre.
Fifthly, a similar kind of argument can be made for the fact that the Gospel
of Thomas is extant in Nag Hammadi Codex II, which is essentially a (transla-
tion of a) Greek collection (as is probably the whole Nag Hammadi corpus).
The fact that Thomas appears as part of an originally Greek Nag Hammadi cor-
pus is circumstantial evidence for a Greek original. Some scholars have thought
that there may be exceptions,36 but by and large the majority accepts a pan-
Greek corpus. Indeed, one frequently encounters such comments as: ‘There
is no reason to believe that any of the Nag Hammadi tractates were origi-
nally written in Coptic or that any were translated from a language other than
Greek.’37
Finally, the closeness of our Greek Thomas to its parallels in the Synoptic
Gospels and the Gospel of the Hebrews suggests that, like them, Thomas was
composed of tradition formulated in Greek. The evidence is as follows:
33 A. Chartrand-Burke, ‘The Infancy Gospel of Thomas’, in Foster, ed. Non-Canonical Gospels,

126–138 (132 and n. 23). Assumed in R.F. Hock, The Infancy Gospels of James and Thomas
(Santa Rosa, CA: Polebridge, 1995), 99, in his reference to texts ‘both Greek and ver-
sional’.
34 Assumed in Hock, Infancy Gospels of James and Thomas, 10, and esp. 12.
35 A. Terian, ed. The Armenian Gospel of the Infancy. With Three Early Versions of the Prote-
vangelium of James (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008), xi, xxii–xxvi.
36 See the discussion of the views of Fecht (in favour of a Coptic original) and Nagel (a Syriac
original) on the Gospel of Truth in J.E. Ménard, L’ Évangile de vérité (NHS 2; Leiden: Brill,
1972), 9–17 (12, on the point about the word-plays); W. Beltz, ‘Die Apokalypse des Adam
(NHC V,5)’, Nag Hammadi Deutsch, 2.433–441 (434), argues for an Aramaic original of Ap.
Adam.
37 F. Wisse, ‘Introduction to Codex VII’, in B.A. Pearson, ed. Nag Hammadi Codex VII (NHS 30;
Leiden/ New York/ Köln, 1996), 11 n. 37.
G. Heb. (Strom. 2.9.45.5) G. Heb. (Strom. 5.14.96.3) Greek GTh 2
οὐ παύσεται ὁ ζητῶν, μὴ παυσάσθω ὁ ζη[τῶν τοῦ

ζητεῖν
ἕως ἂν εὕρῃ· ἕως ἂν] εὕρῃ
εὑρὼν δὲ καὶ ὅταν εὕρ[ῃ
θαμβηθήσεται, θαμβηθήσεται,]
ὁ θαυμάσας θαμβηθεὶς δὲ [καὶ θαμ]βηθεὶς

βασιλεύσει, βασιλεύσει, βασιλεύσ⟨ει⟩
καὶ ὁ βασιλεύσας βασιλεύσας δὲ κα̣[ὶ βασιλεύσας

ἀναπαήσεται. ἐπαναπαήσεται. ἀναπα]ήσεται.
Moving to the Synoptic tradition, we first encounter a parallel in GTh 4:
Mk 10.31 Matt. 19.30 Greek GTh 4
ὅτι
πολλοὶ δὲ ἔσονται πολλοὶ δὲ ἔσονται πολλοὶ ἔσονται
πρῶτοι ἔσχατοι πρῶτοι ἔσχατοι π̣ [ρῶτοι ἔσχατοι]
καὶ [οἱ] ἔσχατοι πρῶτοι. καὶ ἔσχατοι πρῶτοι. [καὶ] οἱ ἔσχατοι πρῶτοι.
Here we find a sequence of eight words identical with Matthew and Mark with
the exception in Thomas of the omission of δέ, which is a consequence of the
introduction of ὅτι. By contrast in the next case, in saying 5, the extant text
which survives corresponds more closely (indeed, exactly, as far as it survives)
to Luke:
100 chapter 5
Mk 4.22 Lk. 8.17 Greek GTh 5
οὐ γάρ ἐστιν κρυπτὸν οὐ γάρ ἐστιν κρυπτὸν [οὐ γάρ ἐσ]τιν κρυπτὸν
ἐὰν μὴ ἵνα φανερωθῇ. ὃ οὐ φανερὸν γενήσεται. ὃ οὐ φανε[ρὸν γενήσεται].
In the first visible text in P. Oxy. I 1, there are thirteen words in sequence iden-
tical to the text of Luke in Sinaiticus, Alexandrinus and some other versions:
Lk. 6.42 (P75+W = NA27,28) Lk. 6.42 (‫א‬AC go etc.) Greek GTh 26
καὶ τότε διαβλέψεις τὸ καὶ τότε διαβλέψεις ἐκβαλεῖν καὶ τότε διαβλέψεις ἐκβαλεῖν
κάρφος τὸ κάρφος τὸ κάρφος
τὸ ἐν τῷ ὀφθαλμῷ τοῦ τὸ ἐν τῷ ὀφθαλμῷ τοῦ τὸ ἐν τῷ ὀφθαλμῷ τοῦ

ἀδελφοῦ σου ἐκβαλεῖν. ἀδελφοῦ σου. ἀδελφοῦ σου.
In addition to the sequence of words is the fact that διαβλέπειν and κάρφος
are quite rare, the TLG indicating only 7 and 15 instances respectively of them
before the first century ce.38 We then have two sayings with parallels to the
Synoptic tradition without so great a level of correspondence:
Mk 6.4 Matt. 13.57 Lk. 4.24 Jn 4.44 Greek GTh 31
οὐκ ἔστιν οὐκ ἔστιν οὐδεὶς οὐκ ἔστιν δεκτὸς

προφήτης προφήτης προφήτης προφήτης ἐν προφήτης ἐν τῇ
ἄτιμος εἰ μὴ ἄτιμος εἰ μὴ ἐν δεκτός ἐστιν τῇ ἰδίᾳ πατρίδι πατρίδι αὐτ[ο]ῦ.
ἐν τῇ πατρίδι τῇ πατρίδι … ἐν τῇ πατρίδι τιμὴν οὐκ ἔχει.
αὐτοῦ. αὐτοῦ.
38 Noticing κάρφος was apparently significant for Grenfell and Hunt identifying P. Oxy. I 1 as
related to the NT gospels. See M. Goodacre, Thomas and the Gospels: The Case for Thomas’s
Familiarity with the Synoptics (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2012), 28.
There is no exact overlap here but there are some distinctive items of vocab-
ulary shared in common: πατρίς appears in all four versions, and δεκτός in
Thomas and Luke. In GTh 32, there is again loose correspondence between
Thomas and its Synoptic parallel, but with the presence in both of some of the
same Greek forms (δύναται, πόλις, κρυβῆναι, ὄρους):
Matt. 5.14 Greek GTh 32
οὐ δύναται πόλις κρυβῆναι ἐπάνω ὄρους πόλις οἰκοδομημένη ἐπ᾿ ἄκρον [ὄ]ρους
κειμένη. ὑψηλου{ς} καὶ ἐστηριγμένη οὔτε πε[σ]εῖν
δύναται οὔτε κρυ[β]ῆναι.
One might also note saying 39, although it is very fragmentary:
Matt. 10.16b Greek GTh 39.3 Coptic GTh 39.3
[ὑμεῖς] δὲ ⲛ̄ⲧⲱⲧⲛ̄ ⲇⲉ
γίνεσθε οὖν γεί[νεσθε] ϣⲱⲡⲉ
φρόνιμοι [φρόνι]μοι ⲙ̄ⲫⲣⲟⲛⲓⲙⲟⲥ
ὡς οἱ ὄφεις ὡ[ς ὄφεις] ⲛ̄ⲑⲉ ⲛ̄ⲛϩⲟϥ
καὶ ἀκέραιοι [καὶ ἀ]κέραι[οι] ⲁⲩⲱ ⲛ̄ⲁⲕⲉⲣⲁⲓⲟⲥ
ὡς αἱ περιστεραί [ὡς περιστε]ρα[ί] ⲛ̄ⲑⲉ ⲛ̄ⲛ̄ϭⲣⲟⲙⲡⲉ
In places in this saying where there is parallel material, it is strikingly close. In

spite of the lacunae in Greek Thomas, the adjectives are almost certainly the
same across all versions, and the variations very minor.
It is evident, then, that especially in the cases of GTh 2, 4, 5 and 26 we
have striking correspondences not only in the vocabulary used but also in
the inflections. In some cases this extends to a number of words in sequence.
It should be stressed that the point here is not to argue for the secondary
character of Thomas over against the Gospel of the Hebrews or the Synoptic
Gospels. The point is rather that the shared material suggests that Thomas
incorporated traditionally known Greek forms of these sayings. It is of course
102 chapter 5
not impossible that this happened at a second stage, viz. that of a translation
from a Semitic Vorlage, but in that case one must suppose a very high degree of
assimilation to pre-existing versions.
In sum, these six factors mean first that a Greek Vorlage to the Coptic version
of Thomas is a virtual certainty, with proposals for a translation into Coptic
from another language being highly speculative. It is more difficult to prove
that the Greek is the original and that no Semitic text lies behind it: this would
require proving a negative. We have noted, however, that (1) the existence
of Greek witnesses and the absence of Semitic manuscripts at least lays the
burden of proof strongly on proposals for Aramaic/ Syriac originals, and that
both (4) Thomas’s genre, and (5) the company which it keeps are strongly
suggestive of a Greek original. Moreover, (6) the close parallels in phraseology
between the Greek texts of Thomas and other Gospels are perhaps the strongest
evidence for the incorporation of Greek tradition at the stage of Thomas’s
composition. Overall, then, both on negative grounds (in the criticisms of the
Semitic hypotheses) and on positive grounds, there are strong reasons to hold
to a Greek original of Thomas.
chapter 6
The Provenance of Thomas
We move now to Thomas’s provenance.1 The majority of scholars place Thomas

in Syria, a minority propose Egypt.2 We shall examine these views in turn.
6.1 Syria
The great majority of scholars state either that Edessa, or Syria more gener-
ally, should be regarded as Thomas’s provenance.3 This was first suggested by
H.-C. Puech quite tentatively (‘Peut-être … soupçonner … pourrait être …’).4 It
was taken up much more strongly, and with a clearer specification of the city of
Edessa, in a number of publications by Quispel,5 who considered it ‘certain that
1 Bibliography: L.W. Barnard, ‘The Origins and Emergence of the Church in Edessa during the
First Two Centuries A.D.’, VC 22 (1968), 161–175; B. Ehlers (Aland), ‘Kann das Thomasevan-
gelium aus Edessa stammen? Ein Beitrag zur Frühgeschichte des Christentums in Edessa’,
NovT 12 (1970), 284–317; A.F.J. Klijn, ‘Christianity in Edessa and the Gospel of Thomas: On
Barbara Ehlers, “Kann das Thomasevangelium aus Edessa stammen?”’, NovT 14 (1972), 70–
77; B. Dehandschutter, ‘Le lieu d’ origine de l’ Évangile selon Thomas’, Orientalia Lovaniensia
Periodica 6–7 (1975–1976), 125–131; J.-M. Sevrin, ‘L’Évangile selon Thomas: paroles de Jésus et
révélation gnostique’, Revue théologique de Louvain 8 (1977), 265–292 (273–276); M.R. Des-
jardins, ‘Where was the Gospel of Thomas Written?’, Toronto Journal of Theology 8 (1992),
121–133; Piovanelli, ‘Thomas in Edessa? Another Look at the Original Setting of the Gospel
of Thomas’, 443–461; S.J. Patterson, ‘The View from across the Euphrates’, HTR 104 (2011), 411–
431.
2 DeConick, Original Gospel of Thomas, 8, argues that the core of Thomas was composed in
Jerusalem, but this has not won many supporters.
3 D.E. Aune, ‘Assessing the Historical Value of the Apocryphal Jesus Traditions: A Critique of
Conflicting Methodologies’, in J. Schröter & R. Brucker, eds. Der historische Jesus: Tenden-
zen und Perspektiven der gegenwärtigen Forschung (BZNW 114; Berlin/ New York: Walter de
Gruyter, 2002), 243–272 (256); Barnard, ‘Origins and Emergence’, 165–166; R. Uro, Thomas:
Seeking the Historical Context of the Gospel of Thomas (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 2003), 26–30,
137.
4 H.-C. Puech, ‘Une collection des paroles récemment découverte en Égypte’, RHR 153 (1958),
129–133 (130).
5 G. Quispel, ‘The Latin Tatian or the Gospel of Thomas in Limburg’, JBL 88 (1969), 321–330
(327); idem, ‘The Gospel of Thomas and the Gospel of the Hebrews’, 378; idem, ‘Syrian Thomas
and the Syrian Macarius’, 234: Edessa.

104 chapter 6
this apocryphal Gospel originated in Edessa’!6 As an established Syriacist, Dri-

jvers added considerable weight to the Edessa hypothesis by his support for it.7
More recently, one can mention Klauck (‘Syria’), Plisch (‘Osrhoene/ E. Syria’),8
Marjanen (‘Syria, perhaps Edessa’),9 or again with more specificity, Pearson
and Puig, as advocates of Edessa.10 Patterson has used the Edessene hypoth-
esis as an explanation for the contrasts between Thomas and the canonical
Gospels.11
The principal arguments for a Syrian provenance are fourfold: (1) the Syrian
character of the name ‘Judas Thomas’; (2) the earliest Syrian reception of
Thomas; (3) Thomas’s affinities with Syriac text-forms; (4) the affinity of Thomas
with Syriac literature such as the Odes of Solomon and the Acts of Thomas.
(Some would add to these the composition of Thomas in Syriac.) These can
briefly be explained.
The Name Judas Thomas

The Coptic version of Thomas records the name ‘Didymus Judas Thomas’ in
the Prologue, and although P. Oxy. IV 654 is fragmentary at this point, the
corresponding Greek is usually taken to refer to Judas Thomas.12 Klijn and
Drijvers are typical in arguing that this particular form of the name in Thomas
points in the direction of a Syrian provenance.13 This double name ‘Judas
6 G. Quispel, ‘Gospel of Thomas Revisited’, in J. van Oort, ed. Gnostica, Judaica, Catholica:
Collected Essays of Gilles Quispel (Leiden: Brill, 2008), 175–225 (192); Perrin, Thomas: The
Other Gospel, 80: Edessa is ‘virtually indisputable’.
7 H.J.W. Drijvers, ‘Edessa und das jüdische Christentum’, VC 24 (1970), 4–33 (17).
8 Klauck, Apocryphal Gospels, 108; U.-K. Plisch, The Gospel of Thomas: Original Text with
Commentary (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2008), 19–22.
9 A. Marjanen, The Gospel of Thomas: Original Text with Commentary (Peabody, MA: Hen-
drickson, 2008), 37.
10 B.A. Pearson, Ancient Gnosticism: Traditions and Literature (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2007),
267; Puig, Un Jesús desconocido, 128.
11 Patterson, ‘The View from across the Euphrates’.
12 On the names, see A.F.J. Klijn, ‘John XIV 22 and the Name Judas Thomas’, in (no editor),
Studies in John. Presented to Professor J.N. Sevenster on the Occasion of his Seventieth Birth-
day (Leiden: Brill, 1970), 88–96; J.J. Gunther, ‘The Meaning and Origin of the Name Judas
Thomas’, Muséon 93 (1980), 113–148; M. Janssen, ‘ “Evangelium des Zwillings?” Das Thoma-
sevangelium als Thomas-Schrift’, in J. Frey, J. Schröter & E.E. Popkes, eds. Das Thomasevan-
gelium: Entstehung—Rezeption—Theologie (BZNW 157; Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 2008),
222–248 (esp. 196–204), as well as the discussion of the incipit in the main body of the
commentary below.
13 Klijn, ‘Christianity in Edessa’, 76–77; H.J.W. Drijvers, ‘Facts and Problems in Early Syriac-
the provenance of thomas 105
Thomas’ appears throughout Acts of Thomas, as well as in the Book of Thomas

the Contender (NH II 138,2), in the Curetonian Syriac of John 14.22, and the
Abgar correspondence as preserved in Eusebius (HE 1.13.11):
Jn 14.22 P75 etc. Ἰούδας οὐχ ὁ Ἰσκαριώτης

Jn 14.22 D Ἰούδας οὐχ ὁ ἀπὸ Καρυωτου
Jn 14.22 syrs thwmʾ (Lewis, Klijn)/ tʾwmʾ (Kiraz, Williams)
Jn 14.22 syrc yhwdʾ tʾwmʾ
Ac. Thom. Ἰούδας ὁ καὶ Θωμᾶς14
Abgar corr. Ἰούδας ὁ καὶ Θωμᾶς
P. Oxy. IV 654 [Ἰούδας ὁ] καὶ Θωμᾶ(ς)
Coptic Thomas ⲇⲓⲇⲩⲙⲟⲥ ⲓ̈ⲟⲩⲇⲁⲥ ⲑⲱⲙⲁⲥ
Thom. Cont. ⲓ̈ⲟⲩⲇⲁⲥ ⲑⲱⲙⲁⲥ
In contrast to the Abgar correspondence, and the Gospel and Acts of Thomas,
Papias, Irenaeus, Clement, Hippolytus and Origen use the simple form
‘Thomas’.15 Despite the questionable attribution of the Book of Thomas the Con-
tender to Syria, there is a pattern here. One might, however, set against this the
fact that names might very easily travel, but it does not appear that this name
has travelled far. One notable point is that when Eusebius is quoting from the
Abgar correspondence, he cites the name Ἰούδας ὁ καὶ Θωμᾶς, but elsewhere
only uses Θωμᾶς or Θωμᾶς (ὁ) Δίδυμος.
The Earliest Reception of Thomas

The arguments on the basis of the earliest reception of Thomas most often
draw attention to the use of Thomas in the Acts of Thomas, Acts of John and
the Gospel of Philip.16 This argument is not secure, however. Although the case
speaking Christianity’, SecCent 2 (1982), 157–175 (158), noting that the name Didymus Judas
Thomas is ‘characteristic of and restricted to’ Syrian literature; cf. also Zöckler, Jesu Lehren
in Thomasevangelium, 19.
14 Some of this evidence is disputed by Klijn, who argues that the earliest form of the Acts
of Thomas has the name Judas, rather than Thomas (‘John XIV 22 and the Name Judas
Thomas’, 92).
15 This is a much better comparison than that of Koester: ‘For control we can refer to
the non-Edessene Infancy Gospel of Thomas, in which the writer is called “Thomas, the
Israelite (Philosopher)” ’. As noted above in § 3, however, this attribution of IGT to Thomas
is very late. See Chartrand-Burke, The Infancy Gospel of Thomas, 118, 249, 270.
16 E.H. Pagels, ‘Response to Stephen Patterson’, Annual Meeting of the Society of Biblical
Literature 2008.
106 chapter 6
for the influence of Thomas on the Acts is strong, the early reception of Thomas
is far wider. As we have seen in §1 (‘Manuscripts’), § 3 (‘Named Testimonia’) and
§4 (‘Early References’) above, at the same time as Thomas’s influence upon
the Acts, there is also early evidence for Thomas in (a) Oxyrhynchus (P. Oxy.
I 1; IV 654; IV 655); (b) Rome (Hippolytus, Ref. 5.7.20–21); (c) the unknown
location of Hippolytus’s Naassenes, (d) Caesarea (Origen), as well as in the
places of origin of the Gospel of Philip and the Acts of Thomas, and of some of
the earliest Manichaean literature. As a result, the earliest reception of Thomas
is too diffuse to enable us to draw conclusions about provenance.
Affinities of Thomas and Syrian Text-Forms

Various scholars have noted parallels peculiar to Thomas and the Syriac ver-
sions of the Gospels. Quispel, Guillaumont and DeConick refer, for example, to
GTh 45 sharing the phrase ‘which is in his heart’ with Matt. 12.35 syrs and syrc
(ⲉⲧϩⲛ̄ ⲡⲉϥϩⲏⲧ, dblbh).17 Snodgrass notes that GTh 65 shares with Mk 12.1–5 (syrs)
and Lk. 20.12 (syrc) only two servants.18 A number of similar examples could be
adduced (DeConick has provided extensive lists of parallels in her commen-
tary), and they may suggest some sort of common milieu, although this needs
to be balanced with possible links between Thomas and other text-forms.19
Affinities with Other Syrian Literature

Perhaps the principal argument used for Thomas’s connection to Syria is its
theological similarities to other works associated with the area, particular in
those works with an ascetical or mystical bent. These include earlier literature
such as the Odes of Solomon,20 Tatian’s Oratio,21 the Acts of Thomas,22 as well
17 G. Quispel, ‘Some Remarks on the Gospel of Thomas’, NTS 5 (1958–1959), 276–290 (286);
similarly, Guillaumont, ‘Les sémitismes dans l’ Évangile selon Thomas: essai de classe-
ment’, 197; DeConick, Original Gospel of Thomas in Translation, 169.
18 K. Snodgrass, ‘The Parable of the Wicked Husbandmen: Is the Gospel of Thomas Version
the Original?’, NTS 21 (1975), 142–144 (143).
19 See e.g. Quispel, ‘L’Évangile selon Thomas et le “Texte Occidental”’, 204–215. As Turner
puts it: ‘we should think rather of a more widely diffused textual tradition dating from the
middle of the second century or slightly earlier’ (Montefiore & Turner, Thomas and the
Evangelists, 26).
20 A.F.J. Klijn, ‘Das Thomasevangelium und das altsyrische Christentum’, VC 15 (1961), 146–159
(153–154); Klijn, ‘Christianity in Edessa and the Gospel of Thomas’, 77; Desjardins, ‘Where
was the Gospel of Thomas Written?’, 124–125; Uro, Thomas, 29. Gunther, ‘Judas Thomas’,
137–138 even sees influence from Odes upon Thomas.
21 Patterson, ‘View from across the Euphrates’, 420.
22 Klijn, ‘Thomasevangelium und das altsyrische Christentum’, 154–159; idem, ‘Christianity
later writings such as Aphrahat’s Demonstrations,23 the Liber Graduum24 and

the Macarian corpus.25 There are important links between Thomas and some
of these writings: in the case of the Acts, however, this can be explained as
the influence of Thomas rather than by emergence from a common milieu.
In the cases of the Liber Graduum and the Macarian corpus there arises the
chronological problem, to which we will return: these works appear 200 years
later than Thomas, in a fourth-century milieu about which we know much more
than is the case for the second century.
There is a striking parallel in the Latin version of the Didascalia: quoniam
scriptum est in evangelio: Duo si convenerunt in unum et dixerint monti huic:
Tolle et mitte te in mari, fiet (Didasc. 15).26 (The Syriac version parallels Matthew
much more closely.) For some this has reinforced the theory of a Syrian prove-
nance.27
A Syriac Composition as Evidence for Edessene Origin

If Syriac were the original language of Thomas, then an Edessene provenance
would be an almost inevitable conclusion. As has been argued above (Intro-
duction, §5: ‘Original Language’) and more extensively elsewhere, however,
a Syriac original is highly unlikely.28 On the other hand, to dispute Syriac as
the language of composition is not to dispute an Edessene origin, given the
Graeco-Aramaic bilingualism dominant in the city, at least in the second cen-
tury.29
in Edessa and the Gospel of Thomas’, 77; Desjardins, ‘Where was the Gospel of Thomas
Written?’, 124–125.
23 P.-H. Poirier, ‘L’Évangile selon Thomas (log. 16 et 23) et Aphraate (Dém. XVIII, 10–11)’,
in (no editor), Mélanges Antoine Guillaumont: Contributions à l’étude des christianismes
orientaux. Avec une bibliographie du dédicataire (Geneva: Patrick Cramer, 1988), 15–18
(17).
24 Baker, ‘Gospel of Thomas and the Syriac Liber Graduum’, 49–55; J.-E. Ménard, ‘Beziehun-
gen des Philippus- und des Thomas-Evangeliums zur syrischen Welt’, in K.W. Tröger, ed.
Altes Testament, Frühjudentum, Gnosis (Gütersloh: Gütersloher Verlagshaus/ Mohn, 1980),
317–326; Desjardins, ‘Where was the Gospel of Thomas Written?’, 124–125.
25 Baker, ‘Pseudo-Macarius and the Gospel of Thomas’, 215–225; Quispel, ‘Syrian Thomas and
the Syrian Macarius’, 226–235.
26 For the Latin text, see Connolly, Didascalia Apostolorum, 135 (cf. the Syriac in translation
on 134).
27 Plisch, Gospel of Thomas, 127.
28 See further Gathercole, Composition, 19–125.
29 Klijn, ‘Christianity in Edessa and the Gospel of Thomas’, 72–73; H.J.W. Drijvers & J.F. Healey,
The Old Syriac Inscriptions of Edessa and Osrhoene: Texts, Translations, and Commentary
108 chapter 6
Antioch?
A fairly recent variant on the Syria-Edessa theory has been to propose Anti-
och as a nearby alternative. Desjardins considers a Greek original language
for Thomas to be damaging to an origin in Edessa, but still maintains a Syr-
ian provenance, placing Thomas in Antioch.30 Desjardins is followed here by
Piovanelli: ‘we will be better advised to gaze at Antioch on the Orontes as
the most plausible point of departure.’31 Piovanelli’s reason for this is differ-
ent from that of Desjardins, namely that for a work as widely distributed as
Thomas one might more reasonably expect the more significant city of Anti-
och.32
Assessment
Overall, it is difficult to decide how strong these factors are. Some of the criti-
cisms which have been levelled at the Syria/Edessa hypothesis have not proven
successful. Ehlers’ argument that a Greek original makes composition in Edessa
unlikely on the grounds of the dominance of Syriac was already doubted when
it was first made, and is now even more shaky.33 Nevertheless, there are still con-
siderable difficulties with locating Thomas in Syria because such attempts pre-
suppose that we have enough knowledge of Syrian religiosity in the early-mid
second century to be able to see that (reconstructed) milieu as the seed-bed
for Thomas. The great problem here is that in fact we know virtually noth-
ing. (There is no mention of Christianity or Judaism in the earliest inscrip-
tions.34) Ehlers’ other criticism of the Edessa hypothesis thus carries much
more weight, viz. that ‘die Frühgeschichte der Kirche Edessas liegt bisher weit-
gehend im Dunkel.’35 (Even Walter Bauer, many of whose conclusions come
(HO 42; Leiden: Brill, 1999), 38; pace S.K. Ross, Roman Edessa: Politics and Culture on the
Eastern Fringes of the Roman Empire, 114–242 CE (London/ New York: Routledge, 2001),
12.
30 Desjardins, ‘Where was the Gospel of Thomas Written?’, 123. Desjardins underestimates
Klijn’s arguments for the bilingualism of Edessa: as noted this has been reinforced more
recently by Drijvers and Healey: see the previous note.
31 Piovanelli, ‘Thomas in Edessa?’, 461.
32 Piovanelli, ‘Thomas in Edessa?’, 460–461.
33 Klijn, ‘Christianity in Edessa and the Gospel of Thomas’, 72–73; see more recently Drijvers
& Healey, The Old Syriac Inscriptions of Edessa and Osrhoene, 38.
34 See Drijvers & Healey, The Old Syriac Inscriptions of Edessa and Osrhoene, 39–41: ‘Religion
in the Inscriptions’.
35 Ehlers, ‘Kann das Thomasevangelium aus Edessa stammen?’, 284; Klijn, ‘Thomasevan-
gelium und das altsyrische Christentum’, 146–149 sets out our scant knowledge of second-
century Christianity in Syria.
across as extremely confidently stated, admitted towards the end of his chap-
ter on Edessa: ‘I have already had to assume much more than I would like, but
unfortunately, in this area, there is very little that one can know for sure.’36)
We do have some more solid evidence for Edessa around the turn of the sec-
ond and third centuries ce: the activity of Tatian on his return to Edessa, the
evidence for the church building at the time of the flood in 201 ce,37 and the
activity of Bardaisan and Palut (and, possibly, Quq and the Quqites) around the
same time.38 The Odes of Solomon are the only potentially Edessene writings
which can reasonably be regarded as contemporaneous with Thomas, but as
has been observed, while there are interesting points of contact with Thomas,
there are also significant differences:39 one might point, for example, to much
greater traditionalism of the Odes in its God-language (‘Lord’, ‘my God’, ‘most
high’, etc.) and theological motifs more broadly (‘mercy’, ‘grace’, ‘salvation’, ‘righ-
teousness’, etc.).
6.2 Egypt
The near-consensus about Syria has been questioned only by a small minority,
including Garitte,40 McArthur,41 Grobel,42 Davies (possibly),43 and Dehand-
schutter. Some reasons for an Egyptian origin are not compelling, such as
Garitte’s theory of composition in Coptic, and Dehandschutter seeing the Osiris
myth in GTh 114.44 Nevertheless, Dehandschutter’s sentiment is still under-
standable: ‘Nous n’avons pas compris pourquoi on n’a que fort rarement envis-
36 W. Bauer, Orthodoxy and Heresy in Earliest Christianity (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1971
[1934]), 42.
37 J.B. Segal, Edessa: The Blessed City (Oxford: Clarendon, 1970), 24, 62; Drijvers & Healey, The
Old Syriac Inscriptions of Edessa and Osrhoene, 37.
38 Segal, Edessa, 81.
39 Klijn, ‘Thomasevangelium und das altsyrische Christentum’, 153–154.
40 G. Garitte, ‘Les Paraboles du royaume dans l’ “Évangile de Thomas”’, in L. Cerfaux (with
G. Garitte), Recueil Lucien Cerfaux: études d’exégèse et d’histoire religieuse de Monseigneur
Cerfaux (Gembloux: Duculot, 1962), III.61–80 (73).
41 H.K. McArthur, ‘Dependence of the Gospel of Thomas on the Synoptics’, ExpT 71 (1960),
286–287 (287).
42 K. Grobel, ‘How Gnostic is the Gospel of Thomas?’, NTS 8 (1962), 367–373 (373).
43 S.L. Davies, The Gospel of Thomas and Christian Wisdom, 2nd edn (Oregon House, CA:
Bardic Press, 2005), 18–19.
44 Dehandschutter, ‘Lieu d’ origine’, 130–131.
110 chapter 6
agé l’Égypte pour lieu d’origine de l’ET.’45 His reasons, expressed elsewhere,
include (negatively) our ignorance of the religious currents of Edessa in the
second century,46 and (positively) the ‘presence of Hermetic matter’, Thomas’s
‘sapiential character’, ‘acquaintance with Encratite tradition’ and ‘gnostic
reception of the gospel tradition’: these elements lead him to conclude that
Alexandria is the most likely place.47 In addition to these features one has the
obvious point of the material evidence: the three Oxyrhynchus fragments and
the Coptic manuscript were found in Egypt. On closer inspection, however, the
themes noted by Dehandschutter are not very distinctive to Egypt and were
much more diffuse, and the survival of our manuscripts of Thomas may be a
function of Egyptian weather rather than its metaphorical religious climate.
6.3 Evaluation
Is it possible to decide between Syria and Egypt?48 Is it necessary? The best

account of Thomas’s provenance is probably that of Davies, namely that we do
not really know.49 Arnal has noted that in its outlook, the Gospel of Thomas is
in some respects a ‘religion of “anywhere”’,50 and even in cases where Gospels
have many more geographical and cultural references than Thomas does,
uncertainty remains: as Morna Hooker has written of Mark, ‘the gospel was
composed somewhere in the Roman empire’!51 In the end, then, it is probably
45 B. Dehandschutter, ‘Les Paraboles de l’ Évangile selon Thomas: la parabole du Trésor caché

(log 109)’, ETL 47 (1971), 199–219 (207).
46 Dehandschutter, ‘Lieu d’ origine’, 125–126.
47 B. Dehandschutter, ‘Recent Research on the Gospel of Thomas’, in F. van Segbroeck &
C.M. Tuckett, eds. The Four Gospels 1992: Festschrift Frans Neirynck, vol. III (Leuven: Peeters,
1992), 2257–2262 (2258 n. 8).
48 In a parallel case, we can note Pratscher’s attempt to identify the provenance of 2Clement,
which concludes that it is very difficult to choose between Syria and Egypt (Pratscher, Der
zweite Clemensbrief, 61).
49 Davies, Gospel of Thomas and Christian Wisdom, 18–19, grants the possibility of Egypt,
though he ultimately says it is impossible to know. Ehlers is more definite that Edessa
is an extremely unlikely candidate, without proposing an alternative.
50 W. Arnal, ‘Blessed are the Solitary: The Paradox of a Thomas “Community”’ (SBL Paper,
2011), using the language of J.Z. Smith, ‘Here, There, and Anywhere’, in idem, Relating
Religion: Essays in the Study of Religion (Chicago/ London: University of Chicago Press,
2004), 323–339 (see esp. 329–334).
51 M.D. Hooker, A Commentary on the Gospel according to St. Mark (Black’s New Testament
Commentary; London: A. & C. Black, 1991), 8.
best to admit our ignorance about Thomas’s provenance, while acknowledging

that Syria and Egypt are reasonable possibilities.52
52 Some have approached the ‘provenance’ question from a different angle, that of the envi-
ronment of Thomas. So, for example, W.H.C. Frend, ‘Gospel of Thomas: Is Rehabilita-
tion Possible?’, JTS 18 (1967), 13–26, considered Thomas ‘rural or semi-rural’ (25). Arnal,
‘Rhetoric of Marginality’, 489, has argued for a rural milieu on the grounds that in GTh
78, ‘the city is singled out for trenchant criticism’, and that in GTh 63–65 the villains are
urbanised. The villain in GTh 63 is not clearly urban, however. It is also unclear, whatever
one makes of the vineyard owner in GTh 65, that the tenants are the heroes. Others, such
as those who locate Thomas in a city such as Edessa or Antioch are by implication taking
a different view. J.-M. Sevrin, ‘Un groupement de trois paraboles contre les richesses dans
l’Évangile selon Thomas (63, 64, 65)’, in J. Delorme, ed. Paraboles évangéliques: perspectives
nouveaux (Paris: Cerf, 1989), 425–439 (432), further maintains that in GTh 64 the buyers
and sellers in Thomas function in his anti-commercial interests, and suggest not a Galilean
village, but an urban milieu where one makes investments. In GTh 14.4, the Thomasine dis-
ciples are envisaged as going into the regions and districts (ⲕⲁϩ and ⲭⲱⲣⲁ), which are vague
and therefore difficult to translate, but probably imply rural areas (cf. the πολίς in Lk. 10.8).
It is notable, however, that these are the destinations, and not necessarily the base of the
Thomasine disciples (if there is such a base). Evidence for a rural setting might be found in
the location of Jesus in the countryside in GTh 78.1; on the other hand, the city is a positive
image in GTh 32. See the rather sceptical remarks about the social world behind Thomas
in R. Uro, ‘The Social World of the Gospel of Thomas’, in J.Ma. Asgeirsson, A.D. DeConick &
R. Uro, eds. Thomasine Traditions in Antiquity: The Social and Cultural World of the Gospel
of Thomas (NHMS 59; Leiden: Brill, 2006), 19–38 (e.g. 21). In sum, internal factors prob-
ably do not allow us to define the environment from which Thomas emerges, and such
assumptions should not be allowed to affect the interpretation of individual sayings or of
the overall work.
chapter 7
The Date of Thomas (with Authorship)1
The question of date has been one of the most controverted issues in Thomas
research. Scholars currently propose dates from ‘prior to 50 ce’ (at least for its
core) on the one hand,2 to the end of the second century on the other (see
Table below).3 This range is to be attributed not merely to scholarly prejudice,
but also to the sheer difficulty of the question.
There are problems with dating a number of works from antiquity, and
Gospels are no exception: one difficulty which is a consequence of the genre
is that the authors are usually aiming deliberately to evoke a past generation
and not their own. An added problem with dating Thomas is that a number
of scholars claim a high degree of variability across time in the contents of
Thomas, from an early core which was built upon either by various additional
redactional layers, or by the additions of individual sayings at various times,
or both. Some scholars even propose abandoning the project of dating the
whole, and argue that it is better instead to attempt to date the individual
traditions or sayings.4 As has been argued above, however (see ‘Appended Note:
Thomas as a “Rolling Corpus”’, following §2), a number of the reasons for seeing
this compositional process of Thomas are flawed, and—despite indications of
occasional later additions, at the Coptic stage, for example—there are good
reasons for seeing the main body of Thomas as a compositional unity. As a
result, the aim of this section is to date Thomas as a whole.
There are various criteria which have been employed to date Thomas, and
these will be divided into three parts: (1) the evidence for a terminus ante
1 Bibliography: Surveys of the question include: Fallon & Cameron, ‘The Gospel of Thomas:
A Forschungsbericht and Analysis’, 4224–4227; Schröter, Erinnerung an Jesu Worte, 122–140;
S.J. Patterson, ‘Understanding the Gospel of Thomas Today’, in idem, J.M. Robinson & the
Berliner Arbeitskreis für koptisch-gnostische Schriften, The Fifth Gospel: The Gospel of Thomas
Comes of Age (Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press International, 1998), 33–75 (40–45); T. Baarda, ‘The
Gospel of Thomas’, PIBA 26 (2003), 46–65 (53–58); C.W. Skinner, What Are They Saying about
the Gospel of Thomas? (Mahwah: Paulist Press, 2012), 9–28; Goodacre, Thomas and the Gospels,
157–174.
3 B. Dehandschutter, ‘L’Évangile de Thomas comme collection de paroles de Jesus’, in J. Delobel,
ed. Logia: Les paroles de Jesus/ The Sayings of Jesus (BETL 59; Leuven University Press/ Peeters,
1982), 507–515 (510).
4 See e.g. Plisch, Gospel of Thomas, 16.

the date of thomas (with authorship) 113
quem, (2) the evidence for a terminus a quo, and (3) additional indications.
One challenge in dating Thomas lies in whether it is possible to avoid the
Scylla of over-precision—evident in Klijn’s dating of Thomas c. 150 ce ‘mit
Sicherheit’5—and the Charybdis of agnosticism, evident in Attridge’s remark
that: ‘To fix any date before 200 is pure conjecture.’6
7.1 Evidence for a terminus ante quem
The Papyrological Data

As we saw in the survey of the manuscript evidence above (Introduction, § 1),
the papyri (P. Oxy. I 1; IV 654; IV 655) tend to be assigned dates in the third
century, especially the early or middle parts of that century. This provides,
roughly speaking, a terminus ante quem of around 200 ce.7 As noted above in § 1,
however, a fresh examination of the palaeography of the Oxyrhynchus papyri
in the light of recent discoveries and methods is a desideratum. There has been
a tendency recently among papyrologists to date papyri rather later than was
the case in the twentieth century, or, to put the point more precisely, to assign
broader time frames rather than more exact dates.8
Testimonia
The testimonia to Thomas provide much the same answer. The earliest testi-
monium is that in (Ps.-?)Hippolytus, where ‘the Gospel according to Thomas’ is
named, and a rather garbled quotation supplied, in Ref. 5.7.20–21 (see Introduc-
tion, §3.1, above).9 The Refutatio is often dated to c. 222–235ce, though Brent
has renewed the case for a slightly earlier date, during the life-time and episco-
5 Klijn, ‘Das Thomasevangelium und das altsyrische Christentum’, 146.

6 H.W. Attridge, in discussion after H. Koester, ‘Gnostic Writings as Witnesses for the Devel-
opment of the Sayings Tradition’, in B. Layton, ed. Rediscovery of Gnosticism, vol. I (Leiden:
Brill, 1980), 238–256 + ‘Discussion’, 256–261 (260).
7 P. Pokorný, A Commentary on the Gospel of Thomas: From Interpretations to the Interpreted
(London/ New York: T&T Clark, 2009), 4, puts the terminus at 180ce without justifica-
tion.
8 See e.g. R. Bagnall, Early Christian Books in Egypt (Princeton: Princeton University Press,
2009); B. Nongbri, ‘The Use and Abuse of P52: Papyrological Pitfalls in the Dating of the
Fourth Gospel’, HTR 98 (2005), 23–48; D. Barker, ‘The Dating of New Testament Papyri’,
NTS 57 (2011) 571–582.
9 As noted above, other allusions to Thomas also come in this section, which discusses the
Naassenes.
114 chapter 7
pacy of Callistus (c. 217–222).10 As a consequence, a terminus ante quem of the

first quarter of the third century also emerges here.
Thomas’s Influence on Other Writings

This has been an important factor for some scholars in the quest to date Thomas
very early. Nagel has seen Paul as bearing the marks of Thomas’s influence,
which would give a terminus ante quem of c. 50–60 ce;11 Davies has seen the
influence of Thomas upon Mark’s Gospel, meaning that Thomas would have
been written before c. 70ce.12 Among others, Riley sees Thomas as influencing
Luke.13 There is now also a body of opinion seeing Thomas as an impulse (neg-
atively) in the composition of John’s Gospel.14 As has been argued elsewhere,
however, none of these scenarios of influence can be regarded as realistic.15
Even arguments for Thomas’s influence upon second century works are hard
to sustain. The chief difficulty, as we noted in §4 above (‘Early References to the
Contents of Thomas’), lies in establishing the dates of the other works which
might have some sort of relationship to Thomas, such as 2 Clement, the Gospel
of the Egyptians, or the Celestial Dialogue. The most secure cases are those of the
Book of Thomas the Contender and the Acts of Thomas, from around 200/ early
third century. Again, therefore, a terminus ante quem of around 200 ce emerges
here too.
Thomas’ Depiction of James

Some other minor considerations have come into play in the establishment of
a terminus ante quem. A few scholars have argued, for example, that GTh 12 pre-
sumes that James is still alive making Thomas—or at least this saying—predate
62ce.16 This is a rather speculative proposal, however (see the commentary on
this saying).
10 A. Brent, Hippolytus & the Roman Church in the Third Century: Communities in Tension
before the Emergence of a Monarch-Bishop (Leiden: Brill, 1995), 289: ‘El. was completed
before the death of Callistus in 222’ (and passim).
11 Nagel, ‘Erwägungen zum Thomas-Evangelium’, 368–392.
12 Davies, ‘The Use of the Gospel of Thomas in the Gospel of Mark’; idem and Johnson,
‘Mark’s Use of the Gospel of Thomas: Part Two’.
13 Riley, ‘The Influence of Thomas Christianity on Luke 12:14 and 5:39’, 229–235.
14 See esp. Riley, Resurrection Reconsidered; A.D. DeConick, Voices of the Mystics: Early Chris-
tian Discourse in the Gospels of John and Thomas and Other Ancient Christian Literature
(Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2001); Pagels, Beyond Belief.
15 Gathercole, Composition, 145–249. See also (on the Synoptics), Goodacre, Thomas and the
Gospels. On Thomas and John, see Dunderberg, The Beloved Disciple in Conflict.
16 DeConick, Original Gospel of Thomas in Translation, 94–95: ‘Because this saying assumes
Thomas and the Composition and Circulation of the Gospels

Stead commented that Thomas should be dated ‘probably not later than 140
A.D., since (among other reasons) the writer is influenced by Matthew and Luke
and possibly by Mark but knows nothing of John.’17 Judging the date of a work by
what it is ignorant of is difficult, however, as is identifying that ignorance.18 The
absence of John may have a reason, and Goodacre suggests ‘Johannophobia’;19
alternatively, it may simply be that the author or editor of Thomas moved in
circles in which the Synoptics were much more well known.20 Whatever the
explanation, one can point to analogies of works which show familiarity with
the Synoptics but not the Johannine account of Jesus—the Gospel of Judas is an
obvious case, and a significant one given that it may well post-date Thomas.21
Thomas’s Lack of Gnostic Theological Development

In a related vein, Uro has located Thomas in the early second century (‘c. 100–
140’) because (in addition to other factors) there are ‘no signs of the demi-
urgical systems which gained popularity in early Christianity from the mid-
dle of the second century onwards.’22 This argument is in danger of a kind of
that James is still alive and the leader of the Jerusalem Church, the Thomasine Church
must have been established in Syria sometime before James’ death in 62ce.’ Cf. S.J. Patter-
son, The Gospel of Thomas and Jesus (Sonoma, CA: Polebridge, 1993), 117, though conceding
it is far from certain (‘One might perhaps speculate …’).
17 Stead, ‘Some Reflections on the Gospel of Thomas’, 402. As a result of this, Perrin’s com-
plaint (Thomas and Tatian, 5–6) about the arbitrariness of the date of 140ce so commonly
attributed to Thomas is unjustified. As Koester remarked, anticipating Perrin’s comment:
‘140 was not an accidental choice’ (Koester, ‘Gnostic Writings as Witnesses’, 259).
18 A.F. Gregory, The Reception of Luke and Acts in the Period before Irenaeus: Looking for Luke
in the Second Century (WUNT II/169; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2003), 353: ‘it is virtually
impossible to demonstrate non-use, never mind non-knowledge of a text.’
19 Goodacre, Thomas and the Gospels, 183: ‘At a time when John is still battling for acceptance
in some Christian circles, Thomas’s cause would not have been furthered by borrowing
sayings that do not have the Synoptic ring. Thomas wants his Jesus to sound like the Jesus
familiar to his audience, and the sayings from John are not going to help with that.’
20 Some evidence for this might lie in the mention of ‘Matthew’ in GTh 13 (see commentary
ad loc. below).
21 See S.J. Gathercole, ‘Matthean or Lukan Priority? The Use of the NT Gospels in the Gospel
of Judas’, in G. Wurst & E.E. Popkes, eds. Judasevangelium und Codex Tchacos: Studien
zur religionsgeschichtlichen Verortung einer gnostischen Schriftensammlung (Tübingen:
Mohr, 2012), 291–302. Cf. P. Foster, The Gospel of Peter: Introduction, Critical Edition and
Commentary (TENTS; Leiden: Brill, 2010), 147, who sees it as a near certainty that Gos. Pet.
is influenced by Matthew and Luke, but sees the case for John as much less clear-cut.
22 Uro, Thomas, 135.
116 chapter 7
evolutionary or teleological fallacy, according to which Thomas would have

availed itself of Gnostic ideas if it had been written later. The development of
theological systems in the second century was by no means linear.23 As we will
observe later, and especially in the course of the commentary, Thomas is influ-
enced by certain ideas related to Gnostic, Valentinian and similar concepts,
even if it is not itself Gnostic.
Interim Conclusion
In sum, the combined evidence of the papyrological data and the evidence
from the earliest testimonium in the Refutatio attributed to Hippolytus are the
only clear anchors for a terminus ante quem, namely one of around 200 ce. The
other arguments mounted are either simply false or at best inconclusive. These
factors also rule out the opinion, frequently expressed by the church fathers,
that Thomas is a Manichaean composition.24
7.2 Evidence for a terminus a quo
The question then becomes whether we can also provide an earliest possible
date. In addition to the banal point that the ‘dramatic date’ of the Gospel
necessitates a date post c. 30ce, other factors have been deployed.
Tatian’s Influence upon Thomas?

‘If the Diatessaron provides a terminus a quo, the sayings collection must have
been composed sometime after 175C.E.’25 Drijvers has also drawn a similar
conclusion to that of Perrin here.26 This ‘if’, however, is a considerable one.
23 As Edwards argues, for example, the Valentinian system was influenced by Gnosticism,
but was less radically dualistic. See Edwards, ‘Gnostics and Valentinians in the Church
Fathers’, 26–47.
24 For the testimonia attributing Thomas to Thomas the disciple of Mani, see above (Intro-
duction, §3: ‘Named Testimonia’). Mani’s ministry did not commence until c. 240ce.
25 Perrin, Thomas and Tatian, 193. See further idem, ‘NHC II,2 and the Oxyrhynchus Frag-
ments’, and ‘Thomas: The Fifth Gospel?’, JETS 49 (2006), 67–80.
26 Drijvers, ‘Facts and Problems’, 173. Perrin also cites Ménard’s commentary on Thomas in
support of a post-Diatessaronic date, but Ménard five years later gave a date of 140ce:
see, respectively, L’ Évangile selon Thomas: Introduction, traduction, commentaire (NHS 5;
Leiden: Brill, 1975), 3, and ‘Beziehungen des Philippus- und des Thomas-Evangeliums
zur syrischen Welt’, 325. Those who have cited Perrin approvingly include N.T. Wright,
Judas and the Gospel of Jesus (London: SPCK, 2006), 36. C.L. Blomberg, Jesus and the
Gospels: An Introduction and Survey (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, 22009), 39,
In addition to the problems with supposing a Syriac Thomas noted above (see
Introduction, §5: ‘Original Language’), identifiable and significant links with
Tatian’s Diatessaron are hard to come by.27
Thomas and the Temple

A number of scholars have seen evidence for a terminus a quo in the allusions
to historical events in GTh 68 and 71:
GTh 68: Jesus said, ‘Blessed are you when they hate you and persecute
you. But they will not find a place where they have persecuted you.’
GTh 71: Jesus said, ‘I will dest[roy thi]s house, and no-one will be able to
build it […].’
GTh 68 is rather unclear, but GTh 71 is more promising as evidence. The ‘house’
in GTh 71 is almost certainly the Jerusalem temple in this saying (see comment
below ad loc.), and therefore the reference to its destruction has led scholars to
draw various conclusions about what date is presupposed in such a statement.
We can distinguish between ‘early’, ‘middle’ and ‘late’ dates assigned.
DeConick has ascribed this saying to her ‘kernel’ of Thomas, from 30–50 ce.
The reasons for this lie in the authenticity of the saying, and ‘the Jewish expec-
tations about the Temple in the New World, one of which was that it would
not be rebuilt (cf. Test. Moses 5–10; Rev. 21.22)’.28 These points are all question-
able, however. The authenticity of this version of the saying has not been widely
accepted, and nor has such an early kernel. On Jewish expectation, Revelation
21.22 is clearly a developed Christian view, and I have not been able to find ref-
erence to the non-rebuilding of the temple in the Testament of Moses. On the
other hand, expectation of a future temple was widespread (see commentary
on GTh 71 below).
Second, a ‘middle’ date is proposed by Dunderberg. He has argued that,
given a reference to the destruction of the temple, a date 70–100ce is most
presents Perrin’s theory as an option, as do R. Buth & B. Kvasnica, ‘Temple Authorities

and Tithe Evasion: The Linguistic Background and Impact of the Parable of the Vine-
yard, the Tenants and the Son’, in R.S. Notley, M. Turnage & B. Becker eds. Jesus’ Last
Week: Jerusalem Studies in the Synoptic Gospels. Volume One (Leiden: Brill, 2006), 53–80
(61).
27 See e.g. Gathercole, Composition, 41, and the bibliography mentioned there on the alleged
connections between Tatian and GTh 44–45, and Composition, 91–93 on GTh 86.
118 chapter 7
likely.29 The idea that ‘the rebuilding of the temple no longer seemed possible’30
between 70–100, however, is difficult to defend. It was by no means universally
assumed immediately after 70ce that the temple would remain the ruin which
we see today in the twenty-first century. Although Jesus’ saying about not
one stone being left upon another was later viewed as a guarantee of the
perpetual desolation of the temple, there is no clear statement to this effect
in the NT.31 Nor is this assumption held more widely. Barclay comments that
Josephus ‘had no reason to imagine that the recent demolition of the temple
would be permanent’,32 citing Josephus’ remark that Moses foretold numerous
destructions, ‘but the God who made you will give back to your citizens both
cities and the temple, and the loss of these things will not happen just once, but
many times’ (AJ 4.314).33 Carleton Paget observes in connection with a similar
passage in the Jewish War: ‘It is clear elsewhere that he saw the destruction
of the temple in the context of other destructions of the same building (BJ
6.435–437), and so imagined its rebuilding as inevitable regardless of what any
Roman emperor may have decided.’34 As a result, one cannot assume a date of
shortly after 70ce for this saying.
Thirdly, the saying might fit the period after the Bar Kochba revolt (i.e. post
135ce), as Hans-Martin Schenke and others have suggested.35 This is much
more likely, as after 135ce it became clear very quickly that the rebuilding of
the temple was a near impossibility. In this period, because of the removal
of Jews from Jerusalem, it really does appear extremely improbable that the
temple would ever be rebuilt. Furthermore, the destruction of the temple
did not really become a basis for anti-Jewish polemic until the mid-second
29 Dunderberg, ‘I-Sayings’, in Uro, Thomas at the Crossroads, 58; Dunderberg, Beloved Disciple
in Conflict?, 114.
30 Dunderberg, Beloved Disciple in Conflict?, 114.
31 Matt. 24.1–2 is taken by Eusebius (Theoph. 4.18) and John Chrysostom (Gent. et Jud.
16.4) to be proof that the temple cannot be rebuilt. According to Philostorgius (Church
History 7.9a), Julian set out by his rebuilding project to prove these words of Christ to be
false.
32 J. Barclay, Against Apion. Flavius Josephus: Translation and Commentary (Leiden: Brill,
2006), 279.
33 ὁ μέντοι θεὸς ὁ κτίσας ὑμᾶς πόλεις τε πολίταις ὑμετέροις ἀποδώσει καὶ τὸν ναόν· ἔσεσθαι δὲ τὴν
τούτων ἀποβολὴν οὐχ ἅπαξ, ἀλλὰ πολλάκις.
34 J. Carleton Paget, ‘After 70 and All That: A Response to Martin Goodman’s Rome & Jeru-
salem’, JSNT 31 (2009), 339–365 n. 16.
35 H.-M. Schenke, ‘On the Compositional History of the Gospel of Thomas’, Forum 10 (1994),
9–30 (28); Goodacre, Thomas and the Gospels, 166–170; cf. Plisch, Gospel of Thomas, 16, on
the date of this saying rather than the work as a whole.
century ce. This follows directly from the earlier point, since there would have
been a need for a reasonable degree of confidence about non-rebuilding for
a polemic about it to have any bite. This goes some way to explaining the
otherwise surprisingly late emergence of such polemic. As Carleton Paget has
commented:36
it is interesting to note that in so far as the destruction of Jerusalem and

the temple became a part of Christian self-understanding and polemic,
it was precisely in the wake of the Bar Cochba revolt, when the city
of Jerusalem became the new pagan Aelia Capitolina and Jews were
banned from its environs, that Christian authors began truly to exploit
its destruction.37
Shortly after the Bar Kochba revolt, then, Justin concludes that the destruc-
tion of the temple is the fulfilment of Isaiah’s prophecy (Isa. 64.10–12, in 1 Apol.
47). He remarks that capital punishment awaited any Jew who entered Aelia
Capitolina, and that the imperial decree was also (albeit unconsciously) predi-
cated upon the fulfilment of a prophecy (Jer. 50 [LXX 27]. 3) which foretold that
Jerusalem would be denuded of Jewish inhabitants (1 Apol. 47.5–6). Comment
on the depopulation of Jews from Jerusalem becomes frequent in Christian
writers from the second century on (e.g. Justin, Dial. 16.2; Aristo of Pella apud
Eusebius, HE 4.6.4). For Tertullian, it is confirmation of Jesus’ messiahship that
the Jews can only see the land ‘from far off’ ( Jud. 12). Indeed, Origen shares
the view of Thomas, that the Jews ‘will not be restored’ (οὐδ’ ἀποκατασταθήσον-
ται), and Jerusalem had to ‘perish utterly’ (ἄρδην ἀπολωλέναι). (C. Cels. 4.22),
although he is perhaps not entirely consistent on this point throughout his writ-
ings.38 Eusebius provides very clear evidence for the view that the destruction
of the temple is final, and that no-one should suppose it will be rebuilt: he writes
of the
36 Cf. also G.W.H. Lampe, ‘A.D. 70 in Christian Reflection’, in E. Bammel & C.F.D. Moule, eds.
Jesus and the Politics of his Day (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1984), 153–171
(155).
37 Carleton Paget (‘After 70 and All That’, 357 n. 29) refers to Justin, Dial. 16; 17.1–4; 22, 1 Apol. 47
and Aristo of Pella (Eusebius, HE 4.6.4). M. Simon, Recherches d’Histoire Judéo-Chrétienne
(Paris: Mouton, 1962), 19, may well be right to include the Epistle of Barnabas as well,
though this is disputed: ‘L’ auteur s’ efforce ensuite de démontrer que tous les espoirs de
reconstruction du Temple de Jérusalem sont vains …’.
38 G. Sgherri, Chiesa e Sinagoga nelle opere di Origene (Milano: Vita e pensiero, 1982), 108–
109.
120 chapter 7
final destruction of the place (παντελοῦς ἐρημίας τοῦ τόπου) … Now let
no one imagine that, after the besieging of the place and the desolation
that would be in it, another renewal (ἀνανέωσιν) of it shall take place,
as there was in the times of Cyrus, … and Antiochus Epiphanes … and
Pompey.39
Finally, for John Chrysostom the destruction (and the prevention of its recon-
struction) provides evidence of the power and divinity of Christ in the context
of the threat of rebuilding by Julian: ‘Christ built the Church and no one is able
to destroy it; he destroyed the temple and no one is able to rebuild it’ (κατέλυσε
τὸν ναὸν καὶ οὐδεὶς αὐτὸν ἀναστῆσαι δύναται).40 The similarity with GTh 71 here
is remarkable. The confidence reflected in GTh 71 about the perpetuity of the
destruction, therefore, and the rhetoric of using this for polemical purposes,
means that the best fit is a post-Bar Kochba situation.
Thomas’s Literary Influences

One of the most signficant indications of Thomas’s date arises from knowing
what has influenced it. I have argued elsewhere that Thomas is very probably
influenced by the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. (For a sketch of some of the
evidence, see §11.1 below.) Indeed, Thomas in GTh 13 reflects an understanding
of Matthew as authoritative, and expands upon certain redactional elements
of Luke.41 Furthermore, Thomas is influenced by some of the language of Paul’s
letter to the Romans, and perhaps also by 1Corinthians,42 as well as Hebrews
and a Two-Ways text which also influenced the Didache and Barnabas.43 Of
these, the works generally dated latest are Matthew and Luke (usually thought
to be c. 80ce). As a result of these considerations, we have to reckon not
only with a terminus a quo of c. 80ce, but with a later terminus because (a)
Matthew is thought by Thomas to have been recognised as an authoritative
39 Eusebius, Theoph. 4.20. See P.W.L. Walker, Holy City, Holy Places? Christian Attitudes to
Jerusalem and the Holy Land in the Fourth Century (Oxford Early Christian Studies; Oxford:
Clarendon, 1990), 390–391.
40 John Chrysostom, Jud. et Gent. 16.8 (PG 48.835); cf. 17.13. See R.L. Wilken, John Chrysostom
and the Jews: Rhetoric and Reality in the Late Fourth Century (Berkeley: University of
California Press, 1983), 131.
41 Gathercole, ‘Luke in the Gospel of Thomas’, NTS 57 (2011), 114–144; Composition, 129–224.
42 Gathercole, ‘The Influence of Paul on the Gospel of Thomas (§§53. 3 and 17)’, in J. Frey,
(BZNW 157; Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 2008), 72–94; Composition, 227–249.
43 Gathercole, Composition, 250–262, and 263–266 respectively.
Gospel, and (b) these works—Matthew and Luke along with the others—must
all have circulated widely enough to influence Thomas. As a result, a date
before c. 100ce is barely conceivable for such a distribution of literature and
recognition of the status of Matthew: Papias ( floruit c. 100 ce) is the earliest
example.
Interim Conclusion
Having seen a terminus ante quem of c. 200ce, we now have strong grounds
on the basis of Thomas’s allusion to the temple, and ‘literary influences’, for a
terminus a quo of 135ce.
7.3 Further Indications of a Date in the Second Century
Thomas’s Use of the Term ‘the Jews’ (GTh 43)

Hedrick remarks: ‘the contrast between disciples and Jews situates the saying
at the end of the first century at the earliest (cf. the situation in the Gospel of
John …)’.44 In fact, Thomas’s position is here even more stark than that of John,
since (1) GTh 43 has no counterbalancing statements such as John’s statement
of salvation coming from the Jews (Jn 4.22) or of Jesus’ own Jewish identity
(e.g. 4.9, 20), and (2) for Thomas the obstinacy of ‘the Jews’ is an assumption
which is sufficiently well-established to form the basis for a criticism of the
Jews, rather than something which needs to be argued. Thomas thus assumes
that this can be taken by readers as a negative statement, and that ‘Judeopho-
bia’ is normal. The important point is—as in Hedrick’s comment—that ‘the
Jews’ are distinguished from the disciples, as is found elsewhere only in John
13.33.
Thomas on Circumcision (GTh 53)

Bauer and Ménard have argued that the stance on circumcision in GTh 53 in
relation to certain historical parallels ‘helps us to place the Logion in its proper
chronological setting’.45 Jipp and Thate have also pointed to a range of material
from the second century, beginning with Ignatius, in which a sceptical or
44 C.W. Hedrick, Unlocking the Secrets of the Gospel according to Thomas (Eugene, OR: Wipf
& Stock, 2010), 89.
45 J.B. Bauer, ‘The Synoptic Tradition in the Gospel of Thomas’, in F.L. Cross, ed. Studia
Evangelica III (TU 88; Berlin: Akademie, 1964), 314–317 (317); J.-E. Ménard, ‘Datation’,
Histoire et archéologie 70 (1983), 12–13 (12); J.M. Robinson, ‘On Bridging the Gulf from Q to
the Gospel of Thomas (or vice versa)’, in C.W. Hedrick & R. Hodgson, eds. Nag Hammadi,
122 chapter 7
negative position is taken by Christian authors towards circumcision.46 There

are two particularly interesting parallels to Thomas going back to, or attributed
to, figures from the second century:
If it (circumcision) were an advantage, fathers would beget (children) by

their mothers already circumcised.
(GTh 53.2)
If God is so pleased with circumcision, why does the child not come out
of the womb circumcised?47
For if circumcision were necessary, as you think, God would not have
made Adam uncircumcised.48
In the first parallel, the objection is attributed to Q. Tineius Rufus, consular

governor of Judaea at the outbreak of the Bar Kochba revolt.49 Rufus was here
in dialogue with Akiba (d. 135).50 The second parallel is from Justin’s Dialogue
with Trypho, the most securely dateable instance (c. 160 ce).51 What is striking
in all three of these cases is not just the similarity of the objection’s content
but its form as well. Each is framed as an unreal conditional clause: ‘If X were
true of circumcision, then surely Y would have followed!’ (Implication: Y is
not the case, ergo circumcision is ridiculous.) It seems very likely, then, that
these instances go back to a common milieu around the middle of the second
century. Certainly DeConick’s use of these parallels is dubious in that she cites
Gnosticism, and Early Christianity (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1986), 127–175 (152), allows
that Ménard might be correct.
46 J.W. Jipp & M.J. Thate, ‘Dating Thomas: Logion 53 as a Test Case for Dating the Gospel
of Thomas within an Early Christian Trajectory’, Bulletin for Biblical Research 20 (2010),
221–240.
47 Tanhuma B 7 (18a) (Townsend numbering: 4.7 Leviticus 12.1ff., Part VII). See J.T. Townsend,
Midrash Tanḥuma: Translated into English with Introduction, Indices, and Brief Notes
(S. Buber Recension). Volume II (Exodus and Leviticus) (Hoboken, NJ: Ktav, 1997), 242.
48 Justin, Dial. 19.3: εἰ γὰρ ἦν ἀναγκαία, ὡς δοκεῖτε, οὐκ ἂν ἀκρόβυστον ὁ θεὸς ἔπλασε τὸν Ἀδάμ … .
49 See W. Eck, ‘Q.T. Rufus’, Brill’s New Pauly 14:717.
50 Bauer, ‘Synoptic Tradition in the Gospel of Thomas’, 317.
51 Justin’s Dialogue post-dates the First Apology (c. 153ce) and Justin probably died dur-
ing the prefecture of Q. Iunius Rufus (163–168ce). See D. Minns & P. Parvis, eds. Justin,
Philosopher and Martyr: Apologies (OECT; Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009), 32–
33.
the Tanhuma and Justin parallels, but concludes on the basis of them that this
accretion ‘belongs more to late first-century Christianity than earlier.’52 GTh 53
fits better in the early- to mid-second century.
Other Factors
Other factors which scholars have invoked include Thomas’s “secrecy” motif,53
and the presentation of Thomas as author.54 A minor possibility perhaps worth
noting is that the allusion to the dog in the manger fable in GTh 102 may reflect
a popularity of that image in the second century: the earliest other references
(cited in the commentary on GTh 102 below) are in Strato of Sardis (fl. 117–
135ce) and Lucian (c. 120–190). Perhaps more controversially in a scholarly
context where there is great suspicion in labelling Thomas as in any way Gnos-
tic, one can see Thomas as influenced by certain ideas which are closely related
to Gnostic, Valentinian and related ideas, even though it is not itself Gnos-
tic. The dialogue envisaged in GTh 50 between the souls of the elect and the
powers is closely related to similar dialogues attributed to the Marcosians by
Irenaeus, and which are found in Codex Tchacos and the Nag Hammadi litera-
ture. In Jesus’ dialogue with Salome in GTh 61 he states: ‘I am he who is from the
equal.’ As is explored in the commentary, this self-predication of ‘equality’ finds
its closest parallels in the Paraphrase of Shem and especially the Valentinian
Tripartite Tractate (Tri. Tract. 67,36–37). Again, even if the image theology in
GTh 83–84 is not necessarily fully Gnostic, the motif of ‘invisibility caused by
an overflow of divine light’ and the language of pre-existent images and their
revelation are taken by a number of scholars to be influenced by Gnostic, Valen-
tinian or similar ideas.55

53 J. Frey, ‘Die Lilien und das Gewand: EvThom 36 und 37 als Paradigma für das Verhältnis
des Thomasevangeliums zur synoptischen Überlieferung’, in J. Frey, J. Schröter & E.E. Pop-
kes, eds. Das Thomasevangelium: Entstehung—Rezeption—Theologie (BZNW 157; Berlin:
Walter de Gruyter, 2008), 122–180 (178). For Frey, this (and the distance from Jewish piety
and the move in the direction of an ascetic and world-denying ethic) means that Thomas
cannot be first-century.
54 Goodacre identifies a movement from the anonymity of Mark and Matthew to the
increased authorial self-presentation in Luke, then more so in John, and finally even more
so in Thomas, in a way which is reflected in other second- and third-century works. See
Goodacre, Thomas and the Gospels, 178–180. This may reflect a slightly over-evolutionary
understanding, however.
55 Plisch, Gospel of Thomas, 192, where the quotation is also found.
124 chapter 7
7.4 Conclusion
We have seen that the best fit for Thomas is some time after 135 and some time
before 200ce. A terminus a quo is established by the various literary influences
upon Thomas and the confidence about the non-rebuilding of the temple in
GTh 71. At the other end, the papyri and the mention of Thomas in Hippolytus
give a fairly secure terminus ante quem of c. 200 ce/ early third century. The
affinities of certain elements of Thomas with other works from the second
century ce is apparent, as we will see further in the course of the commentary.
Although the scholarly horror vacui might recoil at assigning a time frame as
broad as ‘around the Antonine era’,56 the temptation to pick a decade should
probably be resisted.
7.5 Addendum on Authorship
It is conventional in introductions to commentaries to remark upon the author-

ship of the work under discussion. This was a matter of serious discussion in
antiquity, as has been seen in the treatment of the named testimonia to Thomas
(§3). As we saw there, Cyril of Jerusalem felt the need to emphasise that the
Gospel of Thomas was not written by the apostle but by ‘one of the three evil
disciples of Mani’ (see §3.5 above); others such as Eusebius simply cast doubt
on the apostolic authorship of the work by calling the Gospel not ‘of’ or ‘accord-
ing to’ Thomas tout simple, but ὡς … Θωμᾶ (§3.3). The consideration of the date
argued for above rules out both apostolic and Manichaean authorship alike:
Thomas is too late for the former but too early for the latter. Alas, the identity
of the author remains unknown.
56 The Antonines, viz. Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius, Lucius Verus and Commodus,
reigned 138–192 ce.
table 2 A sample of proposed dates for Thomas
Scholar Date
DeConick core ‘prior to 50 ce’57

Davies between 50 and 70ce;58 ‘50–57’59
Patterson core = pre-62ce?60 / ‘in the vicinity of 70–80 ce.’61
Koester perhaps first cent.
Dunderberg 70–10062
Robbins ‘toward the end of the first century’63
Gianotto end of first/ beginning of second century64
Valantasis ‘probably around 100–110 ce or earlier’65
Meyer second century, or late first66
Ehrman ‘probably … sometime in the early second century’67
Uro ‘early second century’: ‘c. 100–140’68
Bartsch second century69
57 DeConick, Original Gospel of Thomas in Translation, 8

58 Davies, Gospel of Thomas and Christian Wisdom, 3.
60 Patterson, Gospel of Thomas and Jesus, 117.
61 Patterson, Gospel of Thomas and Jesus, 120; ‘Wisdom in Q and Thomas’, 191; Fifth Gospel,
45: ‘not everything in the Gospel of Thomas comes from the first century’.
62 Dunderberg, ‘Thomas’ I-Sayings and the Gospel of John’, 64, commenting that John and
Thomas both emerge in ‘a common setting in early Christianity from 70ce to the turn of
the first century’.
63 V.K. Robbins, ‘Rhetorical Composition and Sources in the Gospel of Thomas’, SBLSP 36
(1997), 86–114 (87).
64 C. Gianotto, ‘Quelques aspects de la polémique anti-juive dans l’ Evangile selon Thomas’,
in L. Painchaud & P.-H. Poirier, eds. Colloque internationale: “L’Évangile selon Thomas et
les textes de Nag Hammadi”: Québec, 29–31 mai 2003 (Leuven: Peeters, 2007), 157–173 (173).
65 R. Valantasis, ‘Is the Gospel of Thomas Ascetical? Revisiting an Old Problem with a New
Theory’, JECS 7 (1999), 55–81 (60); cf. 77: ‘at the turn from the first to the second century, if
not earlier in the first century C.E.’.
66 M.W. Meyer, The Gospel of Thomas: The Hidden Sayings of Jesus (San Francisco: HarperOne,
22004), 10.
67 B.D. Ehrman, Jesus, Apocalyptic Prophet of a New Millennium (Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 1999), 88.
68 Uro, ‘Social World of the Gospel of Thomas’, 34; Uro, Thomas, 135.
69 H.W. Bartsch, ‘Das Thomas-Evangelium und die synoptischen Evangelien: Zu G. Quispels
Bemerkungen zum Thomas-Evangelium’, NTS 6 (1960), 249–261 (258).
126 chapter 7
table 2 A sample of proposed dates for Thomas (cont.)
Scholar Date
Schenke after 135ce (final form)70

Barnard c. 140 ce71
Quispel 140 ce72
Pearson c. 140 ce73
Ménard c. 140 ce74
Stead ‘probably not later than 140 A.D.’75
Goodacre 140s76
Turner c. 150 ce77
Klijn certainly c. 150 ce78
Kaestli mid-second century/ c. 150 ce79
Chilton mid-second century80
McArthur mid-second century81
Hofius mid-second century82
Sevrin second half of second century83
70 Schenke, ‘On the Compositional History of the Gospel of Thomas’, 28.

71 Barnard, ‘The Origins and Emergence of the Church in Edessa’, 165–166.
72 Quispel, ‘Gospel of Thomas and the Gospel of the Hebrews’, 378; ‘Syrian Thomas and the
Syrian Macarius’, 234.
73 Pearson, Ancient Gnosticism, 267.
74 Ménard, ‘Beziehungen des Philippus- und des Thomas-Evangeliums zur syrischen Welt’,
325.
75 Stead, ‘Some Reflections’, 402.
76 Goodacre, Thomas and the Gospels, 171.
77 J.D. Turner, ‘The Book of Thomas: Introduction’, in B. Layton, ed. Nag Hammadi Codex II,2–
7, together with XIII,2*, Brit. Lib. Or.4926(1), and P. Oxy. 1, 654, 655, vol. II (NHS 21; Leiden:
Brill, 1989), 173–178 (177).
78 Klijn, ‘Das Thomasevangelium und das altsyrische Christentum’, 146.
79 J.-D. Kaestli, ‘L’Évangile de Thomas: son importance pour l’étude des paroles de Jésus et
du Gnosticisme chrétien’, Études théologiques et religieuses 54 (1979), 375–396 (377).
80 B.D. Chilton, ‘Recovering Jesus’Mamzerut’, in J.H. Charlesworth, ed. Jesus and Archaeology
(Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2006), 84–110 (96).
81 McArthur, ‘Dependence of the Gospel of Thomas on the Synoptics’, 287.
82 O. Hofius, ‘Das koptische Thomasevangelium und die Oxyrhynchus Papyri nr 1,654 und
655’ (I), EvTh 20 (1960), 21–42 (39).
83 Sevrin, ‘L’Évangile selon Thomas: paroles de Jésus et révélation gnostique’, 276.
Scholar Date
Baarda 150–20084
Perrin last quarter of second century85
Fitzmyer perhaps towards end of second century86
Dehandschutter end of second century87
Drijvers ‘about A.D. 200’88 (previously: first half of second century)89
84 Baarda, ‘The Gospel of Thomas’, 53–58, 64.

85 Perrin, Thomas and Tatian, 193.
86 J.A. Fitzmyer, The Gospel according to Luke I–IX: Introduction, Translation and Notes
(Anchor; New York: Doubleday, 1981), 85.
87 Dehandschutter, ‘L’Évangile de Thomas comme collection de paroles de Jesus’, 510.
88 Drijvers, ‘Facts and Problems’, 173.
89 For the earlier view, see Drijvers, ‘Edessa und das jüdische Christentum’, 17.
chapter 8
The Structure of Thomas1
The general view that Thomas is not a particularly carefully ordered collection
or list is correct. Attempts to argue otherwise have included the following.2
– Janssens contends that there are five blocks: GTh 1–9, 12–17, 18–38, 39–53
and the rest. One might ask, first: what about GTh 10–11? Moreover, her
conclusion that GTh 54–114 were added ‘pêle-mêle’, with the author not
having intended to include them at the beginning, is something of a counsel
of despair.3
– Tripp makes the case that there are ten sections in Thomas, beginning at
GTh 1, 6, 12, 18, 20, 24, 37, 42, 43, 51, 99, 113 respectively.4 No one has been
convinced of this, however: one problem is that some of Tripp’s sections are
extremely short (18–19 and 113–114), while another comprises almost half the
book (51–98).
1 Bibliography: R. Kasser, L’ Évangile selon Thomas: presentation et commentaire théologique

(Neuchâtel: Delachaux et Niestlé, 1961), 155–157; D.H. Tripp, ‘The Aim of the Gospel of Thomas’,
ExpT 92 (1980), 41–44; M. Lelyveld, Les Logia de la vie dans l’Evangile selon Thomas: À la
recherche d’une tradition et d’une rédaction (Leiden: Brill, 1987), 13–22; Patterson, Gospel of
Thomas and Jesus, 99–102; B.J. Diebner, ‘Bemerkungen zur “Mitte” des Thomas-Evangeliums’,
in C. Fluck, L. Langener & S. Richter, eds. Divitiae Aegypti: Koptologische und verwandte Stu-
dien zu Ehren von Martin Krause (Wiesbaden: Ludwig Reichert, 1995), 77–84; A.D. Callahan,
‘“No Rhyme or Reason”: The Hidden Logia of the Gospel of Thomas’, HTR 90 (1997), 411–
426; Perrin, Thomas and Tatian; Davies, The Gospel of Thomas and Christian Wisdom, 171–177
(Appendix I); A. Pasquier & F. Vouga, ‘Le genre littéraire et la structure argumentative de
l’Évangile selon Thomas et leurs implications christologiques’, in L. Painchaud & P.-H. Poirier,
eds. Colloque internationale: “L’ Évangile selon Thomas et les textes de Nag Hammadi”: Québec,
29–31 mai 2003 (Leuven: Peeters, 2007), 335–362; R. Nordsieck, ‘Zur Kompositionsgeschichte
des Thomas-Evangeliums’, BZ 52 (2008), 174–200, and see Nordsieck’s commentary on the
individual sayings: Das Thomas-Evangelium: Einleitung zur Frage des historischen Jesus, Kom-
mentierung aller 114 Logien (Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener, 2004); P.J. Williams, ‘Alleged
Syriac Catchwords in the Gospel of Thomas’, VC 63 (2009), 71–82.
2 See further Fallon & Cameron. ‘The Gospel of Thomas: A Forschungsbericht and Analysis’,
4206–4208, for criticisms of attempts to construct thematic sections for Thomas.
3 Y. Janssens, ‘L’Évangile selon Thomas et son charactère gnostique’, Muséon 75 (1961), 301–325
(301–302).
4 Tripp, ‘The Aim of the Gospel of Thomas’, 42.

the structure of thomas 129
– Davies argues that Thomas consists of four chapters, each beginning with a
“seek-and-you-shall-find” saying (GTh 2, 38, 59, 92) and then various themes
in sequence. As is evident from Davies’ synopsis, however, it is rare that all
the suggested themes appear,5 and the sequence is not consistent.6
– Nordsieck identifies seven blocks: GTh 2–17; 19.2–35; 38–48; 51–61.1; 62–76;
77–82, and finally 85–113 (the intervening sayings are redactional transi-
tions).7 The problem here again is that some of the material fits the title
of the block whereas some does not;8 or again that some sayings would
belong better in another block.9 Since some of his instances of Stichwort-
Verbindung seem rather strained, his claims about the significance of an
absence of a link lose their force.10
In addition to these quests for blocks or chapters in Thomas are two claims to
be able to identify a ‘middle’. Diebner takes the view that GTh 49–50 are the
Gnostic ‘centre’ (in a theological and literary sense).11 With our enumeration
of Thomas’s sayings this almost works (but not quite), but it is hard to see how
an ancient reader/ listener could have detected this. Puig has also proposed a
quite different centre, in GTh 62–67, although the reasons for this ‘arquitec-
tura’ are left quite vague.12 Other modest claims to structuring devices include
5 Only two of the eleven elements (seeking-finding, and renouncing the world) are found in
all four chapters; e.g. in the “Synoptic parables” section of each chapter, A has two, B has
none, and C and D each have three.
6 N.b. GTh 80 and 81 appearing in reverse order.
7 See the helpful summary in Nordsieck, ‘Kompositionsgeschichte’, 199–200.
8 To take the first block (‘Vom Suchen und Finden des Reiches Gottes’) as an example,
despite the fact that this is a theme of so much of Thomas, it is still difficult to see how
e.g. GTh 6, 9, 10 and 14 clearly fit under this heading. Nordsieck, ‘Kompositionsgeschichte’,
176–180, shows that they are linked by catchwords, but this does not strengthen the case
that they belong in a thematic block.
9 To take the first discourse as an example again, despite its title (‘Vom Suchen und Finden
des Reiches Gottes’), the majority of the sayings which thematize seeking and finding (e.g.
GTh 76, 92, 94, 107) are elsewhere.
10 E.g. in GTh 15–16, Nordsieck, Thomas-Evangelium, 82, notes a connection in ‘throwing’ but
this only works in his German translation, not in the Coptic; compare e.g. his comments
on the significance of there being no linkage between GTh 17–18 (Thomas-Evangelium,
89); the link between GTh 31–32 consists in the the ‘assoziative Nähe’ between ‘city’ and
‘home town’.
11 Diebner, ‘Bemerkungen zur “Mitte”’, 82.
12 Puig, Un Jesús desconocido, 122 and n. 122.
130 chapter 8
seeing GTh 3 and 113 as forming an inclusio,13 and identifying GTh 114 as a
conclusion (see the commentary ad loc. below). Others have suggested that
doublets are placed towards the end of Thomas for the purpose of recapitu-
lation, whereas others see them as repetitious relics.14 There are nevertheless
three structuring devices which have been generally recognised, (1) the general
introduction to each saying with ‘Jesus said’, (2) an opening section, albeit of
unclear length, and (3) the clusterings of sayings by genre, catchword or the-
matic link.15
8.1 “Jesus Said …”
The first structuring device is obvious and can be summarised briefly: the
repeated refrain which begins most of the sayings: ‘Jesus said’ (normally ⲡⲉ-
ϫⲉ ⲓ̅(ⲏⲥⲟⲩ)ⲥ̅, λέγει Ἰ(ησοῦ)ς). Jesus is the unique source of revelation (GTh
17), and this point is stressed in the structuring. It is found at the begin-
ning of the following sayings: GTh 2–5, 7–11 (8: ‘and he said’), 13–17, 19, 23,
25–36 (27: no intro.), 38–42, 44–50, 54–59, 61–71 (65: ‘he said’), 73–78, (74:
‘he said’), 80–90, 92–98 (93: no intro.), 101–103 (101: no intro), 105–112 and
114.16
8.2 An Opening Section
In addition to the prologue and GTh 1, which stand outside of the ‘Jesus said’
sequence, it is often thought that there is an introductory section defining
the raison d’être of the book. Janssens, for example, saw an opening section,
GTh 1–9, whose aim was to define gnosis.17 King argues that GTh 1–6 are
13 Pasquier & Vouga, ‘Le genre littéraire et la structure argumentative’, 337 n. 3.

14 Sevrin, ‘Thomas, Q et le Jésus de l’ histoire’, 465, on the recapitulation; Stead, ‘Some
Reflections on the Gospel of Thomas’, 401, thinks that the original conclusion was perhaps
around GTh 100, but that it was rather repetitiously expanded later.
15 Cf. Weeks’ observation that in Proverbs in the OT, a proverb might share with a neighbour
‘an initial letter, a catchword, or a form’. See S.D.E. Weeks, Early Israelite Wisdom (Oxford:
Clarendon, 1994), 33.
16 Since the modern numeration of Thomas’s sayings is not infallible, some of the sayings
with no introduction or with a resumptive ‘and he said …’ may have originally been
thought to belong with the previous logion.
17 Janssens, ‘L’Évangile selon Thomas’, 301.
introductory, and ‘set out the main themes of the Gospel of Thomas’.18 There
is no consensus on the extent of the opening section, but it seems very likely
that GTh 2 belongs with the prologue and GTh 1, and this may well also be true
of at least GTh 3.
8.3 Links between Pairs/Clusters of Sayings
Scholars have also noticed the abundance of connections between individual

sayings whether by catchwords or common themes. These connections, espe-
cially in the form of catchwords, have been the subject of a fair degree of study.19
Patterson displays 60 linkages between sayings by catchwords.20 Nordsieck sees
catchword links or thematic connections between almost every saying and its
neighbours.21 These can be exaggerated, however. Callahan’s catchwords some-
times require emendation of the text,22 and Perrin’s principal interest is in the
catchwords in a hypothetical Syriac Vorlage.23 Some of Dehandschutter’s pro-
posed links consist merely of repetition of a common word such as ‘man’ (GTh
57–58; 106–107),24 or ‘disciple’ (18–22),25 or ‘place’ (67–68).26 Here, a more cau-
tious approach will be taken, not including every possible link, but only the
most probable. It must be borne in mind at the outset that there is inevitably a
degree of uncertainty in the process, given that we are for most of Thomas deal-
ing with a translation. The present discussion will focus on linkages of three
different kinds, marked with a letter in the list below:27
18 K.L. King, ‘Kingdom in the Gospel of Thomas,’ Forum 3 (1987), 48–97 (59).
19 In addition to the scholars cited below, see also Kasser, L’Évangile selon Thomas, 155–157.
20 Patterson, Gospel of Thomas and Jesus, 100–102.
21 See the opening remarks on each saying in Nordsieck’s commentary, Thomas-Evangelium.
22 Callahan, ‘No Rhyme or Reason’.
23 Perrin, Thomas and Tatian; see in response, Williams, ‘Alleged Syriac Catchwords’, and
Gathercole, Composition of the Gospel of Thomas, 24–104 (esp. 40–42).
24 Dehandschutter, ‘Les Paraboles de l’ Évangile selon Thomas’, 211–212. Cf. A. Lindemann,
‘Zur Gleichnisinterpretation im Thomas-Evangelium’, ZNW 71 (1980), 214–243 (216), on
GTh 7–8.
25 Dehandschutter, ‘Paraboles de l’ Évangile selon Thomas’, 211.
26 B. Dehandschutter, ‘La Parabole de la perle (Mt 13:45–46) et L’Évangile selon Thomas’, ETL
55 (1979), 243–265 (246 n. 10).
27 Cf. Callahan, ‘No Rhyme or Reason’, 412: ‘matching catchphrases, lexical and conceptual
linking of sayings and sequences of sayings, the eclectic inclusion of earlier sayings collec-
tions, and the intercalation of sayings as a way of offering implicit intratextual commen-
tary’.
132 chapter 8
C: a ‘catchword’ link, i.e. a purely or principally linguistic connection

T: a thematic connection
F: a form in common (parable, impossibile)
0–1 C ‘these sayings/words’.

1–2 C/T ‘find’ (catchword εὑρίσκω in Greek Vorlage?).
2–3 T reigning/ kingdom.
3–4 C ‘live’, and ‘son’/ ‘child’.
5–6 C/T ‘hidden’/ ‘revealed’; variations on the hidden-revealed
aphorism.
6–7 C/T? ‘eating’/ diet.
8–9 C/F ‘full’/ ‘fill’; two parables.28
8–9–10 C ‘cast’.29
9–10 C ‘behold’.
10–11 T? destruction of the cosmos?
11–12 T ‘heaven’.
12–13 C/T ‘righteous’/ ‘just’; theme of apostles’ status.30
13–14 C ‘mouth’.
15–16 C? ‘father’.31
18–19 C/T ‘know’, ‘will not taste death’; beginning/end,
protology/eschatology.
20–22 C ‘… are like …’.32
20–21 F parables.
21–22 C/T ‘disciples’ like ‘children’.
22–23 C/T ‘one’, ‘single one’; oneness.
25–26 C/T ‘brother’ and ‘eye’; relation to brother.33
28 M. Carrez, ‘Quelques aspects christologiques de l’Évangile de Thomas’, in F. van Seg-

broeck, et al., eds. The Four Gospels 1992: Festschrift Frans Neirynck (BETL 100; Leuven:
Leuven University Press/ Peeters, 1992), 2263–2276 (2274–2275), talks about six ‘ensem-
bles’ of parables: A: 8–9; B: 20–21; C: 56–58 (more tenuously); D: 62–65; F: 96–98; H: 107–
110.
29 R. Trevijano Etcheverría, ‘La cristología del Evangelio de Tomás’, in idem, Estudios sobre
el Evangelio de Tomás (Fuentes Patrísticas, Estudios 2; Madrid: Editorial Ciudad Nueva,
1997), 207–269 (245).
30 See commentary below, on the controverted relationship between GTh 12–13 (‘Appended
Note’, between the comments on the respective sayings).
31 The word is common in Thomas, however, and so may not be significant. The referent is
also different in each case.
32 A different Coptic word is used in GTh 21, however.
33 B.E. Gärtner, The Theology of the Gospel of Thomas (London: Collins/New York: Harper,
26–27 C/T ‘see’.

27–28 C ‘world’.
28–29 C ‘flesh’.34
31–36 F aphorisms/ impossibilia.35
32–33 C ‘hidden’.
36–37 C/T ‘dressing’/ ‘undressing’; clothing.
38–39 T? seeking/ finding/ hidden.
39–40 T? Jews/ Judaism?
47–48 C ‘two’/ ‘one’.
48–49 T ‘one’/ ‘solitary’.36
49–50 C/T ‘elect’, pre-existent kingdom/light.37
50–51 C ‘rest’.
51–53 F disciples talk of traditional theme; Jesus’ radical reply.
51–52 C ‘dead’.
52–53 T? Jewish(-Christian) themes.
55–56 C?/T worthiness (common ἄξιος in Greek Vorlage?).
58–61 C/T ‘live’ (59–61: death and life; 59–60 ‘while alive’).
60–61 C?/F/T eating/ ‘rest’ (catchword ἀνάπαυσις in Greek Vorlage?);
vignettes.
63–65 F/T ‘A man …’;38 parables about commerce.39
64–65 C ‘servant’, ‘master’.
65–66 T? rejection?
68–69 C/F/T ‘blessed’, ‘persecuted’—beatitudes about persecution.40
1961), 28–29, a ‘correspondence, in the theme of the relationship to one’s brother’. Mon-
tefiore & Turner add GTh 24 to 25–26 seeing a common themes of ‘darkness, the eye and
beam in the eye’ (Thomas and the Evangelists, 80).
34 Gärtner, Theology of the Gospel of Thomas, 28. Possibly also link in theme: Riley, Resurrec-
tion Reconsidered, 129.
35 GTh 36 in Greek includes the impossibile, ‘Who can add to your stature?’ On impossibilia,
see H.D. Betz, The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:3–7:27 and Luke 6:20–49) (Hermeneia;
Minneapolis: Fortress, 1995), 161, 629.
36 Dehandschutter, ‘Parabole de la perle’, 246.
37 Cf. Gärtner, Theology of the Gospel of Thomas, 29: the common theme of ‘the Gnostic’s
place of origin’.
39 Sevrin, ‘Un groupement de trois paraboles contre les richesses’, 425–439; Carrez, ‘Quelques
aspects christologiques’, 2274–2275.
40 P.J. Hartin, ‘The Search for the True Self in the Gospel of Thomas, the Book of Thomas and
the Hymn of the Pearl’, HTS 55 (1999), 1001–1021 (1001–1003) probably stretches the text to
say 67–70 = common theme of ‘persecution and a knowledge of oneself’.
134 chapter 8
73–75 T many/ large vs few/ small contrast.

73–74 C ‘lord’.
74–75 C ‘many’.
75–76 T? ‘solitary’, ‘one’?41
76–77 C? ‘finding’ (Coptic order only?).42
77–78 C? ‘come out’.
78–79 C ‘truth’.
81–82 T reigning/ kingdom.
83–84 C/T ‘image’, ‘revelation’; image theology; link to Adam in 85?
91–92 T criticism of disciples’ ignorance.
92–95 F aphorisms/ proverbs.
96–98 C/F/T parables of the kingdom of the Father.43
96–97 C ‘woman’.
98–99 C ‘kingdom of my/ the father’.
100–101 C ‘give’, ‘to me’.
103–104 C? ‘come’.
105–106 C ‘son’.
108–109 T hiddenness/ revelation.44
109–111 C ‘finding’.
110–111 C/T ‘world’ (+earth?).45
113–114 C ‘kingdom’.
It is difficult to know how many of these were intended by the author or editor.
It is sometimes thought that catchwords are intended to facilitate memorisa-
tion and recall,46 but it is hard to see how, for example, ‘dead’ at the beginning
of GTh 51 would help the recall of GTh 52, where ‘dead’ appears at the end,
especially considering that death is such a common theme in Thomas. On the
other hand, in GTh 50–51, ‘rest’ (ⲁⲛⲁⲡⲁⲩⲥⲓⲥ) links the end of the former saying
to the beginning of the next: this would thus be a useful catchword.47 Another

43 R. Doran, ‘A Complex of Parables: GTh 96–98’, NovT 29 (1987), 347–352; Dehandschutter,
‘Paraboles de l’ Évangile selon Thomas’, 211–212; the three parables constitute ‘eine Einheit’,
according to Helderman, ‘Manichäische Züge im Thomasevangelium’, 486.
45 Dehandschutter, ‘Parabole de la perle’, 246 n. 10.
46 Lelyveld, Logia de la vie, 13; Pasquier & Vouga, ‘Le genre littéraire et la structure argumen-
tative’, 336.
47 Cf. also GTh 60–61 where repose/ rest (not the same in Coptic, but probably again ἀνά-
form of linkage which would not be so evident to readers/ hearers consists of

the few examples of common order between Thomas and the Synoptics: GTh
32–33 (par. Matt. 5.14–15);48 GTh 44–45 (par. Matt. 12.31–35);49 GTh 65–66 (cf.
also GTh 64 in Matt. 22.1–10), and GTh 92–94 (par. Matt. 7.7, 6, 7–8); next to
92–94 is more Sermon on the Mount material, in GTh 95 (cf. Lk. 6.30–35).50
Kasser notes a certain amount of material as related to particular sections of
the Synoptic Gospels.51
8.4 Conclusion and Implications for Interpretation
Even though many of these catchwords may be accidental, there is clearly

a much greater proportion of links than one would conventionally find in a
piece of literature: even compared with the similar Gospel of Philip, the catch-
words are much more extensive in Thomas.52 This may indicate that context is
significant, though not necessarily determinative, for the interpretation. Two
opposite extremes may be contrasted here. Lindemann, for example, consid-
ers that the pearl in the parable in GTh 76 might be identified as Jesus as he
is characterised in GTh 77, a view that most interpreters would regard as over-
contextualising.53 On the other hand, on GTh 36–37, Robinson insists that GTh
36 be understood purely on its own terms because Thomas is a ‘Sayings Gospel’,
a genre which—he argues—demands that sayings be treated separately.54 The
παυσις in Greek) links the end of GTh 60 with the beginning of GTh 61. Another, less
compelling instance is the link between the end of GTh 7 and the beginning of GTh 8,
where the catchword ‘man’ is not a very striking item of vocabulary, and one which also is
very common in Thomas.
48 Wilson, ‘Thomas and the Growth of the Gospels’, 245; McArthur, ‘Gospel according to
Thomas’, 63.
49 Wilson, ‘Thomas and the Growth of the Gospels’, 243.
50 McArthur, ‘Gospel according to Thomas’, 65, is right to comment that there are ‘a few
minor groupings which parallel the Synoptics’.
51 Kasser, L’Évangile selon Thomas, 155 (see ‘Section A’).
52 Isenberg, ‘Tractate 3: The Gospel according to Philip. Introduction’, 132, for example,
remarks that they are confined to particular parts.
53 Lindemann, ‘Gleichnisinterpretation’, 220.
54 J.M. Robinson, ‘A Pre-Canonical Greek Reading in Saying 36’, in idem, The Sayings Gospel Q:
Collected Essays (Leuven: Leuven University Press, 2005), 845–883 (esp. 856–865), and 858:
‘P.Oxy. 655 is part of a sayings gospel, the Gospel of Thomas, where each saying stands on
its own feet’. Liebenberg, Language of the Kingdom, 504, similarly states that the running
‘Jesus said …’ indicates that each saying should be taken on its own.
136 chapter 8
present commentary will aim to avoid these extremes, both eschewing dog-
matic assertion about what a ‘Sayings Gospel’ may or may not entail, while also
attempting to steer clear of a kind of contextual parallelomania.
chapter 9
The Genre of Thomas1
The topic of Thomas’s genre is rarely discussed, although scholars of-

ten make passing remarks on the subject. The various suggestions proposed
are not all mutually exclusive, indeed some of them may overlap or
even be synonymous, depending on individual scholars’ definitions. Sugges-
tions include: ‘list’,2 anthology,3 florilegium,4 gnomologion/ chreia-collec-
1 Bibliography: Lelyveld, Logia, 3–10; J.-M. Sevrin, ‘Remarques sur le genre littéraire de l’Évan-
gile selon Thomas (II,2)’, in L. Painchaud & A. Pasquier, eds. Les textes de Nag Hammadi et
le problème de leur classification. Actes du colloque tenu à Québec du 15 au 19 septembre 1993
(Bibliothèque copte de Nag Hammadi; Louvain: Peeters, 1995), 263–278; M.W. Meyer, ‘The
Beginning of the Gospel of Thomas’, in idem, Secret Gospels: Essays on the Gospel of Thomas
and the Secret Gospel of Mark (Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press International, 2003), 39–53 (49–
51); Pasquier & Vouga, ‘Le genre littéraire et la structure argumentative’, 335–362; E.E. Popkes,
Das Menschenbild des Thomasevangeliums (WUNT 206; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2007), 7–
11; Perrin & Skinner, ‘Recent Trends in Gospel of Thomas Research’, 66–70; Poirier, ‘L’Évangile
selon Thomas (NH II,2; P. Oxy. 1, 654, 655)’, 103–117.
2 E.g. Patterson, ‘View from Across the Euphrates’, 414. See discussion of this in W.H. Kelber,
‘The Verbal Art in Q and Thomas: A Question of Epistemology’, in R.A. Horsley, ed. Oral
Performance, Popular Tradition, and Hidden Transcript in Q (Atlanta: Society of Biblical Lit-
erature, 2006), 25–42 (38–39); Kelber considers Thomas a ‘list’, though noting that this is not
the work’s own definition of itself, which is as a ‘sayings gospel’ (combining the Prologue
and subscriptio): see W.H. Kelber, ‘In the Beginning were the Words: The Apotheosis and Nar-
rative Displacement of the Logos’, JAAR 58 (1990), 69–98 (78–80), and see bibliography for
discussion of genre of ‘list’; cf. also J.D. Crossan, ‘Lists in Early Christianity’, Semeia 55 (1991)
235–243. Patterson accepts Crossan’s classification of Thomas as a list: see S.J. Patterson, ‘The
Gospel of (Judas) Thomas and the Synoptic Problem’, in P. Foster, A. Gregory, J.S. Kloppen-
borg & J. Verheyden, eds. New Studies in the Synoptic Problem: Oxford Conference, April 2008:
Essays in Honour of Christopher M. Tuckett (Leuven/ Paris/ Walpole, MA: Peeters, 2011), 783–
808.
3 G.C. Stead, ‘New Gospel Discoveries’, Theology 62 (1959), 321–327 (325); K.M. Woschitz, ‘Das
Theologoumenon “den Anfang entdecken” (ϭⲱⲗⲡ ⲅⲁⲣ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ⲛ̄ⲧⲁⲣⲭⲏ) im koptischen “Evan-
gelium nach Thomas” (Logion 18: NHC II 84,9–17)’, in N. Brox & A. Felber, eds. Anfänge der
Theologie. FS J.B. Bauer (Graz: Styria, 1987), 139–153 (139).
4 Votaw, ‘The Oxyrhynchus Sayings of Jesus’, 84; Sevrin, ‘Remarques sur le genre littéraire’, 278:
‘un florilège d’enseignements de Jésus’, in fact, ‘un florilège inorganisé’, also emphasising
that the form has the intention of provoking the reader to investigate further. See also
idem, ‘L’évangile selon Thomas: Paroles de Jésus et révélation gnostique’, 284–286, and idem,

138 chapter 9
tion,5 ‘testimony book’,6 ‘wisdom gospel’,7 sayings-collection,8 sayings Gospel,9

logoi Sophon,10 sentence-collection11 and Gospel.12 None of these is especially
problematic, but some designations go further and account for more of
Thomas’s features than others do.
‘List’ is accurate to some extent, but suffers from a lack of close analogies in
near contexts. The only other work which Crossan mentions in his discussion of
‘Sayings lists’ is Q, which is clearly not a list, containing as it does a considerable
number of narrative sections. Other lists noted by Crossan, such as the miracle
list in Epistula Apostolorum 4–5, the parable list in Apocryphon of James 8,1–10
are not comparable as they are extremely short, and embedded in other works.
The same is true of the sayings list in Dialogue of the Saviour 139,8–13, which
notes only three sayings in note form rather than in full. The classification
of Thomas as a ‘wisdom gospel’ also runs into difficulties; such a designation
implies that there were other ‘wisdom gospels’ around, such that Thomas could
be identified as belonging with them. If Q existed, it is far from clear that it
would have been classed as a Gospel.
James Robinson has been the great advocate of the ‘Gattung’ of Logoi sophon,
or ‘Words of the Wise’, again for Q and Thomas, on the basis of other collections
of sayings such as Proverbs, Mark 4 and Mishnah Abot.13 He makes the jump,
however, from saying that ‘the term logoi seems related to collections of sayings’
to the conclusion that this seems ‘thus to point toward logoi as a designation for
the Gattung of such collections’.14 There seems to be no positive reason to make
‘Thomas, Q et le Jésus de l’ histoire’, 469. Baarda, ‘The Gospel of Thomas’, 57, refers to
Thomas as a florilegium on analogy with the Sentences of the Syriac Menander, the Sen-
tences of Pseudo-Phocylides, and the Sentences of Sextus.
5 J.S. Kloppenborg, The Formation of Q (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1987), 289–306, on gnomolo-
gia in general, and 291, 301, 305–306 on Thomas.
7 Patterson, ‘View from Across the Euphrates’, 416.
8 Pasquier & Vouga, ‘Genre littéraire’, 336; Watson, Gospel Writing, 219.
9 Kelber, ‘In the Beginning’, 79.
10 J.M. Robinson, ‘LOGOI SOPHON: On the Gattung of Q’, in J.M. Robinson & H. Koester,
Trajectories through Early Christianity (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1971), 71–113 (103). Cf. Meyer,
‘Beginning of the Gospel of Thomas’, 43: Thomas ‘finds its generic place among the early
Christian traditions, oral or written, frequently described as logoi … or logia …’.
11 M. Mees, ‘Einige Überlegungen zum Thomasevangelium’, Vetera Christianorum 2 (1965),
151–163 (152–153).
12 As in the colophon and patristic testimonia.
13 Cf. also Lelyveld, Logia, 3–10.
14 Robinson, ‘LOGOI SOPHON’, 87.
the genre of thomas 139
this jump, however. Robinson’s conclusion that ‘Logoi’ eventually functions as

a ‘title’ seems largely conjectural.15
Perhaps more promising are ‘anthology’ or ‘florilegium’ (the latter is merely
the Latin calque of the former), gnomologion, or ‘testimony book’ (e.g. 4Q174
and 4Q175),16 and there are numerous anthologies in Greek literature as well:
some are excerpts of bons mots, or of particular authors (Euripides features
prominently), and one can find anthologies on particular subjects, such as
money, and the advantages and disadvantages of wives!17 It is not clear that
these are appropriate analogies, however, since this nomenclature strongly
implies an explicit reference to a selection of material. And while the Gospel of
Thomas might appear that way to us, it is not clear that that is how the author or
editor viewed the work. Unlike the fourth Gospel’s claim that there were many
other events which could have been included in it (Jn 21.25), Thomas presents
his Gospel as a much more definitive and complete document in the Prologue:
‘These are the secret sayings which the living Jesus spoke …’.18 Although it may
seem like a fine distinction, a generic designation which uses the language
of collection, rather than selection is probably more appropriate. (It should be
remembered that the second element in anthology/ florilegium/ gnomologion
has nothing to do with ‘sayings’, but comes from Gk λέγω/ Lat. lego, ‘choose’,
‘cull’.)
Probably the best answer to the problem of Thomas’s genre lies in elements
from the remaining options. These can be boiled down to two main genres, (1)
Gospel, and (2) chreia-, sentence-, or sayings-collection.19
15 Robinson, ‘LOGOI SOPHON’, 95.

16 J.A. Fitzmyer, ‘“4QTestimonia” and the New Testament’, in idem, Essays on the Semitic
Background of the New Testament (London: G. Chapman, 1971), 59–89. On the terminology
of florilegium, as applied to the Dead Sea Scrolls, see G.J. Brooke, ‘From Florilegium
or Midrash to Commentary: The Problem of Re-Naming an Adopted Manuscript’, in
idem & J. Hogenhaven, eds. The Mermaid and the Partridge: Essays from the Copenhagen
Conference on Revising Texts from Cave Four (STDJ 96; Leiden: Brill, 2011), 129–150. I am
grateful to George Brooke for his advice on this matter.
17 H. Chadwick, ‘Florilegium’, RAC 7.1131–1159 is still a very helpful survey. See 1132–1133 for
the instances noted above.
18 It is possible that a distinction is implied between the secret sayings included in Thomas
and the public sayings known elsewhere, but ‘secret’ in the Prologue here probably does
not primarily (or only) mean ‘private’ but rather secret in meaning.
19 Poirier’s suggestion (‘L’ Évangile selon Thomas (NH II,2; P. Oxy. 1, 654, 655), Témoin de la
théologie chrétienne primitive?’, 116–117) that Thomas belongs to a genre of sayings with
hidden meaning is possible, though perhaps too specific as a genre.
140 chapter 9
Gospel
There is a strong prima facie case for the designation of Thomas as a Gospel.
First, much of the teaching of Jesus in Thomas overlaps with material in the
Synoptic Gospels (rather than with epistles or apocalypses). There are of course
considerable differences from the Synoptics, not least in Thomas’s lack of nar-
rative framework, but there are also important similarities. Thomas fits in well
with the helpfully flexible definition of Gregory and Tuckett: ‘As an overarching
criterion, we have tended to accept the distinction that many might instinc-
tively make, separating “Gospels” from other early Christian works (e.g. letters
of apostles, or accounts of the history of the early Church) on the basis that
“Gospels” make at least some claim to give direct reports of the life and/or
teaching of Jesus, but taking “life and teaching” broadly enough to include
accounts purporting to give teaching given by Jesus after his resurrection.’20
Secondly, the Coptic text has the title in its subscriptio, and there is a consid-
erable amount of patristic evidence for the use of this title, beginning with
(?Ps.-)Hippolytus early in the third century (see above § 3, ‘Named Testimo-
nia’). On the assumption that it post-dates Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, and
perhaps also the Gospel of Mary, there are already various Gospels in existence
when Thomas was written; it is easy to see how Thomas would be recognised
as having formal similarities with its predecessors. Thirdly, Thomas shares with
other Gospels a ‘gospel’ in the sense of a saving message: just as John’s Gospel is
‘written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that
by believing you may have life in his name’ (Jn 20.31), so also Thomas is written
not merely to offer guidance for wise living, but to give a means of transcending
death (GTh 1).
These observations render invalid three of the common criticisms leveled
at identifying Thomas as a Gospel. (i) Thomas does not comport with the
content of the Gospel genre because it is ‘advice’ rather than ‘news’.21 As we
have seen, however, Thomas does claim to give knowledge of saving revelation;
moreover it does claim to be ‘news’ in that its revelation purports to have been
secret—eye has not seen it, nor has ear heard it, etc. (GTh 17). (ii) Thomas does
not comport with the narrative form of the NT Gospels. As Robinson has put it:
‘it is clear that The Gospel of Thomas was hardly designated by its original author
or compiler as a Gospel. Rather he or she would have called it a collection of
20 A.F. Gregory & C.M. Tuckett, ‘New Editions of Non-Canonical Gospels’, Theology 111 (2008),
178–184 (180).
21 Wright, Judas and the Gospel of Jesus, 29.
sayings.’22 Elsewhere, however, Robinson can call Thomas a ‘sayings gospel’,23

and the earlier statement implies a stability to the Gospel genre which is not
evident in the second century. (iii) Relatedly, and as is implied by Robinson,
‘Gospel’ is not part of the original designation of the work. We do not know this,
however, and the manuscript evidence and patristic testimonia may suggest
the contrary.
Sentence Collection/ Chreia Collection
Thomas might also be seen as a ‘chreia collection’ or ‘sentence collection’. On

the one hand, some collections such as the Sentences of Sextus (although prob-
ably roughly contemporaneous with Thomas) have the disadvantage that they
are merely γνῶμαι, i.e. single sentences expressing a complete thought.24 On
the other hand, there are some clear similarities. Sentence collections such as
those of Sextus can easily tolerate the juxtaposition of unrelated maxims along-
side connections made by theme or catchword.25 Some of the closest analogies
to Thomas are the sentence collections of Epicurus, the Kuriai doxai and the
Vaticanae sententiae.26 Pasquier & Vouga note as parallels the Manual of Epicte-
tus, the Maxims and Sentences of Epicurus, of Marcus Aurelius, of Porphyry,
and the Sentences of Sextus.27 We can take the Kuriai doxai of Epicurus as an
example of a sentence collection similar to Thomas:
(i) Comparable length in total. Thomas consists of about 3000 words in Coptic,
to the approx. 1500 in the Kuriai doxai and 2500 in the Vatican sentence
collection.28
22 J.M. Robinson, The Secrets of Judas: The Story of the Misunderstood Disciple & His Lost
Gospel (New York: Harper Collins, 12006), 75–76; similarly, Wright, Judas and the Gospel
of Jesus, 29: the ‘Gnostic’ writings such as Thomas ‘manifestly belong to a different genre’.
23 J.M. Robinson, ‘Foreword’, in J.S. Kloppenborg, M.W. Meyer, S.J. Patterson & M.G. Stein-
hauser, eds. Q-Thomas Reader (Sonoma, CA: Polebridge, 1990), vii–x (ix).
24 For this definition of γνῶμαι, see T. Morgan, Popular Morality in the Early Roman Empire
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010), 86. I am grateful to Teresa Morgan for her
help in grappling with some of the issues in the discussion of Thomas’s genre.
25 M.L. Turner, The Gospel According to Philip: The Sources and Coherence of an Early Christian
Collection (NHMS 38; Leiden: Brill, 1996), 114, characterises Sextus this way.
26 Noted by Kloppenborg, Formation of Q, 293.
27 Pasquier & Vouga, ‘Genre littéraire’, 337
28 The Vatican sayings are the Kuriai doxai (1440 words) with an additional 1174 words.
142 chapter 9
(ii) Comparable length of individual sections. The Kuriai doxai average c. 37

words in length and the Vatican sentences c. 32; Thomas averages c. 26.
(iii) Similar kind of introduction. Just as Thomas has an opening two or three
sayings setting out its stall, the Kuriai doxai begin with four opening sen-
tences which contain the principal statements about Epicurean pleasure:
KD 1: That which is blessed and incorruptible has no trouble himself
and brings no trouble to another; hence he is exempt from move-
ments of anger and partiality, for every such movement implies weak-
ness.
KD 2: Death is nothing to us; for the body, when it has been resolved
into its elements, has no feeling, and that which has no feeling is
nothing to us.
KD 3: The magnitude of pleasure reaches its limit in the removal of all
pain. When pleasure is present, so long as it is uninterrupted, there is
no pain either of body or of mind or of both together.
KD 4: Continuous pain does not last long in the flesh; on the contrary,
pain, if extreme, is present a very short time, and even that degree
of pain which barely outweighs pleasure in the flesh does not last
for many days together. Illnesses of long duration even permit of an
excess of pleasure over pain in the flesh.
The various characterisations of the Kuriai doxai, such as Lucretius’ patria

praecepta (DRN 3.9–13), Cicero’s ratae sententiae (Fin. 2.7.20) could equally
apply to Thomas.
Conclusion
It is suggested here, then, that Thomas is of mixed genre. It belongs in the

category of ‘Gospel’, but the form of Jesus’ teaching is quite different from
that found in the canonical Gospel narratives, such that there is a focus on
Jesus’ sententiae. As a result, Kelber’s view of Thomas’s self-presentation as a
‘sayings Gospel’ is a helpful one.29 In this respect, it is notable that the Gospel
of Thomas comports with a tendency in the second century to see Jesus as
a teacher: this is true both among non-Christians such as Galen, Lucian and
Mara bar Sarapion,30 but also among some second-century Christian writers
29 Kelber, ‘In the Beginning were the Words’, 79.

30 Galen writes of the ‘school of Moses and Christ’ (On the Differences between Pulses 2.4);
who inasmuch as they preserve Gospel material primarily preserve sayings (e.g.
2Clement, Justin, 1 Apol. 15–17).31
There is perhaps more research which might be undertaken into Thomas’s
genre, as there are complexities involved which have only been touched upon
in this brief treatment here. For example, Kelber has suggested that there may
be a difference between Thomas’s assessment of itself, and how it might best
be classified by modern scholars.32 A further challenge concerns when ‘form’
or ‘genre’ ends, and ‘content’ begins: one might wonder whether it is legitimate
to include topics like ‘wisdom’ or even ‘Gospel’ in the sense of ‘good news’ in a
description of genre.
Lucian calls Jesus a law-giver and a sophist (Peregrinus 13); Mara bar Sarapion refers to the
‘new laws’ which Jesus, ‘the wise king’, instituted.
31 I am grateful to my colleague, James Carleton Paget, for pointing this out to me.
32 Kelber, ‘In the Beginning were the Words’, 78–80.
chapter 10
The Religious Outlook of Thomas1
A central problem for scholarship on Thomas has been to identify its theology
or religious outlook. This question has elicited a number of answers, in part
because of Thomas’s enigmatic content, its form and its brevity. As Schröter has
remarked, Thomas has been taken variously to be a document of Gnosticism,
or of Jewish-Christian encratism, or of wisdom theology, or as an expression of
social radicalism.2 Others have summarised Thomas as focused upon ‘unitive
mysticism’,3 or as a Valentinian product,4 or as ‘an “orthodox” text from early
Syrian Christianity’.5 Scholars have often attempted to align Thomas with a
particular school of thought, and have aimed to fill in the gaps with the help
of literature from that school. The difficulty, however, is that Thomas does not
fit neatly (or even approximately) into any previously known hairesis. It is
therefore important, at least in the first instance, to look at Thomas as far as
possible on its own terms, even if there are limits to this, as Uro rightly notes.6
The aim here is to identify, if not a tidy theology, then at least Thomas’s central
1 Bibliography: General treatments include Gärtner, Theology; Montefiore & Turner, Thomas
and the Evangelists, 79–116; Haenchen, ‘Literatur’, 316–337; Davies, Gospel of Thomas and Chris-
tian Wisdom; Zöckler, Jesu Lehren im Thomasevangelium, 101–135; Uro, Thomas; Popkes, Men-
schenbild; J. Schröter, ‘Die Herausforderung einer theologischen Interpretation des Thoma-
sevangeliums’, in J. Frey, J. Schröter & E.E. Popkes, eds. Das Thomasevangelium: Entstehung—
Rezeption—Theologie (BZNW 157; Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 2008), 435–460; J.W. Jipp, ‘Death
and the Human Predicament, Salvation as Transformation, and Bodily Practices in 1Corin-
thians and the Gospel of Thomas’, in M.F. Bird & J. Willitts, eds. Paul and the Gospels: Chris-
tologies, Conflicts and Convergences (London/ New York: T&T Clark, 2011), 242–266; Perrin &
Skinner, ‘Recent Trends in Gospel of Thomas Research’, 70–77; M. Grosso, ‘A Matter of Life and
Death: Theological Refractions of a Literary Motive in the Gospel of Thomas’, in J. Schröter,
ed. The Apocryphal Gospels within the Context of Early Christian Theology (BEThL; Leuven:
Peeters, 2013), 549–562.
2 Schröter, Erinnerung an Jesu Worte, 124: ‘Man hat es als gnostisch, als judenchristlich-enkrati-
tisch, als weisheitlich oder als Ausdruck eines Sozialradikalismus gedeutet.’
4 L. Cerfaux, ‘Les Paraboles du Royaume dans l’ Évangile de Thomas’, in idem, Recueil Lucien
Cerfaux: études d’exégèse et d’histoire religieuse de Monseigneur Cerfaux (Gembloux: Duculot,
1962), III.61–80 (76–80), is one of only a few scholars who take Thomas to be Valentinian.
5 E.g. DeConick, Original Gospel of Thomas in Translation, 7.
6 Uro, Thomas, 4.

the religious outlook of thomas 145
concerns as well as its more ambiguously articulated themes. The rough sketch
here is of course dependent upon various points of interpretation argued for in
the commentary below.
10.1 Theological Framework
Thomas’s theology is fundamentally a soteriology: ‘Whoever finds the interpre-

tation of these sayings will not taste death’ (GTh 1). It is not primarily about
common wisdom, as alleged both by some members of the Jesus Seminar, as
well as by one of their staunchest critics.7 For Thomas, the souls of the elect
had their origins in the realm of light, the kingdom of the Father (GTh 49–50).
Thomas provides instruction in how to return to that kingdom of the Father.
The Father
The Father is in one respect a prominent figure in Thomas, being mentioned 21
times.8 On the other hand, it is striking that he is hardly a character at all; he is
not identified as an agent in any significant way, in contrast to Jesus. The most
that can probably be said is that he is characterised by ‘motion and rest’ like
the elect (GTh 50), as well as having an ‘image of light’ in GTh 83. He evidently
has a ‘will’ (99), and of course a Son (GTh 61; 64; 99), but especially a kingdom
(GTh 57; 76; 96–99; 113).
The Kingdom
Although the Synoptics talk of the kingdom as ‘prepared’ (Mk 10.40; Matt. 25.34;
cf. Mk 10.40; Matt. 20.23), Thomas goes further, envisaging the kingdom as a
pre-existent, paradisal realm of light.9 It is certainly not a geographical location
7 See e.g. H. Taussig, ‘The Gospel of Thomas and the Case for Jesus the Teacher of Common
Wisdom’, Forum 10 (1994), 31–46, and on the other hand Wright, Judas and the Gospel of Jesus,
29: ‘the main difference is that, whereas the canonical gospels are news, “Thomas” and the
others are advice’ (although Wright is correct that Thomas is not principally concerned with
events).
8 Including GTh 101, but excluding 105.
9 On the kingdom, see E. Peretto, ‘Loghia del Signore e Vangelo di Tommaso’, Rivista biblica 24
(1976), 13–56 (34–38), B.F. Miller, ‘A Study of the Theme of “Kingdom”. The Gospel according
to Thomas: Logion 18’, NovT 9 (1967), 52–60, and especially King, ‘Kingdom’, 48–97, and
H. Kvalbein, ‘The Kingdom of the Father in the Gospel of Thomas’, in J. Fotopoulos, ed. The New
Testament and Early Christian Literature in Greco-Roman Context: Studies in Honor of David
E. Aune (NovTSupps 122; Leiden/ New York/ Köln: Brill, 2006), 203–230.
146 chapter 10
in the cosmos. It is closely associated with ‘light’ (49–50).10 The kingdom is

inside the elect, and outside of them (3); they came from it and will return
there (49). It can also be found (27.1; 49), known (46), and most of all, entered
(22 tris; 99; 114; cf. 39; 64; 75); or one can be ‘far from’ it (82). When the
disciples talk of the kingdom ‘coming’ (GTh 113), Jesus retorts that it is spread
out everywhere (113): other traditional, futuristic language is avoided.11 There
is some sort of future expectation (‘days are coming’ in GTh 79), but this is not
related specifically to the kingdom, and even the rolling up of the heavens and
the earth do not have any effect upon the elect (GTh 11; 111).12 The categories
of ‘now’ and ‘not yet’ do not apply in Thomas, because the kingdom is an
ever-present, primordial paradise (18–19).13 The kingdom does not belong to
the rich and powerful, but to the poor (54) and child-like (22; 46).14 It is a place
of primeval unity (22), and ought to be visible, though it is obscured by people’s
blindness (113).
Creation and the Fall

Understanding the creation of the world in Thomas presents certain difficul-
ties. We should not expect a systematic account, and indeed we only have short
and elusive fragments. On some occasions, the creator figure is referred to in
feminine terms: Adam came from a ‘great power and great wealth’ (GTh 85),
and it is some sort of ‘true mother’ who gave Jesus life (101). These (along with
‘the Mother’ in GTh 105) might be suggestive of the Spirit (cf. 44) as involved in
creation, in two instances where it is clearly positive. It is tantalising, however,
10 Popkes, ‘Ich bin das Licht’, 660, sees them probably correctly as equivalents.
11 There is no reference to it ‘coming’ in the future (cf. Matt. 6.10/ Lk. 11.2/ Did. 8.2; 2Clem.
5.5), or that one might ‘inherit’ it (cf. Matt. 25.34; 1Cor. 6.9–10; 1Cor. 15.50; Gal. 5.21;
Eph. 5.5; Col. 1.12; Jas 2.5; Ignatius, Eph. 16.1; Philad. 2.3, and Polycarp, Phil. 5.3, citing
1Cor. 6.9–10). As King remarks: ‘the use of kingdom in the Gospel of Thomas is consis-
tently non-eschatological, nonapocalyptic’ (King, ‘Kingdom’, 52). Zöckler, Jesu Lehren im
Thomasevangelium, 179, rightly comments that Thomas is not an exponent of realised
eschatology. See further, Gathercole, ‘The Heavens and the Earth Will Be Rolled up’, 280–
302.
12 Gathercole, ‘The Heavens and the Earth Will Be Rolled up’, 280–302.
13 Cf. A. Marjanen, ‘Is Thomas a Gnostic Gospel?’, in R. Uro, ed. Thomas at the Crossroads:
Essays on the Gospel of Thomas (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1998), 107–139 (126): ‘a new reality,
the kingdom’.
14 Hence Patterson is correct to characterise the kingdom as countercultural: see S.J. Patter-
son, ‘Wisdom in Q and Thomas’, in L.G. Perdue, B.B. Scott & W.J. Wiseman, eds. In Search
of Wisdom: Essays in Memory of John G. Gammie (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox,
1993), 187–221 (205, 220–221).
that GTh 101 has a lacuna at a key point. In addition to GTh 77 (on which see
below), the only other place where one might see a creator is in GTh 89, but
that saying is also enigmatic.
Whatever the truth about creation, the tragic reality of the present is the
result of a fall. This is expressed in two main ways, which can be summarised as
a ‘falling apart’ and a ‘falling downward’. With respect to the former, Jesus states
that, ‘When you were one, you became two’ (11), and this theme of division
is picked up in a number of places. Jesus on the other hand ‘comes from the
undivided’ (GTh 61.3), and is emphatically not ‘a divider’ (72). A conception of
the fall as a separation appears in, among other places, the Valentinian myth,
according to which the enthymesis of Sophia was removed from the pleroma
and became Achamoth, an inferior form of Sophia (Irenaeus, AH 1.4.1), or as
in another version, in which the Word is divided in two (Tri. Trac. 77,11–36).
We will see that in Thomas the recovery of primordial unity is a key task in the
discipleship of the elect.
As far as the ‘downward’ fall is concerned, the spirit descends into physical
human bodies, as Jesus states: ‘I am amazed at how this great wealth [sc. spirit]
has made its home in this poverty [i.e. the body, the flesh]’ (29). This is clearly
related in some unspecified way to the fall of Adam, and his death (85).15 So
there is a conception of a heavenly fall with mundane implications for human
beings. None of this is connected explicitly with sin, however, a topic which
plays a very small role in the Gospel of Thomas. The cause of this fall is unclear.
A number of options existed in Thomas’s intellectual environment for why
souls descended into bodies, many of which arise out of interpretations of
the Timaeus and the Phaedrus.16 Alcinous lists four options: ‘either following
their turn in a numbered sequence, or by the will of the gods, or through
intemperance, or through love of the body; body and soul, after all, have a
certain affinity for one another, like fire and asphalt’.17 Iamblichus’s De Anima 23
discusses various accounts of ‘the activities which induce the soul to descend’,
15 This is almost certainly a human Adam here, hence his death, and the reference to him
(peculiarly) as associated with ‘those born of woman’ (GTh 46).
16 In addition to the discussions below, see J.M. Dillon, ‘The Descent of the Soul in Middle
Platonic and Gnostic Theory’, in B. Layton, ed. The Rediscovery of Gnosticism: 1. The School
of Valentinus (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1980), 357–364; idem, The Middle Platonists: A Study of
Platonism, 80B.C. to A.D. 220 (London: Duckworth, 1977), 245–246, 293–294, 359–360, 375,
and, especially on the impulses from Plato, B. Fleet, Plotinus Ennead IV.8: On the Descent
of the Soul into Bodies (Las Vegas/ Zurich/ Athens: Parmenides, 2012), 145–149.
17 Alcinous, Didaskalikos 25.6; translation in J.M. Dillon, Alcinous: The Handbook of Platonism
(Oxford: Clarendon, 1993), 34, and see 155–158 for commentary on the passage.
148 chapter 10
listing the following: a kind of desire for independence (Plotinus18); ‘flight

from God’ (Empedocles), and ‘the rest which consists in change’ (Heraclitus),
‘derangement and deviation’ (the Gnostics), and ‘the erring judgment of a free
will’ (Albinus).19 Iamblichus returns later to a very similar theme, where some
Platonists are described as taking the view that there are multiple modes of
descent (De Anima 26); in De Anima 27 Heraclitus’s view is repeated (souls must
be in motion because it is an effort for them to stay still), and two opinions of
Taurus or his followers are described, the completion of the number of souls in
the universe, and the demonstration of the divine life (cf. Alcinous’s first two
options?).20 Other explanations include the soul’s intention to administer the
material realm (Plutarch’s stranger;21 Plotinus, Enn. 4.8.4–5). Philo’s enigmatic
explanation is that the soul was ‘not able to overcome a satiety with divine
blessings’.22 The other distinction made is that between willing and unwilling
descent (Iamblichus, De Anima 27).23
Some of these are incompatible with Thomas. It is hard to imagine that for
Thomas, the soul-spirit, being ‘great wealth’, could have had evil propensities
or incompetence before its descent (the view attributed to Albinus or the
Gnostics). Additionally, Alcinous’s last option, where there is an attraction
between soul and body because of their mutual affinity (the view which he
probably holds himself), probably does not do justice to the way in which
Thomas portrays their rather more hostile relationship (see commentary on
GTh 87 and 112 below). The problem of characterising Thomas’s own view is
complicated further by imagery which defies systematisation: in GTh 57, the
evil is sown among the good, whereas in 21.2–3 and 29, the good has taken up
residence in what is alien. Two points which have not yet been brought into the
discussion perhaps deserve mention. Firstly, the ‘all coming forth’ from Jesus
in GTh 77 perhaps is suggestive of a fall of the light or pneumatic element,
and not necessarily a positive act of creation. Secondly, the view attributed
by Iamblichus to Heraclitus that ‘souls travel both the road up and the road
down and that for them to remain in place is toil but to change is rest’ may
18 ‘Primal otherness’. Plotinus (Enn. 5.1.1) relates this primal otherness to a desire for inde-
pendence and ‘audacity’ (tolma).
19 Tr. J.F. Finamore & J.M. Dillon, eds. Iamblichus: De Anima. Text, Translation and Commen-
tary (Leiden/ Boston/ Köln: Brill, 2002), 49; see 48 for text, and 135–136 for commentary.
20 See Finamore & Dillon, Iamblichus: De Anima, 54–55 for text and translation; 151–153 for
commentary.
21 Dillon, ‘The Descent of the Soul’, 358–359.
22 Her. 240; see Dillon, ‘Descent of the Soul’, 362–363.
23 Fleet, Plotinus Ennead IV.8, 150–151.
have something in common with Thomas:24 ‘motion and rest’ are the ‘sign of
the Father’ in the elect in GTh 50, and, as we have seen, GTh 77 talks of the all
both ‘coming forth’ from Jesus (cf. the ‘road down’) and ‘extending to’ him (cf.
the ‘road up’). Such connections must remain speculative, however.
The World
Uncertainty about the character of the fall is one reason for a degree of ambigu-
ity in Thomas about the world, for which the Coptic uses the Greek loan word
ⲕⲟⲥⲙⲟⲥ.25 On the one hand, Thomas seems very negative about the world: it is
described as a corpse (GTh 56), its implied ‘death’ putting it at the very neg-
ative extreme of Thomas’s moral spectrum.26 Some have seen this negativity
as arising from a demiurge who is responsible for creation, for example in the
reference to God/ god in the ‘Render unto Caesar’ pericope (GTh 100). On the
other hand, Zöckler draws attention to the fact that according to GTh 24 the
world can be enlightened,27 and for Marjanen the world is the arena where sal-
vation is possible for people, with the same creator making both the inside and
the outside of the metaphorical cup (GTh 89).28
As one proceeds through Thomas, it is the negative elements which come
to the fore. One sees the ridiculousness of the kingdom being part of this
world—in the air or the sea (GTh 3). Jesus has cast fire on the world in GTh
10, and GTh 16 repeats this idea, adding ‘sword and war’. GTh 21 may imply that
the world belongs to other powers. The world is probably the implied object of
‘passing by’ in GTh 42. As noted, it is a corpse (56), and should be renounced
(110). There is an overridingly negative impression here. If the world is to be
24 Iamblichus, De Anima 27: ὁδόν τε ἄνω καὶ κάτω διαπορεύεσθαι τὰς ψυχὰς ὑπείληφε καὶ τὸ μὲν
τοῖς αὐτοῖς ἐπιμένειν κάματον εἶναι, τὸ δὲ μεταβάλλειν φέρειν ἀνάπαυσιν.
25 For a good discussion of the ambiguities, see Marjanen, ‘Is Thomas a Gnostic Gospel?’, not-
ing that the world is the arena where salvation is possible for people (124), is a dangerous
threat (126), the world may have once been good when created but now bad, ‘although
this is nowhere explicitly stated’ (131).
26 Patterson, ‘View from Across the Euphrates’, 418, is a little too weak in talking of the world
as ‘simply something dead … and as such a distraction … which one should rightly view as
inferior and unworthy of devotion’. Better is Sellew’s stronger statement, that the world is
the ‘locus of death’, and ‘both a mortal and a morbid entity’. See P. Sellew, ‘Death, Body, and
the World in the Gospel of Thomas’, in E.A. Livingstone, ed. Studia Patristica 31 (Leuven:
Peeters, 1997), 530–534 (530). See further the discussion in the commentary below (ad GTh
1, ‘Notes’).
27 Zöckler, ‘Light within the Human Person’, 495–496; cf. ‘a person’s light is not only interre-
lated with the world but sustains it’ (499).
28 Marjanen, ‘Is Thomas a Gnostic Gospel?’, 124.
150 chapter 10
illuminated, it is only because it is dark in the first place. It may be that the
positive illumination is confined to the world qua people: when Jesus stands
in the midst of the world in GTh 28, there ⲕⲟⲥⲙⲟⲥ is glossed in anthropological
terms—as ‘them’—namely, the blind, empty and drunk who nevertheless have
the capacity to repent.
It is interesting that, in contrast to the world, ‘the all’ came forth from Jesus
and is identified with Jesus, and ‘the earth’ is the realm over which the kingdom
is spread out (GTh 113). This may point to different realms, as has already been
suggested (see further the commentary below). One can compare here the
contrast between the world and ‘the all’ (as well as the Pleroma) in the Treatise
on the Resurrection (46,34–39).29
There is also a degree of ambiguity in the treatments of particular ‘worldly’
themes. Some are sharply rejected: the accumulation of wealth is frowned upon
and commerce shunned (see e.g. GTh 63–65), as are the finely clothed but
ignorant rulers of GTh 78. On the other hand, other items are treated merely
as matters of indifference, such as clothes (36: ‘do not be concerned …’) and
diet (14: ‘eat whatever is set before you’): this almost certainly means there
is no prohibition of eating meat.30 The same is true of money per se in GTh
95.2, where giving to those who cannot give it back signals at the same time
altruism and indifference to one’s own possession of money; similarly, one can
without hesitation give Caesar back what belongs to him (100) because it holds
no appeal to the true disciple.
The Body
Mirroring Thomas’s view of the world is the perspective on the body. There
is certainly a stark contrast between the soul or spirit on the one side and
the body or flesh on the other. (The terms spirit and soul do not seem clearly
distinguished, nor do body and flesh.) As we saw in the discussion of the fall,
Jesus expresses his amazement that such great wealth, viz. the spirit, has come
to occupy a position of poverty, i.e. in the flesh (GTh 29.3). Thomas suggests
that this cohabitation is an ill, however, as there is a woe pronounced upon
the mutual dependence upon the flesh and soul in GTh 112. Less antithetically,
there is a contrast between the external, physical image on the one hand, and
29 ‘Strong is the system of the Pleroma, but small is that which went forth (from it) and
became the cosmos. But the All is that which is encompassed.’
30 Pace F.F. Bruce, Jesus and Christian Origins outside the New Testament (London: Hod-
der and Stoughton, 1974), 110–156 (117): ‘eating of flesh was probably discouraged’; cf.
S.L. Davies, The Gospel of Thomas: Annotated and Explained (Woodstock: Skylight, 2002),
12.
the pre-existent, spiritual image on the other (84), but not an opposition. It
is just possible that the body is neutral in Thomas’s mind. On the other hand,
two factors might point in the direction of a more negative perspective. For
one, the existence of the spirit in the body seems to correlate with the sense
of alienation which is explained as being “two”—divided, rather than a whole
unity. Another factor is that for some readers, the view of the world would have
rubbed off on their view of the physical body: it is difficult to keep these too far
apart. It is an outstanding question in the Platonism of the period whether the
body is the negative ‘fetter’ that it is in the Phaedo,31 or in fact something less
detrimental to the soul. Valentinians maintained that in the body and other
created institutions, ‘the likeness of the divine is rather eclipsed than wholly
obscured’, as Edwards has put it, in contrast to the sharper negativity of the
Gnostics.32 Thomas does not seem to have taken a clear stance on this question,
while tending in a negative direction.
The History of Israel

Moving to the more mundane sphere of history, there are only brief allusions in
Thomas to Israel, which is perhaps seen as one of history’s unfortunate paren-
theses. As we have seen above, circumcision and ‘the Jews’ are characterised as
straightforwardly negative (GTh 43 and 53; see above § 7.3, and commentary ad
locc. below); the Pharisees (and Scribes) aim to prevent people from discover-
ing the truth in GTh 39 and 102; Israel may well be the illegitimate vine which
will be uprooted (GTh 40); the temple will be irrevocably destroyed (GTh 71).
More positive is John the Baptist, but as in Matthew 11 and Luke 7 he is primar-
ily the pinnacle of the old age, and inferior to anyone participating in Jesus’
kingdom (GTh 46).
Jesus and Revelation

It is probable that Thomas portrays Jesus as incarnate: he is fundamentally
‘light’ (GTh 77), but also entered the world as ‘flesh’ (GTh 28).33 Although there
is a sense in which the true disciple can be identified with Jesus (GTh 108) and
the disciple Thomas should not even call Jesus ‘master’ (GTh 13), nevertheless
in various ways Jesus retains a transcendence.34 He is, for example, the agent
31 In Plato, Phaed. 67D, Socrates talks of the soul ἐκλυομένην ὥσπερ ἐκ δεσμῶν ἐκ τοῦ σώματος.
32 Edwards, ‘Gnostics and Valentinians’, 41.
33 This has sometimes been disputed, on the grounds that GTh 28’s language of Jesus being
‘manifest in the flesh’ could have docetic overtones. This is not really an easily defensible
position, however: see commentary below on GTh 28.
34 Pace A. Marjanen, ‘The Portrait of Jesus in the Gospel of Thomas’, in J. Ma. Asgeirsson,
152 chapter 10
of election (GTh 23) and judgment (GTh 10; 16); the elect are his disciples (55),
and are under his ‘lordship’ (90); all are to give him his due (GTh 100), and
supremely, he is the light above all and the all in GTh 77. His relation to the
supreme divine being is as son (99), and he also appears to receive life in some
sense from another, feminine, spiritual being (105).35
Central to the christology of Thomas, however, is his identity as revealer.
In GTh 17 this is highlighted: ‘I will give you what eye has not seen, and
what ear has not heard, and what hand has not touched, nor has it ascended
to the heart of man.’ The theme is picked up in GTh 38, highlighting Jesus
(and by implication the Gospel of Thomas) as the unique source of revelation.
The format of the whole Gospel (‘Jesus says …’, ‘Jesus says …’, ‘Jesus says …’)
draws attention to just this point. The opening lines of the Gospel set out the
significance of this revelation entrusted to Thomas, this revelation which must
be rightly understood and which is the means to escaping death (Prologue +
GTh 1).
(Self -)Knowledge
After a saying which expands upon the eschatological reward of escaping death
(2), we have another statement which probably glosses the comprehension
of Jesus’ revelation: GTh 3, with its reference to knowing oneself. Knowledge
is a central theme in the work. There are twenty-five instances of the word
ⲥⲟⲟⲩⲛ in Thomas, twenty of which are of theological significance, with five
more casual instances.36 There is also the Greek loan-word ⲅⲛⲱⲥⲓⲥ in GTh
39.1, and six instances of Coptic ⲉⲓⲙⲉ (probably five theological in intent).37
This is an extraordinary density of ‘knowing’ vocabulary, given that Thomas
is such a short work. There is also a strong focus on the words of Jesus as the
source of this knowledge (Prologue; GTh 38 etc.). The references specifically
to ‘self-knowledge’ should not be understood as concerned with a kind of
psychological introspection, ‘self-knowledge’ in the sense of knowing one’s own
A.D. DeConick & R. Uro, eds. Thomasine Traditions in Antiquity: The Social and Cultural
World of the Gospel of Thomas (NHMS 59; Leiden: Brill, 2006), 209–219.
35 I am not persuaded that Jesus is in some sense the twin of the Father, as argued by
A. Gagné, ‘Jésus, la lumière et le Père Vivant. Principe de gémellité dans l’ Évangile selon
Thomas’, Apocrypha 23 (2013), 209–221 (220–221), and earlier by R. Trevijano Etcheverría,
‘La cristología del Evangelio de Tomás’, in idem, Estudios sobre el Evangelio de Tomás,
207–269.
36 GTh 3.4 (bis), 3.5; 5.1; 16.2; 18.3; 19.4; 46.2; 51.2; 56.1; 67; 69.1; 78.3; 80.1; 91.2 (bis); 103; 105; 109.1;
109.2. Casual: 12.1; 31.2; 65.4; 65.7; 97.3?
37 GTh 3.4; 21.5; 43.2; (62.2); 97.3; 98.2.
personality, knowing one’s abilities and identity in relation to and comparison

with others. Rather, it is about knowing what you are in the grand theological
scheme of things—knowing about yourself. It is probably something close to
what is summarised in the words of the Valentinian Theodotus, who defines
knowledge (γνῶσις) by way of the following questions:
Who were we and what have we become? Where were we and where are
we now cast? To where are we hastening and from what have we been
delivered? What is birth? What is rebirth?38
(For further parallels and discussion, see the commentary below on GTh 3.4.)
The answers to all these questions are thematised in Thomas: ‘Who were we and
what have we become?’ We were spirits pure and simple but are now divided
between spirit and body. ‘Where were we and where are we now cast?’ We were
in the primordial light, but have now been thrown into a corpse-like world.
‘To where are we hastening and from what have we been delivered?’ We have
been delivered already from ignorance, and are now heading for—or better,
returning to—the perfected salvation which is already substantially possessed.
Salvation
This knowledge about oneself that Jesus reveals according to the Gospel of
Thomas, then, is the necessary condition for salvation. This state of salvation is
depicted in various ways as, for example, vision of the Father, ascendancy over
the cosmos, being in a united state (on which more below) and perhaps pre-
dominantly, ‘rest’. DeConick rightly emphasises the motif of visionary experi-
ence in places such as GTh 59,39 and there is a good deal of visual language else-
where in Thomas (e.g. GTh 5; 15; 27.2; 37; 38; 84), even if it is not the central idea
in Thomas. There is still a strong emphasis on text and textual interpretation
as precondition for salvation, and other soteriological motifs are also promi-
nent. Ascendancy over the cosmos is a key goal for true disciples, expressed
in terms of their reigning (GTh 2), and conversely of the obedience or service
which elements of the world will render (19.2; 48; 106): additionally, ‘the world
is not worthy’ of such disciples (56; 80; 111). ‘Rest’ is also another important
result (51; 60; 90), signalling freedom from the temptations of the world and—
ultimately—freedom from the labour of discipleship. It may be dangerous to
38 Clement, Exc. 78. 2.

39 A.D. DeConick, Seek to See Him: Ascent and Vision Mysticism in the Gospel of Thomas
(Leiden: Brill, 1996), 123–125.
154 chapter 10
assign primacy to any particular image, but there is certainly widespread refer-
ence in Thomas to the cultivation or creation of a unitary personhood or nature
in the enacted discipleship of the elect, and this theme merits more extended
treatment.
10.2 The Practice of Discipleship in Thomas
We have above characterised the fall as a kind of disintegration, which is more

precisely a splitting of reality into binary opposites. There are various instances
of this. The audience itself is ‘two’ (11), but GTh 22 especially focuses on the
inside/ outside, above/ below, male/ female divisions. Existentially, loyalties are
divided (47) and the disciples ‘like the Jews’ operate with inconsistent distinc-
tions (43, 89). The ‘house’ can be divided (48; cf. 106). The distinction between
the internal ‘image’ and the external ‘likeness’ (84) recalls the inside/ outside
dichotomy, as does the false distinction between the inside and the outside of
the cup (89). The need for Mary and women in general to be assimilated to
maleness (114) reflects (though not exactly) the male/ female division in 22.
There are three aspects to the resolution of these divisions, which might be
called ‘self-union’, ‘gender union’ and ‘christological union’, and all these require
actualisation by the disciple. As Frend has noted, salvation is not conceived
as instantaneous, but rather results from ‘advance towards spiritual perfection
through the practice of ascetic virtues and repentance’.40 Although one might
quibble with some of Frend’s terminology, the thought is a valid one. There are
quite distinctive images which express this side of Thomas’s theology. We will
examine these individually before exploring their potential coherence.
Self-Union
GTh 70 is the one place in Thomas where the standard verb ‘to save’ (ⲧⲟⲩϫⲟ) is
employed. The saving element in this saying is described in the language of that
which ‘you bring forth from yourselves’. This probably refers to the true image,
or spirit, hidden within. It is this real image which needs to come to the fore,
and to take precedence over the external visible image presented in the body.41
A similar idea is perhaps found in the Gospel of Judas: ‘Let whoever is [strong]
among you men bring forth the perfect man and stand in the presence of my
40 Frend, ‘Gospel of Thomas’, 16.

41 For an extensive discussion of Thomas’s image theology, see Popkes, Menschenbild, 215–
347.
face’ (Gos. Jud. 35,2–6); compare also Gos. Mary 18,15–17. Relatedly, the Treatise
on the Resurrection comments that it is not our dead, external limbs which will
be resurrected, but the true living members (Treat. Res. 47,38–48,3). ‘Light’ is
another image used in Thomas to describe the saving, internal element (GTh
24).
GTh 22 similarly talks of ‘when you fashion eyes in the place of an eye, and a
hand in place of a hand, and a foot in place of a foot, and an image in place of an
image’ as preconditions for entering the kingdom. Here, the construction of a
new person is in some sense envisaged, although one might more properly label
this a reunification and return to a primordial state. The conclusion—‘an image
in place of an image’—may well be a summary. The new, or true, person within
needs to supersede the external physical person. The two ‘images’ correspond
to those in GTh 84, the external ‘likeness’ as opposed to ‘your images which
came into being before you, and which neither die nor become manifest’.
The latter needs to swallow up the former. If GTh 70 spoke of bringing forth
and externalising the true image within, GTh 22 speaks slightly differently of
replacing the external with the internal. The emphasis here is on the new/
primordial identity, and the ‘intentional reformation of the self’ and creating
an ‘alternative symbolic universe’.42
Somewhat different is the metaphor of ‘becoming a child’ (GTh 46; cf. 4,
21, 22, 37, 50), although this too connotes a primordial identity. In addition to
the connotations of asexuality and innocence, there is the element of childlike
nakedness without shame (37) evoking the Garden of Eden. This connection is
also made by Philo:
“And the two were naked, both Adam and his wife, and they were not
ashamed; but the serpent was the most subtle of all the beasts which were
on the earth, which the Lord God had made” (Gen. 2.25; 3.1). The mind,
which is clothed neither with vice nor with virtue, but really stripped of
both, is naked, like the soul of an infant child …
(Leg. 2.53)
Thomas probably similarly sees the child-like state as that possessed by the
elect disciple who has reverted to primordial innocence. This is often, probably
correctly, seen as a reversion to a primordial state construed as an Adamic iden-
tity; a specifically Adamic state is not always strongly emphasised in Thomas,
however.
42 Valantasis, ‘Is the Gospel of Thomas Ascetical?’, 61, 64.

156 chapter 10
The ‘child’ imagery is linked to, and perhaps explicated by, two related
motifs, those of the unifying of the divided self, and of stripping naked.
Jesus in GTh 22 commends suckling babies as models of discipleship, and
then immediately talks in terms of ‘when you make the two one’, especially
the inside/ outside, above/ below, and male/ female. Hence Jesus exhorts the
disciples to participate in the resolution of the ‘inside/ outside’ dichotomy (cf.
also 48 and 106).43 There is some tension between unification and replacement
(for example of ‘outside’ and ‘inside’), but they have a similar field of reference.
The motif of ‘stripping off one’s clothes’, noted in the parable in GTh 21,
comes to prominence in GTh 37 as necessary for vision of Jesus. Whether this is
achievable in the present or is eschatological is unclear. The precise contours of
this expression are not especially relevant here: what is clear is that we have a
removal of the external, which connects with (indeed, constitutes the negative
element of) the replacement of the external with the internal in GTh 22.
We have here, then, various construals of the internal and external: (i)
bringing forth what is internal, (ii) replacing the external with the internal,
(iii) unifying external and internal, and (iv) removal of the external. It would
be rather churlish to decry any inconsistencies that may be present here. For
Thomas, (i) and (ii) are derived from the Gospel’s image theology, and (iii)
and (iv) are closely related to the ‘child’ motif. Across those two themes of
the image and the child, we have noted that (iv) can be seen as a component
of (ii), and—in particular—GTh 22 fuses both themes, with the child as the
symbol of the unified image. Additionally, they are all related to the primordial
state in which the eternal image within recovers its superiority over outward
physical likeness (although (iii) is surprising here). It is interesting that Philo
(in a passage already alluded to) can also combine these in the same primeval
setting of Genesis 1–2:
Observe that it is not the woman who cleaves to the man, but on the
contrary, the man to the woman, that is, the mind to sensation. For when
the better, namely, the mind, is united to the worse, namely, sensation,
it is then dissolved into the worse, that is the nature of the flesh, and
43 See J. Helderman, ‘Die Herrenworte über das Brautgemach im Thomasevangelium und

im Dialog des Erlösers’, in W.L. Petersen, H.J. de Jonge & J.S. Vos, eds., Sayings of Jesus:
Canonical and Non-Canonical. Essays in Honour of Tjitze Baarda (Leiden, Brill, 1997), 69–88
(78), on the theme of the experience of the pneumatics of rest and unification with the
Father in the bridal chamber. According to Helderman, GTh 75 concerns the unification
with the saviour and with the heavenly self that is exclusively for the fully ascetical and
world-renouncing.
into sensation, the cause of the passions. But when the worse, namely
sensation, follows the better, the mind, then it will no longer be flesh, but
both will be mind
(Leg. 2.50)
Here, the mind is fused with the flesh (cf. iii), but then when the mind becomes
the prominent element (cf. i) and the flesh follows the mind, then the flesh will
also become mind (cf. ii and iv). There is a degree of coherence in Thomas’s
account here without it being systematic.
Gender Union
This leads us in to the theme of ‘gender union’: just as male/ female division is
an aspect of the plight in Thomas, so the construction of an androgynous state
is part of the solution. As Klijn puts it, humanity was originally one but became
two by becoming male and female; the person needs to return to that unitary,
single state.44 Klijn draws attention to Philo as again illuminating this theme.45
(There are also Syrian and Talmudic parallels, but these come from a later
time.46) Philo saw God as monad in contrast to the dyadic human (Deus 82–
84), and in contrast to divisible matter (Spec. 3.180). In fact, however, humanity
was originally not dyadic when existing as the uncontaminated image of God
(Opif. 134).47 This is associated by Philo with man/ woman, where man is ‘mind’
and woman ‘sensation’, as in the passage just quoted above (Leg. 2.50). A post-
mortem existence in which the duality is resolved into its original unity awaits
humanity.48 Thomas is also similar in this respect to the Gospel of Philip, where
the separation of ‘Adam’ and ‘Eve’ is imagined as a fall in need of reversal:49
44 A.F.J. Klijn, ‘The “Single One” in the Gospel of Thomas’, JBL 81 (1962), 271–278 (272–273).
45 Klijn, ‘Single One’, 276.
46 Klijn, ‘Single One’, 275–276.
47 ‘And by this [viz. Gen. 2.7] he shows very clearly that there is a vast difference between
man as he is formed now, and the man who formerly came into being according to the
image of God. For one is now formed as perceptible, partaking of qualities, consisting of
body and soul, man or woman, by nature mortal. But the other made according to the
image was an idea, or a kind, or a seal, intelligible, incorporeal, neither male nor female,
incorruptible by nature.’
48 Vit. Mos. 2.288: ‘Some time later, when he (Moses) was to make his pilgrimage from earth to
heaven, and abandon mortal life to be made immortal, he was summoned by the Father,
who resolved him, being two—soul and body, into a unit, transforming completely his
whole being into mind, pure as sunlight.’
49 Also close to Thomas, as an instance of the unity of the person is (mutatis mutandis)
Ignatius’s desire for the Magnesians’ ‘unity of flesh and spirit’ (Magn. 1.2).
158 chapter 10
If the female had not separated from the male, the female and the male
would not have died. The separation of male and female was the begin-
ning of death. Christ came to heal the separation that was from the begin-
ning and reunite the two, in order to give life to those who died through
separation and unite them.
(Gos. Phil. 70,9–17)
A passage following shortly after this elaborates, and although it becomes

fragmentary, it may suggest that the unification of Adam’s soul and spirit are
analogous to the salvation of the addressees of Philip (70,23–28). The Gospel
of the Egyptians also makes the unification of male and female a condition of
salvation much as does the Gospel of Philip.
The unity in Thomas may not be best construed as entirely genderless, but
might be best described as ‘male androgyny’ (see commentary below on GTh
114). The way in which the male/ female distinction is treated in Thomas,
however, does not necessarily enable us to identify the gender dynamics in the
Thomas movement.50
Christological Union
Finally, the resolution of cosmic division results in incorporation (perhaps even
absorption) of the person into Jesus himself (hence, ‘christological union’).
As GTh 108 has it: ‘Whoever drinks from my mouth will become like me. I
myself will become him …’ (108.1–2). The degree of assimilation here is strong,
reflecting more than a Pauline imagery of being in Christ, and closer to the kind
of ‘unitive mysticism’51 or ὁμοίωσις θεῷ in the strong sense in the Gospel of Eve
or the Gospel of Philip (see commentary on GTh 108 below). The precise nature
of this union in Thomas eludes us, however.
Concrete Requirements
More concretely, what is required is radical self-denial. This is expressed in the
traditional terms of taking up the cross (55), but also through the language of
‘fasting to the world’ and observing ‘sabbath’ (27), and renouncing power (81)
and the world (110). Obligations to parents (101) and to anything else must be
subordinated to the requirement of Jesus.
50 Cf. K. Corley, ‘Salome and Jesus at Table in the Gospel of Thomas,’ Semeia 86 (1999), 85–97
(85, 89), according to which GTh 61 and 114 betrays controversy in Thomas movement
about the status of women.
More positively, there are a number of motifs which highlight the devotion
to the matters advocated in Thomas, summarised in GTh 99 as doing the will
of the Father, and elsewhere as seeking rest (60) or seeking the imperishable
treasure (76). The importance of seeking is reinforced by the fact that through-
out Thomas finding is a soteriological good (GTh 1; 2; 8; 27; 38; 49; 56; 58; 77?;
80; 90; 92; 94; 97?; 107; 109.3; 110; 111). In addition to this language, salvation can
also be said to depend on particular attributes which are to be developed. Sin-
glemindedness, especially about true knowledge over against its alternatives,
is prominent in the parables (GTh 8; 76; 107), as well as in the aphorisms (e.g.
GTh 32–34). Also notable is the demand of exacting labour (GTh 2; 58; 107.3,
109.3)—related to the seeking motif. Discipleship is also characterised by readi-
ness, a theme employed most consistently in contexts of conflict imagery: being
armed in anticipation of robbery (GTh 21.4?; 103) and being able to effect a
killing (98). Where this theme of readiness comes particularly into prominence,
however, is in the preparation of acquiring knowledge necessary for heavenly
ascent (GTh 50).
The knowledge of one’s place in relation to the kingdom and the cosmos
is highly relevant to this postmortem scenario envisaged in GTh 50. In the
personal eschatology set out in Thomas, the soul is asked a series of questions
about her identity, origin and characteristics. Hence, mastery of what Thomas
says about these themes is essential labour for the true disciple. As noted above
in §10.1, Thomas’s theology is fundamentally soteriological.
The Problem of “Asceticism” in Thomas

Some scholars have emphasised very strongly that for Thomas the goal of dis-
cipleship is apatheia and that permanent celibacy is a sine qua non for the
elect. Frend wrote of ‘complete sexual abnegation’,52 and Turner of Thomas’s
‘fastidious abhorrence of sex’.53 Richardson remarked that Thomas is ‘crystal
clear’ on the point;54 Lincoln stated not only that a requirement of chastity
was ‘certain’, but added: ‘it is not unthinkable that even so extreme a mea-
sure as self-castration may have been practiced by the senior members of the
Thomas-community’.55 More recently, for DeConick, abstinence is the neces-
sary preparation for openness to visionary experience, which she argues is also
52 Frend, ‘Gospel of Thomas’, 17.

54 Richardson, ‘The Gospel of Thomas: Gnostic or Encratite?’, 69.
55 B. Lincoln, ‘Thomas-Gospel and Thomas-Community: A New Approach to a Familiar Text’,
NovT 19 (1977), 65–76 (75).
160 chapter 10
crucial to Thomas.56 Certainly there are places which might well be amenable
to such an interpretation, as for example in the references to ‘single ones’, and
perhaps a veiled condemnation of marriage in GTh 87.57
At the other extreme, Davies has stated that there is no such thing: ‘Thomas
never mentions either marriage or sexual continence.’58 Indeed, with its indif-
ference to these themes, Thomas ‘contradicts encratism’.59 There is also some-
thing to be said for this understanding, given that early Christians and others in
Thomas’s cultural environment were perfectly capable of talking clearly about
celibacy if they wanted to: Paul’s commendation (though not requirement) of
celibacy is clear (1Cor. 7.7), but the same is not true of Thomas. On the other
hand, is Thomas ever ‘crystal clear’, and given the nature of the work, should we
expect such clarity?
More moderately, Uro notes that the talk of blessing on those who no longer
give birth is relegated to the future: ‘Days are coming when you will say, “Blessed
are the womb which has not conceived and the breasts which have not given
milk”’ (79.3). Uro also warns against the danger of interpreting the ‘single ones’
as celibates against the background of rather later, fourth-century Syrian par-
allels. Nevertheless, the factors favouring singleness should not be dismissed
lightly either, even if there seems to be no clear prohibition of marriage.
If Uro is on the right track in rejecting a clear requirement for celibacy in
Thomas, it is probably also true to say that for those disciples who have ears
to hear, celibacy is the (strongly) commended life. A brief survey of Thomas
is illuminating in this respect. GTh 7 may include, among other things, a
condemnation of lust. The supreme being is ‘not born of woman’ (GTh 15).
The addition of ‘and they will stand as solitary’ to the saying about division
in the family (16) implies separation from the family. Child imagery, with its
potential connotations of asexual innocence, is very concentrated (4, 21, 22,
37, 46), with the relativisation of the male-female distinction in one of those
sayings (22), and some degree of contrast with ‘those born of woman’ in another
(46). Certainly there is a redefinition of family in the Synoptic Gospels, but
it is notable that Thomas has taken over much of this material in, again, a
concentrated way (GTh 16 = Matt. 10.34–35/ Lk. 12.51–53; GTh 55 = Lk. 14.26;
GTh 79 = Lk. 11.27+23.29; GTh 99 = Mk 3.31–35&parr.; GTh 101 = GTh 55 =
Lk. 14.26): material spread across Matthew, Mark and Luke is included in the
very much shorter Thomas. (Thomas is less than one-quarter the length of
56 Thus DeConick, Original Gospel of Thomas in Translation, 79.

57 Plisch, Gospel of Thomas, 198.
Matthew and Luke, slightly over one-quarter the length of John, and slightly
over one-third the length of Mark.60) Salome, perhaps known from the Gospel
of the Egyptians as a celibate,61 is highlighted as a disciple in GTh 61. A marriage
is an excuse for avoiding (allegorically) discipleship in the parable about the
‘places of my Father’ in GTh 64. Only the solitary, ironically, will enter the true
bridal chamber (GTh 75). In contrast to the fertile, it is the barren who are
blessed in GTh 79. Perhaps the most negative statement about sex is that in
which a body dependent on another body is denounced as ‘wretched’ (87): at
risk of hair-splitting, however, ‘wretched’, or ‘pitiable’, might not be so negative
as e.g. the ‘cursed’ state in GTh 7.2. In contrast to the biological family of Jesus,
the obedient are his true family (99), and the physical parents of disciples are
to be ‘hated’ (101). Thomas disciples are instead characterised as those who
know their true Father and Mother. In the treasure parable, the biological son is
ignorant, but the one who works achieves success (109). Women must become
male in order to enter the kingdom (114).
‘Asceticism’ and ‘encratism’ have probably become words too ill-defined to
be useful in Thomas scholarship at present. What should probably be said, how-
ever, is that in contrast to the extreme positions of both Richardson and Davies,
commendation (but not requirement) of celibacy is present in a concentrated
way. Accompanying this is a stance of indifference to and disregard for bio-
logical relations, as the statements above have already implied. As Uro rightly
notes, there is a ‘disregard for family ties’.62
10.3 Social Ethos and Practices
Less important in Thomas, but not irrelevant, are the various social attitudes
and practices enjoined. These are not extensive: Patterson rightly talks not so
much of a ‘community’ as a ‘loosely structured movement’, which is ‘not very
highly organized’.63 Hence there is not a large set of community regulations.
There are no references to baptisms or eucharists, or observance of a literal
60 See the calculations in Gathercole, ‘Named Testimonia’, 68.

61 Clement, Strom. 3.9.66.1–2.
62 Uro, ‘Asceticism and Anti-Familial Language’, 217; Cf. also, rather more strongly, DeConick,
Voices of the Mystics, 100; A.D. Jacobson, ‘Jesus Against the Family: The Dissolution of
Family Ties in the Gospel Tradition’, in J.Ma. Asgeirsson, K. De Troyer & M.W. Meyer, eds.
From Quest to Q: Festschrift James M. Robinson (Leuven: Leuven University Press, 2000),
189–218 (210–217).
162 chapter 10
sabbath, though some have seen these.64 There is, however, an emphasis on
speaking the truth and doing as you would be done by, but even these are
expressed in negative terms (GTh 6). More positive statements come in the
commands to love and guard a brother (25), to give generously (95), and in the
reference to social fasting (69.2).
Some have strongly emphasised the missionary outlook of the Thomas
movement as reflected in the document, most notably Patterson, who sees in
the work an itinerant radicalism—in Theissen’s term, ‘Wanderradikalismus’.65
(This is not to imply that Thomas is itself an evangelistic tract.) At the other
end, Popkes objects that some characteristics of ‘Wanderradikalismus’, such
as its Jewish-Christian character, are absent from Thomas, and that there are
only marginal hints of mission.66 This seems like an over-reaction. Others such
as Schröter, have struck a successful balance between over-emphasising and
undervaluing mission in Thomas.67 There does appear to be a kind of mission-
ary programme presupposed in the incorporation of the traditional synoptic
sayings about eating whatever is set before you when you go into different
places (GTh 14), and asking for labourers to be sent out into the great har-
vest (GTh 73). Thomas combines an exclusivity of loyalties with an openness
to accepting new converts on its own terms (cf. GTh 4). In the end, however, it
is difficult to be certain from Thomas the extent to which the movement was a
wandering mobile movement and the extent to which it was more static.
Another difficult element to assess is prayer. In one place prayer is—
remarkably—expressly condemned, alongside fasting and almsgiving (GTh
14). On the other hand, Thomas can also rather mysteriously say: ‘But when
the bridegroom leaves the bridal chamber, then let them fast and pray’ (104).
This might only be a problem, however, if GTh 104 refers—as does its Synop-
tic parallel—to Jesus’ death or ascension. In fact, the departure of the bride-
groom from the bridal chamber probably has a rather different meaning, since
it would be very odd for the bridal chamber—a soteriological image in Thomas
(75)—to refer to the world. A suitable parallel to this critical stance toward
prayer appears in the Gospel of Philip (a work which particularly thematises
the bridal chamber), which has a close association with Thomas in the fathers
64 Pace e.g. Davies, Gospel of Thomas and Christian Wisdom, 119–121 (and 117–137 as a whole),
who follows J.Z. Smith that GTh 37 is about baptism, and thinks baptism is prominent in
Thomas.
65 Patterson, ‘Understanding the Gospel of Thomas Today’, 46–48; see further Patterson,
Gospel of Thomas and Jesus, 121–214.
66 Popkes, Menschenbild, 75, 79.
67 Schröter, Erinnerung an Jesu Worte, 227–236.
and in Nag Hammadi Codex II:68 ‘The winter is the world, the summer the
other aeon. Let us sow in the world so that we may reap in the summer.
Therefore it is right for us not to pray in the winter’ (Gos. Phil. 52,26–29). A
further similarity between Thomas and Philip, then, is that they both con-
nect the prohibition of prayer with a particular epoch of time. Even if Thomas
forbids prayer, however, or reinterprets it dramatically, there is still a resid-
ual prayer in 73: ‘Ask the Lord, therefore, to send out labourers to the har-
vest.’
10.4 Thomas’s Views of Its Rivals
Thomas’s theological positions are expressed not only in positive but also in
negative terms, i.e. over against other groups, references to which are always
oppositional. One might compare here the position of Justin who states that
there are some Christ-believers who wish to observe the law who despite their
weak-mindedness will be saved (Dial. 47), or the various systems which posit
an ‘in-between’ group, such as the psychics between the hylics and the pneu-
matics.69 On the other hand, closer to Thomas in this respect is the similarly
uncompromising stance of the Gospel of Judas, although the opposition in
Thomas is not given a cosmological and demonic explanation (though n.b. GTh
40).
The two main targets of criticism are non-Christian Judaism, and the wider
Christian movement which does not follow Thomas. There is a possible criti-
cism in GTh 67 of Gnostic and/or related groups who lay claim to knowledge
(for Thomas, falsely so-called): ‘Whoever knows all, but is deficient in one thing,
is deficient completely.’ The statement is too vague to allow certainty on the
point. Similarly, there may be criticism of Roman persecution in the reference
to ‘those who drag’ (οἱ ἕλκοντες) in GTh 3, but again there is not sufficient clarity
to be sure.
Non-Christian Judaism
Some have argued that Thomas is fundamentally ‘Jewish Christian’, usually
(at least in part) on the basis of the reference to James in GTh 12.70 This is a
68 On the association, see Gathercole, ‘Named Testimonia’, 63.

69 See e.g. the discussion in E. Thomassen, The Spiritual Seed—The Church of the ‘Valentini-
ans’ (Leiden: Brill, 2008), 51 (on Tri. Trac. 118,14–122,12) and 60 (on Irenaeus, AH 1.6.2), of
the tripartition of hylic-psychic-pneumatic in the Valentinian system.
70 See e.g. G. Quispel, ‘The Discussion of Judaic Christianity’, VC 22 (1968), 81–93 (85).
164 chapter 10
mistake, however: the reference to James does not necessitate seeing Thomas in
Jewish-Christian terms.71 (The category ‘Jewish-Christian’ is in any case a highly
problematic one.72) As we have seen, Thomas is unreservedly critical of Jews
(GTh 43), the Pharisees (GTh 39; 102) and central aspects of Jewish theology
and practice (GTh 14; 52–53; 71, though in some cases as Christian elements).
Jesus and the disciples are not depicted as Jews or as belonging to Judaism.
As Löhr has put it: ‘“Jesus der Jude” ist im EvThom nicht mehr erkennbar.’73
Thomas is in GTh 14 totally negative towards prayer, alms and fasting, which
are not just useless but harmful; this attitude is neither explained nor justified,
but is simply in conflict with Thomas’s own ethical outlook.74 The same is
true of the attitudes to circumcision, sabbath and temple, where Thomas’s
views bear comparison with Justin, Barnabas and the Epistle of Ptolemy to
Flora (and indeed with the views of pagans). The position according to which
Thomas is sharply critical of Jewish practices now attracts very wide support.75
The references to Jewish themes may indicate ‘contact’ and ‘encounter’ with
Judaism or Jewish Christianity, but certainly do not align Thomas with Jewish
Christianity.76 In fact, however, the comment about the ‘twenty-four prophets’
in GTh 52 betrays a confused ignorance of the Jewish subdivisions of Scripture:
there are twenty-four books but not twenty-four prophetic authors (Moses, for
example, was assumed to have written five, whereas the twelve minor prophets
only counted as one).
71 R.M. Trevijano Etcheverría, ‘La incomprensión de los discipulos en el Evangelio de Tomás’,

in E.A. Livingstone, ed. Studia Patristica XVII.1 (Elmsford, NY: Pergamon Press, 1982),
243–250 (247); Popkes, ‘About the Differing Approach to a Theological Heritage’, 310, both
noting the use of James in Gnostic and related literature.
72 See discussion in J. Carleton Paget, ‘Jewish Christianity’, in W. Horbury, W.D. Davies &
J. Sturdy, eds. The Cambridge History of Judaism, vol. 3 (Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 1999), 731–775.
73 H. Löhr, ‘Jesus und die Tora als ethische Norm nach dem Thomas-Evangelium’, in J. Frey,
J. Schröter & E.E. Popkes, eds. Das Thomasevangelium: Entstehung—Rezeption—Theo-
logie (BZNW 157; Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 2008), 363–379 (379); cf. Hedrick, Gospel
according to Thomas, 89, on the distinction between the disciples and the Jews.
74 Gianotto, ‘Quelques aspects de la polémique anti-juive’, 161–163.
75 See e.g. A. Marjanen, ‘Thomas and Jewish Religious Practices’, in R. Uro, ed. Thomas at the
Crossroads: Essays on the Gospel of Thomas (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1998), 163–183; Schröter,
Erinnerung an Jesu Worte, 236; Popkes, Menschenbild, 55–65.
76 W.R.G. Loader, Jesus’ Attitude Towards the Law: A Study in the Gospels (WUNT; Tübingen:
Mohr Siebeck, 1997), 502; cf. also P. Sellew, ‘Pious Practice and Social Formation in the
Gospel of Thomas’, Forum 10 (1994), 47–56 (54).
The Wider Christian Movement

Thomas is equally critical of non-Thomasine Christianity, which may of course
include not only the ‘magna ecclesia’ of the likes of Ignatius and Polycarp, but
also Valentinian and other movements. This critical stance is evident from
the negative valuation of Matthew and Peter in GTh 13, and via the criticisms
of disciples both in general (e.g. GTh 18) and as representatives of particular
theological views of biblical authority and resurrection (GTh 51–52).
The negativity here causes difficulties for the view taken by Stead and Pagels
that Thomas was intended as supplementary teaching for elite members who
also sat happily within communities such as the wider apostolic church, and
who also enjoyed one or more of the canonical Gospels.77 It is a difficulty for
this view that the work presents itself as a document the acceptance of which
is necessary for salvation (as in GTh 1)—thereby excluding non-Thomasine
Christians.78 Similarly, several of the distinctive elements in Thomas are pre-
sented not as recommended ideal practices for reaching a higher spiritual
status, but as soteriological conditions. For example, in GTh 22.4–6, the con-
ditions of making the two one, the outside like the inside and the above like
the below, etc., are identified in 22.7 as necessary for entry into the king-
dom. Similarly, in GTh 27, fasting to the world and ‘sabbatising’ are condi-
tions for finding the kingdom and seeing the Father. GTh 13 also implies a
separatist stance.79 Finally, Thomas’s prohibitions of fasting, prayer and alms-
giving (GTh 6; 14), as well as its views on resurrection and scripture (GTh
51–52) and other matters, strongly suggest divergence from other movements
which countenanced such practices rather than affiliation with such move-
ments.
Cautionary Remarks
There is a need here for careful mirror-reading.80 Some exegeses of sayings
in Thomas have adopted too simplistic an approach, such as supposing that
77 See Pagels, Beyond Belief, 39–40; Stead, ‘Some Reflections on the Gospel of Thomas’, 402:
‘envisaging a spiritual élite, but not consciously opposing this to conservative churchman-
ship.’
78 See Gagné, ‘Sectarianism, Secrecy and Self Definition’, 241, on the point that secret teach-
ing in early Christianity is very often a matter of salvation, and not just an added bonus.
79 So, rightly, Perrin, Thomas, the Other Gospel, 119.
80 The cautions expressed by Barclay may be applied, mutatis mutandis, to the case of
Thomas. J.M.G. Barclay, ‘Mirror-Reading a Polemical Letter: Galatians as a Test-Case’, JSNT
31 (1987), 73–93.
166 chapter 10
‘the questions that the disciples pose are invariably the questions that the com-
munity has raised and seeks to resolve’,81 and that in GTh 24.1 ‘the disciples’
question represents the voice of the community’.82 Similarly, Trevijano Etchev-
erría gives voice to what is often assumed in Thomas scholarship, namely that
the motif of the incomprehension of the disciples represents the ignorance of
non-Gnostic Christianity and Judaism.83 But some questions of the disciples
(including 24.1) are rather more abstract (cf. also 91). There is, then, a serious
danger involved in mirror reading: as Uro has warned, the facts on the ground
cannot simply be read off the surface of Thomas.84
10.5 Conclusion
A number of clear points emerge here. Thomas takes an uncompromising

stance towards its rivals. One could add to (a) non-Christian Judaism and (b)
the wider Christian movement, (c) the additional target of figures of authority
in the wider empire—‘your kings and your nobles’ (GTh 78; cf. 81), though these
are not assigned any particular religious views. Many of Thomas’s central theo-
logical themes, especially elements of the Gospel’s soteriology are sufficiently
evident.
On the other hand, some aspects of Thomas’s theological ethical and stance
are more ambiguous, and there are certain points on which Thomas is simply
silent. Perhaps such ambiguities in Thomas were originally illusory and there
was a clear corpus of other works read alongside Thomas shaping its interpreta-
tion, with mystagogues who guaranteed the authoritative understanding, and
a set of practices lived out in the Thomas movement and simply assumed in
the Gospel. Or it could be that Thomas was intended all along to serve as an
impulse for all kinds of different interpretative results, though this is unlikely.
We also may have to reckon with the fact that some of the tensions left by the
author or editor may be the result of Thomas not having been written or edited
by a towering theological intellect and literary craftsman.85 Overall, however,
there is a good deal of consistency, and so perhaps E.P. Sanders’ verdict on
Paul is not so far off the truth for Thomas—that it may not be completely

83 Trevijano Etcheverría, ‘La incomprensión de los discipulos’, 246.
84 Uro, ‘The Social World of the Gospel of Thomas’, 20.
85 Arnal, ‘Rhetoric of Marginality’, 489.
systematic, but it is reasonably coherent.86 That is, the thought reflected in

Thomas is not necessarily animated by a philosophical impulse towards logi-
cal doctrinal tidiness, but one can nevertheless make sense of Thomas’s reli-
gious outlook. As Marjanen has concluded: ‘it is nevertheless an exaggeration
to claim that the choice and interpretation of the material employed in the
Gospel is guided by no consistent theological and ideological line of thought.
On the contrary, in its chief theological emphases the Gospel of Thomas pro-
vides a fairly coherent picture.’87 Because of this, one can attempt an exe-
gesis in the commentary below which does not need to see in Thomas a
haphazard series of sayings which may go off in all sorts of different direc-
tions.
The survey above has also aimed to highlight those works with which
Thomas can helpfully be compared (and more detailed evidence for this will be
found in the commentary below). Two important criteria are closeness in time
and partial overlap of theological approach. The difficulty with a number of
Syrian parallels is that they are not really contemporaneous with Thomas, but
generally come from around two centuries later. Conversely, Gnostic literature
begins at roughly the same time as the composition of Thomas, but as Turner
quipped, ‘aeons and syzygies are conspicuous by their absence’ from Thomas.88
As already noted, Thomas cannot be assigned to any particular group. There are
some early Christian works which are both contemporaneous with Thomas,
and in which quite similar moves are made (although their differences also
need to be borne in mind). The Gospel of Philip shares a number of themes in
common, and probably quotes Thomas. The Dialogue of the Saviour is also close
in many respects. The Epistle of Ptolemy to Flora and Justin Martyr also share
some similar interpretative strategies, as does the Treatise on the Resurrection.
On some key themes, Philo offers important parallels. The Epistle of Barnabas
is usually dated either to the end of the first century or to the second quarter of
the second century, and its treatments of Jewish institutions such as sabbath,
circumcision and temple bear comparison with Thomas. These works will be
seen to be especially useful, alongside others, in the course of the commentary
below.
86 ‘I view Paul as a coherent thinker, despite the unsystematic nature of his thought and the
variations in formulation’ (Paul and Palestinian Judaism, 433).
87 Marjanen, ‘Is Thomas a Gnostic Gospel?’ 133; cf. Davies, Gospel of Thomas and Christian
Wisdom, 3: ‘although Thomas is by no means a systematic document, it does have a
comprehensible set of ideas.’
168 chapter 10
Appended Note: Is Thomas “Gnostic”?
Any scholar writing on Thomas must give at least some answer to the ques-
tion of whether Thomas is to be considered as ‘Gnostic’. The previous section
has gone a long way towards indicating the answer offered in this book, but
a more direct response can also be given. The debate on this matter is an old
one, dating back even to the earliest analyses of the Oxyrhynchus fragments.89
After the discovery of the Coptic text, a great many scholars used this clas-
sification.90 Some stated the point in fairly unambiguous terms; others, then
as now, identified a more primitive form of Thomas which was later overlaid
with Gnostic redaction;91 others have posited a non-Gnostic Greek version
which later became Gnostic in the hands of the Coptic translator.92 There have
always been dissenting voices, however. Quispel remarked early on that ‘the
mind of Pseudo-Thomas was not gnostic, but encratitic’,93 and DeConick also
strongly resists a Gnostic characterization.94 Marjanen’s substantial discussion
also answers our question in the negative.95
The question of whether Thomas is Gnostic of course depends upon one’s
definition of Gnosticism.96 One way of dealing with the question at a stroke,
however, is to say that there is no such thing as the Gnosticism of which
Thomas is sometimes alleged to be a part. In 1995, Michael Williams launched
a devastating attack on the modern construct of ‘Gnosticism’, arguing that it
is unhelpful for the purposes of scholarly classification of ancient texts.97 In
particular, Williams sought to show that the conventional cluster of motifs
associated with Gnosticism (protest exegesis, rejection of the world, hatred of
the body, etc.) cannot be found together as easily as has often been supposed.
Karen King’s What is Gnosticism? goes further both in its refusal to group texts
89 In Grenfell & Hunt, The Oxyrhynchus Papyri: Part IV, 12, the ‘Gnostic’ character of both
P. Oxy. I 1 and IV 654 is discussed.
90 For a long list, see Marjanen, ‘Is Thomas a Gnostic Gospel?’, 107.
91 See Puig, Un Jesús desconocido, for the most recent example of this approach.
92 Pearson, Ancient Gnosticism, 267.
93 Quispel, ‘The Gospel of Thomas and the Gospel of the Hebrews’, 371–372. Grobel, ‘How
Gnostic is the Gospel of Thomas?’, 367–373, was already similarly sceptical. Richardson,
‘The Gospel of Thomas: Gnostic or Encratite?’, 65–76, prefers ‘Encratite’, though does not
exclude some Gnostic leanings.
94 See e.g. DeConick, Original Gospel of Thomas in Translation, 4.
95 Marjanen, ‘Is Thomas a Gnostic Gospel?’.
97 Williams, Rethinking “Gnosticism”.
together along traditional lines, and also in its emphasis on how Christian
theological concerns have meant that Gnosticism is not only inaccurate as a
category but also ideologically loaded and pernicious.98
Can anything be salvaged from this wreckage? In fact, despite these protests,
there has been a somewhat neglected or unjustly criticized line of scholarship
which has argued that, irrespective of whether ‘Gnosticism’ has any validity as
a modern typological construct, it is clear that (1) ‘Gnostics’ is a designation
reserved in the earliest sources (both Christian and pagan) for an identifiable
group or cluster of groups; (2) these Gnostics are exclusive of a number of other
groups seen as heretical by the Fathers (Valentinians, and others whom one
might expect to be included, are in fact not), and (3) this is not merely an ironic
label given by the heresiologists, but a self-identification.99
First, the Gnostics are a specifically identifiable group generally known by
this name. The Gnostics constitute—to use the language of Irenaeus, Porphyry
and Eusebius—a particular hairesis.100 Irenaeus talks of ‘the so-called “Gnos-
tic” hairesis’.101 Edwards comments that, since it is ‘so-called’, the name ‘Gnostic’
is obviously a conventional one.102 Hippolytus’s language shows that he has
formed the same judgment independently, referring to the Gnostics as consti-
tuting a ‘school’ (σχολή), just as did the followers of Cerinthus, and the Ebion-
ites.103
98 K.L. King, What is Gnosticism? (Cambridge, MA: Harvard/ Belknap Press, 2003). Williams,
Rethinking “Gnosticism”, 51–52, develops the category of ‘biblical demiurgical traditions’
which he argues avoids many of the pitfalls associated with the category of ‘Gnosticism’,
but which in fact ‘would include a large percentage of the sources that today are usually
called “Gnostic”’ (52). King argues that Williams thus effectively lets in all the old problems
through the back door (What is Gnosticism, 214–216).
99 For this line, see especially Edwards, ‘Gnostics and Valentinians in the Church Fathers’;
idem, ‘Neglected Texts in the Study of Gnosticism’, JTS 41 (1990), 26–50; idem, ‘Gnostic Eros
and Orphic Themes’, ZPE 88 (1991), 25–40; B. Layton, ‘Prolegomena to the Study of Gnos-
ticism’, in L.M. White & O.L. Yarbrough, eds. The Social World of the First Christians: Essays
in Honor of Wayne Meeks (Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 1995), 334–350. Similarly, more
recently, D. Brakke, The Gnostics: Myth, Ritual, and Diversity in Early Christianity (Cam-
bridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2012). I am particularly indebted in the discussion
here to Mark Edwards’ pair of JTS articles.
100 Layton, ‘Prolegomena’, 338, in reference to Irenaeus, AH 1.11.1, and the Gnostics as αἱρετικοί
in Life of Plotinus 16. Cf. also Eusebius, HE 4.7.9, though Eusebius is, by his own admission,
dependent upon Irenaeus.
101 Irenaeus, AH 1.11.1: ἡ λεγομένη Γνωστικὴ αἵρεσις.
103 Ref. 7.35.1: Theodotus derived his views ἐκ τῆς τῶν Γνωστικῶν καὶ Κερίνθου καὶ Ἐβίωνος
σχολῆς.
170 chapter 10
Secondly, this hairesis is (perhaps surprisingly) narrowly defined. Irenaeus’s

first references clearly distinguish between Valentinians and Gnostics. Valenti-
nus derived his own doctrine by adapting that of the so-called ‘Gnostic’
heresy:104 Valentinus theorizes similarly to those falsely named Gnostics who
will be discussed separately by Irenaeus later on in Against Heresies.105 The
Valentinians attempted to be ‘more Gnostic than the Gnostics’, and as such are
clearly distinct from them.106
On the other hand, Irenaeus’s Carpocratians are Gnostics (AH 1.25.6). Also
properly deserving of the name are those Barbelo-Gnostics whose principal
doctrines are contained in the famous myth (1.29), and those called Ophites,
Sethians and Cainites by the later rubricator (AH 1.30–31). As such, the Γνω-
στικοί do not include Valentinians, Simon Magus, or the followers of Marcus
Magus.107 Edwards’ conclusion about Irenaeus is surely correct: the term Gnos-
tic refers to ‘a cluster of heresies, loosely bound together by common images
and opinions, but none receiving definitive form in the works of any named
heresiarch’.108 The picture is the same in the rest of Against Heresies, where the
Gnostics are distinguished from the Marcionites and the Valentinians.109 Hip-
polytus also distinguishes the Gnostics from Theodotus, Cerinthus, ‘Ebion’ and
Elchasai.110 Harnack had already noted Hippolytus’s distinction of the Gnos-
tics, Marcion and Valentinus.111 Edwards demonstrates further that the term
in Tertullian, Clement and Origen also has a particular rather than general
104 Irenaeus AH 1.11.1: ab ea quae dicitur gnostica haeresis antiquas in suum characterem
doctrinas transferens / ἀπὸ τῆς λεγομένης Γνωστικῆς αἱρέσεως τὰς ἀρχὰς εἰς ἴδιον χαρακτῆρα
διδασκαλείου μεθαρμόσας.
105 Irenaeus AH 1.11.1: similiter his qui dicentur a nobis falsi nominis Gnostici / ἐδογμάτισεν
ὁμοίως τοῖς ῥηθησομένοις ὑφ᾿ ἡμῶν ψευδονύμοις Γνωστικοῖς.
106 1.11.5: gnosticorum magis gnostici / γνωστικῶν γνωστικῶτεροι. R.P. Casey, ‘The Study of
Gnosticism’, JTS 36 (1935), 45–60 (49), is correct on this point.
107 Edwards, ‘Gnostics and Valentinians’, 30
109 Casey, ‘The Study of Gnosticism’, 50, citing AH 1.5.1, 3; 3.2.7; 4.51.3; he does not consider
Irenaeus to be entirely consistent, however; cf. A. Rousseau & L. Doutreleau, ‘Note sur
l’emploi du terme γνωστικός dans le Livre I’, in Irénée de Lyon: Contre les hérésies I/1 (Paris:
Cerf, 1965), 299–300.
110 Edwards, ‘Gnostics and Valentinians’, 32: Hippolytus imitates Irenaeus’ ‘attention to the
language of his antagonists and his meticulously restricted application of their own
terms.’
111 A. Harnack, ‘Zur Quellenkritik der Geschichte des Gnosticismus’, Zeitschrift für die his-
torische Theologie 44/ NF 38 (1874), 143–226 (222).
reference.112 In sum, far from being a general designation for the heretical
massa perditionis, the Γνωστικοί constitute a specific group.
Thirdly, these Gnostics were not only ‘so-called’ by others; they also identi-
fied themselves as such. This is stated not only by the church fathers but also
by Celsus, and is indirectly confirmed by Porphyry. Origen comments: ‘Let it
be admitted that [his usual formula for conceding to Celsus a point of fact]
there are some too who profess to be Gnostics’.113 Logan is therefore right that
Celsus is aware of a specific group who called themselves Gnostics.114 Porphyry
also identified Plotinus’s treatise in Ennead 2.9 as ‘Against the Gnostics’ (Life of
Plotinus 5; 16). It is unlikely that Porphyry got the title from orthodox Chris-
tian critics of the Gnostics; he would more probably have heard it from the
members of the hairesis themselves. In this, again, the Platonists agree with
the fathers. According to Irenaeus, the Carpocratians call themselves Gnos-
tics.115 Hippolytus notes three times that the Naassenes identify themselves this
way.116 Similarly Clement, who also names the disciples of a specific individual
(Prodicus) as those who took this name.117
What is the theological profile of these Gnostics? Here one sees a clear
convergence in how Irenaeus’s Barbelo-Gnostics, Hippolytus’s Naassenes and
Plotinus’s Gnostics answer questions of the nature of the creator god and his
creation. In the myth of Against Heresies 1.29, the being who created the world
contains Ignorance and Presumption. He created Evil, Jealousy, Envy, Discord
and Desire. After this, his mother Sophia retires, saddened, to the upper realms.
Thus the demiurge, finding himself alone, can declare in the language of the
Old Testament that he alone is god and there is no other beside him. A passage
from the Naassene Sermon in Hippolytus illustrates a very similar stance: ‘They
(the souls) were borne down into this murky fabrication (πλάσμα) in order that
they might be enslaved to Esaldaeus, the Demiurge of this creation (κτίσεως),
a fiery god, the fourth in number.’118 Again, we have creation left alone in the
112 Edwards, ‘Gnostics and Valentinians’, 33, 33–34, 34 respectively.

113 Contra Celsum 5.61 (τινες καὶ ἐπαγγελλόμενοι εἶναι Γνωστικοί), tr. Chadwick. Both Chadwick
and the editions of the Contra Celsum by Koetschau (GCS) and Borret (Sources Chréti-
ennes) identify the words here as from Celsus.
114 Logan, The Gnostics, 11, 45.
115 AH 1.25.6: Gnosticos se autem vocant. On this point, see Edwards, ‘Gnostics and Valentini-
ans’, 28.
116 Ref. 5.2; 5.6.4; 5.11; cf. 5.23.3, where the disciples of Justin call themselves Gnostics. See
Edwards, ‘Gnostics and Valentinians’, 31.
118 Ref. 5.7.30. Translation from Edwards, ‘Gnostics and Valentinians’, 36, and note also
Edwards’s comment on the passage there.
172 chapter 10
hands of an unsavoury deity. For Porphyry, Plotinus’s Gnostics can be glossed

as ‘those who say that the Demiurge of the world is evil and that the world is
evil’.119 This reflects the account of Plotinus, who is horrified that ‘they reproach
this universe … and blame the one who governs this universe’.120 Plotinus is very
concerned to note how the Gnostics part company with Plato on this matter.
There is also, however, a marked difference between the Gnostics and the
monistic conception of the Valentinians, especially in the Valentinian hymn,
whose idea that spirit, ether, air, soul and flesh constitute a continuum ‘would
have perplexed and disgusted a Naassene’.121
In summary, then, there is an identifiable cluster of groups called ‘the Gnos-
tics’ both by members of such groups themselves, as well as conventionally by
others. The Gnostics are marked off from other schools such as the Ebionites
and Valentinians, and this not through heresiological fiat but because of a dis-
tinctive theological profile.
Two criticisms of this approach (specifically addressed to Layton, though
more widely applicable) should be noted. King has criticised Layton on the
grounds that, having given a definition of what constitutes a Gnostic text, he
does not explain how he would categorize other works—an unfair criticism.122
She also remarks that with Layton’s approach, ‘we could end up back where
we started’, that is, with the bugbear of essentialism. We could in theory, but
we need not, and with Layton’s and Edwards’ approach we actually do not.123
Secondly, Williams has responded that a difficulty lies in the lack of any first-
hand evidence for ‘Gnostic’ as a self-designation, and this despite the mass of
texts now available from Nag Hammadi. As Layton and Tuckett note, however,
many of the writings in question deal with mythologized history, and so do
not tend to discuss contemporaneous groups.124 Additionally, Williams him-
self appears to concede two crucial points. First, he refrains from concluding
119 Cf. the title of Ennead 2.9, ‘Against the Gnostics’, given in Life of Plotinus 5 and 16, with
the longer title given in Life 24. On the evidence of Plotinus, see Edwards, ‘Neglected
Texts’.
120 Enn. 2.9.6: μεμφόμενοι τῷδε τῷ παντὶ καὶ τὴν πρὸς τὸ σῶμα κοινωνίαν τῇ ψυχῇ αἰτιώμενοι καὶ
τὸν διοικοῦντα τόδε τὸ πᾶν ψέγοντες … .
121 Edwards, ‘Gnostics and Valentinians’, 41. The reference is Ref. 6.36.7.
122 King, What is Gnosticism, 168.
123 King, What is Gnosticism, 15: this follows on from the criticism that Layton’s approach
is ‘compatible with the essentializing approaches of origins and typology’. Even if it is
‘compatible’ with it, does it necessitate it?
124 Layton, ‘Prolegomena’, 344; cf. Tuckett, The Gospel of Mary, 47. The Testimony of Truth is
an exception, with its various references to sects.
whether Rousseau & Doutreleau or Brox is correct about the patristic use of
‘Gnostic’, because he is concerned with the modern category of ‘Gnosticism’: ‘If
Irenaeus does essentially limit the designation “gnostics” to a specific sect, as
Rousseau and Doutreleau contend, then his testimony at least offers no sup-
port for the modern inclusion of other groups such as the Valentinians under
the rubric “gnosticism” on the basis of self-designation.’125 Second, Clement of
Alexandria’s use of the designation ‘gnostic’, he says, is suggestive: ‘In spite of
the irony, the example of Clement’s use of the term does enhance the credibil-
ity of reports that it was used by certain others.’126 Neither Williams nor King,
then, lands a real blow against the idea that ‘Gnostic’ was a self-designation and
label for a ‘congeries’ of ‘related sects’.127
Against this background, it is hard to make a case for Thomas as Gnos-
tic, principally because it does not have a clearly demiurgic account of cre-
ation.128 GTh 85 recounts that ‘Adam came into being from a great power and
a great wealth’: the designation ‘a great power and a great wealth’ is undoubt-
edly a positive characterisation of the creative power(s) or originating princi-
ple(s) behind Adam, and it is likely that we are dealing with an earthly Adam
here given his unworthiness and fall to death in the rest of GTh 85.129 Marja-
nen may also be right that GTh 89, with its reference to the one who made
both the inside and the outside of the cup, is a positive statement about God
as creator, though the saying is more opaque. In any case, the account of
Adam having originated from a clearly positive force is good evidence against
Thomas being a Gnostic production. As we have seen, however, this is not the
end of the story: as Logan comments, Thomas ‘does not appear to be orig-
inally Gnostic, although it can easily be, and in its present form undoubt-
edly was, appropriated and reinterpreted by Gnostics’.130 The Naassenes are
125 Williams, Rethinking “Gnosticism”, 37. N. Brox, ‘Γνωστικοί als Häresiologischer Terminus’,
ZNW 5 (1966), 105–114, considers Irenaeus rather more liberal in his application of the
term.
126 Williams, Rethinking “Gnosticism”, 271 n. 6.
128 Cf. A.D. DeConick’s criticisms of the Gnostic hypothesis along similar lines: see Chapter 1
(‘The Problem: Is Thomas Gnostic?’) in Seek to See Him: Ascent and Vision Mysticism in the
Gospel of Thomas (VCSupps 33; Leiden: Brill, 1996), 3–27.
129 It is less likely that GTh 77 refers to Jesus as the creator in a traditional biblical sense:
see commentary on the logion below. GTh 12 has a reference to creation (James is one
‘for whom heaven and earth came into being’), but the reference here is highly formulaic.
Marjanen, ‘Is Thomas a Gnostic Gospel?’, 117–118, principally makes use of this saying, and
GTh 89.
130 Logan, The Gnostics, 69.
174 chapter 10
a very early, indeed perhaps the first, example of the Gnostic use of Thomas.
Moreover, Thomas has probably been influenced by some Gnostic or related
ideas.
What of a milder designation for Thomas, such as ‘proto-gnostic’131 or
‘reflecting an incipient gnosticism’?132 In fact, these labels are highly question-
able. In another context, Quentin Skinner has trenchantly attacked the ‘his-
torical absurdity’ which results from the anachronistic tendency to see earlier
writers as ‘anticipating’ later positions: ‘As the historian duly sets out in quest of
the idea he has characterized, he is very readily led to speak as if the fully devel-
oped form of the doctrine was always in some sense immanent in history, even
if various thinkers failed to “hit upon” it …’.133 The same problem can arise if we
conclude that Thomas is not Gnostic, but then ask how far advanced Thomas
is on the way to Gnosticism.134 It is legitimate to draw comparisons between
Thomas and Gnosticism, but not to see the former as a staging post along the
way to the latter, especially if the view of Thomas’s date set out in § 7 above is
correct: in this case, Thomas in its final form may post-date the emergence of
Gnosticism.
In fact, it is very difficult to align Thomas very closely with any particu-
lar movement. As has been noted above, since Thomas was included in Nag
Hammadi Codex II, it might have been amenable to Valentinian usage. It does
not, however, correspond to Valentinian theology so closely that it can actu-
ally be categorised as a Valentinian product.135 Again, it is difficult to classify
Thomas easily as Encratite. On one standard definition, Encratism involves ‘cer-
tain ascetic practices such as abstinence from sexual intercourse, meat and
wine’:136 Thomas may have a negative valuation of the first of these, but on the
other hand is very tolerant on matters of diet (GTh 14). Or again, if one uses as
131 B.L. Mack, The Lost Gospel: The Book of Q and Christian Origins (San Francisco: Harper,
1993), 183.
132 R.W. Funk, The Five Gospels: What did Jesus Really Say? The Search for the Authentic Words
of Jesus (San Francisco: HarperOne, 1996), 501.
133 Q. Skinner, ‘Meaning and Understanding in the History of Ideas’, History and Theory 8
(1969), 3–53 (10, and 7–11 in general).
134 Marjanen answers the question of whether Thomas is Gnostic in the negative, but remarks
that Thomas’s views ‘have moved a long way from the view of Jewish wisdom tradition
toward a Gnostic conception’ (‘Is Thomas a Gnostic Gospel?’, 139). Cf. Skinner, ‘Meaning
and Understanding’, 12.
135 Marjanen notes L. Cerfaux and B. Gärtner as proponents of this view, and rightly com-
ments that they have not been found persuasive (Marjanen, ‘Is Thomas a Gnostic Gospel?’,
109 n. 9).
136 Richardson, ‘The Gospel of Thomas: Gnostic or Encratite?’, 66.
a criterion the account of the Encratites in Irenaeus (AH 1.28.1), there are com-
monalities, such as a pessimistic view of Adam (cf. GTh 85); on the other hand,
Irenaeus also attributes to Tatian and his followers ‘a system of certain invisible
aeons’ which is by no means clearly evident in Thomas.137 Part of the fascina-
tion of Thomas is that it was apparently acceptable to such a wide variety of
different groups (Gnostics, Manichees, etc.), and yet is so difficult to pin down
in terms of its origins and of any genuinely close alignment with other known
works and movements.
137 The negative view of Adam which Irenaeus sees as distinctive to Tatian is not actually so
unique: cf. Hyp. Arch. 91,3–7: ‘They turned to their Adam and took him and expelled him
from the garden along with his wife; for they have no blessing, since they too are beneath
the curse.’ The Second Treatise of the Great Seth also includes Adam in its list of laughable
OT figures: ‘For Adam was a laughingstock, since he was made a counterfeit type of man
by the Hebdomad, as if he had become stronger than I and my brothers. We are innocent
with respect to him, since we have not sinned’ (62,27–34).
chapter 11
Thomas, the New Testament

and the Historical Jesus1
The reason why Thomas has attracted so much attention (more attention
than, for example, the Gospel of Philip or the Gospel of Mary) is because it
is sometimes considered to be a source about Jesus additional to the New
Testament. It might even be considered an alternative to the NT Gospels.
This is not the place for a full treatment of the question; the aim here is
to sketch the main issues. Thomas has attracted wildly divergent opinions
about its importance for the study of the historical Jesus. On the one hand,
Beare commented early on that ‘it would be sheer delusion to imagine that
any substantial increase in our scanty knowledge of the Jesus of history will
ever be gained from Thomas or from any of the new Gnostic documents.’2 By
1 Bibliography: This covers only a fraction of the massive bibliography on this subject: Jeremias,
The Unknown Sayings of Jesus; B.D. Chilton, ‘The Gospel according to Thomas as a Source of
Jesus’ Teaching’, in D. Wenham, ed. Jesus Tradition outside the Gospels (Sheffield: JSOT, 1984),
155–175; W.D. Stroker, ‘Extracanonical Parables and the Historical Jesus’, Semeia 44 (1988), 95–
120; S.J. Patterson, ‘The Gospel of Thomas and the Historical Jesus: Retrospectus and Prospec-
tus’, SBLSP (1990), 614–636; Crossan, The Historical Jesus; Patterson, The Gospel of Thomas
and Jesus; Schröter, Erinnerung an Jesu Worte; Tuckett, ‘The Gospel of Thomas: Evidence for
Jesus?’; Sevrin, ‘Thomas, Q et le Jésus de l’ histoire’; Aune, ‘Assessing the Historical Value of
the Apocryphal Jesus Traditions’; S.J. Patterson, ‘The Gospel of Thomas and Historical Jesus
Research’, in L. Painchaud & P.-H. Poirier, eds. Coptica—Gnostica—Manichaica. Mélanges
offerts à Wolf-Peter Funk (BCNH 7; Louvain: Peeters, 2006), 663–684; C.L. Quarles, ‘The Use of
the Gospel of Thomas in the Research on the Historical Jesus of John Dominic Crossan’, CBQ
69 (2007), 517–607; N. Perrin, ‘Recent Trends in Gospel of Thomas Research (1991–2006): Part I,
The Historical Jesus and the Synoptic Gospels’, Currents in Biblical Research 5 (2007), 183–206;
Gianotto, ‘Il Vangelo secondo Tommaso e il problema storico di Gesù’, 68–93 (esp. 86–93);
E.K. Broadhead, ‘The Thomas-Jesus Connection’, in S.E. Porter & T. Holmén, eds. Handbook for
the Study of the Historical Jesus (Leiden: Brill, 2011), III.2059–2080; S.J. Patterson, ‘The Gospel of
Thomas and the Historical Jesus’, in A.F. Gregory & C.M. Tuckett, eds. The Oxford Handbook to
the Early Christian Apocrypha (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015); S.J. Gathercole, ‘Early
Christian Apocrypha and the Historical Jesus: Other Gospels’, in A.F. Gregory & C.M. Tuck-
ett, eds. The Oxford Handbook to the Early Christian Apocrypha (Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 2015); Nordsieck, Das Thomas-Evangelium, is the most sustained attempt to argue con-
sistently for the historicity of Thomas’s sayings in a commentary.
2 F.W. Beare, ‘Gospel according to Thomas: A Gnostic Manual’, CJT 6 (1960), 102–112 (112).

thomas, the new testament and the historical jesus 177
contrast, Sellew has remarked that ‘the discovery of Thomas in its Coptic form
revolutionised our approach to the historical Jesus question.’3 The situation is
more complex than these stark alternatives, however.4
For example, Quispel and Jeremias took the view—in their scholarly context
of Bultmannian scepticism—that Thomas served as a kind of external corrobo-
ration of the canonical Gospels: ‘the Gospel of Thomas confirms the trustwor-
thiness of the Bible’.5 (Revisionists such as Crossan, however, have also used
extra-canonical literature to multiply the attestation of a particular saying also
found in the Synoptics.) Some have taken the more relativistic position that all
the Gospels, Thomas and the canonical Gospels together, are equally interpre-
tations of Jesus. Franzmann gives voice to this approach in describing her study
of Jesus in the Nag Hammadi codices as ‘a valid investigation of the historical
Jesus since the texts belong to one strand of the many interpretive traditions
about him’.6 A view of a different kind is adopted by Robinson. Despite his great
enthusiasm for the Nag Hammadi literature, he considers understanding of it
essential for the study of Jesus not because its contents supply new information
about Jesus, but because in it we learn how traditions about Jesus developed.7
How might one assess the usefulness of Thomas as a historical source for
Jesus? Theissen and Merz refer to the criteria of (a) independence (§ 11.1), and
(b) historical proximity, when referring to the usefulness of sources.8 Such cri-
teria are widely accepted in historical study, and will serve as a a good starting
point. We will break down (b) historical proximity into two parts below, treat-
ing separately (§11.2) chronological proximity and (§ 11.3) cultural proximity.
After this, we will address two further issues: whether Thomas provides a histor-
ically plausible picture of Jesus overall (§11.4), and finally—at the micro- rather
For similarly negative remarks, see e.g. Bruce, Jesus and Christian Origins outside the New
Testament, 155; Grant & Freedman, Secret Sayings, 20; J.P. Meier, A Marginal Jew, vol. 1.
Rethinking the Historical Jesus: The Roots of the Problem and the Person (New York: Doubleday,
1991), 140–141.
3 Sellew, ‘The Gospel of Thomas: Prospects for Future Research’, 332.
4 See further Gathercole, ‘Early Christian Apocrypha and the Historical Jesus’.
5 G. Quispel, ‘The Gospel of Thomas and the New Testament’, VC 11 (1957), 189–207 (207).
6 M. Franzmann, Jesus in the Nag Hammadi Writings (London/ New York: Continuum, 2004),
21; cf. 207. Patterson, ‘The Gospel of Thomas and Historical Jesus Research’, concludes that all
the gospels contain a kerygma which is based in some sense on Jesus as a theological criterion.
From a very different standpoint, a similar argument is made in Watson, Gospel Writing.
7 J.M. Robinson, ‘The Study of the Historical Jesus after Nag Hammadi’, Semeia 44 (1988), 45–55
(45).
8 G. Theissen & A. Merz, The Historical Jesus: A Comprehensive Guide (London: SCM, 1998),
17–18.
178 chapter 11
than macro-level—whether we might be able to find in Thomas (§ 11.5) more

primitive versions of sayings already known from the Synoptics, or even (§ 11.6)
new sayings.
11.1 Independence
Is Thomas independent of the Synoptic Gospels? If so, then it has the potential
to supplement them, or even—if it can be identified as a superior source—
undercut them. Even if not, Thomas could still do so, but its use would be
considerably diminished, in proportion to the degree of its dependence.
Most agree that there is some degree of influence from the Synoptic Gospels
upon the Coptic text, but some explain this influence as very marginal, and
perhaps simply the result of interference at a late stage in the transmission or
translation of Thomas.9 The following factors, however, suggest that influence
from the Synoptic Gospels is more extensive. (For more detail, see the com-
mentary on the relevant sayings.)
1. Knowledge of Matthew’s Gospel and its status. The most likely explana-
tion of the reference to Matthew in GTh 13 is that he is known to have a
Gospel attributed to him, and a Gospel which has some standing in early
Christianity at the time of Thomas.10
2. Influence of the contents of Matthew. Unfortunately we know nothing
about the particular circumstances of how Thomas came to know the
contents of its sources and influences. Nevertheless, the evidence of Mat-
thean redaction of Mark in Thomas is highly probable, e.g. in GTh 13;
14 and 44.11 In these cases, Thomas has been influenced by the particu-
lar ‘overlay’ which Matthew has added to Markan pericopae. Even more
striking is the notable inclusion in Thomas of the Matthean language
of ‘the kingdom of heaven’, which as Goodacre notes is a very pecu-
liarly Matthean formulation, appearing nowhere in Judaism pre-dating
Matthew, or elsewhere in the New Testament.12 Other more minor pieces
9 Davies, ‘The Use of the Gospel of Thomas in the Gospel of Mark’, 308; Patterson, Gospel of
Thomas and Jesus, 93; Robinson, ‘On Bridging the Gulf from Q to the Gospel of Thomas’,
151. For responses, see esp. Tuckett, ‘Evidence for Jesus?’, 26; Gathercole, Composition,
142–143.
11 See Gathercole, Composition, 168–184; Goodacre, Thomas and the Gospels, 66–81.
12 Goodacre, Thomas and the Gospels, 68–69.
of evidence may be mentioned, such as the word used for weed (ⲍⲓⲍⲁⲛⲓⲟⲛ)
in GTh 57.13
3. Influence of the contents of Luke. Here again, there is evidence for
Thomas’s inclusion of redactional features, this time where Luke has
edited Mark. Perhaps surprisingly, given the popularity of Matthew in
early Christianity, influence of such features from Luke is more apparent
than that from Matthew. The examples here go back even to the influence
of Luke upon the Greek text, in the cases of GTh 5.2 and 31.1, but influ-
ence is also apparent further afield in the Coptic.14 In GTh 33.2–3; 65–66;
and 104, this is particularly noticeable, because Thomas absorbs a Lukan
redactional feature and expands upon it:
Mk 4.21: lamp on the lampstand (also in Matthew)

Lk. 8.16/11.33: lamp on the lampstand so those who go in may see
GTh 33.3: lamp on the lampstand so those who go in and come
out may see
Mk 12.1–9: no instances of ‘perhaps’ (also in Matthew)

Lk. 20.9–17: one instance of ‘perhaps’
GTh 65: two instances of ‘perhaps’
Mk 2.18–20: no reference to prayer (also in Matthew)

Lk. 5.33–35: one reference to prayer
GTh 104: two references to prayer
In these instances in particular, then, we can trace the evolution of sayings

from Mark via Luke to Thomas. Further evidence of Lukan redaction is
visible in GTh 47 and 99. Additional Lukan peculiarities can also be found
in Thomas.15
13 J.P. Meier, ‘The Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds (Matthew 13:24–30): Is Thomas’s
Version (Logion 57) Independent?’ JBL 131 (2012), 715–732 (726–727): ‘This Greek noun
(probably of Semitic origin) does not occur in the LXX, in other Greek versions of the OT,
in secular Greek before the Christian era, or in the Apostolic Fathers. In the NT, it occurs
only in this parable of Matthew and its interpretation.’
14 See Gathercole, Composition, 185–208. See also Gathercole, ‘Luke in the Gospel of Thomas’,
and Goodacre, Thomas and the Gospels, 82–96.
15 See e.g. J.P. Meier, ‘Is Luke’s Version of the Parable of the Rich Fool Reflected in the Coptic
Gospel of Thomas?’, CBQ 74 (2012), 528–547 (544–546), and Goodacre, Thomas and the
Gospels, 89–90, on interior monologue in Luke and GTh 63.
180 chapter 11
4. The influence of Paul.16 This is especially apparent in GTh 53, where

Thomas not only includes words and ideas stemming from Rom. 2.25–3.2,
but also reflects the rhetorical arrangement as a dialogue. Influence is also
apparent probably in GTh 3 and 17.
5. Negatively, the arguments for independence are negligible. Appeals to
lack of agreement in order are irrelevant to the case, and arguments
that there is a lack of verbal correspondence underestimate the extent
of that correspondence; on the difficulty of invoking form-critical rules to
conclude that this or that version of a Synoptic/Thomas saying is more
primitive, see §11.5 below, and the scholarly literature referred to there.
We can return to the question of the extent of dependence. In a previous

study, I examined the twenty sayings where we have parallels between Mark
and Thomas with, alongside those two, either Matthew or Luke. These are
the sayings where it would in principle be possible to detect the influence of
Matthean or Lukan redaction. The result was that in 11 out of 20 cases, Matthean
or Lukan redactional features are evident, leading to the conclusion that there
is significant influence from the Synoptics.17 (With Goodacre’s observations
about the ‘kingdom of heaven’, this number should now include GTh 20, and
is therefore 12 out of 20.) As a result, a view of the independence of Thomas
from the Synoptics is difficult to entertain.
11.2 Historical Proximity (1): Chronological
Some of the factors just mentioned, most notably the influence of Matthew
and Luke, are also of significance for identifying the chronological position
of Thomas in early Christianity. As we have seen in the discussion of dating
(Introduction, §7: ‘Date of Thomas’) above, other factors also suggest a date
in the Antonine era, with c. 135ce as a probable terminus a quo. A late date is
not a decisive factor against historical value,18 but on the other hand it is no
advantage either. There is clearly a difference between a historical time-frame
of within a generation or two of Jesus’ ministry, during which eyewitnesses
16 See further Gathercole, Composition, 227–249, and also idem, ‘The Influence of Paul on
the Gospel of Thomas’, 72–94.
18 Rightly, R.J. Bauckham, ‘The Study of Gospel Traditions Outside the Canonical Gospels:
Problems and Prospects’, in D. Wenham, ed. Gospel Perspectives, vol. 5. The Jesus Tradition
Outside the Gospels (Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1985), 369–403 (370).
were living and active, and—by contrast—a time 100 years or more after Jesus’
ministry, by which time all eyewitnesses were dead. Coupled with the lack of
evidence for independence, the distance of Thomas from Jesus does not inspire
confidence.
11.3 Historical Proximity (2): Cultural
A further problem is that Thomas appears to betray ignorance of the realia of

first-century Palestine. This can be seen from a combination of factors.
First, there are in Thomas few of the social and cultural phenomena which
add verisimilitude to the canonical Gospels. Absent, for example, are detailed
geographical references to villages, rivers and mountains, as perhaps befits a
Gospel more ‘timeless’ in orientation: the only places referred to by Thomas
are ‘the world’ and ‘Judaea’ (‘Israel’ is also perhaps a place in GTh 52, though it
may be the people). Similarly, there are no festivals. These absences certainly
show a lack of interest in such things, but can also lead one to wonder whether
the author knew of them at all.
Second, in addition to the absences is the fact that those social and cultural
features which are included are also found in the NT Gospels, and this may
further imply dependence. For example, the cast of characters in Thomas and
their names are all paralleled in the NT Gospels:
Jesus (Ἰ(ησοῦ)ς, Ἰη(σοῦ)ς, ⲓ(ⲏⲥⲟⲩ)ⲥ, ⲓⲏ(ⲥⲟⲩ)ⲥ, passim)

(Didymus) (Judas) Thomas ([Ἰούδας], Θωμᾶς, ⲇⲓⲇⲩⲙⲟⲥ ⲓ̈ⲟⲩⲇⲁⲥ ⲑⲱⲙⲁⲥ, pro-
logue; ⲑⲱⲙⲁⲥ (13.4, 7, 8 and subscriptio))
James (ⲓ̈ⲁⲕⲱⲃⲟⲥ, 12.2)
Simon Peter (ⲥⲓⲙⲱⲛ ⲡⲉⲧⲣⲟⲥ, 13.2; 114.1)
Matthew (ⲙⲁⲑⲑⲁⲓⲟⲥ, 13.3)
Mary (ⲙⲁⲣⲓϩⲁⲙ, 21.1; 114.1)
*Pharisee (ⲫⲁⲣⲓⲥⲁⲓⲟⲥ, 39.1; 102)
Jew (ⲓ̈ⲟⲩⲇⲁⲓⲟⲥ, 43.3)
John (the Baptist) (ⲓ̈ⲱϩⲁⲛⲛⲏⲥ ⲡⲃⲁⲡⲧⲓⲥⲧⲏⲥ, 46.1 bis; ⲓ̈ⲱϩⲁⲛⲛⲏⲥ, 46.2)
Adam (ⲁⲇⲁⲙ, 46.1; 85.1)
Israel (ⲓⲥⲣⲁⲏⲗ, 52.1)
Samaritan (ⲥⲁⲙⲁⲣⲉⲓⲧⲏⲥ, 60.1)
Salome (ⲥⲁⲗⲱⲙⲏ, 61.2).
*Caesar (ⲕⲁⲓⲥⲁⲣ, 100.1–2 tris)
[*not unambiguously names]

182 chapter 11
These names (in the case of the disciple Thomas’s names, their constituent
elements) are all found in the canonical Gospels, and none suggests a partic-
ularly primitive Semitic origin to Thomas, though the form of Thomas’s name
may reflect a Syrian milieu. Some specific or characteristic Jewish institutions
are mentioned, such as circumcision (GTh 53) and the temple (GTh 71), but
these were well known as Jewish distinctives not only from the NT, but across
the Roman empire.19
Finally, in addition to the absences and perhaps dependent cultural fea-
tures, there are some surprising elements. To return to the names, Thomas’s
references to ‘Mary’ tout simple (GTh 21; 114) are odd: the author senses no
need—as do the canonical Gospels and the Gospel of Philip—to specify which
Mary. Thomas also seems to confuse the enumeration of 24 biblical books with
the number of prophetic authors (GTh 52). In the Render unto Caesar peri-
cope in GTh 100, it is clearly an exaggeration to suppose that a bystander in
the temple would produce an aureus, a gold coin worth 25 times the Synop-
tics’ denarius. These perhaps most clearly give an impression of cultural dis-
tance.
In conclusion, then, (a) the absence of reassuring cultural features, (b) the
widely paralleled examples of those which do appear, and (c) the inconcin-
nities in some cases, do little to lend credence to the idea that the Gospel of
Thomas may be of value as a source for the historical Jesus. As Bruce put it
some time ago, ‘we feel that we are no longer in touch, even remotely, with
the evidence of eyewitnesses.’20 Or, as he comments elsewhere, ‘the historical
and geographical setting—Palestine under the Romans and the Herods around
A.D. 30—has been almost entirely forgotten’.21
11.4 Thomas’s Overall Picture of Jesus
In addition to investigating individual sayings, one might also enquire into

the plausibility of the overall portrait of Jesus in the Gospel of Thomas. The
results here are at best mixed. On the one hand, for some readers, the absence
of miracles might lend credence to Thomas as reliable, non-supernatural tes-
timony. (This rough characterisation of Thomas as non-miraculous is a half-
19 See the survey of material in P. Schäfer, Judeophobia: Attitudes Toward the Jews in the
Ancient World (Cambridge, MA: Harvard, 1997), 93–105 on circumcision, and passim on
the temple.
20 F.F. Bruce, ‘The Gospel of Thomas’, Faith and Thought 92 (1961), 3–23 (21).
21 Bruce, Jesus and Christian Origins outside the New Testament, 155.
truth, however: Jesus does claim some kind of divine incarnation in GTh 28,
cf. also 61; a presence that transcends space in Greek GTh 30, and that he
will destroy the temple in GTh 71. He makes other predictions requiring vary-
ing degrees of supernatural knowledge.) On the other hand, there are con-
siderable difficulties. The overall portrait of a Jesus who dismisses Old Testa-
ment prophecy as ‘dead’, and condemns circumcision (GTh 52–53), and who
speaks in quasi-Platonist terms of the Father’s light image and eternal human
images (GTh 83–84) does seem historically very implausible. The arguments
that Thomas reflects a historical Jesus who was more likely to have been a
Cynic-type sage than an eschatological prophet have not been found convinc-
ing.22
11.5 Thomas as a Source of Primitive Versions of Synoptic Sayings?
Other scholars have insisted on the need to comb the individual logia on a case-
by-case basis for more original versions of known sayings. Many of the argu-
ments for these run aground on their faulty assumptions about form-critical
laws: to invoke form-critical principles in order to conclude that this or that ver-
sion of a Synoptic/ Thomas saying is more primitive is fruitless, because such
form-critical laws simply do not exist.23 To take one example, Thomas’s para-
ble of the Wicked Tenants (GTh 65) is thought by some to be simpler and more
elegant than its canonical parallels, and yet it is very likely to be influenced by
them.24
11.6 Thomas as a Source of New Sayings?
Some have also seen an opportunity to find new non-Synoptic sayings of Jesus
in Thomas. GTh 82 (‘he who is near me is near fire; he who is far from me is far
from the kingdom’) has been a prime candidate. Some have seen as authentic
22 On the former, see e.g. Crossan, Historical Jesus; cf. Taussig, ‘The Gospel of Thomas and
the Case for Jesus the Teacher of Common Wisdom’. Against the anti-eschatological
view, see esp. Tuckett, ‘The Gospel of Thomas: Evidence for Jesus?’, and more extensively,
D.C. Allison, Constructing Jesus: Memory, Imagination, History (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2010),
31–220.
23 On these arguments, see Gathercole, Composition, 129–144; Goodacre, Thomas and the
Gospels, 8–25.
24 See Gathercole, Composition, 188–194, and further bibliography in the commentary below.
184 chapter 11
Thomas’s parable of the Assassin, in which a man drives his sword into a wall
as practice for killing someone, both because of its content but also because
it comes in a block of material (GTh 96–98) containing known traditional
material. (See further commentary below on GTh 82 and 98.) It is certainly
plausible to assume that Thomas might in principle have had access to material,
oral and/ or written, which preserved authentic agrapha.25 The written Gospels
did not replace oral tradition at a stroke, and one must also—as per Luke
1.1—reckon with the continuing existence of non-canonical written sources.
The difficulty in assessing such sayings in Thomas, however, lies not only with
the material itself but also in our scholarly tools, and in our ability to identify
authentic dominical words and deeds on an individual, case-by-case basis. The
‘crisis of criteriology’ which afflicts the study of the canonical Gospels is just as
great in the study of the Apocrypha.26
Conclusion
Overall, the prospects for the use of Thomas in historical Jesus research are slim.
As scholarship currently stands, and with the primary sources that are available
to us at present, the Gospel of Thomas can hardly be regarded as useful in the
reconstruction of a historical picture of Jesus.
25 Hedrick, for example, sees Thomas, the Apocryphon of James, the Dialogue of the Saviour,
and the ‘Egerton’ Gospel, as deriving independently from the same pool of oral tradition
used by the Synoptic Gospels. C.W. Hedrick, ‘The Tyranny of the Synoptic Gospels’, Semeia
44 (1988), 1–8 (5).
26 M.D. Hooker, ‘Christology and Methodology’, NTS 17 (1971), 480–487; D.C. Allison, ‘How
to Marginalize the Traditional Criteria of Authenticity’, in T. Holmén & S.E. Porter, eds.
Handbook for the Study of the Historical Jesus, vol. 1: How to Study the Historical Jesus
(Leiden: Brill, 2011), 3–30.
chapter 12
The Plan of the Commentary
Although it may not have much value for the study of the historical Jesus,
Thomas is, however, a fascinating artefact from the second century, and it
is this artefact which we will explore in more detail in the commentary to
follow.
The commentary proceeds as follows. For each saying, a bibliography is
supplied which aims to provide the reader with the main secondary literature
(leaving aside brief 1–2 page treatments); this does not include extracts from
commentaries. The text (Coptic, and Greek where extant) is provided, in some
cases with a restoration exempli gratia of the Greek, i.e. a speculative text.
This is accompanied by translation(s). The commentary proper comes in three
parts.
(1) Textual Comment. After the texts are presented, any substantial or contro-
versial reconstructions of the text are justified, and the Coptic text is com-
pared with the Oxyrhynchus fragments where the Greek text survives. This
comparison has the overall aim of putting flesh of the bones of the argu-
ments made above in §2 (‘A Comparison of the Greek and Coptic Texts’)
about the transmission of Thomas. That is, while there are some signifi-
cant differences, we are not left with the rather hopeless situation of merely
being able to talk of multiple recensions of Thomas and having to remain
agnostic about the main contours of the earliest version of Thomas. (There
may be no textual comment on a saying where only the Coptic survives and
there has been no controversy over it.) It is usually possible to make a good
case for the Greek or Coptic (usually the Greek) representing in substance
the earlier reading.
(2) Interpretation. This earliest recoverable form of the text is the object of
the interpretation. As noted in the Preface, the main aim of this com-
mentary is to elucidate the meaning of the statements in Thomas in its
second-century context. This stands in contrast to some other commen-
taries, whose aims are rather to explore the pre-history of the text, or inves-
tigate the relative independence and primitivity of sayings in Thomas vis-
à-vis their Synoptic and other parallels. Again, in contrast to some other
commentators, such as Valantasis and Hedrick, the meaning of Thomas can
usually be understood without recourse to what are perhaps anachronis-
tically Derridean appeals to the text’s invitation to play. While the mean-

186 chapter 12
ing of the text may be hidden in some sense, and in some places beyond
recovery, the present commentary is reasonably optimistic about the pos-
sibility in most cases of identifying stable and coherent sense in the logia.
The intention here is not to do this by tying Thomas down to the Pro-
crustean bed of an existing known school of thought, but it does never-
theless identify Thomas as a part of certain tendencies in the second cen-
tury, and sharing ideas in common with other early Christian and other
texts.
(3) Notes. Here some of the technical linguistic issues, catchword links across
sayings, and close parallels in other literature, are discussed, especially
where these support the discussion of the Interpretation.
Commentary

Diacritical System in Greek and Coptic Texts
() for the resolution of an abbreviation1

̣ for the restoration of text (e.g. ν̣) where ink survives but visual ambi-
guity exists2
[] for the restoration of missing text (e.g. [ν]) where no ink survives
[…] indicates missing or illegible text in the manuscript
⟨⟩ for the editorial correction of a mistake or omission
{} for superfluous text written in error by the scribe, which should be
ignored
⟦⟧ indicates text deleted by the scribe or a corrector
‘’ indicates text inserted subsequently above the line by the scribe or a
corrector
Abbreviations and Conventions in the Comments
____ translated text is underlined in the commentary in places where the

Greek text and Coptic version diverge
Co + a later addition in the Coptic text
om. Co text omitted in the Coptic
Footnote Abbreviations
As noted in the Preface, references in the footnotes simply to the names of

particular scholars are references to their commentaries. The commentators
are: DeConick, Grant & Freedman, Grosso, Hedrick, Ménard, Nordsieck, Plisch,
Pokorný and Valantasis.
1 The so-called nomina sacra are left in their abbreviated forms, as they are probably not
merely abbreviations (see Introduction, § 1.1, above). This and other definitions in the list are
indebted to the crisp explanations in CII/P I.xxv, as well as the description of the ‘Leiden’
system referred to in E.G. Turner, Greek Papyri: An Introduction (Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 1968), 70.
2 Therefore even where a letter only partially survives, but only one possibility exists for
restoring the letter, there will be no underdotting. The rationale for this is drawn from
J.M. Robinson, ‘Interim Collations in Codex II and the Gospel of Thomas’, in A. Bareau, ed.
Mélanges d’histoire des religions offerts à Henri-Charles Puech (Paris: Presses Universitaires de
France, 1974) 379–392 (387).
Prologue1
{οι} τοῖοι οἱ λόγοι οἱ [ἀπόκρυφοι οὓς ἐλά]λησεν ιης ὁ ζῶν κ[αταγράφοντος

Ἰούδα τοῦ] καὶ Θωμᾶ. (Restoration exempli gratia).
These are the [secret] sayings [which] the living Jesus [spo]ke, [as Judas]
Thomas w[rote them down].
ⲛⲁⲉⲓ ⲛⲉ ⲛ̄ϣⲁϫⲉ ⲉⲑⲏⲡ⳿ ⲉⲛⲧⲁ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ⲉⲧⲟⲛϩ ϫⲟⲟⲩ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲁϥⲥϩⲁⲓ̈ⲥⲟⲩ ⲛ̄ϭⲓ ⲇⲓⲇⲩⲙⲟⲥ
ⲓ̈ⲟⲩⲇⲁⲥ ⲑⲱⲙⲁⲥ
These are the secret sayings which the living Jesus spoke, and Didymus Judas
Thomas wrote them down.
1 Bibliography for Prologue: A.F.J. Klijn, ‘John XIV 22 and the Name Judas Thomas’, in (no
editor), Studies in John. Presented to Professor J.N. Sevenster on the Occasion of his Seven-
tieth Birthday (Leiden: Brill, 1970), 88–96; M. Lelyveld, Les Logia de la vie dans l’Évangile
selon Thomas: À la recherche d’une tradition et d’une rédaction (Leiden: Brill, 1987), 132–
137; R. Trevijano Etcheverría, ‘Santiago el Justo y Tomás el Mellizo (Evangelio de Tomás,
Log. 12 y 13)’, Salmanticensis 40 (1993), 97–119 (112–116); R. Uro, Thomas: Seeking the Histori-
cal Context of the Gospel of Thomas (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 2003), 10–15; M.W. Meyer, ‘The
Beginning of the Gospel of Thomas’, in idem, Secret Gospels: Essays on the Gospel of Thomas
and the Secret Gospel of Mark (Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press International, 2003), 39–53 (41–
45); A. Pasquier & F. Vouga, ‘Le genre littéraire et la structure argumentative de l’Évangile
selon Thomas et leurs implications christologiques’, in L. Painchaud & P.-H. Poirier, eds.
Colloque internationale: “L’ Évangile selon Thomas et les textes de Nag Hammadi”. Québec,
29–31 mai 2003 (Leuven: Peeters, 2007), 335–362 (341–346); M. Janssen, ‘“Evangelium des
Zwillings?” Das Thomasevangelium als Thomas-Schrift’, in J. Frey, J. Schröter & E.E. Pop-
kes, eds. Das Thomasevangelium: Entstehung—Rezeption—Theologie (BZNW 157; Berlin: Wal-
ter de Gruyter, 2008), 222–250; P. Nagel, ‘Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 654, 1–5 und der Prolog des
Thomasevangeliums’, ZNW 101 (2010), 267–293; W. Eisele, Welcher Thomas? Studien zur Text-
und Überlieferungsgeschichte des Thomasevangeliums (WUNT; Tübingen: Mohr, 2010), 47–
69.
190 prologue
Textual Comment
It seems likely that the first οι in P. Oxy. IV 654 is a mistake (so Grenfell and
Hunt);2 also possible are οἷτοι οἱ {οι} λόγοι3 and ο⟨ὗ⟩τοι οἱ {οι} λόγοι.4 This last
has the advantage of being the most natural Greek, but on the other hand
it requires two distinct emendations. It is possible that there is another mis-
take in the spelling Θωμα, which could be a scribal error, a spelling influenced
by the Syriac thwmʾ / tʾwmʾ (as in the Jn 14.22 OS), or a simple orthographic
variant given the frequency of omitted sigmas in the papyri;5 the alternative
is to take ‘Thomas’ as an indirect object in the dative,6 or as part of a geni-
tive absolute clause (suggested above, though merely speculatively); another
possibility is that Θωμα is the nominative form.7 There is no clearly preferable
option.
The Coptic is unproblematic, and corresponds roughly to what survives of
the Greek. There is one clear divergence, in Thomas’s name: there is not room in
the Greek for ‘Didymus Judas Thomas’ as in the Coptic. The form in the Greek,
probably ‘[Judas] Thomas’ is widely attested, especially in Syrian literature (see
2 B.P. Grenfell & A.S. Hunt, The Oxyrhynchus Papyri: Part IV (London: Egypt Exploration Fund,
1904), 3. Although it might seem unlikely to have a mistake so early in the copying process,
see the parallel instances noted in T. Wasserman, ‘The “Son of God” was in the Beginning’, JTS
62 (2011), 20–50 (45–47).
3 H.W. Attridge, ‘Appendix: The Greek Fragments’, in B. Layton, ed. Nag Hammadi Codex II,2–7.
Together with XIII,2*, Brit. Lib. Or.4926(1), and P. Oxy. 1, 654, 655. Volume One: Gospel according
to Thomas, Gospel according to Philip, Hypostasis of the Archons, and Indexes (NHS 20; The
Coptic Gnostic Library; Leiden: Brill, 1989), 95–128 (113).
4 So H.G. Evelyn White, The Sayings of Jesus from Oxyrhynchus (Cambridge: Cambridge Univer-
sity Press, 1920), 1.
5 See E. Mayser, Grammatik der griechischen Papyri aus der Ptolemäerzeit. Band 1: Laut- und
Wortlehre (Berlin/ Leipzig: Walter de Gruyter, 1923), 205–207.
6 Hofius and Eisele have sought to avoid presuming an error and—in part on the basis of
the scene in Jn 20.26–29—suppose a dative, and give κ[αὶ ὀφθεῖς Ἰούδᾳ τῷ] καὶ Θωμᾷ. See
O. Hofius, ‘Das koptische Thomasevangelium und die Oxyrhynchus Papyri nr 1,654 und 655’,
EvTh 20 (1960), 21–42, 182–192 (24); Eisele, Welcher Thomas, 57. In addition to the difficulty
of reconstructing on the basis of a Johannine event, Nagel, ‘Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 654’, 279–
280, notes that this reconstruction yields a rather short line. He supplies another option,
again on the basis of a number of parallels: κ[αὶ ἔδωκεν Ἰούδᾳ τῷ] καὶ Θωμᾷ. See Nagel,
‘Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 654’, 290 (for parallels to ‘giving words’) and 293 for his reconstruc-
tion.
7 See e.g. Introduction, 3.10 above: κατὰ Θωμᾶ (at least in the Migne edition), where, if the
edition is correct, the form Θωμᾶ is apparently indeclinable.
prologue 191
Introduction, §6.1 above), hence the restoration here;8 it is probably the earlier
form of the name in the text of the Prologue.9 Eisele exaggerates the difference
between the Greek and Coptic in his view that the Coptic turns Thomas into
a co-author:10 it assumes that we know what the Greek says (and that it says
something markedly different from the Coptic), and secondly, it confuses the
roles of scribe and author.
Given the fragmentary nature of the Greek, the Coptic must be the primary
basis for the interpretation, except where Thomas’s name is concerned.
Interpretation
These opening words are more a prologue than an incipit, the latter suggesting
a superscript title in the manuscript (‘here begins the Gospel of Thomas’).11
This prologue is part of a larger set of introductory statements (including GTh
1–2) which lay out the character of the book, the salvation that comes from
understanding it, and what will happen to the ideal reader of this Gospel. It
reflects the second-century emphases on Jesus as both a teacher of sayings (see
Introduction, §9: ‘The Genre of Thomas’), and a revealer of secret truth (cf. the
Gospel of Mary and the Gospel of Judas).
The principal interpretative questions here are (a) the fictional setting of
the Gospel, (b) the implications of the sayings being ‘hidden’, and (c) what this
Prologue says about the genre of Thomas.
First, the question of whether the setting of the Gospel is pre- or post-
resurrection has divided scholars: some have seen in the epithet ‘living’ an
implication of a post-Easter setting,12 but this is not a necessary consequence,
and the content of the Gospel suggests otherwise.13 Presumably, we are to
8 Eisele’s ‘Didymus Thomas’ (Welcher Thomas, 265) is less well attested.

9 Rightly, T. Ricchuiti, ‘Tracking Thomas: A Text-Critical Look at the Transmission of the
Gospel of Thomas’, in D.B. Wallace, ed. Revisiting the Corruption of the New Testament:
Manuscript, Patristic, and Apocryphal Evidence (Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2011), 189–228 (199).
10 Eisele, Welcher Thomas, 65.
11 Rightly W.H.C. Frend, ‘The Gospel of Thomas: Is Rehabilitation Possible?’, JTS 18 (1967),
13–26 (13 n. 5): ‘preamble’. Pace Meyer, ‘Beginning of the Gospel’, 43. Still less do the
Prologue and GTh 1 together form a ‘title’ (so Plisch, 40).
12 Grant & Freedman, 118 (‘undoubtedly the risen Lord’); more cautiously, Hedrick, 19.
13 Plisch, 39, opts for a pre-easter setting. Despite the usage in the NT, the designation
‘living’ in Thomas is perhaps not best understood as ‘risen from the dead’: see notes
below.
192 prologue
imagine Thomas as present throughout (cf. GTh 13) and recording the ministry
either at the time or later. This has parallels in both the Book of Thomas the
Contender as well as the much later Gospel of Barnabas.14
Second, there is the nature of the secrecy, of which there are two main views.
(1) Are the sayings themselves secret, i.e. not for a general audience, but only for
initiates?15 Or (2), is it the meaning of the sayings which is secret?16 (3) It may be
possible that both are in view.17 The solution is difficult. (1) is perhaps the more
natural interpretation of the wording: the similar opening of the Gospel of Judas
clearly has this sense (cf. also Gos. Mary 10,4–6; Gos. Eg. III 68,1–9); Thomas’s
pearls-before-swine saying may support it (GTh 93), as might other statements
(GTh 13; 38; 92). In favour of (2), on the other hand, is the fact that many of these
sayings are not secret: some are known in the Synoptic Gospels,18 and some
non-Synoptic material is ‘public’, indeed in one place a crowd is mentioned
(GTh 79).19 Also in favour of (2) is the fact that in GTh 1 (and 2) the stress is on
finding the interpretation of the sayings. These two points make interpretation
(2) the more attractive option. The sayings in Thomas thus often have a hidden
sense, which needs to be uncovered.
Thirdly, the question of genre has already been discussed more fully in the
Introduction (§9: ‘The Genre of Thomas’) above. What is evident specifically
14 Thom. Cont. 138,1–4: ‘The secret words which the Saviour spoke to Judas Thomas which
I, even I, Mathaias, wrote down, while I was walking, listening to them speak with one
another.’ Cf. Gos. Barn. 19.1: ‘And having said this Jesus sighed, saying: “O Lord, what thing is
this? For I have chosen twelve, and one of them is a devil.” The disciples were sore grieved
at this word; whereupon he who writes secretly questioned Jesus with tears, saying: “O
master, will Satan deceive me, and shall I then become reprobate?”’ Tr. in L. Ragg & L. Ragg,
The Gospel of Barnabas (Oxford: Clarendon, 1907), 37, 39.
15 S.J. Patterson, The Gospel of Thomas and Jesus (Sonoma, CA: Polebridge, 1993), 123; DeCon-
ick, 46; Plisch, 37.
16 E. Haenchen, Die Botschaft des Thomas-Evangeliums (Berlin: Töpelmann, 1961), 36; S.L.
Davies, The Gospel of Thomas: Annotated and Explained (Woodstock: Skylight, 2002), 2. A
variant on this view is that of Nordsieck, 31, for whom the content, namely the kingdom
of God, is a mystery.
17 Valantasis, 31, 52–53; cf. the ambiguity in Hedrick, 19.
18 T. Baarda, ‘“If you do not sabbatize the Sabbath …”: The Sabbath as God or World in
Gnostic Understanding (Ev. Thom., Log. 27)’, in R. van den Broeck, T. Baarda & J. Mansfeld,
eds. Knowledge of God in the Graeco-Roman World (EPRO 112; Leiden: Brill, 1988), 178–201
(179).
19 Cf. also the dialogues with the disciples, which can hardly be called secret, in GTh 6; 12;
13, etc. (and the sayings where the disciples are not marked, but the addressees are ‘you
plural’, e.g. GTh 19; 23, etc.).
prologue 193
from this saying is that Thomas is both like and unlike the canonical Gospels.
It consists of the words of Jesus which, as GTh 1 will make clear, give life, but
the narrative form of the canonical Gospels is obviously absent; the Prologue
states that Thomas is more like a sayings Gospel.20
Notes
These are the secret sayings. See above on the meaning of ‘secret’. Lelyveld sees
a contrast here with Deut. 1.1 (‘These are the sayings/words which Moses spoke
…’), i.e. between the living Jesus with his life-giving words, and the Torah.21
Although this comes out in GTh 52, it is probably not intended at the outset.
There is a catchword connection between ‘these sayings’ here and GTh 1.
Which the living Jesus spoke. The epithet ‘living’ is notable here, given
the scarcity of titles applied to Jesus in Thomas.22 The epithet ‘the living one’
can be applied to Jesus in Gnostic and related literature,23 but it is also used
in the sense of ‘alive (from the dead)’ in Rev. 1.17–18; cf. Lk. 24.5. The title is
probably applied to Jesus in GTh 52; 99, 111 and perhaps 59 (cf. 37). It denotes
Jesus as himself characterised by true divine life and as the source of saving
life.24 Compare also the ‘living Father’ in GTh 3.4. The implication is probably
also that he speaks permanently through his words here in Thomas. Pasquier
& Vouga remark that there is nothing in the Prologue about Jesus’ author-
ity, and that the authority of the words lies not in the sayings’ origin but in
their effects.25 This is unlikely, because the Gospel must presuppose some
knowledge of Jesus, and the designation of Jesus as ‘living’ is a very elevated
one.
And (Co + Didymus) Judas Thomas wrote them down. The Thomas here
is clearly the disciple also seen in the canonical Gospels.26 The double-name
20 DeConick, 45.
21 Lelyveld, Logia de la vie, 136. Cf. also the similar phrasing in Jer. 37.4 LXX; Bar. 1.1.
22 Plisch, 37.
23 Gos. Eg. III,2 64,1; cf. Apoc. Peter 81,17–18. See B.E. Gärtner, The Theology of the Gospel of
Thomas (London: Collins/New York: Harper, 1961), 98–100.
24 There is perhaps also a hint that Jesus is elevated over space and time: E. Rau, ‘Jenseits
von Raum, Zeit und Gemeinschaft: “Christ-sein” nach dem Thomasevangelium’, NovT 45
(2003), 138–159 (138).
25 Pasquier & Vouga, ‘Genre littéraire’, 343, 350, 360.
26 Mk 3.18/ Matt. 10.3/ Lk. 6.15; Acts 1.13, and especially in John: 11.16; 14.5; 20.24–29. For
bibliography on Thomas in early Christianity, see G.W. Most, Doubting Thomas (London/
194 prologue
‘[Judas] Thomas’ in the Greek27 may well be evidence of a Syrian provenance

(see Introduction, §6: ‘Provenance’).28
The choice of Thomas probably reflects the fact that some other disciples’
names (especially Matthew) had already been ‘used’ as authors of Gospels (see
comment on GTh 13); it is not clear at this stage whether the Gospel of Thomas
aims to undercut other Gospels already in existence, though the secrecy motif
perhaps suggests Thomas’s claim to greater importance. The fact that Thomas
will appear later to be at such variance with Gospels such as Matthew (e.g. on
fasting, alms and prayer in GTh 14), suggests that Thomas’s claim is more com-
petitive than complementary. (See discussion in Introduction, § 10.5, above.)
Thomas’s special place in John’s resurrection narrative may also have been an
impulse in his selection, but this is not certain.
The function of Thomas here is to guarantee the authenticity of these
‘words’:29 his modest role as a mere scribe does not detract from this. To define
him as a scribe30 (rather than, e.g. a ἑρμηνευτής like Mark in Papias) is to guaran-
tee a pure and uncontaminated voice of Jesus. The effect of this, together with
the form of the rest of Thomas, is to create an immediate relationship between
Jesus and the reader.31
Although the name ‘Thomas’ is related to the Aramaic/ Syriac for ‘twin’
(tʾm(ʿ)), there is probably no sense here that Thomas is Jesus’ twin.32 See
comment on GTh 108 below.
Harvard: Harvard University Press, 2005); M. Choat, ‘Thomas the “Wanderer” in a Coptic
List of the Apostles’, Orientalia 74 (2005), 83–85.
27 See G.H.R. Horsley, ‘Names, Double’, ABD 4.1011–1017.
28 DeConick, 44. On the name, see the discussion in Klijn, ‘John XIV 22 and the Name Judas
Thomas’; J.J. Gunther, ‘The Meaning and Origin of the Name Judas Thomas’, Muséon 93
(1980), 113–148 (123–127).
29 Grosso, 110.
30 Valantasis, 51, calls him a mere ‘repository’.
31 Valantasis, 52, emphasises the relationship between the reader and the narrator, but this
quickly disappears.
32 DeConick, 45; Meyer, ‘Beginning of the Gospel of Thomas’, 45; E.H. Pagels, Beyond Belief:
The Secret Gospel of Thomas (New York: Random House, 2003), 57; N. Perrin, Thomas,
the Other Gospel (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2007), 124. There is a shift from
the Gospel to the Acts of Thomas in this respect. Cf. P.-H. Poirier, ‘Évangile de Thomas,
Actes de Thomas, Livre de Thomas’, Apocrypha 7 (1996), 9–26 (22), who sees the Acts as a
development of what is already present in the Gospel, however.
Logion 11
καὶ εἶπεν̣· [ὅς ἂν τὴν ἑρμηνεί]αν τῶν λόγων τούτ[ων εὕρῃ, θανάτου] οὐ μὴ
γεύσηται.
And he said, ‘[Whoever finds the interpreta]tion of thes[e] sayings will not
taste [death].’
ⲁⲩⲱ ⲡⲉϫⲁϥ ϫⲉ ⲡⲉⲧⲁϩⲉ ⲉⲑⲉⲣⲙⲏⲛⲉⲓⲁ ⲛ̄ⲛⲉⲉⲓϣⲁϫⲉ ϥⲛⲁϫⲓ ϯⲡⲉ ⲁⲛ ⲙ̄ⲡⲙⲟⲩ⳿
And he said, ‘Whoever finds the interpretation of these sayings will not taste
death.’
Textual Comment
Where both texts are extant, the Greek and Coptic texts are essentially alike,
although the Greek is very lacunose.
Interpretation
The theme of this logion is still ‘these sayings’ mentioned in the Prologue. GTh
1 sets out what is to be done with them: the labour of interpretation (see GTh
2) is what is crucial, and that is the reader’s task.2 The soteriological import of
the words and their interpretation is evident. It is not the case that Thomas
is, for example, ‘une thérapie des urgences quotidiennes et plus générale-
ment aident à vivre’.3 Rather, Thomas is salvific in theme:4 reading Thomas
is necessary to avoid tasting death, and in this sense Thomas can be called a
1 Bibliography for GTh 1: R. Trevijano Etcheverría, ‘Gnosticismo y hermenéutica (Evangelio de

Tomás, logion 1)’, in idem, Estudios sobre el Evangelio de Tomás (Fuentes Patrísticas, Estudios
2; Madrid: Editorial Ciudad Nueva, 1997), 151–178; Meyer, ‘The Beginning of the Gospel of
Thomas’, 39–53.
2 Plisch, 39.
3 Pasquier & Vouga, ‘Le genre littéraire et la structure argumentative’, 360.
4 Grosso, 111.
196 logion 1
‘Gospel’. One can compare the similar language in John 8.51–52,5 where it
is obedience to Jesus’ word which rescues from tasting death (cf. believing
in Jn 20.31), and Ignatius’s description of the bread of the eucharist—‘the
antidote against death’ (ἀντίδοτος τοῦ μὴ ἀποθανεῖν, Eph. 20.2). Plisch notes
that the words, as opposed to the deeds and fate, of Jesus are identified here
as central in Thomas.6 The true disciple will transcend death and return to
paradise.
Notes
And he said. Although strictly speaking ambiguous (both Jesus and Thomas
are possible subjects),7 the speaker here is almost certainly Jesus: ‘the incipit
presupposes Jesus to be the speaker of sayings and Thomas the recorder of
sayings’.8
Whoever finds the interpretation of these sayings. The phrase ‘these say-
ings’ links the Prologue and GTh 1. ‘Finding’ the meaning is necessary because
the sayings are ‘secret’ (see discussion of Prologue above). The clear mes-
sage here is that the real sense of these sayings cannot merely be read off
the page. Rather, the ultimate meaning needs to be discovered. The process
which can lead to this discovery is explained in GTh 2. It seems unlikely that
from the author’s perspective the effort in interpretation is merely different in
degree, rather than in kind, by comparison with normal interpretative work.9
This perhaps downplays the spiritual or mystical element in the interpreta-
tion.
Will not taste death. Cf. also GTh 18; 19; 85 (and ‘seeing death’ in GTh
111). Although a pre-Christian Jewish idiom, the reference to ‘tasting death’ is
not evidence for a Semitic original of the saying.10 The point here is presum-
5 Some have claimed that GTh 1 betrays the influence of the Johannine parallel, but this
seems impossible to prove or disprove.
6 Plisch, 39.
7 Valantasis, 32, 54.
8 Meyer, ‘Beginning of the Gospel of Thomas’, 46.
10 S.J. Gathercole, The Composition of the Gospel of Thomas: Original Language and Influences
(SNTSMS 51; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012), 44. Its pre-Christian origin is
suggested by its use in the Jesus tradition together with the reference in 4Ezra 6.26. It
comes in the NT in Heb. 2.9, in Mk 9.1 et parr. as well as in John 8.52. B.D. Chilton, ‘“Not
to Taste Death”: A Jewish, Christian and Gnostic Usage’, in E.A. Livingstone, ed. Studia
logion 1 197
ably not that the disciples will avoid physical death, but rather that they will
transcend it, escaping its bitter effects (cf. the idiom in Hebrews 2.9).11 The
soul will instead continue eternally in the primordial paradise (cf. GTh 18–
19).
Death is one of the ultimate ills in Thomas. On one side of the divide is ‘the
living Jesus’ (Prologue), the ‘place of life’ (GTh 4), the living father/ living one
and his sons (3; cf. 37; 50; 59), living from the living one (111), and living spirits
(114). On the other side, the world is a corpse (GTh 56). Readers are also in
danger of becoming corpses and being eaten as a result; this is the opposite
of ‘rest’ (60). Blessing consists in finding life (GTh 58), whereas damnation
consists in tasting death (1; 18; 19), which is the result of being unworthy (85);
being killed is the opposite of salvation (70). The prophets are dismissed as
lifeless, in contrast to Jesus ‘the living one’ (GTh 52).12
Biblica 2: Papers on the Gospels (JSNTSuppS; Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1980), 29–36, constructs
a theory, based on several passages from the midrashim, in which ‘not tasting death’ is an
idiom, ‘a quasi angelic trait’, associated with figures such as Enoch (30). He remarks that
here ‘in Thomas the claim is made in full knowledge of its Jewish background’ (31). There
is an interesting parallel between GTh 85 and Genesis Rabbah, but there are problems with
the late dates generally of the texts adduced, and even then of whether the use of the idiom
is really ‘systematic’ (30).
11 To this extent, the view here in Thomas may overlap with the Epicurean idea that death
is by definition not strictly speaking experienced (Epicurus, Letter to Menoeceus 124–
127).
12 Although the connection between secret mysteries (as in the Prologue) and the renewal
of life (as here in GTh 1) is not uncommon in ancient mystery cults, it is possible there is
an Egyptian tradition exerting an influence here. Van Dijk has noted that there is some
evidence of late redactions of the Book of the Dead incorporating additional references to
the secrecy of the spells providing immortality. See J. van Dijk, ‘Early Christian Apocrypha
and the Secret Books of Ancient Egypt’, in A. Hilhorst & G. van Kooten, eds. The Wisdom
of Egypt: Jewish, Early Christian and Gnostic Essays in Honour of Gerard P. Luttikhuizen
(AJEC 59; Leiden/ Boston: Brill, 2005), 419–428, esp. 425–426.
Logion 21
2.1 [λέγει ιης] μὴ παυσάσθω ὁ ζη[τῶν τοῦ ζητεῖν ἕως ἂν] εὕρῃ, 2.2–3 καὶ ὅταν
εὕρ[ῃ 2.3 θαμβηθήσεται, καὶ θαμ]βηθεὶς 2.4 βασιλεύσ⟨ει⟩, 2.5 κα̣[ὶ βασιλεύσας
ἐπαναπα]ήσεται.
2.1 [ Jesus said,] ‘He who se[eks] should not stop [seeking until] he finds. 2.2
And when [he] finds, 2.3 [he will be astonished, and when he is aston]ished,
2.4 he will reign, 2.5 an[d having reigned], he will [rest].’
2.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ⲙⲛ̄ⲧⲣⲉϥ⳿ⲗⲟ ⲛ̄ϭⲓ ⲡⲉⲧ⳿ϣⲓⲛⲉ ⲉϥ⳿ϣⲓⲛⲉ ϣⲁⲛⲧⲉϥ⳿ϭⲓⲛⲉ 2.2 ⲁⲩⲱ ϩⲟⲧⲁⲛ⳿
ⲉϥϣⲁⲛϭⲓⲛⲉ ϥⲛⲁ⳿ϣⲧⲣ̄ⲧⲣ̄ 2.3 ⲁⲩⲱ ⲉϥϣⲁⲛ⳿ϣⲧⲟⲣⲧⲣ̄ ϥⲛⲁⲣ̄ ϣⲡⲏⲣⲉ 2.4 ⲁⲩⲱ ϥⲛⲁⲣ̄
ⲣ̄ⲣⲟ ⲉϫⲙ̄ ⲡⲧⲏⲣϥ
2.1 Jesus said, ‘He who seeks should not stop seeking until he finds. 2.2 And
when he finds, he will be troubled, 2.3 and when he is troubled, he will be
astonished, 2.4 and he will reign over the all.’
Textual Comment
The reconstruction of the Greek text is generally uncontroversial.2 The Greek

and Coptic texts have two clear differences. First, while the Greek has the
sequence ‘find → be astonished’ in the middle of the saying, the Coptic has in its
place ‘find → be troubled → be astonished’. The Coptic perhaps emphasises the
1 Bibliography for GTh 2: E. Bammel, ‘Rest and Rule’, VC 23 (1969), 88–90; A.F.J. Klijn, Jewish-
Christian Gospel Tradition (VCSupps 17; Leiden/ New York/ Cologne: Brill, 1992), 47–51; T.
Zöckler, Jesu Lehren im Thomasevangelium (NHMS 47; Leiden: Brill, 1999), 180–186; Meyer,
‘The Beginning of the Gospel of Thomas’, 39–53; P. Nagel, ‘ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅—Zur Einleitung der Jesus-
logien im Thomasevangelium’, Göttinger Miszellen 195 (2003), 73–79; P. Luomanen, ‘“Let Him
Who Seeks, Continue Seeking”: The Relationship between the Jewish-Christian Gospels and
the Gospel of Thomas’, in J.Ma. Asgeirsson, A.D. DeConick & R. Uro, eds. Thomasine Traditions
in Antiquity: The Social and Cultural World of the Gospel of Thomas (NHMS 59; Leiden: Brill,
2005), 119–153, esp. 128–130; U.-K. Plisch, The Gospel of Thomas: Original Text with Commen-
tary (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2008), 24–25: ‘Excursus: The introductory formula “Jesus
says” (ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ)’; Eisele, Welcher Thomas, 69–99.
2 The only point usually discussed is whether the final word is better taken to be [ἐπαναπα]ήσε-
ται or [ἀναπα]ήσεται. The former is taken to be too long by DeConick, 98, and Grosso, 115, but
this is incorrect: with it, line 8 would be no longer than line 7.
logion 2 199
unsettling nature of the process of discovery. On the one hand, however, while
ϣⲧⲟⲣⲧⲣ̄ is more consistently negative than θαμβέω,3 the Coptic ϣⲧⲟⲣⲧⲣ̄ could
easily be a translation of it;4 on a rough count of the 24 instances in the Sahidic
translation of the Synoptics, four are translations of θαμβέω or its cognates.
The variation in Clement’s citations of the version is also interesting: his first
reference to the version of the saying in the Gospel of the Hebrews has θαυμάζω,
the second θαμβέω.5 Possibly the Coptic is a harmonising version, attempting
to combine the two, with θαυμάζω rendered very naturally as ⲣ̄ ϣⲡⲏⲣⲉ,6 and
θαμβέω translated as ϣⲧⲟⲣⲧⲣ̄. Given the parallel with Clement’s second citation
of G. Heb., the text of P. Oxy. IV 654 here has a good claim to be the earliest
form.
Secondly, in place of the Greek’s conclusion to the sorites with (in all likeli-
hood, though there is some guesswork in the restoration) ‘he will reign, and
having reigned he will rest’, the Coptic has ‘he will reign over the all’. This
has the effect of reducing the emphasis on ‘rest’, but clarifying the envisaged
rule as over the pan-cosmic domain. This may be the result of an error at the
Greek stage (either by a scribe, or the translator), where ‘reigning, will rest
(ἐπαναπαήσεται)’ is misread as ‘reigning over all (ἐπάνω πάντων; cf. Jn 3.31)’. Bam-
mel claims that the Coptic text ‘may be a degree less gnosticized’, with the
absence of ‘rest’, but there is nothing distinctively Gnostic about rest.7 The addi-
tion in the Coptic of reigning ‘over (the) all’ does not dramatically change the
sense, as the superiority of the elect disciple over the cosmos is a theme very
widespread in Thomas. It ought also to be remembered that the reference to
‘rest’ is entirely a restoration, with only the common ending -ησεται surviv-
ing.
3 Rightly, Luomanen, ‘Let Him Who Seeks, Continue Seeking’, 129 n. 23. See LSJ 783, and in the
Greek NT, where the senses of the verb (and its compound with ἐκ-) as negative ‘alarm’ (cf.
in the LXX, 2Kgs 7.15; Wis. 17.3) and positive ‘wonder’ are fairly evenly distributed; cf. Crum,
597b–598b. In the Sahidic NT, all references to θαμβέω and its cognates either are translated
by ϣⲧⲟⲣⲧⲣ̄, or use ϩⲟⲧⲉ in some way.
4 Pace Ricchuiti, ‘Tracking Thomas’, 201, who maintains that the Coptic ‘does not match up well
to the Greek’ here.
5 See Clement, Strom. 2.9.45.5: ᾗ κἀν τῷ καθ’ Ἑβραίους εὐαγγελίῳ, ὁ θαυμάσας βασιλεύσει, γέγρα-
πται, καὶ ὁ βασιλεύσας ἀναπαήσεται, and Strom. 5.14.96.3: οὐ παύσεται ὁ ζητῶν, ἕως ἂν εὕρῃ· εὑρὼν
δὲ θαμβηθήσεται, θαμβηθεὶς δὲ βασιλεύσει, βασιλεύσας δὲ ἐπαναπαήσεται.
6 Again, from a rough sample of the Synoptics, 26/45 instances of ϣⲡⲏⲣⲉ in the Sahidic go back
to θαυμάζω and its cognates.
7 Bammel, ‘Rest and Rule’, 90. The reverse might easily be the case: ‘being troubled’ (in the
Coptic text) is a major theme of Gnostic Paraphrase of Shem. See Valantasis, 57, for an
alternative explanation.
200 logion 2
There are a number of parallels to this saying, the closest of which are the
two references in Clement of Alexandria noted above: one is attributed to the
Gospel of the Hebrews.8 These are usually used to assist in the reconstruction of
the lacunose Greek text of Thomas, though this may have the effect of distorting
the texts through over-harmonisation. The parallels in the Gospel of the Hebrews
suggest that in both the places just discussed, the Greek of Thomas represents
the earlier form of the text: it conforms very closely to Clement’s citations of
the same formula.
Interpretation
This saying presents an ordo salutis, or ‘salvation ladder’.9 The object of the
‘seeking and finding’ harks back to the previous saying, where the theme is
precisely ‘finding’ the interpretation of Jesus’ sayings. GTh 2 declares that the
discovery of the Gospel’s interpretation is not a straightforward matter, as it
involves labour and is accompanied by emotional turbulence (amplified in the
Coptic).10 Klauck summarises the point of the Greek text nicely: ‘The logion
contains an intentional paradox: only the restless activity of seeking leads to
the rest for which one yearns’.11 The saying probably marks the conclusion of
the introductory section of Thomas, which delineates the character of the work
and the way it should be read.
8 There is clearly some relationship between Thomas here and the Gospel of the Hebrews as
cited by Clement, but it is hard to define. A more distant parallel is the saying attributed to
a λόγιον ἔγγραφον used by Simon Magus and Helen, according to Eusebius (HE 2.13.7): who-
ever witnesses their rituals will first be ‘astounded’ (ἐκπλαγήσεσθαι) and ‘dumbfounded’
(θαμβωθήσεσθαι, from θαμβόομαι rather than θαμβέω). I owe this reference to Stephen Carl-
son. A still more distant parallel is Valentinus frag. 4, discussed in I. Dunderberg, ‘From
Thomas to Valentinus: Genesis Exegesis in Fragment 4 of Valentinus and Its Relationship
to the Gospel of Thomas’, in J.Ma. Asgeirsson, A.D. DeConick & R. Uro, eds. Thomasine
Traditions in Antiquity: The Social and Cultural World of the Gospel of Thomas (NHMS 59;
Leiden: Brill, 2005), 221–237. Cf. also Thom. Cont. 140,41–141,43 (seeking, finding, resting),
and Thom. Cont. 145,10–16; Ac. Thom. 136; and 2 Apoc. Jas. 56,2–7 (all with ‘rest’ and ‘reign’);
2Clem. 5.5 has a collocation of ‘amazing’, ‘rest’, and ‘kingdom’.
9 Bammel, ‘Rest and Rule’, 89.
10 Davies, Gospel of Thomas: Annotated and Explained, 2, remarks that it is achieved not by
grace but by effort!
11 H.-J. Klauck, Apocryphal Gospels: An Introduction (London/New York: T&T Clark, 2003),
39.
logion 2 201
Notes
2.1 Jesus said. The Coptic phrase ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ corresponds (where the Greek is
extant) to λέγει Ἰησοῦς, and both are usually translated as ‘Jesus said’.12 Some,
however, especially within and under the influence of the Berliner Arbeit-
skreis, translate the phrases as ‘Jesus says’:13 the linguistic reason is that λέγει is
present, and for some—allied to this—is the theological reason that Thomas
intends to convey the ‘Zeitlosigkeit’ of Jesus’ voice in the sayings.14 There are a
number of elements here to be disentangled. First, the Greek and Coptic are
not simply identical. In addition, factors of grammatical form, time, aspect,
Aktionsart and theology should not be confused. We shall treat the Coptic first
because it is simpler, and then move to the Greek.
Coptic ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅. The form ⲡⲉϫⲉ is an irregular form of the verb ϫⲱ, and does
not belong to any particular Coptic conjugation. In function, however, it almost
always refers to an action in past time.15 (1) There is no differentiation in usage
in Thomas between ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ and ⲡⲉϫⲁϥ. For example, in the body of Thomas, the
parable of the Wise Fisherman (GTh 8) is introduced by ⲁⲩⲱ ⲡⲉϫⲁϥ ϫⲉ, whereas
in the next saying, the parable of the Sower (GTh 9) is introduced with ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅
ϫⲉ. There is no perceptible difference in tense, aspect or Aktionsart; ⲡⲉϫⲉ- and
ⲡⲉϫⲁ⸗ are semantically the same.
The fact that no particular timeless profundity can be derived from the form
of the verb is evident from the fact that the same form is used to introduce (a)
the speech of Jesus at the beginning of a logion; (b) Jesus’ speech in the middle
12 So e.g. B. Layton, ed. & T.O. Lambdin, tr. ‘The Gospel according to Thomas’, in Layton, ed.
Nag Hammadi Codex II, 2–7, together with XIII,2*, Brit. Lib. Or.4926(1), and P. Oxy. 1, 654, 655,
vol. I (NHS 20; Leiden: Brill, 1989), 52–93.
13 Thus H.-G. Bethge & J. Schröter, ‘Das Evangelium nach Thomas (NHC II, 2)’, in H.-M.
Schenke, H.-G. Bethge & U.U. Kaiser, eds. Nag Hammadi Deutsch (GCS; Walter de Gruyter,
2001, 2003), I.151–181; K. Aland, ed. Synopsis Quattuor Evangeliorum (Stuttgart: Deutsche
Bibelgesellschaft, 1996), 519 nn. 3–4; S.J. Patterson, J.M. Robinson & the Berliner Arbeit-
skreis für koptisch-gnostische Schriften, The Fifth Gospel: The Gospel of Thomas Comes of
Age (Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press International, 1998), passim; so also in the commentaries
of Plisch and Pokorný.
14 Thus D. Lührmann, Fragmente apokryph gewordener Evangelien in griechischer und latein-
ischer Sprache (Marburg: Elwert, 2000), 178; cf. C. Taylor, The Oxyrhynchus Logia and the
Apocryphal Gospels (Oxford: Clarendon, 1899), 19: the present tense of λέγει gives it ‘a
present living force’; Plisch, 25: ‘timeless meaning’. Against this, see Ménard, 80.
15 Nagel has adduced abundant linguistic evidence in favour of interpreting ⲡⲉϫⲉ with past
meaning (Nagel, ‘ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅—Zur Einleitung der Jesuslogien’, 73–79). Plisch, 24, is right to
note that there are exceptions.
202 logion 2
of a dialogue; (c) the speech of disciples or other figures, and (d) the speech of
characters in parables:
(a) GTh 2; 3; 4; 5; 7; 9, etc.

(b) e.g. GTh 13, ‘Jesus said (ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅) to the disciples, “Compare me and tell me
who I am like”. Simon Peter said … Matthew said … Thomas said … Jesus
said (ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅), “I am not your master”’, etc. See further GTh 6.2; 12.2; 13.5;
18.2; 22.4; 37.2; 61.3; 104.2; 114.2.
(c) e.g. GTh 61.2: ‘Salome said (ⲡⲉϫⲉ)’; GTh 114.1: ‘Simon Peter said (ⲡⲉϫⲉ)’. See
further GTh 12.1; 18.1; 20.1; 21.1; 24.1; 37.1, 72.1, 79.1, and 99.1.
(d) the master in the parable in GTh 64.11.
Given this variation of context, it seems arbitrary to translate ⲡⲉϫⲉ one way
for Jesus and another way for other characters. (Presumably their speech is
not marked by ‘Zeitlosigkeit’.) As a result of these considerations, Layton’s
general assessment of ⲡⲉϫⲉ-/ ⲡⲉϫⲁ⸗, that it ‘signals direct discourse in past time’,
appears to apply in the case of Thomas.16
Greek λέγει ιης/ λέγει ις. Here the situation is more complex, because unlike
in the Coptic, there is a difference of tenses between the Prologue + GTh 1 on
the one hand, and the main body of the Gospel on the other. The Prologue
refers to Jesus speaking all the sayings with an aorist (ἐλάλησεν); in GTh 1,
Jesus’ programmatic statement about the soteriological value of the words
is introduced with the aorist εἶπεν. In what survives of the Greek elsewhere
(GTh 2ff.), however, all the individual sayings of Jesus (and speech of the
disciples) are introduced with present tenses: Jesus λέγει throughout; GTh 6
has ἐξετάζουσιν αὐτὸν οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ καὶ λέγουσιν, and GTh 37 begins λέγουσιν
αὐτῷ οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ. Clearly, in terms of time, these are past events (as
the Prologue has made clear). Nevertheless, the switch from aorist to present
forms does correspond to an aspectual distinction, in other words, the author
adopts two different viewpoints, varying the way in which the speech events
are presented as unfolding.17 The Prologue and GTh 1 together summarise
Jesus’ speaking as ‘complete and undifferentiated’.18 In contrast, the ensuing
verbs which introduce Jesus’ speech in present tense-forms are imperfective in
16 B. Layton, A Coptic Grammar, 2nd rev. edn (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2004), 302 (§380).
17 S.E. Porter, Idioms of the Greek New Testament, 2nd edition (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic
Press, 1994), 20: differences of aspect are differences in ‘how the verbal action was per-
ceived to unfold’.
18 Porter, Idioms of the Greek New Testament, 21, picking up on his definition of perfective
aspect.
logion 2 203
aspect, and therefore (without reference in this case to the actual time of the
events) identify the act of speaking summarised in the Prologue as in progress
from the constructed viewpoint of the narrator in GTh 2 and following. On
this interpretation of the aorist/ present distinction, the narrator has in GTh
2ff. situated himself within the speech act described in the Prologue. Another
possibility should also be considered. It may be that, rather than specifying the
acts of speaking as in progress, the present tense-form verbs may in fact be
unspecified for tense: they do not need to be, because the discourse has been
introduced by an aorist.19
Theologically, the different tense-form cannot be said to sustain a reference
to ‘a present living force’ or ‘timeless meaning’. (This is not to say that such
a view of Jesus’ words might not be reached on other grounds, such as the
Prologue’s reference to the speaker as ‘the living Jesus’.) As already noted,
the Greek fragments also preserve disciples’ speech introduced with present
tenses. Again, presumably their Greek speech is not marked by ‘Zeitlosigkeit’
any more than are their Coptic utterances.
2.1 He who seeks should not stop seeking until he finds. If the restoration
[εὕρῃ] in the previous saying is correct (it is a natural equivalent of ϩⲉ ⲉ- in
Coptic), then we have here a catchword connection between GTh 1–2, just as
the words ‘these sayings’ link the Prologue to GTh 1. Even if this restoration is
not right, the theme of ‘finding’ clearly links them. The seeking-finding motif
is common both in the OT (Deut. 4.29; Prov. 8.17; 11.27; Jer. 29.13) and in the
Jesus tradition in Matthew and Luke (Matt. 7.7–8; Lk. 11.9–10) and Thomas (GTh
92; 94; cf. 38; 59?; 76; 91; 107). Compare also IGT 5.3; Gos. Mary 8,20–21. While
Thomas elsewhere emphasises Jesus’ action as a revealer (e.g. GTh 17), the stress
in this saying is very much on the human agency involved in the process of
discovery. The seeking here is ‘a process of “sapiential research”’ which leads to
the discovery of the interpretation of the sayings.20
2.2–3 And when he finds, (Co + he will be troubled, and when he is trou-
bled,) he will be astonished. Both versions clearly indicate the wonder accom-
panying the discovery of the truth hidden in the Gospel. Here Thomas reverses
the Platonic aphorism (that wonder is the beginning of philosophy, in Theaete-
tus 155D),21 by making astonishment consequent upon finding. The Coptic
seems to suggest that there is a disturbing element as well. This may well allude
19 I am grateful to Dr Robert Crellin (Greek Bible College, Athens) for discussing this with
me, and also for the advice of Dr Christian Askeland.
20 Kloppenborg, Formation of Q, 305.
21 Clement explicitly mentions this Theaetetus passage in Strom. 2.9.45.4 immediately prior
to his quotation of the Gospel according to the Hebrews.
204 logion 2
to the fact that the discovery of new knowledge often also has an uncomfortable
effect: this is an ancient commonplace, especially familiar from Plato’s cave
allegory.22 It probably features also in GTh 84.2: ‘When you see your images
which came into being before you—which neither die nor are revealed—
how much you will have to bear!’23 (See further the commentary on GTh 84
below.)
2.3–4 And when he is astonished (om. Co), he will reign (Co + over the
all). In Greek the penultimate, and in Coptic the last, element is ‘rule’. Part of
this reference is no doubt ‘negative’, in that it connotes that one is not under
the ultimate control of other people, or of one’s own passions.24 Being part of
the ‘kingless’ realm is common in Gnostic literature (see e.g. Gos. Jud. 53,24; cf.
Apoc. Adam 82,10–19; Orig. World, 127,7–14), and the control that comes to one
who is pure is a well-known theme (see e.g. Sent. Sext. 60).
Probably implicit already in the Greek (and made clearer in the Coptic) is
the theme of a cosmic authority extending beyond the anthropological and
social spheres. ‘The all’ in the Coptic is a controverted phrase in discussions
of Nag Hammadi texts and related literature: it has variously been taken to
mean in different places (a) the universe (i.e. heaven and earth), (b) the aeons
of the pleroma, (c) the totality of the pneumatic element, as well as being (d) a
christological title.25 The christological reference in GTh 77 cannot be in view
here, and Thomas cannot easily be seen elsewhere to have the mythological
trappings associated with some of the more complex senses (b) and (c). As
such, the reference in Coptic GTh 2 is almost certainly to (a), ‘all things’, in
the sense of ‘the universe’.26 The disciple is no longer slave to the cosmos but
supreme over it.27
22 On the general point, see e.g. Euripides, Hippol. 247: τὸ γὰρ ὀρθοῦσθαι γνώμην ὀδυνᾷ;
on the ‘cave’, see the references in Rep. 515E to ἀλγεῖν, ὀδυνᾶσθαι and ἀγανακτεῖν, all
experiences of the one who had lived in the cave, when he encounters the light of the
sun.
23 The theme of ‘being troubled’ is also particularly strong in the Paraphrase of Shem.
24 DeConick, 49, highlights the latter.
25 For the different senses and scholarly views, see H. Ludin Jansen, ‘Der Begriff ⲡⲧⲏⲣϥ “Das
All”, im Evangelium Veritatis’, Acta Orientalia 31 (1968), 115–118, and A. Logan, ‘The Mean-
ing of the Term, “the All”, in Gnostic Thought’, in E.A. Livingstone, ed. Studia Patristica XIV
(Berlin: Akademie, 1976), 203–208. I. Dunderberg, The Beloved Disciple in Conflict? Revisit-
ing the Gospels of John and Thomas (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006), 108, offers the
options of ‘believers’ or ‘visible world’ for ‘the all’ in GTh 77.1.
26 This also has the advantage of being the simplest sense, also parallelled in the NT, e.g.
Sahidic 1Cor 3.22 (bis).
27 Hofius, ‘Das koptische Thomasevangelium’ (I), 28.
logion 2 205
This position of the elect disciple over against material reality is probably
echoed in the service of the stones in GTh 19.2, the superiority of the elect to
the lilies in GTh 36.2 and the obedience of the mountains in GTh 48 and 106,
and stones in 13.8. The cosmos is not worthy of the true disciple (GTh 56; 80;
111).
2.5 And having reigned, he will rest (om. Co). Although there is no hint
of it in the Coptic, a reference to ‘rest’ is thoroughly in keeping with other
passages in Thomas which show an interest in the theme, with all the other
instances making it clear that the Coptic version is still concerned about it.28
The meaning of Thomas’s ‘rest’ terminology (ἀναπαύω, ἀνάπαυσις/ ⲁⲛⲁⲡⲁⲩⲥⲓⲥ,
synonymous with the native Coptic ⲙ̄ⲧⲟⲛ) is soteriological, with a more specific
connotation of relief from the world, and possibly also of divine, immovable
perfection (cf. the divine marks of ‘motion and rest’ in GTh 50; and the ‘stand-
ing’ motif: see notes on 16.4 below). Valantasis gives the glosses ‘equilibrium,
solitude’.29 It is difficult to conclude with Vielhauer that the way ‘rest’ is used in
Thomas shows clear affinities to Gnostic texts.30 On the other hand, it is equally
difficult to conclude with DeConick that this saying is likely to be part of the
‘kernel’ of Thomas in part because rest is a theme which appears to belong to
the ‘old Jerusalem traditions’.31 There may be a loose catchword link between
‘reigning’ here and the ‘kingdom’ in GTh 3.
28 See references to ⲁⲛⲁⲡⲁⲩⲥⲓⲥ in GTh 50; 51, 60 and 90; ⲙ̄ⲧⲟⲛ in GTh 86, and to resting in a
non-theological sense in GTh 61.
29 Valantasis, 33.
30 P. Vielhauer, ‘ΑΝΑΠΑΥΣΙΣ: Zum gnostischen Hintergrund des Thomasevangelium’, in
W. Eltester, ed. Apophoreta: Festschrift Ernst Haenchen (Berlin: Töpelmann, 1964), 281–299
(299). ‘Rest’ is a dominant theme—and indeed a divine attribute—in the Nag Hammadi
Allogenes text, for example.
31 DeConick, 49.
Logion 31
3.1 λέγει ι[ης· ἐὰν] οἱ ἕλκοντες ⟨ὑ⟩μᾶς [εἴπωσιν ὑμῖν· ἰδοὺ] ἡ βασιλεία ἐν
οὐρα[νῷ, ὑμᾶς φθήσεται] τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρ[ανοῦ· 3.2 ἐὰν δ’ εἴπωσιν ὅ]τι ὑπὸ
τὴν γήν ἐστ[ιν, εἰσελεύσονται] οἱ ἰχθύες τῆς θαλά[σσης προφθάσαν]τες ὑμᾶς·
3.3 καὶ ἡ β̣ασ̣ [ιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν] ἐντὸς ὑμῶν [ἐ]σ̣ τι [κἀκτός. 3.4 ὃς ἂν ἑαυτὸν]
γνῷ, ταύτην εὑρή[σει, καὶ ὅτε ὑμεῖς] ἑαυτοὺς γνώσεσθ⟨ε⟩, [εἴσεσθε ὅτι υἱοί]
ἐστε ‘ὑμεῖς’ τοῦ πατρὸς τοῦ ζ[̣ ῶντος· 3.5 εἰ δὲ μὴ] γνώσ⟨εσ⟩θε ἑαυτοὺς, ἐν̣ [τῇ
πτωχείᾳ ἐστὲ] καὶ ὑμεῖς ἐστε ἡ πτω̣ [χεία.]
1 Bibliography for GTh 3: T.F. Glasson, ‘The Gospel of Thomas, Saying 3, and Deuteronomy
xxx. 11–14’, ExpT 78 (1966–1967), 151–152; P. Nagel, ‘Erwägungen zum Thomas-Evangelium’, in
F. Altheim & R. Stiehl, eds. Die Araber in der alten Welt, vol. V, part 2 (Berlin: Walter de Gruyter,
1969), 368–392; J.-E. Ménard, ‘La Sagesse et le logion 3 de l’ Évangile selon Thomas’, in F.L. Cross,
ed. Studia Patristica X: Papers presented to the Fifth International Conference on Patristic Stud-
ies held in Oxford, 1967 (TU 107; Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, 1970), 137–140; D. Mueller, ‘Kingdom
of Heaven or Kingdom of God?’, VC 27 (1973), 266–276; R. Trevijano Etcheverría, ‘La escatología
del Evangelio de Tomás’, Salmanticensis 28 (1981), 415–441; Lelyveld, Logia de la vie, 123–130;
J. Liebenberg, The Language of the Kingdom and Jesus: Parable, Aphorism, and Metaphor in
the Sayings Material Common to the Synoptic Tradition and the Gospel of Thomas (Berlin/
New York: Walter de Gruyter, 2001), 486–494; H. Kvalbein, ‘The Kingdom of the Father in the
Gospel of Thomas’, in J. Fotopoulos, ed. The New Testament and Early Christian Literature in
Greco-Roman Context: Studies in Honor of David E. Aune (NovTSupps 122; Leiden/ New York/
Köln: Brill, 2006), 203–230; P. Schüngel, ‘Zur Neuübersetzung des Thomasevangeliums in der
Alandschen Synopse’, NovT 48 (2006), 275–291; S.J. Gathercole, ‘The Influence of Paul on the
Gospel of Thomas (§§ 53. 3 and 17)’, in J. Frey, J. Schröter & E.E. Popkes, eds. Das Thomase-
72–94; W. Eisele, ‘Ziehen, Führen und Verführen: Eine begriffs- und motivgeschichtliche
Untersuchung zu EvThom 3,1’, in J. Frey, J. Schröter & E.E. Popkes, eds. Das Thomasevangelium:
C.W. Skinner, ‘The Gospel of Thomas’s Rejection of Paul’s Theological Ideas’, in M.F. Bird &
J. Willitts, eds. Paul and the Gospels: Christologies, Conflicts, and Convergences (LNTS; London:
T&T Clark, 2011), 220–241; S.J. Gathercole, ‘ “The Heavens and the Earth Will Be Rolled up”: The
Eschatology of the Gospel of Thomas’, in H.-J. Eckstein, C. Landmesser & H. Lichtenberger, eds.
Eschatologie—Eschatology: The Sixth Durham-Tübingen Research Symposium: Eschatology in
Old Testament, Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity (Tübingen, September 2009) (WUNT;
Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2011), 280–302; Eisele, Welcher Thomas, 99–131; Gathercole, Compo-
sition, 44–47, 233–237; G.P. Luttikhuizen, ‘The Hidden Meaning of “The Kingdom Inside You
and Outside You” in the Gospel of Thomas’, in J. Schröter, ed. The Apocryphal Gospels within
the Context of Early Christian Theology (Leuven/ Paris/ Walpole: Peeters, 2013), 539–547.
logion 3 207
3.1 Je[sus] said, ‘[If ] those who drag you away [say to you, “Behold,] the
kingdom is in heav[en]”, then the birds of hea[ven would precede you! 3.2
If they say th]at it is under the earth, then the fish of the se[a would precede]
you and [enter it]! 3.3 But the kin[gdom of heaven] is inside you [and outside
of you. 3.4 Whoever] knows [himself ] will find it [and when you] know
yourselves, [you will know that] you are [sons] of the [living] Father. 3.5 [But
if you do not] know yourselves, [you are] in [poverty], and you are pover[ty].’
3.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ⲉⲩϣⲁϫⲟⲟⲥ ⲛⲏⲧⲛ̄ ⲛ̄ϭⲓ ⲛⲉⲧ⳿ⲥⲱⲕ ϩⲏⲧ⳿ ⲧⲏⲩⲧⲛ̄ ϫⲉ ⲉⲓⲥϩⲏⲏⲧⲉ
ⲉⲧ⳿ⲙⲛ̄ⲧⲉⲣⲟ ϩⲛ̄ ⲧⲡⲉ ⲉⲉⲓⲉ ⲛ̄ϩⲁⲗⲏⲧ⳿ ⲛⲁⲣ̄ ϣⲟⲣⲡ⳿ ⲉⲣⲱⲧⲛ̄ ⲛ̄ⲧⲉ ⲧⲡⲉ 3.2 ⲉⲩϣⲁⲛϫⲟⲟⲥ
ⲛⲏⲧⲛ̄ ϫⲉ ⲥϩⲛ̄ ⲑⲁⲗⲁⲥⲥⲁ ⲉⲉⲓⲉ ⲛ̄ⲧⲃⲧ⳿ ⲛⲁⲣ̄ ϣⲟⲣⲡ⳿ ⲉⲣⲱⲧⲛ̄ 3.3 ⲁⲗⲗⲁ ⲧⲙⲛ̄ⲧⲉⲣⲟ
ⲥⲙ̄ⲡⲉⲧⲛ̄ϩⲟⲩⲛ⳿ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲥⲙ̄ⲡⲉⲧⲛ̄ⲃⲁⲗ⳿ 3.4 ϩⲟⲧⲁⲛ ⲉⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ϣⲁⲛⲥⲟⲩⲱⲛ ⲧⲏⲩⲧⲛ̄ ⲧⲟⲧⲉ
ⲥⲉⲛⲁⲥⲟⲩⲱ(ⲛ) ⲧⲏⲛⲉ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲧⲉⲧⲛⲁⲉⲓⲙⲉ ϫⲉ ⲛ̄ⲧⲱⲧⲛ̄ ⲡⲉ ⲛ̄ϣⲏⲣⲉ ⲙ̄ⲡⲉⲓⲱⲧ⳿ ⲉⲧⲟⲛϩ
3.5 ⲉϣⲱⲡⲉ ⲇⲉ ⲧⲉⲧⲛⲁⲥⲟⲩⲱⲛ ⲧⲏⲩⲧⲛ̄ ⲁⲛ ⲉⲉⲓⲉ ⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ϣⲟⲟⲡ⳿ ϩⲛ̄ ⲟⲩⲙⲛ̄ⲧϩⲏⲕⲉ ⲁⲩⲱ
ⲛ̄ⲧⲱⲧⲛ̄ ⲡⲉ ⲧⲙⲛ̄ⲧϩⲏⲕⲉ
3.1 Jesus said, ‘If those who lead you say to you, “Behold, the kingdom is in
heaven”, then the birds of heaven would precede you! 3.2 If they say to you
that it is in the sea, then the fish would precede you! 3.3 But the kingdom is
inside you and outside of you. 3.4 When you know yourselves, then you will
be known, and you will understand that you are sons of the living Father. 3.5
But if you do not know yourselves, you are in poverty and you are poverty.’
Textual Comment
There are a number of differences between the Greek and Coptic texts here.
Perhaps the greatest difference lies at the beginning, in the discrepancy
between the envisaged opponents.2 In Greek they are οἱ ἕλκοντες ⟨ὑ⟩μᾶς, but
in Coptic ⲛⲉⲧ⳿ⲥⲱⲕ ϩⲏⲧ⳿ ⲧⲏⲩⲧⲛ̄. While the latter is a fairly straightforward ref-
erence to ‘leaders’, the Greek yields a sense of greater force or violence being
forecast by Jesus.3 The Greek is more likely to be the earlier form of the text
here, and the Coptic a later smoothing out of the sense, or accidental introduc-
tion of ϩⲏⲧ⸗. An emendation of the Greek’s ἡμᾶς to ὑμᾶς in 3.1 seems demanded
2 Surprisingly, not noted by Ricchuiti, ‘Tracking Thomas’, 202–203. For discussion of some
attempts at explanation, see Gathercole, Composition, 44–45. See Eisele, ‘Ziehen, Führen und
Verführen’, for the most extensive discussion of the problem.
3 Cf. the uses in context of those taken to court (Jas. 2.6; cf. ἐφέλκοντες in Mart. Con. 2.7), or
subject to violent attack (Ac. 21.30).
208 logion 3
not only by the Coptic, but also by the ὑμᾶς in 3.2. The Coptic’s separation of
‘birds’ from ‘of heaven’ is not too problematic.4
In 3.2, the reference to ‘sea’ has probably been transposed from the Greek’s
earlier ‘fish of the sea’ to one of the false locations of the kingdom in the
Coptic: ‘the sea’ corresponds to the Greek’s ‘under the earth’, but in biblical
cosmology this is not a great difference (both are associated with the tehom).
This three-tier cosmos of heaven-earth-sea is also found in the Shepherd of
Hermas, according to which God ‘fixed heaven, and laid the foundations of the
earth upon the waters’ (Herm. [Vis. 1] 3.4). There is also room in the Greek for
the fish to attract two verbs, hence the restoration [εἰσελεύσονται] οἱ ἰχθύες τῆς
θαλά[σσης προφθάσαν]τες. Some have made much of the difference between the
Greek καί (GTh 3.3) and the Coptic ⲁⲗⲗⲁ,5 but the Coptic translation of Greek
particles is notoriously unpredictable.6
On 3.3, there has been debate over the kingdom language. In the Coptic
we have ‘kingdom’ tout simple, but in the Greek it looks as though there is a
modifier. Mueller has argued that, rather than ‘of heaven’, this is ‘of God’, since
the Greek might not avoid ‘kingdom of God’ language as the Coptic does, and
the Coptic has left the modifier out (see further discussion on GTh 27).7 ‘Of
heaven’, however, fits better with the space available (though, admittedly, is
odd in a saying which counters a kingdom within heaven).8 Also in 3.3, Eisele’s
exclusion of κἀκτός, which corresponds well to the Coptic, is unwarranted.9
4 Some have suggested an emendation (see Layton & Lambdin, ‘The Gospel according to
Thomas’, Nag Hammadi Codex II,2–7: Volume One, 53) but cf. the syntax in e.g. Manichaean
Psalm-Book 197, lines 14, 19, 23; 198, 20.
5 See N. Perrin, ‘NHC II,2 and the Oxyrhynchus Fragments (P.Oxy 1, 654, 655): Overlooked
Evidence for a Syriac Gospel of Thomas’, VC 58 (2004), 138–151 (149–150).
7 Mueller, ‘Kingdom of Heaven or Kingdom of God?’, 266–276. Greek GTh 27 might have
‘kingdom of God’ (see discussion on GTh 27 below), which is not found anywhere in the
Coptic.
8 DeConick, 52, and Grosso, 118, rightly note that τοῦ θεοῦ is too short (and even more so if it
were to appear in contracted form as του θυ).
9 Eisele, Welcher Thomas, 115–118. His argument, for example, that it does not make sense to
talk of an external kingdom on the grounds that only the Coptic has self-knowledge and
knowledge of oneself by another (116) is not compelling: the point might equally be that
the externality of the kingdom lies in the dimension of Jesus’ transcendence. Similarly, the
argument that Hippolytus knew a form of the saying without κἀκτός is not convincing (118).
(If Ref. 5.7.20 does allude to GTh 3, one could argue that the same paradox exists there as in
GTh 3, because Hippolytus attests both to the presence of the kingdom within, but also to the
presence of Jesus in the fourteenth aeon.)
logion 3 209
More significantly, in GTh 3.4, the phrase ‘whoever knows himself will find
it’ appears only in the Greek;10 while this is a more substantial difference in
wording, the statement is entirely consonant with the rest of the saying and
adds little to the overall sense. On the other hand, the addition, ‘(when you
know yourselves), you will be known’ in 3.4 is distinctive to the Coptic. If all other
things were equal, it would be hard to decide which of the Greek and Coptic is
earlier; one can probably assume that the Greek is closer to the original.
Interpretation
The present dialogue between Jesus and the disciples has a number of difficul-
ties, the first of which is the identity of the opponents.11 Most scholars take them
to be Christian powers, ‘leading authorities whose message is obviously Chris-
tian … whose claim to lead manifests itself in authority over interpretations of
Christian doctrines’.12 This may be correct, but the particular group targeted is
not especially clear: interestingly, Jesus is not criticising the view of the disciples
(as elsewhere when he is opposing ‘ecclesiastical’ teaching) but the views of a
third party. In any case, the main characteristic of these opponents is that they
are οἱ ἕλκοντες ⟨ὑ⟩μᾶς, a much discussed epithet. The sense is probably of forc-
ing, bullying and cajoling, since the verb can have the general sense of getting
someone to do something against their will:13 if the targets here are Christian, it
is hard to imagine ἕλκω having a physical sense; in a literal sense, the opponents
would have to be Roman authorities (see notes below).
Whoever these ἕλκοντες are, Thomas’s polemic is against the localisation
of the kingdom of God in some particular heavenly or earthly sphere.14 This
10 A scribal omission by parablepsis is not so easy to assume as in DeConick, 54.

11 It is difficult to accept Eisele’s contention that Jesus’ own view is more in continuity with
the voices in 3.1 and 3.2, given the ridicule attached to the views in 3.1–2. See Eisele, ‘Ziehen,
Führen und Verführen’, 380–415.
12 Plisch, 43. Similarly, as we have seen, Trevijano Etcheverría comments that Thomas is
opposing ‘fantasías apocalípticas y concepciones religiosas populares demasiado crasas’
(‘La escatología del Evangelio de Tomás’, 440, cf. 418: ‘los guías denunciados no serían otros
que los líderes eclesiásticos’).
13 This is the sense of ἕλκω in Plato, Rep. 458D (where it is associated with ἀνάγκη) and in
350D: the meaning is not really that of ‘Ziehen mit Worten’ (Eisele, ‘Ziehen, Führen und
Verführen’, 389): even in the latter case it is more a matter of Thrasymmachus’s reluctance
and embarrassment, rather than Socrates’ speaking. In the former, despite the parallel
with πείθω, words are not in view at all.
14 We have already noted Trevijano Etcheverría, ‘La escatología del Evangelio de Tomás’, 415,
210 logion 3
comports with the Thomasine Jesus’ criticisms elsewhere (e.g. 113.3). There is no
need for a transformation of the present cosmos, or anxious speculation about
the heavens and the earth passing away, because the kingdom is not located in
any of these realms.
A difficulty with the ‘anti-ecclesiastical’ view is that while a polemic against
a kingdom in heaven might fit,15 criticism of a kingdom ‘under the earth’ does
not. The accusation could, however, merely be impressionistic: a subterranean
kingdom might simply be a rhetorical reflex or counterpoint to one ‘above’. This
reference is probably in part influenced by the heaven/ abyss contrast found
elsewhere,16 but perhaps also by pagan views of afterlife under the earth.17
Replacing this localised view of the kingdom is the counter-statement that
it is ‘inside you and outside you’, in other words, anywhere and everywhere.
The reference to ‘inside you’ prompts mention of an interesting divergence
from some other Christian teaching of Thomas’s day, namely a theology of
self-knowledge.
418, on this point. Rightly also Eisele, ‘Ziehen, Führen und Verführen’, 380: ‘In EvThom 3
spricht Jesus von Personen, die das Reich (Gottes) an bestimmten Orten lokalisieren.’
15 In addition to the NT’s association of kingdom and heaven, there is a closer identification
of heaven as the location of the kingdom in e.g. Diogn. 6.8; cf. 10.2.
16 For the influence of Rom. 10 at this point, see Gathercole, ‘The Influence of Paul on the
Gospel of Thomas’, and idem, Composition, 233–237.
17 A subterranean kingdom where the dead go is a common feature of popular pagan mythol-
ogy (much more common than celestial immortality), rather than Judaeo-Christian tradi-
tion. In Jewish tradition, Sheol, the realm under the earth, is—far from being a kingdom—
very much a place of, at best, an insubstantial existence which is a mere shadow of the
vibrant life above ground. In any case, and more importantly, it is regarded by many
Jews and Christians at the time of Thomas as a merely temporary abode. The idea of
a positive netherworld is especially (though by no means exclusively) prominent in
Egypt, where by the Greco-Roman period there is already a long-established tradition
of thinking of the realm of the dead as either in the west or under the earth. See e.g.
E. Hornung, The Ancient Egyptian Books of the Afterlife (Ithaca: Cornell University Press,
1999). One also finds frequent reference to the underworld as the abode of the dead in
the so-called ‘Orphic’ Gold tablets, which are dispersed quite widely across Italy and
Greece. See A. Bernabé & A.I. Jiménez San Cristóbal, eds. Instructions for the Nether-
world: The Orphic Gold Tablets (Religions in the Greco-Roman World; Leiden: Brill, 2008).
Principally, however, this popular view is shaped by the epic tradition, especially as
it appears in Odyssey 11 and Aeneid 6. As the gold tablets illustrate, however, this is
not always a gloomy destiny; rather, it is a commonplace that there is a bright region
of the underworld where the pious (or, in a different religious context, the initiated)
go.
logion 3 211
Notes
3.1 If those who drag you away (Co: lead you) say to you. If the envisaged
opposition is probably Christians (see below ad 3.2), there cannot be any
real sense of Thomasine Christians being dragged into court on charges of
heresy. Nevertheless, there is a clear projection here of the image of forceful
persecution: ἕλκω (in contrast to ⲥⲱⲕ ϩⲏⲧ⸗) gives the impression of duress. This
is then softened in the Coptic version.
3.1–2 “Behold, the kingdom is in heaven”, then the birds of heaven would
precede you! If they say (Co + to you) that it is under the earth (Co: in the sea),
then the fish of the sea (om. Co) would precede you and enter it (om. Co)! As
noted above, the parody is of views locating the kingdom in some sphere within
the cosmos.18 This is the first reference in Thomas to the kingdom, a central
term in the Gospel. On the kingdom, see Introduction, § 10.1 above. Thomas’s
opponents are clearly caricatured here: although a subterranean kingdom does
not really correspond to any known early Christian views,19 it is still likely that
the opposition is to the magna ecclesia. Deuteronomy 30, via Romans 10, pro-
vides the heaven/ under-the-earth contrast, rather than identifiable mistaken
views of the afterlife.20 On the birds and the fish, compare Deut. 4.18; Job 12.7–8.
3.3 But the kingdom of heaven (om. Co) is inside you and outside of you.
The kingdom, then, is simultaneously all around (cf. GTh 113.4) as well as
within.21 Unlikely are the suggestions for how the kingdom can be both ‘inside’
and ‘outside’ proposed by Hedrick (‘an inner spiritual experience … shared with
others of like mind’) and Valantasis (interior self-knowledge as well as ‘a new
understanding of the mundane world’).22 There is a parallel here with Thomas’s
representation of Jesus, who also is closely identified with the ‘light within a
luminous person’ (GTh 24.3) while also transcending this world (GTh 10, 16 and
28): he is at the same time both the light above all, and identified with the all
(GTh 77). The point is that the kingdom is both readily accessible but can never
be pinned down to a location.23 The structure ‘neither X—nor Y—but within
18 So, rightly, Trevijano Etcheverría, ‘La escatología del Evangelio de Tomás’, 415–441.
19 Dunderberg, Beloved Disciple, 36, takes the reference to heaven as strong counterevidence
to the view of DeConick that Thomas advocates heavenly journeys.
20 Gathercole, Composition, 233–237; cf. Glasson, ‘Gospel of Thomas, Saying 3’, 151–152.
21 See the helpful and accurate remarks in Luttikhuizen, ‘The Hidden Meaning of “The
Kingdom Inside You and Outside You” ’, 546.
22 Hedrick, 22; Valantasis, 59.
23 Cf. Plisch, 43: ‘The kingdom of God is, at the same time, in your grasp but unavailable.’ It
is not quite that the kingdom is unavailable, but rather that it cannot be tied down to a
particular place.
212 logion 3
you’ derives from Luke 17.21 (cf. GTh 113),24 and Thomas has combined Luke 17.21
with Deut. 30.11–14/ Rom. 10, as Tertullian was later to do (Adv. Marc. 4.35).25 See
also comment on GTh 113 below.
3.4 Whoever knows himself will find it and … (om. Co). Thomas attributes
to Jesus the γνῶθι σαυτόν, a philosophical maxim also part of the general cul-
ture, and significant in theological writings. The phrase was famously inscribed
on the temple of Apollo at Delphi (Pausanias, Descr. 10.24.1), and much dis-
cussed in antiquity. In Plato’s Alcibiades it becomes particularly associated with
knowledge that a person is soul (Alc. 130E), and this idea continues into early
Christian literature. In various places the reference is not to ‘self-awareness’ in
the modern sense, but rather to knowledge about one’s nature:
Testimony of Truth: ‘And they have come to know themselves—[who they

are] or where they are [now] and what is the [place in] which they will
rest from their stupidity, [arriving] at knowledge.’26
Teaching of Silvanus: ‘Before everything, know your birth. Know yourself,

that is, from what substance you are, or from what race …’.27
Theodotus: ‘Now it is not merely the washing which liberates, but also the
knowledge: Who were we and what have we become? Where were we and
where are we now cast? To where are we hastening and from what have
we been delivered? What is birth? What is rebirth?’28
Clement: ‘(knowing) to what you have come … and whose image you are,
what is your essence, and what your making and what your affinity to the
divine, and matters like these’.29
Sextus: ‘If you know to what you have come, you will know yourself.’30
24 ‘Nor shall they say, “Behold, it is here!” or, “It is there!”, for behold, the kingdom of God is
among you.’
25 Gos. Mary 8,15–19, also has reference to Lk. 17.21.
26 Testim. Truth 35,25–36,3; cf. 44,30–45,6: ‘This, then, is the true testimony: When a man
knows himself and the God who is over the truth, he will be saved, and will be crowned
with the unfading crown.’
27 Teach. Silv. 92,10–14.
28 Clement, Exc. Theod. 78.2.
29 Clement, Strom. 5.4.23.1. See further Paed. 3.1.1, where Clement extols the value of self-
knowledge.
30 Sent. Sext. 398.
logion 3 213
For Thomas, knowledge of self is knowledge that the body is a mere corpse
(GTh 56; 58), and that the soul is a precious thing trapped in the poverty of this
body (GTh 29). In terms of knowledge of origins and destiny, this is expanded
upon in GTh 18 and 49–50, in which the soul is from the primordial kingdom
and ultimately returns there. This connection between self-knowledge and the
kingdom is not so much a sequential discovery of the nature of the self and
then of the kingdom; rather, the two overlap.31 They are not co-extensive, how-
ever (see discussion of GTh 111 below). On ‘knowing’, see further Introduction,
§10.1.
3.4 When you know yourselves … (Co + … then you will be known, and …).
The Coptic completes the symmetry by supplementing the apodosis here: the
Coptic may be indebted to Paul.32
3.4 You will know (Co: understand) that you are sons of the living Father.
This statement completes the textually complex sentence in GTh 3.4. With
‘sons of the Father’, compare ‘sons of the light’ and ‘elect of the Father’ (GTh
50); GTh 101.2–3 is a possible reference to the disciple’s divine Father, though
it is somewhat obscure because of a lacuna in the manuscript. GTh 99 also
has the fictive family of disciples. On the epithet ‘living’, see notes on Prologue
above. Possible, though perhaps unlikely, is a vague catchword or thematic link
between ‘sons’ and living here, and ‘child’ and ‘live’ in GTh 4.
3.5 But if you do not know yourselves, you are in poverty and you are
poverty. The alternative to this knowledge is defined as poverty. In a Jewish
context, poverty is often a positive metaphor when used in a spiritual sense (so
also in GTh 54); here—as usually elsewhere in the Nag Hammadi library—it is
clearly negative (cf. also GTh 29).33 The sense is clearly poverty in knowledge
and lack of spiritual wealth: cf. GTh 29.3; 81.1 and 85.1 below.34
31 Cf. Ménard’s formulation: ‘le Royaume, c’ est la connaissance simultanée de nous-mêmes

et de Dieu dans un même acte’ (Ménard, ‘La Sagesse et le logion 3 de l’ Évangile selon
Thomas’, 140).
32 Plisch, 44, specifically Gal. 4.9; cf. 1 Cor. 13.12.
33 E.g. in Ap. John II 27,24–27, Jesus answers John’s question about where the souls go of
those who turn away: ‘To that place where the angels of poverty go they will be taken,
the place where there is no repentance.’ Cf. Orig. World II 112,10–13: ‘Now when Adam
of light conceived the wish to enter his light, he was unable to do so because of the
poverty that had mingled with his light’; Auth. Teach. 27,25–27: ‘Our soul indeed is ill
because she dwells in a house of poverty’ (cf. GTh 29); Treat. Seth 58,20–22, where the
world becomes ‘poor’ when ‘the sun of the powers of the archons set’ and darkness took
them.
34 Valantasis, 34.
Logion 41
4.1 [λέγει ιης·] οὐκ ἀποκνήσει ἄνθ[ρωπος παλαιὸς ἡμε]ρῶν ἐπερωτῆσ⟨αι⟩

πα[ιδίον ἑπτὰ ἡμε]ρῶν περὶ τοῦ τόπου τῆ[ς ζωῆς, καὶ ζή]σετ⟨αι⟩· 4.2 ‘ὅτι’ πολλοὶ
ἔσονται π̣ [ρῶτοι ἔσχατοι καὶ] οἱ ἔσχατοι πρῶτοι, 4.3 καὶ [ἔσονται εἰς ἕνω]σιν.
Restoration of esp. 4.3 exempli gratia.
4.1 [ Jesus said,] ‘A m[an old in da]ys will not hesitate to ask a ch[ild seven
da]ys old about the place of [life, and] he will [live]. 4.2 Because many [who
are first] will be [last, and] the last will be first. 4.3 And [they will be as one].’
4.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϥⲛⲁϫⲛⲁⲩ ⲁⲛ ⲛ̄ϭⲓ ⲡⲣⲱⲙⲉ ⲛ̄ϩⲗ̄ⲗⲟ ϩⲛ̄ ⲛⲉϥϩⲟⲟⲩ ⲉϫⲛⲉ ⲟⲩⲕⲟⲩⲉⲓ ⲛ̄ϣⲏⲣⲉ
ϣⲏⲙ ⲉϥϩⲛ̄ ⲥⲁϣϥ̄ ⲛ̄ϩⲟⲟⲩ ⲉⲧⲃⲉ ⲡⲧⲟⲡⲟⲥ ⲙ̄ⲡⲱⲛϩ ⲁⲩⲱ ϥⲛⲁⲱⲛϩ 4.2 ϫⲉ ⲟⲩⲛ̄ ϩⲁϩ
ⲛ̄ϣⲟⲣⲡ⳿ ⲛⲁⲣ̄ ϩⲁⲉ 4.3 ⲁⲩⲱ ⲛ̄ⲥⲉϣⲱⲡⲉ ⲟⲩⲁ ⲟⲩⲱⲧ
4.1 Jesus said, ‘The man old in his days will not hesitate to ask a little child
seven days old about the place of life, and he will live. 4.2 Because many who
are first will be last. 4.3 And they will become one.’
Textual Comment
There are various small differences between the Greek and Coptic versions.2
Very minor is the difference between παιδίον and the more expansive ⲕⲟⲩⲉⲓ
ⲛ̄ϣⲏⲣⲉ ϣⲏⲙ. The Coptic’s article (‘the man’) is not paralleled in the Greek; the
veteran is in Greek probably ‘old of days’, but is ‘old in his days’ in the Cop-
1 Bibliography for GTh 4: A.F.J. Klijn, ‘The “Single One” in the Gospel of Thomas’, JBL 81
(1962), 271–278; H.C. Kee, ‘ “Becoming a Child” in the Gospel of Thomas’, JBL 82 (1963),
307–314; Lelyveld, Logia de la vie, 27–32; R. Trevijano Etcheverría, ‘El anciano preguntará
al niño (Evangelio de Tomás Log. 4)’, Estudios Bíblicos 50 (1992), 521–535; E.E. Popkes, Das
Menschenbild des Thomasevangeliums (WUNT 206; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2007), 169–172.
2 Pace Trevijano Etcheverría, ‘El anciano preguntará al niño’, 522–525, there are no close Syn-
optic parallels; Matt. 11.25–26 and Lk. 2.41–52 are not particularly similar. There may be some
relationship between GTh 4 and the Valentinus frag. 7 (Markschies’s numbering) in Hippoly-
tus, Ref. 6.42.2: ‘For Valentinus even says that he saw a small baby, recently born. This child
he asked and inquired who he was. And he replied saying that he was the Logos.’ Cf. also
Manichaean Psalm-Book 192,2–3: ‘The grey haired old men—the little children instruct them.
They that are six years old instruct them that are sixty years old.’
logion 4 215
tic. The only possible significance of this could be the loss in translation of
an allusion to the Ancient of Days (παλαιὸς ἡμερῶν in LXX & Θ of Dan. 7.9, 13;
cf. 7.22), although since only the -ρῶν of the Greek wording survives, to assume
a Danielic reference here would be hazardous in any case; for such a specific
reference in the Greek we would probably also expect a definite article. The
Coptic also abbreviates the Greek’s ‘first last, last first’ saying by only including
the first half (Coptic: ‘Many who are first will be last’). The Greek is probably ear-
lier at this point, reflecting better than the Coptic the form of the saying in the
canonical parallels (though of course a later harmonisation remains possible).3
An additional layer of complexity, however, results from a reference in
(?Pseudo-)Hippolytus:4
This, they say, is the kingdom of heaven to be sought within man, about
which they pass on an explicit statement in the Gospel entitled ‘according
to Thomas’ (ἐν τῷ κατὰ Θωμᾶν ἐπιγραφομένῳ εὐαγγελίῳ), as follows: ‘He
who seeks me will find me in children from seven years old. For there, in
the fourteenth aeon I am hidden and yet appear.’ (ἐμὲ ὁ ζητῶν εὑρήσει ἐν
παιδίοις ἀπὸ ἐτῶν ἑπτά. ἐκεῖ γὰρ ἐν τῷ τεσσαρεσκαιδεκάτῳ αἰῶνι κρυβόμενος
φανεροῦμαι.)
(Ref. 5.7.20)
This comes in Hippolytus’ discussion of the Naassenes in the Refutatio which

dates to around 222–235ce, and therefore reflects a source in use by Hippolytus
which would have been roughly contemporaneous with, or even earlier than,
the Oxyrhynchus fragments. Attridge rightly advocates caution about suppos-
ing a different recension of Thomas here in Hippolytus, however: ‘it may well be
that the citation in Hippolytus is but a garbled form of saying 4, distorted either
by Naassene exegesis or by Hippolytus or perhaps by both’.5 Lancellotti further
draws attention to the different meanings of the saying in Thomas and Hippoly-
tus, commenting that Hippolytus’s interest in the interiority of the kingdom is
not a concern here in the Greek and Coptic texts of GTh 4.6
3 Rightly, Ricchuiti, ‘Tracking Thomas’, 206.

4 On this passage, see further the discussion above in Introduction, §3.1: ‘Named Testimonia’.
5 H.W. Attridge, ‘Appendix: The Greek Fragments’, in B. Layton, ed. Nag Hammadi Codex II,2–7:
Volume One (Leiden: Brill, 1989), 113–125 (103), contra Trevijano Etcheverría, ‘El anciano pre-
guntará al niño’, 528 n. 26.
6 M.G. Lancellotti, The Naassenes: A Gnostic Identity among Judaism, Christianity, Classical and
Ancient Near Eastern Traditions (Forschungen zur Anthropologie und Religionsgeschichte,
35; Münster: Ugarit-Verlag, 2000), 347.
216 logion 4
Callahan makes the intriguing suggestion that ‘he will live’ in 4.1 be emended
to ‘he will be revealed’ (ϥⲛⲁⲟⲩⲱⲛϩ for ϥⲛⲁⲱⲛϩ), partly because it would solidify
the catchword connection of ⲟⲩⲱⲛϩ across GTh 4–5–6, but also because of the
‘revealing’ in the Hippolytus parallel.7 This should be rejected, however, since
the one revealed in Hippolytus is Jesus, whereas the one who ‘lives’ in Thomas
is the inquiring old man.
The restoration of the Greek in 4.3 is speculative. Some propose the impossi-
ble Greek καὶ [εἷς γενήσου]σιν.8 Attridge’s καὶ [εἰς ἓν καταντήσου]σιν (cf. Eph. 4.13)
is possible.9 The suggestion above is offered as an alternative possibility. Since it
is impossible to know, the interpretation of 4.3 below will rely upon the Coptic.
Interpretation
First, we should consider the imagery on the surface. The logic of it is: an old
man needs to ask a baby because the baby has only come from the place of life
very recently, whereas the old man is a long way away from it in time (and much
nearer to death). Although the image has a logic to it, it entails the reversal of
the social norm according to which children consult their elders (e.g. Deut. 6);
hence, the last shall be first, and the first shall be last (Mk 10.31/ Matt. 19.30; cf.
Matt. 20.16/ Lk. 13.30). This saying, however, is not ultimately about reversal, but
envisages a unification of the opposites (rather than their exchange of status).
Having acquired knowledge from the baby, the old man gains life and becomes
the baby’s equal.
The two characters therefore symbolise (i) the disciple who is acquainted
with the place of life, and (ii) those due to taste death. The point is therefore
probably that the truth may be sought by others from these ‘children’.10 There
is almost certainly no hint here of an ascending believer confronted by an
archon, and asked to give a password in order to pass through to heaven.11
What is evident is at least something of an openness to outsiders (see further
Introduction, §10.3 above).
7 A.D. Callahan, ‘No Rhyme or Reason: The Hidden Logia of the Gospel of Thomas’, HTR 90
(1997), 411–426 (413).
8 Hofius, ‘Das koptische Thomasevangelium’ (I), 32; DeConick, 58–59.
9 Attridge, ‘Appendix: The Greek Fragments’, 115 (with apparatus).
10 Trevijano Etcheverría, ‘El anciano preguntará al niño’, 522, 531; DeConick, 57.
11 A possibility noted (but rejected) by Trevijano Etcheverría, ‘El anciano preguntará al niño’,
530–531, associating it with the view that the old man may be the Danielic Ancient of Days,
as probably in Apoc. Paul 22,23–30.
logion 4 217
Notes
4.1 A (Co: The) man old in (Co + his) days will not hesitate to ask. Notably, old
age here is valued negatively, in contrast to the biblical and cultural norm. This
is a reflex of the use of the baby as a positive symbol. The old man is a symbol
of the person estranged from life, because rather than having just been imbued
with new life like the baby, he is in decline and heading for death. Leipoldt
posits a play on words between ϫⲛⲁⲩ and ϫⲛⲉ-, but since both words are natural
translations of the Greek, this seems irrelevant.12
4.1 A (Co + little) child. This is the first use in Thomas of child imagery
to represent the true disciple: here (with the next phrase) the child is spec-
ified as a baby. Later, followers of the living Jesus are like children in a field
who strip off their clothes in GTh 21, and suckling infants are like those who
enter the kingdom in a saying which loosely parallels children with ‘making
the male and the female one and the same’ (GTh 22). Although the idea of
children as genderless is not explicit here, there is certainly elsewhere a strong
sense of the innocence of children, as especially in GTh 37, where the disci-
ples are like children who take off their clothes. There are various possible
connotations to the child imagery: newness of life (cf. Barn. 6.11); innocence
(Papias, LH fr. 15; Herm. [Mand. 2] 27.1), especially sexual innocence; or—
relatedly—Adamic androgyny.13 Thus far, however, we have not encountered
any theological depth to the imagery of the child, beyond the fact of the baby’s
proximity to the place, or source, of life. Later, other elements will be added,
such as the association (albeit loose) of children and asexuality in GTh 22.1–
5.
4.1 Seven days old. It is unlikely that the seven-day old child is ‘living in the
perfect week’, before the fall.14 It is possible that the reference to a seven-day old
baby implies that he is not circumcised (with circumcision taking place on the
eighth day: Gen. 17.12; 21.4; Lev. 12.3; Lk. 1.59; 2.21; Phil. 3.5);15 this qualification
would then contribute to the anti-Jewish tenor of Thomas (cf. esp. the criticism
of physical circumcision in GTh 53). Another suggestion is that, on its seventh
day, the child is at rest, and therefore in possession of the rest in GTh 2.16 More
12 J. Leipoldt, Das Evangelium nach Thomas: Koptisch und deutsch (Berlin: Akademie, 1967),
56.
13 Trevijano Etcheverría, ‘El anciano preguntará al niño’, 530.
14 Kee, ‘Becoming a Child’, 311; Trevijano Etcheverría, ‘El anciano preguntará al niño’, 526.
15 M. Marcovich, ‘Textual Criticism on the Gospel of Thomas’, JTS 20 (1969), 53–74 (62).
16 Implied in Y. Janssens, ‘L’Évangile selon Thomas et son charactère gnostique’, Muséon 75
(1961), 301–325 (304).
218 logion 4
probably, the child is simply a very young baby in contrast to the old man, albeit
with a spiritually perfect age.17
4.1 About the place of life. As noted, this perhaps offers the clue to the
interpretation of this saying, because the baby has recently come from this
place of life, and therefore—unlike the old man—has fresh experience of
it. The theological reference of the place of life is the pre-existent paradisal
kingdom, from which the elect have come, and to which they shall return (GTh
19; 49).18
4.1 And he will live. This must refer not to the baby, but to the old man, who,
having gained wisdom from the child, will now himself escape tasting death.
The assumption here is that the baby has replied, and instructed the old man.19
In terms of the outlook of Thomas, this saying appears to reveal a quite positive
attitude towards outsiders (see Interpretation, and Introduction, § 10.3 above).
The impression here is that converts are envisaged as coming into the Thomas
movement. There is not the degree of isolationism as is perhaps implied in a
few places (e.g. GTh 93).
4.2 Because many who are first will be last, and the last will be first (om.
Co). The scenario of an old man (the ‘first’) asking advice of a baby (‘the last’)
is already a reversal of the norm (e.g. Deut. 6.20: καὶ ἔσται ὅταν ἐρωτήσῃ σε ὁ
υἱός σου αὔριον λέγων …) to draw attention to the exceptional nature of the
child or true disciple and his knowledge. This is reinforced by the inclusion
of the familiar Synoptic aphorism, with the form in Thomas almost identical
to some of the canonical instances (namely, Mk 10.31; Matt. 19.30; 20.16; Lk.
13.30).
4.3 And they will become one. The meaning of the phrase ⲟⲩⲁ ⲟⲩⲱⲧ (‘one’)
is debated, especially in Thomas in connection with the term ⲙⲟⲛⲁⲭⲟⲥ.20 The
point in 4.3 is not that the characters will become ‘single ones’ or ‘solitaries’.21
(The sense of ⲟⲩⲁ ⲟⲩⲱⲧ is thus here slightly different from ⲙⲟⲛⲁⲭⲟⲥ: see
17 Great Pow. 36,11–12: ‘from the age of seven days up to one hundred and twenty years’.
18 Lelyveld, Logia de la vie, 29.
19 Cf. Valentinus, fragment 7, already noted.
20 For discussion, see R. Charron, ‘À propos des ⲟⲩⲁ ⲟⲩⲱⲧ et de la solitude divine dans
les textes de Nag Hammadi’, in L. Painchaud & P.-H. Poirier, eds. Coptica—Gnostica—
Manichaica: Mélanges offerts à Wolf-Peter Funk (BCNH 7; Louvain/ Paris: Peeters/ Laval:
Presses de l’ Université Laval, 2006), 109–133: Charron sees slightly more synonymity
between ⲟⲩⲁ ⲟⲩⲱⲧ and ⲙⲟⲛⲁⲭⲟⲥ than the present commentary.
21 Trevijano Etcheverría, ‘El anciano preguntará al niño’, 534, refers to the reduction of
duality, especially sexual duality. Grosso, 120, also conflates the senses of ⲟⲩⲁ ⲟⲩⲱⲧ and
ⲙⲟⲛⲁⲭⲟⲥ.
logion 4 219
Appended Note after GTh 16.) The phrase is also found in 22.4 in a context of
making two into one.22 In addition to the parallels noted by Crum and Layton,23
Jesus and the Father are ⲟⲩⲁ ⲟⲩⲱⲧ in the Gospel of the Saviour (98,60–62); in
Mark 10.9, no-one should separate the husband and wife whom God has made
ⲛⲟⲩⲁ ⲛⲟⲩⲱⲧ. (The meaning of ‘single ones’ would be especially inappropriate
here!) The reference is to the plurality of the collective being resolved into a
unity. Just as in GTh 22 the traditional dualities of male and female are made
ⲙⲡⲓⲟⲩⲁ ⲟⲩⲱⲧ, so here ‘old’ and ‘young’ are ⲟⲩⲁ ⲟⲩⲱⲧ.
22 In GTh 23, the sense is not quite so clear.

23 See Crum 494a and examples in Layton, Coptic Grammar, 123 (§ 158).
Logion 51
5.1 λέγει ιης· γ̣[νῶθι τὸν ἔμπροσ]θεν τῆς ὄψεώς σου, καὶ [τὸ κεκαλυμμένον]
ἀπό σου ἀποκαλυφ⟨θ⟩ήσετ[αί σοι· 5.2 οὐ γάρ ἐσ]τιν κρυπτὸν ὃ οὐ φαν̣ε[̣ ρὸν
γενήσεται] καὶ θεθαμμένο̣ν ὃ ο[ὐκ ἐγερθησέται.]
5.1 Jesus said, ‘[Know the one who is befo]re your face, and [what is hidden]
from you will be reveal[ed to you. 5.2 For there i]s nothing hidden which will
not [become] pla[in], 5.3 and buried which [will not be raised].’
5.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ⲥⲟⲩⲱⲛ ⲡⲉⲧⲙ̄ⲡⲙ̄ⲧⲟ ⲙ̄ⲡⲉⲕϩⲟ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ⳿ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲡⲉⲑⲏⲡ⳿ ⲉⲣⲟⲕ⳿ ϥⲛⲁϭⲱⲗⲡ⳿ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ
ⲛⲁⲕ⳿ 5.2 ⲙⲛ̄ ⲗⲁⲁⲩ ⲅⲁⲣ ⲉϥϩⲏⲡ⳿ ⲉϥⲛⲁⲟⲩⲱⲛϩ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ⲁⲛ
5.1 Jesus said, ‘Know the one who is before your face, and what is hidden from
you will be revealed to you. 5.2 For there is nothing hidden which will not be
revealed.’
Textual Comment
The Greek of 5.1 is often restored γνῶθι τὸ ἔμπροσθεν τῆς ὄψεώς σου (‘know what
is before your face’).2 A personal reference may be more likely in view of GTh
52.2 (cf. 91).
The Greek and Coptic texts agree up until the last clause, with the Greek’s
plus (5.3) of the raising of what is buried. This may have been omitted by the
Coptic for a theological reason, namely an opposition to a suspected bodily
resurrection. The restoration of this last clause is made more secure by its attes-
1 Bibliography for GTh 5: H.-C. Puech, ‘Un logion de Jésus sur bandelette funéraire’, Revue de
l’Histoire des Religions 147 (1955), 126–129, repr. in H.-C. Puech, En Quête de la Gnose, vol. II: Sur
l’évangile selon Thomas: Esquisse d’ une interprétation systématique (Paris: Gallimard, 1978),
59–62; W. Schrage, ‘Evangelienzitate in den Oxyrhynchus-Logien und im koptischen Thomas-
evangelium’, in W. Eltester, ed. Apophoreta: Festschrift Ernst Haenchen (Berlin: Töpelmann,
1964), 251–268; S.R. Johnson, ‘The Hidden/ Revealed Saying in the Greek and Coptic Versions
of Gos. Thom. 5 & 6’, NovT 44 (2002), 176–185; A. Luijendijk, ‘“Jesus says: ‘There Is Nothing
Buried That Will Not Be Raised’.” A Late-Antique Shroud with Gospel of Thomas Logion 5 in
Context’, ZAC 15 (2011), 389–410; Eisele, Welcher Thomas, 131–149; A. Luijendijk, ‘An Orthodox
Corruption of the Gospel of Thomas’ (forthcoming).
2 See e.g. Attridge, ‘Appendix: The Greek Fragments’, 115.
logion 5 221
tation in the Oxyrhynchus shroud (fifth-sixth century): λέγει Ἰησοῦς· οὐκ ἐστιν
τεθαμμένον ὃ οὐκ ἐγερθησέται which probably displays knowledge of Thomas.3
There may not be any significant theological difference between the Greek and
Coptic, however, as the reference to raising what is buried need not imply a
belief in bodily resurrection (despite its later usage, presumably to this effect,
in the shroud): more probably, it is another image alongside the revelation of
the hidden (5.1–2/ 6.5) and the uncovering of the covered (6.6). (See further
comments below.) Johnson’s view that 5.3 is a secondary addition—included
to forge a link with GTh 6—is possible, but speculative.4 He rightly draws atten-
tion to the curious fact that Greek GTh 5 is one ‘strophe’ longer than GTh 6
whereas in the Coptic, the situation is reversed.5 The plus in Greek GTh 5.3
(‘and buried which [will not be raised]’) corresponds closely to the plus in Cop-
tic GTh 6.6 (‘and nothing covered which will be left without being uncovered’).
More probable than 5.3 being a secondary addition is that Greek 5.3 was later
moved to GTh 6.6, rewritten to remove any suspicious sign of a possible refer-
ence to bodily resurrection.6
Interpretation
This saying promises further revelation to the person who knows Jesus. Knowl-
edge here is characterised not as self-knowledge but as knowledge of an exter-
nal Jesus, who is nevertheless near (‘in front of your face’). Valantasis sees a ref-
erence here to the accessibility of the sayings of Thomas to all which is possible,
but unlikely.7 An impersonal sense of ‘what is before your face’ in 5.1 is possi-
ble, however: in this case the reference could be to the kingdom (cf. GTh 113),
or knowledge. The other main interpretative question is that of whether a lit-
eral reference to resurrection was intended in the Greek of 5.3. This is unlikely,
given that a reference to bodily resurrection would be strange paired with the
aphorism in 5.2, where the point is not the transformation from death to life
but from hiddenness to visibility. When the true disciple acquires the requisite
knowledge, the invisible kingdom becomes apparent in all its wonder.
3 See Puech’s discussion in ‘Un logion de Jésus’, and En Quête de la Gnose; the latter has a plate.
A parallel also appears in 1 Keph. 163:28–29.
4 Johnson, ‘The Hidden/ Revealed Saying’, 182–184.
5 Johnson, ‘The Hidden/Revealed Saying’, 182.
6 See e.g. Puech, ‘Un logion de Jésus’, 128, on the difficulty.
7 Valantasis, 62. This interpretation is odd not least given Valantasis earlier comments about
the envisaged audience as ‘a select group of people’ (31, 52–53).
222 logion 5
Notes
5.1 Know the one who is before your face. Understanding Jesus and his revela-
tion is the precondition for the visionary experience promised in the rest of the
saying (see further GTh 27 on ‘seeing’). A reference to Jesus is more likely than
something impersonal (see above), and especially than ‘the nature of apparent
reality’.8
5.1 And what is hidden from you will be revealed to you. This aphorism
probably has a particular meaning in Thomas. What is hidden at present is not
only the kingdom ‘outside of you’ (as in GTh 3), but also the element within,
the invisible image: this will come into view according to GTh 83–84. It may be
that the reference is more general.9
5.2 For there is nothing hidden which will not become plain (Co: be
revealed). Cf. GTh 6.5; Mk 4.22; Matt. 10.26; Lk. 8.17; 12.2, and looser parallels,
such as 2Clem. 16.3. The connection with GTh 6 is not so much a catchword
link, but a larger thematic connection. The Greek text here is often—probably
correctly—taken to be dependent upon Luke.10
5.3 And buried which will not be raised (om. Co). There are two main
options for the meaning here: (1) a strong parallel to 5.2, in which case the focus
is again on revelation, 0r (2) a soteriological sense of a form of resurrection,
whether bodily or in some other sense. In the context of GTh 5 as a whole, the
most likely sense is the revelation of what is hidden: 5.2–3 are the justification
for the promise in 5.1b.
8 Valantasis, 62.
9 Hedrick, 27, who sees a promise of insight into the true nature of everything.
10 See e.g. C.M. Tuckett, ‘Thomas and the Synoptics’, NovT 30 (1988), 132–157 (145–146);
Gathercole, Composition, 186–187.
Logion 61
6.1 [ἐξ]ετάζουσιν αὐτὸν ο[ἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ καὶ λέ]γ̣ο̣υσιν· πῶς νηστεύ[σομεν,
καὶ πῶς προσευξόμ]εθα, καὶ πῶς [ἐλεημοσύνην ποιήσομεν κ]α̣ὶ τί παρατη-
ρήσ̣ [ομεν περὶ τῶν βρωμάτω]ν; 6.2 λέγει ιης· [μὴ ψεύδεσθε 6.3 καὶ ὅ τι μισ-]
εῖτ⟨ε⟩, μὴ ποιεῖτ̣[ε· 6.4 ὅτι πάντα ἔμπροσθεν τ]ῆς ἀληθ[ε]ίας ἀν[ακαλύπτεται.
6.5 οὐ γάρ ἐστι]ν ἀ[π]οκεκρ̣[υμμένον ὃ οὐ φανερὸν ἔσται.]
6.1 [His disciples] questioned him and [s]aid, ‘How [shall we] fast? [And how
shall w]e [pray]? And how [shall we give alms? A]nd what [diet shall we]
observe?’ 6.2 Jesus said, ‘[Do not lie 6.3 and what you hate,] do not do. 6.4
[Because all things are revealed in the presence of t]he truth. 6.5 [For there
is nothing] hid[den which will not be revealed.]’
6.1 ⲁⲩϫⲛⲟⲩϥ ⲛ̄ϭⲓ ⲛⲉϥ⳿ⲙⲁⲑⲏⲧⲏⲥ ⲡⲉϫⲁⲩ ⲛⲁϥ⳿ ϫⲉ ⲕ⳿ⲟⲩⲱϣ ⲉⲧⲣⲛ̄ⲣ̄ⲛⲏⲥⲧⲉⲩⲉ ⲁⲩⲱ

ⲉϣ ⲧⲉ ⲑⲉ ⲉⲛⲁϣⲗⲏⲗ ⲉⲛⲁϯ ⲉⲗⲉⲏⲙⲟⲥⲩⲛⲏ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲉⲛⲁⲣ̄ⲡⲁⲣⲁⲧⲏⲣⲉⲓ ⲉⲟⲩ ⲛ̄ϭⲓⲟⲩⲱⲙ⳿ 6.2
ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ⲙ̄ⲡⲣ̄ϫⲉ ϭⲟⲗ 6.3 ⲁⲩⲱ ⲡⲉⲧⲉⲧⲙ̄ⲙⲟⲥⲧⲉ ⲙ̄ⲙⲟϥ⳿ ⲙ̄ⲡⲣ̄ⲁⲁϥ 6.4 ϫⲉ ⲥⲉϭⲟⲗⲡ⳿
ⲧⲏⲣⲟⲩ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ⲙ̄ⲡⲉⲙⲧⲟ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ⲛ̄ⲧ⟨ⲙ⟩ⲉ 6.5 ⲙⲛ̄ ⲗⲁⲁⲩ ⲅⲁⲣ ⲉϥϩⲏⲡ⳿ ⲉϥⲛⲁⲟⲩⲱⲛϩ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ
‘ⲁⲛ’ 6.6 ⲁⲩⲱ ⲙⲛ̄ ⲗⲁⲁⲩ ⲉϥϩⲟⲃ̅ⲥ̅ ⲉⲩⲛⲁϭⲱ ⲟⲩⲉϣⲛ̄ ϭⲟⲗⲡϥ⳿
6.1 His disciples asked him and said to him, ‘Do you want us to fast? And how
shall we pray? Shall we give alms? And what diet shall we observe?’ 6.2 Jesus
said, ‘Do not lie, 6.3 and what you hate, do not do, 6.4 because all things are
manifest in the presence of the truth. 6.5 For there is nothing hidden which
will not be revealed, 6.6 and nothing covered which will be left without being
uncovered.’
1 Bibliography for GTh 6: S. Giversen, ‘Questions and Answers in the Gospel according to
Thomas: The composition of pl. 81,14–18 and pl. 83,14–27’, Acta Orientalia 25 (1960), 332–338;
R. Trevijano Etcheverría, ‘Las prácticas de piedad en el Evangelio de Tomás (logion 6, 14, 27 y
104)’, Salmanticensis 31 (1984), 295–319; P. Sellew, ‘Pious Practice and Social Formation in the
Gospel of Thomas’, Forum 10 (1994), 47–56; W.R.G. Loader, Jesus’ Attitude Towards the Law
(WUNT; Tübingen: Mohr, 1997), 492–502; Johnson, ‘The Hidden/Revealed Saying’, 176–185;
Eisele, Welcher Thomas, 131–149.
224 logion 6
Textual Comment
There are impressive similarities between the Greek and Coptic, including the
correspondences between the the Greek vocabulary in 6.1 and the Graeco-
Coptic loan-words (ⲙⲁⲑⲏⲧⲏⲥ, ⲣ̄ⲛⲏⲥⲧⲉⲩⲉ, ⲉⲗⲉⲏⲙⲟⲥⲩⲛⲏ, ⲣ̄ⲡⲁⲣⲁⲧⲏⲣⲉⲓ). There are
also differences. Initially, the Coptic may slightly soften the Greek verb ἐξε-
τάζω. Thereafter the modifications are perhaps more significant: the Greek
questions about how to fast, pray and give alms become in the first and last
Coptic questions about whether or not to do these things at all. The Greek’s
questions are probably the earlier versions, both because the text is earlier,
but also because the disciples’ questions tend not to be so radical in Thomas,
even if Jesus’ answers often are. There is an example in 6.1 of the Coptic lan-
guage’s preference for asyndeton (see Introduction, § 2.1, above): the καί before
the reference to almsgiving does not have a direct equivalent in the Coptic.
The same is again true if the restoration [καὶ λέ]γ̣ο̣υσιν is correct. GTh 6.4 has
an interesting divergence (the Coptic reads ⲙ̄ⲡⲉⲙⲧⲟ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ⲛ̄ⲧⲡⲉ, i.e. ‘in the pres-
ence of heaven’) which can be emended: the Greek’s ‘truth’ perhaps becomes
the Coptic’s ‘heaven’ by ἀληθεία → ⲧⲙⲉ → ⲧⲡⲉ.2 Since the Greek does not have an
equivalent of 6.6, the Coptic is either an expansion, or the text has fallen out of
the Greek. As noted above on GTh 5, probably more likely is that Greek 5.3 has
been moved to GTh 6.6, and revised perhaps to remove possible reference to
resurrection. It may well be that there has been a displacement of text here or
later which has led to the questions in GTh 6.1 being separated from the more
direct answers in GTh 14.3
Interpretation
Here the disciples ask questions about the trio of fasting, prayer and alms-
giving, a traditional combination in both early Jewish and Christian piety
(cf. e.g. Tob. 12.8; Matt. 6.1–18; 2Clem. 16.4), and about the topic of clean and
unclean foods.4 Rather than explicitly condemning the trio (as happens in
GTh 14), here Jesus deflects the questions, probably thereby relativising these
2 DeConick, 65; Plisch, 50.

3 Giversen, ‘Questions and Answers’.
4 2Clement interestingly grades these three traditional elements: ‘fasting is better than prayer,
almsgiving better than both’ (16.4), though this apparent downgrading of prayer is immedi-
ately qualified.
logion 6 225
practices.5 Traditional Jewish and Jewish-Christian piety which consists of fast-

ing, prayer, almsgiving and kosher eating should be rejected in favour of a sim-
ple, two-part moral code about words and deeds, involving an approximation
to the ninth commandment and the golden rule in its negative form. The moti-
vation to this ethical living is grounded in the omniscience of the divine or
in the future revelation of deeds (6.4–6). GTh 6 (in conjunction with 14) thus
belongs in a group of sayings critical of the institutions and customs of tradi-
tional Judaism, and of the strands of Christianity which inherited those insti-
tutions and customs from Judaism (cf. OT Scripture in GTh 52; circumcision
in 53, the temple in 71; perhaps ritual washing in 89). As a result, the Thomas
movement is quite different in character from some other contemporaneous
manifestations of Christianity. See further the discussion of GTh 14 below.
Loader raises the interesting question of how much Thomas reflects contact
between the Thomas movement and Judaism. He notes that ‘a comparatively
large number of the sayings reflect contact with Judaism and Jewish themes’,
but that ‘the encounter with Judaism has taken place in association with Jewish
Christianity’.6 GTh 6 places the questions not on the lips of non-Christian
Jewish opponents, but in the mouths of the disciples, and so it is probably
correct to see this as an intra-Christian debate. Loader’s language of ‘contact’
and ‘encounter’ is also wisely left vague.
Notes
6.1 His disciples questioned (Co: asked) him and said (Co: + to him). Cf.
other sayings introduced by a question, request or statement from the disciples
collectively (GTh 6, 12, 18, 20, 24, 37, 43, 51, 52, 53, 91, 99, 100, 104, 113; cf. 21, 60,
72, 79, 114).
6.1 How shall we (Co: Do you want us to) fast? Here the disciples’ question
reflects diversity of opinion about fasting (cf. Did. 8.1; see further discussion
in GTh 27). In Hermas, the procedure for fasting is quite complex (Herm. 54
[Sim. 5.1].5–8; 56 [Sim. 5.3]). As noted above, the Coptic has probably made the
disciples’ question more radical.
6.1 And how shall we pray? The disciples’ question here might reflect the
question that triggers the Lord’s prayer in Luke 11.1 (‘Lord, teach us to pray …’), as
5 Valantasis, 37: ‘the saying neither rejects nor advocates these practices, but rather it prob-
lematizes …’; Hedrick, 28: Jesus ‘dismisses ritual acts as of no consequence’; cf. Plisch, 50.
6 Loader, Jesus’ Attitude Towards the Law, 502.
226 logion 6
well as questions about frequency and contents of prayer e.g. in Didache 8.2–3;
Hermas 9 [Vis. 3.1].6–7. The shocking response given to this question later in
GTh 14 is that prayer leads to condemnation.
6.1 And how (om. Co) shall we give alms? In some contexts almsgiving goes
hand in hand with fasting (see e.g. on GTh 69.2 below). For one example of
the mechanism of almsgiving, see 1Cor. 16.1–2; see further the notes on 27.1
below.
6.1 And what diet shall we observe? This lies outside the traditional trio ear-
lier in 6.1, and in GTh 14.1–3, but it is addressed in 14.4–5. For those who see
the Thomas movement as vegetarian (see notes below on GTh 7 and 14), or
as in contact or controversy with Judaism, this is a live question; the matter is
also treated in Barnabas 10, however, where there seems to be little controversy
among the addressees. It is possible that ⲟⲩⲱⲙ in ⲛ̄ϭⲓ(ⲛ)ⲟⲩⲱⲙ makes a catch-
word link with GTh 7.
6.2 Do not lie. On this standard prohibition, cf. Exod. 20.16. The ethical
coverage in Jesus’ reply is wide, including words here in 6.2 and actions in what
follows in 6.3, although both are negative.
6.3 And what you hate, do not do. I.e. ‘What you hate other people doing to
you, do not do.’ This second element of Jesus’ response is the so-called ‘negative
form’ of the ‘golden rule’ (in its positive form, ‘whatever you wish others would
do to you, do to them’, as in e.g. Matt. 7.12). DeConick focuses on the Syrian
connections of this negative form (it is attested in the Acts of Thomas), but
Hannah notes that it spans a variety of early Jewish and Christian literature
in different languages.7
6.4 Because all things are revealed (Co: manifest) in the presence of the
truth (Co: heaven). We now move to the motivation for the actions in 6.2–3.
There is some ambiguity in the timing of the manifestation: the Greek is
lacunose, and the Coptic verb is stative, and thus tenseless.8 The plain sight of
everything may be in the present, or it may be in a future event (as perhaps
suggested by the future tenses in 6.5–6). In the latter case, the future event
would presumably relate to the ‘judgment scene’ in GTh 57.4, and end of the
cosmos in GTh 11 and 111. The reference is probably not to an ‘opening of the
books’ in which every deed is revealed, but here to an all-seeing divine realm.
7 DeConick, 63; D.D. Hannah, Epistula Apostolorum (OECGT; Oxford: Oxford University Press,
forthcoming), and D.A. deSilva, Introducing the Apocrypha (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2004), 83;
cf. also R.H. Connolly, ‘A Negative Golden Rule in the Syriac Acts of Thomas’, JTS 36 (1935),
353–356. See e.g. Tob. 4.15; Ac. 15.20, 29 D; Did. 1.2; Aristides, Apol. 15 (Gk & Syr.); Theophilus,
Autolyc. 2.34.
8 On this, see Layton, Coptic Grammar, 435 (§ 525, and Table 29).
logion 6 227
6.5 For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed. Cf. GTh 5.2 (see
comment above ad loc.); also Mk 4.22; Matt. 10.26; Lk. 8.17; 12.2. In GTh 6 here,
this aphorism is simply the negative flipside of the positive statement in 6.4.
Hedrick’s observation that this could refer to the enlightened disciple’s vision
into the human soul is perhaps unnecessarily speculative.9
6.6 (Co + And nothing covered which will be left without being uncov-
ered.) This is apparently synonymous with 6.5, still reinforcing negatively the
positive image in 6.4.
9 Hedrick, 29.
Logion 71
7.1 … [μα]κ̣ άρι[ος] ἐστιν [… …] κ̣ α̣ι ̣̀ ἔστ[… …]ν[…]
7.1 … ‘[Bl]ess[ed] is [… …] and … is […].’
7.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ⲟⲩⲙⲁⲕⲁⲣⲓⲟⲥ ⲡⲉ ⲡⲙⲟⲩⲉⲓ ⲡⲁⲉⲓ ⲉⲧⲉ ⲡⲣⲱⲙⲉ ⲛⲁⲟⲩⲟⲙϥ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲛ̄ⲧⲉ ⲡⲙⲟⲩⲉⲓ
ϣⲱⲡⲉ ⲣ̄ⲣⲱⲙⲉ 7.2 ⲁⲩⲱ ϥⲃⲏⲧ⳿ ⲛ̄ϭⲓ ⲡⲣⲱⲙⲉ ⲡⲁⲉⲓ ⲉⲧⲉ ⲡⲙⲟⲩⲉⲓ ⲛⲁⲟⲩⲟⲙϥ ⲁⲩⲱ
⟨ⲡⲣⲱⲙⲉ⟩ ⲛⲁϣⲱⲡⲉ ⟨ⲙ̄ⲙⲟⲩⲉⲓ⟩
7.1 Jesus said, ‘Blessed is the lion which the man eats, and the lion becomes
man. 7.2 And cursed is the man whom the lion eats and the ⟨man⟩ becomes
⟨lion⟩.’
Textual Comment
The first half of 7.1 is the only section of the Greek which can provide any
useful information, and it is not worthwhile to try to reconstruct what remains.2
What survives is compatible with the Coptic, and indeed there is again a
match between the one Greek loan word ⲙⲁⲕⲁⲣⲓⲟⲥ and the text of P. Oxy.
IV 654 at the same point ([μα]κ̣ άρι[ος]). The first part of 7.2 survives in Greek
in Didymus the Blind: οὐαὶ, γὰρ, τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ ὃν φάγεται λέων.3 In practice,
however, we are completely dependent upon the Coptic version of Thomas
for the interpretation. Some scholars, even without knowledge of the Didymus
parallel, proposed an emendation in 7.2b from ⲁⲩⲱ ⲡⲙⲟⲩⲉⲓ ⲛⲁϣⲱⲡⲉ ⲣ̅ⲣ̅ⲱⲙⲉ to
1 Bibliography for GTh 7: H.M. Jackson, The Lion Becomes Man: The Gnostic Leontomorphic
Creator and the Platonic Tradition (SBL Dissertation Series 81; Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1985);
D. Lührmann, ‘Die Geschichte von einer Sünderin und andere apokryphe Jesusüberlieferun-
gen bei Didymos von Alexandrien’, NovT 32 (1990), 289–316 (312–316: ‘Anhang: Logion 7 des
Thomasevangeliums bei Didymos von Alexandrien’); S.J. Gathercole, ‘A Proposed Rereading
of P.Oxy. 654 line 41 (Gos. Thom. 7)’, HTR 99 (2006), 355–359; A. Crislip, ‘Lion and Human
in Gospel of Thomas Logion 7’, JBL 126 (2007), 595–613; C. Losekam, ‘Der Löwe im Menschen
(Löwe-Mensch-Löwe)—EvThom 7’, in R. Zimmermann, ed. Kompendium der Gleichnisse Jesu
(Gütersloh: Gütersloher Verlagshaus, 2007), 863–867.
2 Gathercole, ‘Proposed Rereading of P.Oxy. 654’.
3 See Lührmann, ‘Geschichte von einer Sünderin’, 312–316. Edition in M. Gronewald, Didymus
der Blinde: Psalmenkommentar, vol. V (Papyrologische Texte und Abhandlungen 12; Bonn:
Habelt, 1970), 138–140.
logion 7 229
ⲁⲩⲱ ⲡⲣⲱⲙⲉ ⲛⲁϣⲱⲡⲉ ⲙ̄ⲙⲟⲩⲉⲓ (from ‘and the lion becomes man’ to ‘and the man
becomes lion’),4 which is made a near certainty by Didymus’s introduction
to 7.2a with the words: ‘But if ever a rational and rationally inclined man
(ἄνθρωπος) is nourished by some savage-hearted wild man or wicked force, he
becomes a lion (γίνεται λέων)’.5
Interpretation
Bruce clarifies the literal meaning of GTh 7: ‘The point of this seems to be that
a lion, if eaten by a man, is ennobled by rising in the scale of being, whereas a
man, if eaten by a lion, is degraded to a lower status than was originally his …’.6
This, however, only scratches the surface of what is (perhaps along with GTh
42) the most enigmatic of all sayings in Thomas. There have been four main
approaches to it.7
(1) First, Jackson argues for multiple backgrounds in the Bible (especially the
Psalms), Platonism and Gnosticism,8 with the result that the lion in GTh
7 symbolises ‘the body’s ravenous appetites which threaten to devour the
spiritual man and bury him in the material world’, or again, ‘the roaring,
ravenous appetites of the flesh, especially those for its generation, that
constantly threaten to devour the spiritual man’.9 The beatitude in 7.1 refers
to the way in which ‘the ferocity of the leontomorphic demiurge can be
mollified’ when the passions are brought under control; the curse comes
upon man when it is the appetites which take control.10 Crislip makes
two criticisms of this view, namely that Jackson’s position depends on a
‘gnosticising interpretation’ of the saying, which is unnecessary, and also
4 See e.g. A. Guillaumont, H.-C. Puech, G. Quispel, W. Till & Y. ʿAbd al Masīḥ, eds. The
Gospel according to Thomas: Coptic Text Established and Translated (Leiden: Brill, 1959),
4; Leipoldt, Evangelium nach Thomas, 57; Nordsieck, 51; DeConick, 66. Plisch, 51, retains
the text as it stands.
5 See the full text and translation of the relevant passage below.
6 F.F. Bruce, Jesus and Christian Origins outside the New Testament (London: Hodder and
Stoughton, 1974), 115.
7 I follow here in part the helpful taxonomy of Crislip.
8 Jackson, Lion Becomes Man, esp. 43, 45 (Psalms), 181 (Psalms and Gnosticism), and 184 on
the NH text of Plato.
9 Jackson, Lion Becomes Man, 176, 183.
10 Jackson, Lion Becomes Man, 211.
230 logion 7
that Jackson’s link with the account of the soul in the Nag Hammadi text of
the Republic is unconvincing.11
(2) An element of Jackson’s view, namely the connection between the lion
and the demiurge, is brought to the fore in Baarda’s treatment: the latter
identifies the lion as the demiurge, and argues that for Thomas, the person
who knows himself is higher than that creator god in status.12
(3) One of Valantasis’s suggested interpretations differs from that of Jackson
principally in taking the reference to ‘eating’ more literally.13 In short,
this saying is critical of the sustained practice of eating meat, because in
absorbing the flesh of animals, the human being becomes subsumed into
‘the lower rungs of the hierarchy of being’.14 As a result, the saying supports
a programme of ascetical fasting. Crislip makes the valid criticism, however,
that it would be odd to speak of meat-eating in terms of eating lions, which
was hardly regular practice.15
(4) Most recently, Crislip has proposed that the saying is about the resurrec-
tion, and sets the statement in the context of early Christian discussions
of the destiny of the righteous who have been eaten by animals. The lan-
guage of lion eating man would, Crislip argues, suggest to the reader or
hearer the question of what would happen to the man (understood as a
Christian).16 The answer, in keeping with patristic discussions of people
who have been eaten, is that the man will nevertheless participate in the
resurrection. Indeed, the lion which the man eats is blessed (7.1) because
in being absorbed into the human being, the lion also participates in the
resurrection! There are problems here as well, however. First, Crislip com-
ments that the lion eaten by man is blessed ‘especially given the rarity with
which such a dietary circumstance might happen’.17 But this is a weakness
in the argument, rather than a strength. Macarisms do not usually deal with
11 Crislip, ‘Lion and Human’, 600–603.

12 T. Baarda, ‘The Gospel of Thomas’, PIBA 26 (2003), 46–65 (49).
13 Valantasis, 65.
14 Valantasis, 65.
15 Crislip, ‘Lion and Human’, 604.
17 Crislip, ‘Lion and Human’, 608. R.M. Grant, ‘Notes on the Gospel of Thomas’, VC 13 (1959),
170–180 (170), remarks that it is possible that GTh 7 ‘refers to the medicinal eating of lion
meat’, but G.C. Stead, ‘Some Reflections on the Gospel of Thomas’, in F.L. Cross, ed. Studia
Evangelica III (TU 88; Berlin: Akademie, 1964), 390–402 (394), did not think that there was
sufficient parallel evidence for this. According to Leipoldt, Evangelium nach Thomas, 57,
Heracleon talks of lion as food, but Leipoldt gives no particulars.
logion 7 231
situations of such extreme rarity. It would seem odd to discuss in this way a
circumstance which no reader would have encountered. Secondly, there is
the serious problem that the man eaten by the lion is cursed in 7.2, rather
than included in the resurrection. Crislip’s solution is to appeal to the fact
that Jesus in Gal. 3.13 is cursed, and that he was also resurrected.18 But this
seems far-fetched, requiring readers to fill in a lot of logical blanks to get
to this sense. The author could hardly expect a reader reasonably to see
‘cursed’ but think ‘destined to be resurrected’. Thirdly, Crislip claims that
his interpretation clarifies the use of the ‘lion’, because it links with patris-
tic use of Daniel 6, in which Daniel is thrown to the lions. But the problem
here should be obvious: the whole point of the story is that Daniel is not
eaten, whereas the man in GTh 7.2 is.
Overall, the most likely interpretation is a chastened version of the view of

Jackson.19 Crislip is correct that the saying is not necessarily Gnostic (in the
sense employed in this commentary: see Introduction, ‘Appended Note: Is
Thomas “Gnostic”?’, above), but his criticism of Jackson’s appeal to the Platonic
background is not decisive: Jackson refers to a great number of other sources
in addition to Plato.20 The saying should still be understood as the warning of
the threat of passionate appetites: 7.1—it is good when a person controls these
appetites, but, 7.2—disastrous when one succumbs to them.21 One important
piece of evidence for this was unknown to Jackson and not referred to by Crislip.
(It was published by Lührmann in 1990.) This is the use of a version of the saying
by Didymus the Blind (discussed in the treatment of the text above), who also
takes the point of being consumed by the lion as being consumed by savagery
or wildness or irrationality:
… having been [fed] by the teacher, and having become his nourishment,
he will not be a lion. Therefore blessed is he, and he is blessed not because
he is a lion but because he has become a man. But if ever a rational and
rationally inclined man is nourished by some savage-hearted wild man or

19 As approximately in Losekam, ‘Der Löwe im Menschen’, 866, for whom the lion represents
‘die negativen, gottfernen Dinge’, in conflict with the man, viz. ‘die Gottesnahe’, where the
sense is neither narrowly sexual, and certainly not sacramental.
20 See also e.g. the Teaching of Silvanus, where the bestial life is associated with the ‘fires
of fornication’ (105,2–10, 26–32). In Authoritative Teaching, the ‘man-eaters’ are demons
subjecting people to temptation (29,17–30,25).
21 Similarly, Gärtner, Theology of the Gospel of Thomas, 163; Ménard, 88.
232 logion 7
wicked force, he becomes a lion, and such a person is wretched, for: “Woe
to the man whom the lion eats.”22
(Commentary on Psalms 316,1–4)
Here we have another use of not just similar imagery, but the same saying,
in which the lion refers to ‘some savage-hearted wild man or wicked force’.
The majority view, according to which the lion in GTh 7 symbolises the bodily
passions,23 is almost certainly correct, though it is possible that the meaning is
evil influences in a wider sense.24
Notes
7.1 Blessed is the lion which the man eats, and the lion becomes man. This
is the first of eleven beatitudes in Thomas: GTh 7; 18; 19; 49; 54; 58; 68; 69.1;
69.2; 79.2; 103.25 GTh 79.1 is excluded from this list as it is not spoken by Jesus;
similarly, 79.3 is attributed by Jesus to others. This first half communicates the
point that the best situation for the lion,26 i.e. the passions, is to be subdued
by the man. It is possible that ⲟⲩⲱⲙ in both GTh 6–7 forges a catchword link;
ⲣⲱⲙⲉ, however, is such a common word in Thomas that its appearance in both
GTh 7 and 8 is probably not significant.
7.2 And cursed is the man whom the lion eats and the man becomes lion.
In contrast to the number of macarisms, this is the only ‘cursed’ formula in
Thomas; the woes in GTh 102 and 112 have a very similar tone, however (cf.
the milder ‘wretched’ formula in GTh 87). This latter half makes the point that
doomed is the person who is consumed by his appetites (‘whom the lion eats’)
and is taken over by or identified with those passions (‘becomes lion’).
22 For the text, see Gronewald, Didymos der Blinde. Psalmenkommentar V, 138–140: [βρωθε]ὶς
ὑπὸ τοῦ διδασκάλου καὶ τροφὴ αὐτοῦ γεγενημένος οὐκ ἔσται λέων. διὰ τοῦτο μακάριός ἐστιν
καὶ μα[καρίζ]εται οὐχ ὅτι λέων ἐστίν, ἀλλ’ ὅτι ἄνθρωπος γέγονεν. εἰ δέ ποτε ἄνθρωπος λογικὸς
καὶ λογικῶς κινού[μενο]ς ὑπὸ ὠμοθύμου τινὸς ἀγρίου ἀνθρώπου ἢ πονηρᾶς δυνάμεως βρωθείη,
γίνεται λέων καὶ τάλας ἐσ[τὶν ὁ το]ιοῦτος· “οὐαὶ” γὰρ “τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ ὃν φάγεται λέων”.
23 DeConick, 67.
24 Thus Nordsieck, 52.
25 For a brief discussion of the beatitudes in Thomas, see D.W. Kim, ‘What Shall We Do? The
Community Rules of Thomas in the “Fifth Gospel”’, Biblica 88 (2007), 393–414 (406–410).
26 The argument in Hofius, ‘Das koptische Thomasevangelium’ (I), 35 n. 54, and 41–42 n. 72,
that ⲙⲟⲩⲉⲓ means something like ‘corpse’, from the stem ⲙⲟⲩ, is very unlikely given (a) the
Greek Didymus parallel adduced by Lührmann, and (b) the lack of attestation of a form
of ⲙⲟⲩ with the additional letters.
Logion 81
8.1 ⲁⲩⲱ ⲡⲉϫⲁϥ ϫⲉ ⲉⲡⲣⲱⲙⲉ ⲧⲛ̄ⲧⲱⲛ ⲁⲩⲟⲩⲱϩⲉ ⲣ̄ⲣⲙⲛ̄ϩⲏⲧ⳿ ⲡⲁⲉⲓ ⲛ̄ⲧⲁϩⲛⲟⲩϫⲉ

ⲛ̄ⲧⲉϥⲁⲃⲱ ⲉⲑⲁⲗⲁⲥⲥⲁ ⲁϥⲥⲱⲕ ⲙ̄ⲙⲟⲥ ⲉϩⲣⲁⲓ̈ ϩⲛ̄ ⲑⲁⲗⲁⲥⲥⲁ ⲉⲥⲙⲉϩ ⲛ̄ⲧⲃⲧ⳿ ⲛ̄ⲕⲟⲩⲉⲓ 8.2
ⲛ̄ϩⲣⲁⲓ̈ ⲛ̄ϩⲏⲧⲟⲩ ⲁϥϩⲉ ⲁⲩⲛⲟϭ ⲛ̄ⲧⲃ̅ⲧ̅ ⲉⲛⲁⲛⲟⲩϥ⳿ ⲛ̄ϭⲓ ⲡⲟⲩⲱϩⲉ ⲣ̄ⲣⲙⲛ̄ϩⲏⲧ⳿ 8.3 ⲁϥⲛⲟⲩ̣ϫⲉ
ⲛ̄ⲛ̄ⲕⲟⲩⲉⲓ ⲧⲏⲣⲟⲩ ⲛ̄ⲧⲃⲧ⳿ ⲉⲃⲟ̣ⲗ̣ ⲉ̣[ⲡⲉ]ⲥⲏⲧ⳿ ⲉⲑⲁⲗⲁⲥⲥⲁ ⲁϥⲥⲱⲧⲡ⳿ ⲙ̄ⲡⲛⲟϭ ⲛ̄ⲧⲃ̅ⲧ̅ ⲭⲱⲣⲓⲥ
ϩⲓⲥⲉ 8.4 ⲡⲉⲧⲉⲟⲩⲛ̄ ⲙⲁⲁϫⲉ ⲙ̄ⲙⲟϥ ⲉⲥⲱⲧⲙ̄ ⲙⲁⲣⲉϥ⳿ⲥⲱⲧⲙ̄
1 Bibliography for GTh 8: C.-H. Hunzinger, ‘Unbekannte Gleichnisse Jesu aus dem Thomas-
Evangelium’, in W. Eltester, ed. Judentum, Urchristentum, Kirche: Festschrift für Joachim
Jeremias (BZNW 26; Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 1960), 209–220 (217–220); W. Schrage, Das
Verhältnis des Thomas-Evangeliums zur synoptischen Tradition und zu den koptischen Evan-
gelienübersetzungen: Zugleich ein Beitrag zur gnostischen Synoptikerdeutung (BZNW; Berlin:
Töpelmann, 1964), 37–42; J.B. Bauer, ‘The Synoptic Tradition in the Gospel of Thomas’, in
F.L. Cross, ed. Studia Evangelica III (TU 88; Berlin: Akademie, 1964), 314–317; P. Nagel, ‘Die
Parabel vom klugen Fischer in Thomasevangelium von Nag Hammadi’, in R. Stiehl & H.E. Stier,
eds. Beiträge zur Alten Geschichte und deren Nachleben. FS Franz Altheim (Berlin: De Gruyter,
1969), 518–524; A. Lindemann, ‘Zur Gleichnisinterpretation im Thomas-Evangelium’, ZNW
71 (1980), 214–243 (216–219); W.G. Morrice, ‘The Parable of the Dragnet and the Gospel of
Thomas’, ExpT 85 (1983–1984), 269–273; T. Baarda, ‘ “Chose” or “Collected”: Concerning an
Aramaism in Logion 8 of the Gospel of Thomas and the Question of Independence’, HTR
84 (1991), 373–397; T. Baarda, ‘The Parable of the Fisherman in the Heliand: The Old Saxon
Version of Matthew 13:47–50’, Amsterdamer Beiträge zur älteren Germanistik 36 (1992), 39–
58; T. Baarda, ‘Philoxenus and the Parable of the Fisherman: Concerning the Diatessaron
Text of Mt 13,47–50’, in F. van Segbroeck, et al., eds. The Four Gospels 1992: Festschrift Frans
Neirynck (BETL 100; Leuven: Peeters, 1992), 1403–1423; T. Baarda, ‘Clement of Alexandria and
the Parable of the Fisherman: Matthew 13, 47–48 or Independent Tradition?’, in C. Focant,
ed. The Synoptic Gospels: Source Criticism and the New Literary Criticism (BETL 110; Leuven:
Peeters, 1993), 582–598; R. Cameron, ‘Myth and History in the Gospel of Thomas’, Apocrypha
8 (1997), 193–205 (199–202); Zöckler, Jesu Lehren im Thomasevangelium, 138–144; Liebenberg,
Language of the Kingdom, 267–275; J. Liebenberg, ‘To Know How to Find, To Find without
Knowing: Wisdom in the Gospel of Thomas’, HTS 59 (2003), 102–109; S.J. Patterson, ‘The Para-
ble of the Catch of Fish: A Brief History (On Matthew 13:47–50 and Gospel of Thom 8)’, in
L. Painchaud & P.-H. Poirier, eds. Colloque internationale: “L’Évangile selon Thomas et les
textes de Nag Hammadi”. Québec, 29–31 mai 2003 (Leuven: Peeters, 2007), 363–376; E.E. Pop-
kes, ‘Der wählerische Fischer—EvThom 8’, in R. Zimmermann, ed. Kompendium der Gle-
ichnisse Jesu (Gütersloh: Gütersloher Verlagshaus, 2007), 868–872; M. Grosso, ‘Trasmissione
e ricezione della parabola del pescatore (Vangelo secondo Tommaso 8,1–3)’, in M. Pesce &
M. Rescio, eds. La trasmissione delle parole di Gesù nei primi tre secoli (Brescia: Morcelliana,
2011), 101–118.
234 logion 8
8.1 And he said, ‘The man is like a wise fisherman, who cast his net into the
sea. He pulled it up from the sea full of small fish. 8.2 Among them the wise
fisherman found a good, large fish. 8.3 He cast all the little fish out i[n]to the
sea, and he chose the large fish without being troubled. 8.4 He who has ears
to hear, let him hear.’
Textual Comment
Plisch may be correct that the introduction, ‘The man is like …’ is a textual
corruption of an earlier form, ‘The kingdom is like …’.2
Interpretation
This is the first of 14 parables in Thomas, 11 of which are paralleled in the Synop-
tic Gospels (GTh 8; 9; 20; 57; 63; 64; 65; 76; 96; 107; 109), and three of which are
unique (21; 97; 98).3 This parable is found, in a quite different form, in Matthew
(Matt. 13.47–48), and there are other parallels in early Christian literature,4 and
in fable traditions.5 There are two main options for the interpretation of the
2 Plisch, 53.
3 The literature on the parables in Thomas is enormous. See, for example, Lindemann, ‘Zur
Gleichnisinterpretation’; C.L. Blomberg, ‘Tradition and Redaction in the Parables of the
Gospel of Thomas’, in D. Wenham, ed. Jesus Tradition outside the Gospels (Sheffield: JSOT,
1984), 177–205; C.H. Hedrick, Parables as Poetic Fictions: The Creative Voice of Jesus (Peabody,
MA: Hendrickson, 1994): see esp. the helpful synopsis of Thomas’s parables and those in the
NT Gospels on pp. 252–253; Liebenberg, Language of the Kingdom and Jesus; Zimmermann,
ed. Kompendium der Gleichnisse Jesu, 851–931.
4 Some parallels have given rise to a view that early Christian authors were aware of a version of
the parable like that of Thomas; the parallels are not especially close, however. (i) In the case of
Clement (Strom. 1.1.16.3; 6.11.95.3), there are numerous differences. Bauer, ‘Synoptic Tradition’,
315–316, nevertheless, considers that Strom. 1.1.16.3 is quoting a proverb also drawn upon by
Thomas. (ii) The parallels between Philoxenus and Thomas are negligible. (iii) Similarly, the
Heliand is so late that it is not likely to contain significant parallels of relevance to the second
century. (iv) The Epitaph of Abercius has Christ as the huge fish: ἰχθὺν ἀπὸ πηγῆς πανμεγέθη
καθαρόν (lines 13–14). (v) Authoritative Teaching (VI 29,3–30,25) is quite different. Here, the
righteous are the fish trapped in nets cast by the adversary. See on the Clement parallels,
Baarda, ‘Clement of Alexandria and the Parable of the Fisherman’, and Grosso, ‘Trasmissione
e ricezione’, 109–115.
5 E.g. Babrius, Fable 4 (Perry 282), which is entirely different, because it states that being a
logion 8 235
parable. (1) It is possible that this is a parable about divine election: the selec-
tion of the one great fish and the discarding of the many others could be seen
as aligning with the statement about divine election in GTh 23 (‘I shall choose
you, one out of a thousand …’).6 This interpretation of the parable is unlikely,
however. The parable is quite different from its parallel in Matthew, where God
is the fisherman (Matt. 13.47–50), nor do the other extra-biblical parallels shed
much light on the meaning in Thomas.7 (2) There are three reasons in particular
for seeing the parable, as most scholars do, rather as about the human choice
of the kingdom.
First, this interpretation is in line with the similar parables elsewhere in
Thomas, namely the parables of the pearl, and of the lost sheep:8
GTh 8 GTh 76 GTh 107
Principal actor: wise fisherman shrewd merchant shepherd

Action: fishing/ finding finding/ buying searching/ finding
Precious possession: a fish pearl alone one sheep
Quality of the one: large [unfailing, enduring]9 largest
Alternative: small fish rest of merchandise ninety-nine
Treatment of these: thrown back sold left behind
These three are very similar in structure, then, and the parable of the pearl is
clearly explained as a parable of discipleship.
A second reason for taking the parable this way is the introduction: ‘The man
is like …’. While this may be the result of a textual corruption of a more original
little fish is advisable, since one can literally ‘slip through the net’ and thus avoid danger,
unlike great people who are constantly in danger. See B.E. Perry, Fables: Babrius and Phaedrus
(Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1965), 8–9.
6 Montefiore & Turner, Thomas and the Evangelists, 55, averring that the large fish is the
‘true gnostic’. Grant & Freedman, 127, offer both the ‘divine’ and ‘human’ interpretations
as possibilities; DeConick, 68 (following Quispel), remarks that the interpretation of the
fisherman as Jesus probably became more prominent in the later development of Thomas.
7 The most widely discussed parallel is that in Clement, Strom. 6.11.95.3, where there is a similar
focus on ‘the man’. The similarity is not especially strong, however, since the distinctive
feature of Thomas, namely the choice of a single fish, does not appear there.
8 Hunzinger, ‘Unbekannte Gleichnisse Jesu’, 217–220, and Lindemann, ‘Gleichnisinterpreta-
tion’, 216–219, interpret along the same lines as the parable of the precious pearl.
9 This description features in the explanation of the parable.
236 logion 8
‘The kingdom of heaven is like a man …’, as it stands, the parable refers to the
ideal human being. The subject is not any person in general, because the point
of comparison is the wise fisherman.10
Thirdly, it may already be possible that there is some christological signif-
icance to the ‘large fish’. In the second-century Epitaph of Abercius, Christ is
likened to a ‘huge fish’ (lines 13–14).11 On the other hand, this final reason may
not be so decisive, as there are various possibilities for the meaning of the large
fish (see notes on 8.3 below).
In sum, the most likely interpretation of the parable is that the focus is on
the human necessity of choosing the kingdom of God, and not only that, but
also ridding oneself of any competing allegiances, as in the parallels in GTh 76
and 107.12
Notes
8.1 The man is like a wise fisherman, who cast his net into the sea. Some schol-
ars have seen here a theology of the ideal “Man” (in a cosmic, Adamic sense),
since the parable is introduced with ‘man’ rather than the kingdom,13 but this is
not supported by Thomas elsewhere. Cameron emphasises the wisdom of the
fisherman here,14 which will be fully apparent later in 8.3. The net here is a drag-
net, as in Matthew’s parable and the Aesopic fable (Babrius 4 = Perry 282).15 The
introduction with the word ⲣⲱⲙⲉ is probably not an intentional link with GTh
7, because the word is so common.
8.1–2 He pulled it up from the sea full of small fish. Among them the wise
fisherman found a good, large fish. The contrast of ‘small’ vs. ‘good, large’
prepares for the fact that the choice which the disciple makes is a good one.
It anticipates the fact that what marks out the lost sheep in GTh 107 is that
10 Plisch, 53.
11 Cf. Tertullian, Bapt. 1. Still valuable as a survey of the evidence is C.R. Morey, ‘The Origin of
the Fish Symbol’, Princeton Theological Review 8 (1910), 93–106, 231–246, 401–432; 9 (1911),
268–289; 10 (1912), 178–198.
12 Similarly, Grosso, ‘Trasmissione e ricezione’, 109.
13 Grant & Freedman, 126; Hedrick, 31.
14 Cameron, ‘Myth and History’, 199–202, though perhaps pushing it too far in the direction
of Greek ‘cunning’ (μῆτις); the focus of the parable seems to lie more in his discernment of
the one great fish.
15 Matthew and Aesop both have σαγήνη. Crum, 2, notes that ⲁⲃⲱ means a dragnet (≈ σαγήνη)
as opposed to ϣⲛⲉ, a casting net (≈ δίκτυον, ἀμφίβληστρον).
logion 8 237
it is the largest and most beloved sheep. ⲙⲉϩ in both GTh 8 and 9 may be an
intentional catchword connection.
8.3 He cast all the little fish out into the sea. At risk of over-extending the
allegory in this parable, the disciple here is depicted as giving up attachments
to worldly privileges and desires.
8.3 And he chose the large fish. The reference in the ‘fish’ could be to knowl-
edge,16 or Jesus himself;17 other more speculative ideas have been proposed.18
A more general reference to the kingdom and knowledge is perhaps more likely
than a specific reference to Jesus.
8.3 Without being troubled.19 Here, the fisherman, without pain, without a
pang of regret, threw all the small fry back into the sea and kept the one.20 The
phrase therefore emphasises the indifference which the disciple has towards
the allures of the world which compete with discipleship: true disciples will
not feel pain turning their backs on what others cherish. Morrice comments
that the message of the parable in Thomas is the joy of discovery which must
be accompanied by great sacrifice, but the point of the phrase ⲭⲱⲣⲓⲥ ϩⲓⲥⲉ is that
it does not feel to the disciple like a great sacrifice.21 One might draw a contrast
here with the rich man when he heard the demands of discipleship in Mark
10.22: ‘upset at this saying, he went away grieving’. The wise fisherman has the
opposite experience. Another possibility is that the sense is ‘without toil’ (cf.
Philo, Imm. 91–92), in which case the contrast is with those who think that
the discovery of the truth only comes with great labour (see Clement, Strom.
1.1.16.3). This would not fit well with Thomas’s employment of labour elsewhere,
however, except perhaps as a parallel to the ‘easy yoke’ in GTh 90.
16 Lindemann, ‘Gleichnisinterpretation’, 218; Popkes, ‘Der wählerische Fischer’, 871–872.

17 Plisch, 54.
18 E.g. Liebenberg (‘Know How to Find’, 109) who sees this parable, like GTh 109, as about
finding revelation in the mundane. He underestimates the allegorical dimension. Valan-
tasis, 67, has ‘themselves and the truth’ as the ultimate things to be found by the reader.
A bizarre interpretation is found in H. Koester, Ancient Christian Gospels: Their History
and Development (Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press International, 1990), 104: ‘Thomas has pre-
served the intent of the wisdom parable better than Matthew: it is a wisdom parable, told
about the discovery of one’s own destiny …’. Hedrick, 31, also highlights the theme of wis-
dom. Grosso, 127, is right to note that the parable is more than sapiential, however, and
DeConick, 68, notes the crucial point that wisdom is not the object of the search.
19 On ϩⲓⲥⲉ, see P. Nagel, ‘Das Gleichnis vom zerbrochenen Krug. EvThom Logion 97’, ZNW 92
(2001), 229–256 (244–256).
20 Bauer, ‘Synoptic Tradition in the Gospel of Thomas’, 315, has ‘without regret’, though this
is a little weak as a translation.
21 Morrice, ‘Parable of the Dragnet’, 272.
238 logion 8
8.4 He who has ears to hear, let him hear. This is the first instance of
this phrase, which is much more concentrated in Thomas than elsewhere:22
it appears (not always in exactly the same form) in GTh 8, 21, 24, 63, 65 and
96.23 In five out of the six cases, it is appended to parabolic material: GTh
24 is unusual in that the formula introduces an image. The phrase does not
necessarily mean that the accompanying material is more important than the
rest, or more mysterious than the rest; it does tend to follow sayings in Thomas
which are especially amenable to allegorical interpretation, however (GTh 8;
21; 65; 96).
22 In addition to the parallels in the Synoptics (Mk 4.9, 23; Matt. 11.15; 13.9; Lk. 8.8; 14.35) and
Revelation (2.7, 11, 17, 29; 3.6, 13, 22; 13.9), see also Gos. Mary 8,10–11. For further parallels,
see Ménard, 90–91.
23 See discussion in J.N. Birdsall, ‘Luke XII. 16 ff. and the Gospel of Thomas’, JTS 13 (1962),
332–336.
Logion 91
9.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ⲉⲓⲥϩⲏⲏⲧⲉ⳿ ⲁϥⲉⲓ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ⲛ̄ϭⲓ ⲡⲉⲧ⳿ⲥⲓⲧⲉ ⲁϥⲙⲉϩ ⲧⲟⲟⲧϥ̄ ⲁϥⲛⲟⲩϫⲉ 9.2
ⲁϩⲟⲉⲓⲛⲉ ⲙⲉⲛ ϩⲉ ⲉϫⲛ̄ ⲧⲉϩⲓⲏ⳿ ⲁⲩⲉⲓ ⲛ̄ϭⲓ ⲛ̄ϩⲁⲗⲁⲧⲉ ⲁⲩⲕⲁⲧϥⲟⲩ 9.3 ϩⲛ̄ⲕⲟⲟⲩⲉ ⲁⲩϩⲉ ⲉϫⲛ̄
ⲧⲡⲉⲧⲣⲁ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲙ̄ⲡⲟⲩϫⲉ ⲛⲟⲩⲛⲉ ⲉⲡⲉⲥⲏⲧ⳿ ⲉⲡⲕⲁϩ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲙ̄ⲡⲟⲩⲧⲉⲩⲉ ϩⲙ̅ⲥ̅ ⲉϩⲣⲁⲓ̈ ⲉⲧⲡⲉ 9.4
ⲁⲩⲱ ϩⲛ̄ⲕⲟⲟⲩⲉ ⲁⲩϩⲉ ⲉϫⲛ̄ ⲛ̄ϣⲟ(ⲛ)ⲧⲉ ⲁⲩⲱϭⲧ⳿ ⲙ̄ⲡⲉϭⲣⲟϭ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲁⲡϥⲛ̅ⲧ̅ ⲟⲩⲟⲙⲟⲩ 9.5
ⲁⲩⲱ ⲁϩⲛ̄ⲕⲟⲟⲩⲉ ϩⲉ ⲉϫⲛ̄ ⲡⲕⲁϩ ⲉⲧⲛⲁⲛⲟⲩϥ⳿ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲁϥϯ ⲕⲁⲣⲡⲟⲥ ⲉϩⲣⲁⲓ̈ ⲉⲧⲡⲉ ⲉⲛⲁⲛⲟⲩϥ⳿
ⲁϥ⟨ϥ⟩ⲓ ⲛ̄ⲥⲉ ⲉⲥⲟⲧⲉ ⲁⲩⲱ ϣⲉϫⲟⲩⲱⲧ⳿ ⲉⲥⲟⲧⲉ
9.1 Jesus said, ‘Behold, the sower went forth and filled his hand and sowed.
9.2 Some fell onto the path, and the birds came and gleaned them. 9.3 Others
fell onto rock and did not take root in the ground and produce ears upwards.
9.4 And others fell onto thorns. They choked the seed, and worms ate them.
9.5 But others fell onto the good soil, and it yielded good fruit upwards. It
brought sixty per measure and one hundred and twenty per measure.’
Interpretation
This is the second of Thomas’s parables (on these, see ad GTh 8). Versions of
the sower parable are also found in Mk 4.3–8/ Matt. 13.3–8/ Lk. 8.5–8, and it is
mentioned under the title ‘The Seed’ in Ap. Jas. 8,3, and Hippolytus reports a
Naassene interpretation of it (Ref. 5.8.28–29).2 The other seed parables in GTh
20 and 57 may also be relevant here. Plisch comments that the main point in the
story on the surface lies in the ‘opposites of (endangered) seed and (abundant)
produce’; this translates into a meaning where a ‘humble and much endangered
beginning contrasts with a surprising result that exceeds all expectations.’3 The
element of danger, and the different destinies of the seeds, mark this parable
as different from the parable of the Mustard Seed in GTh 20. The ‘good soil’ is
also an important ingredient.4 The point is presumably that despite the fact
that in many spheres revelation (the seed) does not result in the kingdom
1 Bibliography for GTh 9: Schrage, Verhältnis, 42–48; J.F. Horman, ‘The Source of the Version
of the Parable of the Sower in the Gospel of Thomas’, NovT 21 (1979), 326–343; Liebenberg,
Language of the Kingdom, 406–414; Gathercole, Composition, 49–51.
2 Cf. also 1Clem. 24.5; Justin, Dial. 125, and possibly IGT 11.1; P. Egerton 2 fr. 2v.
3 Plisch, 56.
4 Rightly, K. Dronsch, ‘Vom Fruchtbringen (Sämann mit Deutung)—Mk 4,3–9.(10–12.)13–20’, in
Zimmermann, ed. Kompendium der Gleichnisse Jesu, 297–313 (310).
240 logion 9
(the fruit) becoming manifest; it will nevertheless be explosively productive

in the future, and indeed already may be so among true disciples. There has
also been discussion of the identity of the sower, but the sower figure is not
particularly important in the parable: he initiates the story, but thereafter plays
no role.5
Notes
9.1 Behold, the sower went forth and filled his hand and sowed. The reference
to the filling of the hand here is obscure. In the OT, it is a Hebrew idiom, which
goes into Greek, meaning ordination to the priesthood (e.g. Exod. 32.29; Lev.
8.33; Jdg. 17.5). Blomberg takes it instead to be a reference to the pleroma.6 It
may, however, simply be an insignificant detail. Possibly ⲙⲉϩ in both GTh 8 and
9 intentionally forges a catchword connection between the sayings (as might
ⲉⲓⲥϩⲏⲏⲧⲉ). ⲛⲟⲩϫⲉ (‘cast’, ‘threw’; here ‘sowed’) links GTh 8, 9 and 10.
9.2 Some fell onto the path, and the birds came and gleaned them. The
variations from the Synoptics in the preposition (ⲉϫⲛ̄, ‘onto’) and the final
verb (ⲁⲩⲕⲁⲧϥⲟⲩ, ‘gleaned them’) do not need to be explained by recourse to
an Aramaic or Syriac original.7
9.3 Others fell onto rock and did not take root in the ground and produce
ears upwards. On the ‘upwards’ see below on 9.5.
9.4 And others fell onto thorns. They choked the seed, and worms ate
them. The worms are a distinctive feature of Thomas’s version of the parable,
but it is hard to see any special significance in them. It is probably just an added
colourful image. There is a slight discrepancy in the Coptic between the ‘seed’
in the singular, and the plural object of the eating.
9.5 But others fell onto the good soil, and it yielded good fruit upwards.
Some have seen a Gnostic ascent implied in the production of ‘good fruit
upwards’.8 The expression probably goes back to idiomatic Greek, however: cf.
the ‘root’ ἄνω φύουσα in Deut 29.17 LXX and Heb. 12.15.
5 The sower is most probably Jesus here, the seed may be his revelation; less likely is the view of
Valantasis, 68–69, who, despite his focus on the ambiguity of the parable, ultimately points to
the disciples as the sowers. If the sower had been more single-minded, Valantasis comments,
he could have just sowed on good soil; so also the disciple should be single-minded.
6 Blomberg, ‘Tradition and Redaction in the Parables’, 185.
8 Bruce, Jesus and Christian Origins, 116, noting the Naassene view; Grant & Freedman, 128;
Blomberg, ‘Tradition and Redaction in the Parables’, 185.
logion 9 241
9.5 It brought sixty per measure and one hundred and twenty per measure.
Blomberg’s statement that the number 120 is a perfect number in some forms
of Gnosticism may not be correct.9Although it is the number of years Noah
preached before the flood (Concept 43,21–22), and the number of years in
a grand old age (Concept 36,12), this may not be relevant to the number of
measures of a crop. The 60 and 120 in Thomas may simply be natural variation,
especially given the references to 30 and 60 in Mark, and 60 in Matthew (Mk 4.8;
Matt. 13.8; cf. just 100 in Lk. 8.8); against this background, Thomas’s climactic 120
is quite logical.10
9 Blomberg, ‘Tradition and Redaction in the Parables’, 186.

10 Grant & Freedman, 128.
Logion 101
ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ⲁⲉⲓⲛⲟⲩϫⲉ ⲛ̄ⲟⲩⲕⲱϩ̄ⲧ⳿ ⲉϫⲛ̄ ⲡⲕⲟⲥⲙⲟⲥ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲉⲓⲥϩⲏⲏⲧⲉ ϯⲁⲣⲉϩ ⲉⲣⲟϥ⳿
ϣⲁⲛⲧⲉϥϫⲉⲣⲟ
Jesus said, ‘I have cast fire upon the world, and behold I am guarding it until
it burns.’
Interpretation
This saying has a close parallel in Luke 12.49. The two main questions here are
the meaning of the symbol of fire, and what are guarded and burning in the
second half of the saying.
On the former, (1) Plisch takes fire as purification, whereby ‘the decision
to follow Jesus can have serious, painful consequences for an individual’.2
DeConick takes the fire in a similar purificatory way, whose aim is ‘to destroy
the lusts of the soul’.3 (2) Davies argues that it is Jesus’ words.4 (3) Pokorný
sees it as ‘Jesus’ potent proclamation of the kingdom and its inner power’.5 (4)
Valantasis, on the other hand, takes the fire as judgment, and more specifically
the Thomas community as an instantiation of Jesus’ judgment upon the world,
but which being very small is in need of ‘guarding’ by the originator of the fire.6
Fire is an ambiguous symbol, so any interpretation must be a hesitant one.
The view (1) of Plisch and DeConick does not quite do justice to the fact that
the target of the fire is cosmological rather than anthropological. Views (2) and
(3) are possibilities. Valantasis’s position (4) is probably correct to see judgment
in view, but it is more likely to be a destructive phenomenon, rather than the
community. A destructive sense perhaps gains support from GTh 11, where
some components of the world are said to pass away.
The second half of the saying is ambiguous: because both ⲕⲱϩⲧ (‘fire’) and
ⲕⲟⲥⲙⲟⲥ (‘world’) are masculine, either could be the antecedent of the two ‘its’.
1 Bibliography for GTh 10: S.J. Patterson, ‘Fire and Dissension: Ipsissima Vox Jesu in Q 12:49,
51–52?’, Forum 5 (1989), 121–139.
2 Plisch, 58.
3 DeConick, 76.
4 Davies, The Gospel of Thomas: Annotated and Explained, 10
5 Pokorný, 50.
6 Valantasis, 69–70.
logion 10 243
Plisch helpfully sets out the four ways of construing the statement, depending
on how the ‘its’ are understood:
(i) I am guarding the fire until the fire burns.

(ii) I am guarding the fire until the world burns.
(iii) I am guarding the world until the fire burns.
(iv) I am guarding the world until the world burns.7
Commentators rightly tend to reject (ii) and (iii) as envisaging a jarring change
of subject. Valantasis, Plisch and Grosso advocate option (i) of the list above,
while Grant & Freedman go for (iv).8 It is unclear, however, whether (i) really
makes sense, because if Jesus has cast fire on the earth already (unlike in
Luke 12.49), then it is not quite coherent to talk of a time ‘until it (the fire)
burns’. Some translators have given the translation ‘until it blazes’, implying
‘until the fire burns with its full force’ in contrast to the flicker which Jesus
has already brought; the Coptic verb ϫⲉⲣⲟ, however, does not necessarily mean
anything more than kindle or burn.9 In contrast, it makes very good sense
that, having cast fire upon the earth, Jesus guards the world until the world
burns up. Perhaps like the parable of the Weeds in GTh 57, this saying answers
the question of why this wicked world is continuing to exist. Its continued
existence is only temporary: the corpse of the world (GTh 56) will certainly in
the end be cremated.
Notes
I have cast fire upon the world. ‘I have cast’ (ⲁⲉⲓⲛⲟⲩϫⲉ) forges a link with
the references to casting/throwing (ⲛⲟⲩϫⲉ) in the previous two sayings (8.1, 3;
9.1). Thomas differs from Luke here in the absence of reference to ‘coming’,10
and in the reference to ‘world’ instead of Luke’s ‘earth’. The reference to the
‘world’ should perhaps not be seen merely as the sphere of human existence
(pace Plisch and DeConick above), but rather as the corpse-like system and
entity which it is elsewhere in Thomas (cf. GTh 21, 27, 56, 80, 110). As has
been noted in connection with Luke 12.49, this saying presupposes an exalted
7 Plisch, 57; also Grosso, 129.

8 Grosso, 129; Grant & Freedman, 128.
9 Crum 781b–782a.
10 Some have proposed an emendation to include ‘coming’, however: ⲁⲉⲓ⟨ⲉⲓ⟩ ⲉⲛⲟⲩϫⲉ instead
of the text’s ⲁⲉⲓⲛⲟⲩϫⲉ (Plisch, 58 n. 2).
244 logion 10
picture of Jesus as one who stands over against the world in judgment, with
the authority of a divine judge (in contrast to Elijah, who asks God to send
fire).11
And behold I am guarding it until it burns. This half of the saying differs
more markedly from ‘and how I wish it were already kindled’ in Luke 12.49. In
Thomas the image is thus of Jesus keeping or preserving the world from being
burned up until the right time. ‘Behold’ (ⲉⲓⲥϩⲏⲏⲧⲉ) may link GTh 10 verbally to
GTh 9.
11 Gathercole, Preexistent Son, 161–163.

Logion 111
11.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ⲧⲉⲉⲓⲡⲉ ⲛⲁⲣ̄ⲡⲁⲣⲁⲅⲉ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ⲧⲡⲉ ⲙ̄ⲙⲟⲥ ⲛⲁⲣ̄ⲡⲁⲣⲁⲅⲉ 11.2 ⲁⲩⲱ
ⲛⲉⲧⲙⲟⲟⲩⲧ ⲥⲉⲟⲛϩ ⲁⲛ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲛⲉⲧⲟⲛϩ ⲥⲉⲛⲁⲙⲟⲩ ⲁⲛ 11.3 ⲛ̄ϩⲟⲟⲩ ⲛⲉⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ⲟⲩⲱⲙ⳿
ⲙ̄ⲡⲉⲧⲙⲟⲟⲩⲧ⳿ ⲛⲉⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ⲉⲓⲣⲉ ⲙ̄ⲙⲟϥ ⲙ̄ⲡⲉⲧⲟⲛϩ ϩⲟⲧⲁⲛ ⲉⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ϣⲁⲛϣⲱⲡⲉ ϩⲙ̄ ⲡⲟⲩⲟⲉⲓⲛ
ⲟⲩ ⲡⲉⲧⲉⲧⲛⲁⲁϥ 11.4 ϩⲙ̄ ⲫⲟⲟⲩ ⲉⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ⲟ ⲛ̄ⲟⲩⲁ ⲁⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ⲉⲓⲣⲉ ⲙ̄ⲡⲥⲛⲁⲩ ϩⲟⲧⲁⲛ ⲇⲉ
ⲉⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄⳿ϣⲁϣⲱⲡⲉ ⲛ̄ⲥⲛⲁⲩ⳿ ⲟⲩ ⲡⲉ ⲉⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ⲛⲁⲁϥ⳿
11.1 Jesus said, ‘This heaven will pass away, and the one above it will pass
away. 11.2 But the dead will not live, and the living will not die. 11.3 In the
days when you ate what is dead you made it live. When you come into the
light, what will you do?! 11.4 On the day when you were one, you became two.
But when you become two, what will you do?’
Textual Comment
As it stands, the Coptic of 11.3 is rather obscure, and probably corrupt. There is,
however, an illuminating parallel to it in Hippolytus (Ref. 5.8.32):
If you ate what is dead and made it live, what then would you produce/
accomplish if you ate what is living? (εἰ νεκρὰ ἐφάγετε καὶ ζῶντα ἐποιήσατε,
τί ἂν ζῶντα φάγητε, ποιήσετε;)
1 Bibliography for GTh 11: Klijn, ‘The “Single One” in the Gospel of Thomas’; R. Trevijano
Etcheverría, ‘La escatología del Evangelio de Tomás’, Salmanticensis 28 (1981), 415–441; A.
Hogeterp, ‘The Gospel of Thomas and the Historical Jesus: The Case of Eschatology’, in
A. Hilhorst & G. van Kooten, eds. The Wisdom of Egypt: Jewish, Early Christian and Gnos-
tic Essays in Honour of Gerard P. Luttikhuizen (AJEC 59; Leiden/Boston: Brill, 2005), 381–396;
E.E. Popkes, ‘Von der Eschatologie zur Protologie: Transformationen apokalyptischer Motive
im Thomasevangelium’, in M. Becker & M. Öhler, eds. Apokalyptik als Herausforderung neutes-
tamentlicher Theologie (WUNT II/214; Tübingen: Mohr, 2006), 211–233; E.E. Popkes, ‘Von der
Überwindung der Entzweiung—EvThom 11’, in R. Zimmermann, ed. Kompendium der Gleich-
nisse Jesu (Gütersloh: Gütersloher Verlagshaus, 2007), 873–877; Gathercole, ‘The Heavens and
the Earth Will Be Rolled up’, 280–302.
246 logion 11
There are significant differences in the content of Hippolytus’ Naassene

version.2 Hippolytus’ syntax may illuminate our Thomas parallel, however,
making clear the relationship between the two halves of 11.3.
GTh 11.3:
Protasis: (If ) when you ate what is dead you made it live,
Apodosis: when you come into the light, what will you achieve?!
This is of course a conjectural reconstruction, but it does make sense of this

part of the saying. The protasis would then refer to quotidian human activ-
ity in this world, the apodosis to the more exalted state (see further on 11.3
below).
Interpretation
Nordsieck notes perhaps appropriately that GTh 10–11 are linked by the theme
of ‘Weltuntergang’.3 GTh 11 is itself ‘a small collection of sayings’, with 11.1–2 and
3–4 each forming a pair.4 There is a looser connection between 11.1–2 and 11.3–4,
though there is the common theme of death, life, and the end. In terms of GTh
11 as a whole, (1) Valantasis has argued that the elements are basically unrelated,
and so the components ‘challenge rational reflection’ in their juxtapositions.5
(2) Pokorný states that GTh 11 is ‘a reinterpretation of Jesus’ teaching in a
way that stresses the ascetic repression of sexuality’. It is far from clear that
sexuality is a theme here, however, and—against Valantasis—GTh 11 does
divide into two parts, each of which makes sense. (For the interpretations of
the components, see notes below.) Whether there is an overarching theme is
less obvious: there may be a common theme of eschatology in 11.1–3, with a
warning attached to 11.4’s harking back to the fall, but this remains in the realms
of possibility; nevertheless, the eschatological content of this logion should not
be underestimated.6
2 The ‘living’ are understood by the Naassenes to refer to rational faculties.

3 Nordsieck, 61.
4 Pokorný, 51.
5 Valantasis, 70.
6 Popkes, ‘Von der Eschatologie zur Protologie’, 215, 224, underestimates its significance; escha-
tology is not to be disregarded simply because there is no final judgment.
logion 11 247
Notes
11.1 This heaven will pass away, and the one above it will pass away. The idea
of heavens passing away is a familiar one in early Christianity.7 The language
of passing away, perhaps like that of ‘rolling up’ in GTh 111, might suggest a
more placid disintegration and demise than is implied by the language of
destruction and ekpurosis in other texts.8 The unusual phrase ‘this heaven’,
refers almost certainly to the visible heaven nearest to earth, in contrast to
the higher ‘one above it’. Multi-layered heavens are also a commonplace in
early Judaism and Christianity.9 It is possible that the lower two stages of
heaven are regarded as temporary in contrast to the third layer of heaven which
corresponds in some texts to paradise (e.g. 2Cor. 12.2–4). The specification of
two heavens dissolving may relate to the point made in 2 Clement, according
to which ‘some [i.e. not all] of the heavens will dissolve’ (τακήσονταί τινες
τῶν οὐρανῶν, 2Clem. 16.3). Valantasis, by contrast, insists that the heavenly
realms in their totality pass away in GTh 11.10 Both this pan-heavenly view, and
the assumption that paradise is the third heaven in Thomas, are conjectures,
however.
11.2 But the dead will not live, and the living will not die. Literally, ‘But the
dead do not live …’, but a future sense is very likely. This statement probably
stands in contrast to 11.1, because the point is that the disappearance of the
heavens does not make any difference either to the elect (‘the living’) or to
others (‘the dead’).11 Both remain in their existing states. It is a feature of
Thomas that eschatology is not absent, but it is insignificant.12 The world in
its present form is temporary, but the end of the world does not bring about
a change of state (e.g. a resurrection) for the ‘living’—such a change would be
superfluous. Similarly, the ‘dead’ are already in a state of perdition.
11.3 In the days when you ate what is dead you made it live. When you come
into the light, what will you do?! There have been various explanations of the
contrast here. Plisch considers the background here possibly to be sacramental,
7 Cf. Matt. 5.18; Lk. 16.17; Mark 13.31/ Matt. 24.35/ Luke 21.33; 2Pet. 3.10; Rev. 21.1.
8 Gathercole, ‘The Heavens and the Earth Will Be Rolled up’, 296–297.
9 See the discussions of various works in P.R. Gooder, Only the Third Heaven? 2Corinthians
12.1–10 and Heavenly Ascent (London/ New York: Continuum/ T&T Clark, 2006).
10 Valantasis, 71.
11 The ‘living’ and the ‘dead’ here are spiritually so; the reference is not to physical life and
death. So rightly Grosso, 132.
12 Gathercole, ‘The Heavens and the Earth Will Be Rolled up’, 294–298; cf. Popkes, ‘Von der
Eschatologie zur Protologie’, 223.
248 logion 11
either in a Christian eucharistic, or a pagan sense, which is then opposed

to being in the light.13 DeConick, on the other hand, sees two definitions of
the means to true life, eating as opposed to baptism into the light.14 Davies
considers it a criticism of meat eating.15
The contrast in 11.3, however, is perhaps more straightforward (especially
when informed by the Hippolytus parallel).16 Thomas in the first half grants
the extraordinary power of a natural human process: when a human being con-
sumes dead meat or plant matter, these are absorbed and become living tissue.
How much greater, then, are human possibilities when a person reaches salva-
tion and comes into the light? The question ‘what will you do?’ is thus about
achievement (what will you be able to accomplish!), rather than expressing a
moral dilemma. If there is a contrast in the saying between life ‘pre- and post-
conversion’, then the implication may be that the disciples only ate meat in
their past life and are vegetarian in the present, but this is unclear: plant mat-
ter is also dead when it is consumed.
11.4 On the day when you were one, you became two. But when you become
two, what will you do? This saying forms a contrast to 11.3. The former referred
to those achieving great things going on to do even greater things. This saying
appears to lament what has happened to the fallen, and to wonder what further
catastrophes might happen to them. In the first sentence, the language is a little
awkward, but the reference seems to be to a kind of fall in which the primordial
unity was fractured into a duality. The ‘becoming two’ is based on Gen. 2.21–22,
with a play on Gen. 2.24: instead of the two becoming one, the one has become
two.17 This is the fractured situation in which the fallen currently exist (see
further the Introduction, §10.1, above). But—Jesus imagines—if this lapse was
possible in an ideal state, surely now that the situation is worse, ‘you’ could
plummet again into a yet more disastrous condition. For the same question in
a similar context, cf. Teach. Silv. 105,33–34. DeConick is correct that implied in
the question is a ‘dire situation’.18
13 Plisch, 59.
14 DeConick, 79.
15 Davies, The Gospel of Thomas: Annotated and Explained, 12.
16 There is no substantive connection with GTh 7 and 60, although they also treat consump-
tion: these sayings concern the danger of being consumed, which is not in view in GTh
11.3.
17 The ‘becoming two’ probably refers to the disintegration and division of humanity and
individual persons, rather than (so Plisch, 59) to marriage qua obstacle to salvation.
18 DeConick, 79.
Logion 121
12.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲙ̄ⲙⲁⲑⲏⲧⲏⲥ ⲛ̄ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ⲧⲛ̄ⲥⲟⲟⲩⲛ ϫⲉ ⲕⲛⲁⲃⲱⲕ⳿ ⲛ̄ⲧⲟⲟⲧ̅ⲛ̅ ⲛⲓⲙ⳿ ⲡⲉ ⲉⲧⲛⲁⲣ̄

ⲛⲟϭ ⲉϩⲣⲁⲓ̈ ⲉϫⲱⲛ 12.2 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ⲛⲁⲩ ϫⲉ ⲡⲙⲁ ⲛ̄ⲧⲁⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ⲉⲓ ⲙ̄ⲙⲁⲩ ⲉⲧⲉⲧⲛⲁⲃⲱⲕ⳿ ϣⲁ
ⲓ̈ⲁⲕⲱⲃⲟⲥ ⲡⲇⲓⲕⲁⲓⲟⲥ ⲡⲁⲉⲓ ⲛ̄ⲧⲁ ⲧⲡⲉ ⲙⲛ̄ ⲡⲕⲁϩ ϣⲱⲡⲉ ⲉⲧⲃⲏⲧϥ̄
12.1 The disciples said to Jesus, ‘We know that you will depart from us. Who
will be leader over us?’ 12.2 Jesus said to them, ‘Wherever you have come
from, you shall go to James the Just, for the sake of whom heaven and earth
came into being.’
Interpretation
The disciples’ question may have some relation to Mark 9.31–34, which like
GTh 12 consists of a passion prediction (although a different kind of ‘departure’
is possible in Thomas), followed by the disciples asking which of them is
the leader. In Thomas, after the death of Jesus, the disciples are envisaged as
dispersed, but they are to congregate around ‘James’.2 There have been two
principal debates about this saying: first, whether James is meant here as the
historical figure or as a primarily symbolic figure in some other respect, and
second whether the commendation of James is serious or ironic.3 On the first
question, the main lines of the problem are as follows.
1 Bibliography for GTh 12: A.F. Walls, ‘References to the Apostles in the Gospel of Thomas’,
NTS 7 (1960–1961), 266–270; Trevijano Etcheverría, ‘Santiago el Justo y Tomás el Mellizo’,
133–162; J. Painter, Just James: The Brother of Jesus in History and Tradition (Edinburgh: T&T
Clark, 1999), 160–163; R. Uro, ‘ “Who Will Be Our Leader?” Authority and Autonomy in the
Gospel of Thomas’, in I. Dunderberg, C.M. Tuckett & K. Syreeni, eds. Fair Play: Diversity and
Conflicts in Early Christianity. Essays in Honour of Heikki Räisänen (NovTSupps 103; Leiden/
Boston/ Cologne: Brill, 2002), 457–485; P.J. Hartin, James of Jerusalem: Heir to Jesus of Nazareth
(Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press, 2004), 115–140; Popkes, Menschenbild, 84–90.
2 Trevijano Etcheverría, ‘Santiago el Justo y Tomás el Mellizo’, 99.
3 Related to the two options provided here is the question of whether this saying is “Jewish-
Christian” or “Gnostic” (see the views canvassed in Trevijano Etcheverría, ‘Santiago el Justo
y Tomás el Mellizo’, 106–107). Frend sees the reference to James as clearly Jewish-Christian
(‘Gospel of Thomas’, 16). W.R.G. Loader, Jesus’ Attitude Towards the Law (WUNT; Tübingen:
Mohr, 1997), 501–502, on the other hand, sees opposition to Jewish Christianity. Trevijano
Etcheverría and Popkes point to the wider usage of James in places such as the Nag Hammadi
corpus, and therefore conclude that James is not necessarily a Jewish-Christian reference
250 logion 12
(1) ‘Going to James’ could refer to the historical James. Bauckham and DeCon-
ick argue that the saying goes back to James’s lifetime, DeConick specifying
that ‘a significant threat to James’ authority must have occurred within the
community’.4 There are some difficulties with this view. The Sitz im Leben
of the saying is the ministry of Jesus, so at the literary level, the saying cer-
tainly does assume that James is alive—just as Thomas assumes that Mary,
Peter, Matthew, Salome et al. are also alive. It is a leap to assume, how-
ever, via a form of mirror-reading, that James is still alive at the time of
writing, especially that the saying reflects conflict over James’ authority.5
(One might compare Apoc. Paul 19,15–18, where the child, the Holy Spirit,
here: see R. Trevijano Etcheverría, ‘La incomprensión de los discipulos en el Evangelio de

Tomás’, in E.A. Livingstone, ed. Studia Patristica XVII.1 (Elmsford, NY: Pergamon Press, 1982),
243–250 (247); E.E. Popkes, ‘About the Differing Approach to a Theological Heritage: Com-
ments on the Relationship Between the Gospel of John, the Gospel of Thomas, and Qumran’,
in J.H. Charlesworth, ed. The Bible and the Dead Sea Scrolls, vol. 3: The Scrolls and Christian
Origins (Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2006), 281–318 (310). For Grant, the anti-Jewish
character of Thomas ‘means that the James to whom the disciples will go is presumably the
hero of the Anabathmoi Iakōbou, opposed to the temple, to the sacrifices, and to the fire on
the altar’: Grant, ‘Notes on the Gospel of Thomas’, 172; similarly Ménard, 98. It may be that the
saying originated in a Jewish-Christian milieu, however: Richard Bauckham has suggested to
me the possibility that the explanation for the depiction of James in GTh 12 lies in Prov 10:25b,
which can be translated, ‘the righteous man is the foundation of the world’ (email correspon-
dence, 26.vii.2013).
4 R.J. Bauckham, ‘James and the Jerusalem Church’, in idem, ed. The Book of Acts in its Palestinian
Setting (Carlisle: Paternoster/Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995), 415–480 (451); A.D. DeConick,
Recovering the Original Gospel of Thomas: A History of the Gospel and its Growth (LNTS 286;
London/New York: T&T Clark International, 2005), 94–95: ‘Based on the content of the logion,
this addition to the original collection must have occurred before 62ce when James died but
not necessarily during the initial formation of the Thomasine community. In fact, I am con-
vinced that this saying actually accrued in the collection as the result of the community’s
first crisis—a significant threat to James’ authority must have occurred within the commu-
nity. What that threat was, is difficult to tell from the accretion. What we can say confidently,
however, is that at an early point in their history, the Thomasine Christians questioned the
legitimacy and authority of the Jerusalem Church. They opted, at this juncture at least, to
maintain their connection with Jerusalem and the leadership of James. Because this say-
ing assumes that James is still alive and the leader of the Jerusalem Church, the Thomasine
Church must have been established in Syria sometime before James’ death in 62ce.’
5 More restrained than DeConick is Bauckham, ‘James and the Jerusalem Church’, 451: ‘The
saying very probably dates from James’ lifetime … The saying probably reflects the outook of
the early Jewish Christian mission to east Syria, some of whose traditions were later taken
over by the Gospel of Thomas which originates in that area.’
logion 12 251
tells Paul to ‘go to’ the other apostles.) Mirror-reading is difficult enough
when one is dealing with an epistle,6 but when one is reading a collection
of sayings with a fictional Sitz im Leben the difficulties are magnified even
further: see the Notes below on the centralised authority of James over the
other apostles, and the title ‘the Just’, features which together line up most
closely with the portraits of James in the second and third centuries ce.
(2) Valantasis offers some different options for a symbolic James, suggesting
that he represents ‘a tradition, or an authoritative method, or some other
authoritative agency’.7 One possibility, therefore, is that James is a kind of
symbol of a traditionally Jewish Christianity in some form. Furthermore,
a number thought that James was a channel for an alternative, authori-
tative revelatory tradition. This is evident from particular attachment to
James in three Nag Hammadi works, (a) the Apocryphon of James, (b) First
Apocalypse of James (also extant in Codex Tchacos as James), where James
rebukes the twelve,8 and especially (c) Second Apocalypse of James.9 One
may add (d) the Ascents of James mentioned by Epiphanius.10 He perhaps
also plays a role in (e) Gos. Eg., where ‘James the great’ is one of the ‘great
στρατηγοί’ who appear to the incorruptible on the great Seth’s journey,11
6 M.D. Hooker, ‘Were There False Teachers at Colossae?’, in B. Lindars & S.S. Smalley, eds.
Christ and Spirit in the New Testament. Essays in Honour of C.F.D. Moule (Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1973), 315–331, esp. 315; J.M.G. Barclay, ‘Mirror-Reading a
Polemical Letter: Galatians as a Test Case’, JSNT 31 (1987), 73–93 noting, at 84, that some
think it impossible!
7 Valantasis, 74.
8 In 1 Apoc. Jas. 42, James reveals, and rebukes the twelve.
9 See e.g. 2 Apoc. Jas. 55,3–56,7: ‘… I wish to reveal through you and the [Spirit of Power], in
order that he might reveal [to those] who are yours. And those who wish to enter, and who
seek to walk in the way that is before the door, open the good door through you. And they
follow you; they enter [and you] escort them inside, and give a reward to each one who
is ready for it. For you are not the redeemer or helper of strangers. You are an illuminator
and a redeemer of those who are mine, and now of those who are yours. You shall reveal
(to them); you shall bring good among them all. You [they shall] admire because of every
powerful (deed). You are he whom the heavens bless. You he shall envy, he [who has] called
himself your [Lord] … For your sake they will be told these things and will come to rest. For
your sake they will reign and become kings. For your sake they will have pity on whomever
they have pity.’
10 Epiphanius, Pan. 30.16.7.
11 These στρατηγοί are heavenly bringers of salvation according to A. Böhlig & F. Wisse, Nag
Hammadi Codices III, 2 and IV, 2. The Gospel of The Egyptians (The Holy Book of the Great
Invisible Spirit) (CGL; NHS 4; Leiden: Brill, 1975), 194.
252 logion 12
as well as in (f) Hippolytus’ report about the Naassenes, who apparently

traced their revelation back, via Mariamne, to James (Hippolytus, Ref. 5.7.1);
(g) the Gospel of the Hebrews (ad Jerome, Vir. Ill. 2) gives James a private res-
urrection appearance. In summary, James is:
– recipient of special revelation—Ap. Jas.; 1 Apoc. Jas.; Naassenes
– author of a book—Ap. Jas. (with Peter); 1 Apoc. Jas. (scribe = Addai); 2
Apoc. Jas. (scribe = Mareim)
– ascender—Ap. Jas. 15,5–16,11
– revealer/ illuminator and deliverer—2 Apoc. Jas. 55,15–56,14
– authoritative heavenly figure—Gos. Eg. III,2 64,12–13
Before the merits of these two options (historical or symbolic) are evaluated,
the second—directly connected—question of whether the praise of James is
meant seriously also needs to be raised. On (1) the ‘serious’ reading, James is
commended here as an authority, but there is also the possibility (2) that the
reference to James is actually intended to undercut him in one or both of two
ways: it is possible that, given what the previous saying has said about the
impermanence of heaven, he is damned with faint praise as the one for whom
heaven and earth came into being; or, he is perhaps set up as a leader in GTh
12, only to be superseded in GTh 13 by Thomas as a superior model disciple (see
further the Appended Note below on the relation between GTh 12 and 13).
As a result, there are four options which are possible in theory: (a) a historical
James commended in all seriousness, (b) a ‘serious’ symbolic figure, (c) an
ironically meant historical figure, and (d) an ironic reference to a symbolic
figure.
Probably the most likely of these is (b). The difficulty with the ironic readings
in (c) and (d) is that it may well attribute a level of sophistication to the
author which is not warranted. While it is possible, there does not seem to be
any comparable instance elsewhere in Thomas. Moreover, the formula about
‘heaven and earth’ employed here is in any case scarcely, if ever, meant literally
elsewhere—it is clear hyperbole. The idea of a replacement of James with
Thomas in GTh 13 is also not necessary, given that literature in parallel with
the Gospel of Thomas can often accommodate more than one authority figure
without any sense of competition (again, see the Appended Note below). The
difficulty with a view of James (a) as a historical figure is difficult within Thomas
as it stands, unless one supposes that the work is extremely early. Similarly, for
James to function as a symbol of ‘Jewish Christianity’ is extremely problematic
given the criticism in Thomas of such traditional Jewish practices as fasting,
almsgiving and prayer (GTh 6, 14), as well as Scripture and circumcision (GTh
52–53).
logion 12 253
In favour of option (b), then, are the numerous parallels to James as a figure
embodying a revelatory—or in some other sense ‘spiritual’—tradition. Perhaps
the content of this tradition is best understood negatively: as a brother of the
Lord rather than a disciple/ apostle, he can undercut the authority of the twelve
(with the possible exception of Thomas), and perhaps the Peter/ Matthew
tradition of GTh 13 in particular.12
Notes
12.1 The disciples said to Jesus, ‘We know that you will depart from us.’ On
sayings introduced by the disciples, see ad GTh 6. The reference here may be
to Jesus’ passion or a form of ascension. The disciples are very knowledgeable
here by comparison with the canonical Gospels, where they are shocked (e.g.
Mk 8.31–32) or confused (e.g. Mk 9.31–32) by Jesus’ passion predictions.
12.1 Who will be leader over us? As noted, this question might echo Mark
9.33–34, with its discussion of which disciple was the greatest (compare Coptic
Mark’s ⲛⲓⲙ ⲡⲉ ⲡⲛⲟϭ ⲉⲧⲛϩⲏⲧⲟⲩ with ⲛⲓⲙ⳿ ⲡⲉ ⲉⲧⲛⲁⲣ̄ ⲛⲟϭ ⲉϩⲣⲁⲓ̈ ⲉϫⲱⲛ in Thomas).
The implied answer wished for (as is explicit in Mark) might well also in
Thomas be one of the disciples themselves.
12.2 Jesus said, ‘Wherever you have come from.’13 The wording of the text
is peculiar here. Scholars generally (rightly) take the reference here to be to
the scattering of the disciples in their missionary activity. On the surface, it
looks as if Jesus is talking about their origins (as Judaeans, Galileans, etc.). More
probably the verb is to be understood in a future perfect sense: ‘Wherever you
shall have come from (when you start going to James).’
12 As Walls put it, early on in Thomas research: ‘James, brother and intimate of the Lord, is
superior to all the other apostles’ (‘References to the Apostles’, 267); cf. Painter’s comment
that Thomas is a polemic against Peter’s leadership ( Just James, 162). As Dunderberg,
Beloved Disciple in Conflict, 193, rightly notes, however, GTh 99 relativizes the family
relations of Jesus.
13 The phrase ⲡⲙⲁ ⲛ̄ⲧⲁⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ⲉⲓ ⲙ̄ⲙⲁⲩ has yielded diverse translations: e.g. ‘wherever you
come from’ (DeConick, Plisch; cf. Grosso) or ‘wherever you are’ (Lambdin). (Hedrick, 37,
‘when that happens’ is a fudge.) Crum, 196b, notes a parallel in Shenoute, with ⲉⲛⲧⲁⲩⲉⲓ
ⲙⲙⲁⲩ meaning ‘whence they came’. Cf. also the different arguments for this sense of 12.2
in U.-K. Plisch, ‘Probleme und Lösungen. Bemerkungen zu einer Neuübersetzung des
Thomasevangeliums (NHC 11,2)’, in S. Emmel, et al., eds. Ägypten und Nubien in spätantiker
und christlicher Zeit: Akten des 6. Internationalen Koptologenkongressen in Münster 20.-26.
Juli 1996 (Wiesbaden: Reichert, 1999), II.523–528 (526). Plisch, 61, also notes the contrast
between ⲉⲓ and ⲃⲱⲕ in the saying.
254 logion 12
12.2 You shall go to James. At the literal level, within the framework of
the dialogue, this saying ‘gives to James the authority at the centre to which,
wherever their missionary travels take them, they are to look’.14 The status
accorded to James here corresponds most closely to the Jakobusbild of the
Pseudo-Clementine Recognitions, according to which James was appointed
bishop in Jerusalem by Jesus himself (Recogn. 1.43),15 and the twelve all reported
to him (1.44; 1.64);16 indeed, he is called ‘James the chief of bishops’ and ‘James
the archbishop’ (1.68; 1.73). Since such a status is in some sense comparable to
that given to Peter in Matt. 16.18–19, GTh 12 may have, as does GTh 13 following,
an anti-Petrine note.
12.2 The Just. The only other place in Thomas where the epithet ⲇⲓⲕⲁⲓⲟⲥ
appears is in GTh 13, so there may be a deliberate catchword link between the
two sayings. Different views have been suggested for when James received the
title ‘the Just’. Hegesippus said that it went back to the time of Jesus. DeConick
has stated that it passed to James on the death of Jesus, when the former
assumed the leadership of the Jerusalem church.17 Ward and Pokorný suggest
that it was given to James after his martyrdom.18
The earliest references to the title ‘the Just’ appear in the Gospel of the
Hebrews, Hegesippus and in Clement’s Hypotyposeis.19 As far as earlier sources
are concerned, Paul calls James ‘the brother of the Lord’ (Gal. 1.19), and Jose-
phus similarly designated him ‘the brother of Jesus’ (Ant. 20.197–203). This was
the early way of distinguishing him from other Jameses, i.e. from James the son
of Zebedee (‘James the brother of John’, in Acts 12.2), James the son of Alphaeus
and James the Less. Hegesippus’s claim that James ‘has been called by everyone
“the Just”, from the times of the Lord until now’ is—like much of Hegesippus
on James—fanciful.20 The title ‘the Just’ is probably a later—perhaps second-
century—development, another of the many later features (such as Nazirate
14 Bauckham, ‘James and the Jerusalem Church’, 451.

15 James is four more times called ‘James the bishop’ (1.66 bis, 70, 72).
16 According to Recogn. 1.17, Peter received a command from James to send him an account
of his activities every year.
17 DeConick, 81.
18 R.B. Ward, ‘James of Jerusalem in the First Two Centuries’, ANRW 2.26.1 (1992), 779–812
(801); Pokorný, 52.
19 See apud Jerome, Vir. Ill. 2, Eusebius, HE 2.1.3, and HE 2.23.4 respectively.
20 S. Chepey, Nazirites in Late Second Temple Judaism. A Survey of Ancient Jewish Writings, the
New Testament, Archaeological Evidence, and Other Writings from Late Antiquity (Ancient
Judaism and Early Christianity 60; Leiden: Brill, 2005), 175.
logion 12 255
and priesthood) read back into James’ own lifetime.21 Ward may be right in
suggesting that the title ‘came to be affixed to James as a martyr title after his
death’:22 the term is associated with the martyred in Wis. 2.17–20, those killed
unjustly in Jas. 5.6, and Jesus specifically in his death in Lk. 23.47 and 1 Jn 2.1–2
(cf. 1Pet. 3.18; Acts 3.14; 7.52, 22.14). This is probable, but must not be pressed,
since in a parallel case, Simon the Just is according to Josephus so-named for
‘his piety to God and his benevolence to his countrymen’ (Ant. 12.43; 12.157);
Josephus is not clear about whether he thought this title was granted during
Simon’s lifetime or not.23 James’ epithet may merely have this general sense,
though the connotation of righteous and therefore unjustly killed is probably
also important.
12.2 For the sake of whom heaven and earth came into being. ‘Heaven’ may
intentionally link GTh 12 to GTh 11, where the word also appears. GTh 12.2 as a
whole has various reasonably close parallels in Jewish tradition (and in some
early Christian works).24 Perhaps the earliest is T. Mos. 1.12–13, where Moses
says, ‘He (God) created the world on behalf of his people …’. Around 100 ce,
4Ezra deduces from Isa. 40.15 (where the nations are ‘like a drop in a bucket’)
that this world was created for Israel (4Ezra 6.55–59; also 7.11). The same idea
comes in 2Baruch, where there is some ambiguity about the creation of the
world for Adam and for Israel (2Bar. 14.18–19). Baruch adds a third basis for
creation in the next chapter, this time in reference both to this world and the
world to come: ‘And with regard to the righteous ones, those whom you said
the world has come on their account: yes, also that which is coming is on
their account’ (2Bar. 15.7; cf. 21.24). Sifre Deuteronomy has a strong focus on
the place of Israel, who appear to be identified with the righteous: the whole
world—heaven and earth—was created for their sake (Sifre Deut. § 47, ad 11.21
bis). With the reference to the righteous, then, we have a close parallel to the
statement about James. Hence Bammel’s conclusion that the creation of the
world for Israel is ‘an idea very common in Jewish sources’.25 Finally, in the
21 Ward, ‘James of Jerusalem’, 801; Chepey, Nazirites, 176. On James’ Nazirate, see E. Zuckschw-
erdt, ‘Das Naziräat des Herrenbruders Jakobus nach Hegesipp (Euseb, h. e. II 23, 5–6)’, ZNW
68 (1977), 276–287.
22 Ward, ‘James of Jerusalem’, 801.
23 Hegesippus’ explanation is that James was holy from his mother’s womb. 1 Apoc. Jas
explains the title from James’ work as a servant to the angry ‘just’ god (Codex Tchacos 1
Apoc. Jas. 18,16–20).
24 For Jewish parallels, see esp. Bammel, ‘Rest and Rule’, 89 n. 7; for early Christian instances,
cf. Frend, ‘Gospel of Thomas’, 16–17.
25 Bammel, ‘Rest and Rule’, 89 n. 7.
256 logion 12
Talmud, we have the possibility of the world being created for individuals:
‘Rab said: The world was created only on David’s account. Samuel said: On
Moses’ account; R. Johanan said: For the sake of the Messiah’ (b. Sanh. 98b).
On the basis of passages such as these, it is plausible to conclude that GTh
12 is a hyperbolic statement following on from James being especially ‘just’ or
‘righteous’.26
Even against this Jewish background, however, the language in GTh 12 is
remarkably strong.27 First, reference to the creation of both ‘heaven and earth’ is
rare (though both may be implied in references to the ‘world’). Sifre Deuteron-
omy has it, and 2Baruch refers to both ages: interestingly, it is these two pas-
sages which also refer to ‘the righteous’. Second, it is striking to have the cre-
ation spoken about in connection with an individual. The only other individual
in earlier literature is Adam, although later on (e.g. in the Talmud) individuals
are more prevalent. The same is true in Christian sources from roughly the time
of Thomas: Hermas 1 [Vis. 1.1].6 has ongoing creation for the sake of the church;
Aristides and Diognetus have creation for the sake of humanity (Aristides, Apol.
1; Diogn. 10.2). In Thomas we have hyperbole, though it is hyperbole expressing
an extremely exalted status not only in ecclesiastical but probably also in cos-
mic terms.
Appended Note: The Relation between GTh 12 and 13
It can hardly escape the reader’s notice that in GTh 12, James is commended
as the authority, whereas in GTh 13 it is apparently Thomas. A note here is
appropriate because the discussion cannot be confined either to the discussion
of GTh 12 or 13, and it is relevant to both. Several explanations have been offered
for the apparently divided loyalties—if that is what they are—of the Gospel of
Thomas.
Two explanations are the results of ‘fusions’, one literary and one historical.
(1) Quispel’s literary-critical explanation is that Thomas’s apparently clumsy
editor combined GTh 12 from the Gospel of the Hebrews with GTh 13 from
the Gospel of the Egyptians.28 (2) Pokorný analogously argues that with the
combination of sayings 12 and 13 a fusion of the James and Thomas groups is
26 Painter, Just James, 254–259.

27 Hartin, James of Jerusalem, 136, rightly notes that there is a progression ‘from the more
sober presentation in the Gos. Thom. to the Gnostic Redeemer of 2Apoc. Jas.’ It is true that
GTh 12 is more sober that 2 Apoc. Jas., but it is hardly sober in its own terms.
28 Quispel, ‘The Gospel of Thomas and the Gospel of the Hebrews’, 380–381.
logion 12 257
created, both of which had been criticised by the mainstream church.29 Two
other kinds of explanation propose a stronger antithesis between GTh 12 and 13:
(3) Trevijano Etcheverría sees in GTh 13 a correction of GTh 12: the movement
is now specifically a Thomas-community.30 (4) Uro and others have seen a
relativising of James: in the fact that the heavens (which came into being for
James) will pass away according to the previous saying, GTh 11: ‘A careful reader
of Jesus’ sayings in the gospel is thus able to gather that James’ leadership,
praised in saying 12, belongs ultimately to the sphere of the temporary and the
external.’31
Quispel’s explanation (1) of Thomas’s sources has not won other supporters,
and there are also difficulties with seeing, as does Pokorný, (2) James and
Thomas as both transparently representing communities.32 The ‘corrective’
view (3) invites the question: why then is GTh 12 retained at all?33 There are
also problems, however, with (4) the ironic interpretation, in that (a) it may be
overly-sophisticated for the author/ editor of Thomas; (b) there are not really
parallels to this kind of device in Thomas, and (c) the motif of the creation of
heaven and earth for the sake of an individual is hyperbolic and not intended
to be taken literally.
Walls is probably correct to point out that, given the directness of Jesus’
statement in GTh 12, the status attributed to James is real.34 James and Thomas
29 Pokorný, 53.
30 Trevijano Etcheverría, ‘Santiago el Justo y Tomás el Mellizo’, 109. Cf. perhaps G.P. Lut-
tikhuizen, ‘Witnesses and Mediators of Christ’s Gnostic Teachings’, in A. Hilhorst, ed. The
Apostolic Age in Patristic Thought (Leiden: Brill, 2004), 104–114 (112), suggesting that GTh
12–13 ‘might reflect a shift in the tradition’.
31 Uro, ‘Who Will be our Leader?’, 464; so also Hedrick, 37; Dunderberg, Beloved Disciple in
Conflict, 193, adding the point that GTh 99 relativises the family relations of Jesus. Uro also
notes that James’ sphere is also localised (presumably to Jerusalem), as is evident because
people have to move from different places to get to him (‘Who Will be our Leader?’, 465).
Marjanen also sees a relativisation of James, though through the link with GTh 13, not GTh
11 (‘Is Thomas a Gnostic Gospel?’, 123). H. Koester, ‘Apocryphal and Canonical Gospels’,
HTR 73 (1980), 105–130 (118), sees the contrast between the ecclesiastical authority of James
over against the secret authority of Thomas.
32 Uro, ‘Who Will be our Leader?’, 460.
33 Uro, ‘Who Will be our Leader?’, 457. Richardson wonders whether the answer might be
that GTh 12 is just a ‘vestigial remnant’ (‘Gospel of Thomas’, 72).
34 See Walls, ‘Apostles in the Gospel of Thomas’, 266–267, on the straight answer in GTh 12
about the authority of James: ‘That Thomas foresakes his native obliqueness for such a
forthright declaration suggests that the pre-eminence of James was of very real impor-
tance for him, something that his most jejune and least instructed readers ought not to
miss’.
258 logion 12
need not be alternatives: they are, perhaps not coincidentally, also both viewed
as sources of revelation by the Naassenes (Hippol. Ref. 5.7.1 and 5.7.20 respec-
tively). Böhlig and Wisse, noting that the Nag Hammadi literature is not exclu-
sivistic in its use of apostles, write of ‘the advanced pluralism … attested in the
Nag Hammadi library. For Peter stands along side of James in ApocryJas, and
ApocPaul is found in the same codex as I and II ApocJas.’35 One might also note
that in Thomas’s Codex II, one finds John entrusted with an apocalypse (II, 1),
Philip as an evangelist after Thomas (II, 3), then an anonymous work which
begins by quoting ‘the great apostle’ Paul (II, 4), then two more anonymous
works, followed by secret words spoken to Thomas but written down by Math-
aias (II, 7). This arrangement naturally reflects a time later than Thomas, but by
analogy it shows that Thomas need not be understood in a manner exclusivisti-
cally tied to its purported author. One might compare 1 Clement’s championing
of Peter and Paul (1Clem. 5.1–5).
35 Böhlig & Wisse, eds. Nag Hammadi Codices III, 2 and IV, 2, 16.
Logion 131
13.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ⲛ̄ⲛⲉϥⲙⲁⲑⲏⲧⲏⲥ ϫⲉ ⲧⲛ̄ⲧⲱⲛⲧ⳿ ⲛ̄ⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ϫⲟⲟⲥ ⲛⲁⲉⲓ ϫⲉ ⲉⲉⲓⲛⲉ ⲛ̄ⲛⲓⲙ 13.2
ⲡⲉϫⲁϥ ⲛⲁϥ⳿ ⲛ̄ϭⲓ ⲥⲓⲙⲱⲛ ⲡⲉⲧⲣⲟⲥ ϫⲉ ⲉⲕⲉⲓⲛⲉ ⲛ̄ⲟⲩⲁⲅ⳿ⲅ̣ⲉⲗⲟⲥ ⲛ̄ⲇⲓⲕⲁⲓⲟⲥ 13.3 ⲡⲉϫⲁϥ
ⲛⲁϥ ⲛ̄ϭⲓ ⲙⲁⲑ⳿ⲑⲁⲓⲟⲥ ϫⲉ ⲉⲕⲉⲓⲛⲉ ⲛ̄ⲟⲩ̣ⲣⲱⲙⲉ ⲙ̄ⲫⲓⲗⲟⲥⲟⲫⲟⲥ ⲛ̄ⲣⲙ̄ⲛ̄ϩⲏⲧ⳿ 13.4 ⲡⲉϫⲁϥ ⲛⲁϥ
ⲛ̄ϭⲓ ⲑⲱⲙⲁⲥ ϫⲉ ⲡⲥⲁϩ ϩⲟⲗⲱⲥ ⲧⲁⲧⲁⲡⲣⲟ ⲛⲁ⟨ϣ⟩ϣⲁⲡϥ⳿ ⲁⲛ ⲉⲧⲣⲁϫⲟⲟⲥ ϫⲉ ⲉⲕⲉⲓⲛⲉ
ⲛ̄ⲛⲓⲙ⳿ 13.5 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓⲏ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ⲁⲛⲟⲕ⳿ ⲡⲉⲕ⳿ⲥⲁϩ ⲁⲛ ⲉⲡⲉⲓ ⲁⲕⲥⲱ ⲁⲕϯϩⲉ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ϩⲛ̄ ⲧⲡⲏⲅⲏ
ⲉⲧⲃⲣ̄ⲃⲣⲉ ⲧⲁⲉⲓ ⲁⲛⲟⲕ⳿ ⲛ̄ⲧⲁⲉⲓϣⲓⲧⲥ̄ 13.6 ⲁⲩⲱ ⲁϥϫⲓⲧϥ̄ ⲁϥⲁⲛⲁⲭⲱⲣⲉⲓ ⲁϥϫⲱ ⲛⲁϥ
ⲛ̄ϣⲟⲙⲧ⳿ ⲛ̄ϣⲁϫⲉ 13.7 ⲛ̄ⲧⲁⲣⲉ ⲑⲱⲙⲁⲥ ⲇⲉ ⲉⲓ ϣⲁ ⲛⲉϥ⳿ϣⲃⲉⲉⲣ⳿ ⲁⲩϫⲛⲟⲩϥ⳿ ϫⲉ ⲛ̄ⲧⲁ
ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲟⲟⲥ ϫⲉ ⲟⲩ ⲛⲁⲕ⳿ 13.8 ⲡⲉϫⲁϥ⳿ ⲛⲁⲩ ⲛ̄ϭⲓ ⲑⲱⲙⲁⲥ ϫⲉ ⲉⲓϣⲁⲛ⳿ϫⲱ ⲛⲏⲧⲛ̄ ⲟⲩⲁ ϩⲛ̄
ⲛ̄ϣⲁϫⲉ ⲛ̄ⲧⲁϥϫⲟⲟⲩ ⲛⲁⲉⲓ ⲧⲉⲧⲛⲁϥⲓ ⲱⲛⲉ ⲛ̄ⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ⲛⲟⲩϫⲉ ⲉⲣⲟⲉⲓ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲛ̄ⲧⲉ ⲟⲩⲕⲱϩⲧ⳿
ⲉⲓ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ϩⲛ̄ ⲛ̄ⲱⲛⲉ ⲛ̄⟨ϥ⟩ⲣⲱϩⲕ⳿ ⲙ̄ⲙⲱⲧⲛ̄
13.1 Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Compare me and tell me whom I resemble.’
13.2 Simon Peter said to him, ‘You are like a righteous angel.’ 13.3 Matthew
said to him, ‘You are like a wise philosopher.’ 13.4 Thomas said to him,
‘Master, my mouth is completely unable to say whom you are like.’ 13.5 Jesus
said, ‘I am not your master. When you drank, you became drunk with the
bubbling spring which I have dug.’ 13.6 And he took him and withdrew, and
spoke three words to him. 13.7 When Thomas returned to his companions,
they asked him, ‘What did Jesus say to you?’ 13.8 Thomas said to them, ‘If I
told you one of the words which he spoke to me, you would pick up stones and
throw them at me. But fire would come forth from the stones, and burn you.’
1 Bibliography for GTh 13: Walls, ‘References to the Apostles in the Gospel of Thomas’; E.W.
Saunders, ‘A Trio of Thomas Logia’, Biblical Research 8 (1963), 43–59 (44–48); Lelyveld, Logia
de la vie, 144–149; S. Arai, ‘Zu “Drei Worte” Jesu im Logion 13 des EvTh’, AJBI 18 (1992),
62–66; Trevijano Etcheverría, ‘Santiago el Justo y Tomás el Mellizo’, 108–112; W. Clarysse,
‘Gospel of Thomas Logion 13: “The Bubbling Well Which I Myself Dug”’, in A. Schoors &
P. van Deun, eds. Philohistor: Miscellanea in honorem Caroli Laga septuagentarii (Orientalia
Lovaniensia Analecta 60; Leuven: Peeters, 1994), 1–9; M. Frenschkowski, ‘The Enigma of
the Three Words of Jesus in Gospel of Thomas Logion 13’, Journal of Higher Criticism 1
(1994), 73–84; A.D. DeConick, Seek to See Him: Ascent and Vision Mysticism in the Gospel of
Thomas (Leiden: Brill, 1996), 105–115; I. Dunderberg, ‘Thomas and the Beloved Disciple’, in
R. Uro, ed. Thomas at the Crossroads: Essays on the Gospel of Thomas (Edinburgh: T&T Clark,
1998), 65–88; Uro, ‘Who Will Be Our Leader?’, 457–485; Popkes, Menschenbild, 84–90; Perrin,
Thomas, the Other Gospel, 107–124; S. Witetschek, ‘Quellen lebendigen Wassers. Zur Frage
nach einem “johanneischen” Motiv in EvThom 13’, ZNW 103 (2012), 254–271.
260 logion 13
Interpretation
The discussion in GTh 12 of apostle-figures continues here, with a catchword

link (ⲇⲓⲕⲁⲓⲟⲥ). Both the request from Jesus and the multiple responses recall the
canonical Caesarea Philippi episode (Mk 8.27–33/ Matt. 16.13–23/ Lk. 9.18–22),
as is evident from their similar structure:2
Synoptics Thomas
Jesus’ question: Who do people say I am? Compare me …

Wrong answers: John righteous angelos
Elijah wise philosopher
(Matt: + or Jeremiah)
a prophet (master)
Right answer: The Christ Ineffable
[Private conversation]
Partial rebuke of respondent: the Son of Man is to suffer I am not ‘master’
[Private conversation]
In Thomas, Peter’s view and Matthew’s opinion are clearly painted as wrong
answers by the author. Scholars generally take the view here that the disciple
Thomas’s view of Jesus’ ineffable nature is the correct one, expressed in the
words: ‘my mouth is completely unable to say whom you are like.’3 This may
well be right, but there is no actual endorsement of Thomas’s inability to
express who Jesus is. Rather, the important thing in the narrative here seems to
be that Jesus reveals the truth to Thomas, and that this is the same mysterious
truth which is on offer in Thomas’s Gospel.4
There is almost certainly a polemic, probably aimed at a wider church
group for whom Peter was a foundational figure, and Matthew’s Gospel an/ the
2 Thomas’s version is almost certainly dependent upon Matthew here (Uro, Thomas, 88–89;
Gathercole, Composition, 169–177).
3 See e.g. A. Gagné, ‘Sectarianism, Secrecy and Self Definition: Relational Features between
Jesus, the Disciples and the Outsiders’, in T. Holmén, ed. Jesus in Continuum (WUNT; Tübin-
gen: Mohr Siebeck, 2012), 223–242 (234).
4 It is unnecessary to see GTh 13 as a response to deaths of eyewitnesses and an attempt
‘to secure the testimony of the community’s apostolic hero’; thus DeConick, Recovering the
Original Gospel of Thomas, 86.
logion 13 261
authoritative portrait of Jesus.5 As Glenn Most has put it: ‘By acknowledging his
ignorance, Thomas demonstrates that he has attained a higher level of under-
standing than either Simon Peter or Matthew (and thereby calls implicitly into
question both the authority of the church that traces its legitimacy to the for-
mer and that of the synoptic Gospel attributed to the latter)’.6
This saying is also evidence against the view that Thomas is best regarded
as advanced, esoteric teaching which builds upon more basic knoweldge con-
tained in other Gospels. The stance of Thomas here is more separatist.7
Notes
13.1 Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Compare me and tell me whom I resemble.’
Perhaps notably, Jesus does not ask his disciples, ‘Who am I?’ Jesus’ inquiry
into his likeness may be significant in the light of his ineffable identity touched
upon later in the saying. (On the other hand, contrary to some more apophatic
interpretations of Thomas, there are positive ‘christological’ assertions in the
Gospel, as e.g. in GTh 77.8) Also notable here is is the fact that, in contrast to the
Synoptics where there are two questions (‘who do people say that I am?’, about
the crowds, and ‘who do you say I am?’, addressed directly to the disciples),
Thomas has only one question. The single address to the disciples functions to
distinguish between Thomas on the one hand from the misguided remainder
of the disciples on the other.
13.2 Simon Peter said to him, ‘You are like a righteous angel.’9 Peter, like
Matthew after him, is presumably set up here to give an inadequate answer,
5 C. Gianotto, ‘Quelques aspects de la polémique anti-juive dans l’ Évangile selon Thomas’,

in L. Painchaud & P.-H. Poirier, eds. Colloque internationale: “L’Évangile selon Thomas et
les textes de Nag Hammadi”. Québec, 29–31 mai 2003 (Leuven: Peeters, 2007), 157–173 (169);
Trevijano Etcheverría, ‘Santiago el Justo y Tomás el Mellizo’, 112.
6 Most, Doubting Thomas, 93; similarly, Watson, Gospel Writing, 230.
7 So, rightly, N. Perrin, Thomas: The Other Gospel (London: SPCK, 2007), 119, in contrast to e.g.
Pagels, Beyond Belief, 39–40.
8 Cf. e.g. Davies: ‘Jesus is not himself an essential element in salvation, and so, in Thomas,
Christology per se is actively discouraged’. S.L. Davies, ‘The Christology and Protology of the
Gospel of Thomas’, JBL 111 (1992), 663–683 (664).
9 W.A. Girgis, ‘Greek Loan Words in Coptic (I)’, Bulletin de la Société d’Archéologie Copte 17
(1964), 63–73 (68), notes that ⲁⲅⲅⲉⲗⲟⲥ does not tend to have the same ambiguity in Cop-
tic that it has in Greek, but rather means ‘angel’ (contra Nordsieck, 69; Plisch, 64; Poko-
rný, 53–54). This would not preclude the sense of ‘messenger’ in the Greek Vorlage, how-
ever, if Greek ἄγγελος stands behind the Coptic. For ‘messenger’, see H.-G. Bethge, ‘“Werdet
262 logion 13
namely that Jesus is a subordinate envoy who belongs to the creaturely realm.10
Being ‘righteous’, or ‘just’, is presumably positive, although this can be taken in
a neutral (Ep. Ptol. Fl.) or even negative manner (so 1 Apoc. Jas. CT 18,16–25).
‘Righteous’, or ‘just’ (ⲇⲓⲕⲁⲓⲟⲥ) also appears in GTh 12.2 so the word may provide
an intentional catchword connection.
The mention of Peter here could be a cipher for a specific document, either
the Gospel of Mark (associated with Peter by Papias) or the Gospel of Peter:11
Peter, however, is probably better known at the time of Thomas’s composi-
tion as a leader-figure or representative of the disciples, rather than as the
embodiment of a written tradition (cf. also GTh 114).12 Jesus’ statement about
Peter’s foundational status in Matthew’s Gospel appears precisely in the par-
allel passage to GTh 13. As such, placing a foolish confession in Peter’s mouth
undercuts the canonical version of the dialogue, as well as his privileged sta-
tus.13
13.3 Matthew said to him, ‘You are like a wise philosopher.’ Again, pre-
sumably Matthew is portrayed as giving a confession far too demeaning. Sell
has argued that the three descriptions in 13.2–4 represent ‘ascending orders of
insight’, in which case ‘wise philosopher’ would be closer to the truth than ‘righ-
teous angel’, but this is not clear.14 As with the reference to Peter, some have
wondered whether the inclusion of Matthew refers to a written Gospel.15 In
vorübergehende”: zur Neubearbeitung des Thomasevangeliums für die Synopsis Quat-

tuor Evangeliorum’, in B. Aland, ed. Bericht der Hermann Kunst-Stiftung zur Förderung der
neutestamentlichen Textforschung für die Jahre 1995 bis 1998 (Münster: Hermann Kunst-
Stiftung, 1998), 42–52 (46). We must in the end confess ignorance as to which translation
is preferable.
10 This is unlikely to be a polemic against an Antiochene angel christology (pace Quispel,
‘The Gospel of Thomas and the Gospel of the Hebrews’, 380).
11 For the former, see Perrin, Thomas: The Other Gospel, 111, and suggested as a possibility in
Watson, Gospel Writing, 230 n. 45. On the latter, see Koester, ‘Apocryphal and Canonical
Gospels’, 118–119.
12 For further criticism of Koester, on both Peter and Matthew, see Trevijano Etcheverría,
‘Santiago el Justo y Tomás el Mellizo’, 110.
13 Trevijano Etcheverría, ‘Santiago el Justo y Tomás el Mellizo’, 109.
14 J. Sell, ‘Johannine Traditions in Logion 61 of the Gospel of Thomas’, Perspectives in Religious
Studies 7 (1980), 24–37 (26).
15 The connection with Matthew’s Gospel is made tentatively in Pagels, Beyond Belief, 47,
and more forcefully in R.J. Bauckham, Jesus and the Eyewitnesses: The Gospels as Eyewit-
ness Testimony (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2006), 236–237. Koester argues that there is a
reference here to Q, but this must remain at the level of speculation (again, see Koester,
‘Apocryphal and Canonical Gospels’, 118–119; cf. idem, Ancient Christian Gospels, 166–167).
logion 13 263
this instance the case is more likely because Matthew is not known in earliest
Christianity as much more than an evangelist.16 In the NT he is merely one of
the disciples with no special role, and his only additional significance in the cor-
pus of the ‘Apostolic Fathers’ is in Papias’s reference to him as an author (apud
Eusebius, HE 3.38). It is possible that Matthew’s focus on Jesus as teacher is a
trigger for the reference to Jesus as philosopher.17
13.4 Thomas said to him, ‘Master, my mouth is completely unable to say
whom you are like.’18 We will see from Jesus’ response (in 13.5) that the title
‘master’ or ‘teacher’ is not deemed appropriate, but the ineffability of Jesus’
identity seems to be the point on which Thomas is correct. Jesus is apparently
not definable by existing roles within the creaturely realm, and he elsewhere
gives rather oblique answers to questions of who he is (e.g. GTh 91). We can
probably assume that Thomas is correct on the point of Jesus’ ineffability,19 but
it is worth remembering that this viewpoint is not clearly endorsed.20 The word
‘mouth’ links GTh 13.4 to GTh 14.
13.5 Jesus said, ‘I am not your master.’ Jesus’ rejection of the title ‘teacher’ or
‘master’ (ⲥⲁϩ) might be influenced by either John 15.15, according to which the
disciples are no longer servants but friends, or by 1 John 2.27 (‘you no longer
need anyone to teach you’), but neither is very obviously referred to here.21
There is a sense of parity between Jesus and Thomas (cf. GTh 108), although
this should not obscure other more transcendent images of Jesus (see ad GTh
23), and the fact that Thomas still needs further enlightenment from Jesus in
the ‘three words’ in 13.6. On the alleged ‘twin’ theology, see further the comment
on GTh 108.
It is not clear why Gianotto sees a reference to the Synoptics more broadly (‘Quelques
aspects de la polémique’, 169).
16 For the case, see futher Gathercole, Composition, 169–174.
17 So Pagels, Beyond Belief, 47. Compare also the reference to Jesus as philosopher in the
Letter of Mara bar Serapion, and the designation as sophist in Lucian, Peregrinus 11.
18 There is an interesting parallel to the language here in the description of Eleleth in the
Hypostasis of the Archons: ‘For my mouth will not be able to receive (it) in order to speak
of his power and the appearance of his face (ⲧⲁⲧⲁⲡⲣⲟ ⲅⲁⲣ ⲛⲁϣϣⲟⲡϥ ⲁⲛ ⲉⲧⲣⲁϫⲱ ⲛ̄ⲧⲉϥϭⲟⲙ
ⲙⲛ̄ ⲡⲉⲓⲛⲉ ⲙ̄ⲡⲉϥϩⲟ)’ (Hyp. Arch. 93,16–17).
19 So Grant & Freedman, 132.
20 Pokorný, 55, is probably correct here that there is a strong suggestion that Thomas does
not endorse the title ‘Christ’.
21 There are plenty of parallels to the device of a teacher disavowing the status of teacher to
identify with his pupils: even an Ignatius can say προσλαλῶ ὑμῖν ὡς συνδιδασκαλίταις μου
(Eph. 3.1), and the author of Barnabas introduces himself, ἐγὼ δέ, οὐχ ὡς διδάσκαλος ἀλλ’
ὡς εἷς ἐξ ὑμῶν (Barn. 1.8; cf. 4.9).
264 logion 13
13.5 When you drank, you became drunk with the bubbling spring which
I have dug.22 The question here is whether this is a commendation or a rebuke
of Thomas. Most commentators take it to be a reference to the sobria ebrietas
of mystical understanding,23 but it is notable that this statement by Jesus
follows on from the correction of Thomas’s view. Thomas has perhaps gone
too far. The saying goes on to make it clear that Thomas certainly is not yet
as advanced as he could or ought to be, even though he has drunk from the
spring.24 The reference to drunkenness suggests ignorance or at least a degree
of misguidedness here, as in GTh 28 (cf. Thom. Cont. 139,37; Ap. Jas. 3,9). There
is a parallel in Zostrianus which is perhaps appropriate here: ‘If he apprehends
the glories, he is perfect; but if he apprehends [two] or one, he is drunk’ (Zost.
73,12–15). This is similar to the situation of Thomas. He has enough knowledge
to get over-excited, but is not complete. Hence the need now in 13.6 for further
revelation.
13.6 And he took him and withdrew, and spoke three words to him. This
recalls the Prologue, with its reference to private revelation to Thomas, which
is the basis for Thomas’s distinction from the other disciples (cf. Mary in Gos.
Mary, Judas in Gos. Jud., etc.). What the three words are is unknown, though
various suggestions have been made. (a) Grant & Freedman, and Ménard,
propose ‘Kaulakau, Saulasau, Zesar’, the three explosive words according to
the Naassenes (Hippolytus, Ref. 5.8.4; cf. Isa. 28.10, 13);25 (b) Puech proposed
‘Father, Son, Spirit’ in common with the similar motif in the Coptic fragment
22 Clarysse argues that the verb ⲛ̄ⲧⲁⲉⲓϣⲓⲧⲥ̄ should be taken as coming from the root ϣⲓⲧⲉ or
ϣⲓⲕⲉ meaning ‘to dig’, yielding a more natural sense than a reference to a measurement
of the spring (so e.g. Lambdin). See Clarysse, ‘Gospel of Thomas Logion 13’, 3–7; Crum,
555b (sub ϣⲓⲕⲉ), gives ϣⲓⲧⲉ as an A form; see also Crum, 595a, for examples of ϣⲓⲕⲉ with
cistern/ well as an object. It remains possible, on the other hand, that Jesus is referring to
Thomas having drunk beyond what Jesus ‘measured out’ for him. See also discussion in
Witetschek, ‘Quellen lebendigen Wassers’, 254–259.
23 Valantasis, 76; Pokorný, 55; Hedrick, 39. They cite passages which can present drunkenness
positively, such as Eph. 5.18, and Odes Sol. 11.7–8 (‘And I drank and was intoxicated by
the living, immortal, waters. And my intoxication was not without knowledge, but I
abandoned vanities’; tr. Emerton), as well the Philonic passages about the sobria ebrietas
motif.
24 On the spring as a source of life, see Disc. 8–9 58,13–14, where the language (ⲡⲏⲅⲏ ⲉⲥⲃⲣ̄ⲃⲣ̄
ⲛ̄ϩⲣⲁⲓ̈ ϩⲛ̄ ⲟⲩⲱⲛϩ̄) is very similar to that of Thomas. The water imagery does not betray
any clear relationship to John’s gospel, pace E.W. Saunders, ‘A Trio of Thomas Logia’,
44–48.
25 Grant & Freedman, 134; Menard, 99; cf. Irenaeus, AH 1.24, where the Basilideans are said
to have thought that Jesus descended and ascended in the name of Kaulakau.
logion 13 265
of the Gospel of Bartholomew, but the connection is tenuous.26 (c) Cullmann

suggested, rather arbitrarily though only as a possibility, ‘Way, Truth, Life’,
which in the absence of other strongly Johannine language is improbable.27
(d) Frenschkowski and Nordsieck suggest a three-word phrase expressive of
the identity between Jesus and Thomas, such as ἐγὼ σύ εἰμι.28 Gunther also
thinks the three words have to do with Thomas and his special status.29 (e) Arai
suggests ἐγὼ ἴσος πατρί or something like it.30 (f) Trevijano Etcheverría suggests
that, in common with other Nag Hammadi texts, the words are speculations
on the ineffable name of Jesus,31 and DeConick insists that the words must be
ʾhyh ašr ʾhyh;32 (g) Hedrick floats the possibility of the three elements which
the ascending soul needs to declare in GTh 50;33 (h) Nordsieck mentions the
option of ‘Yao, Yao, Yao’, as declared by Jesus in Pistis Sophia 136.34 (i) Plisch is
probably correct, however, that the three words are not identified here in the
text, and that their secrecy is deliberate.35 Their function here is to ensure that
Thomas is, in contrast to his previous inebriation and to the other disciples,
now fully initiated.
13.7–8 When Thomas returned to his companions, they asked him, ‘What
did Jesus say to you?’ Thomas said to them, ‘If I tell you one of the words
which he spoke to me, you would pick up stones and throw them at me.’ At
the literary level here, the other disciples would receive Thomas’s revelation
as blasphemy (cf. stoning for blasphemy in Lev. 24.14–16; Jn 10.33; Ac. 6.11
and 7.57–58). The revelation is thus kept secret because the disciples would
be self-condemned by their response (and, presumably, because of Thomas’s
reluctance to be stoned). A ‘mirror-reading’ of this incident is possible (as
long as the usual cautions are borne in mind), according to which Thomas
is anathema to the ecclesiastical establishment represented by the disciples,
26 Puech, ‘Collection de Paroles de Jésus récemment retrouvée’, 156. See E.A.W. Budge, Coptic
Apocrypha in the Dialect of Upper Egypt (London: British Museum, 1913), 214.
27 O. Cullmann, ‘Das Thomasevangelium und die Frage nach dem Alter der in ihm enthalte-
nen Tradition’, TLZ 85 (1960), 320–334 (327).
28 Frenschkowski, ‘The Enigma of the Three Words’, 82; Nordsieck, 70.
29 Gunther, ‘Judas Thomas’, 114.
30 Arai, ‘Zu “Drei Worte” Jesu’, 64–66.
31 Trevijano Etcheverría, ‘Santiago el Justo y Tomás el Mellizo’, 111. For a survey of older views,
see Walls, ‘References to Apostles’, 267–268.
32 DeConick, 85.
33 Hedrick, 40.
34 Nordsieck, 71.
35 Plisch, 65. Nor are they identified in Ac. Thom. 47, which mentions this incident.
266 logion 13
and so for that reason, it is possible that the Thomas community does not
actively—or at least indiscriminately—share its knowledge (cf. not giving to
dogs what is holy or pearls to swine in GTh 93?).
13.8 But fire would come forth from the stones, and burn36 you. The fire
may be related to the same in GTh 10 (cf. also Lk. 9.54).37 A parallel to fire
coming from stones appears in Jdg. 6.21. Again here, perhaps, the theme is
apparent of the service of the cosmos to the true disciple who rules over it.
36 Curiously, the ms. has for ‘burn’ ⲛ̄ⲥⲣⲱϩⲕ, with a feminine prefix, while the noun for fire
(ⲕⲱϩⲧ) is masculine. Compare, however, the scribal error ϣⲁⲥⲣⲉϣⲉ for ϣⲁϥⲣⲉϣⲉ in Gos.
Truth I 25,32. See further Gathercole, Composition, 52–53 (and Part I there more widely)
for arguments against the view of Guillaumont (‘Les semitismes dans l’Évangile selon
Thomas’, 196) and DeConick, 15, 84, that the mismatch of gender is a hang-over from an
Aramaic or Syriac original, in which fire (ʾštʾ, or nwrʾ) is feminine. Such a view requires the
difficulty of assuming a translation direct from Aramaic into Coptic. Additionally, there
are Greek words for fire which are feminine (e.g. πυρίνη, φλόξ), and the theory is also
rendered difficult by the abundance of Greek loan-words (nine in total) in GTh 13 as a
whole.
37 So Grant & Freedman, 133.
Logion 141
14.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ⲛⲁⲩ ϫⲉ ⲉⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ϣⲁⲛⲣ̄ⲛⲏⲥⲧⲉⲩⲉ ⲧⲉⲧⲛⲁϫⲡⲟ ⲛⲏⲧⲛ̄ ⲛ̄ⲛⲟⲩⲛⲟⲃⲉ 14.2 ⲁⲩⲱ
ⲉⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ϣⲁ(ⲛ)ϣⲗⲏⲗ⳿ ⲥⲉⲛⲁⲣ̄ⲕⲁⲧⲁⲕⲣⲓⲛⲉ ⲙ̄ⲙⲱⲧⲛ̄ 14.3 ⲁⲩⲱ ⲉⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ϣⲁⲛϯ ⲉⲗⲉⲏⲙⲟ-
ⲥⲩⲛⲏ ⲉⲧⲉⲧⲛⲁⲉⲓⲣⲉ ⲛ̄ⲟⲩⲕⲁⲕⲟⲛ ⲛ̄ⲛⲉⲧⲙ̄ⲡ̅ⲛ̅ⲁ̅ 14.4 ⲁⲩⲱ ⲉⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ϣⲁⲛⲃⲱⲕ⳿ ⲉϩⲟⲩⲛ ⲉⲕⲁϩ
ⲛⲓⲙ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲛ̄ⲧⲉⲧⲙ̄ⲙⲟⲟϣⲉ ϩⲛ̄ ⲛ̄ⲭⲱⲣⲁ ⲉⲩϣⲁⲣ̄ⲡⲁⲣⲁⲇⲉⲭⲉ ⲙ̄ⲙⲱⲧⲛ̄ ⲡⲉⲧⲟⲩⲛⲁⲕⲁⲁϥ
ϩⲁⲣⲱⲧⲛ̄ ⲟⲩⲟⲙϥ̄ ⲛⲉⲧϣⲱⲛⲉ ⲛ̄ϩⲏⲧⲟⲩ ⲉⲣⲓⲑⲉⲣⲁⲡⲉⲩⲉ ⲙ̄ⲙⲟⲟⲩ 14.5 ⲡⲉⲧⲛⲁⲃⲱⲕ ⲅⲁⲣ⳿
ⲉϩⲟⲩⲛ ϩⲛ̄ ⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ⲧⲁⲡⲣⲟ ϥⲛⲁϫⲱϩⲙ̄ ⲧⲏⲩⲧⲛ̄ ⲁⲛ⳿ ⲁⲗⲗⲁ ⲡⲉⲧⲛ̄ⲛⲏⲩ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ⳿ ϩⲛ̄ ⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ⲧⲁ-
ⲡⲣⲟ ⲛ̄ⲧⲟϥ ⲡⲉⲧⲛⲁϫⲁϩⲙ̄ ⲧⲏⲩⲧⲛ̄
14.1 Jesus said to them, ‘If you fast, you will give birth to sin in yourselves.
14.2 And if you pray, you will be condemned. 14.3 And if you give alms, you
will do ill to your spirits. 14.4 And if you go into any region and you travel in
the districts—if you are received, eat what is set before you. Those who are
sick among them, heal. 14.5 For whatever goes into your mouth will not defile
you. Rather, whatever comes out of your mouth—that is what defiles you.’
Interpretation
This saying harks back to GTh 6, where the questions are posed to which
GTh 14 provides the answers.2 The unifying theme of this short discourse is
1 Bibliography for GTh 14: Giversen, ‘Questions and Answers in the Gospel according to
Thomas’; Schrage, Verhältnis, 52–57; E. Segelberg, ‘Prayer among the Gnostics? The Evidence
of Some Nag Hammadi Documents’, in M. Krause, ed. Gnosis and Gnosticism: Papers Read at
the Seventh International Conference on Patristic Studies (NHS 7; Leiden: Brill, 1977), 65–79;
Trevijano Etcheverría, ‘Las prácticas de piedad en el Evangelio de Tomás’, 295–319; Sellew,
‘Pious Practice and Social Formation’; G. Iacopino, ‘Mt 15,11 e Lc 11,39–40 nel Vangelo di
Tommaso’, ASE 13/1 (1996), 85–93; Loader, Jesus’ Attitude Towards the Law, 492–502; J. Schröter,
Erinnerung an Jesu Worte: Studien zur Rezeption der Logienüberlieferung in Markus, Q und
Thomas (WMANT 76; Neukirchen: Neukirchener, 1997), 232–236; R. Uro, ‘Thomas and Oral
Gospel Tradition’, in idem, ed. Thomas at the Crossroads: Essays on the Gospel of Thomas
(Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1998), 8–32 (22–32); A. Marjanen, ‘Thomas and Jewish Religious
Practices’, in Uro, ed. Thomas at the Crossroads, 163–182; Gianotto, ‘Quelques aspects de la
polémique anti-juive’, 157–173.
2 This has led Giversen to suppose that there has been some textual transposition leading to
the separation of from GTh 6 from 14.1–3, and he may well be correct. See further the various
explanations for the separation of questions and answers in Marjanen, ‘Thomas and Jewish
Religious Practices’, 167–170, and DeConick, 87. In the end, we do not know.
268 logion 14
negativity towards the disciplines of Jewish piety. 14.1–3 treat the trio of fasting,
prayer and almsgiving, a traditional combination (cf. e.g. Tob. 12.8; Matt. 6.1–
18; 2Clem. 16.4), following which is a criticism of the dietary laws. Rationales
are provided in each case, though the first three justifications do not appear
obviously specific to them; the final case is more easily understandable. Some
have suggested further over-arching rationales, such as (a) the disjunction of
‘religiously settled pious practices as against the itinerancy envisioned by these
seekers’;3 similarly, Gianotto states that this traditional piety is in conflict with
Thomas’s own different asceticism.4 Also possible is (b) a kind of “Protestant”
view that rituals or institutions have the potential to damage inward spiritual-
ity.5 Plisch’s view (c) is similar, except that it attributes the criticism to a specific
source, namely Matthew 6.6 (Other literary explanations might note the priori-
tising in 2Clem. 16.4, or the Pauline idea that placing oneself under the works
of the Law can bring a curse in Gal. 3.10.) For Davies, (d) prayer and the repen-
tance implied in fasting are misguided because Thomasine disciples ‘exist in
a mythical time before sin came into being’.7 Relatedly, (e) the presence of the
kingdom may render useless those practices which express a desire for what has
already come.8 If there is an overarching rationale, this last is perhaps nearest
the mark. Fasting, prayer and almsgiving aim in some sense to ‘spread’ or ‘bring
in’ the kingdom, and so imply that it is not yet fully in existence: similar implicit
denials are also found in Thomas, and receive harsh criticism (GTh 51; 113).
This saying is almost without parallel in the intensity of its criticism of
traditional Jewish practices.9 As Gianotto has put it, Thomas is ‘totalement
négative’ towards prayer, alms and fasting because they are not merely useless
but harmful.10 (In this respect, GTh 14 is different from GTh 6, where this is
3 Valantasis, 79.
4 Gianotto, ‘Quelques aspects de la polémique’, 163.
5 Hedrick, 41; cf. also Pokorný, 57.
6 Plisch, 67.
8 Grant & Freedman, 134–135, observe that fasting is pointless because the kingdom is
present; similarly, for Loader, ‘immediacy renders prayer unnecessary’ ( Jesus’ Attitude
Towards the Law, 494).
9 Thomas’s view is stronger than that in Didache 8, where it is traditional ways of praying, or
prayer on a particular day, that are condemned. Or again, Ignatius talks of those who have
abandoned the Eucharist and prayer (Smyrn. 6.2/ 7.1), the latter presumably in the sense
of ‘prayer in episcopally sanctioned assemblies’.
10 Gianotto, ‘Quelques aspects de la polémique’, 161–162; cf. Marjanen, ‘Thomas and Jewish
Religious Practices’, 170.
logion 14 269
not stated.) Marjanen provides a helpful spectrum of second-century views

of Jewish practices, from observance, to modification of detail, to complete
reconceptualisation, to rejection (as well as silence).11 On the spectrum of
second-century views of such things, this lies at the extreme negative end, with
Prodicus who rejected prayer (Strom. 7.7.41), and probably the attitude to prayer
in the Gospel of Philip.12 Even next to these, however, Thomas goes further in
describing such practices as harmful.
In GTh 14.4–5, the scene appears to shift to the mission of the Thomas
movement. Apart from the reference to healing the sick, however, Jesus is still
(implicitly) answering the questions of GTh 6: now the last question (Co: ‘What
diet shall we observe?’) is addressed.
Notes
14.1 If you fast, you will give birth to sin in yourselves. Fasting is never quite
valued positively in Thomas, though nowhere else is it so negative. In GTh 6,
along with prayer and almsgiving, fasting is relativised. In GTh 104 Jesus rejects
the disciples’ suggestion of fasting (and prayer), while perhaps allowing for it
in some sense ‘when the bridegroom leaves the bridal chamber’. The sayings
about ‘fasting to the world’ (GTh 27) and social fasting (GTh 69) are rather
more positive, though the former is probably not a literal kind of fasting but
a spiritualised version, and the latter is not called fasting: it is not fasting in
the traditional sense, accompanying prayer or mourning, for example. This
comports exactly with the way in which fasting is treated in the Shepherd
of Hermas: in one place, fasting along traditional lines is forbidden (Herm.
54 [Sim. 5.1]), and Herm. 56 (Sim. 5.3) explicitly reinterprets fasting in the
direction of social fasting. Thomas’s consequence of ‘giving birth to sin’ can
be compared with the view that pregnant Desire ‘gives birth to sin’, with the
ultimate consequence of death, in James 1.15. There is an ironic reversal of
the norm: rather than accompanying repentance from sin, in Thomas fasting
actually leads to sin.
11 Marjanen, ‘Thomas and Jewish Religious Practices’, 165.

12 Thus Segelberg sees the claim of Clement about Prodicus supported by Thomas and the
Gospel of Philip (‘Prayer among the Gnostics?’, 68).
270 logion 14
14.2 And if you pray, you will be condemned. This is a similarly stark, and
remarkable, statement. The mentions of prayer in Thomas are more mixed than
is the case with fasting, however: in addition to the relativising in GTh 6 and
ambiguity of 104, GTh 73 is quite different: ‘Ask the lord to send workers out
into the harvest’ (cf. Matt. 9.38/ Lk. 10.2).13 It seems likely, however, that GTh 14.2
marks a departure from this traditional stance. Loader notes the possibility that
it is only particular forms of prayer which are rejected, but Thomas appears to
be saying something stronger than this.14 There are parallels to such a negative
view, as in Prodicus and the Gospel of Philip; the latter radically redefines
prayer, by saying that it is not something appropriate in this world, but belongs
instead—presumably in a completely reconceptualised form—to ‘the other
aeon’.15 It may well be that Thomas shares a similar view. This will be explored
further later under GTh 104 (and see Introduction, § 10.3, above), but at the
moment it is sufficient to note the uncompromising stand against prayer in
anything like its traditional form. The content of the condemnation is unclear,
however.
14.3 And if you give alms, you will do ill to your spirits. Almsgiving termi-
nology per se does not appear again after GTh 6 and 14. The idea is present,
however, in much more positive terms in GTh 69.2 (‘Blessed are those who
hunger so that they may fill the belly of the one who desires’) and GTh 95 (‘If
you have money, do not lend it at interest; rather, give it to one from whom you
will not receive it back’). The change of vocabulary here might again result from
a rejection of almsgiving in a traditional sense of giving to anyone who is needy,
and a reconceptualisation of it as serving the needs specifically of those in the
Thomas movement.
14.4 If you go into any region and you travel in the districts. The scene
seems to shift at 14.4 to the mission of the Thomas movement. Apart from the
reference to healing the sick, however, Jesus is still (implicitly) answering the
questions of GTh 6: now the last question (‘What diet shall we observe?’) is
addressed.
This saying has proven difficult for interpreters in that, maximally, it may
imply a whole conception of missionary itinerancy (cf. GTh 73; perhaps 31
and 33, though not 50 and probably not 42).16 At the other extreme, Uro has
commented that it might mean little more than mobility, and ‘mobility does
13 This saying is also atypical in its use of the title ‘lord’.

14 Loader, Jesus’ Attitude to the Law, 501. Loader himself rejects this view (494).
15 Gos. Phil. 52,25–35.
16 See e.g. Patterson, Gospel of Thomas, 158–170 (and passim).
logion 14 271
not necessarily mean itinerancy.’17 It is very difficult to be definite about a

background of Wanderradikalismus here, but there is certainly a missionary
outlook of some kind.
Scholars have also discussed the implications of the terms ⲕⲁϩ and ⲭⲱⲣⲁ,
which are vague and therefore difficult to translate: ⲛ̄ⲭⲱⲣⲁ, however, probably
implies rural areas (cf. the πόλις in Lk. 10.8):18 1Clement 42.4 seems to contrast
χώρα and πόλις. But this does not necessarily point to a rural provenance,
because the regions and districts are the implied destinations of the audience.
One might even conclude from this fact that Thomas reflects an urban setting,
but this would also be to push the evidence too far.
14.4 If you are received, eat what is set before you. This command (cf. Lk.
10.8; 1Cor. 10.27) already anticipates the stance towards clean/unclean foods
about to be mentioned in 14.5. It seems implicitly to contradict a notion of
vegetarianism in Thomas.
14.4 Those who are sick among them, heal. This does not belong here in
the treatment of the questions from GTh 6, but is linked with the missionary
material earlier in 14.4: the connection appears also in Matthew 10.8–10 and
Luke 10.7–9. Luke and Thomas are rather closer to one another than they
are to Matthew. As far as the meaning of ‘healing’ is concerned, it is unclear
whether for Thomas cure of bodies or of souls is envisaged. A both/and is
unlikely, at least in this particular saying. Grant & Freedman, and Popkes, think
that the healing motif here is exceptional, and an insignificant relic resulting
from Lukan influence.19 Probably more likely is that this statement would be
interpreted by readers in spiritual terms.
14.5 For whatever goes into your mouth will not defile you. Rather, what-
ever comes out of your mouth—that is what defiles you. Cf. Mk 7.15/ Matt.
15.11 (and Mk 7.18, 20/ Matt. 15.17–18);20 the word ‘mouth’ also connects GTh 13–
14. Defilement is not mentioned elsewhere in Thomas, and the question of the
uncleanness of foods does not feature again outside of GTh 6 and 14 (cf. 89). The
clear sense here is that any traditional scruples that food might defile are dis-
missed. In contrast, speech is prioritised. This is the same sequence as one finds
in GTh 6, where the question of diet is ignored by Jesus, who exhorts the reader
17 R. Uro, ‘The Social World of the Gospel of Thomas’, in J.Ma. Asgeirsson, A.D. DeConick &
R. Uro, eds. Thomasine Traditions in Antiquity: The Social and Cultural World of the Gospel
of Thomas (NHMS 59; Leiden: Brill, 2005), 19–38 (26).
18 Nordsieck, 77, comments on the contrast with Luke.
19 Popkes, Menschenbild, 41; cf. Grant & Freedman, 135.
20 Thomas is probably dependent upon Matthew here. See Gathercole, Composition, 178–179.
272 logion 14
instead not to lie, and to observe the negative form of the golden rule. A few
other places give attention to the character of speech which is enjoined upon
the elect disciples. In addition to the instruction to ‘preach from the rooftops’
(GTh 33), GTh 45.2 probably implies that the good person bringing forth good
fruit from his store house is a reference to speech, given that when the evil
person does the opposite, he ‘speaks evil things’ (45.3). The corrupting effect
of evil speech is a widely recognised phenomenon (cf. e.g. Jas 3.5–8).
Logion 151
ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ϩⲟⲧⲁⲛ ⲉⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ϣⲁⲛⲛⲁⲩ ⲉⲡⲉⲧⲉ ⲙ̄ⲡⲟⲩϫⲡⲟϥ⳿ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ϩⲛ̄ ⲧⲥϩⲓⲙⲉ ⲡⲉϩⲧ⳿
ⲧⲏⲩⲧⲛ̄ ⲉϫⲙ̄ ⲡⲉⲧⲛ̄ϩⲟ ⲛ̄ⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ⲟⲩⲱϣⲧ ⲛⲁϥ⳿ ⲡⲉⲧⲙ̄ⲙⲁⲩ ⲡⲉ ⲡⲉⲧⲛ̄ⲉⲓⲱⲧ⳿
Jesus said, ‘When you see the one not born of woman, prostrate yourselves
on your faces and worship him. That one is your Father.’
Interpretation
This saying is the first clear instance of the theme of visionary experience in
Thomas.2 As DeConick has argued on the basis of GTh 59 (‘look at the living one
while you are alive, lest you die and you seek to see him, but are not able to see’),
this is not confined to postmortem experience. Elsewhere, preparation for the
vision involves a metaphorical ‘Sabbath’ observance, looking at the living one,
and stripping, which suggest a rigorous discipline as a prerequisite. (See further
below on GTh 27, 37 and 59 ad locc.) This saying is concerned, by contrast, with
the ‘etiquette’ prescribed when one has seen a vision of the Father.3
Notes
When you see the one not born of woman. The phrase ‘one born of woman’ is a
standard idiom for a human being (Job 14.1; 15.14; 25.4; Matt. 11.11/ Lk. 7.28/ GTh
46), perhaps especially a human qua mortal.4 Having been born of a woman
may, in Thomas’s view, be a contributory factor to the poverty of humanity if
GTh 101.3 assigns a negative quality to human maternity (see ad loc. below).
1 Bibliography for GTh 15: DeConick, Seek to See Him, 99–100.

2 Elsewhere, blindness or lack of sight is lamented (GTh 28.3; 113.4).
3 DeConick, 92; cf. eadem, Voices of the Mystics: Early Christian Discourse in the Gospels of
John and Thomas and Other Ancient Christian Literature (Sheffield Academic Press, 2001), 89;
Grosso, 141.
4 See the various passages in Plisch, 68–69. Less likely, since sin is not a prominent theme in
Thomas, is the human qua sinner (Grant & Freedman, 135); Nordsieck, 81 and Hedrick, 44,
suggest human frailty.
274 logion 15
Hedrick and Grosso relate this saying to the anti-female content of GTh 114.5
The ‘Father’ in this saying, by contrast, is clearly positively valued.
Prostrate yourselves on your faces and worship him. In contrast to require-
ments before vision, the focus here is on the glories of that experience, which
are to be expressed in worship. The language of worship here is strikingly tradi-
tional,6 but Valantasis notes that the prostration may be metaphorical.7 There
is no mysticism in the sense of a blurring of the identities of visionary and
Father. The ‘worship’ language reinforces the distinction rather than removing
it. Hedrick’s statement that this statement excludes the worship of Jesus goes
beyond what is written.8
That one is your Father. On the Father in Thomas, see above on 3.4. The
theme of the Father as one unborn is common in the Nag Hammadi literature.9
‘The Father’ is also the object of vision in GTh 27.2 (‘Unless you observe the
Sabbath, you will not see the Father’) and GTh 59 (looking at, ϭⲱϣⲧ ⲛ̄ⲥⲁ, and
seeing, ‘the living one’). There is variation, however: in GTh 37, the vision is
of Jesus; GTh 84 talks of the elect seeing their pre-existent images. The word
‘father’ may link GTh 15 to GTh 16.
5 Hedrick, 44; Grosso, 141.

6 Cf. human beings falling on their faces before God or the angel of the Lord in Gen. 17.3; Lev.
9.24; Num. 14.5; 16.4, 22, 45; 22.31; Josh. 5.14; 7.6; 1 Chr. 21.16; 2Chr. 20.18; Ezek. 1.28; 3.23; 9.8; 11.13;
43.3; 44.4; Matt. 17.6; 26.39; Lk. 5.12. Cf. 2 Sam. 14.4, 22 (before human kings).
7 Valantasis, 82.
8 Hedrick, 44.
9 See e.g. Tri. Trac. I 51,27–30, and further references in H.W. Attridge & E. Pagels, Nag Hammadi
Codex I (The Jung Codex): Notes (NHS 23; Leiden: Brill, 1985), 222.
Logion 161
16.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ⲧⲁⲭⲁ ⲉⲩⲙⲉⲉⲩⲉ ⲛ̄ϭⲓ ⲣ̄ⲣⲱⲙⲉ ϫⲉ ⲛ̄ⲧⲁⲉⲓⲉⲓ ⲉⲛⲟⲩϫⲉ ⲛ̄ⲟⲩⲉⲓⲣⲏⲛⲏ
ⲉϫⲙ̄ ⲡⲕⲟⲥⲙⲟⲥ 16.2 ⲁⲩⲱ ⲥⲉⲥⲟⲟⲩⲛ ⲁⲛ ϫⲉ ⲛ̄ⲧⲁⲉⲓⲉⲓ ⲁⲛⲟⲩϫⲉ ⲛ̄ϩⲛ̄ⲡⲱⲣϫ⳿ ⲉϫⲛ̄ ⲡⲕⲁϩ
ⲟⲩⲕⲱϩⲧ ⲟⲩⲥⲏϥⲉ⳿ ⲟⲩⲡⲟⲗⲉⲙⲟⲥ 16.3 ⲟⲩⲛ̄ ϯⲟⲩ ⲅⲁⲣ ⲛⲁϣ̣ⲱ̣[ⲡⲉ] ϩⲛ̄ ⲟⲩⲏⲉⲓ ⲟⲩⲛ̄ ϣⲟⲙⲧ
ⲛⲁϣⲱⲡⲉ ⲉϫⲛ̄ ⲥⲛⲁⲩ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲥⲛⲁⲩ ⲉϫⲛ̄ ϣⲟⲙⲧ⳿ ⲡⲉⲓⲱⲧ⳿ ⲉϫⲙ̄ ⲡϣⲏⲣⲉ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲡϣⲏⲣⲉ ⲉϫⲙ̄
ⲡⲉⲓⲱⲧ⳿ 16.4 ⲁⲩⲱ ⲥⲉⲛⲁⲱϩⲉ ⲉⲣⲁⲧⲟⲩ ⲉⲩⲟ ⲙ̄ⲙⲟⲛⲁⲭⲟⲥ
16.1 Jesus said, ‘Perhaps people think that I have come to bring peace upon
the world. 16.2 They do not know that I have come to bring divisions on the
earth—fire, sword, war. 16.3 For there will b[e] five in a house, and three will
be against two, and two against three; father against son, and son against
father. 16.4 And they will stand as solitary.’
Interpretation
The principal interpretative debate over this saying (parr. Matt. 10.34–36; Lk.
12.51–53) concerns the meaning of ‘house’ in 16.3, and what follows from that.
Valantasis takes (1) the more literal approach, seeing the house as the family
or household: the point then is that the family is not the ‘base community in
which the new subjectivity develops’.2 On the other hand, Grant & Freedman
note the possibility of (2) an anthropological interpretation, according to which
the house is the individual human.3 DeConick combines (3) both: the ‘fire,
sword, and war’ in 16.2 represent ‘the interior battle with the passions, the
demons that thwart the advancement of the soul’, whereas the disruption in
16.3 is of the family.4 The references to the ‘world’ and ‘earth’ as the sphere
of Jesus’ coming and dividing in 16.1–2 suggest that earthly institutions—in
this case, specifically the household—are more likely to be what are disrupted
1 Bibliography for GTh 16: Schrage, Verhältnis, 57–61; P.-H. Poirier, ‘L’Évangile selon Thomas
(log. 16 et 23) et Aphraate (Dém. XVIII, 10–11)’, in (no editor), Mélanges Antoine Guillaumont:
Contributions à l’étude des christianismes orientaux, avec une bibliographie du dédicataire
(Geneva: Patrick Cramer, 1988), 15–18. See also bibliography for the Appended Note on
ⲙⲟⲛⲁⲭⲟⲥ.
2 Valantasis, 83.
4 DeConick, 93, 96.
276 logion 16
by the fire, sword and war, and the possibility raised (admittedly very tenta-
tively) by Grant & Freedman that the ‘five’ in the house are the senses is very
unlikely.
Jesus’ disruption of worldly institutions stands in apparent contrast to his
concern for the recovery of primordial unity and for the dissolution of spiritual
dualities, but the tension is easily solved: the primordial unity to be effected
by Jesus is personal and individual rather than social. The theme of ‘standing’
in 16.4 has the force of an assurance that, despite social ostracism or chaos,
in ultimate terms disciples are secure.5 Their solitariness (see appended note
below, on ⲙⲟⲛⲁⲭⲟⲥ) is precisely a marker of their elect status.
Notes
16.1 Perhaps people think that I have come to bring peace upon the world. It
was the expectation of the Messiah that he would bring peace (e.g. Isa. 11.1–10),
and such is indeed reflected elsewhere in the Synoptics (Lk. 1.78–79; 2.10–14,
etc.). Indeed, Jesus commends peace-makers in GTh 48 (cf. Matt. 5.9), and
there is Thomas’s great stress on the recovery of primordial unity initiated by
Jesus’ revelation. Nevertheless, social conflict—specifically opposition against
Thomas disciples from outsiders—is also an important result of Jesus’ ministry
for Thomas.
16.2 They do not know that I have come to bring divisions on the earth.
This confirms the implication in 16.1 about the ignorance of humanity (cf.
GTh 28, 113). There are also christological implications to this saying: the use
of the ‘I have come’ + purpose carries the sense of Jesus’ pre-existence and
his standing over against the world.6 In this case what he brings upon the
world stands in some contrast to the theme of Jesus’ inculcation of cosmic
unity found elsewhere in Thomas (e.g. GTh 72, where Jesus denies being a
‘divider’).
16.2 Fire, sword, war. Luke has ‘fire’ (12.49), Matthew has ‘sword’ (10.34), ‘war’
is distinctive to Thomas. It is probably merely a gloss on ‘sword’, explaining the
metaphor, even if it is with another metaphor. The overall effect of all three
terms is to make even more vivid the earlier reference to ‘divisions’.
5 See e.g. the parallels adduced in M.A. Williams, The Immovable Race: A Gnostic Designation
and the Theme of Stability in Late Antiquity (NHS 29; Leiden: Brill, 1985), 88–91.
6 See Gathercole, Preexistent Son, passim.
logion 16 277
16.3 For there will be five in a house and three will be against two, and two
against three; father against son, and son against father. Some have seen the
reference merely to father and son here, when ‘five’ family members have been
noted, as Thomas making a mess of the saying;7 Quispel by contrast remarked
that mention of women was suppressed to leave the father and son unmarried.8
(‘Father’ may also function as a catchword connection to GTh 15.) The latter is
not probable evidence for Thomas’s secondary character vis-à-vis Luke, though
arguments for Thomas’s primitivity on the basis of its form-critical simplicity
are not convincing either.9
16.4 And they will stand. DeConick sees the ‘standing’ here as reflecting the
worshipful position of angels,10 but this would be strange after an injunction in
GTh 15 to prostrate oneself in worship (even if the prostration is metaphorical),
and the etiquette of worship is not in view in this saying. Grosso rightly argues
that standing is a symbol of the strength which the elect disciples possess in
their position and status acquired.11 The language of ‘standing’ in Thomas is
sometimes used in an unremarkable way (GTh 75, 99). Here and in GTh 23
(cf. also GTh 28), however, there may be a more theologically loaded sense
because of the association with salvation. Williams has shown that ‘standing’
is of importance elsewhere in Nag Hammadi texts, with connotations of ‘tran-
scendent immobility’ in Three Steles of Seth, and ‘internal, noetic immobility’
in Zostrianus.12 One might also adduce the Pseudo-Clementine parallel, where
Simon Magus has the title of ‘Standing one’ (Stans), interpreted there as mean-
ing ‘that he can never be dissolved’, ‘as though he cannot fall by any corruption’
(Recogn. 2.7.2–3). As such, the principal sense here is adamantine solidity and
everlasting duration, which fits well in the context.
16.4 As solitary. The principal connotation of the controverted ⲙⲟⲛⲁⲭⲟⲥ here
in GTh 16 is that of separation. As Popkes rightly says, the force of ⲙⲟⲛⲁⲭⲟⲥ is
primarily negative, about losing family rather than making a constructive point
about Thomas’s anthropology.13 In the Appended Note below, it is evident that
this is perhaps the dominant sense of the word overall in Thomas (as well as

8 G. Quispel, Makarius, das Thomasevangelium und das Lied von der Perle (NovTSuppS;
Leiden: Brill, 1967), 108.
9 See the discussion in Gathercole, Composition, 55–56.
10 DeConick, 98–99.
11 Grosso, 143.
12 Williams, Immovable Race, 35, 98, and, on ‘standing’, passim, esp. 35–57, 71–98, 104–111.
13 Popkes, Menschenbild, 156.
278 logion 16
in Dial. Sav.), and this certainly fits with GTh 16, in which the division by Jesus
leads to the separation of the disciples from (at least part of) their families,
which does not necessarily mean absolute celibacy.14 Rejection of or by parents,
for example, would not entail lifelong singleness.
Appended Note: ⲙⲟⲛⲁⲭⲟⲥ in the Gospel of Thomas15
The term ⲙⲟⲛⲁⲭⲟⲥ appears three times in Thomas:
16.4 ‘And they will stand as solitary (ⲙ̄ⲙⲟⲛⲁⲭⲟⲥ).’
49.1 Jesus said, ‘Blessed are the solitary (ⲛⲙⲟⲛⲁⲭⲟⲥ) and elect, for you will
find the kingdom.’
75 Jesus said, ‘Many are standing at the door, but only the solitary (ⲙ̄ⲙⲟ-
ⲛⲁⲭⲟⲥ) will enter the bridal chamber.’
There are also a number of instances of the phrase ⲟⲩⲁ ⲟⲩⲱⲧ in the sense of
‘one’ (GTh 4.3; 22.5; 23.2). (See comment above on 4.3.) The word ⲙⲟⲛⲁⲭⲟⲥ has
14 R. Uro, ‘Asceticism and Anti-Familial Language in the Gospel of Thomas’, in H. Moxnes,

ed. Constructing Early Christian Families: Family as Social Reality and Metaphor (London:
Routledge, 1997), 216–234 (225).
15 Bibliography for Appended Note: E.A. Judge, ‘The Earliest Use of monachos for Monk
(P. Coll. Youtie 77) and the Origins of Monasticism’, JAC 20 (1977), 72–89; M. Harl, ‘À propos
des logia de Jésus: Le sens du mot μοναχός’, Revue des études grecques 73 (1960), 464–
474; F.-E. Morard, ‘Monachos, Moine: Histoire du terme grec jusqu’au 4e siècle’, Freiburger
Zeitschrift für Philosophie und Theologie 20 (1973), 332–411; F.-E. Morard, ‘Monachos: une
importation sémitique en Égypte? Quelques aperçus nouveaux’, in E.A. Livingstone, ed.
Studia Patristica XII (Berlin: Akademie, 1975), 242–246; F.-E. Morard, ‘Encore Réflections
sur Monachos’, VC 34 (1980), 395–401; Poirier, ‘L’Évangile selon Thomas (log. 16 et 23)’, 15–18;
G. Quispel, ‘L’Évangile selon Thomas et les origines de l’ascèse chrétienne’, in (no editor),
Aspects du Judéo-Christianisme: Colloque de Strasbourg, 23–25 Avril 1964 (Paris: Presses Uni-
versitaires de France, 1965), 37–41; Klijn, ‘The “Single One” in the Gospel of Thomas’, 271–
278; DeConick, Recovering the Original Gospel of Thomas, 185–191; S.H. Griffith, ‘“Singles”
in God’s Service: Thoughts on the Ihidaye from the Works of Aphrahat and Ephraem the
Syrian’, The Harp: A Review of Syriac and Oriental Studies 4 (1991), 145–159; Popkes, Men-
schenbild des Thomasevangeliums, 147–211; D.F. Bumazhnov, ‘Some Further Observations
Concerning the Early History of the Term μοναχός’, in J. Baun, A. Cameron, M.J. Edwards &
M. Vinzent, eds. Studia Patristica XLV (Leuven: Peeters, 2010), 21–26.
logion 16 279
been a source of some debate in Thomas scholarship, and in short, there are
four principal options for its interpretation.
(1) Spiritually unified, rather than divided. Harl argues that the term is expli-
cable on the basis of the Hebrew OT and its subsequent translations, and
that it is connected to ‘[le] concept biblique des yeḥidim’.16 She also sees
an analogous definition in Ps.-Dionysius, where μοναχός is not about being
solitary but having a life ‘indivisibilis et singularis’, being unified.17 Simi-
larly, Ménard remarks that the phrase refers to a monk, as someone who has
rediscovered his primordial unity.18 Popkes takes a similar view, highlight-
ing the eradication of the individual characteristics of human existence,
especially gender differentiation, an eradication which is achieved by the
return to the divine unity.19
(2) ‘Single’ in the sense of renouncing sexuality. This view is especially associ-
ated with G. Quispel, who comments that ‘le monachos est “un” vierge, un
célibataire’,20 and DeConick, who glosses the term, ‘bachelor’,21 or ‘celibate
person’.22 One of the principal reasons for this is the Syriac term iḥidaya,
which has had an important impact on the debate.23 Quispel and DeCon-
ick among others both propose that the Greek/ Coptic is a translation of
Syriac iḥidaya.24
16 Harl, ‘À propos des logia de Jésus’, 474; cf. 464–465.

17 Harl, ‘À propos des logia de Jésus’, 473.
18 J.E. Ménard, ‘La tradition synoptique et l’ Évangile selon Thomas’, in F. Paschke, J. Dum-
mer, J. Irmscher & K. Treu, eds. Überlieferungsgeschichtliche Untersuchungen (Berlin:
Akademie, 1981), 411–426 (413).
20 Quispel, ‘L’Évangile selon Thomas et les origines de’ ascèse chrétienne’, 38; cf. idem, ‘Das
Thomasevangelium und das Alte Testament’, in (no editor), Neotestamentica et Patristica:
Eine Freundesgabe Herrn Prof. Dr. Oscar Cullmann zu seinem 60. Geburtstag Überreicht
(Leiden: Brill, 1962), 243–248 (244).
21 DeConick, Voices of the Mystics, 100.
22 DeConick, 98.
23 For discussion, see the very useful summary in Griffith, ‘Singles in God’s Service’. He
discusses the usage in Aphrahat and Ephrem, and notes that the term does not appear in
the Odes of Solomon or the Acts of Thomas, while raising the possibility of its appearance
in the Vorlage of Thomas. I am grateful to Dr J.F. Coakley for this reference. The most
recent discussion, with some up-to-date bibliography, is D.F. Bumazhnov, ‘Some Further
Observations’.
24 Quispel, ‘Das Thomasevangelium und das Alte Testament’, 244.
280 logion 16
(3) Separated and solitary. Leipoldt translates the term ‘Einzelgänger’,25 and
similarly, Haenchen sees the term referring primarily to someone who has
loosened their ties to the world.26
(4) Some combination of these. Leloir, for example, incorporates (1) and (2)
into his definition, with the term not yet referring to one living in solitude.27
For Klijn, incorporating (1) and (2) is not the mere accumulation of two
ideas, but rather involves the unification into an androgynous identity.28
Morard sees the term reflecting the characteristics of Jewish-Christian
and Syrian asceticism, ‘celles d’un élu, d’ un séparé, d’ un célibataire’.29
Her later definition also includes the sense of wanting a ‘retour à son
unification première’.30 Poirier has pointed out that Aphrahat combines
multiple senses, such that the unmarried are described as one spirit and
one intellect.31
One of the difficulties lies in the fact that, as Morard has shown, the pre-
Christian classical sense of the term is not confined to one of these senses.
She gives three senses in Classical usage: ‘un être unique en son genre’ (like
the sun or the moon), ‘un être solitaire, isolé par rapport à d’ autres’ (like an
island called Monachē separated from the archipelago to which it belongs; cf.
“3” above), and ‘un être simple, unifié’ (cf. “1” above).32 The papyri interestingly
attest to the same three senses.33
How are we to decide from these options?
Probably the least likely of the three options above is (2). Uro has criticised
the alleged Syriac background to this concept as anachronistic.34 DeConick
has responded to Uro by appealing to ‘this word’s clear linguistic heritage with
25 Leipoldt, Evangelium nach Thomas, 59; cf. A. Gagné, ‘Jésus, la lumière et le Père Vivant.
Principe de gémellité dans l’ Évangile selon Thomas’, Apocrypha 23 (2013), 209–221 (216):
‘solitaire’.
26 Haenchen, Botschaft, 69.
27 L. Leloir, ‘Infiltrations dualistes chez les Pères du désert’, in J. Ries, Y. Janssens & J.-M. Sevrin,
eds. Gnosticisme et monde hellenistique (Louvain: Université Catholique de Louvain, 1982),
326–336 (331).
28 Klijn, ‘Single One’, 271–278.
29 Morard, ‘Monachos, Moine’, 377.
30 Morard, ‘Encores quelques réflections’, 399.
31 Poirier, ‘L’Évangile selon Thomas (log. 16 et 23)’, citing Dem. 18.11.
34 Uro, ‘Asceticism and Anti-Familial Language’, 224–225; cf. Judge, ‘The Earliest Use of
monachos’, 87.
logion 16 281
reference to singlehood and celibacy’,35 namely the point that it is the ‘Greek
translation of the Syriac term ihidaja’.36 It is odd, however, to call this a ‘heritage’,
when the Syriac term first appears two centuries after the Gospel of Thomas. The
problem of the lateness of the Syriac (and Greek) parallels cannot be avoided.37
More positively, one analogy which is useful is the occurrence of ⲙⲟⲛⲟⲭⲟⲥ
(sic) in the Dialogue of the Saviour, which is often compared with Thomas.
There it appears in the paired phrase ‘the elect and ⲙⲙⲟⲛⲟⲭⲟⲥ’ (120,26), and
where the Father is addressed as the one who is the ‘thought and complete
serenity of ⲙⲙⲟⲛⲟⲭⲟⲥ’ (121,18): the passage goes on: ‘Again, hear us just as you
heard your elect’ (121,18–20). It is thus another way of referring to the disciples,
with a close association with the title ‘the elect’.38
This comports very well with the sense in Thomas, where all three instances
make very good sense as meaning ‘separated from the rest (sc. of human-
ity)’, like Isle Monachē mentioned above. In GTh 16, Jesus has brought about
division, such that the disciple is separated from his other family members.
In GTh 49, we have the same connection with election: Jesus’ separating act
means that as a result of being elect they are solitary, separated. In GTh 75,
there is a contrast between ‘the many’ and the monachoi, again suggesting that
those belonging to the Thomas movement are a minority, separated from oth-
ers.
This sense may also fit with the usage in the roughly contemporaneous
Barnabas and Hermas, which attack those who isolate themselves from the
community, using the verb μονάζειν in a negative way. The former warns against
separating oneself from the community (μὴ καθ’ ἑαυτοὺς ἐνδύνοντες μονάζετε)
as if one had no need for further edification (Barn. 4.10); Hermas talks of
those who have separated themselves from the community and live apart
(μονάζοντες), denying Jesus and destroying themselves (Herm. 103 [Sim. 9.26].3).
The point here is a linguistic one, rather than an identification of the Thomas
movement as those who separated from Hermas’s community.39
35 DeConick, Recovering the Original Gospel of Thomas, 191 n. 25.

38 On this association, see the helpful discussion in Gagné, ‘Jésus, la lumière et le Père Vivant’,
216–218.
39 One might also note the μονούμενοι who philosophise in μοναστήρια in Philo, Contempl. 25,
30.
282 logion 16
This meaning, that of (3) above, is suggested as the primary sense of ⲙⲟⲛⲁⲭⲟⲥ
in Thomas which term then may have been seen as especially appropriate
given its other potential connotations. The probability of other nuances having
attached themselves in Thomas seems especially likely given the irony in GTh
75, with the ‘solitaries’ (or, ‘single ones’) going into the bridal chamber.
Finally we should address the question of whether it is likely that the term
ⲙⲟⲛⲁⲭⲟⲥ goes back to the second-century Greek version of Thomas. The first
use of μοναχός as a noun in the sense of ‘monk’ does not appear until the
fourth century,40 and Popkes is right to observe that the word μοναχός does
not survive in any of the Greek fragments.41 This can in part be explained by
happenstance, as the Greek does not survive for any of the sayings which in
Coptic have the word. The problem is resolved, however, when it is recognised
that ⲙⲟⲛⲁⲭⲟⲥ may well in Thomas be functioning as an adjective, not as a noun.
Quispel remarked, ‘The Gospel of Thomas is the first writing in the history of
the universe to use the noun “monachos”.’42 It is often difficult to tell whether
a Coptic word is a noun or an adjective, however. Indeed, the phrase ‘blessed
are the monachoi and elect’ (ϩⲉⲛⲙⲁⲕⲁⲣⲓⲟⲥ ⲛⲉ ⲛⲙⲟⲛⲁⲭⲟⲥ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲉⲧⲥⲟⲧⲡ⳿) in GTh 49
suggests that it might well not be functioning as a noun. If one encountered
the phrase ‘elect monachoi’ (something like ⲙ̄ⲙⲟⲛⲁⲭⲟⲥ ⲉⲧⲥⲟⲧⲡ) then one might
assume that ⲙⲟⲛⲁⲭⲟⲥ was a noun. In fact, however, we see the two words joined
with an “and”: ‘blessed are the solitary and elect’. (Indeed, the beatitudes in
Matthew and Luke most commonly employ adjectives and participles.) The
point should not be pressed, but if it is right, it removes any difficulty with a
Greek Vorlage at a stroke, because Greek μοναχός is attested as an adjective from
the time of Aristotle and Epicurus.43 This also means that appeal to a Syriac
Vorlage for the term here is unnecessary, in addition to its other problems.44
40 See Judge, ‘The Earliest Use of monachos’.

42 G. Quispel, ‘The Gospel of Thomas Revisited’, in B. Barc, ed. Colloque International sur les
textes de Nag Hammadi (Quebec: Université Laval, 1981), 218–266 (237).
43 See the evidence in Morard, ‘Monachos, Moine’, 338–340. Judge, ‘The Earliest Use of
monachos’, 86, notes that the adjective is common, ‘notably in Plotinus’. The TLG shows
that it appears there 7 times.
44 See Gathercole, Composition, 56–57.
Logion 171
ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ϯⲛⲁϯ ⲛⲏⲧ̅ⲛ̅ ⲙ̄ⲡⲉⲧⲉ ⲙ̄ⲡⲉ ⲃⲁⲗ ⲛⲁⲩ ⲉⲣⲟϥ⳿ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲡⲉⲧⲉ ⲙ̄ⲡⲉ ⲙⲁⲁϫⲉ
ⲥⲟⲧⲙⲉϥ⳿ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲡⲉⲧⲉ ⲙ̄ⲡⲉ ϭⲓϫ⳿ ϭⲙ̄ϭⲱⲙϥ̄⳿ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲙ̄ⲡⲉϥ⳿ⲉⲓ ⲉϩⲣⲁⲓ̈ ϩⲓ ⲫⲏⲧ⳿ ⲣ̄ⲣⲱⲙⲉ
Jesus said, ‘I will give you what eye has not seen, and what ear has not heard,
and what hand has not touched, nor has it ascended to the heart of man.’
Interpretation
This is a saying with a great number of parallels.2 Much about the rela-
tionships among the extant sources remains obscure. Some points are
accessible, however. Prior to Thomas, there probably existed a free-floating
idiomatic Jewish saying about ‘what eye had not seen’, etc. This was con-
structed from raw materials in Isa. 64.3+65.16. This Jewish saying surfaces inde-
pendently in Pseudo-Philo (LAB 26.13) and Paul (1 Cor. 2.9). It is modified by
Paul in a soteriological direction, and this exerts an influence upon—among
1 Bibliography for GTh 17: Gärtner, Theology of the Gospel of Thomas, 147–149; Nagel, ‘Erwägun-
gen zum Thomas-Evangelium’, 368–376; M.E. Stone & J. Strugnell, The Books of Elijah: Parts 1–2
(Missoula: Society of Biblical Literature, 1979), 42–73; I. Dunderberg, ‘John and Thomas in
Conflict’, in J.D. Turner, & A. McGuire, The Nag Hammadi Library after Fifty Years: Proceedings
of the 1995 Society of Biblical Literature Commemoration (Leiden: Brill, 1997), 361–380 (365–
370); W.D. Stroker, Extracanonical Sayings of Jesus (Atlanta: Scholars, 1989), 184–186; Saunders,
‘A Trio of Thomas Logia’, 49–55; S.J. Patterson, ‘Paul and the Jesus Tradition: It is Time for
another Look’, HTR 84 (1991), 23–41; R. Trevijano Etcheverría, ‘La valoración de los dichos
no canónicos: el caso de 1 Cor. 2.9 y Ev.Tom log. 17’, in E. Livingstone, ed. Studia Patristica
XXIV, 406–414; J.-M. Sevrin, ‘ “Ce que l’ œil n’a pas vu …”: 1Co 2,9 comme parole de Jésus’,
in J.-M. Auwers & A. Wénin, eds. Lectures et relectures de la Bible (Louvain: Leuven Univer-
sity Press/ Peeters, 1999), 307–324; C.M. Tuckett, ‘Paul and Jesus Tradition. The Evidence of
1Corinthians 2:9 and Gospel of Thomas 17’, in T.J. Burke, ed. Paul and the Corinthians: Studies
on a Community in Conflict: Essays in Honour of Margaret Thrall (Leiden: Brill, 2003), 55–73;
T. Onuki, ‘Traditionsgeschichte von Thomas 17 und ihre christologische Relevanz’, in idem,
Heil und Erlösung: Studien zum Neuen Testament und Gnosis (WUNT 165; Tübingen: Mohr,
2004), 221–239; Dunderberg, Beloved Disciple in Conflict, 76–84; Gathercole, ‘The Influence of
Paul on the Gospel of Thomas’, 72–94; Skinner, ‘The Gospel of Thomas’s Rejection of Paul’s
Theological Ideas’, 220–241; Gathercole, Composition, 227–249.
2 In addition to those cited below, some of the earliest include: 1Clem. 34.8; 2Clem. 11.7; Mart.
Poly. 2.3.
284 logion 17
others—Thomas.3 Subsequent to Thomas, one can observe the influence of

GTh 17 only upon some Manichaean texts (M 789, So 18220).4
Irrespective of the place of GTh 17 in the history of the saying’s usage, what
is the key point that Thomas is making here? The two principal options are (a)
the intangibility and the immateriality of true reality, impossible for the senses
to grasp, and (b) the uniqueness of Jesus’ revelation.
The former (a) is often assumed, and Thomas’s addition of the reference
to the ‘hand’ touching appears to fit naturally into a framework in which
the heavenly world cannot be understood in material terms.5 Gärtner sees a
typically Gnostic polemic against the five senses.6 A polemic against 1 John 1.1’s
affirmation that the apostolic gospel is grounded in ‘what we have heard, what
we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our
hands’ is also sometimes thought to be rebutted by Thomas here.7
The problem with this view is that it does not fit very well with the last
of the four negatives in GTh 17—‘nor has it ascended to the heart of man’, as
Dunderberg rightly observes.8 Dunderberg therefore concludes that the more
probable point of GTh 17 is the uniqueness of Jesus’ revelation, noting a close
parallel in GTh 38.1: ‘Many times you have desired to hear these words of mine
which I am speaking to you. And you have no other from whom to hear them.’
Because of this, the point of GTh 17 is probably ‘that Jesus gives his followers
something that nobody has experienced before’.9
3 This is a very condensed summary of the argument in Gathercole, ‘The Influence of Paul on
the Gospel of Thomas’, 86–93; idem, Composition, 237–245. Something very close to this view
is taken also in Plisch, 73.
4 See W.-P. Funk, ‘ “Einer aus tausend, zwei aus zehntausend”: Zitate aus dem Thomasevan-
gelium in den koptischen Manichaica’, in H.-G. Bethge, S. Emmel, K.L. King & I. Schletterer,
eds. For the Children, Perfect Instruction: Studies in Honor of Hans-Martin Schenke (NHMS 54;
Leiden/ Boston: Brill, 2002), 67–94 (85–86); P. Nagel, ‘Synoptische Evangelientraditionen
im Thomasevangelium und im Manichäismus’, in J. Frey, J. Schröter & E.E. Popkes, eds.
Das Thomasevangelium: Entstehung—Rezeption—Theologie (BZNW 157; Berlin: Walter de
Gruyter, 2008), 272–293 (280–281).
5 See e.g. Gärtner, Theology of the Gospel of Thomas, 149.
6 Curiously, however, Gärtner’s quotation from the Gospel of Truth says almost the opposite of
GTh 17.
7 See e.g. Grant & Freedman, Secret Sayings, 137; see discussion in Onuki, ‘Traditionsgeschichte
von Thomas 17’, 233–236.
8 Dunderberg, ‘John and Thomas in Conflict’, 365–370; I. Dunderberg, ‘Thomas’ I-sayings and
the Gospel of John’, in R. Uro, ed. Thomas at the Crossroads (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1998),
33–64 (45).
9 Dunderberg, ‘Thomas’ I-sayings and the Gospel of John’, 45.
logion 17 285
Notes
I will give you. In contrast to Ps.-Philo and Paul, Thomas attributes this saying,
and the action of granting the hidden blessings, specifically to Jesus. The word-
ing here is paralleled in one Manichaean text (M 789). As Trevijano Etcheverría
has noted, this move by Thomas parallels the pattern seen in Hebrews and
Justin Martyr of putting scriptural language into the mouth of Jesus.10
What eye has not seen, and what ear has not heard, and what hand has not
touched, nor has it ascended to the heart of man. The point of interest here
is the reference to the ‘hand’, not found in Ps.-Philo or Paul, or other second-
century references to the formula. As noted above, some have suspected the
contamination of 1Jn 1.1 here.11 Dunderberg points out an intriguing parallel
to Muratorian Fragment 29–31.12 The inclusion of the additional sense proba-
bly has no special significance, however; the point is the uniqueness of Jesus’
revelation in contrast to anything that any human being has received before
through sight, hearing, physical touch, or thought.
10 See Trevijano Etcheverría, ‘La valoración de los dichos no canónicos’, 410; Gathercole,
Composition, 241–242.
11 Sevrin, ‘Ce que l’ œil n’a pas vu’, 322.
12 Dunderberg, ‘John and Thomas in Conflict’, 365–370.
Logion 181
18.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲙ̄ⲙⲁⲑⲏⲧⲏⲥ ⲛ̄ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ϫⲟⲟⲥ ⲉⲣⲟⲛ ϫⲉ ⲧⲛ̄ϩⲁⲏ ⲉⲥⲛⲁϣⲱⲡⲉ ⲛ̄ⲁϣ ⲛ̄ϩⲉ 18.2
ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ⲁⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ϭⲱⲗⲡ⳿ ⲅⲁⲣ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ⲛ̄ⲧⲁⲣⲭⲏ ϫⲉⲕⲁⲁⲥ ⲉⲧⲉⲧⲛⲁϣⲓⲛⲉ ⲛ̄ⲥⲁ ⲑⲁϩⲏ ϫⲉ ϩⲙ̄
ⲡⲙⲁ ⲉⲧⲉ ⲧⲁⲣⲭⲏ ⲙ̄ⲙⲁⲩ ⲉⲑⲁϩⲏ ⲛⲁϣⲱⲡⲉ ⲙ̄ⲙⲁⲩ 18.3 ⲟⲩⲙⲁⲕⲁⲣⲓⲟⲥ ⲡⲉⲧⲛⲁ⟦ϩ⟧ⲱϩⲉ
ⲉⲣⲁⲧϥ⳿ ϩⲛ̄ ⲧⲁⲣⲭⲏ ⲁⲩⲱ ϥⲛⲁⲥⲟⲩⲱⲛ ⲑϩⲁⲏ ⲁⲩⲱ ϥⲛⲁϫⲓ ϯⲡⲉ ⲁⲛ ⲙ̄ⲙⲟⲩ
18.1 The disciples said to Jesus, ‘Tell us how our end will come.’ 18.2 Jesus said,
‘Have you uncovered the beginning, such that you seek the end? For where
the beginning is, there the end shall come to be. 18.3 Blessed is he who stands
in the beginning: he will know the end and will not taste death.’
Interpretation
This is one of the clearest statements in Thomas that the destiny of the elect is to
return to a primordial condition. With that, there may also be the implication
of an Adamic child-nature before the entry of death in the world:2 this would
make good sense of the connection between 18.2–3, and is also paralleled in
the Gospel of Philip.3 There is no sense in Thomas that the eschatological future
is an improvement upon protological realities, or in any way different at all.
This theme is developed in GTh 19, to which the present saying is closely
linked. Some have claimed that there is a cyclical conception of history here.4
In fact, however, Valantasis is more accurate in writing that the kingdom is a
beginning which ‘exists perpetually’ and ‘continues through time’:5 it is not
1 Bibliography for GTh 18: B.F. Miller, ‘A Study of the Theme of “Kingdom”. The Gospel accord-
ing to Thomas: Logion 18’, NovT 9 (1967), 52–60; K.M. Woschitz, ‘Das Theologoumenon “den
Anfang entdecken” (ϭⲱⲗⲡ ⲅⲁⲣ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ⲛ̄ⲧⲁⲣⲭⲏ) im koptischen “Evangelium nach Thomas”
(Logion 18: NHC II 84,9–17)’, in N. Brox & A. Felber, eds. Anfänge der Theologie. FS J.B. Bauer
(Graz: Styria, 1987), 139–153; Lelyveld, Logia de la vie, 33–43; R. Trevijano Etcheverría, ‘La
reconversión de la escatología en protología’, Salmanticensis 40 (1993), 133–162; Zöckler, Jesu
Lehren im Thomasevangelium, 211–214.
2 Woschitz, ‘Das Theologoumenon “den Anfang entdecken”’, 148, noting also the further possi-
ble implication of a genderless state.
3 Gos. Phil. 68,22–24 states that there was no death when Eve was still in Adam.
4 Woschitz, ‘Das Theologoumenon “den Anfang entdecken”’, 141; Hedrick, 48–49.
5 Valantasis, 86; so also, correctly, Plisch, 75.
logion 18 287
that a primordial reality is reinstated at the end. GTh 49, which notes that the
elect originated in the kingdom and will return to it, is also an important par-
allel.
Notes
18.1 The disciples said to Jesus, ‘Tell us how our end will come.’ It is not obvi-
ous whether the disciples are asking: (a) what kind of eschatological scenario
will we experience when the end comes (expecting an answer referring to stars
falling from heaven, their own transformation, etc.)?6 or (b) what will the his-
torical circumstances of our death be (expecting an answer about persecution
and martyrdom)?7 Two factors favour the former: the reference to their seeking
‘the end’ in Jesus’ reply, and the lack of evidence in Thomas that the disciples
as literary characters expect to be martyred.
18.2 Jesus said, ‘Have you uncovered the beginning, such that you seek
the end?’ Literally, ‘For have you uncovered …’: the ⲅⲁⲣ is out of place here.
This saying may be related to the apocryphal story of Jesus as a boy correcting
his teachers about alpha and beta (IGT 6.9; cf. 13.1–2), which in some form is
adopted by the Marcosians.8 (The parallel is not exact: alpha and omega would
fit better with GTh 18.2.) If there is a relation, the thought is that just as Jesus’
first teacher does not understand alpha and therefore cannot possibly deal with
beta (IGT 6.9), so the disciples do not understand the beginning, and so should
not be concerning themselves with the end.
18.2 For where the beginning is, there the end shall come to be. As in GTh
49, the end is not a new reality; rather the disciples will return to it. ‘The end’
(for the disciples) will be located in the place of their origin. Knowledge of this
origin is essential for the true disciple, not least because it will be part of the
interrogation in GTh 50.
18.3 Blessed is he who stands in the beginning. On the beatitudes in
Thomas, see note on GTh 7.1: GTh 18.3 is the second of eleven. The reference
here is to inhabiting paradise. Standing connotes security and permanence,
which is particularly appropriate in this pair of sayings with the reference to
immortality immediately afterward in 18.3 as well as in 19.4, and the nature of
the paradisal trees in 19.3. (On ‘standing’ in Thomas, see further on 16.4 above.)
6 DeConick, 102.
7 Plisch, 75.
8 Irenaeus, AH 20.1.
288 logion 18
18.3 He will know the end and will not taste death. Although only joined to
the main part of the beatitude by ⲁⲩⲱ (conventionally ‘and’, but not translated
above), there is an implied ‘because’: he is blessed because ‘he will know …’. The
answer to the disciples’ question cannot be answered yet: they will only ‘know
the end’ in the future, when they understand, and stand in, the beginning. On
‘tasting death’, see notes to GTh 1.
Logion 191
19.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ⲟⲩⲙⲁⲕⲁⲣⲓⲟⲥ ⲡⲉ ⲛ⳿ⲧⲁϩϣⲱⲡⲉ ϩⲁ ⲧⲉϩⲏ ⲉⲙⲡⲁⲧⲉϥϣⲱⲡⲉ 19.2

ⲉⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ϣⲁⲛϣⲱⲡⲉ ⲛⲁⲉⲓ ⲙ̄ⲙⲁⲑⲏⲧⲏⲥ ⲛ̄ⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ⲥⲱⲧⲙ̄ ⲁⲛⲁϣⲁϫⲉ ⲛⲉⲉⲓⲱⲛⲉ ⲛⲁⲣ̄ⲇⲓⲁ-
ⲕⲟⲛⲉⲓ ⲛⲏⲧⲛ̄ 19.3 ⲟⲩⲛ̄ⲧⲏⲧⲛ̄ ⲅⲁⲣ⳿ ⲙ̄ⲙⲁⲩ ⲛ̄ϯⲟⲩ ⲛ̄ϣⲏⲛ ϩⲙ̄ ⲡⲁⲣⲁ⳿ⲇⲓⲥⲟⲥ ⲉⲥⲉⲕⲓⲙ ⲁⲛ
ⲛ̄ϣⲱⲙ⳿ ⲙ̄ⲡⲣⲱ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲙⲁⲣⲉ ⲛⲟⲩϭⲱⲃⲉ ϩⲉ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ 19.4 ⲡⲉⲧ⳿ⲛⲁⲥⲟⲩⲱⲛⲟⲩ ϥⲛⲁϫⲓ ϯⲡⲉ
ⲁⲛ⳿ ⲙ̄ⲙⲟⲩ
19.1 Jesus said, ‘Blessed is he who has come into being before he has come
into being. 19.2 If you become disciples of mine and heed my words, these
stones will serve you. 19.3 For you have five trees in paradise, which do not
move in summer or winter, and whose leaves do not fall. 19.4 Whoever knows
them will not taste death.’
Interpretation
The beatitude in 19.1 follows directly that of 18.3: ‘Blessed is he who stands in the
beginning: he will know the end and will not taste death … Blessed is he who
has come into being before he has come into being.’ Indeed, GTh 19 as a whole
is closely related to the preceding GTh 18, since they both thematise eschatol-
ogy as protology. Plisch argues that the components of 19.1–3 are unrelated,2
as does Valantasis, who states that because stones that serve and unchanging
trees have nothing to do with rest, the meaning of the saying lies rather in ‘the
manner of its communication’: the reader’s engagement with the diconnected
barrage in GTh 19 inculcates ‘a meta-structure of a mythology of discipleship’.3
In fact, however, GTh 19 comprises a neat cluster of sayings on the soteriological
privileges of the elect: they have a position of supremacy over the cosmos (19.2:
‘stones will serve you’), the prospect of a destiny back in Eden (19.3) and a guar-
antee of immortality (19.4). Their pre-existent souls are perhaps the grounds
for this immortality (19.1), but their salvation is also conditional upon their alle-
giance and obedience to Jesus (19.2: ‘If …’). The characterisation of the elect as
1 Bibliography for GTh 19: Puech, En Quête de la Gnose, II.99–105; Williams, Immovable Race,
18–22; Lelyveld, Logia de la vie, 44–49; Trevijano Etcheverría, ‘La reconversión de la esca-
tología en protología’, 133–162. See also the bibliography to the Appended Note below on the
‘five trees’.
2 Plisch, 76.
3 Valantasis, 87.
290 logion 19
having an existence before their earthly manifestation is certainly an advance

upon the idea of mere election or predestination, and is more individualised
than the conception of the pre-existent church which was current in some lit-
erature contemporaneous with Thomas (2Clem. 14.1; Herm. 8 [Vis. 2.4].1).
Notes
19.1 Blessed is he who has come into being before he has come into being. On
the beatitudes in Thomas (of which this is the third of eleven), see the note on
GTh 7. The macarism here is almost certainly specific to the elect (the ‘blessed’),
who are defined as having a quality of pre-existence probably not shared by
the doomed mass outside: compare the ‘light within a luminous person’ (GTh
24), and the specificity of the elect as from the kingdom in GTh 49–50. The
nature of that pre-existence is spelled out in more detail in GTh 49–50, where
the audience is defined as those who have come from the kingdom, and from
the light, the place where the light came into being of itself. For the parallels to
this saying in Irenaeus, Lactantius and the Gospel of Philip, see the Introduction
(§4, ‘References’) above.
19.2 If you become disciples of mine and heed my words, these stones will
serve you. The association between stones and disciples is different here from
the two instances of the connection in the Synoptic Gospels (Matt. 3.9/ Lk. 3.8;
Lk. 19.40).4 The service from the stones is an indication of the superiority to
creation possessed by the true disciples: this authority is expressed elsewhere
as ‘ruling’ (GTh 2) and the obedience of mountains (GTh 48, 106).5 (See further
the notes on GTh 2.4.) The idea often noted that this is lower reality serving
the higher is true,6 but needs to be set in the context of Thomas’s particular
theology of the rule of the elect. Here in 19.2, the pre-condition for attaining
this cosmic position is christological, rather than the hermeneutical search in
GTh 2 or the cultivation of unity in GTh 48 and 106; the difference from GTh 2
is lessened, however, when it is recognised that there is a strong focus in 19.2 on
‘my words’—i.e. those contained in Thomas.7 This saying thus reinforces the
authority of the collection.
4 There is not really any connection between the stones as waiters (cf. ⲣ̄ⲇⲓⲁⲕⲟⲛⲉⲓ!) and the
stones’ transformation into bread as mentioned in Matt. 4.3/Lk. 4.3; cf. Grant & Freedman,
139.
5 The view of Hedrick, 51, of a magical implication here is unnecessary.
6 E.g. Valantasis, 89.
7 Pokorný, 62.
logion 19 291
19.3 For you have five trees in paradise. It is striking that not only do the elect
rule over the stones, but that even the trees of paradise are the possession of the
true disciples. This reference to trees in paradise (a biblical tradition begun in
Gen. 2.9) is one of a great number from the Nag Hammadi codices (e.g. Gos. Phil.
71,22: ‘there are two trees growing in Paradise’). The survey in the Appended
Note below indicates that the pre-Christian evidence for the ‘five trees’ is
uncertain, so that Thomas’s reference here is probably the earliest extant. It is
probably also the source of many of the other references: the Kephalaia quote
Thomas elsewhere, the wording is very similar in the Psalm-Book, and Pistis
Sophia may also be aware of Thomas. (See the discussions in Introduction,
§§3–4, above.)
Although there may be some clues, the subsequent usages do not give a clear
steer on the interpretation of Thomas’s five trees. Four main views have been
taken.
First, the noetic interpretation. H.-C. Puech confidently argues that the ‘five
trees’ are best understood along the lines suggested by the Manichaean paral-
lels. The five trees are the five elements of nous, that is, they are to be under-
stood as the spiritual person in its original existence.8 The Acts of Thomas,
for example, refers to the ‘five members’, νοῦς, ἔννοια, φρόνησις, ἐνθύμησις, λογι-
σμός (Ac. Thom. 27). To know these trees and taste their fruits in Thomas
would then mean to have knowledge and possession of the true self.9 Such an
elaborate conception is regarded by Lelyveld, probably rightly, as anachronis-
tic.10
On the other hand, Trevijano Etcheverría cautiously prefers the sacramental
interpretation, in part on the basis of the use of the five trees in Pistis Sophia
and 2 Jeu.11 On this reading, the five trees are the ‘five seals’ found frequently
elsewhere in Nag Hammadi literature. The principal problem here again is that
the evidence adduced to solve the problem is all later than Thomas.
8 Puech, En quête de la gnose, 102. The five elements are sense, reason, thought, imagination
and intention: thus F.C. Burkitt, The Religion of the Manichees: Donnellan Lectures for 1924
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1925), 33, and 19 n. 2; or mind, thought, insight,
counsel and consideration: see T. Pettipiece, Pentadic Redaction in the Manichaean Kepha-
laia (NHMS 66; Leiden: Brill, 2009), 223, translating the reference to the five elements in
Theodore bar Konai’s Liber Scholiorum.
9 Puech, En quête de la gnose, 103.
10 Lelyveld, Logia de la vie, 47.
11 Trevijano Etcheverría, ‘La reconversión de la escatología en protología’, 145.
292 logion 19
Thirdly, DeConick refers to the trees of paradise as interpreted in Philo as

virtues (Plant. 36).12 Philo does not make any reference to the number five,
however, and Thomas is not interested in the cultivation of virtues as Philo is.
The final view is a negative one, that of Popkes. He is probably correct that
the best conclusion, in the absence of further evidence, is to remain agnostic
on the matter.13
19.3 Which do not move in summer or winter, and whose leaves do not fall.
There are two dimensions to the imagery here. First, these trees in paradise
do not ‘move’, a term elsewhere negatively valued in contrast to ‘rest’ and
‘standing’.14 This evokes the theme of stability, which recently appeared in 18.3
(on the theme, see further on 16.4 above). Secondly, and relatedly, the trees
are unaffected by the seasons. The reason for this is probably the widespread
idea that paradise came into being before the creation of the sun and moon,
and therefore because of its prior existence is not subject to their influence.15
The paradisal house in the Gospel of Judas is ‘the place where the sun and the
moon will not have dominion’ (Gos. Jud. 45,14–24). More explicit on this theme
is Origin of the World, which talks of ‘paradise, which is beautiful and is outside
the orbit of the moon and the orbit of the sun in the land of wantonness …’
(Origin 110,2–6). This goes back to Jubilees, in which paradise is created on the
third day, before the luminaries which are created on the fourth day: for this
reason, paradise can be envisaged as outside of time.16 The same is predicated
of the church in 2Clement, ‘the first church, the spiritual one, created before
the sun and moon’ (2Clem. 14.1). One also finds analogous depictions to that
in Thomas in Syriac literature: for Ephrem, for example: ‘The months blossom
with flowers all around Paradise in order to weave throughout every season a
wreath of blossom to embellish the slopes of Paradise …’.17
19.4 Whoever knows them will not taste death. Jesus here requires acquain-
tance with the paradisal trees in the present: knowing them is a condition of
immortality, or perhaps is simply synonymous with it (cf. the same function of
‘standing in the beginning’ and ‘knowing the beginning’ in GTh 18).18 On ‘not
tasting death’, see the notes above on GTh 1.
12 DeConick, 105.
13 Popkes, ‘Von der Eschatologie zur Protologie’, 219.
14 Cf. GTh 50.3, however, where it is positive.
15 It is not merely that they belong to a transcendent realm (Williams, Immovable Race, 20).
16 On the connections between Jubilees and Origin in general, see Wintermute’s note in OTP
II.56 note ‘m’.
17 Ephrem, Hymns on Paradise, 10.3 (tr. Brock). See also the rest of Hymn 10.
18 Cf. Barn. 11.10: ‘whoever eats from them (the beautiful trees in paradise) will live forever’.
logion 19 293
Appended Note: The Five Trees in Paradise19
There has been little detailed study of the motif of the ‘five trees’.20 One scholar
has argued that this phrase is not original to Thomas but derives from a mis-
translation of an Aramaic original, but this can be discounted.21 There is a great
number of explicit or implied references to them; the aim here is merely to
present a collection of the material rather than a detailed analysis.
The first possible candidate is actually Genesis. Stead poses the question:
‘But can one find five trees in the Genesis narrative thus: the Tree of Fertility (1,
29), the Tree of Beauty, the Tree of Nourishment, the Tree of Life and the Tree
of Knowledge (2, 9)?’22 The answer is: not very easily!
Another possibility is Philo’s Plant. 36: ‘For they say that in Paradise there
were plants in no respect similar to those which exist among us, but rather trees
of life, of immortality, of knowledge, of comprehension, of understanding, and
of the knowledge of good and evil.’ Because the syntax is ambiguous, it is not
clear here whether there are five or six trees specified; it is more likely that there
are actually six.
3Baruch 4.7 (Slavonic), like Philo, is an expansion of Genesis, according to
which the angel says: ‘When God made the garden, he commanded Michael to
gather together two hundred thousand and three angels to plant the garden;
and Michael planted the olive tree and Gabriel the apple tree, Uriel the nut
tree, Raphael the melon, and Satanael the vine.’ In addition to the problem of
the lateness of the Slavonic manuscripts (c. 13th–18th centuries), however, this
account contains five trees in only some of the Slavonic manuscripts (mss. S
and Z have six trees), and the five appear in none of the Greek texts. As such,
19 Bibliography for Appended Note: Puech, En Quête de la Gnose, II.99–105; V. Arnold-

Döben, Die Bildersprache des Manichäismus (Köln: Brill, 1978), 7–34 (‘Das Bild vom Baum’);
Trevijano Etcheverría, ‘La escatología del Evangelio de Tomás’, 415–441; idem, ‘La reconver-
sión de la Escatología en Protología’, 140–145.
20 The most extensive treatment is that of Puech, and there is some discussion of what
Chadwick has called ‘pentadic mysticism’ more widely: see H. Chadwick, Origen: Contra
Celsum (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1953), 347, referring to an abundance
of material in W.L. Knox, St Paul and the Church of the Gentiles (Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1939), 155 n. 1.
21 Nagel’s complicated theory of an Aramaic original (in which ‘five’ is a mistranslation of
‘in the middle’) relies on the modification of a consonant, an added preposition (‘in’), a
rearrangement of the word-order and appeal to Mandaean Aramaic grammar. See Nagel,
‘Erwägungen zum Thomas-Evangelium’, 382–383; for criticism of this view, see Gathercole,
Composition, 58–59.
22 Stead, ‘Some Reflections’, 397.
294 logion 19
both the antiquity of, and the intention to thematise, the number of trees is far
from clear.23
Perhaps more promising is On the Origin of the World, where, although the
number is not mentioned, five trees are listed in quick succession: the fig tree,
the pomegranate tree, the tree of life, the tree of knowledge, and the olive tree
(110,30–111,8). These may refer to a sacramental process, at least in part, since
the olive tree is explained as the source of the chrism or anointing.
In Manichaean literature, there is first an almost certain reference in the
Psalm-Book. This appears to be a quotation of Thomas: the reference is to ‘[…]
trees in paradise [… …] summer and winter’ (Psalm-Book 161,17–29). Although
the number is missing, the context is a list of fives, and so it is probably clear
enough that we are dealing with five trees. The exact reference is unclear, but
when the disciple’s knowledge is perfect, these—and the other fives—are seen
as a spiritual unity. The five trees here are followed by mention of the five
virgins who had oil in their lamps. Much more complex are the five trees in
the Kephalaia of the Teacher, which appear to constitute elemental kinds of
matter from which other living creatures are formed (Keph. 6); they are also
linked to a heavenly source by a conduit, but are at the same time under the
control of the zodiac (Keph. 48).24 Finally, in a treatise preserved in Chinese,
the ‘labourer’ chops down ‘les cinq sortes d’arbres empoisonnés’, and plants
‘les cinq sortes d’arbres précieux lumineux’.25 These latter are interpreted as ‘la
23 On the variations, see H.E. Gaylord, The Slavonic Version of IIIBaruch (Dissertation,
Hebrew University, 1983). I am grateful to Dr Naomi Hilton for drawing my attention to
this thesis.
24 ‘Once again the enlightener speaks to his disciples: Five storehouses have arisen since the
beginning in the land of darkness! The five elements poured out of them. Also, from the
five elements were fashioned the five trees. Again, from the five trees were fashioned the
five genera of creatures in each world, male and female. And the five worlds themselves
have five kings therein; and five spirits, five bodies, five tastes; in each world, they not
resembling one another.’ (1 Keph. 6). ‘Then the disciples questioned the enlightener. They
said to him: “Look, in that the wheel has no root in this earth, from where did the stars and
signs of the zodiac find this authority? They became masters over these five fleshes and five
trees.”’ (1 Keph. 48). Translations from I. Gardner, The Kephalaia of the Teacher: The Edited
Coptic Manichaean Texts in Translation with Commentary (NHMS; Leiden: Brill, 1995), 34,
129. Cf. elsewhere in 1 Keph. 48 the ‘five shapes of tree’ and the ‘five worlds of the tree’, and
note also the very fragmentary 1 Keph. 120.
25 E. Chavannes & P. Pelliot, ‘Un Traité manichéen retrouvé en Chine: Traduit et annoté’, JA
18 (1911), 499–617 (559, 560). See further p. 562 for the characteristics of the trees, which
overlap with the ‘five’ in the Acts of Thomas.
logion 19 295
pensée, le sentiment, la réflexion, l’intellect, le raisonnement’.26 This five-part

division of the mind probably goes back to Acts of Thomas 27, with its νοῦς,
ἔννοια, φρόνησις, ἐνθύμησις, λογισμός as noted above.
In the Pistis Sophia, two principal points are made about the five trees.27
First, they will reign with Jesus in his inheritance of light, with the twelve
saviours of the treasury, and the twelve orders which are the emanations of
the seven voices. They occupy a high position, reigning over the three amens,
the twin saviours and the nine guards (PS 86). Secondly, these trees have come
forth from the ‘Fatherless’ but have also divided themselves (PS 95).
In 1–2 Jeu, the references are similarly mysterious.28 The ‘ranks of the five
trees’ are a stage through which the soul goes on its passage (2 Jeu 42; cf. 44).
In one of the treatments of the passage of the souls of the disciples (2 Jeu 50),
they go within the rank of the five trees, which are ‘immovable’/ ‘unmoved’
(ⲁⲥⲁⲗⲉⲩⲧⲟⲥ). Jesus also commands the disciples to perform the mystery of the
five trees, as well as that of the seven voices and the great light around the
treasury (2 Jeu 44). These treatments have numerous points of overlap with
those in the Pistis Sophia.
The Untitled Text, which appears with 1–2 Jeu in the Bruce Codex, has in its
heavenly geography a place called ‘Deep’ (ⲃⲁⲑⲟⲥ). In this ‘Deep’, there are three
fatherhoods: in the first is the hidden God, in the third is ‘Silence’ and ‘Spring’;
in the second are the five trees, in the midst of which there is a table, and the
only-begotten Word stands above the table (Untitled Text 4).
In the very fragmentary Balaizah fr. 52, all that can be deduced is that the
five trees are five powers.29 Theodore bar Konai refers to five evil trees: ‘The sin
which fell upon the dry part (of the earth) began to grow in the form of five
trees.’30
26 Puech, En quête de la gnose, 101.

27 See PS 1; 10; 86; 93; 95; 96.
28 1 Jeu 41; 2 Jeu 42, 44 (bis), 50.
29 ‘… The spiritual power, ere she had been revealed, her name was not this, but her name was
Sige. For all they that were in the heavenly paradise were sealed in silence. But such as shall
partake thereof shall become spiritual, having known all; they shall seal the five powers in
silence. Lo, I have explained unto thee, O Johannes, concerning Adam and paradise and
the five trees in an intelligible allegory.’ (Balaʾizah fr. 52, ll. 14–32). For text and translation,
see W.E. Crum, ‘A Gnostic Fragment’, JTS 44 (1943), 176–179, and ‘Appendix 6: Balaʾizah
Fragment 52’, in M. Waldstein & F. Wisse, eds. The Apocryphon of John. Synopsis of Nag
Hammadi Codices II,1; III,1; and IV,1 with BG 8502,2 (NHMS 33; Leiden/New York/Köln: Brill,
1995), 195.
30 Chavannes & Pelliot, ‘Un Traité manichéen’, 528 n. 2, citing H. Pognon, ‘Appendice II:
296 logion 19
An interesting parallel from a distant milieu comes in a reference by E.O.

James to the fact that ‘the five trees which sprang from the cosmic waters on
Mount Maru in Kashmir conferred blissful immortality on the gods.’31
Extraits du Livre des Scholies, de Théodore bar Khouni’, in idem, Inscriptions mandaïtes
des coupes de Khouabir (Paris: Imprimerie Nationale, 1899), 181–193 (191).
31 E.O. James, The Tree of Life: An Archaeological Study (Leiden: Brill, 1966), 284.
Logion 201
20.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲙ̄ⲙⲁⲑⲏⲧⲏⲥ ⲛ̄ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ϫⲟⲟⲥ ⲉⲣⲟⲛ ϫⲉ ⲧⲙⲛ̄ⲧⲉⲣⲟ ⲛⲙ̄ⲡⲏⲩⲉ ⲉⲥⲧⲛ̄ⲧⲱⲛ ⲉⲛⲓⲙ
20.2 ⲡⲉϫⲁϥ ⲛⲁⲩ ϫⲉ ⲉⲥⲧⲛ̄ⲧⲱⲛ ⲁⲩⲃⲗ̄ⲃⲓⲗⲉ ⲛ̄ϣⲗ̄ⲧⲁⲙ 20.3 ⟨ⲥ⟩ⲥⲟⲃ̅ⲕ̅ ⲡⲁⲣⲁ ⲛ̄ϭⲣⲟϭ
ⲧⲏⲣⲟⲩ 20.4 ϩⲟⲧⲁⲛ ⲇⲉ ⲉⲥϣⲁ(ⲛ)ϩⲉ ⲉϫⲙ̄ ⲡⲕⲁϩ ⲉⲧⲟⲩⲣ̄ ϩⲱⲃ ⲉⲣⲟϥ ϣⲁϥⲧⲉⲩⲟ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ
ⲛ̄ⲛⲟⲩⲛⲟϭ ⲛ̄ⲧⲁⲣ ⲛ̄ϥϣⲱⲡⲉ ⲛ̄ⲥⲕⲉⲡⲏ ⲛ̄ϩⲁⲗⲁⲧⲉ ⲛ̄ⲧⲡⲉ
20.1 The disciples said to Jesus, ‘Tell us what the kingdom of heaven is like.’
20.2 He said to them, ‘It is like a grain of mustard. 20.3 It is the smallest of all
seeds. 20.4 But when it falls on worked soil, it (sc. the soil) produces a great
branch and becomes a shelter for birds of the air.’
Interpretation
This is the third of 14 parables in Thomas (on the parables, see above on GTh 8).
It is also the first of a block of three logia which ‘liken’: GTh 20 concerns what
the kingdom is like; GTh 21 is about what the disciples are like; GTh 22 draws a
comparison with the likeness of those who enter the kingdom. GTh 20 shares
elements in common with the versions of the parable of the Mustard Seed in
both Mark and Matthew (Mk 4.30–32; Matt. 13.31–32; cf. Lk. 13.18–19).2 There are
two main aspects to it, which are closely related: first, a small/ large contrast
(cf. also GTh 8; 96; 107) between the apparent insignificance of the kingdom
in the present and a magnificent glorious future, and secondly, a conditional
promise implied in the great results which occur in ‘worked soil’.3 King is prob-
ably incorrect to say that the reader would identify with the seed, with the point
of the parable then being: ‘To be like a member of the community means to have
1 Bibliography for GTh 20: Schrage, Verhältnis, 61–66; J.D. Crossan, ‘The Seed Parables of Jesus’,
JBL 92 (1973), 244–266 (253–259); H. Fleddermann, ‘The Mustard Seed and the Leaven in Q,
the Synoptics, and Thomas’, SBLSP (1989), 216–236; Liebenberg, Language of the Kingdom,
328–335; Goodacre, Thomas and the Gospels, 66–69.
2 Fledderman comments that Thomas is closest to Mark (‘Mustard Seed’, 228), but (1) the
reference to the kingdom of heaven, (2) the ϩⲟⲧⲁⲛ ⲇⲉ in 20.4, and (3) the production of the
great branch, are all Matthean. Given these redactional features, it is unlikely that Thomas’s
version is as primitive as Crossan (‘Seed Parables’, 258–259) and Plisch, 79, maintain.
3 Fledderman, ‘Mustard Seed’, 235. Valantasis rightly notes that it is not just a matter of com-
parative size (the ‘main emphasis’, according to Grant & Freedman, 140), ‘because the factor
of the state of the soil intervenes’.
298 logion 20
access to mysterious and effective power, to have the capacity for transforma-
tion from smallness to greatness and nurturing strength.’4 Rather, in keeping
with the emphasis in Thomas on labour (cf. also 58; 107), the challenge is thus
probably for the reader to work the metaphorical soil. The major emphases of
GTh 20 are thus the transformation from insignificance to greatness, coupled
with the promise, for those who labour, of (spiritual) security.
Notes
20.1 The disciples said to Jesus, ‘Tell us what the kingdom of heaven is like.’
Here, as Goodacre notes, Thomas employs the distinctively Matthean phrase
‘kingdom of heaven’.5 The disciples’ question does not in any way reflect
Thomas’s ‘concern over the delayed eschaton’.6 On the kingdom in Thomas, see
Introduction, §10.1 above.
20.2 He said to them, ‘It is like a grain of mustard.’ Davies and Allison
identify the type of mustard probably as black mustard, or possibly white
mustard.7 It is possible that there is some further allegorical significance to
the mustard seed: Clement understands it as ‘the elect seed’ (Exc. Theod. 1),
and Hippolytus reports a view according to which it is a mark which only
pneumatics display (Ref. 5.9.6), but to apply such interpretations to Thomas
can only be speculation.8
20.3 It is the smallest of all seeds. This same hyperbole appears in the
Synoptic versions (Mk 4.32 and parallels). The tiny size of mustard seeds was
proverbial (cf. m. Tohor. 8.8; m. Nid. 5.2).
20.4 But when it falls on worked soil, it9 produces a great branch. The
reference here is to adequate preparation for the kingdom.10 Even Crossan
thinks that the reference to worked soil is a ‘Gnostic’ feature.11 (It should not be
4 King, ‘Kingdom’, 55.

7 W.D. Davies & D.C. Allison, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel according
to Saint Matthew, 3 vols. (ICC; Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1988–1997), II.417.
8 The reference to the mustard seed in Dial. Sav. 144,5–8 is too elliptical to see a meaning of
the seed.
9 Sc. the soil, because the verbal prefix is masculine, and therefore corresponds to the soil
(masculine ⲕⲁϩ), and not the grain (ⲃⲗ̄ⲃⲓⲗⲉ, which is feminine).
10 Grosso, 149.
11 Crossan, ‘Seed Parables’, 258; cf. also Lindemann, ‘Gleichnisinterpretation’, 225.
logion 20 299
seen as distinctively Gnostic in the sense of that word used in this commentary:
see Introduction, ‘Appended Note: Is Thomas “Gnostic”?’, above.)
20.4 And becomes a shelter for birds of the air. Pokorný may well be correct
here that there is an emphasis on security in the ‘shelter’.12 The reference to
the Greek loan word ⲥⲕⲉⲡⲏ here perhaps relates to its use in the Shepherd
of Hermas, where all who are called by the name of the Lord come under
the σκέπη of a great willow tree (Herm. 67 [Sim. 8.1].1). Thomas’s version is
that which has least connection with the Old Testament by comparison with
all the Synoptics, which for Crossan is evidence of Thomas’s primitivity but
for Goodacre is the opposite.13 (McArthur notes that Thomas is consistently
more distant from the OT in its parables.14) Valantasis reads an application
off from the birds: ‘Others who are not naturally part of the production and
growth of the Kingdom benefit from its development’.15 This is probably an
over-reading, however, since Thomas is not in the habit of showering blessings
upon outsiders.
12 Pokorný, 64.
13 Crossan, ‘Seed Parables’, 258; Goodacre, Thomas and the Gospels, 190.
14 H.K. McArthur, ‘The Parable of the Mustard Seed’, CBQ 33 (1971), 198–210 (203–204). He
argues that there are three Synoptic parables which have ‘phrases obviously borrowed
from the OT’, and that Thomas ‘has all three of these parables and has practically elimi-
nated the OT references’, viz. here in GTh 20, in 21.10, and in GTh 65–66.
15 Valantasis, 91.
Logion 211
21.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲙⲁⲣⲓϩⲁⲙ ⲛ̄ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ⲉⲛⲉⲕⲙⲁⲑⲏⲧ̣ⲏⲥ ⲉⲓⲛⲉ ⲛ̄ⲛⲓⲙ⳿ 21.2 ⲡⲉϫⲁϥ⳿ ϫⲉ ⲉⲩⲉⲓⲛⲉ
ⲛ̄ϩⲛ̄ϣⲏⲣⲉ ϣⲏⲙ⳿ ⲉⲩ[ϭ]ⲉⲗⲓⲧ⳿ ⲁⲩⲥⲱϣⲉ ⲉⲧⲱⲟⲩ ⲁⲛ ⲧⲉ 21.3 ϩⲟⲧⲁⲛ ⲉⲩϣⲁⲉⲓ ⲛ̄ϭⲓ
ⲛ̄ϫⲟⲉⲓⲥ ⲛ̄ⲧⲥⲱϣⲉ ⲥⲉⲛⲁϫⲟⲟⲥ ϫⲉ ⲕⲉ ⲧⲛ̄ⲥⲱϣⲉ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ⲛⲁⲛ 21.4 ⲛ̄ⲧⲟⲟⲩ ⲥⲉⲕⲁⲕ
ⲁϩⲏⲩ ⲙ̄ⲡⲟⲩⲙ̄ⲧⲟ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ⲉⲧⲣⲟⲩⲕⲁⲁⲥ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ⲛⲁⲩ ⲛ̄ⲥⲉϯ ⲧⲟⲩⲥⲱϣⲉ ⲛⲁⲩ 21.5 ⲇⲓⲁ
ⲧⲟⲩⲧⲟ ϯϫⲱ ⲙ̄ⲙⲟⲥ ϫⲉ ⲉϥ⳿ϣⲁⲉⲓⲙⲉ ⲛ̄ϭⲓ ⲡϫⲉⲥϩⲛ̄ⲏⲉⲓ ϫⲉ ϥⲛⲏⲩ ⲛ̄ϭⲓ ⲡⲣⲉϥϫⲓⲟⲩⲉ
ϥⲛⲁⲣⲟⲉⲓⲥ ⲉⲙⲡⲁⲧⲉϥ⳿ⲉⲓ ⲛ̄ϥⲧⲙ̄ⲕⲁⲁϥ⳿ ⲉϣⲟϫⲧ⳿ ⲉϩⲟⲩⲛ ⲉⲡⲉϥⲏⲉⲓ ⲛ̄ⲧⲉ ⲧⲉϥ⳿ⲙⲛ̄ⲧⲉⲣⲟ
ⲉⲧⲣⲉϥϥⲓ ⲛ̄ⲛⲉϥ⳿ⲥⲕⲉⲩⲟⲥ 21.6 ⲛ̄ⲧⲱⲧⲛ̄ ⲇⲉ ⲣⲟⲉⲓⲥ ϩⲁ ⲧⲉϩⲏ ⲙ̄ⲡⲕⲟⲥⲙⲟⲥ 21.7 ⲙⲟⲩⲣ⳿
ⲙ̄ⲙⲱⲧⲛ̄ ⲉϫⲛ̄ ⲛⲉⲧⲛ̄ϯⲡⲉ ϩⲛ̄ⲛⲟⲩⲛⲟϭ ⲛ̄ⲇⲩⲛⲁⲙⲓⲥ ϣⲓⲛⲁ ϫⲉ ⲛⲉ ⲛⲗⲏⲥⲧⲏⲥ ϩⲉ ⲉϩⲓⲏ
ⲉⲉⲓ ϣⲁⲣⲱⲧⲛ̄ 21.8 ⲉⲡⲉⲓ ⲧⲉⲭⲣⲉⲓⲁ ⲉⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ϭⲱϣⲧ⳿ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ϩⲏⲧⲥ̄ ⲥⲉⲛⲁϩⲉ⳿ ⲉⲣⲟⲥ 21.9
ⲙⲁⲣⲉϥϣⲱⲡⲉ ϩⲛ̄ ⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ⲙⲏⲧⲉ ⲛ̄ϭⲓ ⲟⲩⲣⲱⲙⲉ ⲛ̄ⲉⲡⲓⲥⲧⲏⲙⲱⲛ 21.10 ⲛ̄ⲧⲁⲣⲉ ⲡⲕⲁⲣⲡⲟⲥ
ⲡⲱϩ ⲁϥⲉⲓ ϩⲛ̄ⲛⲟⲩϭⲉⲡⲏ ⲉⲡⲉϥⲁⲥϩ ϩⲛ̄ ⲧⲉϥϭⲓϫ ⲁϥϩⲁⲥϥ 21.11 ⲡⲉⲧⲉ ⲟⲩⲛ̄ ⲙⲁⲁϫⲉ ⲙ̄ⲙⲟϥ⳿
ⲉⲥⲱⲧⲙ̄ ⲙⲁⲣⲉϥⲥⲱⲧⲙ̄
21.1 Mary said to Jesus, ‘What are your disciples like?’ 21.2 He said, ‘They are
like children who are [so]journing in a field which does not belong to them.
21.3 When the owners of the field come, they will say, “Let us have our field.”
21.4 They strip naked in their presence, in order to let them have it, to give
their field to them. 21.5 Therefore I say, if the owner of the house knows that
the thief is coming, he will be on guard until he comes, and will not let him
dig into the house of his domain so as to carry off his possessions. 21.6 As for
you, be on guard against the world. 21.7 Prepare yourself with great power
lest the brigands find a way to come to you, 21.8 since the necessity which
you expect will come about. 21.9 May there be in your midst a prudent man.
21.10 When the fruit ripened, he came quickly with his sickle in hand and
harvested it. 21.11 He who has ears to hear, let him hear.’
1 Bibliography for GTh 21: H. Quecke, ‘ “Sein Haus seines Königsreichs”. Zum Thomasevan-
gelium 85. 9f.’, Muséon 76 (1963), 47–53; K. Toyoshima, ‘Neue Vorschläge zur Lesung und
Übersetzung von ThEv. Log. 21, 103 und 68b’, AJBI 9 (1981), 230–241 (230–235); S. Petersen,“Zer-
stört die Werke der Weiblichkeit”. Maria Magdalena, Salome und andere Jüngerinnen Jesu in
christlich-gnostischen Schriften (Leiden: Brill, 1999), 106–111; U.-K. Plisch, ‘Thomas in Babel:
Verwirrung durch Sprache(n) im Thomasevangelium’, in J. Frey, J. Schröter & E.E. Popkes,
eds. Das Thomasevangelium: Entstehung—Rezeption—Theologie (BZNW 157; Berlin: Walter
de Gruyter, 2007), 60–71 (64–66); J. Hartenstein, ‘Nackt auf fremden Land (Die Kinder auf
dem Feld)—EvThom 21,1–4’, in Zimmermann, ed. Kompendium der Gleichnisse Jesu, 878–882.
logion 21 301
Interpretation
This saying is the second in a trilogy of sayings ‘likening’: see the interpretation
of GTh 20 above (cf. also GTh 22). GTh 21 is the second longest logion after GTh
64, and the fourth of Thomas’s parables (on these, see ad GTh 8). After Mary’s
first question, GTh 21 consists of three distinct sections in Jesus’ speech:2
21.2–4: The parable of the Children in the Field

21.5: The parable of the Householder and the Thief
21.6–9: Application to audience
21.10: Fragment of the parable of the Seed Growing Secretly
21.11: Concluding aphorism
The overall point of the speech is to exhort the disciples to be ready. This is
most clear in 21.5–8, but the other elements require explanation. There are
three principal difficulties: (1) What is the meaning of the first parable in 21.2–4?
(2) How does this first parable lead logically (‘therefore …’, ⲇⲓⲁ ⲧⲟⲩⲧⲟ) into the
second in 21.5? (3) What is the meaning of 21.9–10, and its relation to what
precedes? Some possible answers are as follows:
(1) The parable of the Children in the Field (21.2–4) is best understood as a kind
of allegory in which the ‘field’ is the world, the owners are hostile powers,
and—as is explicitly stated by Jesus—the children are his disciples.3 The
world and the body are of little significance and can be relinquished,
whereas the soul is to be guarded jealously.
2 For a similar accccount, see Grosso, 149.

3 Rightly, Grant & Freedman, 141; J.Z. Smith, ‘The Garments of Shame’, History of Religions 5
(1965–1966), 217–238 (236); DeConick, Recovering the Original Gospel of Thomas, 184. Bruce
and Plisch take the parable quite differently. Bruce takes the view that it is the children
who say ‘let us keep our field’, whereupon the owners, not the children, strip off, and let the
children keep the field (Bruce, Jesus and Christian Origins, 123). This is implausible, though,
because (a) ‘our’ field most naturally points to the ‘owners of the field’, and (b) the motif of
children stripping off is familiar from GTh 37. Plisch argues that the scenario in the parable
is that the children sell their clothes to buy the field. The difficulty here is that any notion of
buying and selling is absent, and the idea that clothes would be a fair exchange for a field is an
odd one (Plisch, 82, and n. 5). As a result, his interpretation that the key is working to secure
one’s own existence is flawed.
302 logion 21
There then arises the more difficult question of what crisis is represented by
the coming of the ‘owners’, or what the stripping signifies: is it (A) baptism4
and the joining of the community?5 Or is it (B) a moment of temptation
and resistance to that temptation? Or is it (C) death?6 It is hard to decide.
The reference to the children undressing might suggest (A) baptism, but
the stripping in 21.4 seems to be a response to spiritual attack, and so
might more naturally suggest (B) the renunciation of bodily desires when
tempted or (C) the sloughing off of the body at death.
(2) Whatever the particular event in 21.2–4, the two parables reflect the atti-
tudes of the Thomasine disciple to the body/ world and the soul respec-
tively. The parables see the attack of hostile powers from two contrasting
perspectives. The hinge is the shift from the perspective from the parable
of the Children in the Field (21.2–4), where the disciples are ‘squatters’ as
far as the material world is concerned, to the parable of the Household and
the Thief (21.5), where their status is as house-holders with respect to the
soul. Both parables are thus warnings of the coming of enemies: ‘when the
owners of the field come …’ (21.3) and ‘… the thief is coming …’ (21.5). The
first parable can therefore also be seen, like the second, as an exhortation
to readiness.
(3) The fragment in 21.9–10 is very obscure. One might surmise that the ‘pru-
dent man’ of 21.9 is the one who in 21.10 came with his sickle, but the tran-
sition between the two sentences is not a smooth one. It is possible that
the act of quick harvesting is the man of understanding’s ready grasp of the
truth because he has already laboured, but this is admittedly speculative.
See notes on 21.9–10 below for some other possible interpretations.
Overall, 21.9–10 aside, the speech makes a degree of sense in answer to Mary’s
question about what kind of entities the disciples are. The disciples qua physi-
cal beings either (as in option B above) must remove bodily and worldly desires,
or (as in C) will lose their bodies and their material environment; in either case,
the disciples qua souls must jealously guard their true natures and be instructed
in how to preserve them. There is a shift of emphasis, however, from Mary’s
question about the identity or nature of the disciples to Jesus’ reply about the
need to be prepared.

5 Smith, ‘Garments of Shame’, 236.
6 Pokorný, 65.
logion 21 303
Notes
21.1 Mary said to Jesus, ‘What are your disciples like?’ This Mary is probably
Mary Magdalene,7 i.e. the Mary of Magdala in Galilee known in the NT.8 It is
an interesting reflection of Thomas’s context that he does not feel a need to
disambiguate this particular Mary. One might compare the situation in the
Roman church where there is apparently only one Mary (in Rom. 16.6); in the
NT Gospels, Acts and the Gospel of Philip there is constant disambiguation.
Mary’s question here resembles that in the Sophia of Jesus Christ: ‘Mariamme
said to him, “Holy Lord, your disciples, whence came they, and where do they
go, and what should they do here?”’ (Soph. Jes. Chr. 114,8–12).9 There is some
ambiguity here about whether Mary is part of the group of disciples.10
21.2 He said, ‘They are like children who are sojourning in a field which
does not belong to them.’ Valantasis makes the peculiar comment that the
characterisation of the children as squatters indicates that they are not part
of the inner circle of Jesus.11 It is unclear, however, that the immediate disciples
of Jesus are excluded from this characterisation. Plisch’s understanding of the
characters as servants, with a different understanding of the verb rendered here
as ‘sojourning’, is unduly complicated.12
7 Pokorný, 65, states that it is ‘obviously’ the Magdalene, and similarly Hartenstein, ‘Nackt
auf fremden Land’, 879; Plisch, 81, leaves open the possibility that it is Mary the mother of
Jesus.
8 On Mary Magdalene in early Christianity, see A. Marjanen, The Woman Jesus Loved: Mary
Magdalene in the Nag Hammadi Library and Related Documents (NHMS 40; Leiden/ New
York/ Köln, 1996); Petersen, Zerstört die Werke der Weiblichkeit, 94–194.
9 For discussion of the two questions together, see Petersen, Zerstört die Werke der Weib-
lichkeit, 106–111.
10 Pace Petersen, Zerstört die Werke der Weiblichkeit, 108, and Hartenstein, ‘Nackt auf fremden
Land’, 879, who are more certain that she is part of it. In particular, Jesus’ reply is in the
third person (‘they are like …’), not the second person.
11 Valantasis, 92.
12 See Plisch, ‘Probleme und Lösungen’, 524, for the suggestion that the Vorlage of the Coptic
ϣⲏⲣⲉ ϣⲏⲙ was Greek παῖς, in the sense of servant (cf. Plisch, 82; idem, ‘Thomas in Babel’,
64). The related theme of children, having stripped, treading on their clothes, is also found
in GTh 37.2, however. The parable is not intended to be realistic. It is also natural to see
a connection with the children in GTh 22 (so, rightly, Nordsieck, 100). It follows from this
that Plisch’s interpretation of ⲉⲩϭⲉⲗⲓⲧ (as ‘who are entrusted with’) adopting the second
sense of ϭⲟ(ⲉ)ⲓⲗⲉ (see Crum, 808b) does not work so well, and the verb also seems more
usually to mean to reside temporarily or ‘sojourn’ (for his view, see Plisch, 82, and idem,
‘Probleme und Lösungen’, 525). See Crum, 807a–809b, giving παροικεῖν and ξενίζειν as the
first two equivalents.
304 logion 21
21.3 When the owners of the field come, they (sc. the owners) will say, “Let
us have our field.” The ‘owners’ are likely to be archontic powers, although they
are not portrayed especially negatively here: ‘the owners … are quite justified
in requesting the return of the field’.13 The reference to ‘our field’ means that it
must be the owners, not the children, who request the field.14
21.4 They (sc. the children) strip naked in their (sc. the owners’) presence,
in order to let them (sc. the owners) have it,15 to give their field to them. There
is then an unmarked change of subject: after the request of the owners in 21.3
it is then the children (not the owners) in 21.4 who strip naked: the motif of
children stripping off is familiar from GTh 37.16 The reference to stripping is
most likely to be of the body or bodily desire. It is striking here how close is the
correlation in the parable between the stripping off and the renunciation of the
field, i.e. the world. Plisch inexplicably introduces the notion of selling into the
‘giving’.17
21.5 Therefore I say, if the owner of the house knows that the thief is
coming, he will be on guard until he comes. In this parable of the Householder
and the Thief (cf. Matt. 24.43–44; Lk. 12.39–40), we have a reversal of the
imagery: now the owner is the disciple. The motif of the ‘thief’ as an image
of unexpected destruction is very common in early Christian literature.18 It is
employed here, as elsewhere, to invite the response of being on watch. The
particular threat, in keeping with the theme of the speech as a whole, is the
possibility of the soul’s destruction. For the relations between GTh 21.5, 98 and
103, see the table in the interpretation of GTh 103.
21.5 And will not let him dig into the house of his domain so as to carry off
his possessions. For the phrase ‘house of his kingdom/ domain’, cf. Ephrem,
Comm. Diat. 18.7, but the phrase is not necessarily an Aramaism.19 On the
‘digging’ into the house, cf. notes on 98.2 below. The reference to the individual’s
domain, or kingdom, suggests an allegorical reference to the kingdom.20 One
13 Kee, ‘Becoming a Child’, 311.

14 Contra Bruce, Jesus and Christian Origins, 123. Rightly Grant & Freedman, 141; Plisch, 82.
15 Plisch, 82 and n. 5 problematically understands the plural ἱματία as the antecedent of the
singular ‘it’ in the Greek Vorlage.
16 Contra Bruce, Jesus and Christian Origins, 123.
17 Plisch, 82 n. 5.
18 Matt. 24.43; Lk. 12.33, 39; 1 Thess. 5.2, 4; 2 Pet. 3.10; Rev. 3.3; 16.15; cf. PS 121 (unexpected
death).
19 See above, Introduction, § 5.1, and at greater length, Gathercole, Composition, 60–61.
20 R.J. Bauckham, ‘Synoptic Parousia Parables and the Apocalypse’, NTS 23 (1977), 162–176
(168).
logion 21 305
might compare here the wish of the power “Desire” to claim the soul in the
Gospel of Mary (15,1–5).
21.6 As for you, be on guard against the world. There is a shift here from
watchfulness in advance of the future hour in the Synoptics, to watchfulness
against the world in Thomas.21 The ‘world’ here stands for the collection of
threats to the soul which need to be resisted. Cf. the depiction of the world
elsewhere in Thomas as a corpse (GTh 56).
21.7 Prepare yourself with great power. Lit. ‘Gird up your loins with great
power’, as also in GTh 103 (and see discussion there). The phrase ‘great power’
may have some kind of technical sense: cf. GTh 85, where ‘Adam came into
being from a great power’; but if so, the precise nuance is not clear. It is perhaps
not a foregone conclusion that these powers will not be able to destroy the soul:
it is essential for the Thomasine disciple to be on guard.
21.7 Lest the brigands find a way to come to you. The Graeco-Coptic term
ⲗⲏⲥⲧⲏⲥ (λῃστής) has been much discussed (cf. again GTh 103). The literal sense
may be a thief (e.g. Mk 11.17 and parallels), or a revolutionary novarum rerum
cupidus (cf. BJ 2.254: λῃσταί who were called Sicarii).22 Horbury defines λῃστεία
as ‘robber-like activity’.23 The ‘brigands’ are a further personification of the
threats to the soul, described as the ‘owners’ in 21.3, the ‘thief’ in 21.5, and ‘world’
in 21.6.
21.8 Since the necessity which you expect will come about. The word ⲭⲣⲉⲓⲁ
(‘necessity’) has proven very difficult. Commentators have interpreted it as
‘possessions’,24 ‘the minimal essentials for sustaining life’,25 ‘advantage’,26 or
‘difficulty’.27 A ‘negative’ interpretation, such as the last of these, is preferable to
the positive options, because 21.7–8 issues a warning to be on guard since (ⲉⲡⲉⲓ)
the ⲭⲣⲉⲓⲁ will come. It is therefore probably a shorthand for the threat of the
brigands in 21.7. The scenario is likely to be a critical spiritual moment, such as
death or temptation, which requires the particular vigilance of 21.6.

22 On the term and its uses, see e.g. K.H. Rengstorf, ‘λῃστής’, TDNT IV.257–262; M. Goodman,
The Ruling Class of Judaea (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987), 51–75.
23 W. Horbury, Jews and Christians in Contact and Controversy (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1998),
164 (and see 164–165).
24 DeConick, 112.
25 Plisch, 83.
26 Hedrick, 57.
27 Layton & Lambdin, ‘The Gospel according to Thomas’, Nag Hammadi Codex II,2–7: Volume
One, 63.
306 logion 21
21.9 May there be in your midst a prudent man. There is a tendency among
interpreters to generalise the ‘prudent man’ simply as a reference to a proper
disciple,28 but the ‘man of understanding’ is not a characterisation of every
elect disciple; Thomas says that there ought to be one ‘in your midst’.29 The rea-
son a man of understanding is required is that the disciples need to be prepared
(21.7). The man of understanding therefore perhaps acts as a mustagogos in
the interpretation of Jesus’ words, and perhaps especially in learning the truths
which enable the ascent of the soul in GTh 50. An alternative is that he is some-
one who can arbitrate effectively in the community (the sense of the similar
language in 1Cor 6.5; Jas. 3.13), although this seems a little out of place in the
collection of material in GTh 21 in toto.
21.10 When the fruit ripened, he came quickly with his sickle in hand. The
subject of the main clause here is apparently the ‘prudent man’ of 21.9, but the
meaning of the action with the sickle is as obscure as the identity of the man.
DeConick considers 9–10 to have two different themes, one hermeneutical and
one paraenetic.30 Given that he considers the ‘man of understanding’ in 21.9
to be an interpreter in the community, Valantasis sees his role as ‘one who
gathers the fruits of discernment’ in 21.10.31 Pokorný suggests that this is an
‘exhortation to a prompt and good decision’.32 For Hedrick, it is about ‘knowing
both the precise moment for action and how to act’.33 King, in her rejection
of an apocalyptic understanding of the kingdom asks: ‘is there really anything
apocalyptic about a man who goes out with his sickle to harvest ripe grain?
Thomas describes him as “a man of understanding”. He knows what to do
and gets the job done.’34 Goodacre notes the distance from the OT here, by
comparison with the Markan parallel (Mk 4.29).35 GTh 21.10 is a fragment of
the parable of the Seed Growing Secretly (Mk 4.26–29).
21.11 He who has ears to hear, let him hear. On this phrase, see note on
GTh 8.4. In GTh 21 here, the aphorism perhaps underscores the mysterious and
allegorical character of the speech.
28 E.g. Hedrick, 58.

29 Rightly, Valantasis, 94.
30 DeConick, 113–114.
31 Valantasis, 94.
32 Pokorný, 66.
33 Hedrick, 58; similarly Plisch, 83.
34 King compares the characters in GTh 35, 96 and 98: ‘They are all prepared, they know what
to do, and this assures them of success’ (‘Kingdom’, 52).
Logion 221
22.1 ⲁⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ⲛⲁⲩ ⲁϩⲛ̄ⲕⲟⲩⲉⲓ ⲉⲩϫⲓ ⲉⲣⲱⲧⲉ 22.2 ⲡⲉϫⲁϥ ⲛ̄ⲛⲉϥⲙⲁⲑⲏⲧⲏⲥ ϫⲉ ⲛⲉⲉⲓⲕⲟⲩⲉⲓ
ⲉⲧϫⲓ ⲉⲣⲱⲧⲉ ⲉⲩⲧⲛ̄ⲧⲱⲛ ⲁⲛⲉⲧⲃⲏⲕ⳿ ⲉϩⲟⲩⲛ ⲁⲧⲙⲛ̄ⲧⲉⲣⲟ 22.3 ⲡⲉϫⲁⲩ ⲛⲁϥ⳿ ϫⲉ ⲉⲉⲓⲉ
⟨ⲉ⟩ⲛⲟ ⲛ̄ⲕⲟⲩⲉⲓ ⲧⲛ̄ⲛⲁⲃⲱⲕ⳿ ⲉϩⲟⲩⲛ ⲉⲧⲙⲛ̄ⲧⲉⲣⲟ 22.4 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓⲏ̅ⲥ̅ ⲛⲁⲩ ϫⲉ ϩⲟⲧⲁⲛ ⲉ-
ⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ϣⲁⲣ̄ ⲡⲥⲛⲁⲩ ⲟⲩⲁ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲉⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ϣⲁⲣ̄ ⲡⲥⲁⲛϩⲟⲩⲛ ⲛ̄ⲑⲉ ⲙ̄ⲡⲥⲁⲛⲃⲟⲗ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲡⲥⲁⲛⲃⲟⲗ
ⲛ̄ⲑⲉ ⲙ̄ⲡⲥⲁⲛϩⲟⲩⲛ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲡⲥⲁ(ⲛ)ⲧⲡⲉ ⲛ̄ⲑⲉ ⲙ̄ⲡⲥⲁⲙⲡⲓⲧⲛ̄ 22.5 ⲁⲩⲱ ϣⲓⲛⲁ ⲉⲧⲉⲧⲛⲁⲉⲓⲣⲉ
ⲙ̄ⲫⲟ⳿ⲟⲩⲧ⳿ ⲙⲛ̄ ⲧⲥϩⲓⲙⲉ ⲙ̄ⲡⲓⲟⲩⲁ ⲟⲩⲱⲧ⳿ ϫⲉⲕⲁⲁⲥ ⲛⲉ ⲫⲟⲟⲩⲧ⳿ ⲣ̄ ϩⲟⲟⲩⲧ⳿ ⲛ̄ⲧⲉ ⲧⲥϩⲓⲙⲉ
ⲣ̄ ⲥϩⲓⲙⲉ 22.6 ϩⲟⲧⲁⲛ ⲉⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ϣⲁⲉⲓⲣⲉ ⲛ̄ϩⲛ̄ⲃⲁⲗ ⲉⲡⲙⲁ ⲛ̄ⲟⲩⲃⲁⲗ⳿ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲟⲩϭⲓϫ⳿ ⲉⲡⲙⲁ
ⲛ̄ⲛⲟⲩϭⲓϫ⳿ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲟⲩⲉⲣⲏⲧⲉ ⲉⲡⲙⲁ ⲛ̄ⲟⲩⲉⲣⲏⲧⲉ ⲟⲩϩⲓⲕⲱⲛ⳿ ⲉⲡⲙⲁ ⲛ̄ⲟⲩϩⲓⲕⲱ(ⲛ) 22.7 ⲧⲟ-
ⲧⲉ ⲧⲉⲧⲛⲁⲃⲱⲕ⳿ ⲉϩⲟⲩⲛ [ⲉ]ⲧ̣ⲙ̣[ⲛ̄ⲧⲉⲣ]ⲟ̣⳿
22.1 Jesus saw some little ones being suckled. 22.2 He said to his disciples,
‘These little ones being suckled are like those who enter the kingdom.’ 22.3
They said to him, ‘Shall we, then, enter the kingdom as little ones?’ 22.4 Jesus
1 Bibliography for GTh 22: Klijn, ‘The “Single One” in the Gospel of Thomas’, 271–278; Kee,
‘ “Becoming a Child” in the Gospel of Thomas’, 307–314; K.P. Donfried, The Setting of Second
Clement in Early Christianity (Leiden: Brill, 1974), 73–77; D. Patte, ‘Entering the Kingdom like
Children: A Structural Exegesis’, SBLSP (1982), 371–396; T. Baarda, ‘2Clement 12 and the Say-
ings of Jesus’, in J. Delobel, ed. Logia: Les Paroles de Jesus/ The Sayings of Jesus (BETL 59; Leuven:
Peeters, 1982), 529–556, and also in Baarda, ed. Early Transmission of the Words of Jesus (Ams-
terdam: Free University Press, 1983), 261–288; T. Callan, ‘The Saying of Jesus in Gos. Thom.
22/ 2Clem. 12/ Gos. Eg. 5’, JRSt 16 (1990), 46–64; Zöckler, Jesu Lehren im Thomasevangelium,
223–242; K. Nash, ‘The Language of Mother Work in the Gospel of Thomas: Keeping Momma
out of the Kingdom’, in M.A. Beavis, ed. The Lost Coin: Parables of Women, Work and Wisdom
(London: Sheffield Academic Press, 2002), 174–195; W. Loader, Sexuality and the Jesus Tradition
(Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2005), 199–207; W. Petersen, ‘Textual Traditions Examined: What
the Text of the Apostolic Fathers tells us about the Text of the New Testament in the Second
Century’, in A.F. Gregory & C.M. Tuckett, eds. The Reception of the New Testament in the Apos-
tolic Fathers (Oxford: Clarendon, 2005), 29–46 (35–38); Pratscher, Der zweite Clemensbrief,
161–164; A. Standhartinger, ‘Einssein an Gottes Brust (Stillkinder)—EvThom 22’, in Zimmer-
mann, ed. Kompendium der Gleichnisse Jesu, 883–887; S. Patterson, ‘Jesus Meets Plato: The
Theology of the Gospel of Thomas and Middle Platonism’, in J. Frey, J. Schröter & E.E. Popkes,
de Gruyter, 2008), 181–205 (190–196); C. Mazzucco, ‘I detti sui bambini e il Regno’, in M. Pesce
& M. Rescio, eds. La trasmissione delle parole di Gesù nei primi tre secoli (Brescia: Morcel-
liana, 2011), 191–217; A. Gagné, ‘Lire un apocryphe en synchronie. Analyse structurelle et intra-
textuelle du logion 22 de l’ Évangile selon Thomas’, in A. Gagné & J.-F. Racine, eds. En marge du
canon biblique: études sur les écrits apocryphes juifs et chrétiens (Paris: Cerf, 2012), 225–249.
308 logion 22
said to them, ‘When you make the two one, and when you make the inside
like the outside, and the outside like the inside, and the above like the below,
22.5 in order that you make the male and the female one and the same, so
that the male be not male nor the female female. 22.6 When you make eyes
in the place of an eye, and a hand in place of a hand, and a foot in place
of a foot, and an image in place of an image, 22.7 then will you enter the
[kingdom].’
Interpretation
This saying is the last of a trilogy (see interpretation of GTh 20), and is of cen-
tral importance in Thomas.2 Jesus’ teaching in this dialogue combines three
important and related soteriological images:3 (a) being like children (cf. the
preceding GTh 21), with the added element that the children are drinking, (b)
the dissolution of dualities, and (c) replacement of the external image with the
internal. Initially, Jesus appears to explain the first (22.2) by the second (22.4–
5), which is probably in part made possible by the assumption of an asexual
character to small children: the dissolution of dualities is seen ultimately as
focused on the asexual character of the true disciple (22.5).4 Thereafter, the
inside/ outside language (22.4) is developed in 22.6. The references to eyes,
hands and feet are resurrection imagery, though with reference to a new spir-
itual nature rather than to physical resurrection. The concluding reference
to the image states as a requirement bringing forth a new, internal image to
replace the old, as in GTh 70 (‘when you bring forth what is in you, what you
have will save you’)—cf. also GTh 24.3—and the contrast between the physical
and eternal images in GTh 83–84. The sequence in 22.4–6 has a number of par-
allels, but the literary relations among the earliest versions are very difficult to
disentangle.5
2 See esp. Gagné, ‘Lire un apocryphe en synchronie’, 228–231, for a very helpful survey of
scholarly approaches to the saying.
3 Valantasis, 96: ‘More than any other saying, Saying 22 most specifically constructs the new
subjectivity promulgated by this gospel.’
4 Kee, ‘Becoming a Child’, 313: ‘Here it is evident that becoming as a child, and entering the
kingdom, and achieving a state of asexuality are very nearly interchangeable terms.’
5 Cf. 2Clem. 12.1–2; Gos. Phil. 67,30–68,17; Gos. Egy. / Cassianus in Clem. Strom. 3.13.92.2; Ac. Pet.
38 (Mart. Petr. 9); Ac. Phil. 140.
logion 22 309
Notes
22.1 Jesus saw some little ones being suckled. For the language of ‘little ones’,
see also 46.2. Jesus encounters here in GTh 22 not children in general (παιδία)
as in Matthew and Mark (Mk 10.13–16; Matt. 19.13–15; cf. Mk 9.36; Matt. 18.2–5),
but nursing babies:6 Thomas here agrees with Luke, who also has babies (βρέφη,
Lk. 18.15). Thomas’s introduction is notable for its strangeness, because Thomas
goes further than Luke in specifying that the babies are suckling when Jesus
sees them. The scene is either of Jesus in a domestic setting, in which case it
is also strange that Jesus is in the company of nursing mothers. (Other sayings
with Jesus in a clearly private space are GTh 61; 99; also ‘this house’ in GTh 41?)
Passages such as Xenophon’s reference to breast-feeding as among τὰ ἔνδον ἔργα
of the woman (Oec. 7.23) suggest a domestic setting for GTh 22. Alternatively,
the scenario could perhaps be a public space in which different babies are
being nursed. This would be irregular, because of the taboo of nudity,7 but it
is also quite possible that in some public settings the practice was regarded
as more tolerable.8 Gagné makes the excellent suggestion that the suckling
here is of interpretative significance, because of the theme of ‘drinking’ is
related elsewhere to the acquisition of knowledge and union with Jesus (GTh
13; 108).9
22.2 He said to his disciples, ‘These little ones being suckled are like those
who enter the kingdom.’ The Synoptic Gospels have two scenes where Jesus
comments on the blessed character of children: in Mk 10.13–16/ Matt. 19.13–15/
Lk. 18.15–17, when the disciples try to prevent children coming and Jesus says
only those who receive the kingdom like a child can enter it (or in Matthew:
‘become like children’); and in Mk 9.33–37/ Matt. 18.1–5/ Lk. 9.46–48 where
in response to the disciples’ dispute about who is the greatest, Jesus again
6 According to a testimonium to Hippocrates cited by Philo, a child is a παιδίον until the age
of seven years (Opif. 105).
7 P. Salzman-Mitchell, ‘Tenderness or Taboo: Images of Breast-Feeding Mothers in Greek
and Latin Literature’, in L. Hackworth Petersen & P. Salzman-Mitchell, eds. Mothering and
Motherhood in Ancient Greece and Rome (Austin: University of Texas Press, 2012), 141–164
(142).
8 I am grateful to Prof. Keith Bradley for his help with this topic.
9 Gagné, ‘Lire un apocryphe en synchronie’, 242–248; also A. Gagné, ‘Connaissance, identité
et androgynéité. Conditions du salut dans l’ Évangile selon Thomas’, in M. Allard, D. Cou-
ture & J.-G. Nadeau, eds. Pratiques et constructions du corps en christianisme. Actes du
42ième congrés de Société canadienne de théologie (Montreal: Fides, 2009), 131–147 (139–
146).
310 logion 22
summons a child (in Matthew, entry into the kingdom is again thematised).10 In
line with the note on 22.1 above, here Jesus likens the elect not to young children
more broadly, παιδία, as in the Synoptics, but to babies. This ties up with what
we saw in GTh 4, where the ideal state is likened to that of a baby seven days
old, because that baby is much closer to, and better informed about, the place
of life than an old man. As becomes clear, however, other aspects of babyhood
also come to the fore later. On the kingdom in Thomas, see Introduction, § 10.1
above.
22.3 They said to him, ‘Shall we, then, enter the kingdom as little ones?’
Presumably this is an expression of incredulity, rather like (though not neces-
sarily influenced by) Nicodemus’ question about the possibility of being born
again in John 3.4.
22.4 Jesus said to them, ‘When you make the two one.’ This is central to
Jesus’ mission according to Thomas (GTh 11; 72; 106, though cf. 16), where he is
concerned with inculcating unity. There is some focus here on the reversal of
the division of humanity into male and female, with the language resembling
that of marriage (Mk 10.8; Matt. 19.5–6; cf. Gen. 2.24). The point is broader,
however, because other elements are mentioned before the reference to gender
in 22.5 (cf. the different context of ‘making the two one’ in Eph. 2.14–16).
22.4 And when you make the inside like the outside, and the outside like
the inside, and the above like the below. The language of the outside and
inside here probably relates to GTh 70.1: ‘When you bring forth what is in
you, what you have will save you.’ The inside therefore must be externalised,
although the potential difficulty here is that this gives precedence to the inte-
rior, which is not the case in GTh 22.4. It could be that the ‘outside’, ‘inside’,
‘above’, ‘below’, language in 22.4 merely emphasises more strongly the language
of making the two one. There could be a connection with GTh 89, although
given the obscurity of that saying, it would be hazardous to make much of it.
22.5 In order that you make the male and the female one and the same, so
that the male be not male nor the female female. This might be taken in more
spiritual terms as a reference to the union of male and female in the heavenly
bridal chamber (cf. Gos. Phil. 70,9–22), or it might be taken with a more ethical
edge: ‘as infants are devoid of sex awareness or shame, so should the disciples
be’,11 or it might refer (similarly, but with more emphasis on nature or identity)
10 In those places where the Synoptics have ‘receive the kingdom as/ like a child’, the analogy
could perhaps be between the kingdom and the child rather than the disciples and
children.
11 Bruce, Jesus and Christian Origins, 123.
logion 22 311
to the androgyny of the true disciple.12 This statement obviously stands in some
tension with GTh 114, where Jesus states that every woman who wants to enter
the kingdom must become male. It is tolerably clear that in the later saying,
being an ideal, living spirit is related to being male (see discussion below, ad
114). Nevertheless, there is a sense in which the true disciple transcends such
gender distinctions: perhaps the reference in 22.5 is to the construction of
an androgynous state, and the actualisation of the original male-female unity
before the division.13 This Adamic unity is, however, more male than female
(see ad GTh 114 on ‘male androgyny’). Valantasis, relates this closely to the baby
earlier in the saying: the body is ‘trained and transformed into some other kind
of body’, which he says is a baby’s body.14 ‘This saying promulgates nothing less
than a complete ascetical recreation of human subjectivity in every dimension
of its existence.’15 Whether it advocates rejection of marriage and sex is not
certain, though one can see how it might be understood in this sense.
22.6 When you make eyes in the place of an eye, and a hand in place of
a hand, and a foot in place of a foot. Popkes is right to observe that 22.6 is
apparently not about the overcoming of opposites, as was the case in 22.4–5.16
22.6 speaks of replacement, rather than ‘making the two one’ as is found
elsewhere. There are no less than three potential sources for the language and
imagery here. (1) There is a peculiar correspondence here with the lex talionis
in Exodus and the Sermon on the Mount, where we find the penalty of ‘an eye
“in place of” an eye, a tooth “in place of” a tooth, a hand “in place of” a hand,
a foot “in place of” a foot’ (ὀφθαλμὸν ἀντὶ ὀφθαλμοῦ, ὀδόντα ἀντὶ ὀδόντος, χεῖρα
ἀντὶ χειρός, πόδα ἀντὶ ποδός, Exod. 21.24).17 (2) There is a similarity between
Thomas’s statements about the need to replace eye, hand and foot to enter
the kingdom and the Synoptics’ statement that an offending hand, foot or eye
should be cut off/ out to enter the kingdom (Mk 9.43–48).18 (3) Finally, the
imagery here is also that of resurrection: in 2Macc. 7.11, for example, the third
brother declares that he will receive back his limbs from God. Closer is the
theology of Odes of Solomon, where the saved individual has ‘members in which
there is no sickness or affliction or suffering’ (21.4), and of the Treatise on the
12 Grosso, 153.
13 Pratscher, Der zweite Clemensbrief, 164 sees this in the 2Clement parallel.
14 Valantasis, 95.
15 Valantasis, 96.
17 Cf. Matt 5.38 (Sahidic): ⲟⲩⲃⲁⲗ ⲉⲡⲙⲁ ⲛⲟⲩⲃⲁⲗ etc.
18 See e.g. Zöckler, Jesu Lehren im Thomasevangelium, 226.
312 logion 22
Resurrection, where there are ‘living members which are within’ in contrast to
the dead external limbs (48.1–3). This thought comes to the fore in the next
reference, to the ‘images’.
22.6 And an image in place of an image. GTh 84 contrasts two human
images, a superficial ‘likeness’ (ⲉⲓⲛⲉ) as opposed to the pre-existent ‘image’ (ϩⲓ-
ⲕⲱⲛ). This image might best be seen as all-encompassing, rather than distinct
from the eyes, hands and feet. It is the true soul which must be brought out,
and which must replace the external appearance (GTh 70; cf. Gos. Mary 18,15–
17; Gos. Jud. 35,2–6; Plotinus, Enn. 1.6.8).
22.7 Then will you enter the kingdom. The language of ‘entry’ into the
kingdom emphasises the external aspect of the kingdom (cf. GTh 3, where it
is outside and inside).19 Since all the elements of 22.4–6 are clarified in 22.7 as
soteriological conditions for entry into the kingdom, Pagels’ view that Thomas,
among other apocrypha, is advanced teaching for a superior group of Christians
cannot be correct (see Introduction, §10.5 above).
19 DeConick, 115, repeats the idea that the delay of the eschaton is a key theme here, though
again it is absent.
Logion 231
23.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ϯⲛⲁⲥⲉ[ⲧ]ⲡ ⲧⲏⲛⲉ ⲟⲩⲁ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ϩⲛ̄ ϣⲟ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲥⲛⲁⲩ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ϩⲛ̄ ⲧⲃⲁ 23.2
ⲁⲩⲱ ⲥⲉⲛⲁⲱϩⲉ ⲉⲣⲁⲧⲟⲩ ⲉⲩⲟ ⲟⲩⲁ ⲟⲩⲱⲧ⳿
23.1 Jesus said, ‘I will choo[s]e you, one out of a thousand, and two out of ten
thousand. 23.2 And they shall stand as a single one.’
Interpretation
This saying combines three soteriological images in a compressed manner: (a)

election, focusing on the activity of Jesus and his initiative in salvation, (b)
‘standing’, which highlights the spiritual power and stability of the saved disci-
ples, and (c) the identity of the saved as a unity.2 There is an additional aspect
of the ‘saved’, that they constitute a tiny minority: the proportions here commu-
nicate the extremity of the contrast between the number of true disciples and
that of the rest. The saying thus reveals an attitude (in all probability reflecting
the reality) that the Thomas movement was very small in number (cf. GTh 73–
75). The saying (esp. 23.1), or its precursor on which Thomas draws, is widely
cited.3
Notes
23.1 I will choose you. This betrays a higher christology than is sometimes
suggested in more egalitarian treatments of Thomas’s view of Jesus: the portrait
1 Bibliography for GTh 23: Klijn, ‘The “Single One” in the Gospel of Thomas’, 271–278; Poirier,
‘L’ Évangile selon Thomas (log. 16 et 23)’, 15–18; Funk, ‘ “Einer aus tausend, zwei aus zehn-
tausend”’, 85–92; Popkes, Menschenbild, 504–506.
2 Valantasis, 97.
3 Basilides is reported as saying that only one out of a thousand, and two out of ten thousand,
understood the truth (Irenaeus, AH 1.24.6; Epiphanius, Pan. 24.5.4); see W. Löhr, Basilides
und seine Schule: Eine Studie zur Theologie- und Kirchengeschichte des zweiten Jahrhunderts
(WUNT 83; Tübingen: Mohr, 1996), 265–266. Cf. Origen, Peri tou Pascha 2.6.3; PS 134. See Funk,
‘Einer aus tausend’, 85–92, on the Manichaean usage (and see Introduction, §4 above). Cf. also
Right Ginza 305, 307; Mandaean Prayers 90 (Stroker, Extracanonical Sayings, 187).
314 logion 23
here is of a transcendent Jesus who stands starkly over against humanity in

salvation.4 The future tense is unusual.
23.1 One out of a thousand, and two out of ten thousand. The image here
is the common-place of the small minority of the saved by contrast to the
massa perditionis.5 The proportions of 1:1000 and 2:10000 appear first in Deut.
32.30, with a similar view expressed in Jeremiah 3.14, where redemption is also
involved: ‘I will take you, one from a town and two from a clan, and I will
bring you to Zion.’ Compare also ‘one man among a thousand’ (Eccles. 7.28).
On the forms of the saying contemporaneous with, or later than, Thomas see
Introduction, §4.1 (Origen), and §4.4–5, above.
23.2 And they shall stand. The sense of ‘standing’ is adamantine solidity
(see above on 16.4). Thomas’s rather awkward shift from second person (‘I will
choose you …’) to third person (‘They will stand …’) may well indicate that 23.1
goes back to a source, and that Thomas has appended in 23.2 a version of the
‘single one’ formula (cf. GTh 4, etc.).
23.2 As a single one. See discussion of this phrase in notes on GTh 4.3.
The meaning is likely to be ‘as a single one’, ‘transform[ed] into a union’, ‘as
one individual’, or ‘unified’.6 (It may perhaps therefore pick up the theme of
union in GTh 22.) However, the zero article in the phrase ⲟⲩⲁ ⲟⲩⲱⲧ could be
taken in a plural sense (‘as single ones’), and this would comport better with
GTh 16.4 (‘they will stand as solitary’, ⲥⲉⲛⲁⲱϩⲉ ⲉⲣⲁⲧⲟⲩ ⲉⲩⲟ ⲙ̄ⲙⲟⲛⲁⲭⲟⲥ); GTh 49.1
also has ‘the solitary and elect’ (ⲛⲙⲟⲛⲁⲭⲟⲥ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲉⲧⲥⲟⲧⲡ). As a result, there may
some vagueness in Thomas’s language of ⲟⲩⲁ ⲟⲩⲱⲧ and ⲙⲟⲛⲁⲭⲟⲥ, despite the
distinction between them drawn above (see Appended Note on ⲙⲟⲛⲁⲭⲟⲥ, after
GTh 16).
4 Cf. e.g. A. Marjanen, ‘The Portrait of Jesus in the Gospel of Thomas’, in J.Ma. Asgeirsson, et al.,
eds. Thomasine Traditions in Antiquity (Leiden: Brill, 2006), 209–219.
5 In classical tradition famously, ‘many are the thyrsus bearers, but few are the initiates’ (Plato,
Phaed. 69C); in the NT, Matt. 22.14: ‘for many are called, but few are chosen’. Cf. Sent. Sext. 243;
Asclepius 22 (Lat.)/ 65,38–66,5 (NHC VI/8).
6 Respectively, Valantasis, 97; Plisch, 88; Pokorný, 68; Hedrick, 62.
Logion 241
24.3 [ἐσ]τ̣ιν [… φ]ωτ‘ε’ινῷ [… κ]ό̣σμῳ [… μ]ή [… ἐ]σ̣ τιν
24.3 [… i]s [… l]uminous [… w]orld [… no]t […] is […].
24.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲛⲉϥⲙⲁⲑⲏⲧⲏⲥ ϫⲉ ⲙⲁⲧⲥⲉⲃⲟⲛ⳿ ⲉⲡⲧⲟⲡⲟⲥ ⲉⲧⲕⲙ̄ⲙⲁⲩ ⲉⲡⲉⲓ ⲧⲁⲛⲁⲅⲕⲏ ⲉⲣⲟⲛ

ⲧⲉ ⲉⲧⲣⲛ̄ϣⲓⲛⲉ ⲛ̄ⲥⲱϥ⳿ 24.2 ⲡⲉϫⲁϥ⳿ ⲛⲁⲩ ϫⲉ ⲡⲉⲧⲉⲩⲛ̄ ⲙⲁⲁϫⲉ ⲙ̄ⲙⲟϥ ⲙⲁⲣⲉϥ⳿ⲥⲱⲧⲙ̄
24.3 ⲟⲩⲛ̄ ⲟⲩⲟⲉⲓⲛ⳿ ϣⲟⲟⲡ⳿ ⲙ̄ⲫⲟⲩⲛ ⲛ̄ⲛⲟⲩⲣⲙ̄ⲟⲩⲟⲉⲓⲛ ⲁⲩⲱ ϥⲣ̄ ⲟⲩⲟⲉⲓⲛ ⲉⲡⲕⲟⲥⲙⲟⲥ ⲧⲏⲣϥ⳿
ⲉϥⲧⲙ̄ⲣ̄ ⲟⲩⲟⲉⲓⲛ⳿ ⲟⲩⲕⲁⲕⲉ ⲡⲉ
24.1 His disciples said, ‘Show us the place where you are, since it is necessary
for us to seek after it.’ 24.2 He said to them, ‘He who has ears, let him hear.
24.3 There is light within a person of light, and he gives light to the whole
world. If he does not give light, he is darkness.’
Textual Comment
Although some of the Greek survives here, it is so fragmentary that it cannot

have a material effect on the interpretation. We will make use of the surviving
Greek adjective φωτεινός, however: hence ‘luminous person’, rather than ‘per-
son of light’ in 24.3 below.
1 Bibliography for GTh 24: Saunders, ‘A Trio of Thomas Logia’, 55–58; Trevijano Etcheverría,
‘La reconversión de la escatología en protología’, 133–162; Zöckler, Jesu Lehren im Thomase-
vangelium, 82–96; T. Zöckler, ‘Light within the Human Person: A Comparison of Matthew
6:22–23 and “Gospel of Thomas” 24’, JBL 120 (2001), 487–499; P.-H. Poirier, ‘Un parallèle grec
partiel au Logion 24 de l’ Évangile selon Thomas’, in H.-G. Bethge, S. Emmel, K.L. King &
I. Schletterer, eds. For the Children, Perfect Instruction: Studies in Honor of Hans-Martin Schenke
on the Occasion of the Berliner Arbeitskreis für koptisch-gnostische Schriften’s Thirtieth Year
(Leiden/ Boston: Brill, 2002), 95–100; E.E. Popkes, ‘Vom Lichtmenschen—EvThom 24’, in Zim-
mermann, ed. Kompendium der Gleichnisse Jesu, 888–892.
316 logion 24
Interpretation
This saying of Jesus seems to bear little relevance to the disciples’ question.2 The
response (cf. Matt. 6.22–23; Lk. 11.34–36, and more remotely, Jn 11.9–10; Dial. Sav.
125,18–126,1) focuses on the internal image of light which is said to indwell the
elect exclusively. In contrast to the emphasis in GTh 23 on the stability of the
elect, this saying warns against the failure to shine and exhorts the disciples to
display their light.3 The characterisation of the internal image or soul in this
saying as ‘light’ lends itself to meaning ‘illuminating testimony to the truth’.
As in GTh 70 (‘when you bring forth what is in you, what you have will save
you’), what is within needs to be made external. Otherwise the elect disciple
becomes subsumed into the plight of the cosmos, rather than being of potential
benefit.
Notes
24.1 His disciples said, ‘Show us the place where you are, since it is necessary
for us to seek after it.’ The ‘place where Jesus is’ is a mysterious phrase, because
it suggests that, even while speaking with the disciples, Jesus inhabits another
realm. Since Jesus is ‘the living Jesus’, this may be ‘the place of life’ (4.1) which
is probably coterminous with ‘the place where the light came into being’ (50.1).
If that is the case, Jesus inhabits the two realms of life and the world simulta-
neously.4 Some commentators assume that the question is an inept one,5 but
it may be that the disciples are rightly aware here that they do not yet inhabit
this place, and so are seeking the salvation that exists there.
24.2 He who has ears, let him hear. See note above on GTh 8.4. What is
curious about this particular instance is that in the canonical Gospels, in Reve-
lation, in the Gospel of Mary, and in every other case in Thomas, this aphorism
comes after the wisdom which Jesus encourages the hearer to contemplate.
Here, however, it is an introductory phrase.
2 Generally noted, e.g. by Valantasis, 97.

3 See Grosso, 155, on the latter point.
4 Pace DeConick, 120, this is not necessarily to be mirror-read as the community’s response to
the death of Jesus. It would then not make sense as it stands. Certainly Jesus’ reply in 24.3 does
not address the point very directly at all.
5 E.g. Hedrick, 63.
logion 24 317
24.3 There is light within a luminous person (Co: person of light). The
special designation ‘luminous’, which presumably cannot be a characterization
of every human being, suggests that the elect are those who especially possess
the light. The Coptic phrase ‘person of light’ appears in a mysterious saying, in
a clearly exclusive sense (in parallel with ‘the pure’), in Apocryphon of James
10.4; cf. also 1Enoch 5.8: ‘and there will be a light in the illuminated man, and
intelligence in the wise man.’6 There is a christological dimension to the light,
in that the light is an extension in some sense of the person of Jesus.7
24.3 And he gives light to the whole world. This narrow scope is probably
confirmed by the second half of the sentence, variations of which are con-
ventionally applied in the Jesus tradition specifically to disciples (Matt. 5.14a;
quoted in Interp. Knowl. 9,30–31; Gos. Sav. 97,21–22). In Phil 2.15, Paul addresses
the believers as like ‘those who shine in the world’ (ⲛⲓⲣⲉϥⲟⲩⲟⲉⲓⲛ ϩⲙ̄ⲡⲕⲟⲥⲙⲟⲥ).
The language is also reminiscent of what Jesus says of himself in John (‘I am the
light of the world’ in Jn 8.12; 9.5; cf. 1.9, and GTh 77.1). ‘Giving light to the world’
is presumably a reference to the disciple advertising the presence of the light.
The possibility envisaged in the final part of the saying suggests that a particular
kind of behaviour accompanies having the light. This is an unusually positive
statement about the potential of the world—it can be enlightened.8
24.3 If he does not give light, he is darkness. There is ambiguity in the
final phrase, which could be impersonal (‘there is darkness’).9 On the personal
reading, which is perhaps more likely, the disciple who fails to act appropriately
not only becomes ineffective, but actually partakes in the world of perdition.
6 Poirier, ‘Logion 24’.

7 Rightly, Popkes, ‘Vom Lichtmenschen’, 879.
8 Zöckler, ‘Light within the Human Person’, 495–496; cf. Plisch, 90; Nordsieck, 117–118.
9 Plisch, 89–90.
Logion 251
25.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ⲙⲉⲣⲉ ⲡⲉⲕⲥⲟⲛ ⲛ̄ⲑⲉ ⲛ̄ⲧⲉⲕ⳿ⲯⲩⲭⲏ 25.2 ⲉⲣⲓⲧⲏⲣⲉⲓ ⲙ̄ⲙⲟϥ ⲛ̄ⲑⲉ ⲛ̄ⲧⲉⲗⲟⲩ
ⲙ̄ⲡⲉⲕ⳿ⲃⲁⲗ⳿
25.1 Jesus said, ‘Love your brother as your own soul; 25.2 guard him like the
pupil of your eye.’
Interpretation
There is a double catchword connection with GTh 26, since ‘brother’ (ⲥⲟⲛ) and
‘eye’ (ⲃⲁⲗ) appear in both. GTh 25.1 and 25.2 communicate the same point. As
Grosso notes, Thomas is not just narrowly individualistic.2 The saying exhorts
care for the fellow-disciple as if he were a ‘very delicate part of the body’.3 The
implication of contact between disciples is notable here, because Thomas does
not seem to talk in terms of a social community. The kind of interaction which
Thomas presupposes among disciples is unclear. There may be meetings for
instruction (see 21.9 and comment), as well as missionary activity carried out
by pairs or groups (14.4–5; 73). These settings alone could provide context for a
saying such as this.
Notes
25.1 Love your brother as your soul. This is the only direct reference to ‘love’
in Thomas; as such, the theme is not completely absent as was claimed by
Bruce.4 GTh 25.1 resembles the great commandment which stems from Lev.
19.18 and which won great popularity in early Judaism, the New Testament and
1 Bibliography for GTh 25: G. Quispel, ‘Love thy Brother’, in idem, Gnostic Studies, vol. II
(Leiden: Nederlands Historisch-Archaeologisch Istituut te Istanbul, 1975), 169–179; Popkes,
Menschenbild, 45–49; Gathercole, Composition, 61–63, 263–266.
2 Grosso, 158.
3 Valantasis, 98.
4 Bruce, Jesus and Christian Origins, 155–156; cf. idem ‘The Gospel of Thomas’, 21, 22–23. K. Gro-
bel, ‘How Gnostic is the Gospel of Thomas?’, NTS 8 (1962), 367–373 (373), observes that ‘con-
cern for one’s fellow man is crystal clear in 25’, even if ‘brother’ in this saying is not as broad
as ‘fellow man’.
logion 25 319
earliest Christianity more widely.5 However, the form of the ‘royal law’—as
James 2.8 puts it—differs from the normal wording in having ‘brother’ in
place of ‘neighbour’ and ‘as your soul’ instead of ‘as yourself’. The former
probably suggests a focus on the fellow-disciple as the object of love.6 Pokorný,
however, claims that there is ‘not a limitation of love but rather its concrete
embodiment’,7 and Hedrick sees a focus akin to that of the Johannine epistles.8
The use of ‘soul’ (ⲯⲩⲭⲏ) is not too surprising given Thomas’s frequent use of
the word elsewhere (28.3; 87.2; 112.1, 2), and paraphrases of Lev. 19.18 elsewhere
in early Christianity even in Greek can refer to the soul; so ‘soul’ here, if a
Semitism, is an insignificant one.9 As a result, the Coptic of 25.1 should not be
reduced to a simple reflexive, since the soul in Thomas (as suggested in GTh 87
and 112) is probably the most precious element in the person.
25.2 Guard him like the pupil of your eye. The reference to guarding the
brother may be an allusion to Gen. 4.9 (‘am I my brother’s keeper?’). Plisch
notes that there may be a connection with GTh 26, which envisages one brother
taking the mote out of the eye of another; hence, guarding would have the
sense of spiritual counsel.10 ‘Guarding’ gives greater specificity to the love, as
protection, presumably in a spiritual sense.
On ‘the pupil of your eye’, cf. Deut. 32.10; Ps. 17.8; Prov. 7.2. Reference to the
pupil may be a dead metaphor/ simile,11 or is simply a very precious part of
the body, or there may be a mythological reference. Clement takes the view
(perhaps agreeing with Theodotus) that the pupil is a symbol of the elect seed:
‘We admit that the elect seed is both a spark kindled by the Logos and a pupil of
the eye and a grain of mustard seed and leaven which unites in faith the genera
which appear to be divided’ (Exc. Theod. 1). It may be that ‘pupil of your eye’
stands in parallel to the ‘your soul’ because the eye and the soul were frequently
seen as analogous, as the means of perception of the intelligible and sensible
realms respectively.12 It may be hazardous to read too much into the phrase,
however, since 25.2 is reminiscent of a stock phrase about guarding a favourite.
5 DeConick, 125–127, provides an extensive list of parallels to this saying.

6 Grant & Freedman, 146; R.McL. Wilson, Studies in the Gospel of Thomas (London: Mowbray,
1960), 114; Popkes, Menschenbild, 46; Plisch, 90.
7 Pokorný, 70.
8 Hedrick, 64.
9 See Gathercole, Composition, 61–63, and in addition, Barn. 1.4; 4.6.
10 Plisch, 92.
11 Cf. Pokorný, 70–71, translating the phrase as ‘apple of your eye’.
12 Cf. Philo, Spec. 3.194. Philo also considers the relation of the pupil to the eye as analogous
to that of reasoning to the soul (Opif. 66; Prob. 140).
Logion 261
26.2 … καὶ τότε διαβλέψεις ἐκβαλεῖν̣ τὸ κάρφος τὸ ἐν τῷ ὀφθαλμῷ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ

σου.
26.2 ‘… and then you will see clearly to cast out the speck which is in your
brother’s eye.’
26.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ⲡϫⲏ ⲉⲧϩⲙ̄ ⲡⲃⲁⲗ ⲙ̄ⲡⲉⲕ⳿ⲥⲟⲛ ⲕⲛⲁⲩ ⲉⲣⲟϥ⳿ ⲡⲥⲟⲉⲓ ⲇⲉ ⲉⲧϩⲙ̄ ⲡⲉⲕ-
ⲃⲁⲗ⳿ ⲕⲛⲁⲩ ⲁⲛ ⲉⲣⲟϥ⳿ 26.2 ϩⲟⲧⲁⲛ ⲉⲕϣⲁⲛⲛⲟⲩϫⲉ ⲙ̄ⲡⲥⲟⲉⲓ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ϩⲙ̄ ⲡⲉⲕ⳿ⲃⲁⲗ⳿ ⲧⲟⲧⲉ
ⲕⲛⲁⲛⲁⲩ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ⲉⲛⲟⲩϫⲉ ⲙ̄ⲡϫⲏ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ϩⲙ̄ ⲡⲃⲁⲗ ⲙ̄ⲡⲉⲕⲥⲟⲛ
26.1 Jesus said, ‘The speck which is in your brother’s eye you see, but you do
not see the beam which is in your eye. 26.2 When you cast out the beam from
your eye, you will then be able to see to cast out the speck from your brother’s
eye.’
Textual Comment
There is no substantive different between the Coptic and the (partially pre-
served) Greek here, and indeed the language is extremely close, even extending
to a shared τότε / ⲧⲟⲧⲉ. The introductory καὶ τότε in the Greek suggests that
an imperative clause preceded the extant text. This almost certainly suggests a
difference in the Greek’s and Coptic’s syntax: as the καὶ τότε implies, the Greek
almost certainly had the structure ‘[cast out the beam] and then you will see
…’, whereas the Coptic has a temporal clause: ‘when you … then you …’. The
Greek here has the same structure as the Synoptic parallels, and so probably
reflects the earliest form of Thomas’s text. On the other hand, as grammarians
often note, ‘imperative + future’ is a common way of expressing a condition,
and so the difference between the Greek and the Coptic is small.2 The varia-
tion between the Coptic’s ‘cast out the speck from’ and the Greek’s ‘cast out
the speck which is in’ is also reflected in the variation between Matt. 7.5 and
1 Bibliography for GTh 26: Zöckler, Jesu Lehren im Thomasevangelium, 75–82; Goodacre,
Thomas and the Gospels, 30–33.
2 E.g. Layton, Coptic Grammar, 415 (§ 501, b & d).
logion 26 321
Lk. 6.42.3 Here again, the Greek is likely, though not certain, to reflect the
earliest form of the text.
Interpretation
This saying (cf. Matt. 7.3–5/Lk. 6.41–42) has a natural link with its predeces-
sor, both in terminology (‘brother’, ‘eye’) and in theme (cf. also ‘seeing’ in GTh
27.2). GTh 26 might be classified as a specific instance of loving one’s brother,
namely not correcting him in a hypocritical manner. The second half of the say-
ing does leave the possibility of correction open, however. Commentators differ
on whether to see in this saying constructive teaching about what qualifies
a disciple to correct another,4 or more negatively, a description of ‘hypercrit-
ical persons being completely unaware of their own personal failings’.5 The
lament in 26.1 points in the direction of the latter. This matches the point
in Irenaeus’s quotation of the saying, where it is a warning against heretics
not to criticise orthodoxy, because in doing so, they are applying double stan-
dards.6
Notes
26.1 The speck which is in your brother’s eye you see, but you do not see the
beam which is in your eye. The Greek word for ‘speck’ is the rather rare word
κάρφος, which first alerted Grenfell and Hunt to the connection between the
‘logia’ and the Gospels.7
3 DeConick, 128, and Grosso, 158, argue that the Coptic is assimilated to Matthew here, but this
is not necessarily the case: Sahidic Luke also has the same phraseology in 6.42, which may
suggest that it is just the simplest translation.
4 Valantasis, 99.
5 Hedrick, 65.
6 Irenaeus presents this saying of Jesus to the Marcionites, in response to their accusation that
it was unjust of God in the OT to command the Israelites to plunder the Egyptians: Irenaeus
responds that (a) it was still an unequal recompense for their years of servitude, and (b)
everyone, even a Marcionite, enjoys some benefit from pagans, whether it is gifts from pagan
relatives or friends, or the pax romana. As a result, the Marcionites should remove the mote
from their own eyes before criticising what the Israelites did (AH 4.30.3).
322 logion 26
26.2 (Co + When you) cast out the beam from your eye, and then you will
see clearly (Co + be able to see) to cast out the speck from your brother’s eye.
The nuance of διαβλέπω is ‘see clearly’; in the Coptic, according to Crum, ⲛⲁⲩ
ⲉⲃⲟⲗ means ‘see opp not see, be blind’.8 The comparative rarity of both κάρφος
in 26.1 and διαβλέπω here means that a literary relationship with the Synoptics
is very probable.9
8 Crum, 234.
Logion 271
27.1 λέγει ις· ἐὰν μὴ νησ̣ τεύσητ⟨ε⟩ τὸν κόσμ̣ ον, ο̣ὐ μὴ εὕρητ⟨ε⟩ τὴν βασιλείαν
τοῦ θ̣υ· κα̣ι ̣̀ ἐὰν μὴ σαββατίσητε τὸ σάββατον, οὐκ ὄψεσ̣ θ̣ε τὸ(ν) πρα.
27.1 Jesus says, ‘Unless you fast with respect to the world, you will not find
the kingdom of God. 27.2 And unless you observe the Sabbath, you will not
see the Father.’
27.1 ⲉⲧⲉ⟨ⲧⲛ⟩ⲧⲙ̄ⲣ̄ⲛⲏⲥⲧⲉⲩⲉ ⲉⲡⲕⲟⲥⲙⲟⲥ ⲧⲉⲧⲛⲁϩⲉ ⲁⲛ⳿ ⲉⲧⲙⲛ̄ⲧⲉⲣⲟ 27.2 ⲉⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ⲧⲙ̄ⲉⲓⲣⲉ

ⲙ̄ⲡⲥⲁⲙⲃⲁⲧⲟⲛ ⲛ̄ⲥⲁⲃ⳿ⲃⲁⲧⲟⲛ ⲛ̄ⲧⲉⲧⲛⲁⲛⲁⲩ ⲁⲛ ⲉⲡⲉⲓⲱⲧ⳿
27.1 ‘Unless you fast from the world, you will not find the kingdom. 27.2
Unless you observe the Sabbath, you will not see the Father.’
Textual Comment
Some resolve the difficulty of τὸν κόσμον (νηστεύειν + genitive is the norm) by
appealing to a scribal error, although there are other explanations.2 As it stands,
the language of 27.1 is just about acceptable, taking τὸν κόσμον as an accusative
1 Bibliography for GTh 27: A. Guillaumont, ‘ΝΗΣΤΕΥΕΙΝ ΤΟΝ ΚΟΣΜΟΝ (P. Oxy. 1, verso,
l. 5–6)’, BIFAO 61 (1962), 15–23; A. Baker, ‘ “Fasting to the World”’, JBL 84 (1965), 291–294;
Trevijano Etcheverría, ‘Las prácticas de piedad en el Evangelio de Tomás (logion 6, 14, 27
y 104)’, 295–319; Baarda, ‘ “If You do not Sabbatize the Sabbath …”’, 178–201; P. Brown, ‘The
Sabbath and the Week in Thomas 27’, NovT 34 (1992), 193; A.D. DeConick, ‘Fasting from
the World: Encratite Soteriology in the Gospel of Thomas’, in U. Bianchi, ed. The Notion of
“Religion” in Comparative Research. Selected Proceedings of the XVIth IAHR Congress, Rome,
3rd–8th September 1990 (Rome: “L’Erma” di Bretschneider, 1994), 425–440; eadem, Seek to
See Him: Ascent and Vision Mysticism in the Gospel of Thomas (VCSupps; Leiden: Brill, 1996),
126–143; P. Nagel, ‘“Wenn ihr nicht den Sabbat zum Sabbat macht”? Zu EvThom Logion 27’,
in A. Drost-Abgarjan, J. Tubach & M. Zakeri, eds. Sprachen, Mythen, Mythizismen. Festschrift
Walter Beltz zum 65. Geburtstag (HBO 32; Halle: Institut für Orientalistik, 2001), 507–517;
A. Le Boulluec, ‘De l’ Évangile des Égyptiens à l’ Évangile selon Thomas’, in L. Painchaud
and P.-H. Poirier, eds. Colloque internationale: “L’ Évangile selon Thomas et les textes de Nag
Hammadi”. Québec, 29–31 mai 2003 (Leuven: Peeters, 2007), 251–275 (270–274).
2 Taylor, The Oxyrhynchus Logia and the Apocryphal Gospels, 11; Ménard, 120 (as a possibility).
Some suggest a wooden translation of a Syriac original, or that τὸν κόσμον is an accusative of
respect. See Gathercole, Composition, 63–65.
324 logion 27
of respect. It is very hard to decide whether Coptic has omitted ‘Jesus said’, or
the Greek has added it.3
The Greek text is longer than the Coptic, and is generally taken to qual-
ify ‘kingdom’ with τοῦ θ(εο)ῦ. However, the questionable nature of the read-
ing θ(εο)ῦ here has often been neglected. In recent scholarship, for example,
Attridge does not even underdot the theta;4 DeConick does have a dot, which
in her system of symbols indicates ‘likelihood’.5 Uro talks of a reference to God
‘with certainty’.6 When the fragment was first discovered, Grenfell and Hunt did
not underdot the letter, but V. Bartlet and J.R. Harris had questioned the read-
ing θ(εο)ῦ, and Taylor saw a clear iota after βασιλείαν τοῦ, and read ιο̣υ, ‘a natural,
though apparently quite exceptional abbreviation of Ἰησοῦ, Jesus’.7 This read-
ing has the disadvantage, however, that Jesus himself would be referring to the
‘kingdom of Jesus’.8 Having examined the fragment at length, some of the con-
cerns of Harris and Taylor are justified, and the reading ι(ησ)ο̣υ is possible, but
θ̣(εο)ῦ is also possible, and makes much better sense.9
This has an important implication, namely that the author of the Greek
Thomas did not have reservations about using the title θεός positively, whereas
the Coptic translator appears to have removed the title (cf. ‘kingdom of God’
vs ‘kingdom’ tout simple). The remaining references to the title ‘god’ (ⲛⲟⲩⲧⲉ) in
the Coptic GTh 30 and 100 may be more ambiguous.
3 Ricchuiti’s assertion that the shorter Coptic ‘almost certainly’ reflects the earliest form is
untenable, at least in its confidence (‘Tracking Thomas’, 213).
4 Attridge, ‘Appendix: The Greek Fragments’, 118; Nordsieck, 123, and Pokorný, 72, simply assume
that θ(εο)ῦ is the correct reading.
5 DeConick, x, 129.
6 Uro, Thomas, 42.
7 Taylor, The Oxyrhynchus Logia and the Apocryphal Gospels, 67–68.
8 Taylor’s response that λέγει Ἰ(ησοῦ)ς could introduce a paraphrase, and have the sense, ‘He
means …’, is weak (The Oxyrhynchus Logia and the Apocryphal Gospels, 76).
9 It certainly appears on first glance that there is an ι, then a (small) abraded letter (which
could be an omicron), then a clear υ. On the other hand, having agonised over this letter for
a great deal of time while examining the fragment on 7 May 2013, I concluded that a theta
is not impossible. There is a slight curve on the vertical line on the left hand side, which
could suggest a theta, although its length is not easily paralleled with the other thetas in
the fragment; if it is a theta, the middle of the letter is abraded from top to bottom (across
the top of the letter, the papyrus is broken through to nothing, and a hole is visible); more
positively, some of the ink traces on the right hand side of the letter are compatible with a
theta (including what may be a middle bar projecting outside of the circle, as elsewhere with
thetas in the fragment). I am grateful to Dr Bruce Barker-Benfield of the Bodleian library for
giving me permission to examine the fragment.
logion 27 325
The absence of a Coptic equivalent for the καί at the beginning of 27.2
in Greek is insignificant; translators often omitted particles such as this, and
asyndeton is common in Coptic (see textual comment on GTh 6, and discussion
above in Introduction, §2.1).
Interpretation
Different solutions have been proposed for the interpretation of this saying.
(1) Baarda has considered GTh 27 as best understood in a Gnostic framework,
with ‘Sabbath’ being a term for the Gnostic demiurge or his creation, so that
the saying refers to the rejection of the demiurge (27.1) and the material world
(27.2): the logion is about ‘the total denial of present reality of the Cosmos and
its Creator to enable the finding of the true reality of the kingdom and the
Father’.10 A Gnostic conception is certainly not necessary, however, and does
not comport with the sense of Thomas elsewhere.11 (2) By contrast, DeConick
sees a traditional Jewish practice here, which connected celibacy and Sabbath
observance.12 This proposal is weakened by the fact that Thomas is elsewhere so
critical of Jewish practices (e.g. GTh 14, 52–53; see further Introduction, § 10.4,
above, and notes on 27.2 below). The best explanation is probably that adopted
by the majority of commentators, namely (3) that both Sabbath and fasting
have become metaphors for something else.
First, ‘fasting’ and ‘Sabbath observance’ are placed here in parallel as two
soteriological conditions. Baarda and King rightly aver there must be some
degree of synonymous parallelism here, even if not absolute: ‘fasting’ and ‘sab-
batising’ are closely related ideas: namely, abstaining from food and from work
respectively.13 The same is true of the results in the apodoses: ‘The parallelism
of structure identifies fasting with observing the Sabbath and identifies finding
the kingdom with seeing the father.’14
Secondly, there is a reinterpretation of fasting and Sabbath observance,15
indeed, one might even call this a radicalising extension of them: the true
disciple is not merely to fast from certain foods, but from the whole world,
10 Baarda, ‘Sabbatize the Sabbath’, 199.

11 See Introduction, § 10 (‘Religious Outlook’), and the Appended Note, ‘Is Thomas Gnostic?’.
12 DeConick, 130.
13 Baarda ‘Sabbatize the Sabbath’, 197.
14 King, ‘Kingdom’, 73–74. Cf. also Nagel, ‘Wenn ihr nicht den Sabbat zum Sabbat macht’, 510,
with a helpful outline of the structure.
15 Grant & Freedman, 147; Nordsieck, 125.
326 logion 27
and is not to rest from labour on the Sabbath, but from worldly concerns at
all times.16 A total renunciation of anything associated with evil is enjoined.
The Epistle of Ptolemy to Flora also juxtaposes reference to fasting and Sabbath,
after a similar explanation of circumcision:
He wanted us to be circumcised, not in regard to our physical foreskin but

in regard to our spiritual heart; to keep the Sabbath, for he wishes us to be
idle in regard to evil works; to fast, not in physical fasting but in spiritual,
in which there is abstinence from everything evil.
(Ptolemy, in Epiphanius, Pan. 33.5.11–13)
Here, Sabbath observance and fasting are metaphors for total rejection of any-
thing unholy. (We will encounter in GTh 53 an interpretation of circumcision
similar to that of Ptolemy here.) This parallel adds weight to the probability
that in GTh 27, the true disciple is to practice a life of extreme abstinence from
evil, and is to avoid the mechanisms of worldly interaction.17
The radicalising is seen further in that these are not merely practices for an
elite, but soteriological conditions, as is evident from the apodoses in both parts
of the saying (‘unless … you will not find the kingdom …; unless … you will not
see the Father’).18
This saying has featured in discussions of both Thomas’s original language,
and its milieu. Several scholars have commented that the phrase ‘fast to the
world’ suggests a Syriac original, on the grounds that it woodenly translates
the Syriac phrase ṣʾm lʿlmʾ;19 this view is not without its difficulties, however.20
Thomas here clearly reflects a fairly widespread second-century tendency to
interpret elements of Jewish law metaphorically. A final possibility (though
only that), is that the close connection between fasting and Sabbath obser-
vance here may reflect a distance from Judaism: as Schäfer notes, ‘The view
of the Sabbath as a fast-day seems to have been widespread among Greek and
Latin authors.’21
16 See the suggestion of this in Plisch, 93–94.

17 Ménard, 120–121.
18 DeConick, ‘Fasting’, 441.
19 Guillaumont argues that the object marker l- has been mistakenly taken to mark the direct
object, whereas in Syriac it can also identify an indirect object. In Greek a direct object of
νηστεύειν is awkward. Guillaumont, ‘ΝΗΣΤΕΥΕΙΝ ΤΟΝ ΚΟΣΜΟΝ’, 21.
21 P. Schäfer, Judeophobia: Attitudes Toward the Jews in the Ancient World (Cambridge MA:
Harvard University Press, 1997), 89, noting Martial, Epigrammata 4.4; Suetonius, Aug. 76.
logion 27 327
Notes
27.1 Unless you fast with respect to (Co: from) the world. As noted the Greek
makes sense (by the skin of its teeth) only by taking τὸν κόσμον an accusative
of respect; the Coptic is perfectly acceptable, though ⲉⲡⲕⲟⲥⲙⲟⲥ should not be
taken in a dative sense but as denoting distance.22 Here we have a metaphorical
fasting, because its scope (‘the world’) is so greatly expanded. Traditional Jew-
ish and Christian fasting is also seen in a negative light elsewhere in Thomas
(GTh 6, 14, though cf. 104). There is an interesting parallel to this saying in
Clement, Strom. 3.15.99.4, where those who have ‘made themselves eunuchs
from all sin for the sake of the kingdom of heaven’ are glossed as ‘those who
fast to the world’ (οἱ τοῦ κόσμου νηστεύοντες; cf. Ecl. Proph. 14.1: τῶν κοσμικῶν
νηστεύειν). Here, ‘fasting to the world’ is placed in parallel with making oneself a
eunuch for the kingdom, confirming a sense of radical asceticism and suggest-
ing a metaphorical or ‘spiritualised’ meaning for the fast. Barn. 3.3 interprets
fasting in the first instance as abstinence from evil (which is then broadened
to wider moral concerns). In Herm. 54 [Sim. 5.1] the shepherd tells Hermas that
the fast which he has been observing so far is useless and futile (ἀνωφελής …
μάταιος, 54 [Sim. 5.1].3–4), but that there is another, true fast:
Do nothing evil in your life, and serve the Lord with a pure heart. Keep
his commandments, as you walk in his decrees, and let no evil desire enter
your heart. Trust God. And if you do these things and fear him and restrain
yourself from every evil deed, you will live to God. And if you do these
things, you will accomplish a great fast, acceptable to God.
(54 [Sim. 5.1].5)
It is not clear that the phrase ‘fasting from the world’ has any specific reference
to abstinence from sex.23
The world (also mentioned in the following saying, GTh 28) in Thomas is
a corpse (GTh 56), so abstinence from or rejection of it is a desideratum (cf.
GTh 110). Sellew rightly points out that the kind of fasting envisaged in 27.1
has nothing to do with recognition of sinfulness.24 Baker shows that the very
similar Syriac idiom used several times in the Liber Graduum means abstaining
22 On ⲉ- in this sense, see Guillaumont, ‘ΝΗΣΤΕΥΕΙΝ ΤΟΝ ΚΟΣΜΟΝ’, 17.

23 Pace DeConick, ‘Fasting’, 433, and Le Boulluec, ‘De l’ Évangile des Égyptiens à l’ Évangile
selon Thomas’, 271.
24 Sellew, ‘Pious Practice and Social Formation’, 52.
328 logion 27
from the world qua evil:25 a similar meaning is very likely here in Thomas. The
command concerns withdrawal and disengagement from that world.26
The presence of ‘world’ in sayings 27 and 28 (3 ×) may indicate a catchword
connection between the sayings.
27.1 You will not find the kingdom of God (om. Co). The sense of the
apodosis (cf. GTh 49; Matt. 13.44–46) is straightforwardly soteriological. On the
kingdom in Thomas, see Introduction, §10.1 above. The reading ‘of God’ in the
Greek is not a cast-iron certainty, but is probable (see Textual Comment above).
27.2 And (om. Co) unless you observe the Sabbath. There is almost cer-
tainly no specific reference to celibacy on the Sabbath in view here; DeConick’s
observation to this effect is surprising given her assessment that Thomas advo-
cates ‘a life of celibacy or singlehood’ in general.27 Additionally, the meaning is
probably not ‘maintaining the Sabbath all week long’.28 ‘Sabbath’ (rather than
‘week’) is the more frequent sense of both the Greek and Coptic words: the
phrase σαββατίζω τὸ σάββατον probably just means ‘observe Sabbath’.29 Grobel’s
argument, by contrast, that the reference is to literal Sabbath-observance is
implausible.30 It would be unlikely if a conventional statement about Sabbath
observance were paired with such a radical statement about fasting, where one
would expect a close parallelism. As a result, it is illegitimate to claim that ‘the
phrase, “to observe the Sabbath as a Sabbath” present in Thomas, is indicative
of its Palestinian heritage, suggesting that the Thomasites were tied closely to
the “Hebrews” of the primitive Jerusalem organization of which James was the
leader’.31 Bauckham has shown that there is ample parallel to the metaphorical
use of Sabbath in the second century.32 The general view is correct, that the
25 Baker, ‘Fasting to the World’, 292–293; cf. also Guillaumont, ‘ΝΗΣΤΕΥΕΙΝ ΤΟΝ ΚΟΣΜΟΝ’.
26 Valantasis, 101.
27 Pace DeConick, ‘Fasting from the World’, 433. She gives her view of the scope of Thomas’s
encratism in a helpful summary at the bottom of the same page.
28 Brown, ‘Sabbath and the Week’, 193; cf. similarly Nagel, ‘Wenn ihr nicht den Sabbat zum
Sabbat macht’, 513.
29 Lev. 23.32; 26.34–35; 2 Chr. 36.21. Cf. the use of σαββατίζω to refer to Sabbath observance in
Ignatius, Magn. 9.1.
30 Grobel, ‘How Gnostic’, 373.
31 DeConick, ‘Fasting from the World’, 432.
32 See R.J. Bauckham, ‘Sabbath and Sunday in the Post-Apostolic Church’, in D.A. Carson,
ed. From Sabbath to Lord’s Day (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1982), 251–298 (265–269).
Thomas’s focus on the Sabbath as abstinence differs from the strand of interpretation
which eschatologises the Sabbath, as e.g. Hebrews, and Barn. 15. Cf. also another sense
of the Sabbath, as ‘the day from above, which has no night, and from the light which does
not sink, because it is perfect’ (Gos. Truth 32,27–30).
logion 27 329
reference is, as King puts it, to ‘proper observance of the demands of the
father’,33 though given the Sabbath imagery, these demands (at least in this say-
ing) are probably patterns of abstinence. The verb σαββατίζω is used by Justin
in a context about repentance (Dial. 12.3); Tertullian uses the loan-word sabba-
tizare to refer to abstinence from any ignoble deed (Adv. Jud. 4). Interestingly,
both of them note the need to ‘sabbatize’ permanently, not just on one day in
the week. In Thomas there may also be an implication of the need to cultivate
the thoroughgoing ‘rest’ mentioned frequently in Thomas (GTh 50, 51, 60, 90),
though this is less clear.
27.2 You will not see the Father. The reference to not seeing the Father
(cf. Matt. 18.10; Jn 6.46; 14.9) is easily comprehensible as roughly synonymous
with the apodosis in 27.1. The sanction is again soteriological: those who do
not renounce the world and involvement in it will not rediscover the Father.
It is not certain whether the vision of the Father here is also metaphorical or
reflects a real expectation of visionary experience: see further on GTh 15 above.
The theme of seeing appears either side of GTh 27 in both GTh 26 and 28.3.
33 King, ‘Kingdom’, 73. Cf. also Le Boulluec, ‘De l’ Évangile des Égyptiens à l’ Évangile selon
Thomas’, 273 n. 105.
Logion 281
28.1 λέγει ̣ ι ̣ς·̣ ἔ[σ]τη̣ ν̣ ἐν̣ μέσῳ τοῦ κόσμου κ̣ α̣ὶ ἐν σαρκ⟦ε⟧ὶ ὤφθην αὐτοῖς 28.2
κα̣ι ̣̀ εὗρον πάντας μεθύ̣οντας καὶ οὐδένα εὗρον δειψῶ(ν)τα ἐν αὐτοῖς 28.3 καὶ
πονεῖ ἡ ψυχ̣ή̣ μ̣ ου ἐπὶ τοῖς υἱοῖς τῶν ανων ὅτι τυφλοί εἰσιν τῇ καρ̣δ̣ίᾳ αὐτῶ[ν]
κ̣ α̣ι ̣̀ [οὐ] βλ̣ έπ̣ [ουσιν] …
28.1 Jesus said, ‘I s[t]ood in the midst of the world and I appeared to them
in flesh. 28.2 And I found them all drunk, and I found none among them
thirsting. 28.3 And my soul is distressed over the sons of men, because they
are blind in thei[r] hearts and [do not] see …’.
28.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ⲁⲉⲓⲱϩⲉ ⲉⲣⲁⲧ⳿ ϩⲛ̄ ⲧⲙⲏⲧⲉ ⲙ̄ⲡⲕⲟⲥⲙⲟⲥ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲁⲉⲓⲟⲩⲱⲛϩ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ⲛⲁⲩ
ϩⲛ̄ ⲥⲁⲣⲝ 28.2 ⲁⲉⲓϩⲉ ⲉⲣⲟⲟⲩ ⲧⲏⲣⲟⲩ ⲉⲩⲧⲁϩⲉ ⲙ̄ⲡⲓϩⲉ ⲉⲗⲁⲁⲩ ⲛ̄ϩⲏⲧⲟⲩ ⲉϥⲟⲃⲉ 28.3
ⲁⲩⲱ ⲁⲧⲁⲯⲩⲭⲏ ϯ ⲧⲕⲁⲥ ⲉϫⲛ̄ ⲛ̄ϣⲏⲣⲉ ⲛ̄ⲣ̄ⲣⲱⲙⲉ ϫⲉ ϩⲛ̄ⲃⲗ̄ⲗⲉⲉⲩⲉ ⲛⲉ ϩⲙ̄ ⲡⲟⲩϩⲏⲧ⳿ ⲁⲩⲱ
ⲥⲉⲛⲁⲩ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ⲁⲛ ϫⲉ ⲛ̄ⲧⲁⲩⲉⲓ ⲉⲡⲕⲟⲥⲙⲟⲥ ⲉⲩϣⲟⲩⲉⲓⲧ⳿ ⲉⲩϣⲓⲛⲉ ⲟⲛ ⲉⲧⲣⲟⲩⲉⲓ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ϩⲙ̄
ⲡⲕⲟⲥⲙⲟⲥ ⲉⲩϣⲟⲩⲉⲓⲧ⳿ 28.4 ⲡⲗⲏⲛ ⲧⲉⲛⲟⲩ ⲥⲉⲧⲟϩⲉ ϩⲟⲧⲁⲛ ⲉⲩϣⲁⲛⲛⲉϩ ⲡⲟⲩⲏⲣⲡ⳿ ⲧⲟⲧⲉ
ⲥⲉⲛⲁⲣ̄ⲙⲉⲧⲁⲛⲟⲉⲓ
28.1 Jesus said, ‘I stood in the midst of the world and I appeared to them in
flesh. 28.2 I found them all drunk; I found none among them thirsting. 28.3
And my soul is distressed over the sons of men, because they are blind in their
hearts and do not see, for they came into the world empty, and they seek still
to come out of the world empty. 28.4 However, now they are drunk, but when
they cast off their wine, then they will repent.’
1 Bibliography for GTh 28: Gärtner, Theology of the Gospel of Thomas, 190–194; J.B. Bauer,
‘De “labore” Salvatoris: Evang. Thom. Log. 28. 98. 107’, VD 40 (1962), 123–130; Dunderberg,
‘Thomas’ I-Sayings and the Gospel of John’, 46–49; Zöckler, Jesu Lehren im Thomasevangelium,
132–135; Dunderberg, Beloved Disciple in Conflict, 76–84; S. Witetschek, ‘Scheinbar im Fleisch
erschienen? Zur Frage nach doketistischer Christologie in EvThom 28’, in J. Schröter, ed. The
Apocryphal Gospels within the Context of Early Christian Theology (BEThL; Leuven: Peeters,
2013), 563–573.
logion 28 331
Textual Comment
The Greek, as far as it goes, and the Coptic are remarkably similar. All three
loanwords in the Coptic (ⲕⲟⲥⲙⲟⲥ, ⲥⲁⲣⲝ, ⲯⲩⲭⲏ) also appear in the Greek. The only
real difference is that, as in previous sayings (cf. e.g. GTh 26.2; 27.2) the Coptic
has a preference for asyndeton: neither of the two καίs in 28.2 in Greek has an
equivalent word in Coptic (see Introduction, §2: ‘A Comparison of the Greek
and Coptic Texts’).
Interpretation
The two main foci of this logion, which may have a poetic structure,2 are
christology and anthropology. It is commonly asserted that this saying is the
principal evidence of a sapiential christology in Thomas, with Jesus either
Wisdom incarnate or a representative of Wisdom.3 It is difficult to assess how
conscious this is, however, or whether the christological motifs in this saying are
assembled from a patchwork of different traditions. Certainly the view of GTh
13.3, in which Jesus is characterised by Matthew as a wise philosopher, does not
appear to be endorsed. One can certainly find parallels between GTh 28 and
wisdom tradition, but the emphasis in this saying is on the state of the world
rather than on the identity of Jesus (see also the discussion of GTh 90.1 below).
The language in 28.1 is standard in descriptions of the incarnation and does not
necessarily have any sapiential connotations.4 1Timothy’s ἐφανερώθη ἐν σαρκί
(3.16), and Barn. 5.6 (ἐν σαρκὶ αὐτὸν φανερωθῆναι) are very close to Thomas here.5
The exasperation of Jesus here fits with other sayings in Thomas as well (e.g.
GTh 92), as does the more optimistic outlook at the end of the saying (cf. GTh
73).6 The characterisation of humanity as blind, empty and drunk provides the
context for Jesus’ distress, but the saying ends on an optimistic note.
2 Pokorný, 73. GTh 28.1–3 consists of four couplets, but 28.4 is more prosaic.
3 Davies, ‘Christology and Protology’, 674; cf. idem, Christian Wisdom; Nordsieck, 128: ‘Repräsen-
tant dieser Weisheit’; Dunderberg, Beloved Disciple, 88–89; Nordsieck, 127.
4 Cf. Davies, Gospel of Thomas and Christian Wisdom, 96; W.E. Arnal, ‘The Rhetoric of Marginal-
ity: Apocalypticism, Gnosticism, and Sayings Gospels’, HTR 88 (1995), 471–494 (473).
5 Cf. also Barn. 6.6/7, 9, 14; 14.5. Grosso, 159, refers to Jesus here in terms of heavenly pre-
existence as in John’s prologue.
6 Valantasis, 102–103, highlights the positive outlook of the saying.
332 logion 28
Notes
28.1 I stood in the midst of the world. The presence of ‘world’ in sayings 27
and 28 (3×), as well perhaps as the ‘finding’ in 28.2, may indicate a catchword
connection between the sayings (as perhaps also ‘seeing’ in GTh 27.2 and 28.3).
The sense is probably not ‘in the centre of the world’ in a geographical sense,
interesting though this suggestion is.7 The closest parallel is perhaps that of
the risen Jesus standing ‘in the midst of’ (ἐν μέσῳ) the disciples in Luke 24.36
(cf. Matt. 18.20). The world here refers primarily to the people in it, hence the
parallel between ‘in the midst of the world’ and ‘to them’ in 28.2.8
28.1 And I appeared to them in flesh. Scholars have generally now moved
away from a docetic interpretation of this statement, such as can be found
in Gärtner.9 (In this respect, one might draw attention to a movement in
Thomas scholarship parallel to a similar tendency in scholarship on the Gospel
of Peter.10) Indeed, it is even possible that there is some kind of anti-docetic
intent here.11 The reference is a general, imprecise one indicating that Jesus
was in some sense ‘incarnate’ in flesh. The reference to standing in the midst of
the world further reinforces the sense of contact between Jesus and material
reality, as perhaps does Jesus’ pained soul in 28.3, although such emotions
are also mythologised in systems without real incarnation.12 The language of
appearance is not necessarily suspicious. There are also references in Thomas
7 Leipoldt, Evangelium nach Thomas, 62, suggesting the possibility of Palestine.

8 Hedrick, 67, rather than (as in Pokorný, 74) the material world.
9 Gärtner, Theology of the Gospel of Thomas, 141–142. His attempt to drive a wedge between
the language of Thomas and 1 Tim. 3.16 is strained. ὤφθην need not imply an appearance
of something from the supernatural realm (cf. e.g. 1Macc. 4.6; Ac. 7.26), and even if it did,
this need not entail docetism. For criticism of the docetic interpretation, see Dunderberg,
Beloved Disciple, 86–87; R. Trevijano Etcheverría, ‘La madre de Jesús en el Evangelio de
Tomás (Logia 55, 99, 101 y 105)’, in idem, Estudios sobre el Evangelio de Tomás (Madrid:
Editorial Ciudad Nueva, 1997), 271–284 (271), asserts that, for Thomas, Jesus had a carnal
birth, even if there is no interest in his earthly mother. Hedrick, 67, however, maintains a
view that Jesus is ‘not really human’. See further the discussion in Witetschek, ‘Scheinbar
im Fleisch erschienen’.
10 See the discussions in P.M. Head, ‘On the Christology of the Gospel of Peter’, VC 46 (1992),
209–224; P. Foster, The Gospel of Peter: Introduction, Critical Edition and Commentary
(TENTS; Leiden: Brill, 2010), 157–165.
11 Nordsieck, 127.
12 It is not necessarily the case that the incarnation is construed here in the same way as in,
say, Paul or John.
logion 28 333
to Jesus’ mother and family (GTh 99, 101, 79).13 ‘Flesh’ appears also in GTh 29,
perhaps as a catchword link.
28.2 And (om. Co) I found them all drunk, and (om. Co) I found none
among them thirsting. Drunkenness can sometimes have a positive sense
(e.g. Odes Sol. 11.7–8), but it is very clearly negative here, suggesting wilful
stupidity. As noted above in connection with GTh 13, in Nag Hammadi writings
drunkenness is a metaphor for ignorance (Thom. Cont. 139,37; Ap. Jas. 3,9) and
imperfection (Zost. 73,12–15). Even more strongly, it can connote being under
the influence of an evil delusion (Rev. 17.2; 18.3). The problem of the ignorance
is compounded by ignorance of the ignorance: none are even thirsty, on which
compare GTh 74’s reference to the many around the well but none drinking
from it. ‘Thirsting’ as recognising one’s need is a traditional motif (Isa. 55.1; Matt.
5.6).
28.3 And my soul is distressed over the sons of men, because they are blind
in their hearts and do not see. There is a hint here of possible loving concern
for humanity in the reference to Jesus’ pain, though the dominant sentiment
is perhaps frustration. It is possible that the sense of πονεῖν ἐπί is ‘labour on
behalf of’ (as in Barn. 20.2/ Did. 5.2), but equally possible linguistically (e.g.
Pss. Sol. 2.14) and more likely in the context is a reference to anguish, given the
subordinate clause (‘… because they are blind etc.’).14 ‘Sons of men’ is simply
a reference to humanity in general. The image of humanity has changed from
drunkenness to blindness, though the reference is still to ignorance. The last
part of the Coptic might be translated ‘cannot see’ (see note on 26.2 above).
28.3 For they came into the world empty, and they seek still to come out
of the world empty. The third image used after drunkenness and blindness is
emptiness. This saying is a version of a widely distributed proverb which is both
biblical and classical.15 The ‘emptiness’ in these other proverbs, however, refers
to the lack of wealth possessed by the newborn or the dead. In this context
in Thomas it is probably more the spiritual deficiency noted in GTh 67: the
reference is to emptiness of knowledge.16
13 Riley, Resurrection, 128–129.

14 It is possible that GTh 28.3 is evidence for the application of Isa. 53.11 (ἀπὸ τοῦ πόνου τῆς
ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ) to Jesus.
15 Job 1.21; cf. Ps. 48.18; Eccl. 5.15; Philo, Spec. 1.294–295; 1 Tim. 6.7; Polycarp, Phil. 4.1; cf. Seneca,
Ep. 102.25: non licet plus efferre quam intuleris. For bibliography, see I.H. Marshall, The
Pastoral Epistles (ICC; London/New York: Continuum, 1999), 635.
16 Cf. Davies, The Gospel of Thomas: Annotated and Explained, 40, referring to emptiness of
wisdom.
334 logion 28
28.4 However, now they are drunk, but when they cast off their wine, then
they will repent.17 The conclusion to the saying here is surprisingly optimistic
in outlook. ‘Casting off wine’ here is probably an idiom for sobering up, rather
than for stopping drinking.18 The advantage of the return to the imagery of
drunkenness (over blindness and emptiness) is that drunkenness is naturally
followed by sobering up. The final element returns to the more theological
language of repentance, mentioned only here in Thomas. This accentuates the
human agency involved in embracing the revelation of Jesus and the kingdom.
17 Hedrick’s translation of the last phrase as a question (‘will they then change their minds?’)
is unnecessarily negative.
18 So rightly Plisch, 95; Pokorný, 73 translates ‘shake off their (intoxication from) wine’.
Logion 291
29.3 […]ην πτωχ‘ε’ία(ν).
29.3 ‘… poverty.’
29.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ⲉϣϫⲉ ⲛ̄ⲧⲁ ⲧⲥⲁⲣⲝ⳿ ϣⲱⲡⲉ ⲉⲧⲃⲉ ⲡⲛ̅ⲁ̅ ⲟⲩϣⲡⲏⲣⲉ ⲧⲉ 29.2 ⲉϣϫⲉ ⲡⲛ̅ⲁ̅
ⲇⲉ ⲉⲧⲃⲉ ⲡⲥⲱⲙⲁ ⲟⲩϣⲡⲏⲣⲉ ⲛ̄ϣ̣ⲡ̣ⲏⲣ̣ⲉ ⲡⲉ 29.3 ⲁⲗⲗⲁ ⲁⲛⲟⲕ⳿ ϯⲣ̄ ϣⲡⲏⲣⲉ ⲙ̄ⲡⲁⲉⲓ ϫⲉ
ⲡⲱⲥ̣ ⲁⲧ̣ⲉ̣ⲉⲓⲛⲟϭ ⲙ̄ⲙ̅ⲛ̅ⲧ̅ⲣⲙ̄ⲙⲁⲟ ⲁⲥⲟⲩⲱϩ ϩⲛ̄ ⲧⲉⲉⲓⲙ̅ⲛ̅ⲧ̅ϩⲏⲕⲉ
29.1 Jesus said, ‘If the flesh has come into being because of the spirit, it is a
marvel! 29.2 And if the spirit because of the body, it is a marvel indeed! 29.3
But I do marvel at how this great wealth has come to dwell in this poverty!’
Textual Comment
The Greek here is so fragmentary that the only complete word preserved is the
last ‘poverty’ (πτωχείαν), and so P. Oxy. I 1 is of no use for the interpretation here.
Interpretation
The principal interpretative questions in this enigmatic trilogy are twofold.

First, the nature of the conditionals in 29.1–2, and secondly, the implications
of this decision for Thomas’s theology of the relationship between spirit and
body.
On the first point, some have proposed (1) that 29.1 and 29.2 are alternatives;
others (2) that they might both be true; still others (3) that neither can be true.2
It is often thought that the particle introducing both conditional clauses (ⲉϣϫⲉ,
‘if’) is used to introduce a factual presupposition, that is, it is strictly speaking
1 Bibliography for GTh 29: Gärtner, Theology of the Gospel of Thomas, 194–197; Patterson, ‘Jesus
Meets Plato’, 186–190.
2 Grant & Freedman, 148; Gärtner, Theology of the Gospel of Thomas, 194–195; Montefiore &
Turner, Thomas and the Evangelists, 99; Patterson, ‘Jesus Meets Plato’, 189; Hedrick, 70; Grosso,
161.
336 logion 29
not a condition but a presupposition (‘since …’, ‘if, as is the case, …’):3 this would
entail view (2) above. This sense of ⲉϣϫⲉ is not consistent, however.4 There is
little within Thomas to suggest that the two statements are true. Although it
is difficult to be certain, perhaps the best explanation of 29.1–2—as is taken
perhaps by the majority—is that they are ‘two rejected alternatives, arranged in
ascending order of improbability’.5 The reason for this is an apparent contrast
with the reality expressed in 29.3. It is especially unlikely that, as Nordsieck
argues, a positive relation between soul and body is assumed here.6
Secondly, one can ask whether 29.3 might presuppose a particular view
of the soul-spirit’s descent into bodies. There are various conceptions of the
fall of the soul (or spirit) in the intellectual environment of Thomas. The
understanding of the fall of the soul particular to Thomas is unclear, if indeed
the author had a worked out idea: for some options, see Introduction, § 10.1.
What is clear in this saying is that the close relation of soul-spirit and body-flesh
is something extremely regrettable, as GTh 112 makes clear: ‘Woe to the flesh
which hangs on the soul. Woe to the soul which hangs on the flesh.’ The
‘astonishment’ in GTh 29 is therefore at something shocking, rather than at
something wonderful.
Notes
29.1 If the flesh has come into being because of the spirit, it is a marvel! What
is clear in this saying is the superiority of the spirit to the flesh in the heavenly/
cosmic hierarchy.7 A difficulty lies in whether the preposition ‘because of’
(ⲉⲧⲃⲉ) should be understood in a causal sense (‘as a result of the spirit’) or in
a final sense (‘for the sake of the spirit’).8 Zöckler sees an allusion to Genesis
2.7 and the creation of the flesh so that it can carry the infused breath of God.9
3 Layton, Coptic Grammar, 409–410 (§§ 494–495); Crum, 63b.

4 A brief examination of the first half of Matthew’s gospel in Sahidic shows a factual sense in
4.3, 6; 6.30; 7.11; 8.31(?); 10.25; 11.14(?); 12.28; 14.28(?), and a conditional sense in 5.29, 30; 6.23;
11.21(?); 12.26, 27. Indeed, in the last two cases, the conditions are clearly not met (‘if Satan
casts out Satan …’; ‘if I cast out demons by Beelzebul …’).
6 Nordsieck, 130.
7 It is not that the flesh is positive here (pace Davies, Gospel of Thomas and Christian Wisdom,
73); otherwise there would be no ‘wonder’.
8 A point helpfully and clearly expressed in Nordsieck, 130.
9 Zöckler, Jesu Lehren im Thomasevangelium, 122.
logion 29 337
Others have seen a reference to the incarnate flesh of Jesus.10 The main point
is that the superiority of the spirit is maintained, as in GTh 29.3. The reference
to ‘flesh’ may be a catchword link, picking up the use in GTh 28.
29.2 And if the spirit because of the body, it is a marvel indeed! This
more elliptical contrasting statement is an even more paradoxical one. The
hypothetical wonderment is at the idea that something in the fleshly realm
could attract the generation of spirit.11
29.3 But I do marvel at how this great wealth has come to dwell in this
poverty! Plisch remarks that such an expression of ‘wondering bewilderment’
cannot have referred originally to Jesus, but must have been a commentator’s
gloss.12 It is not so unimaginable, however: Jesus can be amazed in the Synoptic
tradition as well (Mk 6.6; Matt. 8.10/ Lk. 7.9). The woeful situation of the
soul within the body is a common-place.13 Some scholars have also, probably
wrongly, seen a reference to incarnation in 29.3.14 A link with GTh 28 is unlikely,
since the language of GTh 29 is suggestive of a cosmogonic or anthropological
statement, rather than one specifically christological.
10 Valantasis, 103–104 (a possibility); Pokorný, 75.

11 DeConick, 135; pace Pokorný, 75, who writes of the work of spiritual conversions being
implied here.
12 Plisch, 96.
13 Cf. Gos. Phil. 56,20–26; Auth. Teach. 27,25–27: ‘Our soul is indeed ill, because she dwells in
a house of poverty’.
Logion 301
30.1 [λέγ]ει [ις· ὅπ]ου ἐὰν ὦσιν [τρ]ε̣[ῖς], ε[ἰσὶν] θ̣εοί· 30.2 καὶ [ὅπ]ο̣[υ] ε[ἷς]
ἐστιν μόνος, [λέ]γ̣ω· ἐγ̣ ̣ ώ̣ εἰμι μετ’ αὐτ[οῦ]. 30.3/77.3 ἔγε̣ι[ρ]ο̣ν τὸν λίθο(ν)
κἀ̣κεῖ [ε]ὑ̣ρήσεις με· 30.4/77.2 σχίσον τὸ̣ ξυ̣ ̣́λον κἀγὼ ἐκ̣ ε̣ῖ εἰμι.
(Restoration exempli gratia.)
30.1 [ Jesus sa]id, ‘[Whe]re there are [three], th[ey are] gods. 30.2 And
[where] there is o[ne] alone, I s[ay] I am with hi[m]. 30.3/77.3 Li[ f ]t the
stone and you will [ f ]ind me. 30.4/77.2 Split the wood and I am there.’
30.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ⲡⲙⲁ ⲉⲩⲛ̄ ϣⲟⲙⲧ ⲛ̄ⲛⲟⲩⲧⲉ ⲙ̄ⲙⲁⲩ ϩⲛ̄ⲛⲟⲩⲧⲉ ⲛⲉ 30.2 ⲡⲙⲁ ⲉⲩⲛ̄ ⲥⲛⲁⲩ ⲏ
ⲟⲩⲁ ⲁⲛⲟⲕ⳿ ϯϣⲟⲟⲡ⳿ ⲛⲙⲙⲁϥ⳿ [cf. 77.2 ⲡⲱϩ ⲛ̄ⲛⲟⲩϣⲉ ⲁⲛⲟⲕ⳿ ϯⲙ̄ⲙⲁⲩ 77.3 ϥⲓ ⲙ̄ⲡⲱⲛⲉ
ⲉϩⲣⲁⲓ̈ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲧⲉⲧⲛⲁϩⲉ ⲉⲣⲟⲉⲓ ⲙ̄ⲙⲁⲩ]
30.1 Jesus said, ‘Where there are three gods, they are gods. 30.2 Where there
are two or one, I am with him.’ [cf. 77.2 Split wood, I am there; 77.3 lift the
stone and you will find me there.]
Textual Comment
This is probably the most complicated saying from a text-critical point of view,
both because it is one of the two cases where there is considerable difference
between the Greek and Coptic (cf. also GTh 36), and because the Greek text is
extremely difficult to read at important points.
We will first address the reading of the Greek text, since only then will we be
able to compare it with the Coptic.
30.1 at least can be reconstructed so that the Greek and Coptic say more or
less the same thing:
1 Bibliography for GTh 30: A.F. Walls, ‘Stone and Wood in Oxyrhynchus Papyrus 1’, VC 16 (1962),
71–76; J. Jeremias, The Unknown Sayings of Jesus (London: SPCK, 21964), 106–111; C.H. Roberts,
‘The Gospel of Thomas: Logion 30a’, JTS 21 (1970), 91–92; B. Englezakis, ‘Thomas, Logion
30’, NTS 25 (1978–1979), 262–272; H.W. Attridge, ‘The Original Text of Gos. Thom., Saying 30’,
BASP (1979), 153–157; T. Onuki, ‘Das Logion 77 des koptischen Thomasevangeliums und der
gnostische Animismus’, in J. Frey, J. Schröter & E.E. Popkes, eds. Das Thomasevangelium:
Eisele, Welcher Thomas, 149–171.
logion 30 339
Coptic: Jesus said, ‘Where there are three gods, they are gods.’
Guillaumont: [λέγ]ει [Ἰ(ησοῦ)ς· ὅπ]ου ἐὰν ὦσιν [γ′ θ]ε̣[οί], ε[ἰσὶν] θεοί:
Attridge: [λέγ]ει [Ἰ(ησοῦ)ς· ὅπ]ου ἐὰν ὦσιν [τρ]ε̣[ῖς], ε[ἰσὶν] ἄ̣θεοι:
SG: [λέγ]ει [Ἰ(ησοῦ)ς· ὅπ]ου ἐὰν ὦσιν [… τρ]ε̣[ῖς], ε[ἰσὶν] θ̣εοί·
Roberts states that [τρ]ε̣[ῖς] is preferable to [γ′ θ]ε̣[οί], since it would be odd
to have a numeral symbol γ′ and then later ε[ἷς] written in full.2 On the other
hand, [τρ] may be too short, as there ought to be 3–4 letters rather than just
two. As far as the troublesome final characters are concerned (‘gods’, or ‘athe-
ists’!), Roberts reports on his autopsy (in 1969 or 1970) that the traces are
compatible with either εισινθεοι or εισιναθεοι.3 In my own inspection of the
manuscript, I found it very difficult to see an alpha before θεοι.4 Because of
the Coptic, and the strangeness of a reference to ἄθεοι, θ̣εοί is more proba-
ble. In any case, an interpretation can scarcely assume the presence of ‘athe-
ists’.
30.2 is less controversial. The reading is very likely to be καὶ [ὅπ]ο̣[υ] ε[ἷς]
ἐστιν μόνος, [λέ]γ̣ω· ἐγ̣ ̣ ώ̣ εἰμι μετ’ αὐτ[οῦ]. Roberts criticised Marcovich’s reading
η δυο in place of λεγω, on the grounds that it emends a Greek which makes
sense so that it conforms to a Coptic text which does not.5 Roberts’ autopsy
also confirmed to him that the υ in Marcovich’s δυο was impossible.6
What then are the similarities and differences between the Greek and the
Coptic? As displayed above, we have a difference of order between the Coptic
and P. Oxy. I 1. There has been a secondary joining of 30.3–4 to 77, on the basis
of a Coptic catchword link (ⲡⲱϩ; see on GTh 77). It is unclear whether there
is any theological consequence to this change of order, though there may be
an amplified impression of pantheism in the Coptic. The Coptic’s extra ‘gods’
in 30.1 is probably the result of a scribal error. The untranslated καί at the
beginning of 30.2 is just another example of Coptic’s preference for asyndetic
2 Roberts, ‘Logion 30a’, 91.

3 Roberts, ‘Logion 30a’, 92 n. 1.
4 22.ix.2008. Before θεοι, there is quite a lot of ink across the top (which is also visible in
Bernhard’s photo). Hence, I agree with DeConick, 136, that Attridge’s reading (following
Grenfell & Hunt’s second reading) is unlikely. However, her alternative suggestion is not easier
to substantiate: the lettering is just extremely unclear for both the letters preceding θεοι. It is
interesting that Grenfell & Hunt initially did not suggest a letter before θεοι here, but then
later did.
5 Roberts, ‘Logion 30a’, 91.
6 Roberts, ‘Logion 30a’, 91–92.
340 logion 30
linkage.7 The only clear difference of substance is that the Coptic has made the
condition of Jesus’ presence ‘two or one’ in 30.2, rather than just one. In the
absence of any reason to the contrary, it is probably easiest to see the Coptic’s
‘two or’ as an addition. This may even have come in at a late stage in the Coptic,
because the Coptic retains ‘with him’ singular.
Interpretation
Despite all the difficulties both with the text and the interpretation of this
saying, as Englezakis notes, the issue begins with the question of what defines a
minyan.8 There seems to be some contrast between a negatively valued ‘three’
in 30.1 and a positively valued ‘one’ in 30.2. The reduction of the minyan to
‘one’ in the Greek comports nicely with Thomas’s emphasis on being solitary:
the requirement of two or three in Matthew 18.20 (‘For where there are two
or three gathered in my name, I am there in their midst’) is probably seen as
unnecessary and even misguided. Whatever the polemic or otherwise in 30.1,
there is a defence in 30.2 of solitarism,9 and this is amplified in 30.3–4 with the
emphasis on Jesus’ presence with the individual: Jesus is equally manifest in
mundane situations such as making a fire (‘split the wood’) or building work
(‘lift the stone’).
There is almost certainly some sort of relationship between Thomas’s say-
ing and and the roughly contemporaneous options for interpreting Matthew
18.20 as reported by Clement of Alexandria. One interpretation which he notes
records the demiurge being with the three, i.e. husband, wife and child (cf. 30.1),
but that the saviour God is present with the single elect (cf. 30.2). It is difficult
to know the precise relationship between Clement’s report and GTh 30, how-
ever.10
7 See above on e.g. 26.2; 27.2, and Introduction, § 2: ‘A Comparison of the Greek and Coptic
Texts’.
8 Englezakis, ‘Thomas, Logion 30’, 264.
9 Englezakis, ‘Thomas, Logion 30’, 267.
10 Strom. 3.10.68–70. Clement reports various explanations of the ‘three’. For additional
information about the early interpretation of the Matthew passage, see C. Andresen,
‘“Ubi tres, ecclesia est, licet laici”: Kirchengeschichtliche Reflexionen zu einem Satz des
Montanisten Tertullian Matt 18:20’, in H. Schröer & G. Müller, eds. Vom Amt des Laien in
Kirche und Theologie (Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 1982), 103–121.
logion 30 341
Notes
30.1 Where there are three (Co: + gods), they are gods. The translation of the
main clause as ‘… they are in God’ is impossible.11 Since the Coptic’s additional
‘gods’ is probably the result of a scribal error, it can be discounted. Some have
seen here a criticism of Christian trinitarian doctrine,12 but if this were a con-
cern of the author, Thomas’s incorporation of GTh 44 (with its reference to blas-
phemy of Father, Son and Spirit) would be something of an own goal. Hedrick’s
allusion to polytheism perhaps rests too much on a context of Egyptian trithe-
ism.13 A reference to three gods as judges is unlikely, as it rests too much on
the shaky foundation of a Semitic original.14 Additionally, the Greek makes best
sense as referring to three people. A polemical reference to a family of husband,
wife and child, as we saw discussed by Clement, is a possibility. Plisch consid-
ers 30.1 hopelessly corrupt.15 This may be correct. The intention in the saying is
probably critical of the ‘three’, but this is unclear in the texts as they stand.
30.2 And (om. Co) where there is one alone (Co: are two or one), I say (om.
Co) I am with him. Most see an antithetical relationship between 30.1 and 2, but
DeConick sees a reference to divine presence ‘whenever they gathered together
and studied as well as whenever they were alone.’16 The point is probably an
emphasis on Jesus’ presence with the individual, however, and a rewriting of
Matthew 18.20 in that light. In its context in Matthew 18.15–20, the reference
is to the number required to act as a ‘court’ of church discipline, but here the
concern is the presence of Jesus in general.
30.3–4 Lift the stone and you will find me (Co + there). Split the (om. Co)
wood, and (om. Co) I am there. Some have seen here a pantheistic world-
view;17 others focus on Jesus’ omnipresence.18 A different view is taken by Jere-
11 W.G. Morrice, Hidden Sayings of Jesus: Words Attributed to Jesus outside the Four Gospels
(London: SPCK, 1997), 121. This would require ϩⲙ ⲡⲛⲟⲩⲧⲉ for ‘in God’ (the article is obliga-
tory).
12 Grant & Freedman, 149; Pokorný, 76.
13 Hedrick, 71.
14 For discussion of this view (taken by Guillaumont, DeConick and, similarly, Englezakis),
see Gathercole, Composition, 66–67.
15 Plisch, 97.
16 DeConick, 137.
17 Walls, ‘Stone and Wood’, refers to the possibility of a pantheistic, or, better, a ‘panchristic’
sense (72); also E.E. Popkes, ‘ “Ich bin das Licht”—Erwägungen zur Verhältnisbestimmung
des Thomasevangeliums und der johanneischen Schriften anhand der Lichtmetaphorik’,
in J. Frey, ed. Kontexte des Johannesevangeliums (Tübingen: Mohr, 2004), 641–674 (653),
though perhaps just in reference to GTh 77.
18 Pokorný, 76.
342 logion 30
mias, who sees a commendation of quotidian labour (perhaps contra Eccl.

10.9).19 One might think this strange in the rarefied spiritual ambience of
Thomas, however. Walls sees a metaphorical reference to (Christian) sacrifice,
the stone representing the metaphorical altar and the wood the fire.20 ‘Raising
the stone, cleaving the wood, the Gnostic offers true worship and thanksgiving.
He alone knows how to offer the true, spiritual sacrifice: and, when he does so,
Jesus is there.’21 This is ingenious, but stone and wood are not the most natural
images of sacrifice. A reference to omnipresence is possible, though 30.3–4 are
enigmatic: these statements probably simply refer to the perpetual presence
of Jesus with the true disciple in all circumstances, however mundane. When
these words are transplanted into GTh 77, a strong sense of omnipresense or
even of panchristism is highly probable.
19 Jeremias, Unknown Sayings, 110–111.

20 Walls, ‘Stone and Wood’, 73.
21 Walls, ‘Stone and Wood’, 76.
Logion 311
31.1 λέγει ις· οὐκ ἔσ̣ τιν δεκτὸς προφ̣ή̣τ̣ης ἐν̣ ̣ τ̣ῇ̣ π̣ ρι̣ ̣δ̣ι ̣ αὐτ̣[ο]ῦ, 31.2 ο̣ὐ̣δὲ ἰατρὸς
ποιεῖ θ̣εραπείας εἰς τοὺς γ̣{ε̣}ινώσ̣ κ̣ο̣ντας αὐτό(ν).
31.1 Jesus said, ‘A prophet is not acceptable in his own homeland, 31.2 nor
does a doctor provide treatments for those who know him.’
31.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ⲙⲛ̄ ⲡⲣⲟⲫⲏⲧⲏⲥ ϣⲏⲡ⳿ ϩⲙ̄ ⲡⲉϥϯⲙⲉ 31.2 ⲙⲁⲣⲉ ⲥⲟⲉⲓⲛ ⲣ̄ⲑⲉⲣⲁⲡⲉⲩⲉ
ⲛ̄ⲛⲉⲧ⳿ⲥⲟⲟⲩⲛ ⲙ̄ⲙⲟϥ⳿
31.1 Jesus said, ‘A prophet is not acceptable in his own village. 31.2 A doctor
does not treat those who know him.’
Textual Comment
The Greek and Coptic essentially agree. ϣⲏⲡ is an acceptable translation for
δεκτός (δεκτός is consistently translated by the Sahidic this way in all its NT
occurrences). There is similarly no difficulty with ϯⲙⲉ as an equivalent of
πατρίς.2 In fact, over half of the cases of πατρίς in the Greek NT (5 out of
8) are translated with ϯⲙⲉ in the Sahidic version.3 The Greek text of 31.2 is
introduced with οὐδέ, but this is apparently another case—now becoming a
regular pattern—in which Coptic prefers asyndeton.
Interpretation
This is the first of a series of impossibilia, or proverbial sayings which describe

things which can or should never happen (GTh 31–35; cf. also 36.4).4 Here we
1 Bibliography for GTh 31: J.B. Bauer, ‘Das “Regelwort” Mk 6,4par und EvThom 31’, BZ 41 (1997),
95–98.
2 Pace J. Horman, A Common Written Greek Source for Mark & Thomas (Waterloo, ON: Wilfrid
Laurier University Press, 2011), 91; Ricchuiti, ‘Tracking Thomas’, 218.
3 See further Bauer, ‘Regelwort’, 97, with a slightly different count of 6. On my count 3 out of the
8 instances of πατρίς (Mk 6.1, 4; Heb. 11.14) are, interestingly, rendered with ⲡⲟⲗⲓⲥ.
4 H.D. Betz, The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:3–7:27 and Luke 6:20–49) (Hermeneia; Min-
neapolis: Fortress, 1995), 161, 629.
344 logion 31
notice the discomfort (31.1) and ineffectiveness (31.2) of the true disciple among
his family and local acquaintances. The two halves of the section are clearly
very closely related in sense: prophet corresponds to doctor, and homeland or
home-town corresponds to ‘those who know him’. This saying attests simul-
taneously to a missionary outlook, but also to a mood of extreme pessimism
where one’s home turf is concerned; it thus prepares the disciple for rejec-
tion.
Notes
31.1 A prophet is not acceptable in his own homeland (Co: village). There is
no important difference between Greek and Coptic versions of Thomas here.
Strictly speaking, πατρίς can refer either to a hometown (as in the Coptic) or
to a home region more widely. Unlike in the NT parallels (the saying appears
in all four NT Gospels: Mk 6.4; Matt. 13.57; Lk. 4.24; Jn 4.44), the reference may
well not be to Jesus himself, especially given the negative valuation of prophets
in GTh 52 and 88 (cf. that of ⲁⲅⲅⲉⲗⲟⲥ in GTh 13).5 It is likely, however, that the
reference is to disciples of the Thomas movement.6 The phrasing of the Greek
probably reflects Lukan redaction.7
31.2 Nor does a doctor provide treatments for (Co: A doctor does not
treat) those who know him. In the second half of the saying (unfamiliar from
the NT Gospels, though cf. the transition in Mk 6.4–5), we move from the
discomfort to the ineffectiveness of the Thomasine disciple among his family
and local acquaintances. ‘Provide treatments for’ reflects the slightly unusual,
and perhaps ambiguous Greek phrase ποιεῖν θεραπείας εἰς: the reference could
also be to the doctor’s inability to heal an acquaintance.
5 Hedrick, 78, takes the prophet to be the living Jesus, referring to GTh 28; Nordsieck, 135,
also sees an autobiographical reference, though primarily in connection with the historical
Jesus.
6 See Plisch, 100, for parallels in the relations of the philosopher to his πατρίς.
7 See Gathercole, Composition, 187–188. The saying is likely to have developed from one of
the references to the impossibility of healing adjacent to the Synoptic parallels to 31.1: Mark
follows the rejected prophet saying with a comment on Jesus’ inability to perform miracles,
with the exception of a few healings; Luke 4.24 is preceded by Jesus attributing to his
neighbours ‘Physician, heal yourself’, and a request that he do miracles in his home town
as he did in Capernaum. This Lukan parallel is again closer.
logion 31 345
The aphorism is odd, because, like the next logion which says that a fortified
city cannot fall, it is patently untrue.8 Geoffrey Lloyd has commented to me on
this saying: ‘Very curious. No parallel for that remark about doctors not treating
those who know them comes to mind, and plenty of texts that contradict the
principle. Some doctors travelled extensively and when they first arrived in a
new town they would clearly not be known to their patients. But they soon
would be, and if the Gos. Thom. principle had been applied, they would soon
be out of a job.’9 For Galen, it was necessary to have taken the pulse of a patient
before he gets ill in order to assess it when he is ill.10 The idea that a doctor
knows that it is unwise to practise medicine among relatives and friends, given
the danger of a loss of objectivity, is perhaps a modern imposition.11 Overall,
however, GTh 31.2 clearly amplifies the point made in 31.1: the Thomasine
disciple is doomed to be an ineffective missionary among those who think they
know him, but do not really understand.12
8 Patients were clearly known to their household or court physicians, on which see R. Jack-
son, Doctors and Diseases in the Roman Empire (London: British Museum Publications,
1988), 56–57, 61, and J. Scarborough, Roman Medicine (London: Thames and Hudson, 1969),
111. Emperors had their own physicians such as Antonius Musa (Augustus’s), Charicles
(Tiberius’s), Xenophon of Cos (Claudius’s) and Galen (Marcus Aurelius’s). Cicero appar-
ently had a close friendship with his doctor (Ad Att. xv.1a.1; Ad Fam. XIII, 20); also Seneca,
Ben. VI 15,4.
9 Private email correspondence (28.ii.2008).
10 Galen, On the Pulse for Beginners: see C.G. Kühn, Claudii Galeni Opera Omnia (Hildesheim:
Olms, 1965), VIII.642–643. Again, I am grateful to Geoffrey Lloyd for this observation.
11 Pace Bauer, ‘Das Regelwort’, 98. Bauer cites a renowned modern surgeon who states that
he would only treat a family member in an emergency. Compare the report of the General
Medical Council (UK), ‘Doctors should not treat themselves or their families’ (July 1998):
‘It is good practice for doctors and their families to be registered with a general practitioner
outside the family, who takes responsibility for their health care. This gives the doctor and
family members ready access to objective advice and avoids the conflicts of interest that
can arise when doctors treat themselves or those close to them.’
12 Valantasis, 107, contrasts ‘false knowledge based on familiarity’ with true knowledge.
Logion 321
λ̣ έγει ις· πόλις οἰκοδομ̣ η̣μ̣ ένη ἐπ’ ἄκρον [ὄ]ρ̣ο̣υ̣ς ὑψηλου⟦ς⟧ καὶ ἐσ̣ τηριγμένη
οὔτε πε[σ]εῖν δύνατα̣ι οὔτε κρυ[β]ῆναι.
Jesus says, ‘A city built upon a high [m]ountain, and fortified, can neither
fa[l]l nor be hi[d]den.’
ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ⲟⲩⲡⲟⲗⲓⲥ ⲉⲩⲕⲱⲧ ⲙ̄ⲙⲟⲥ ϩⲓϫⲛ̄ ⲟⲩⲧⲟⲟⲩ ⲉϥϫⲟⲥⲉ ⲉⲥⲧⲁϫⲣⲏⲩ ⲙⲛ̄ ϭⲟⲙ
ⲛ̄ⲥϩⲉ ⲟⲩⲇⲉ ⲥⲛⲁϣϩⲱⲡ⳿ ⲁⲛ
Jesus says, ‘A city built upon a high mountain, fortified, cannot fall. Nor can
it be hidden.’
Textual Comment
Again, the Greek’s καί is not translated (see above on asyndeton in textual
comment on GTh 6.1). The Coptic also changes the syntax slightly from οὔτε
X οὔτε Y in the Greek, to X ⲟⲩⲇⲉ Y. Greek ἐπ’ ἄκρον is adequately translated by
ϩⲓϫⲛ̄; the former is a very common idiom in Greek.2
Interpretation
Two elements are important in GTh 32 (cf. Matt. 5.14): indestructibility and
missionary attraction, or as Grosso puts it, mission from a standpoint of solidity
and transcendence of ordinary social relations.3 Like GTh 31 (and the whole
series in 31–35), this saying is an ‘impossibility’. The key difference from its
Matthean counterpart lies in the shift from an eschatological community as the
illuminated city on the hill,4 to—what? Thomas’s version is more enigmatic, in
1 Bibliography for GTh 32: There are no special studies of this logion, to my knowledge. See
the commentaries, ad loc.
2 Pace Ricchuiti, ‘Tracking Thomas’, 219: the Greek is not an expansion.
3 Grosso, 164.
4 G. von Rad, ‘City on a Hill’, in idem, The Problem of the Hexateuch and other Essays (Edinburgh:
Oliver and Boyd, 1966), 232–242 (242).
logion 32 347
that it is not clear to what his mountain is an analogy. Valantasis sees the city as
a symbol of the ‘community under its corporate aspect’,5 but it is more probably
the individual disciple. The point is (a) the indestructibility of the true disciple
because he transcends the slings and arrows both of everyday circumstances
and of spiritual attack and persecution, and (b) the potential of the disciple to
be identified by outsiders as a source of revelation.
Notes
A city built upon a high mountain. The mountain is not specified as ‘high’ in
the Matthean parallel. The height corresponds to the impossibility of hiding
the city at the end of the saying.
And (om. Co) fortified. Compare the plus in GTh 40 (par. Matt. 15.13),
where the vine ‘is not established’ (ⲉⲥⲧⲁ⳿ϫⲣⲏⲩ ⲁⲛ). On the theme of strength
in Thomas, see further comment on GTh 35 and 98.
Can neither (Co: Cannot) fall. The oddity of this addition to the Matthean
saying is that it renders it false on a literal level (cf. also the preceding GTh 31.2).6
At the metaphorical level, however, the point is the invulnerability of the true
disciple. Cf. the theme of ‘standing’ in Thomas (see comment on GTh 16.4).
Nor (Co + can it) be hidden. In addition to the Matthean parallel, cf. 1 En.
9.5. The point here seems to relate not so much to the hidden/ revealed motif
in Thomas (see comment on GTh 5), but to the missionary outlook (see notes
above on 14.4). There may be a catchword link between κρυβῆναι/ ϩⲱⲡ here, and
ⲙⲁ ⲉϥϩⲏⲡ (the ‘hidden place’) in GTh 33.2.
5 Valantasis, 107.
Logion 331
33.1 λέγει ις· ⟨ὃ⟩ ἀκούεις [ε]ἰς τ̣ὸ ἓν̣ ̣ ὠ̣ τί̣ ον σ̣ ο̣υ τ̣ο̣[…]
33.1 Jesus said, ‘⟨What⟩ you hear [i]n your one ear […].’
33.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ⲡⲉⲧ⳿ⲕⲛⲁⲥⲱⲧⲙ̄ ⲉⲣⲟϥ ϩⲙ̄ ⲡⲉⲕ⳿ⲙⲁⲁϫⲉ ϩⲙ̄ ⲡⲕⲉⲙⲁⲁϫⲉ ⲧⲁϣⲉ ⲟⲉⲓϣ⳿
ⲙ̄ⲙⲟϥ⳿ ϩⲓϫⲛ̄ ⲛⲉⲧⲛ̄ϫⲉⲛⲉⲡⲱⲣ⳿ 33.2 ⲙⲁⲣⲉ ⲗⲁⲁⲩ⳿ ⲅⲁⲣ ϫⲉⲣⲉ ϩⲏⲃ̅ⲥ̅ ⲛ̄ϥ⳿ⲕⲁⲁϥ⳿ ϩⲁ ⲙⲁⲁϫⲉ
ⲟⲩⲇⲉ ⲙⲁϥⲕⲁⲁϥ⳿ ϩⲙ̄ ⲙⲁ ⲉϥϩⲏⲡ⳿ 33.3 ⲁⲗⲗⲁ ⲉϣⲁⲣⲉϥⲕⲁⲁϥ⳿ ϩⲓϫⲛ̄ ⲧⲗⲩⲭⲛⲓⲁ ϫⲉⲕⲁⲁⲥ
ⲟⲩⲟⲛ ⲛⲓⲙ⳿ ⲉⲧⲃⲏⲕ⳿ ⲉϩⲟⲩⲛ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲉⲧⲛ̄ⲛⲏⲩ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ⲉⲩⲛⲁⲛⲁⲩ ⲁⲡⲉϥⲟⲩⲟⲉⲓⲛ
33.1 Jesus said, ‘Whatever you hear in your ear, in the other ear proclaim on
your rooftops. 33.2 For no-one lights a lamp and places it under a bushel, nor
does he put it in a secret place. 33.3 Rather he places it upon its lampstand
so that everyone who enters and goes out will see its light.’
Textual Comment
Editors usually supply a relative pronoun at the beginning of the Greek version
(hence, ⟨ὃ⟩ ἀκούεις); the Coptic’s future (ⲡⲉⲧ⳿ⲕⲛⲁ-) makes the phrase indefinite.
The Coptic text is often taken to be corrupt, with ‘in the other ear’ (ϩⲙ̄ ⲡⲕⲉⲙⲁⲁ-
ϫⲉ) thought to be a near dittography.2 The Greek suggests that the Coptic may
be an accurate translation of it, however: ‘in your one ear’ might imply another
ear to follow. Of the Greek text that does survive, it is roughly the same in sense
as the Coptic. The Coptic translation results in a pun: 33.1 appears to be linked
to 33.2 by the word ⲙⲁⲁϫⲉ (‘ear’ in 33.1, and ‘bushel’ in 33.2). This might sug-
gest that 33.2–3 had originally been placed elsewhere in the Greek or simply
added at a Coptic stage.3 However, the Naassenes also juxtaposed the motifs of
1 Bibliography for GTh 33: Schrage, Verhältnis, 79–85; M. Marcovich, ‘Bedeutung der Motive
des Volksglaubens für die Interpretation’, Quaderni Urbinati di Cultura Classica 8 (1969),
22–36.
2 E.g. Pokorný, 79; Hedrick, 74. Callahan, ‘No Rhyme or Reason’, 417, makes the intriguing
suggestion that the text of 33.1 should be divided: ⲡⲉⲧ⳿ⲕⲛⲁⲥⲱⲧⲙ̄ ⲉⲣⲟϥ ϩⲙ̄ ⲡⲉⲕ⳿ⲙⲁⲁϫⲉ ϩⲙ̄ ⲡⲕⲉⲙⲁ,
ⲁϫⲉ. ⲧⲁϣⲉ ⲟⲉⲓϣ⳿ ⲙ̄ⲙⲟϥ⳿ ϩⲓϫⲛ̄ ⲛⲉⲧⲛ̄ϫⲉⲛⲉⲡⲱⲣ⳿; hence: ‘What you hear in your ear, in another place
(ϩⲙ̄ ⲡⲕⲉⲙⲁ) speak (ⲁϫⲉ). Proclaim it on your roofs.’ This might make the text slightly easier,
but the phrase ‘in another place’ here would be a little odd.
3 So S.J. Patterson, ‘The Gospel of Thomas and the Historical Jesus’, in A.F. Gregory & C.M.
logion 33 349
proclaiming from the rooftops and not hiding a light under a bushel (they are
not adjacent in the Synoptic parallels): this may well suggest that they knew
such a collocation in Greek already (possibly in Thomas).4 One can compare
here Leipoldt’s alleged Coptic word-play in GTh 4, but where, again, both Cop-
tic words are natural translations of the Greek: see note above on GTh 4.1.
Interpretation
This saying is part of a sequence of ‘impossibilities’ (GTh 31–35; see comment

on 31), with two impossibilities here in GTh 33.2. The first part of this saying (cf.
Matt. 10.27/ Lk. 12.3) seems to give instruction to missionising, which is then
grounded in 33.2–3 (cf. Mk 4.21; Matt. 5.15; Lk. 8.16; 11.33) in the luminescent
identity of the elect disciple.5 There is thus a link in theme to GTh 32, with
the former saying perhaps presupposing centripetal mission (or attraction),
the present saying commanding centrifugal evangelising.6 Marcovich’s inter-
pretation, that ‘the disciples of the Gnostic Jesus are expected to hear canonical
sayings in one ear, and their Gnostic interpretation in the other’ has the advan-
tage of not appealing (uncharacteristically!) to textual corruption.7 It does not
do justice, however, to the fact that the Coptic refers to proclaiming, rather than
hearing, with the ear.
Notes
33.1 What (Co: Whatever) you hear in your one (om. Co) ear, in the other ear
proclaim on your rooftops. With the exception of the reference to ‘in the other
ear’, this instruction makes sense: the disciple is to pass on what he has heard.
The ‘other ear’ is baffling.
Tuckett, eds. The Oxford Handbook to the Early Christian Apocrypha (Oxford: Oxford Univer-
sity Press, forthcoming, 2015).
4 See Hippolytus, Ref. 5.7.28.
5 Grosso, 165, comments that 33.1 is an invitation to mission, which is then insisted upon in
33.2–3.
6 Pokorný, 79. The link with GTh 32 probably goes back to Matt. 5.14–15, which shares a common
order with GTh 32–33 (thus Grant & Freedman, 151; see further, Gathercole, Composition, 131).
7 Marcovich, ‘Textual Criticism’, 95. Cf. M. Marcovich, ‘Bedeutung der Motive des Volksglaubens
für die Interpretation’, 22–23, where he comments on a widely held motif in folklore of two
independent ears.
350 logion 33
33.2 For no-one lights a lamp. The assumption here is that the disciple,
having been enlightened, becomes himself a light; cf. esp. GTh 24.3: ‘There is
light within a luminous person, and he gives light to the whole world.’
33.2 And places it under a bushel. The reference here is not to a ‘bushel’
measurement per se (approx. 9 litres), but to a container of that volume.
33.2 Nor does he put it in a secret place. Interestingly, although the sayings
are secret (as in the Prologue), they are not to remain so. With ⲙⲁ ⲉϥϩⲏⲡ,
compare the reference to ‘hiding’ in GTh 32; there is thus perhaps a catchword
connection.
33.3 Rather he places it upon its lampstand so that everyone who enters
and goes out will see its light. The fact of the lamp apparently illuminating
only the vestibule (rather than the whole house) does not necessarily point
to a Hellenistic setting.8 Schröter may be correct in seeing a reference in the
entering and going out to the elect disciple’s origin and destiny in the kingdom
(cf. GTh 49).9 Thomas is probably dependent on Luke here, expanding upon
Lukan redaction.10
8 Rightly, Montefiore & Turner, Thomas and the Evangelists, 57–58.

Logion 341
ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ⲟⲩⲃⲗ̄ⲗⲉ ⲉϥϣⲁⲛ⳿ⲥⲱⲕ⳿ ϩⲏⲧϥ⳿ ⲛ̄ⲛⲟⲩⲃⲗ̄ⲗⲉ ϣⲁⲩϩⲉ ⲙ̄ⲡⲉⲥⲛⲁⲩ⳿ ⲉⲡⲉⲥⲏⲧ⳿

ⲉⲩϩⲓⲉⲓⲧ⳿
Jesus said, ‘If a blind man leads a blind man, they will both fall into a
ditch.’
Interpretation
This saying (cf. Matt. 15.14; Lk. 6.39) is the fourth in the series of impossibilia
(GTh 31–35; see comment on 31), with Thomas’s version more closely resem-
bling Matthew’s wording than Luke’s.2 The point of the saying is the danger
of catastrophe if one is led astray by false teachers. The saying reinforces the
strict boundaries envisaged elsewhere in Thomas (cf. e.g. GTh 3; 13; 51–53). It is
not clear that there is a polemic against any particular blind guides: as Hedrick
notes, the image is general enough to apply indiscriminately.3
Notes
If a blind man leads a blind man. ‘Leads’ is correct, here; the sense is not
‘drags’.4 The meaning is probably similar to that of the pagan parallels,5 and
more specifically of the Matthean and Lukan parables, viz. that it is a reference
to being led astray by false teachers. In the NT context there appears to be a
1 Bibliography for GTh 34: Schrage, Verhältnis, 85–88; Schüngel, ‘Zur Neuübersetzung des
Thomasevangeliums in der Alandschen Synopse’, 275–291.
2 Thomas, like Matthew, phrases the saying as a conditional clause, rather than as two ques-
tions; Thomas and Matthew also share the emphatic placement of ‘a blind man’ in first posi-
tion in the sentence. Cf. also the similarity to Matthew’s version in Ep. Ap. 47, and perhaps
T. Reub. 2.9.
3 Hedrick, 76; also Plisch, 104; Grosso, 165. Valantasis, 110, sees the reference to the world, i.e.
‘those living in the dominant culture’.
4 Contra Schüngel, ‘Zur Neuübersetzung des Thomasevangeliums in der Alandschen Synopse’,
276, who has ‘zieht’: the verb is not merely ⲥⲱⲕ but ⲥⲱⲕ ϩⲏⲧ⸗, whose usual sense is ‘lead’ (cf.
on GTh 3.1 above, and see Crum, 327a).
5 For some examples, see Davies & Allison, Matthew, II.533. Philo, Virt. 7 is a notable parallel.
352 logion 34
concern with the Pharisees, whereas the meaning in Thomas may simply be
general, or perhaps concerned with seduction by the teaching of the magna
ecclesia, but one cannot be sure.
They will both fall into a ditch. Matthean commentators such as Davies
& Allison and Luz are right to interpret the image of falling into a ditch as
depicting a ‘catastrophic end’.6 The same applies here. The saying is a severe
warning against entanglement with those outside the Thomas movement.
6 U. Luz, Matthew 8–20 (Hermeneia; Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2001), 333 n. 65; cf. Davies &
Allison, Matthew, II.533.
Logion 351
35.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ⲙⲛ̄ ϭⲟⲙ⳿ ⲛ̄ⲧⲉ ⲟⲩⲁ ⲃⲱⲕ⳿ ⲉϩⲟⲩⲛ ⲉⲡⲏⲉⲓ ⲙ̄ⲡϫⲱⲱⲣⲉ ⲛ̄ϥϫⲓⲧϥ⳿ ⲛ̄ϫⲛⲁϩ ⲉⲓ
ⲙⲏⲧⲓ ⲛ̄ϥⲙⲟⲩⲣ ⲛ̄ⲛⲉϥϭⲓϫ⳿ 35.2 ⲧⲟⲧⲉ ϥⲛⲁⲡⲱⲱⲛⲉ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ⲙ̄ⲡⲉϥⲏⲉⲓ
35.1 Jesus said, ‘It is impossible for someone to enter the house of the strong
man and subdue him, unless one binds his hands. 35.2 Then he will be able
to take from his house.’
Interpretation
This saying (cf. Mk 3.27; Matt. 12.29, and the rather different Lk. 11.21–22) is the
last in the series of impossibilia in GTh 31–35 (see comment on 31). It is clearly an
allegory. In the Synoptic tradition, the reference is to Jesus as the stronger man
binding Satan, and plundering demonic property. In Thomas, the meaning may
well be the same, but in the absence of context, it is unclear. The options are: (a)
the sense of Jesus’ victory remains, reconfigured as victory over the Thomasine
‘world’,2 or (b) the subject is how the true disciple can overcome that world,3 or
bodily passions,4 or, conversely, (c) the danger of a hostile power overcoming
the true disciple.5
The christological meaning (a) is unlikely, in the absence of a conflict be-
tween Jesus and demonic forces, as in the context in the Synoptic parallels.
Interpretation (c) is a theoretical possibility, but appears to be unparalleled in
earliest Christian literature as an interpretation of the ‘strong man’ parable.6
Option (b) is probably to be preferred because it retains the general sense of
the Synoptic parallel, while applying it to disciples. The language of ‘binding’
1 Bibliography for GTh 35: Schröter, Erinnerung an Jesu Worte, 295–297.

2 Thus Grant & Freedman, 151; Pokorný, 80.
3 Hedrick, 77.
4 DeConick, 148; Grosso, 166.
5 Valantasis, 111. Plisch, 105, while remaining agnostic in the end, raises the possibility that the
strong man is the Roman empire.
6 As Schröter, Erinnerung an Jesu Worte, 296, rightly comments, the two most likely inter-
pretations are (i) a battle between Jesus and Satan, and (ii) that the Gnostic is the strong
man.
354 logion 35
suggests the action of disabling hostile powers.7 Such a sense is also paralleled
in Theodotus:
This body the Saviour called an “adversary” and—Paul said—a “law war-
ring against the law of my mind” and the Saviour advises us “to bind it”
and to “seize its possessions as those of a strong man” who was warring
against the heavenly soul … .
(Exc. Theod. 52.1)
Jesus’ instruction here in GTh 35 is therefore probably that the disciples grasp
the nettle of overcoming threats, whether from external hostile powers or from
the body.8
Notes
35.1 It is impossible for someone to enter the house of the strong man and
subdue him, unless one binds his hands. The strong man, rather than his
house, is preferred as the object subdued here,9 because (a) the immediate
antecedent is the strong man, and (b) the parallels adduced by Crum suggest
that a personal object is more usual for ϫⲓ ⲛ̄ϫⲛⲁϩ,10 and (c) the clause is
succeeded by a reference to ‘his (sc. the strong man’s) hands’. As Schröter notes,
Thomas has a fondness for referring to ‘hands’ (cf. 9; 17; 21; 22; 41; 98).11 King sees
an emphasis in this statement on preparation and knowledge of what to do.12
35.2 Then he will be able to take from his house. If this last element of
the parable is to be pressed, the plunder is probably the disciple’s own soul
(whether understood as imprisoned by the body, or held hostage by powers).
The re-capture of the soul from hostile forces is paralleled in a similar image
in the Coptic Gospel of Philip: ‘he came forth to take it (sc. his soul) back, since
it had been laid down as a deposit. It had fallen into the hands of robbers and
been stolen, but he saved it’ (Gos. Phil. 53,10–13).
7 The word can be found, for example, throughout H.-D. Betz, Greek Magical Papyri in
Translation (Chicago/ London: University of Chicago Press, 21992), e.g. 265 (PGM 28a.1–7)
and 307 (PGM 101.1–53).
8 So DeConick, 148.
9 Pace e.g. DeConick, 147. In contrast also to Mk 3.27/Matt. 12.29.
10 Crum 777b (relevant here are Gen. 19.3; 33.11; Prov. 19.10; Hos. 12.7; Wis. 10.14).
11 Schröter, Erinnerung an Jesu Worte, 296.
Logion 361
36.1 [… ἀ]π̣ ὸ̣ πρωὶ ἕ[̣ ως ὀψὲ μήτ]ε ἀφ’ ἑσπ[έρας ἕως π]ρωὶ, μήτε [τῇ τροφῇ
ὑ]μ̣ ῶ̣ ν τί φά̣[γητε, μήτε] τ̣ῇ στ[ολῇ ὑμῶν] τί ἐνδύ[ση]σθε. 36.2 [πολ]λῷ κρ[ε]ί-̣
[σσον]ές [ἐστε] τῶν [κρί]νων, ἅτ[ινα ο]ὐ ξα[ί]νει οὐδὲ ν[ήθε]ι. 36.3 […]εν
ἔχ̣ ̣ ο̣ντ[ες ἔ]ν̣δ̣[υ]μα, τί ἐν[…;] 36.4 κ̣ αὶ ὑμεῖς, τίς ̣ ἂν π̣ ροσθ⟨εί⟩η ἐπὶ τὴν εἱλικίαν
ὑμῶν; αὐτὸ[ς δ]ώσ̣ ει̣ ὑμ{ε}ῖν τὸ ἔνδυμα ὑμῶν.
1 Bibliography for GTh 36: T.C. Skeat, ‘The Lilies of the Field’, ZNW 37 (1938), 211–214; P. Katz,
‘Πῶς αὐξάνουσιν, Matt 6:28’, JTS 5 (1954) 207–209; T.F. Glasson, ‘Carding and Spinning: Oxy-
rhynchus Papyrus No. 665’, JTS 13 (1962), 331–332; J.D. Crossan, ‘Against Anxieties: Thomas
36 and the Historical Jesus’, Forum 10 (1994), 57–68; Zöckler, Jesu Lehren im Thomasevan-
gelium, 70–75; J.M. Robinson & C. Heil, ‘Zeugnisse eines schriftlichen, griechischen vorkanon-
ischen Textes: Mt 6,28b ‫*א‬, P.Oxy. 655 I,1–17 (EvTh 36) und Q 12,27’, ZNW 89 (1998), 30–44;
J.M. Robinson, ‘A Written Greek Sayings Cluster Older than Q: A Vestige’, HTR 92 (1999),
61–77; J.M. Robinson, ‘The Pre-Q Text of the (Ravens and) Lilies: Q 12:22–31 and P. Oxy. 655
(Gos. Thom. 36)’, in S. Maser & E. Schlarb, eds. Text und Geschichte: Facetten theologischen
Arbeitens aus dem Freundes- und Schülerkreis. Dieter Lührmann zum 60. Geburtstag (MThSt
50; Marburg: Elwert, 1999), 143–180; J. Schröter, ‘Vorsynoptische Überlieferung auf P.Oxy. 655?
Kritische Bemerkungen zu einer erneuerten These’, ZNW 90 (1999), 265–272; J.M. Robinson &
C. Heil, ‘The Lilies of the Field: Saying 36 of the Gospel of Thomas and Secondary Accretions
in Q 12.22b–31’, NTS 47 (2001), 1–25; J. Schröter, ‘Rezeptionsprozesse in der Jesusüberliefer-
ung: Überlegungen zum historischen Charakter der neutestamentlichen Wissenschaft am
Beispiel der Sorgensprüche’, NTS 47 (2001), 442–468; J.M. Robinson & C. Heil, ‘Noch einmal:
Der Schreibfehler in Q 12,27’, ZNW 92 (2001), 113–122; J. Schröter, ‘Verschrieben? Klärende
Bemerkungen zu einem vermeintlichen Schreibfehler in Q und tatsächlichen Irrtümern’,
ZNW 92 (2001), 283–289; S.E. Porter, ‘P. Oxy. 655 and James Robinson’s Proposal’s for Q: Brief
Points of Clarification’, JTS 52 (2001), 84–92; J.M. Robinson & C. Heil, ‘P. Oxy. 655 und Q: Zum
Diskussionsbeitrag von Stanley E. Porter’, in H.-G. Bethge, S. Emmel, K.L. King & I. Schletterer,
eds. For the Children, Perfect Instruction: Studies in Honor of Hans-Martin Schenke (NHMS 54;
Leiden/Boston: Brill, 2002), 411–423; H. Hearon & A.C. Wire, ‘“Women’s Work in the Realm
of God” (Mt. 13.33; Lk. 13.20, 21; Gos. Thom. 96; Mt. 6.28–30; Lk. 12.27–28; Gos. Thom. 36)’, in
M.A. Beavis, ed. The Lost Coin: Parables of Women, Work and Wisdom (London: Sheffield Aca-
demic Press, 2002), 136–157; R.H. Gundry, ‘Spinning the Lilies and Unravelling the Ravens:
An Alternative Reading of Q 12:22b–31 and P.Oxy. 655’, NTS 48 (2002), 159–180; J.M. Robin-
son, ‘A Pre-Canonical Greek Reading in Saying 36’, in idem, The Sayings Gospel Q: Collected
Essays (Leuven: Leuven University Press, 2005), 845–883; D. Jongkind, ‘“The Lilies of the
Field” Reconsidered: Codex Sinaiticus and the Gospel of Thomas’, NovT 48 (2006), 209–216;
J. Frey, ‘Die Lilien und das Gewand: EvThom 36 und 37 als Paradigma für das Verhältnis des
Thomasevangeliums zur synoptischen Überlieferung’, in J. Frey, J. Schröter & E.E. Popkes,
de Gruyter, 2008), 122–180; Eisele, Welcher Thomas, 171–234.
356 logion 36
36.1 ‘[… fr]om morning t[ill evening o]r from eve[ning till mo]rning, either
[about the food] you will ea[t or] about the clo[thes] you [will] wear. 36.2
[You are mu]ch grea[ter than] the [li]lies, whi[ch nei]ther ca[r]d nor s[pi]n.
36.3 […] have […] [g]ar[me]nt, what […]? 36.4 [As f ]or you, who could add
to your time? He himself will [g]ive you your garments.’
36.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ⲙⲛ̄ϥⲓ ⲣⲟⲟⲩϣ ϫⲓ(ⲛ) ϩⲧⲟⲟⲩⲉ ϣⲁ ⲣⲟⲩϩⲉ ⲁⲩⲱ ϫⲓⲛ ϩⲓⲣⲟⲩϩⲉ ϣⲁ ϩⲧⲟⲟⲩⲉ
ϫⲉ ⲟⲩ ⲡⲉ⟨ⲧ⟩ⲉⲧⲛⲁⲧⲁⲁϥ ϩⲓⲱⲧ⳿ ⲧⲏⲩⲧⲛ̄
36.1 Jesus said, ‘Do not worry from morning to evening and from evening to
morning about what you will wear.’
Textual Comment
This saying has attracted an extraordinary amount of discussion, as is reflected

in the bibliography. Most of this has concerned the antiquity of the reading
‘which neither card nor spin’ in 36.2 (see Appended Note below following the
discussion of this saying). Our concern here in this comment is with what the
Greek text is, and how that compares with the Coptic. On the former, there are
two difficulties.
In the first case, the debate concerns whether to read [ο]ὐ ξα[ί]|νει οὐδὲ
ν[ήθε]ι (the lilies ‘do not card or spin’) or [α]ὐξά|νει οὐδὲ ν[ήθε]ι (the lilies ‘grow
but do not spin’). Grenfell and Hunt read the latter, but there is general agree-
ment now that the οὐδέ probably requires another, prior negative verb and
so ‘neither card nor spin’ ([ο]ὐ ξα[ί]νει οὐδὲ ν[ήθε]ι) is more likely.2 Skeat and
Glasson argued that the text must read οὐ + ξαίνει since the following οὐδέ
demands a preceding οὐ (or something like it, e.g. another οὐδέ): it cannot sim-
ply be preceded by a positive statement, which would be, as Glasson remarked,
‘intolerable Greek’.3 Eisele has noted a large number of counterexamples, but
they should probably be regarded as exceptions rather than the norm.4 Eisele’s
instances, however, should make it clear that the confidence of some in the
reference to ‘carding’ should not necessarily be so strong: the Greek is not ‘intol-
erable’.
2 The ‘does not card’ view is encouraged by the original hand of Sinaiticus at Matt. 6.28.
3 Glasson, ‘Carding and Spinning’, 331–332.
4 Eisele, Welcher Thomas, 173–178; see also Porter, ‘P. Oxy. 655 and James Robinson’s Proposal’s
for Q’, 92.
logion 36 357
The second case, that of the Greek of 36.3, is even more difficult, and
any reconstruction must be admitted to be speculation. Possibilities include
[μηδ]ὲν ἔχ̣ ̣ ο̣ντ[ες ἔ]ν̣δ̣[υ]μα, τί ἐν[δύεσθε;] (‘having no garment, what do/ will you
wear?’); or [καὶ] ἓν ἔχ̣ ̣ ο̣ντ[ες ἔ]ν̣δ̣[υ]μα, τί ἐν[δεῖτε;] (‘and, having one garment,
what do you lack?’);5 alternatively, the subject could be the lilies, with some-
thing like [μηδ]ὲν ἔχ̣ ̣ ο̣ντ[α ἔ]ν̣δ̣[υ]μα, τί ἐν[…;] (‘they have no garment, but what
do they …?’).6 There are difficulties with most views. (1) It is likely that [καὶ]
ἓν is correct, since a scribe writing μηδέν (or [πόθ]εν7) would divide the words
(which span two lines) μη|δὲν and πό|θεν rather than before the -εν, and the
line begins with εν.8 If a negative is required, perhaps [μήπω] ἓν might fit. (2)
Reconstructions including e.g. τί ἐνδεῖτε; or τί ἐνδεῖσθε; (‘what do you lack?’) are
problematic because ἐνδέω takes a genitive.9 A reference to ἐνδύω is more likely.
We must, however reluctantly, concede that we simply do not know what the
text was.
When it comes to comparison with the Coptic, these controversial elements
are not really relevant, because the much shorter Coptic only parallels 36.1. The
question then arises as to whether there is a theological reason for this. Grant
& Freedman saw an editor wanting to remove traces of the use of sources.10
DeConick sees the omission of 36.2–4 as a result of the tension between the
reference to God providing a garment (36.4) and the following reference to
undressing (37.2).11 Others consider the possibility of scribal error.12 There
is no obvious reason for parablepsis (and it would mean the scribe moving
some distance down the page from which he was copying) and so one should
reckon with the possibility of deliberate abbreviation. DeConick’s explanation
is a possibility, because there would be something of an anomaly between
God giving clothes in 36.4 and the disciple being told to take clothes off in
5 A possibility raised in Robinson & Heil, ‘Lilies of the Field’, 5–6.

6 Schröter has suggested the lilies as the subject of the participle, though not of the main
verb (‘Verschrieben’, 288); but this reconstruction is subject to the criticisms made by
Gundry (‘Spinning the Lilies’) and Robinson (‘The Pre-Q Text’, 161 n. 3).
7 Suggested by Schröter, ‘Verschrieben?’, 288.
8 Skeat, cited in Robinson & Heil, ‘Lilies of the Field’, 5.
9 Robinson & Heil, ‘Lilies of the Field’, 7 n. 27 (citing an observation by Skeat).
11 DeConick, 150. Similarly, Marcovich, ‘Textual Criticism’, 70, and Ricchuiti, ‘Tracking
Thomas’, 223.
12 Nordsieck, 150, leaves open the possibility that it is either accidental or deliberate; also
Plisch, 106.
358 logion 36
GTh 37 immediately following. Alternatively, an excision may arise from a

problem with talking of divine action (‘He will give …’) in the milieu of the
Coptic, though it depends upon who the subject is here (see discussion below).
A difficulty with both of these proposed solutions is that they account for the
excision of 36.4, but not for the removal of 36.2–3 as well. The theme of the
superiority of the disciples to lilies in 36.2 in fact fits quite well with Thomas’s
theme of the superiority of the elect over the material cosmos (see discussion
of GTh 2 above). A motivation therefore remains obscure, but an abbreviation
in the Coptic probably remains more likely than an ‘orthodox corruption’ of a
shorter text to produce the text of P. Oxy. IV 655.
Interpretation
The basic sense is clear: this saying like its Synoptic parallels (Matt. 6.25–34;
Lk. 12.22–32; cf. Justin, 1 Apol. 15) is ‘against anxiety’, especially in this case
about clothing.13 (There is probably no need to appeal to any metaphorical
sense of clothing, at least in 36.1–2.) As noted, the saying is unusual in that it
is much longer in the Greek than in the Coptic. The two texts at least overlap
considerably in meaning. The Coptic’s concentration on clothes is, after all, the
main point in the Greek as well. The latter mentions food and eating, but only
in passing: after the initial command in the Greek not to worry about clothing
or food, food is not mentioned again, while there is abundant reference to
clothes.14
The Greek, however, grounds the exhortation against anxiety in divine pro-
vision, rather than leaving the reason implicit. The Coptic perhaps assumes a fit
with those sayings in Thomas which accentuate indifference to external, bodily
matters such as diet (GTh 14), money (GTh 95; 100), and family ties (55; 99).15
The Greek ends with a reference to the divine bestowal of a metaphorical gar-
ment upon the elect disciple (see note on 36.4 below). As noted in the textual
comment, there are thematic and verbal connections with GTh 37.
13 Robinson, ‘Pre-Canonical Saying Source’, 855: ‘Saying 36 of the Gospel of Thomas presents
the same appeal as does its parallel in Q 12:27, to trust in God for the basic necesssities of
bodily existence.’
14 Plisch, 106, sees the possibility of this being not just a requirement, but also a necessity in
the context of itinerant mission.
15 Valantasis, 112; Pokorný, 81; Hedrick, 79.
logion 36 359
Notes
36.1 Do not worry from morning till evening or (Co: and) from evening till
morning. The idiomatic merismus here is not exclusively a Semitism, but is
picked up in early Christian literature, as well as being roughly paralleled in
classical Greek.16
36.1 Either about the food you will eat or about the clothes you will wear
(Co: about what you will wear). The Greek includes food in passing, but this
will not be mentioned again.
36.2 You are much greater than the lilies (om. Co). Which particular flowers
are in view is actually uncertain.17
36.2 Which neither card nor spin (om. Co). ‘Carding is a stage in preparing
wool for spinning, in which the fleece is combed out into a mass of fibre.’18
After carding, the wool can be spun into yarn. The work in Matthew and Luke
is divided between men (toiling) and women (spinning); here, both elements
are the woman’s work. On the pairing, cf. Plato, Polit. 289C.
36.3 … have … garment, what … (om. Co)? The meaning of 36.3 is irrecov-
erable. If human beings are the subject, then the participial clause is almost
certainly negative, since the rest of the saying presupposes that God will pro-
vide a garment. The lilies could also be the subject (καὶ ὑμεῖς then introducing
a change of subject).
36.4 As for you, who could add to your time (om. Co)? This provides a link
with the previous sayings 31–35 which are all impossibilia (see on 31 above).
36.4 He will give you your garments (om. Co). What is lacking will be pro-
vided by perhaps the Father (as in the Matthean/ Lukan parallels), or perhaps
Jesus. Jesus is the usual agent in Thomas, but a reference to Jesus in the third
person would be strange. The garments may simply be meant literally, though
there are two reasons why a metaphorical sense is more likely here. (1) The
Greek is quite definite: τὸ ἔνδυμα ὑμῶν, rather than ‘a garment’ or ‘garments
(whenever you may need them)’. (2) The question and answer suggest a corre-
lation of God’s gift of a garment with an addition of time, suggesting a reference
to the gift of new (and indestructible) life.
16 Gathercole, Composition, 69.

17 See Davies & Allison, Matthew, I.654. They suspect a general reference to flowers in the
original saying.
18 Hearon & Wire, ‘Women’s Work’, 144.
360 logion 36
Appended Note: A Scribal Error in Q?19
Robinson and Heil in a number of publications have claimed, on the basis of

this saying: ‘A scribal error has turned up in Q!’20 The reading ‘carding and spin-
ning’ in P. Oxy. IV 655, which also survives in Matthew 6.28 ‫*א‬, suggests—they
contend—an ancient reading which was later mistaken as ‘growing and spin-
ning’: a tiny change from οὐ ξαίνει οὐδὲ νήθει (the lilies ‘do not card or spin’) to
αὐξάνει οὐδὲ νήθει (the lilies ‘grow but do not spin’). The sequence follows: οὐ
ξαίνει in pre-Q/Thomas → αὐξάνει in Q → αὐξάνει in Matthew and Luke.
The most forceful objections to the Robinson-Heil hypothesis have come
from Schröter. He notes that (a) the Robinson-Heil position assumes a written
source in Greek behind Q;21 (b) the erased reading in Sinaiticus is, despite
the frequent discussion of it by Robinson, irrelevant to the case; (c) Robinson
treats the phrase in isolation from its surroundings.22 On this last point, Gundry
comments that ‘unless the earlier text [i.e. Q’s Vorlage] said to consider how
the lilies do not card …, the hypothesis has it that a scribe’s honestly mistaking
οὐ ξαίνει for αὐξάνει led him to back up, eliminate ἅτινα, substitute πῶς, and
then—following πῶς αὐξάνει—insert οὐ κοπιᾷ in order that οὐδὲ νήθει might
have a negative preceding it’.23
Robinson’s view relies to a considerable extent on a reference to growing
being out of place in the Q version.24 This, however, is contradicted by refer-
ences to growing in similar statements both in the Gospel tradition and outside:
the presence of a reference to growing is entirely natural here.25 Just as lilies
appear from the ground purely by divine providence (without effort on their
part), so disciples will be provided for by God. To take a parallel from Epicte-
tus: ‘For how else does it come about that, with such regularity, as if by God’s
command, when he commands the plants to flower, they flower, and to shoot,
19 See bibliography to GTh 36 above. The complicated series of exchanges is as follows: (a)
Robinson’s (and Heil’s) initial sallies (1998, HTR 1999, in Maser & Schlarb 1999), then (b)
Schröter’s response (1999) to Robinson-Heil; (c) the Robinson-Heil rejoinders: NTS 2001
and ZNW 2001 (d) Schröter’s surrejoinders in NTS 2001 and ZNW 2001; (e) Porter’s response
(2001) to Robinson; Robinson/Heil rejoinder to Porter (2002). (f) A last (to date) statement
by Robinson (2005), with further responses to Schröter and Gundry.
20 Robinson, ‘A Written Greek Sayings Cluster’, 61.
21 Schröter, ‘Vorsynoptische Überlieferung auf P.Oxy. 655’, 266.
22 Schröter, ‘Verschrieben?’, 287.
23 Gundry, ‘Spinning the Lilies’, 173.
24 Robinson & Heil, ‘Lilies of the Field’, 15, 16; Robinson, ‘Pre-Canonical Greek Reading’, 875.
25 Schröter, ‘Rezeptionsprozesse’, 455 also takes it to be ‘völlig unproblematisch’.
logion 36 361
they shoot, and to bear fruit, they bear fruit, and to ripen, they ripen’ (Diss.
1.14.3).26 Closer to home, the idea is also paralleled elsewhere in the Jesus tradi-
tion: just as lilies do not need to work in order to grow, so similarly ‘the ground
bears fruit by itself, first a blade, then an ear, then the full grain in the ear’
(Mk 4.28).27 As such it is a gross exaggeration that the reference to growing is
‘confusing’ and ‘unsuitable’,28 even if other scholars do consider it secondary:
arguments by scholars for the lateness of this or that phrase in the transmis-
sion of Q can hardly be regarded as ‘objective’ support for Robinson’s theory.29
Again, the problem is that Matthew and Luke do not draw attention to the fact
of growing as carrying the argument, but the manner of the growing (πῶς αὐξά-
νει): they appear out the ground and flourish without having to work. It is also,
in any case, a difficulty in Robinson’s approach that he assumes that ‘tensions,
irregularities, or inconsistencies’ in texts suggest they are secondary, and that
the more original, the smoother a text will be.30
Finally, the problem raised by Skeat, that it is unlikely that P. Oxy. IV 655 and
Matthew 6.28 ‫ *א‬would independently make the same change from ‘grow’ to
‘do not card’, is answered by Jongkind, who shows that ‫( *א‬Scribe A) exhibits
a number of peculiar tendencies, including knowledge of extra-canonical tra-
ditions: Sinaiticus’s uncorrected text at Matthew 6.28 can be explained as a
further example of this.31
In the end, it is difficult to be as confident as Robinson is in his conjectural
emendation to the unknown text in a Vorlage of a hypothetical document.32
26 Tr. R.F. Dobbin, Epictetus: Discourses Book I (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998), 30.
27 Robinson persists in this misapprehension in ‘Pre-Canonical Greek Reading’, 848 n. 9:
‘growing fails completely to illustrate freedom from anxiety due to trust in God by abstain-
ing from self-preserving activity.’
28 Robinson and Heil, ‘Lilies of the Field’, 15, 16; Robinson, ‘Pre-Canonical Greek Reading’,
875.
29 Robinson, ‘Pre-Canonical Greek Reading’, 875.
30 Robinson, ‘Pre-Canonical Greek Reading’, 848, 876. Gundry’s sense is that the consensus
view is of the opposite (‘the usual preferring of a rough reading to a smooth one’, 173). In
fact, one cannot really assume either (see Gathercole, Composition, 132–133).
31 Jongkind, ‘“The Lilies of the Field” Reconsidered’, 215.
32 Robinson might contest the fact that Q is only a hypothetical document, but he is open
about the fact that his is a conjectural emendation (‘Pre-Canonical Greek Reading’, 854).
Logion 371
37.1 λέγουσιν αὐτῷ οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ· πό̣τε ἡμ{ε}ῖν ἐμφανὴς ἔσει, καὶ πότε σε
ὀψόμεθα; 37.2 λέγει· ὅταν ἐκδύσησθε καὶ μὴ αἰσχυνθῆτε […]θ[…]
37.1 His disciples said to him, ‘When will you be manifest to us, and when will
we see you?’ 37.2 He said, ‘When you undress and are not ashamed […].’
37.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲛⲉϥⲙⲁⲑⲏⲧⲏⲥ ϫⲉ ⲁϣ ⲛ̄ϩⲟⲟⲩ ⲉⲕⲛⲁⲟⲩⲱⲛϩ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ⲛⲁⲛ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲁϣ ⲛ̄ϩⲟⲟⲩ ⲉ-

ⲛⲁⲛⲁⲩ ⲉⲣⲟⲕ⳿ 37.2 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ϩⲟⲧⲁⲛ ⲉⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ϣⲁⲕⲉⲕ ⲧⲏⲩⲧⲛ̄ ⲉϩⲏⲩ ⲙ̄ⲡⲉⲧⲛ̄ϣⲓⲡⲉ
ⲁⲩⲱ ⲛ̄ⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ϥⲓ ⲛ̄ⲛⲉⲧⲛ̄ϣⲧⲏⲛ ⲛ̄ⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ⲕⲁⲁⲩ ϩⲁ ⲡⲉⲥⲏⲧ⳿ ⲛ̄ⲛⲉⲧⲛ̄ⲟⲩⲉⲣⲏⲧⲉ ⲛ̄ⲑⲉ ⲛ̄ⲛⲓ-
ⲕⲟⲩⲉⲓ ⲛ̄ϣⲏⲣⲉ ϣⲏⲙ⳿ ⲛ̄ⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ϫⲟⲡϫⲡ̄⳿ ⲙ̄ⲙⲟⲟⲩ 37.3 ⲧⲟⲧ[ⲉ ⲧⲉⲧⲛⲁⲛ]ⲁ̣ⲩ ⲉⲡϣⲏⲣⲉ
ⲙ̄ⲡⲉⲧⲟⲛϩ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲧⲉⲧⲛⲁⲣ̄ ϩⲟⲧⲉ ⲁⲛ
37.1 His disciples said, ‘When will you be revealed to us, and when will we
see you?’ 37.2 Jesus said to them, ‘When you undress and are not ashamed,
and take your clothes and leave them under your feet like little children and
tread upon them, 37.3 then [you will s]ee the Son of the living one and you
will not be afraid.’
Textual Comment
Here what survives of the Greek text into 37.2 is identical in meaning to the
Coptic. ἐμφανὴς ἔσει is quite understandably rendered ⲉⲕⲛⲁⲟⲩⲱⲛϩ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ in
1 Bibliography for GTh 37: Kee, ‘ “Becoming a Child” in the Gospel of Thomas’, 307–314; Smith,
‘The Garments of Shame’, 217–238; Lelyveld, Logia de la vie, 83–86; P.A. Mirecki, ‘Coptic
Manichaean Psalm 278 and Gospel of Thomas 37’, in A. van Tongerloo & S. Giversen, eds.
Manichaica Selecta: Studies Presented to Professor Julien Ries on the Occasion of his Seventieth
Birthday (Manichaean Studies, 1; Leuven: International Association of Manichaean Studies
and the Centre of the History of Religions, 1991), 243–262; A.D. DeConick & J. Fossum,
‘Stripped before God: A New Interpretation of Logion 37 in the Gospel of Thomas’, VC 45 (1991),
123–150; DeConick, ‘Fasting from the World’, 425–428; G.J. Riley, ‘A Note on the Text of Gospel
of Thomas 37’, HTR 88 (1995), 179–181; DeConick, Seek to See Him, 143–147; M.W. Meyer, ‘Seeing
or Coming to the Child of the Living One? More on Gospel of Thomas Saying 37’, HTR 91 (1998),
413–416; DeConick, Voices of the Mystics, 101–104; Uro, Thomas, 70–74; Frey, ‘Die Lilien und das
Gewand’, 122–180; Eisele, Welcher Thomas, 171–234.
logion 37 363
37.1.2 The Greek has αὐτῷ in the opening phrase which is not translated in the
Coptic, and at the beginning of 37.2, the Coptic has the stereotypical ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅
where the Greek just has λέγει. These differences are trivial, however, and do
not affect the sense.
In 37.3, which survives in Coptic, most editors read ⲧⲟⲧ[ⲉ ⲧⲉⲧⲛⲁⲛ]ⲁ̣ⲩ, with
varying degrees of confidence.3 Riley proposed instead ⲧⲟⲧ[ⲉ ⲧⲉⲧ]ⲛ̣[ⲛ]ⲏ̣ⲩ̣ on
the grounds that there was not enough room for the original reading, and that
the traces of ink made the reading -ⲏ̣ⲩ̣ ‘beyond question’.4 Meyer produced a
rebuttal on the basis that the ink which led Riley to propose an eta was sim-
ply not there, commenting that what Riley thought was the horizontal stroke
across the ⲏ may merely have been the black background originally placed
behind the page when it was photographed.5 DeConick agreed that the ink was
not there, but concluded that what Riley saw was actually a shadow which dis-
appears when the manuscript is photographed upside down.6 Riley, however,
only consulted a photograph and microfilm. Certainly the Facsimile edition
does contain a striking horizontal stroke; the new photograph published by
DeConick, however, makes it clear there is no such thing. As such, -ⲁ̣ⲩ is prob-
able; it is not clear that any other letters can be read with confidence.
Interpretation
This saying has a clear link to the preceding, which both advocates indifference
to material clothing and promises the new clothing of divine life. The main
debate over GTh 37 (cf. Gospel of the Egyptians in Clement, Strom. 3.13.92.2) has
concerned whether the garments are literal clothes, with the consequent impli-
cation of baptism (J.Z. Smith),7 or metaphorical, i.e. referring to the garment of
2 Cf. e.g. Rom. 10.20, where ἐμφανὴς ἐγενόμην becomes in Sahidic ⲁⲓⲟⲩⲱⲛϩ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ.
3 E.g. Guillaumont, et al., Gospel according to Thomas, 22; Layton & Lambdin, ‘The Gospel
according to Thomas’, Nag Hammadi Codex II,2–7: Volume One, 68.
4 Riley, ‘A Note on the Text of Gospel of Thomas 37’, 180.
5 Meyer, ‘Seeing or Coming’, 56, 57.
6 A.D. DeConick, ‘Corrections to the Critical Reading of the Gospel of Thomas’, VC 60 (2006),
201–208 (207, 208).
7 Smith is followed by Davies, Gospel of Thomas and Christian Wisdom, 119–121, and King, ‘King-
dom’, 67, for whom Smith’s ‘brilliant article … has conclusively demonstrated the presence
of baptismal references’. Hedrick, 81, sits on the fence between the baptismal view and the
removal of the fleshly body.
364 logion 37
the physical body.8 Valantasis’s view focuses not on the body as the material
self but as social identity.9
In his remarkably learned article, Smith argues that all four elements in
Jesus’ statement, (1) undressing; (2) being naked without shame; (3) treading
on the garments; (4) being like children, can be paralleled in early Christian
baptismal discourse. Baptismal nudity can be associated with new life, and the
lack of shame associated with nudity from Gen. 2.25 is also used sometimes
in baptismal contexts. Treading on the garments is thought by Smith to relate
especially to standing on the cilicium at baptism, and the connection with
children again evokes new life and reconstituted social relations.
On the other hand, such motifs can also be used outside the baptismal
context.10 Some have criticised Smith’s use of fourth- and fifth-century paral-
lels (where most of the comparative baptismal material comes) to illuminate
Thomas.11 Baptismal language can also often be used in a metaphorical context.
Some of the elements simply come from Genesis, such as being naked without
shame (2.25); cf. 3.10, where Adam and Eve are afraid because they are naked.12
In the absence of other clear ritual elements in Thomas, one should be cautious
of seeing indications of baptism where the language is quite unspecific.13
DeConick emphasises that the etiquette of mystical vision is in view here:
it is not so much about baptism but about encratism and vision mysticism:
‘the removal of the garment describes the removal of the material body during
ascension to a heavenly realm’.14 The saying is therefore a soteriological one,
which leads to a new paradisal state.15 DeConick’s view has much to commend
it, and a metaphorical reference to undressing is probable here. Beyond that,
however, it is unclear whether the reference is to ‘stripping off’ worldly encum-
brances (as in e.g. Teach. Silv. 105,13–17), or the material body (cf. e.g. Gos. Phil.
66,16–20; Paraph. Shem 42,28–43,1; 43,20–27?). Similarly ambiguous is whether
the vision in 37.3 is a special event or a whole life of vision. The similarly struc-
tured conditions in GTh 27, with its requirements not only for seeing the Father
8 Pokorný, 83.
9 Valantasis, 114.
10 There is no indication of a baptismal context in the quotation in Strom. 3.13.92.2, although
it is not definite that it was not present in the original Gospel of the Egyptians.
12 Lelyveld, Logia de la vie, 84, and Nordsieck, 155–156 stress the Adamic Genesis background
without recourse to ritual.
13 Rightly, Uro, Thomas, 72.
14 DeConick, ‘Stripped before God’, 131.
15 DeConick, ‘Stripped before God’, 124, 139–140.
logion 37 365
but also finding the kingdom suggest a continual existence in a renunciatory

mode (also in GTh 37) as a necessity for continual vision of the divine, which
is identified with salvation. What can be said is that GTh 37 refers to the soul’s
renunciation of the body or the world, and rising above it with the same indif-
ference as children have when they take off clothes. This leads to the salvation
of communion with Jesus.
Notes
37.1 His disciples said to him (om. Co), ‘When will you be manifest (Co:
revealed) to us, and when will we see you?’ Cf. Gos. Sav. 107,4–9: ‘O Lord,
in what form will you reveal yourself to us, or in what kind of body will you
come?’ The disciples’ questions seem odd addressed to Jesus in person. They
seem to imply that the disciples know they do not see Jesus as he really is. The
focus here is therefore on mystical experience in the present without excluding
postmortem salvation. If there is any ritual practice necessary to prepare for
this visionary experience, it is very obscure.
37.2 When you undress and are not ashamed. Or: ‘when you divest yourself
of your shame’. Smith rightly notes, however, that the Greek (καὶ μὴ αἰσχυνθῆτε)
supports understanding ⲙ̄ⲡⲉⲧⲛ̄ϣⲓⲡⲉ as a verb.16 The circumstantial conversion
of the negative can be written as (in this case) ⲙ̄ⲡⲉⲧⲛ̄ϣⲓⲡⲉ for ⲉⲙⲡⲉⲧⲛ̄ϣⲓⲡⲉ.17
37.2 And take your clothes. The ‘take’ (ⲛ̄ⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ϥⲓ) here might be redundant (cf.
GTh 109.2), or it might refer to the taking off of the clothes (though an unusual
way to express the point).
37.2 And leave them under your feet like little children and tread upon
them. The imagery is by no means strange, but evokes precisely what children
do when they kick off clothes, presumably then as now!18 Trampling here is
clearly a metaphor evoking strong renunciation.19 This part of Jesus’ reply
is closest to that of the Gospel of Egyptians cited by Clement (in turn citing
Cassianus): ‘When you trample on the garment of shame and when the two
become one and the male and the female are neither male nor female’ (cf. also
GTh 22).20
16 Smith, ‘Garments of Shame’, 218 n. 4. Contra Hedrick, 80, who insists upon a difference
between the Greek and Coptic here.
17 Layton, Coptic Grammar, 260 (§ 334).
18 Plisch’s surprise is unusual in this respect (Plisch, 108).
19 Lelyveld, Logia de la vie, 85; DeConick, ‘Stripped before God’, 133; Pokorný, 83.
20 Clement, Strom. 3.13.92.2 for the text; in 3.13.93.1, the Gospel of the Egyptians is named.
366 logion 37
37.3 Then you will see the Son of the living one and you will not be afraid.
The reference here could be to seeing Jesus,21 or one’s true self.22 GTh 3 refers
to disciples as sons of the living one, but Jesus also refers to himself as the
Son of the Father (e.g. GTh 99). The latter is probably more likely, in view of
the disciples’ questions in 37.1. If the reference is christological, this saying is
noteworthy as containing a title for Jesus.
21 E.g. Pokorný, 83.

22 Davies, The Gospel of Thomas: Annotated and Explained, 48; cf. Valantasis, 114.
Logion 381
38.1 λέ[γει …]ο[…]τ[…]γ[…]κα̣[…]ν[…]38.2? κα̣[…]ημ̣ […]σε̣[
38.1 [Jesus] sa[id …] an[d …] 38.2? An[d …] da[ys?] …
38.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ϩⲁϩ ⲛ̄ⲥⲟⲡ⳿ ⲁⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ⲣ̄ⲉⲡⲓⲑⲩⲙⲉⲓ ⲉⲥⲱⲧⲙ̄ ⲁⲛⲉⲉⲓϣⲁϫⲉ ⲛⲁⲉⲓ⳿ ⲉϯϫⲱ
ⲙ̄ⲙⲟⲟⲩ ⲛⲏⲧⲛ̄ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲙⲛ̄ⲧⲏⲧⲛ̄ ⲕⲉⲟⲩⲁ ⲉⲥⲟⲧⲙⲟⲩ ⲛ̄ⲧⲟⲟⲧϥ̄ 38.2 ⲟⲩⲛ̄ ϩⲛ̄ϩⲟⲟⲩ ⲛⲁϣⲱⲡⲉ
ⲛ̄ⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ϣⲓⲛⲉ ⲛ̄ⲥⲱⲉⲓ ⲧⲉⲧⲛⲁϩⲉ ⲁⲛ⳿ ⲉⲣⲟⲉⲓ⳿
38.1 Jesus said, ‘Many times you have desired to hear these words which I
speak to you, and you have no other one from whom to hear them. 38.2 Days
are coming when you will seek after me but will not find me.’
Textual Comment
The Greek text here is too fragmentary to play a material role in the interpreta-
tion. There may have been a καί at the beginning of the Greek of 38.2, but which
the Coptic has not translated (see e.g. textual comment on GTh 6.1 above on
Coptic’s preference for asyndeton).
Interpretation
It is possible, though unlikely, that there is a link with the preceding saying;
more likely (though still uncertain) is a connection with GTh 39. The present
saying on its own could presuppose the audience’s desire to hear the truth from
those prior to Jesus (‘Many times in the past, from others, you have desired to
hear …’), which might facilitate a clearer link with GTh 39. However, the parallel
in GTh 92 makes this unlikely:
1 Bibliography for GTh 38: H.W. Attridge, ‘ “Seeking” and “Asking” in Q, Thomas, and John’,
in J.Ma. Asgeirsson, K. De Troyer & M.W. Meyer, eds. From Quest to Q: Festschrift James
M. Robinson (Leuven: Peeters/ Leuven University Press, 2000), 295–302; Goodacre, Thomas
and the Gospels, 107–108.
368 logion 38
Jesus said, ‘Seek and you shall find. But the things about which you asked
me when I did not then tell you, I now desire to say. But you do not seek
them.’
Hence the point in 38.1, as in GTh 92, is that Jesus concealed true knowledge in
the past. There is a clear bounding of the revelation of Jesus both over against
this past (38.1) but also over against the future: this latter comes to the fore in
38.2, where possibly the death of Jesus is envisaged, as in GTh 12. Just as the
hearer/ reader has not heard the wonders of knowledge from Jesus in the past,
so also the present opportunity for accepting the truth must not be missed,
for such an opportunity might not arise again (cf. GTh 59, where the lifetime
of the hearer is the opportunity). There is an implied christology here as well,
with Jesus’ uniqueness being emphasised in 38.2. The uniqueness also belongs
to ‘these words’, which implies a high degree of authority invested in this book,
the Gospel of Thomas. The saying functions principally as a warning to accept
the revelation contained in the work as a whole.
Notes
38.1 Many times you have desired to hear these words which I speak to
you, and you have no other one from whom to hear them. There are some
distant canonical parallels to 38.1.2 Irenaeus, however, has read in the works
of the Marcosians the saying (AH 1.20.2): ‘Often have I desired to hear one of
those words, but I have had no-one who might say it to me’ (saepius concupivi
audire unum ex sermonibus istis, et non habui qui diceret mihi).3 Irenaeus writes
disapprovingly of their interpretation of the ‘one’ as the one true and unknown
God, but takes the saying as authentic (Sed et in eo quod dixit …). It is odd,
however, for this to have been thought a word of Jesus, unless it were a response
2 E.g. Matt. 13.17; Lk. 10.24.

3 Cf. Epiphanius, Pan. 34.18.13: ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν τῷ εἰρηκέναι· πολλάκις ἐπεθύμησα ἀκοῦσαι ἕνα τῶν λόγων
τούτων, καὶ οὐκ ἔσχον τὸν ἐροῦντα. Ac. John 98 has a slightly more distant parallel: ‘John, one
person must hear these things from me, for I need one who is to hear’ (Ἰωάννη, ἕνα δεῖ παρ’
ἐμοῦ ταῦτα ἀκοῦσαι· ἑνὸς γὰρ χρῄζω τοῦ μέλλοντος ἀκούειν). Similar to the version in the Acts of
John is Manichaean Psalm-Book, 187, ll. 29–30: ‘(Jesus said,) I have something to say, but I have
no-one to whom to say it’ (ⲟⲩⲛ̄ⲧⲏⲓ̈ ⲡⲉϯⲛⲁϫⲟⲟϥ, ⲙⲛ̄ⲧⲏⲓ̈ ⲡⲉϯⲛⲁϫⲟⲟϥ ⲁⲣⲁϥ). On this Manichaean
parallel, see P. Nagel, ‘Apokryphe Jesusworte in der koptischen Überlieferung’, in J. Frey &
J. Schröter, eds. Jesus in apokryphen Evangelienüberlieferungen (WUNT 254; Tübingen: Mohr,
2010), 495–526 (518–519). A study of all the parallel passages together is a desideratum.
logion 38 369
to an expression of faith (cf. Matt. 8.10: παρ’ οὐδενὶ τοσαύτην πίστιν ἐν τῷ Ἰσραὴλ
εὗρον). GTh 38.1 makes more immediate sense than do the parallels in Irenaeus
and the Acts of John.
38.2 Days are coming when you will seek after me but will not find me.
For ‘days are coming’, cf. also GTh 79.3.4 This statement has a parallel among
the canonical Gospels in Lk. 17.22 (‘Days are coming when you will … but will
not …’). It is possible that Thomas or a previous tradition has here replaced
Luke’s repetitious verbs of seeing (… ἰδεῖν … ὄψεσθε) with the seeking/ finding
language. This divergence from Luke is paralleled in John 7.34: ζητήσετέ με καὶ
οὐχ εὑρήσετέ [με], which corresponds very closely to the second half of GTh
38.2 (cf. also Prov. 1.28).5 Interestingly, however, there is a patristic parallel to
this half of GTh 38 as well. Three manuscripts of Cyprian’s Testimonia have a
parallel attributed to Baruch or Barach:6 ‘For the time will come when both
you and those who will have come after you seek me, in order to hear a word of
wisdom and intelligence, but you will not find it/ me.’7 It is unlikely that GTh
38.2 is a response to the failure of the parousia to arrive;8 the sense is rather one
of warning.
4 See discussion of Thomas’s usage of the ‘days are coming’ phrase in Goodacre, Thomas and
the Gospels, 107–108.
5 See L. Zelyck, The Reception of the Fourth Gospel in the Extra-Canonical Gospels (PhD Disser-
tation, University of Cambridge, 2012), 86–87 on the relationship to John.
6 L.H. Brockington, ‘The Syriac Apocalypse of Baruch’, AOT 835–895 (835).
7 Testim. 3.29: veniet enim tempus, et quaeretis me et vos et qui post vos venerint, audire verbum
sapientiae et intellectus, et non invenietis.
8 Thus DeConick, 155; eadem, Recovering the Original Gospel of Thomas, 172.
Logion 391
39.1 ἔλ[αβον τὰς κλεῖδας] τῆς [γνώσεως. αὐτοὶ ἔ]κρυψ̣[αν αὐτάς. οὔτε] εἰσῆλ̣ -
[θον, 39.2 οὔτε τοὺς] εἰσερ[χομένους ἀφῆ]καν [εἰσελθεῖν. 39.3 ὑμεῖς] δὲ γ{ε}ί-
[νεσθε φρόνι]μοι ὡ[ς ὄφεις καὶ ἀ]κέραι[οι ὡς περιστε]ρ̣α̣[ί.] (Restoration
exempli gratia.)
39.1 ‘… have t[aken the keys] of [knowledge and have] hid[den them. 39.2
They have neither] ente[red, nor all]owed [those who] ente[r to do so.] 39.3
But [you,] b[e clev]er a[s serpents, and in]nocen[t as dov]e[s].’
39.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ⲙ̄ⲫⲁⲣⲓⲥⲁⲓⲟⲥ ⲙⲛ̄ ⲛ̄ⲅⲣⲁⲙⲙⲁⲧⲉⲩⲥ ⲁⲩϫⲓ ⲛ̄ϣⲁϣⲧ⳿ ⲛ̄ⲧⲅⲛⲱⲥⲓⲥ ⲁⲩϩⲟ-
ⲡⲟⲩ 39.2 ⲟⲩⲧⲉ ⲙ̄ⲡⲟⲩⲃⲱⲕ⳿ ⲉϩⲟⲩⲛ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲛⲉⲧⲟⲩⲱϣ ⲉⲃⲱⲕ⳿ ⲉϩⲟⲩⲛ ⲙ̄ⲡⲟⲩⲕⲁⲁⲩ 39.3
ⲛ̄ⲧⲱⲧⲛ̄ ⲇⲉ ϣⲱⲡⲉ ⲙ̄ⲫⲣⲟⲛⲓⲙⲟⲥ ⲛ̄ⲑⲉ ⲛ̄ⲛϩⲟϥ⳿ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲛ̄ⲁⲕⲉⲣⲁⲓ̈ⲟⲥ ⲛ̄ⲑⲉ ⲛ̄ⲛ̄ϭⲣⲟⲙ⳿ⲡⲉ
39.1 Jesus said, ‘The Pharisees and the Scribes have taken the keys of knowl-
edge and have hidden them. 39.2 They have not entered, and have not
allowed those who want to enter to do so. 39.3 But you, be clever as serpents,
and innocent as doves.’
Textual Comment
The extremely fragmentary Greek text largely agrees with the Coptic. In 39.2
the Coptic expands an element: what is probably merely ‘those entering’ in
the Greek corresponds to ‘those wishing to enter’ (ⲛⲉⲧⲟⲩⲱϣ ⲉⲃⲱⲕ⳿ ⲉϩⲟⲩⲛ), for
which there is not room in P. Oxy. IV 655.2 As Baarda has noted, however, this
does not necessarily exemplify a free stance of the Coptic version to its Greek
1 Bibliography for GTh 39: Schrage, Verhältnis, 91–95; A. Hultgren, ‘Jesus and Gnosis: The Say-
ing on Hindering Others in Luke 11:52 and Its Parallels’, Forum 7 (1991), 165–182 (esp. 170–176);
T. Baarda, ‘The Reading “Who Wished to Enter” in Coptic Tradition: Matt 23.23, Luke 11.52,
and Thomas 39’, NTS 52 (2006), 583–591; H. Löhr, ‘Jesus und die Tora als ethische Norm nach
dem Thomas-Evangelium’, in J. Frey, J. Schröter & E.E. Popkes, eds. Das Thomasevangelium:
Entstehung—Rezeption—Theologie (BZNW 157; Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 2008), 363–379
(368–370).
2 So, rightly, Baarda, ‘The Reading “Who Wished to Enter”’, 591.
logion 39 371
Vorlage, or that it had a different Vorlage; Baarda notes several parallels to

the introduction of ⲟⲩⲱϣ in Coptic versions of Matthew and Luke, which he
explains on grounds of translation technique.3 On the other hand, it is striking
that the three loanwords in Coptic GTh 39.3 (ⲇⲉ, ⲫⲣⲟⲛⲓⲙⲟⲥ, ⲁⲕⲉⲣⲁⲓ̈ⲟⲥ) are almost
certainly represented in what survives of the Greek.
Interpretation
GTh 39.1–2 is one of a doublet, and is paralleled in GTh 102 (cf. also Matt.
23.13; Lk. 11.52): ‘Jesus said, “Woe to those Pharisees, for they resemble a dog
sleeping in the manger of some cattle, for it neither eats nor [allows] the cattle
to feed.”’ While the sense is similar, however, it is clear that there is very little
overlap in the detail. The Pharisees and the Scribes are probably not singled
out by Thomas as specifically responsible (they are found in the Matthean
version of the saying). They are probably here a periphrasis for ‘the Jews’ of
GTh 43.3 (and probably, more immediately, GTh 40), although there is not
necessarily reflected here a contemporaneous conflict with Jews.4 The aim
of the saying is to paint those in the past who both rejected and suppressed
the truth (39.1–2) as a backdrop for what is urged of the true disciples in
39.3: namely a combination of being both discerning about true knowledge as
well as pure and uncontaminated with the teaching of others (such as those
who resemble the Pharisees). Despite the suppression of true knowledge in
the past, it is now available in the revelation of Jesus in Thomas. It is easily
understandable why the author/editor of Thomas included this saying, given
the presence of the noun ⲅⲛⲱⲥⲓⲥ (also present in the Lukan version); although
Thomas is not Gnostic in the strict sense, there is a clear emphasis in the work
on knowledge (see Introduction, §10.1).
3 Baarda, ‘The Reading “Who Wished to Enter” ’, 583–591; similarly, Ricchuiti, ‘Tracking Thomas’,
226.
4 Cf. Hedrick, 83, suggesting the significant body of Jews in Alexandria as a possible opposition,
and Grosso, 171, remarking that there may be a situation of conflict with traditional Judaism.
Pokorný, 85, suggests, by contrast, that the saying has been changed such that it becomes an
attack on the mainstream church.
372 logion 39
Notes
39.1 The Pharisees and the Scribes have taken the keys of knowledge and have
hidden them. Hultgren draws attention to possible Tatianisms here,5 but they
are more a part of a Syrian (and indeed wider) environment more generally:
‘hiding’ appears in the Pseudo-Clementines,6 as well as in Luke 11.52 D it syrs.c;
Justin refers to keys plural,7 as again do Luke 11.52 syrs.c. The knowledge here is
the knowledge about one’s self mentioned first in Thomas in 3.4–5 (see notes ad
loc., and Introduction, §10.1). It is unclear how Thomas envisages the action of
the Pharisees and the Scribes: if this language is not (a) merely the reproduction
of a traditional saying, is the sense (b) the suppression of the truth prior to the
revelation of Jesus, which has perhaps occurred throughout history, or (c) the
attempt to obstruct Jesus’ own ministry?
39.2 They have not entered, and have not allowed those who (Co: + want
to) enter to do so. There are various loose parallels to this part of the saying (of
which the meaning is obvious).8 The dog-in-the-manger motif perhaps implicit
here is made explicit in GTh 102 (see comment ad loc.).
39.3 But you, be clever as serpents, and innocent as doves. This paradox
is paralleled in Matt. 10.16 as well as in P. Oxy. LX 4009 (which some have
assigned to the Gospel of Peter).9 There is a strikingly similar Rabbinic parallel:
‘R. Judah said in the name of R. Simeon: “With me [sc. God] they are innocent
like doves, but with the nations they are cunning like serpents.”’10 Valantasis
5 Hultgren, ‘Jesus and Gnosis’, 170–176; cf. also noting links to Tatian, Luomanen, ‘“Let Him
Who Seeks, Continue Seeking” ’, 139.
6 Hom. 18.16; Recogn. 1.54; 2.30.
7 Dial. 17.4.
8 See e.g. Herm. 72 [Sim. 8.6].5, where the hypocrites do not allow sinners to repent; Auth.
Teach. 33,4–21: ‘These ignorant ones do not seek after God … They are more wicked than
the pagans because first of all they do not inquire after God … Furthermore if they find
someone else who asks about his salvation, their hardness of heart sets to work upon that
man’; Apoc. Peter 78,26–31: ‘For neither will they enter, nor do they permit those who are
going up to their approval for release.’
9 Cf. also Ignatius, Polyc. 2.2; Teach. Silv. 95,5–33. The reading ‘more than serpents’ is attri-
buted by MS 1424 to ‘the Jewish Gospel’, often called the Gospel of the Nazareans by modern
scholars. See e.g. B.D. Ehrman & Z. Pleše, The Apocryphal Gospels: Texts and Translations
(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011), 208. For further discussion of the parallels, see
P. Foster, ‘Are there any Early Fragments of the So-Called Gospel of Peter?’, NTS 52 (2006),
1–28 (13–15), and additional parallels in Ménard, 141.
10 Cant. R. 2.14 § 1: see M. Simon, tr. Midrash Rabbah: Canticles (London: Soncino, 1939), 128.
logion 39 373
glosses ‘wise’ as ‘sly’ here, which is probably overly negative: despite the associ-
ation which φρόνιμος could have not just with serpents but with the Serpent,11
within Thomas the more natural associations are the wise fisherman (8.1–2),
the ‘prudent man’ (21.9), and the shrewd merchant (76.2).12 The emphasis is
thus probably on ‘shrewdness’, rather than underhand cunning. The innocence
probably refers to being uncorrupted by false teaching from any of the groups
rivalling the Thomas movement.
11 See Lampe, PGL 1491b.

12 The suggestion in Grant & Freedman, 154, that there is a link between the ‘serpents’ here
and the Naassenes is overly speculative.
Logion 401
40.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ⲟⲩⲃⲉⲛⲉⲗⲟⲟⲗⲉ ⲁⲩⲧⲟϭⲥ ⲙ̄ⲡⲥⲁ ⲛⲃⲟⲗ ⲙ̄ⲡⲉⲓⲱⲧ⳿ 40.2 ⲁⲩⲱ ⲉⲥⲧⲁ⳿ϫⲣⲏⲩ
ⲁⲛ ⲥⲉⲛⲁⲡⲟⲣⲕⲥ̅ ϩⲁ ⲧⲉⲥⲛⲟⲩⲛⲉ ⲛ̄ⲥⲧⲁⲕⲟ
40.1 Jesus said, ‘A vine has been planted outside of the Father, 40.2 but is not
established. It will be pulled up from its root and will perish.’
Interpretation
The principal question about this saying (cf. Matt. 15.13) concerns how broadly
the illegitimate vine is to be understood.2 The “maximalist” position of Haen-
chen and others takes the vine to comprise everyone outside of the Thomas
group.3 The “minimalist” position of DeConick and Grosso sees the vine to be
the Pharisees and Scribes just mentioned in GTh 39.4
A link between this saying and the previous is likely. The parallel in Matthew
15.13 (πᾶσα φυτεία ἣν οὐκ ἐφύτευσεν ὁ πατήρ μου ὁ οὐράνιος ἐκριζωθήσεται) is also
connected to the Pharisees: Jesus’ statement there is a direct response to the
disciples saying, ‘Do you realize that the Pharisees have heard that word (sc.
Matt. 15.11) and have taken offence?’ Indeed, Thomas’s ‘vine’ is more specific
than Matthew’s ‘every plant’. As such, a link with the saying about the Pharisees
in GTh 39 is plausible. As in GTh 39, however, the Pharisees and Scribes as
figures of the past are probably not specifically in view: they probably stand for
the Jews as a whole (40.2 clearly envisages the vine as a present reality). This
means that GTh 40 is to be associated with the other similar condemnations
in GTh 43 (the Jews) and 102 (the Pharisees). The sense of GTh 40 advocated
in this commentary is thus neither as general as the maximalist position, nor
quite as narrow as that of DeConick and Grosso, though it is closer to the latter
in seeing a connection to GTh 39.
1 Bibliography for GTh 40: P. von Gemünden, ‘Falsche Herkunft! (Vom Ausreißen der Pflan-
ze)—Mt 15,13’, in Zimmermann, ed. Kompendium der Gleichnisse Jesu, 441–444.
2 The Matthean saying is quite widely cited: see e.g. Gos. Phil. 85,29–31; Ignatius, Trall. 11.1.
3 Haenchen, Botschaft, 62; Valantasis, 116: ‘people, whoever they might be, who exist apart from
the Father’; Plisch, 113; Hedrick, 85.
4 DeConick, 161; Grosso, 172.
logion 40 375
This saying is an oracle of judgment, pronouncing doom upon those repre-

sented by the vine: ‘the “competitors” will be utterly destroyed’.5
Notes
40.1 A vine has been planted outside of the Father. If this vine is Israel and
its ‘Pharisaic leaders’, then the idea here is that this Israel is an unauthorized
institution. There may be a suggestion here that hostile powers are responsible
for this institution. That Thomas expresses this in botanical terms recalls the
parable of the Weeds (GTh 57), where the enemy came and sowed weeds
among the farmer’s good seed.
40.2 But is not established. The Thomasine plus of ‘established’ also occurs
in the addition to the city on a hill saying (GTh 32; cf. 104.2).
40.2 It will be pulled up from its root and will perish. Israel will suffer
eradication at the final judgment. Again, this recalls the parable of the Weeds:
‘For on the day of the harvest, the weeds will be revealed. They will be pulled
up and burned’ (57.4).
5 Hedrick, 85.
Logion 411
41.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ⲡⲉⲧⲉⲩⲛ̄ⲧⲁϥ⳿ ϩⲛ̄ ⲧⲉϥ⳿ϭⲓϫ ⲥⲉⲛⲁϯ ⲛⲁϥ⳿ 41.2 ⲁⲩⲱ ⲡⲉⲧⲉ ⲙⲛ̄ⲧⲁϥ
ⲡⲕⲉϣⲏⲙ ⲉⲧⲟⲩⲛ̄ⲧⲁϥ⳿ ⲥⲉⲛⲁϥⲓⲧϥ̄ ⲛ̄ⲧⲟⲟⲧϥ⳿
41.1 Jesus said, ‘Whoever has in his hand, to him it will be given. 41.2 And
whoever does not have, even the little which he has will be taken from him.’
Interpretation
Both halves of the saying are paradoxical: strictly speaking they do not make
sense, as one cannot be given what one already has (41.1) and if one does not
have, one cannot have that non-possession taken away (41.2). The paradox,
however, merely strengthens the dualism (and, according to Ménard, the pre-
destinarian tone2) in the saying. There are parallels in Mk 4.25/Matt. 13.12/Lk.
8.18 and Matt. 25.29/Lk. 19.26, as well as elsewhere.3
This ‘basic observation from the world of capitalist economics’4 states that
the “haves” will receive more, and the “have-nots” will become utterly desti-
tute. The implied possession in the ‘whoever’ clauses is taken variously as (1)
knowledge of the self5 and/or (2) the true interpretation of these sayings,6 (3)
the ‘divine substance’ in all humans,7 (4) spiritual wealth more generally,8 or
(5)—understanding the saying literally, in line with Thomas’s comments about
wealth elsewhere—as money.9 The foci in interpretations (1–3) are so closely
intertwined in Thomas that it is difficult to choose between them: as a result,
one can understand Grosso opting for the vaguer (4). The last of these (5) is
1 Bibliography for GTh 41: There are no special studies of this logion, to my knowledge. See the
commentaries, ad loc.
2 Ménard, 142.
3 For Jewish parallels, see D.A. Hagner, Matthew 1–13 (WBC; Waco: Word, 1993), 373; Hedrick,
86. See also Apoc. Peter 83,19–84,6; Ps.-Clem., Hom. 18.16.4.
4 R.T. France, The Gospel of Mark: A Commentary on the Greek Text (NIGTC; Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans, 2002), 211.
5 Valantasis, 117.
6 Valantasis, 117.
7 Pokorný, 86.
8 Grosso, 173.
9 Plisch, 114.
logion 41 377
probably too literal for Thomas, however, and would be considerably at vari-
ance with the later parallel to the saying in GTh 70:
Jesus said, ‘When you bring forth what is in you, what you have will save
you. If you do not have that in you, what you do not have in you will kill
you.’
This parallel means that there is probably in 41.1 a possession ‘in you’ which
guarantees salvation, with the converse in 41.2. On the basis of the parallel,
perhaps the best option is to take the possession as the true internal image
(GTh 83–84) or the light within (GTh 24)—hence among the commentators
Pokorný is perhaps nearest the mark.
The rhetorical point in GTh 41 is not so much ethical as one of reassurance
to those who belong to the in-group.10 The contrast between ‘whoever has’
and ‘whoever does not have’ may suggest that the dualism within humanity
is a predestinarian one (cf. GTh 23; 24), although the antithesis may be merely
rhetorical.
Notes
41.1 Whoever has in his hand. One intriguing difference from the Synoptics is
the reference to the ‘hand’, a common difference in Thomas (see note on GTh
35.1 above.) It is difficult to see what the force of ‘hand’ is here, however, unless
it is a nuance of strength or power, rather than mere possession of an attribute.
41.1 To him it will be given. Here, Thomas retains the paradox (cf. on 41.2
below) with Mark and Luke, in contrast to Matthew’s softening of it: ‘it will
be given to him and he will have an abundance’ (Matt. 13.12; 25.29 [without ‘to
him’]).
41.2 And whoever does not have, even the little which he has will be
taken from him. The other difference from the Synoptic versions, the ‘little’, is
probably secondary, an attempt this time to moderate the paradox inherent in
the apparent contradiction implied by the confiscation of what is not possessed
(Mk 4.25; Matt. 13.12; Matt. 25.29; Lk. 19.26):11 the same strategy is apparent in
10 Pace Grosso, 173, who emphasises the need to abandon traditional religion and embrace
the new.
11 Compare, analogously, F. Schnider, ‘Das Gleichnis vom verlorenen Schaf und seine Redak-
toren: Ein intertextueller Vergleich’, Kairos 19 (1977), 146–154 (151), saying that Thomas
378 logion 41
Luke 8.18 (where ‘even what he has’ becomes ‘even what he thinks he has’/ ‘even
what he seems to have’) as well as in GTh 70 where the parallel to GTh 41’s ‘even
the little which he has’ is ‘what you do not have in you’. The pronouncement of
judgment here may refer specifically to those mentioned in GTh 39–40, viz. the
Jews, or the Pharisees and the Scribes,12 but there is no necessity to take 41.2 so
narrowly.
makes his parable of the lost sheep more rational by adding the explanation the sheep
is not any lost sheep, but the best one. Cf. also comment below on GTh 65.4. E.F. Osborn,
‘Parable and Exposition’, Australian Biblical Review 22 (1974), 11–22, comments similarly
that Thomas resolves tensions in his parables, and Beardslee remarks that Thomas tends
to introduce balanced parallelism, reducing hyperbole. W.A. Beardslee, ‘Proverbs in the
Gospel of Thomas’, in D.E. Aune, ed. Studies in New Testament and Early Christian Liter-
ature. Essays in Honor of Allen P. Wikgren (Leiden: Brill, 1972), 92–103 (99). Cf. Perkins’s
judgment that paradox and hyperbole are reduced in Thomas’s pronouncement stories.
P. Perkins, ‘Pronouncement Stories in the Gospel of Thomas’, Semeia 20 (1981), 121–132 (121).
12 DeConick, 162; Hedrick, 86 (as a possibility).
Logion 421
ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ϣⲱⲡⲉ ⲉⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ⲣ̄ⲡⲁⲣⲁⲅⲉ
Jesus said, ‘Be passers-by!’
Interpretation
The cryptic character of this saying, the shortest in Thomas, has elicited a
baffling diversity of interpretations.2 These can be boiled down to eight.
(1) The most significant variant translation is: ‘Come into being as you pass
away!’ This rendering is taken by Schoedel and Hedrick.3 Thus the sense would
be something like that in 2Cor. 4.16, i.e. that true existence is acquired through a
metaphorical death. This translation is unnecessarily convoluted, however. The
normal usage of ϣⲱⲡⲉ + circumstantial (cf. in 1Cor. 1.17; 12.10b; Heb. 6.12; Gos.
1 Bibliography for GTh 42: Jeremias, Unknown Sayings of Jesus, 111–118; T. Baarda, ‘Jesus Said:
Be Passers-By: On the Meaning and Origin of Logion 42 of the Gospel of Thomas’, in idem,
ed. Early Transmission of Words of Jesus: Thomas, Tatian and the Text of the New Testament
(Amsterdam: Free University Press, 1983), 179–205; A.J. Dewey, ‘A Passing Remark: Thomas
42’, Forum 10 (1994), 69–86; H. Paulsen, ‘Werdet Vorübergehende’, in idem, Zur Literatur und
Geschichte des frühen Christentums. Gesammelte Aufsätze (WUNT 99; Tübingen: Mohr, 1997),
1–20; M.W. Meyer, ‘“Be passersby”: Gospel of Thomas 42, Jesus Traditions, and Islamic Litera-
ture’, in idem, Secret Gospels: Essays on Thomas and the Secret Gospel of Mark (Harrisburg, PA:
Continuum, 2003), 59–75, reprinted in J.Ma. Asgeirsson, A.D. DeConick & R. Uro, eds. Thoma-
sine Traditions in Antiquity: The Social and Cultural World of the Gospel of Thomas (NHMS 59;
Leiden: Brill, 2006), 255–271; P.H. Sellew, ‘Jesus and the Voice from Beyond the Grave: G.Thom.
42 in the Context of Funeral Epigraphy’, in J.Ma. Asgeirsson, A.D. DeConick & R. Uro, eds.
Thomasine Traditions in Antiquity: The Social and Cultural World of the Gospel of Thomas
(NHMS 59; Leiden: Brill, 2006), 39–73; J.D. Dubois, ‘ “Soyez passant”, ou l’interprétation du
logion 42 de l’ Évangile selon Thomas’, in L. Painchaud & P.-H. Poirier, eds. Colloque inter-
nationale: “L’Évangile selon Thomas et les textes de Nag Hammadi”. Québec, 29–31 mai 2003
(Leuven: Peeters, 2007), 93–105; C. Gianotto, ‘Vangelo secondo Tommaso, log. 42: Verifica di
una nuova proposta di interpretazione’, in M. Pesce & M. Rescio, eds. La trasmissione delle
parole di Gesù nei primi tre secoli (Brescia: Morcelliana, 2011), 95–99.
2 For good surveys of the different views, see Meyer, ‘Be passersby’, on the translational options,
and Dubois, ‘Soyez passant’, on the various interpretations.
3 See Grant & Freedman, 155 (tr. by Schoedel); Hedrick, 87. For other advocates, and some
criticism, see Meyer, ‘Be passersby’, 62–63.
380 logion 42
Mary 8,7) is as a periphrastic imperative.4 Nor is it clear in Thomas’s theology

more broadly that one comes into being by passing away. So the most likely
translation is ‘Be passers-by!’ or even simply ‘Pass by!’
(2) Baarda wonders about another possible meaning in the Coptic’s Vorlage:
‘Be Hebrews (ʿbryyn)’; he suggests this partly on the basis of a connection with
‘the Jews’ in 43.3.5 The combination of GTh 42–43 means that the Thomas com-
munity identifies itself as the true ‘Hebrews’, in contrast to the negatively valued
‘Jews’ of the following saying. Both a Semitic Vorlage and a clear connection
with the following saying are dubious, however.
The next set of interpretations are those which try to understand the saying
without an implied object, emphasising that ‘passing by’ is shorthand for the
kind of life-style envisaged for the true disciple. (3) Quispel takes the ‘passer-
by’ to go back to the Hebrew ʿober, that is, an itinerant teacher.6 Baarda rightly
questions whether ʿober had this technical sense, however.7 Patterson does not
rely on such a Hebrew Vorlage, but thinks the meaning is still clear: ‘Become
itinerants’, in line with his emphasis on Thomas as a document of Wander-
radikalismus (cf. 12.2; 14) with its renunciation of family ties.8 Although Patter-
son’s view is not as speculative as that of Quispel, the link between ‘passing by’
and ‘itinerancy’ is not strong: itinerant teachers perhaps ‘pass through’ (e.g. Acts
16.6; 20.2) rather than ‘pass by’—the latter connotes ignoring or even avoiding,
rather than intentional missionary activity.
Another set of options argues for an implied object. (4) For Haenchen, for
example, the implicit object is the ‘Jahrmarkt der Welt’ (the ‘fair’ of the world,
‘vanity fair’).9 Similarly, Meyer argues for ‘pass by the world’, that is, ‘renounce
the world’.10 Valantasis takes a similar view, but with a more positive outlook
4 On the periphrastic imperative with ϣⲱⲡⲉ + circumstantial, see Layton, Coptic Grammar,
294 (§369 a). Compare the similar Greek construction with γίνου/ γίνεσθε + present
participle in Ezek. 2.8; Sir. 13.9; 33.23; 2 Cor. 6.14; Rev. 3.2.
5 Baarda, ‘Jesus Said: Be Passers-By’.
6 Quispel, Makarius, das Thomasevangelium und das Lied von der Perle, 20–22. DeConick,
164, also says ‘Hebrew’.
7 Baarda, ‘Jesus Said: Be Passers-By’, 194.
8 Patterson, Gospel of Thomas and Jesus, 131. A potential parallel for this sense can perhaps
be found in Doctrina Addai, fol. 28a (‘wayfarers and sojourners’): see the text in G. Phillips,
ed. The Doctrine of Addai, The Apostle (London: Trübner and Co., 1876), 42–43. This may
also support sense (4), however.
9 E. Haenchen, ‘Die Anthropologie des Thomas-Evangeliums’, in H. Braun, H.-D. Betz &
L. Schottroff, eds. Neues Testament und christliche Existenz (Tübingen: Mohr, 1973), 207–
227 (212).
10 Meyer, ‘Be passersby’, 72. Emphasis mine.
logion 42 381
emphasising freedom from the world.11 (5) For DeConick, the original sense was
that of passing by all instructions by other masters, and concentrating solely on
Jesus.12 The parallel adduced in support of this, however, is rightly observed
by Gianotto as not being very close linguistically.13 (6) A specific context for
GTh 42 has been ingeniously suggested by Sellew. He sees GTh 42 against
the background of the frequent language in funerary inscriptions,14 in which
the dead person is portrayed as addressing the ‘passer-by’, engaging him in
conversation. Sellew takes GTh 42 as a warning15 ‘not to linger in this world,
not to be caught up in the trap of conversation, or better, relations with the
“living dead” all around them.’16 This is, then, a playful characterisation of
outsiders as in the grave and urges true disciples to ignore them and ‘pass by’.
This has the advantage of paying attention to a use of ‘passing-by’ language in
the Umwelt, but it selects a very specific instance and is therefore probably too
narrow.
Finally, some interpretations attempt to combine different elements. (7)
Dewey’s view, that the saying is about ‘finitude and movement/ mission’ mixes
(1) and (3).17 (8) Dubois claims that the build-up from GTh 36 to GTh 42
implies that the allusion to ‘Hebrews’ in this saying constructs an identity over
against Judaism, with readers also expected to see ‘passage’ and ‘itinerancy’ as
exhorted in the saying: hence (2) and (3) are combined, and perhaps even (1)
as well.18 In the cases of both Dewey and Dubois, however, our uncertainty is
perhaps being read back into the original, and—in addition to the problems
attending readings (1) and (2)—it is hard to see how their two elements can
both be implied at the same time by the wording of the saying. Others combine
11 Valantasis, 118.
12 DeConick, 164.
13 C. Gianotto, ‘Étude critique: la formation de l’ Évangile selon Thomas: à propos d’une étude
récente’, Apocrypha 18 (2007), 298–307 (306–307); idem, ‘Vangelo secondo Tommaso, log.
42’, 97–99.
14 P. Sellew, ‘Death, Body, and the World in the Gospel of Thomas’, in E.A. Livingstone, ed.
Studia Patristica 31 (Leuven: Peeters, 1997), 530–534 (533). He is followed by J.W. Jipp,
‘Death and the Human Predicament, Salvation as Transformation, and Bodily Practices in
1Corinthians and the Gospel of Thomas’, in M.F. Bird & J. Willitts, eds. Paul and the Gospels:
Christologies, Conflicts and Convergences (London/ New York: T&T Clark, 2011), 242–266
(260).
15 Sellew, ‘Jesus and the Voice from Beyond the Grave’, 70.
16 Sellew, ‘Jesus and the Voice from Beyond the Grave’, 72.
17 Dewey, ‘A Passing Remark’ 83.
18 Dubois, ‘Soyez passant’, 104–105.
382 logion 42
different views on the basis of distinctions between the saying in its original
context, and its meaning in the final form of Thomas.19
Still further interpretations are imaginable: the implied object of ‘passing by’
could be the archons in GTh 50; in Gos. Jud. 35,3 ⲣ̄ⲡⲁⲣⲁⲅⲉ is used in a statement
about the need to ‘bring forth’ the perfect man within, which would make an
interesting link with GTh 41; another work related to Thomas is Dialogue of the
Saviour, in which the reader is instructed to ‘pass by’ the crossing over to the
bridal chamber (124,3).20
How is one to come to a conclusion? As Grosso has rightly reminded, much
depends on the hermeneutic with which one approaches Thomas:21 a Gnostic
view will rule certain options in and out, as will one which sees Thomas as a
document of Wanderradikalismus. The criticisms made above mean that the
interpretations other than that of Haenchen and Meyer are problematic. The
view which implies the sense, ‘Pass by the world’, can be supported by various
parallels. Plisch has drawn attention to a passage in Philo (Imm. 159), where
there is a reference to ‘those who judge it right to pass by earthly things’ (οἱ τὰ
γήινα παρέρχεσθαι δικαιοῦντες).22 These are the people who the addressees are
enjoined to be. A connection is often made to the Arabic agraphon in which
the world is a bridge to be passed over (though this is perhaps closer to the
Dialogue of the Saviour than to Thomas).23 Thus interpretation (4) is probably
19 For DeConick, 164, the saying in the original kernel had the meaning outlined above,
whereas in Thomas as it stands, it has a sense closer to (4). For Nordsieck, 172–174, the
original (dominical) sense was one of itinerancy, but it now may have a ‘Gnostic’ sense: it
has thus shifted from (3) to (4).
20 A link with Thomas is evident in another passage about the crossing: ‘the passage which
they will traverse, those solitary and elect ones, those who have known the Father’ (Dial.
Sav. 120,25–121,1); cf. also 145,7–24.
21 Grosso, 174.
22 Plisch, 115.
23 On this agraphon, see J. Jeremias, ‘Zur Überlieferungsgeschichte des Agraphon: “Die Welt
ist eine Brücke”’, Nachrichten der Akademie der Wissenschaften in Göttingen, Phil.-hist.
Klasse (1953, § 4), 95–103; H. Sahlin, ‘Die Welt ist eine Brücke’, ZNW 47 (1956), 286–287.
One form of the saying is found on a mosque built in 1601 in Fatehpur-Sikri in India by
the Mogul Akbar: ‘Jesus, on whom be peace, said, “This world is a bridge. Pass over it,
but do not build your dwelling there.” ’ See Jeremias, ‘Überlieferungsgeschichte’, 101, and
T. Khalidi, The Muslim Jesus (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2001), 106 (§99) for
Arabic precursors. A Latin version of this inscription is recorded by Petrus Alphonsi, a
convert from Islam: seculum est quasi pons: transi ergo: ne hospiteris (Disc. XXVIII). See
A. Hilka & W. Söderhjelm, Die Disciplina Clericalis des Petrus Alphonsi. Kleine Ausgabe
(Heidelberg: C. Winter, 1911), 45, ll. 12–13.
logion 42 383
to be preferred, but any interpretation of such an elliptical saying will have to be

tentative. If (4) is correct, however, then it would probably imply avoidance of
such strategies as Justin’s petitioning the emperor ‘to obtain relief from what he
believes to be the unjust practice of the Roman government in executing those
who will not renounce their allegiance to Christ’.24 Still less would a disciple of
this mindset be eager to stand for public office, make benefactions, or promote
the res publica in any other sphere.
24 D. Minns & P. Parvis, eds. Justin, Philosopher and Martyr: Apologies (OECT; Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 2009), 44.
Logion 431
43.1 ⲡⲉϫⲁⲩ ⲛⲁϥ⳿ ⲛ̄ϭⲓ ⲛⲉϥ⳿ⲙⲁⲑⲏⲧⲏⲥ ϫⲉ ⲛ̄ⲧⲁⲕ⳿ ⲛⲓⲙ⳿ ⲉⲕϫⲱ ⲛ̄ⲛⲁⲓ̈ ⲛⲁⲛ⳿ 43.2
ϩⲛ̄ ⲛⲉϯϫⲱ ⲙ̄ⲙⲟⲟⲩ ⲛⲏⲧⲛ̄ ⲛ̄ⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ⲉⲓⲙⲉ ⲁⲛ ϫⲉ ⲁⲛⲟⲕ⳿ ⲛⲓⲙ 43.3 ⲁⲗⲗⲁ ⲛ̄ⲧⲱⲧⲛ̄
ⲁⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ϣⲱⲡⲉ ⲛ̄ⲑⲉ ⲛ̄ⲛⲓⲓ̈ⲟⲩⲇⲁⲓⲟⲥ ϫⲉ ⲥⲉⲙⲉ ⲙ̄ⲡϣⲏⲛ ⲥⲉⲙⲟⲥⲧⲉ ⲙ̄ⲡⲉϥⲕⲁⲣⲡⲟⲥ ⲁⲩⲱ
ⲥⲉⲙⲉ ⲙ̄ⲡⲕⲁⲣⲡⲟⲥ ⲥⲉⲙⲟⲥⲧⲉ ⲙ̄ⲡϣⲏⲛ
43.1 The disciples said to him, ‘Who are you who speak these things to us?’
43.2 ( Jesus said to them,) ‘You do not understand who I am from the things
which I say to you, 43.3 but you have become like the Jews, for they love the
tree but hate its fruit, or love the fruit but hate the tree.’
Textual Comment
The omission of a change of speaker at the beginning of 43.2 is not particularly

significant:2 a similar omission occurs in GTh 113.
Interpretation
This dialogue is a little obscure, in part because it functions on three levels: (i)
the “narrative” level of the dialogue between Jesus and the disciples in 43.1–2;
(ii) the vignette about the Jews constructed by the analogy in 43.3, and (iii) the
implied extra-textual reality. An ideal interpretation of GTh 43 as a whole would
seek as much correlation as possible between these three levels. The point of
comparison is separation and inconsistency:
(i) The disciples separate the words of Jesus from who Jesus is
(when in fact the words should lead them to understanding of Jesus).
On their own, GTh 43.1–2 are quite straightforward, but the complicating factor
is the analogy in 43.3 because of its talk of the tree and the fruit and vice versa.
1 Bibliography for GTh 43: Dunderberg, Beloved Disciple in Conflict, 21–22, 111–112.
2 Valantasis, 119, explores the potential meaning arising from the ambiguity in the text as it
stands; Plisch, 116 n. 2 remarks that a conjecture is ‘unnecessary’.
logion 43 385
Leipoldt considers that it may refer to an inconsistent love of the Father but not
the Son:3
(ii) The Jews are inconsistent in separating the fruit from the tree
(i.e. they separate Jesus from God and claim to love God but hate his Son).4
The disciples, then, probably represent those outside of the Thomas movement
who claim allegiance to Jesus but reject the true revelation in Thomas. Hence:
(iii) Outsiders, like the disciples, are inconsistent in separating the words of
Jesus from who Jesus is
(i.e. they have access to true revelation but take a different view of Jesus).
Understood along these lines, there is some continuity with Jesus’ botanical
imagery in the Synoptic Gospels (in the assumption that the nature of the fruit
is consistent with the nature of the tree and vice versa), even while Thomas’s use
of the tree/ fruit motif is deployed to a different end. Any detailed interpretation
of the structure of this logion must remain tentative, however.
Notes
43.1 The disciples said to him, ‘Who are you who speak these things to us?’
This question on its own might be positive (cf. e.g. Mk 4.41), or a more scep-
tical inquiry into the legitimacy of Jesus (‘who are you to say these things?’).5
Embedded in this dialogue, it is an inquiry arising out of the disciples’ igno-
rance. There has been some debate about the phrase ‘these things’: Pokorný
sees a reference specifically to GTh 42;6 Dunderberg agrees that ‘these things’
are what precedes, but because of the plural ‘these things’ does not think the
scope is confined to GTh 42.7 Indeed, because of the lack of narrative direction
in Thomas, one could even extend the reference to include Thomas as a whole,
not just what precedes GTh 43.
3 Leipoldt, Evangelium nach Thomas, 64.

4 Or possibly: separate Jesus from his words.
5 Lambdin’s translation implies a negative sense: ‘Who are you, that you should say these things
to us?’
6 Pokorný, 87.
7 Dunderberg, Beloved Disciple in Conflict, 22
386 logion 43
43.2 You do not understand who I am from the things which I say to you.
Jesus does not answer the question in GTh 43.1 (cf. e.g. GTh 6; 24). On 43.1–2,
compare John 8.25: ‘So they said to him, “Who are you?” Jesus said to them,
“What I have told you from the beginning.”’
43.3 But you have become like the Jews.8 With this likening of the disciples
to the Jews one might compare the identification of the apostles and the
‘apostolic men’ as ‘Hebrews’ in the Gos. Phil. 55,29–30. This statement is the
only reference to ‘the Jews’ per se in Thomas (cf. GTh 39–40; 102; and ‘Israel’ in
GTh 52), and it might hark back to GTh 39–40.9 On the other hand, however,
it is the ignorance of the disciples, not of the Jews, which is thematised in GTh
43 as a whole. Thomas seems to assume as natural such a negative reference
to ‘the Jews’. As Hedrick has noted, the distinction between the disciples and
the Jews is striking and may well have implications for the date of Thomas (see
above, Introduction, §7: ‘Date’).10
43.3 For they love the tree but hate its fruit, or love the fruit but hate the
tree. Various possibilities have been suggested for the tree/ fruit metaphor.
Hedrick has raised the possibility of the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil.11 Many draw parallels with the botanical imagery in the Synoptic Gospels,
but Thomas’s usage here is actually unparalleled there.12 It is inconsistency
which is particularly attributed to the Jews here: one might compare the crit-
icism of the Pharisees’ great attention to tithing but neglect of justice (cf. e.g.
Matt. 23.23/ Lk. 11.42), or Jesus’ criticism of the response of ‘this generation’ to
him and John the Baptist: ‘we played the flute for you and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge and you did not mourn/ weep’ (Matt. 11.17/ Lk. 7.32). This
double-tradition/ “Q” saying has two antithetical parts each composed of an
incongruity, just as does GTh 43.3 here. Closest to home, the charge of incon-
sistency is levelled at the practice of circumcision in GTh 53: people would be
8 Valantasis’s translation ‘Judeans’ here (118–119) is probably not apposite. As Plisch, 116, has
put it, the term is used here ‘not ethnically but typologically’.
9 Thus Nordsieck, 175.
10 Hedrick, 89.
11 Hedrick, 90.
12 For example, Grant & Freedman, 156, link GTh 43 to Matt. 7.16 (cf. also 7.17–20) and Lk.
6.43–44 via the observation that ‘the Jews do not understand that the nature of the tree
is identical with that of the fruit’. There is of course overlap in the usage of the imagery
to the extent that Grant & Freedman state, but this is not a sufficient explanation of the
meaning of GTh 43. There is perhaps an interesting indication of the influence of Matthew
here, however, given that GTh 43 is related to Matt. 12.33, GTh 44 parallels Matt. 12.31–32,
and GTh 45 shares material with Matt. 12.34–35. See Gathercole, Composition, 131.
logion 43 387
born circumcised if circumcision really were so valuable. The charge was some-
times levelled at Jews in Greek and Roman literature: Juvenal accuses Agrippa II
and Berenice of an incestuous relationship, while contrasting this with the
rigidity of their Sabbath-observance and refusal to kill pigs;13 Seneca states
that the lamps should not be lit on the Sabbath, because the gods do not need
light;14 Suetonius remarks upon Jews who concealed their origins and practice
in order to avoid the fiscus Iudaicus;15 Callistratus, one of Plutarch’s characters
in the Quaestiones Convivales (early second century), wonders whether or not
the Jews are consistent in not killing pigs.16 Perhaps the most striking example,
however, comes in another Christian author in the course of a polemic against
the Jewish food-laws: ‘For to accept some of the things created by God for the
use of men as finely created, but to refuse others as useless and redundant—
how can this not be lawless?’ (Diogn. 4.2).
13 See Schäfer, Judeophobia, 79.

14 Seneca, Ep. Moral. 95.47.
15 Suetonius, Dom. 12.2. See discussion in Schäfer, Judeophobia, 113.
16 Plutarch, Quaest. Conv. 4.5.1–2 (Mor. 669E–670B). See discussion in Schäfer, Judeophobia,
72–73, 78.
Logion 441
44.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ⲡⲉⲧⲁϫⲉ ⲟⲩⲁ ⲁⲡⲉⲓⲱⲧ⳿ ⲥⲉⲛⲁⲕⲱ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ⲛⲁϥ⳿ 44.2 ⲁⲩⲱ ⲡⲉⲧⲁϫⲉ ⲟⲩⲁ
ⲉⲡϣⲏⲣⲉ ⲥⲉⲛⲁⲕⲱ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ⲛⲁϥ⳿ 44.3 ⲡⲉⲧⲁϫⲉ ⲟⲩⲁ ⲇⲉ ⲁⲡⲡⲛ̅ⲁ̅ ⲉⲧⲟⲩⲁⲁⲃ ⲥⲉⲛⲁⲕⲱ ⲁⲛ
ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ⲛⲁϥ⳿ ⲟⲩⲧⲉ ϩⲙ̄ ⲡⲕⲁϩ ⲟⲩⲧⲉ ϩⲛ̄ ⲧⲡⲉ
44.1 Jesus said, ‘Whoever blasphemes the Father, he will be forgiven. 44.2
And whoever blasphemes the Son, he will be forgiven. 44.3 But whoever
blasphemes the Holy Spirit, he will not be forgiven either on earth or in
heaven.’
Interpretation
This saying contrasts with its Synoptic parallels (Mk 3.28–29; Matt. 12.31–32; Lk.
12.10) in two ways. First, where Matthew and Luke have the contrast between
blasphemy against the Son of Man and blasphemy against the Spirit, Thomas
structures the saying in a ‘trinitarian’ manner, so that blasphemy against Father
and Son are both relativised. Secondly, whereas blasphemy against the Spirit is
curious enough in the Synoptic Gospels, there one has a context which eluci-
dates it. In Thomas on the other hand, there is not only no narrative context
but also no other reference to the ‘Holy Spirit’ (or indeed to forgiveness or blas-
phemy).2 Two possible explanations might be suggested for the inclusion of
this saying by the author/ editor.
(1) The first is a context of persecution. As Pliny and the Martyrdom of Polycarp
attest, persecutors exhorted believers to curse Christ as a means of escaping
the penalty for belonging to the church.3 Some groups may have reckoned
1 Bibliography for GTh 44: T. Baarda, ‘ “Vader—Zoon—Heilige Geest”: Logion 44 van “Thom-
as”’, NTT 51 (1997), 13–30; Gathercole, Composition, 179–183.
2 Blasphemy had various senses in Jewish and early Christian contexts, including cursing, but
also compromising the oneness of God. See e.g. A. Yarbro Collins, ‘Blasphemy’, EDEJ 445.
3 Pliny, Ep. 10.96: ‘I decided to dismiss charges against any on this list who stated that they were
now not, nor had ever been Christians, if they repeated after me a prayer of invocation to the
gods, made an offering of wine and incense to your statue which I had brought in to the court
along with the statues of the gods for this purpose, and furthermore cursed Christ (praeterea
male dicerent Christo). It is said to be impossible to compel those who are true Christians to
do any of these things.’ Mart. Poly. 9.3: ‘Then, the proconsul urged him, and said, “Swear, and
logion 44 389
denial of the faith as permissible in times of persecution.4 The antithesis

of Father and Son on the one hand with the Spirit on the other might
make sense in this context, as one can imagine a situation of persecution
in which believers might be required to curse/ blaspheme their God and
Christ, but ‘the Holy Spirit’ would probably not be common knowledge. In
this context, the meaning of ‘blaspheme’ in GTh 44 would be a formal curse.
(2) Others have argued that the reference here is to early Christian prophecy.5
(This interpretation emphasises 44.3.) One of the earliest interpretations
of the Synoptic saying appears in the Didache, which applies it thus: ‘And
every prophet who speaks by the Spirit you shall not try or judge, for
every sin will be forgiven, but this sin will not be forgiven’.6 In the context
of Thomas, this would refer to itinerant missionaries, and so blasphemy
would be a rejection of their divine message.
(3) Valantasis and Pokorný see the concern in 44.3 as the rejection of the
sayings in Thomas: the sin is unforgiveable because the Holy Spirit is the
mediator of the sayings of Jesus,7 or—put slightly differently—‘the text
conveys the spirit’, and the saying is thus a ‘textual polemic’.8
Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to decide among these different interpre-

tations. As Hedrick notes, this reference to the Holy Spirit is quite unexpected
(though the unexpected is almost expected in Thomas), and elsewhere in the
Gospel there is ‘no practical role for a Holy Spirit’.9 Interpretation (1) is vul-
nerable to the charge that such a pragmatic stance might not have been very
widespread, if it existed in a legitimised way at all; (2) is perhaps too specific,
and the interpretation in the Didache may not have been widely held; (3) is
I will set you at liberty, slander Christ (λοιδόρησον τὸν Χριστόν).” Polycarp declared, “Eighty-six
years have I served him, and he never did me any injury: how can I blaspheme my king and
my saviour (καὶ πῶς δύναμαι βλασφημῆσαι τὸν βασιλέα μου τὸν σώσαντά με)?”’
4 Eusebius reports that the second-century apologist Agrippa Castor accused Basilides of stat-
ing that ‘those who unguardedly renounced the faith in times of persecution’ (ἐξομνυμένους
ἀπαραφυλάκτως τὴν πίστιν κατὰ τοὺς τῶν διωγμῶν καιρούς) were not guilty (Eusebius, HE 4.7.7);
cf. also Irenaeus, AH 1.24.6. See Löhr, Basilides und seine Schule, 9, however, for critical remarks
on the authenticity of these testimonia.
5 Plisch, 118; against this view Nordsieck, 181.
6 Did. 11.7: καὶ πάντα προφήτην λαλοῦντα ἐν πνεύματι οὐ πειράσετε οὐδὲ διακρινεῖτε· πᾶσα γὰρ
ἁμαρτία ἀφεθήσεται, αὕτη δὲ ἡ ἁμαρτία οὐκ ἀφεθήσεται.
7 Pokorný, 88.
8 Valantasis, 121.
9 Hedrick, 91.
390 logion 44
quite possible, but on the other hand a doctrine of “inspiration” may not have
been held by the author in the way described. The saying remains enigmatic.
Notes
44.1 Whoever blasphemes the Father. The inclusion of a reference to the

Father brings what had been a ‘Son of Man / Spirit’ saying in the Synoptics into
line with the triadic formulae which appear already in the NT in 2 Cor. 13.13/14
(Lord Jesus Christ-God-Holy Spirit) and Rev. 1.4–5 (God-Seven spirits-Christ).
It is Matthew’s Father-Son-Holy Spirit language (and sequence) above all, how-
ever, which becomes most influential in the second century (Did. 7.1, 3; Mart.
Polyc. 22.3 [23.5]; Justin, 1 Apol. 65.3; cf. Ignatius, Eph. 9.1; Magn. 13.1). Because
of these quite early parallels, it is not necessary to see this saying as a very late
accretion to Thomas.10 Baarda does, however, provide some fascinating exam-
ples from the middle ages which show that a “trinitarian” version of this saying
was known to some Cathars.11 For Quispel, this means that the saying is inde-
pendent of the Synoptic Gospels, and came from the Gospel of the Hebrews.12
This is not tenable; Thomas in this saying is probably dependent on Matthew.13
The relationship between GTh 44 and the Manichean and medieval versions of
the saying also structured along similar lines merits further study.14
10 Hedrick, 91, seems to suggest that it may even derive from the fourth century; cf. also the
comment in Valantasis, 120.
11 Baarda, ‘Vader—Zoon—Heilige Geest’, 21–22.
12 G. Quispel, Tatian and the Gospel of Thomas (Leiden: Brill, 1975), 55; cf. also idem, ‘Latin
Tatian or the Gospel of Thomas in Limburg’, JBL 88 (1969), 321–330 (329).
13 See discussion in Gathercole, Composition, 179–183, noting also criticisms of Quispel from
Baarda and Tuckett.
14 A mediation of the saying into the middle ages via Manichean literature is a possibility.
The trinitarian structure is apparent in 2 Keph. 416:12–16; 417:25–29. For two medieval
Cathar references, see Baarda, ‘Vader—Zoon—Heilige Geest’, 21–22, the second of which
is translated into English, with its wider context in F.P. Badham & F.C. Coneybeare,
‘Fragments of an Ancient (? Egyptian) Gospel used by the Cathars of Albi’, Hibbert Journal
11 (1913), 805–818 (814); see also the Tuscan gospel harmony: V. Todesco, A. Vaccari &
M. Vattasso, eds. Il Diatessaron in volgare italiano: testi inediti dei secoli XIII–XIV (Vatican
City: Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, 1938), 244. ‘Son’, rather than Son of Man, is also found
outside of the triadic structure (i.e. merely in contrast to the Holy Spirit) in Synodicon
Orthodoxiae 9.
logion 44 391
44.1 He will be forgiven. This, along with 44.2–3, is the only reference to
forgiveness in Thomas; the rarity is unsurprising, given the infrequency of
reference to sin (cf. 14.1; 104.2).
44.2 And whoever blasphemes the Son. It is natural to assume that Jesus is
the Son here on the basis of his reference elsewhere to ‘my Father’ (GTh 61.3;
64.12; 99.2–3) and perhaps the instance of ‘the son/ Son’ in GTh 37.3. Thomas
here has modified ‘Son of Man’ to ‘Son’, perhaps in suspicion of the former title:
there is not a hostility to titles per se, however, or ‘Son’ would have to be avoided
as well (cf. ‘my “lordship”’ in GTh 90). Some other later instances of this saying
also have ‘Son’.15
44.2 He will be forgiven. See above on 44.1.
44.3 But whoever blasphemes the Holy Spirit, he will not be forgiven either
on earth or in heaven. This part of the saying, based on Matthew’s version,
removes the eschatological element,16 changing the bifurcation of the ages into
an earth/ heaven duality.17 This part of the saying is employed just prior to
Thomas in Nag Hammadi Codex II, near the end of the Apocryphon of John: ‘And
they will be kept for the day on which those who have blasphemed the Spirit
will be tortured. And they will be punished with an everlasting punishment’
(Ap. John II 27,27–30).
15 See the Manichaean and medieval references noted above.

16 Bruce, Jesus and Christian Origins, 131.
Logion 451
45.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ⲙⲁⲩϫⲉⲗⲉ ⲉⲗⲟⲟⲗⲉ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ϩⲛ̄ ϣⲟⲛⲧⲉ ⲟⲩⲧⲉ ⲙⲁⲩⲕⲱⲧϥ⳿ ⲕⲛ̄ⲧⲉ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ϩⲛ̄
ⲥⲣ̄ϭⲁⲙⲟⲩⲗ⳿ ⲙⲁⲩϯ ⲕⲁⲣⲡⲟⲥ ⲅ̣ⲁ̣ⲣ̣ 45.2 ⲟ̣[ⲩⲁ]ⲅ̣ⲁⲑⲟⲥ ⲣ̄ⲣⲱⲙⲉ ϣⲁϥⲉⲓⲛⲉ ⲛ̄ⲟⲩⲁⲅⲁⲑⲟⲛ
ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ϩⲙ̣̄ ⲡⲉϥⲉϩⲟ 45.3 ⲟⲩⲕⲁ[ⲕⲟⲥ] ⲣ̄ⲣⲱⲙⲉ ϣⲁϥⲉⲓⲛⲉ ⲛ̄ϩⲛ̄ⲡⲟⲛⲏⲣⲟⲛ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ϩⲙ̄ ⲡⲉϥⲉϩⲟ
ⲉⲑⲟⲟⲩ ⲉⲧϩⲛ̄ ⲡⲉϥϩⲏⲧ⳿ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲛ̄ϥϫⲱ ⲛ̄ϩⲛ̄ⲡⲟⲛⲏⲣⲟⲛ 45.4 ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ⲅⲁⲣ ϩⲙ̄ ⲑⲟⲩⲟ ⲙ̄ⲫⲏⲧ⳿
ϣⲁϥ⳿ⲉⲓⲛⲉ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ⲛ̄ϩⲛ̄ⲡⲟⲛⲏⲣⲟⲛ
45.1 Jesus said, ‘Grapes are not harvested from thorn-bushes, nor are figs
gathered from thistles, for they do not produce fruit. 45.2 [A g]ood man
brings forth good from his store; 45.3 an evil man brings forth wickedness
from his evil store which is in his heart, and he speaks wickedness. 45.4 For
from the overflow of the heart he brings forth wicked things.’
Interpretation
This saying (cf. Matt. 7.16; 12.34–35; Lk. 6.44–45) again makes the point that
there is an absolute distinction between the good, the elect disciples, on the
one hand, and the evildoers outside on the other.2 This has the double func-
tion of reinforcing the social boundary, and exhorting true disciples to live up
consistently to their vocation. Natural law is invoked as confirming this (cf. GTh
53), hence the illustration from agriculture. The sheer obviousness of the illus-
tration has the function also of trying to make the theologoumena in 45.2–4
appear similarly incontrovertible. For the Thomas movement, there is no mid-
dle ground in which one might imagine the ‘evenly balanced’ man as envisaged
by, for example, the school of Shammai or the Testament of Abraham.3
Notes
45.1 Grapes are not harvested from thorn-bushes, nor are figs gathered from
thistles, for they do not produce fruit. Here Thomas employs the form of
1 Bibliography for GTh 45: Schrage, Verhältnis, 100–106.

2 Valantasis, 121.
3 Tosefta Sanh. 13.3; cf. T. Abr. [Rec. A] 12.12–17. See F. Avemarie, Tora und Leben: Untersuchungen
zur Heilsbedeutung der Tora in der frühen rabbinischen Literatur (TSAJ 55; Tübingen: Mohr,
1996), 39.
logion 45 393
the impossibile (cf. GTh 31–35), which sets the dualistic tone. The theme of
‘fruit’ harks back to GTh 43,4 and indeed GTh 43–45 are linked by a common
connection to Matt. 12.31–35.5
45.2 A good man brings forth good from his store. The Coptic here is notable
for including an inflected Greek form (ⲛ̄ⲟⲩⲁⲅⲁⲑⲟⲛ), though the neuter form is
not unknown in Coptic.6
45.3 An evil man brings forth wickedness from his evil store which is in his
heart, and he speaks wickedness. DeConick takes this to be a statement about
the Pharisees because of this saying’s position in the Kernel. It is a weakness
of this theory of the original form of Thomas, however, that this saying as a
whole is taken to have been ‘part of the rhetoric arguing for Jesus’ exclusivity
as a prophet.’7 Since this theme is absent from GTh 45, doubt may be cast
over whether such a section of a kernel along these lines existed. On 45.3 in
particular, the language is far too general to draw any specific attention to the
Pharisees. In parallel with 45.2, we have the inflected form ⲡⲟⲛⲏⲣⲟⲛ.
45.4 For from the overflow of the heart he brings forth wicked things.
Again, here the Coptic includes the inflected Greek form (ⲛ̄ϩⲛ̄ⲡⲟⲛⲏⲣⲟⲛ). See on
45.2 above.
4 Nordsieck, 183.
5 See Gathercole, Composition, 131.
6 See Layton, Coptic Grammar, 462–463 (‘Glossary’), ad ⲁⲅⲁⲑⲟⲥ, -ⲟⲛ and ⲡⲟⲛⲏⲣⲟⲥ, -ⲟⲛ.
7 DeConick, 169.
Logion 461
46.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ϫⲓⲛ⳿ ⲁⲇⲁⲙ ϣⲁ ⲓ̈ⲱϩⲁ(ⲛ)ⲛⲏⲥ ⲡⲃⲁⲡⲧⲓⲥⲧⲏⲥ ϩⲛ̄ ⲛ̄ϫⲡⲟ ⲛ̄ⲛ̄ϩⲓⲟⲙⲉ ⲙⲛ̄
ⲡⲉⲧϫⲟⲥⲉ ⲁⲓ̈ⲱϩⲁⲛⲛⲏⲥ ⲡⲃⲁⲡⲧⲓⲥⲧⲏⲥ ϣⲓⲛⲁ ϫⲉ ⲛⲟⲩⲱϭⲡ⳿ ⲛ̄ϭⲓ ⲛⲉϥⲃⲁⲗ 46.2 ⲁⲉⲓϫⲟⲟⲥ
ⲇⲉ ϫⲉ ⲡⲉⲧⲛⲁϣⲱⲡⲉ ϩⲛ̄ ⲧⲏⲩⲧⲛ̄ ⲉϥⲟ ⲛ̄ⲕⲟⲩⲉⲓ ϥⲛⲁⲥⲟⲩⲱⲛ ⲧⲙⲛ̄ⲧⲉⲣⲟ ⲁⲩⲱ ϥⲛⲁϫⲓⲥⲉ
ⲁⲓ̈ⲱϩⲁⲛⲛⲏⲥ
46.1 Jesus said, ‘From Adam to John the Baptist, there is no-one among those
born of women higher than John the Baptist, such that his (sc. John’s) eyes
should break. 46.2 But I have said that whoever among you becomes a little
one will know the kingdom. And he will be higher than John.’
Textual Comment
The Coptic’s reference to John’s eyes literally breaking (ⲛⲟⲩⲱϭⲡ⳿ ⲛ̄ϭⲓ ⲛⲉϥⲃⲁⲗ)
is very peculiar.2 Plisch suggests textual corruption,3 and it may be that the
better sense is ‘eyes failing’, a common biblical idiom referring to a state of being
deeply troubled with no comfort:
Among those nations you shall find no ease, no resting place for the sole
of your foot. There the Lord will give you a trembling heart, failing eyes
(ἐκλείποντας ὀφθαλμούς), and a languishing spirit.
(Deut. 28.65)
My eyes fail from weeping (ἐξέλιπον ἐν δάκρυσιν οἱ ὀφθαλμοί μου), I am in

torment within, my heart is poured out on the ground because my people
are destroyed, because children and infants faint in the streets of the city.
(Lam. 2.11)
1 Bibliography for GTh 46: Kee, ‘ “Becoming a Child” in the Gospel of Thomas’, 307–314; R.L.
Webb, John the Baptizer and Prophet: A Socio-Historical Study (JSNTSuppS 62; Sheffield:
JSOT/ Sheffield Academic Press, 1991), 78–81; Liebenberg, Language of the Kingdom, 480–485;
T. Baarda, ‘The Gospel of Thomas and the Old Testament’, PIBA 26 (2003), 17–26.
2 I have not been able to find a parallel to ‘eyes breaking’. My colleague John Ray, the Professor
of Egyptology in Cambridge, was also unaware of any such expression in Egyptian literature
(personal communication, 9.xii.2011).
3 Plisch, 121.
logion 46 395
This idiom may be suggested as a possible alternative. One possible Coptic ren-
dering would then be ⲛⲟⲩⲱϫⲛ̄ ⲛ̄ϭⲓ ⲛⲉϥⲃⲁⲗ instead of the text’s ⲛⲟⲩⲱϭⲡ ⲛ̄ϭⲓ ⲛⲉϥ-
ⲃⲁⲗ, the verb ⲱϫⲛ̄ (Crum 539) instead of ⲟⲩⲱϭⲡ (Crum 513).4 An inner-Coptic
scribal error would be quite comprehensible as ϫ and ϭ are easily interchange-
able (Crum gives ⲟⲩⲱϫⲡ as a variant spelling of ⲟⲩⲱϭⲡ) and ⲛ/ⲡ confusion is
also possible.5 Examples of the biblical-Coptic idiom ⲁⲛⲁⲃⲁⲗ ⲱϫⲛ̄ (‘my eyes
have failed’) can be seen in Ps. 68.3/4 and Ps. 119/118.82.6 It is nevertheless, like
all conjectures, a speculation.
Interpretation
The overall point of this saying (cf. Matt. 11.11/ Lk. 7.287) is clear, despite some
puzzling details. The saying is not primarily about John the Baptist but about
the exalted status of the ‘little one’ over against everyone belonging to the old
age. Valantasis comments that this saying reasserts (after GTh 45) the sense of
hierarchy within humanity, but this time between old and new dispensations.8
There is a probable implication of a kind of new birth as little ones in 46.2,9
with a contrast to those ‘born of woman’ in 46.1.10
Thomas’s cultural environment was permeated by the attitude summed up
in the famous words of ben Sira: ‘Let us now praise famous men, and our
fathers in their generations …’ (Sir. 44.1). It is notable, then, that Thomas is
unabashed about the novelty of the revelation of Jesus. Kinzig’s study of the
concept of newness in Christianity argues that, although the positive valuation
of the ‘new’ in Christianity more broadly was never completely overshadowed
by the church’s employment of ‘proofs from antiquity’, only the Marcionites and
4 The -ⲟⲟⲩ- would then be part of the 3rd pl. prefix rather than part of the stem. For the form,
see the table in Layton, ‘Dialect and Orthography’, in idem, ‘Introduction’, Nag Hammadi
Codex II,2–7. Volume I, 2 (in Thomas, see e.g. 93.1, 2; 47.4).
5 As Dr Christian Askeland has reminded me, the diagonal and horizontal lines in majuscule
Coptic are very thin.
6 E.A.W. Budge, ed. The Earliest Known Coptic Psalter (London: Kegan Paul, 1898), 71, 130.
7 As Wilson has noted, the sayings are very similar in Thomas and the Synoptics, with the
main difference being one of punctuation. R.McL. Wilson, ‘Thomas and the Synoptic
Gospels’, ExpT 72 (1960), 36–39 (36).
8 Valantasis, 122.
9 Valantasis, 123.
10 Hedrick, 94, comparing Jn 1.12–13; 3.3–8; 1 Jn 2.29; 4.7.
396 logion 46
Montanists were thoroughgoing advocates of newness.11 To these two groups

the Thomas movement should probably be added: Thomas does not offer any
defence against any accusation, real or hypothetical, of novelty; the same is true
of GTh 52, where there is an unqualified recommendation of Jesus over against
the dead prophets of Israel.12
Notes
46.1 From Adam to John the Baptist there is no-one among those born of
women higher than John the Baptist. Lincoln’s observation that Adam was not
‘born of woman’ and that therefore the scope is exclusive of Adam and John
is perhaps over-pedantic.13 Hedrick notes the difficulty that we are not told
why John is so highly valued in Thomas.14 The reason might be John’s ascetic
life-style. It may well be that there is an implied denigration of Hebrew Bible,
as will appear more clearly in GTh 52.15
46.1 Such that his eyes should break. See the textual comment above on
this curious phrase. Other translations, such as be ‘cast down’,16 ‘downcast’,17
‘averted’,18 are not so much translations as attempts to change what is said in
order to make some sense. Similarly, Nordsieck’s reference to ‘eyes not breaking’
as an image of life beyond death is also a guess.19 If the conjecture suggested
above is correct, the sense would be that there is none is greater than John
such that John would be overcome with a sense of inferiority: similarly, in the
11 W. Kinzig, Novitas Christiana: Die Idee des Fortschritts in der Alten Kirche bis Eusebius
(FKD 38; Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1994), 582.
12 Conversely, one might speculate that the attitude in this and other similar sayings might
have something of the tone of those Roman authors who celebrate the advent of a new
emperor after a disastrous predecessor or time of conflict.
13 B. Lincoln, ‘Thomas-Gospel and Thomas-Community: A New Approach to a Familiar Text’,
NovT 19 (1977), 65–76 (74).
14 Hedrick, 94.
15 Baarda compares Treat. Seth 62,27–64,1, where the whole sequence of patriarchs and
Israelite prophets is mocked, and identified as part of the ‘Adam to John the Baptist’
sequence.
16 Plisch, 121, though he recognises the difficulty, and—as noted above—suspects a corrupt
text.
17 Hedrick, 94; cf. also Pokorný, 91; Grosso, 179.
18 Valantasis, 122.
19 Nordsieck, 186.
logion 46 397
Gospel of Judas, in contrast to the other disciples Judas can stand before Jesus,
but cannot look at him (35,6–14).
46.2 But I have said that whoever among you becomes a little one will
know the kingdom. The implication of the ‘I have said’ is that the words
‘whoever among you becomes a little one will know the kingdom’ are an
allusion to a previous saying in Thomas or elsewhere.20 The conjunction of
‘little ones’ and the kingdom is prominent in GTh 20–22, especially in GTh 22:
Jesus saw some little ones being suckled. He said to his disciples, ‘These
little ones being suckled are like those who enter the kingdom.’ They said
to him, ‘Shall we, then, enter the kingdom as children?’ Jesus said to them,
‘When you … then will you enter the [kingdom].’
It may be that this specific saying is in view in 46.2, or it may be the theme more
widely; it is even possible, if unlikely, that an ‘exoteric’ canonical parallel (e.g.
Mk 10.15/ Matt. 18.3/ Lk. 18.17) is in mind. Since the ‘little ones’ in GTh 22 are
suckling babies (cf. the child seven days old in GTh 4), a similar image is prob-
ably suggested here in GTh 46. On the kingdom in Thomas, see Introduction,
§10.1 above.
46.2 And he will be higher than John. This probably does not belong with
what has already been said, hence the translation as a separate sentence. It
highlights the ambiguous status of John the Baptist at the turn of the ages, with
his exaltation in 46.1 being immediately relativised in 46.2.
20 B.D. Chilton, ‘The Gospel according to Thomas as a Source of Jesus’ Teaching’, in D. Wen-
ham, ed. Jesus Tradition outside the Gospels (Sheffield: JSOT, 1984), 155–175 (167): ‘Thomas
himself gives us a clue that he is paraphrasing.’
Logion 471
47.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ⲙⲛ̄ ϭⲟⲙ ⲛ̄ⲧⲉ ⲟⲩⲣⲱⲙⲉ ⲧⲉⲗⲟ ⲁϩⲧⲟ ⲥⲛⲁⲩ ⲛ̄ϥϫⲱⲗⲕ⳿ ⲙ̄ⲡⲓⲧⲉ
ⲥⲛ̄ⲧⲉ 47.2 ⲁⲩⲱ ⲙⲛ̄ϭⲟⲙ⳿ ⲛ̄ⲧⲉ ⲟⲩϩⲙϩ̅ⲁ̅ⲗ̅ ϣⲙ̄ϣⲉ ϫⲟⲉⲓⲥ ⲥⲛⲁⲩ ⲏ ϥⲛⲁⲣ̄ⲧⲓⲙⲁ ⲙ̄ⲡⲟⲩⲁ⳿
ⲁⲩⲱ ⲡⲕⲉⲟⲩⲁ ϥⲛⲁⲣ̄ϩⲩⲃⲣⲓⲍⲉ ⲙ̄ⲙⲟϥ⳿ 47.3 ⲙⲁⲣⲉ ⲣⲱⲙⲉ ⲥⲉ ⲣ̄ⲡⲁⲥ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲛ̄ⲧⲉⲩⲛⲟⲩ
ⲛ̄ϥ⳿ⲉⲡⲓⲑⲩⲙⲉⲓ ⲁⲥⲱ ⲏⲣⲡ⳿ ⲃ̄ⲃⲣⲣⲉ 47.4 ⲁⲩⲱ ⲙⲁⲩⲛⲟⲩϫ⳿ ⲏⲣⲡ⳿ ⲃ̄ⲣⲣ̄ⲉ ⲉⲁⲥⲕⲟⲥ ⲛ̄ⲁⲥ ϫⲉⲕⲁⲁⲥ
ⲛ̄ⲛⲟⲩⲡⲱϩ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲙⲁⲩⲛⲉϫ⳿ ⲏⲣⲡ⳿ ⲛ̄ⲁⲥ ⲉⲁⲥⲕⲟⲥ ⲃ̄ⲃⲣ̄ⲣⲉ ϣⲓⲛⲁ ϫⲉ ⲛⲉϥⲧⲉⲕⲁϥ⳿ 47.5
ⲙⲁⲩϫⲗ̄ϭ ⲧⲟⲉⲓⲥ ⲛ̄ⲁⲥ ⲁϣⲧⲏ(ⲛ) ⲛ̄ϣⲁⲉⲓ ⲉⲡⲉⲓ ⲟⲩⲛ ⲟⲩⲡⲱϩ ⲛⲁϣⲱⲡⲉ
47.1 Jesus said, ‘It is impossible for a person to mount two horses or to
stretch two bows. 47.2 And it is impossible for a servant to serve two masters;
otherwise, he will honour the one and insult the other. 47.3 No-one drinks old
wine and immediately desires to drink new wine. 47.4 Nor is new wine put
into old wineskins, lest they tear. Nor is old wine put into a new wineskin, lest
it ruin it. 47.5 An old patch is not stitched onto a new garment, since there
would be a tear.’
Interpretation
Most of the components of GTh 47 are parallelled in the Synoptics.2 This saying
weaves together no less than seven statements about impossible incompatibili-
ties:3 (1) mounting two horses, (2) stretching two bows, (3) serving two masters,
(4) wanting to move from old to new wine, (5) putting new wine into old skins,
(6) putting old wine into new skins, and (7) stitching old onto new. Thomas’s
fondness for impossibilia is reflective of a hard-line stance which sees every
1 Bibliography for GTh 47: Schrage, Verhältnis, 109–116; J.D. Crossan, In Fragments: The Apho-
risms of Jesus (San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1989), 124–127; P. Nagel, ‘Der Spruch vom Dop-
peldienst im Thomasevangelium (Logion 47) und im manichäischen Psalmenbuch (Part I
pl. 179, 27–29)’, in W. Beltz, ed. Der Gottesspruch in der koptischen Literatur: Hans-Martin
Schenke zum 65. Geburtstag (Hallesche Beiträge zur Orientwissenschaft 15; Halle: Institut für
Orientalistik, 1994), 75–83; Riley, ‘The Influence of Thomas Christianity on Luke 12:14 and 5:39’,
229–234; Baarda, ‘The Gospel of Thomas and the Old Testament’, 17–26.
2 See the very helpful tabulation of the various Synoptic parallels in Plisch, 124. On the 2Clement
and Manichaean Psalm-Book parallels, see notes below on 47.2.
3 Valantasis, 123, helpfully comments: ‘The sayings about the number two evoke strict bifurca-
tion of the two worlds’.
logion 47 399
alternative as an unworkable contradiction. This has already been noted in the

impossibilia in GTh 31–35 (cf. 36), and more recently in 45.1. The point here is
presumably that the revelation of Jesus as preserved in the Thomas movement
requires absolute loyalty.4
This much is agreed upon, but there has been debate about the significance
of the shift in 47.3 to an ‘old’ vs ‘new’ contrast. (1) Valantasis and Pokorný
see Thomas drawing attention to the benefits of the new as incompatible
with the benighted old condition (with Valantasis emphasising dispensations
and Pokorný the individual life before and after).5 (2) Riley and—apparently
inconsistently, or seeing a tension within Thomas—Valantasis again argue that
Thomas values the old over the new, giving priority to the image of the old
wine.6 (3) DeConick, however, does not assign priority to one over the other,
merely remarking that exclusive commitment to Jesus remains the theme.7
DeConick is probably correct here that there is no particular development
in view between 46.1–2 and 3–5, and that the overall theme is the same. It
is particularly apparent that 47.5 is not drawing any attention to the merits
or demerits of old and new, and while it is the damage to the old that is
noted in 47.4, there is no clear external-world referent to the wine and the
skins. The point therefore remains one of the incompatibility of opposites, and
of the need for exclusive commitment, rather than anything to do with old
vs new dispensations, old vs new religious lifestyles, traditional piety vs new
revelation.8
4 Grosso, 180, comments that the living Jesus demands exclusive dedication to his message.
5 Pokorný, 92; Valantasis, in common with his interpretation of GTh 46, sees the primary
contrast between ‘the person of the old dispensation and the person of the new’ (123),
although the contrast is also personal: ‘The new subjectivity must be clearly delineated from
the old …’ (124). Similarly, Hedrick, 96, for whom the gospel is new wine which opens the
mind of those intoxicated by old religion.
6 For Riley, GTh 47 ‘values the old over the new throughout’ (‘The Influence of Thomas Chris-
tianity’, 234); cf. Valantasis, 124: ‘The aged wine presumably refers to the richness of the spir-
itual life presented to those who interpret these sayings, while the young wine refers to the
lesser things of the world.’
8 As was apparently the case for Marcion (according to Tertullian, Marc. 3.15).
400 logion 47
Notes
47.1 It is impossible for a person to mount two horses or to stretch two

bows. The reference to a man riding two horses may allude to the Roman
desultor—a circus actor who jumped from one horse to another.9 The epithet
of desultor was applied to Quintus Dellius, in view of his frequent changing of
sides during the civil wars.10 If the author of Thomas was aware of either a literal
or metaphorical desultor (or even if he was not), then his reference here draws
attention either to the (a) inconstancy or (b) the freakish nature of the rider; on
the other hand, (c) Thomas may be assuming that it was impossible. Drawing
two bows involves even greater physical difficulty.
47.2 And it is impossible for a servant to serve two masters; otherwise,
he will honour the one and insult the other. In the Synoptics (Matt. 6.24;
Lk. 16.13), the other ‘master’ is Mammon.11 According to Grant & Freedman,
‘something like Judaism is substituted for Mammon’.12 It is difficult, however,
to see any particular rival in view in Thomas here.
47.3 No-one drinks old wine and immediately desires to drink new wine.
Cf. Lk. 5.39. The presumption here is that the old wine is better, though there is
no really negative comment about the new.13
47.4 Nor is new wine put into old wineskins, lest they tear. Nor is old wine
put into a new wineskin, lest it ruin it. The idea is presumably that the old
wineskins are worn and fragile (cf. Josh. 9.4) and the new wine, still fermenting
and producing gases, would burst such skins.14 The end of the second sentence
(‘lest it ruin it’) is ambiguous: it could refer (1) to the old wine ruining the new
wineskin, or (2) the new wineskin spoiling the old wine.15 The first sentence
is drawn from the canonical Gospels (Mk 2.22 and parallels), and the second
appears simply to be a reflex of the first, rather than reflecting any viticultural
knowledge.
9 See e.g. Suetonius, Julius 39.

10 E. Badian, ‘Dellius’, OCD3 442.
11 So also in 2Clem. 6.1. See Pratscher, Der zweite Clemensbrief, 108–109.
12 Grant, ‘Notes on the Gospel of Thomas’, 177.
13 On the positive value of old wine, see e.g. Sir. 9.10; P. Oxy. XXXI 2596 line 8 (3rd cent. ce).
14 J.F. Ross, ‘Wine (2c)’, IDB1 (1962), 849–852 (850).
15 For bibliography on wineskins see Hedrick, 97. Other viticultural observations can be
found in Plisch, 125. I am also grateful to my colleague the Ven. John Beer, Archdeacon of
Cambridge, and Wine Steward of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, for his advice on these
matters.
logion 47 401
47.5 An old patch is not stitched onto a new garment, since there would be
a tear. Here the image is quite different from the Synoptic parallels, which talk
of a new patch of unshrunk cloth being placed on an old garment (Mk 2.21; Matt.
9.16; Lk. 5.36). Here in Thomas the idea is in part the incongruity of stitching an
old patch onto a new garment which presumably does not need it, and which
could only be damaged by the addition of old material.
Logion 481
ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ⲉⲣϣⲁ ⲥⲛⲁⲩ ⲣ̄ ⲉⲓⲣⲏⲛⲏ ⲙⲛ̄ ⲛⲟⲩⲉⲣⲏⲩ ϩⲙ̄ ⲡⲉⲓⲏⲉⲓ ⲟⲩⲱⲧ⳿ ⲥⲉⲛⲁϫⲟⲟⲥ ⲙ̄ⲡⲧⲁⲩ
ϫⲉ ⲡⲱⲱⲛⲉ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ⲁⲩⲱ ϥⲛⲁⲡⲱⲱⲛⲉ
Jesus said, ‘If two make peace with one another in this one house, they will
say to the mountain, “Move away”, and it will move.’
Interpretation
In contrast to the Synoptic parallels to this saying (Matt. 18.19; Mk 11.23/ Matt.
21.21; cf. also 1Cor. 13.2), the focus is not on prayer (condemned in GTh 14) but
on soteriology. The apodosis signifies the salvation that is, on strictly human
terms, impossible.2 More precisely, the focus is on what will lead to a position
of ascendancy over the cosmos: a similarly poetic image of salvation is that of
the stones serving the elect in 19.2 (cf. GTh 2; 13; 106: see comment above on
GTh 2.4).
The principal debate has concerned the meaning of the ‘house’ in the prota-
sis, which as the condition of salvation becomes important.3 For Valantasis, the
reference is to a literal household.4 This is unlikely, in view of the reference to
‘this one house’. For Grosso, it is the Thomas community, indicating that despite
e.g. GTh 16 and 55, interpersonal relations (even social responsibility and recip-
rocal solidarity) are of significance to Thomas, but although passages such as
GTh 25 and 69.2 stress solidarity, GTh 48 is not so clear on the point.5 Pokorný
does speak of the overcoming of differences, but with a stress on actualising
the original unity of human beings.6 This last is more likely in view of the wider
emphases of Thomas, and especially as much of the language of this saying is
repeated in GTh 106:
1 Bibliography for GTh 48: Crossan, In Fragments, 295–302; C.W. Hedrick, ‘On Moving Moun-
tains: Mark 11:22b–23/Matt 21:21 and Parallels’, Forum 6 (1990), 219–237.
2 Hedrick, 99; Grosso, 181, 182.
5 Grosso, 182.
6 Pokorný, 93.
logion 48 403
Jesus said, ‘When you make the two one, you will become sons of man.
And when you say, “Mountain, move away!”, it will move.’
The sense there is of the recovery of primordial unity: the theme of ‘making
the two one’ establishes GTh 106 and (by extension) GTh 48 as belonging with
GTh 22 and other sayings about reconstituted oneness. Hence the reference
is probably to the individual person (‘this one house’) re-connecting what
was divided at the fall (GTh 11.4). The unity advocated here in Thomas draws
upon a conception of a fall and restoration conceived in terms of fracture and
reconstitution. The unity required in salvation is not merely separation from
God and reconciliation with God, but the unity and reconciliation of elements
of the human person (see Introduction, §10.2).
Notes
If two make peace with one another in this one house. The catchwords ‘two’
and ‘one’ (ⲥⲛⲁⲩ; ⲟⲩⲁ/ ⲟⲩⲱⲧ) forge a link with GTh 47. The idea that the reference
to ‘making peace’ goes back to a Western Aramaic or Syriac Vorlage is unjusti-
fied.7 There is a striking parallel in the Latin version of the Didascalia: quoniam
scriptum est in evangelio: Duo si convenerunt in unum et dixerint monti huic: Tolle
et mitte te in mari, fiet (Didasc. 15).8 (The Syriac version parallels Matthew much
more closely.) For some this has reinforced the theory of a Syrian provenance.9
They will say to the mountain, “Move away”, and it will move. The apodosis
is a fusion of Mk 11.23/ Matt. 21.21, appended to the protasis which is closer to
Matt. 18.19.

8 For the Latin text, see R.H. Connolly, Didascalia Apostolorum: The Syriac Version Translated
and Accompanied by the Verona Latin Fragments (Oxford: Clarendon, 1929), 135 (cf. the Syriac
in translation on 134); also cf. M.D. Gibson, tr. The Didascalia Apostolorum in English (London:
Clay, 1903), 73; H. Achelis & J. Flemming, Die syrische Didaskalia (TU 25.2; NF 10.2; Leipzig:
Hinrichs, 1904), 345.
9 Plisch, 127.
Logion 491
49.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ϩⲉⲛⲙⲁⲕⲁⲣⲓⲟⲥ ⲛⲉ ⲛⲙⲟⲛⲁⲭⲟⲥ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲉⲧⲥⲟⲧⲡ⳿ ϫⲉ ⲧⲉⲧⲛⲁϩⲉ ⲁⲧⲙⲛ̄ⲧⲉ-

ⲣⲟ 49.2 ϫⲉ ⲛ̄ⲧⲱⲧⲛ̄ ϩⲛ̄ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ⲛ̄ϩⲏⲧⲥ̄ ⲡⲁⲗⲓⲛ ⲉⲧⲉⲧⲛⲁⲃⲱⲕ⳿ ⲉⲙⲁⲩ
49.1 Jesus said, ‘Blessed are the solitary and elect, for you will find the
kingdom. 49.2 For you are from it, and you will return there again.’
Interpretation
This saying is an important statement of one of the central tenets of the Gospel
of Thomas. It defines the identity of the blessed (49.1a), the content of the
promised blessing (49.1b) and the theological grounds for the promise of the
blessing (49.2).2 The promised blessing consists of a guaranteed entry into
the kingdom. This entry is expressed with future tenses in both 49.1 and 49.2,
but the reference is not to an eschatological future: it is actually a return to a
primordial, protological kingdom in paradise. GTh 18–19 are especially closely
related to GTh 49 on this point. This paradise was after all the place of origin of
the souls of the elect, a theme which is developed further in the closely related
GTh 50. This logion raises the question of whether pre-existence is a property
only of the elect, or whether it is more universal—GTh 24 and 70 suggest the
former (see comments ad locc.).
Notes
49.1 Blessed are. This saying is the fourth beatitude of eleven in Thomas (see
comment on Thomas’s beatitudes on GTh 7.1).
49.1 The solitary and elect. On ‘the solitary’, see Appended Note following
GTh 16 above. There has been debate over whether the categories ‘solitary
1 Bibliography for GTh 49: Klijn, ‘The “Single One” in the Gospel of Thomas’, 271–278; Trevijano
Etcheverría, ‘La reconversión de la escatología en protología’, 133–162; Patterson, ‘Jesus Meets
Plato’, 196–204; Gagné, ‘Jésus, la lumière et le Père Vivant’, 215–220.
2 Slightly differently, Valantasis, 125, labels the three parts (1) general beatitude, (2) application
to audience with explanation, and (3) characterisation.
logion 49 405
and elect’ are (1) co-terminous,3 (2) two different groups,4 or (3) two different
but overlapping groups, the membership of both of which is required,5 with
the further possibility that (4) the ‘solitary’ are here a subset of the elect.6
All except (1) are groundless.7 There is no evidence for a differentiation: the
‘saved’ can be identified either as the solitary (GTh 75) or elect (GTh 23; 50).
The pairing appears (in the reverse order) also in the Dialogue of the Saviour
(120,6). Position (1) is taken by the great majority of commentators.
49.1 For you will find the kingdom. Cf. GTh 27; 97?; 107; 109 (cf. also Matt.
13.44). On the kingdom, see Introduction, §10.1 above.
49.2 For you are from it, and you will return there again. The pre-existence
of the kingdom has limited precedent in the canonical Gospels: in Mk 10.40/
Matt. 20.23 and Matt. 25.34, the kingdom and its places are said to have been
‘prepared’, but this does not entail a real pre-existence. The idea of returning to
the kingdom is also dependent on a particular psychology, according to which
the soul (or spirit or image) is pre-existent, as is clearer in GTh 84, with its
reference to ‘your images which came into being before you—which neither
die nor are revealed’.
3 Plisch, 129.
4 I am not sure than anyone has taken position (2). The attribution of this view (Popkes,
Menschenbild, 158) to Lambdin in his translation (‘Blessed are the solitary and elect’) seems
mistaken.
5 Valantasis, 126 (‘in theory at least’).
7 Rightly, Gagné, ‘Jésus, la lumière et le Père Vivant’, 217.
Logion 501
50.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ⲉⲩϣⲁⲛϫⲟⲟⲥ ⲛⲏⲧⲛ̄ ϫⲉ ⲛ̄ⲧⲁⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ϣⲱⲡⲉ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ⲧⲱⲛ ϫⲟⲟⲥ ⲛⲁⲩ
ϫⲉ ⲛ̄ⲧⲁⲛⲉⲓ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ϩⲙ̄ ⲡⲟⲩⲟⲉⲓⲛ ⲡⲙⲁ ⲉⲛⲧⲁ ⲡⲟⲩⲟⲉⲓⲛ ϣⲱⲡⲉ ⲙ̣̄ⲙ̣ⲁ̣ⲩ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ϩⲓⲧⲟⲟⲧϥ⳿
ⲟⲩⲁⲁⲧϥ⳿ ⲁϥⲱϩ̣[ⲉ ⲉⲣⲁⲧϥ] ⲁ̣ⲩⲱ ⲁϥⲟⲩⲱⲛϩ̣ ⲉ[ⲃ]ⲟⲗ̣ ϩ̣ⲛ̄ ⲧⲟⲩϩⲓⲕⲱⲛ 50.2 ⲉⲩϣⲁϫⲟⲟⲥ
ⲛⲏⲧⲛ̄ ϫⲉ ⲛ̄ⲧⲱⲧⲛ̄ ⲡⲉ ϫⲟⲟⲥ ϫⲉ ⲁⲛⲟⲛ ⲛⲉϥϣⲏⲣⲉ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲁⲛⲟⲛ ⲛ̄ⲥⲱⲧⲡ̄ ⲙ̄ⲡⲉⲓⲱⲧ ⲉⲧⲟⲛϩ
50.3 ⲉⲩϣⲁⲛϫⲛⲉ ⲧⲏⲩⲧⲛ̄ ϫⲉ ⲟⲩ ⲡⲉ ⲡⲙⲁⲉⲓⲛ ⲙ̄ⲡⲉⲧⲛ̄ⲉⲓⲱⲧ⳿ ⲉⲧϩⲛ̄ ⲧⲏⲩⲧⲛ̄ ϫⲟⲟⲥ
ⲉⲣⲟⲟⲩ ϫⲉ ⲟⲩⲕⲓⲙ ⲡⲉ ⲙⲛ̄ ⲟⲩⲁⲛⲁⲡⲁⲩⲥⲓⲥ
50.1 Jesus said, ‘If they say to you, “From where have you come?”, say to them,
“We have come from the light, where the light came into being all of its own
accord and st[ood] and appeared in their images.” 50.2 If they say to you,
“Is it you?”, say, “We are its children and we are the elect of the living Father.”
50.3 If they ask you, “What is the sign of your Father in you?”, say to them, “It
is motion and rest.”’
Interpretation
The main debate on this saying (which follows on closely from GTh 49) has
been about the setting in which the dialogue was intended to have taken place.2
(1) Turner and Pokorný take GTh 50 to be ‘a piece of gnostic missionary briefing’,
or ‘catechetical instruction for a missionary dialogue’;3 hence, the dialogue is
between the evangelised and the itinerant evangelist. (2) Valantasis sees a more
hostile interaction between in-group and out-group, but one which functions
1 Bibliography for GTh 50: P. Bellett, ‘El logion 50 del Evangelio de Tomás’, Studia Papyrologica
8 (1969), 119–124; Lelyveld, Logia de la vie, 103–111; Trevijano Etcheverría, ‘La reconversión de
la escatología en protología’, 133–162; DeConick, Seek to See Him, 43–96; Popkes, ‘“Ich bin
das Licht”’, 641–674; Popkes, Menschenbild, 218–227; Patterson, ‘Jesus Meets Plato’, 196–204;
C. Tornau, ‘Die neuplatonische Kritik an den Gnostikern und das theologische Profil des
Thomasevangeliums. Anhang: Zur Übersetzung von EvThom 50,1, NHC II,2, p. 42,1’, in Frey,
Popkes & Schröter, eds. Das Thomasevangelium, 326–359 (358–359); S.J. Gathercole, ‘Quis
et Unde? Heavenly Obstacles in Gos. Thom. 50 and Related Literature’, in M. Bockmuehl &
G.G. Stroumsa, eds. Paradise in Antiquity: Jewish and Christian Views (Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 2010), 82–99; Gagné, ‘Jésus, la lumière et le Père Vivant’, 215–220.
2 Hedrick, 101, says that we do not know if the setting is earthly or mythical. Grosso, 184, also
emphasises the ambiguity.
3 Montefiore & Turner, Thomas and the Evangelists, 86; Pokorný, 94.
logion 50 407
more as the Thomas movement’s ‘celebration of their own identity’ rather than
as exemplifying real conflict ‘out there’.4 (1) and (2) do not take into account the
numerous parallels in dialogues with archontic powers, however. (3) DeConick
takes this to be a dialogue between the soul and hostile powers, but emphasises
strongly that this should be understood as preparation for mystical experience
in the present, rather than post mortem.5 An important component in her argu-
ment is that GTh 59 requires a setting before death. Although the knowledge
must be acquired before death, however, it does not necessarily follow that the
employment of that knowledge must also be before death. (4) This is Jesus’
preparation of the disciples for their post mortem heavenly ascent. This is prob-
ably the setting in many of the principal parallels elsewhere, e.g. in the Gospel of
Mary, Epiphanius’ Gospel of Philip, the apolutrosis ritual described by Irenaeus
and Epiphanius as well as in the First Apocalypse of James, Pistis Sophia, 2 Jeu
and the Ophite diagramme as reported by Origen.6 This is thus the preparation
which ensures that the reader ‘will not taste death’ (GTh 1).
In accordance with a number of instances of this motif, the questioning the
elect will receive is threefold: who are they (50.2)? where are they from (50.1)?
and, do they have the appropriate “pass” (50.3)? The answers to the first two
questions are standard, in that many similar accounts state that the elect are
entitled to ascend because of their identity as the true sons of the light and
because they originated in the place to which they now intend to return.7 The
third, the sign which the ascending soul is to display, is distinctive in character.
Notes
50.1 If they say to you, “From where have you come?” This question in the
context of a heavenly ascent is found in several places: the First Apocalypse
of James (33,15–16: ⲛ̄ⲧⲕ̄̄ ⲟⲩⲉⲃⲟⲗ ⲧⲱⲛ) and the Gospel of Mary (16,4: ⲉⲣⲉⲛⲏⲩ ϫⲓⲛ
ⲧⲱⲛ) are noteworthy parallels because they connect ‘whence’ and ‘whither’
very closely; cf. GTh 50 in connection with the related previous saying (GTh
49). The same is true in the Apocalypse of Paul (ⲉⲕⲧⲱⲛ ⲡⲉ), in which the two
questions appear in sequence (Apoc. Paul 23,2 and 23,11).
50.1 Say to them, “We have come from the light.” The kingdom from which
the elect come in GTh 49 is identified here as ‘the light’, the pre-existent
4 Valantasis, 127–129; the interpretation in Nordsieck, 204, is a combination of (1) and (2).
5 DeConick, Seek to See Him, 43–99; eadem, Voices of the Mystics, 93.
6 On all these, see Gathercole, ‘Quis et Unde?’
7 Popkes labels this the ‘egressus-regressus’ scheme (‘Ich bin das Licht’, 669).
408 logion 50
paradisal reality. Compare a similar element in Origen’s account of the Ophite

diagramme (C. Cels. 6.31): ‘From you I am sent pure, already part of the light of
the Son and the Father’ (φωτὸς ἤδη μέρος υἱοῦ καὶ πατρός). There are three aspects
of the light here.
50.1 Where the light came into being all of its own accord. The first aspect
is its self-generation. This is a theme paralleled in those versions of the Gnostic
myth in which ‘Autogenes’ (whose name means ‘self-generated’) is associated
with light (he is ‘god of light’ in Gos. Jud. 47,20–21; cf. Ap. John II 7,15–328).
50.1 And stood. Secondly, it ‘stood’ (if the restoration of the Coptic is correct).
This rather awkward translation nevertheless communicates the continuity
between the light and the ‘standing’ elect disciples (GTh 16; 23): this implies
indestructibility and immoveable rest (see comment above on GTh 16.4).
50.1 And appeared in their images. Thirdly, its appearance ‘in their images’
is a notorious crux, since the antecedent of ‘their’ is far from clear. (It can hardly
be the questioners, who are the only third-person plural element so far.) Tornau
has proposed quite plausibly a Greek Vorlage which read ἐν τῇ ἑαυτῶν εἰκόνι,
with ἑαυτῶν meaning ‘(our) own’ rather than being specifically third-person.9
This still does not lead neatly to a clear interpretation, however: it is not obvious
what it means for the light to appear in the images of the elect.10 There is clearly
a relationship between GTh 50.1 and 83–84, but that is complicated by the fact
that (i) the light in 83 is concealed and is not clearly said to appear, and (ii) the
images are in 84 said not to appear but will nevertheless be seen.
The most likely sense is perhaps that the elect qua pre-existent beings
were in possession of, indeed were identified with, their images which were
infused with or which simply existed as light. In the text’s present, these true
luminescent images are now hidden within or behind the temporary images
of external physical bodies (83.1). However, in the future, the condition of the
images will again be the same as they were originally: this will happen ‘when
you see your images which came into being before you—which neither die nor
are (in the present) revealed’. Then, the light will appear in the true images of
the elect as it did primordially in 50.1.11
8 Here ‘Autogenes’ may be identified with the Christ who is the light; the identification is
clearer in the other texts of Ap. John. See Waldstein & Wisse, Apocryphon of John, 46–47.
9 Tornau, ‘Die neuplatonische Kritik’, 359.
10 Additionally, Popkes notes that ‘their images’ could either be the images produced by
them (genitive of origin/ authorship) or the images in which they can be seen. Popkes,
Menschenbild, 226. It is far from clear which is the case.
11 The only thing said in GTh 83–84 to remain eternally concealed is the Father’s image.
logion 50 409
50.2 If they say to you, “Is it you?” This corresponds to the frequent “Who?”
question in the heavenly ascent: it is explicit in the version of the apolutrosis
ritual in the First Apocalypse of James (33,15: ⲛ̄ⲧⲕ̄̄ ⲛⲓⲙ). Indeed, the Berlin editors
suggest the possibility of emending the text to ⲛ̄ⲧⲱⲧⲛ̄ ⟨ⲛⲓⲙ⟩.12 It is likely that
something has gone wrong here, either in translation or copying, but the
function of the question is clear enough.13
50.2 Say, “We are its children and we are the elect of the living Father.”
Again this is a feature of the apolutrosis ritual: in reply to the questions of origin
and identity, the soul in in the First Apocalypse of James (33,16–18) replies ‘I am
a son, and I am from the Father.’14
50.3 If they ask you, “What is the sign of your Father in you?” Signs are also
part and parcel of heavenly ascents, functioning as “passports” (or sometimes as
devices to enable the soul’s concealment). In the Apocalypse of Paul, the Spirit
instructs the apostle to give a sign (ⲥⲏⲙⲓⲟⲛ) to the Old Man to secure passage
upwards, as similarly 1 Jeu envisages the ascending soul as possessing for each
aeon a seal and a pebble with an inscribed cipher (ⲥⲫⲣⲁⲅⲓⲥ, ⲯⲏⲫⲟⲥ; e.g. 1 Jeu 33).
For Clement on the other hand, the true Christian must show the symbol, or
stamp (σύμβολον, χαρακτήρ) of righteousness to the angels (Strom. 4.18.116.2).
50.3 Say to them, “It is motion and rest.” As far as I am aware, there is no
parallel in heavenly ascents to this particular answer. Scholars who propose
characteristics of the disciples as corresponding to ‘motion and rest’ do not
do justice to the fact that this is ‘the sign of the Father in you’.15 These are
not necessarily pure opposites, but can be compresent. In Plato’s Parmenides,
for example, the One is both in motion and at rest (καὶ κινεῖσθαι καὶ ἑστάναι,
Parm. 145E; cf. 162B–163B). In Aristotle’s kinematics, ‘the eternal presence of
motion in the universe, Aristotle argues, needs to rely on an eternal cause
that guarantees its persistence.’16 This cause is itself an unmoved mover.17 In
Plotinus, intellect moves and is at rest at the same time, and therefore so is
the all (ὁ δὲ νοῦς οὕτω κινεῖται· ἕστηκε γὰρ καὶ κινεῖται … οὕτως οὖν καὶ τὸ πᾶν τῷ
12 See e.g. Plisch, 131 n. 5.

13 Bellet, ‘El logion 50’, 120–123 suggests the meaning ‘You are something!’ This makes little
sense, however, even if it works as a translation of the Coptic.
14 Cf. Epiphanius’s Gospel of Philip, where the soul claims, ‘I am one of those from above’.
15 Valantasis, 135, for example suggests that the ‘motion’ is the labour of discipleship which
results in ‘rest’ (cf. the sequence in GTh 58); also Grosso, 194.
16 I. Bodnár & P. Pellegrin, ‘Aristotle’s Physics and Cosmology’, in M.L. Gill & P. Pellegrin, eds.
A Companion to Ancient Philosophy (Oxford: Blackwell, 2006), 270–291 (282).
17 Thus also Grant & Freedman, 161, and Bruce, Jesus and Christian Origins, 133 and n. 38 on
Thomas, both citing Ref. 5.7.25 as attesting the Naassene view of the ‘unmoved mover’.
410 logion 50
κύκλῳ κινεῖται ἅμα καὶ ἕστηκεν, Enn. 2.2.3). Applied to GTh 50, the sign might be
the divine causation of movement from the resting divinity, or perhaps more
likely a paradoxical simultaneity of motion and rest: the latter makes (i) a closer
parallelism between motion and rest, (ii) perhaps does better justice to the
reference to ‘movement’ on its own (without any explicit object), and (iii) ⲕⲓⲙ
(‘movement’, ‘motion’) is perhaps also more likely to refer to an intransitive
‘moving’.18 This is more likely on theological grounds, as (iv) the Father does not
appear as an agent acting on other bodies in Thomas. (As an aside, it can also be
noted that as a sign of the Father, ⲕⲓⲙ can hardly have a negative sense here.19)
This would be a further sign that in the disciple worldly opposites are resolved
into a divine unity. Lelyveld’s view that this sign is in deliberate contrast to
circumcision is overly speculative.20 The reference to rest here leads directly
into GTh 51, which thematises rest.
18 See Crum, 109a; in Thomas, cf. GTh 19.3 (though conversely 78.1).
19 As it does in e.g. 2 Thess. 2.2; Heb. 12.26–27.
20 Lelyveld, Logia de la vie, 109; also A. Gagné, ‘Structure and Meaning in Gos. Thom. 49–53.
An Erotapokritic Teaching on Identity and Eschatology’, in J. Schröter, ed. The Apocryphal
Gospels within the Context of Early Christian Theology (Leuven/ Paris/ Walpole: Peeters,
2013), 23–31 (28–29): Gagné’s argument in part is connected with his chiastic outline of
GTh 49–54, in which GTh 50 is paired with GTh 53: on this, however, see comment on
GTh 51 below.
Logion 511
51.1 ⲡⲉϫⲁⲩ ⲛⲁϥ⳿ ⲛ̄ϭⲓ ⲛⲉϥⲙⲁⲑⲏⲧⲏⲥ ϫⲉ ⲁϣ ⲛ̄ϩⲟⲟⲩ ⲉⲧⲁⲛⲁⲡⲁⲩⲥⲓⲥ ⲛ̄ⲛⲉⲧⲙⲟⲟⲩⲧ⳿

ⲛⲁϣⲱⲡⲉ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲁϣ ⲛ̄ϩⲟⲟⲩ ⲉⲡⲕⲟⲥⲙⲟⲥ ⲃ̄ⲃⲣ̄ⲣⲉ ⲛⲏⲩ 51.2 ⲡⲉϫⲁϥ ⲛⲁⲩ ϫⲉ ⲧⲏ ⲉ-
ⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ϭⲱϣⲧ⳿ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ϩⲏⲧⲥ̄ ⲁⲥⲉⲓ ⲁⲗⲗⲁ ⲛ̄ⲧⲱⲧⲛ̄ ⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ⲥⲟⲟⲩⲛ ⲁⲛ ⲙ̄ⲙⲟⲥ
51.1 His disciples said to him, ‘When will the rest for the dead come, and when
is the new world coming?’ 51.2 He said to them, ‘That (rest) which you are
looking for has come, but you do not know it.’
Textual Comment
The conjecture -ⲧⲁⲛⲁⲥⲧⲁⲥⲓⲥ (‘the resurrection’) for -ⲧⲁⲛⲁⲡⲁⲩⲥⲓⲥ, is unneces-

sary.2 Pokorný comments that ‘resurrection (Gr. Anastasis) in part 1 is almost
illegible’:3 this is puzzling, as the word is not almost illegible; it is not there.
Interpretation
This dialogue is the first in a sequence (GTh 51–53) of reformulations of Jewish-

Christian or traditional Christian views.4 Each saying shares the pattern of (1)
a mistaken question by the disciples, which (2) assumes a position held widely
by other Christians, but which (3) is corrected by Thomas’s Jesus.
1 Bibliography for GTh 51: Liebenberg, Language of the Kingdom, 486–494; Plisch, ‘Thomas in
Babel’, 63–64.
2 See e.g. Plisch, 131.
3 Pokorný, 96.
4 A. Gagné, ‘Structure and Meaning in Gos. Thom. 49–53. An Erotapokritic Teaching on Iden-
tity and Eschatology’, in J. Schröter, ed. The Apocryphal Gospels within the Context of Early
Christian Theology (Leuven/ Paris/ Walpole: Peeters, 2013), 23–31, is right to emphasise the
importance of the question-and-answer format of GTh 51–53, although I consider the unity
of GTh 51–53 as a block to be a problem for his chiastic outline of GTh 49–54 (‘Structure and
Meaning in Gos. Thom. 49–53’, 25).
412 logion 51
Rejected Affirmed
GTh 51 future rest for dead, new world present rest

GTh 52 authority of prophets living Jesus
GTh 53 physical circumcision spiritual circumcision
In GTh 51, then, what is affirmed is left unstated, but can be inferred from the
close parallel in GTh 113:
His disciples said to him, ‘When will the kingdom come?’ ⟨Jesus said,⟩ ‘It
will not come by looking for it. It will not be said, “Look! Here it is!”, or
“Look! There it is!” Rather, the kingdom of the Father is spread out upon
the earth, and people do not see it.’
Here, as in GTh 51, one finds (1) a similar wrong-headed question, (2) the truth
of the matter, and (3) the lament over ignorance of the truth. The ‘truth of
the matter’ here, then is the present kingdom which is accessible, but not
recognised by people. What is rejected by Jesus is a ‘rest’ expected in the future,
or a resurrection for the dead, and a repristination of the present world.5
With regard to the former (which is picked up by Jesus: see Notes below),
this saying is thus a part of early Christian controversy over resurrection.6 This
took various forms: some was over the physicality of the resurrection, as already
in 1Corinthians 15,7 in Ignatius’s letter to the Smyrnaeans, and in 2 Clement 9.1.
This is not the focus in Thomas, which here relates more to the debate over
the now/ not yet of the resurrection, as in 2Timothy 2.18 (with the heretics
λέγοντες τὴν ἀνάστασιν ἤδη γεγονέναι), the Treatise on the Resurrection, where the
elect already have resurrection (49,9–37),8 and the Gospel of Philip, according
to which resurrection must precede death (56,15–19; 73,1–5). These cannot all
be reduced to a simple “(0ver-)realised eschatology”, however, and the same is
true of GTh 51. Although the disciples’ hope is said to have come, this should
5 Gathercole, ‘The Heavens and the Earth will be Rolled up’, 292.
6 For a very rough sketch of some of the debate, see M. Vinzent, Christ’s Resurrection in Early
Christianity and the Making of the New Testament (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2011).
7 For the (widely misunderstood) nature of the controversy here see above all D. Endsjø,
‘Immortal Bodies, Before Christ: Bodily Continuity in Ancient Greece and 1Corinthians’, JSNT
30 (2008), 417–436.
8 Treat. Res. may not be entirely consistent on this point, however.
logion 51 413
be understood in the light of the sayings elsewhere in Thomas which talk of

the eternity of the primordial kingdom. (What has come is the revelation of
this by Jesus.) The point is clearer in the close parallel to this dialogue in GTh
113, noted above. As in this later saying, the point in GTh 51 is not that an event
has taken place by which the eschaton has come, but rather that the kingdom is
immanent. This is what crucially must be ‘known’ (51.2), though this knowledge
and the ‘rest’ that comes with it need not be interpreted along ‘Gnostic’ lines in
the technical sense.9
Notes
51.1 His disciples said to him, ‘When will the rest for the dead come, and when
is the new world coming?’ Eschatological inquiries are made by the disciples
in places such as Mk 13.4 and parallels, and Acts 1.6. For the phrase ‘rest for the
dead’, cf. Sir. 38.23: ἐν ἀναπαύσει νεκροῦ. The reference to ‘rest’ here probably
picks up the end of GTh 50, making a catchword link between the two sayings;
‘dead’ may link to the reference to ‘dead’ prophets in GTh 52.2. ‘New world’
is an uncommon phrase, though it resembles Paul’s ‘new creation’ (2 Cor. 5.17;
Gal. 6.15) and the ʿolam ha-ba of Rabbinic literature (cf. already Mk 10.30 and
parallels; Eph. 1.21).
51.2 He said to them, ‘That (rest) which you are looking for has come, but
you do not know it.’ Grammatically Jesus’ reference is not to the (masculine)
new world of 51.1, but to the (feminine) rest. The four feminine markers in Jesus’
reply (ⲧⲏ ⲉⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ϭⲱϣⲧ⳿ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ϩⲏⲧⲥ̄ ⲁⲥⲉⲓ ⲁⲗⲗⲁ ⲛ̄ⲧⲱⲧⲛ̄ ⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ⲥⲟⲟⲩⲛ ⲁⲛ ⲙ̄ⲙⲟⲥ) make
this clear. ‘Know’ here could more accurately be translated ‘recognise’ in this
saying, but ‘know’ appears here to make clear the connection with other sayings
about knowledge.
9 Pace Vielhauer, ‘ΑΝΑΠΑΥΣΙΣ: Zum gnostischen Hintergrund des Thomasevangelium’, 281–

299, for whom ‘rest’ is understood as Gnostic (albeit Gnostic in a generalised sense).
Logion 521
52.1 ⲡⲉϫⲁⲩ ⲛⲁϥ ⲛ̄ϭⲓ ⲛⲉϥⲙⲁⲑⲏⲧⲏⲥ ϫⲉ ϫⲟⲩⲧⲁϥⲧⲉ ⲙ̄ⲡⲣⲟⲫⲏⲧⲏⲥ ⲁⲩϣⲁϫⲉ ϩⲙ̄

ⲡⲓⲥⲣⲁⲏⲗ⳿ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲁⲩϣⲁϫⲉ ⲧⲏⲣⲟⲩ ϩⲣⲁⲓ̈ ⲛ̄ϩⲏⲧⲕ⳿ 52.2 ⲡⲉ⳿ϫⲁϥ ⲛⲁⲩ ϫⲉ ⲁⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ⲕⲱ
ⲙ̄ⲡⲉⲧⲟⲛϩ ⲙ̄ⲡⲉⲧⲛ̄ⲙ̄ⲧⲟ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲁⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ϣⲁϫⲉ ϩⲁ ⲛⲉⲧⲙⲟⲟⲩⲧ⳿
52.1 His disciples said to him, ‘Twenty-four prophets spoke in Israel. And did
all of them speak about you?’ 52.2 He said to them, ‘You have neglected the
living one in front of you, and spoken of the dead.’
Interpretation
The principal theme in this, the second of three related dialogues (GTh 51–53),
is the negative valuation of the prophets, i.e. of OT scripture in toto, by compar-
ison with the authority of Jesus. Various attempts have been made to reduce
the distance from a traditionally Jewish or Jewish-Christian understanding of
Scripture. (1) The most radical of these is that of Quispel, who (although with-
out reference to GTh 52) maintains, ‘dass der Autor des Thomasevangeliums
und die Verfasser seiner Quellen das Alte Testament benutzt und als Heilige
Schrift anerkannt haben …’.2 (2) Pokorný has argued as follows: ‘The saying does
not mean the rejection of the Jewish Bible, as was later the case with Marcion.
It rejects only the so-called history of salvation (in German Heilgeschichte) …’.3
(3) Nordsieck also tries to salvage a more traditional understanding, by saying
that the point is to focus on Jesus in the present and not dwell on the past.4
1 Bibliography for GTh 52: Lelyveld, Logia de la vie, 77–81; P. Nagel, ‘“Vierundzwanzig Prophe-
ten sprachen in Israel” (EvThom 52)—Prophetenbild und Prophetenerwartung im Juden-
christentum und im Thomasevangelium von Nag Hammadi’, in D. Quintern & B. Dottke, eds.
Auch ein Licht durchbricht die Finsternis: Gelehrsamkeit, Wissenschaftsopposition, Universal-
ismus (FS Karam Khella) (Hamburg: Theorie und Praxis Verlag, 1999), 47–62; Baarda, ‘The
Gospel of Thomas and the Old Testament’, 1–28; M. Moreland, ‘The Twenty-Four Prophets
of Israel are Dead: Gospel of Thomas 52 as a Critique of Early Christian Hermeneutics’, in J.Ma.
Asgeirsson, A.D. DeConick & R. Uro, eds. Thomasine Traditions in Antiquity: The Social and
Cultural World of the Gospel of Thomas (NHMS 59; Leiden: Brill, 2006), 75–91.
2 Quispel, ‘Das Thomasevangelium und das alte Testament’, 243.
3 Pokorný, 97.
4 Nordsieck, 210, elsewhere remarking that he sees the core of GTh 52 as perhaps authentic
(233).
logion 52 415
(4) DeConick has argued that the closest parallel to the position attributed to
Jesus comes in the Pseudo-Clementines, according to which the Law must be
seen to receive its authority from Christ, rather than the other way around (Rec.
1.59).5
There are some specific problems with each of these. (1) There is no posi-
tive evidence elsewhere in Thomas for Quispel’s theory of a conscious use of
or reverence for the Hebrew Bible. (2) Pokorný has replaced what Jesus actu-
ally talks about (viz. the prophets), with a modern scholarly construct (‘Heils-
geschichte’).6 (3) Nordsieck’s view fails because the disciples’ question does not
express an unusually nostalgic viewpoint, and (4) DeConick’s view relates to
the theme of the disciples’ question (though not necessarily the view they are
presupposing), but it is not the theme of Jesus’ answer.
There are also problems which attend these views collectively. First, the tone
of Jesus’ reaction is really rather negative: it is surprising that for Thomas an
apparently positive question which inquires about whether Jesus is the subject
of OT prophecy is regarded as tantamount to ignoring him altogether. Sec-
ondly, the characterisation of the prophets as ‘dead’ is not simply a statement
of biological reality.7 The realms of the dead and the living stand in binary
opposition in Thomas (cf. e.g. GTh 11; 60; see comment on ‘death’ on GTh 1
above). Thirdly, the responses of Jesus in the adjacent dialogues in GTh 51
and 53 are not qualifications of traditional assumptions but are instead quite
unqualified rejections of Jewish(-Christian) themes. The verdict of Baarda and
Popkes that this saying is ‘a fundamental break with tradition’ is undoubtedly
correct.8
As Moreland rightly notes, Thomas here is clearly interacting with a Chris-
tian view, rather than making an anti-Jewish point: the view rejected by Jesus is
attributed to the disciples, and the criticism is of those who link the Jesus move-
ment to a Hebrew past.9 The position implied in their question corresponds
6 I am grateful to Prof. Robert Yarbrough for informing me that the earliest attested use of the
German term appears in J. von Hofmann, Weissagung und Erfüllung im Alten und im Neuen
Testamente: Ein theologischer Versuch (Nördlingen: C.H. Beck, 1841), I.8.
7 In Heb. 11.4, Abel is said to speak prophetically though he is dead.
8 Popkes, ‘Differing Approach’, 299; Baarda, ‘The Gospel of Thomas and the Old Testament’, is
correct that GTh 52 not only decisively contradicts Quispel’s view but also discounts any other
optimistic interpretations.
9 Moreland, ‘Twenty-Four Prophets of Israel’, 87; cf. 91; similarly, Gianotto, ‘Quelques aspects
de la polémique anti-juive’, 169. Nagel’s narrowing (‘Vierundzwanzig Propheten’, 53) of the
characterisation of the disciples to Jewish-Christian Nazoreans is too restrictive.
416 logion 52
quite closely to that of the NT Gospels and Paul; cf. e.g. Lk. 24.25, 27; Ac. 3.18,
24; 10.43 (‘To him all the prophets bear witness’); Rom. 1.1–2; 3.21. This is what
is being opposed by Thomas’s Jesus.
Naturally, however, there were more than two views about Scripture on the
table in the mid-second century. This raises the question of where Thomas
belongs on the spectrum of first- and second-century attitudes.10 The Epistle
of Ptolemy to Flora, though it addresses the Law rather than the biblical authors
or prophets more widely, takes the view that the Law is a mix of the legislation
of the just god, Moses and the elders: Moses’ own teaching may have been
well-intentioned, but was actually contrary to the Law of the demiurge (Ep.
Ptol. Fl. in Pan. 33.4). At the far end of the spectrum is the position in works such
as the Apocryphon of John, which not only four times identifies Moses’ words
as mistaken (Ap. John II 13,18–23; 22,22–25; 23,3–4; 29,6–10) but identifies the
OT God with the weak archon ‘Yaltabaoth-Saklas-Samael’, the second and third
names characterising him as foolish and blind (Ap. John II 11,16–18). Similarly,
the Second Treatise of the Great Seth identifies the prophets as counterfeit, and
fit only to be mocked (62,27–64,1).
Although the more positive views advocated by scholars do not do justice to
the tone of Jesus’ response, there is not sufficient evidence that Thomas has a
clearly worked out view of the prophets as had the Second Treatise of the Great
Seth. GTh 52 belongs near—though not at—the radical end of re-evaluations
of Jewish Scripture in the second century.11
Notes
52.1 His disciples said to him, ‘Twenty-four prophets spoke in Israel.’ The
count here does not derive from the twenty-three prophets in Vitae Prophe-
tarum when supplemented with John the Baptist:12 this is unlikely given the
ample parallels to the number 24 as the number of books in the Hebrew
Bible.13 A count of twenty-four is attested in 4 Ezra 14.44–47 (94 books,
10 See J. Carleton Paget, ‘Barnabas 9:4: A Peculiar Verse on Circumcision’, VC 45 (1991),

242–254 (243–245), on the variety.
11 Carleton Paget, ‘A Peculiar Verse on Circumcision’, 247.
12 Grant & Freeman, 162; Baarda, ‘The Gospel of Thomas and the Old Testament’, 12.
13 A different tradition counts 22 books. This is first attested in Josephus (Josephus, C. Ap.
1.38: δύο δὲ μόνα πρὸς τοῖς εἴκοσι βιβλία), and also finds its way into Christian writings
(Origen, apud Eusebius, HE 6.25.1–2; Jerome, Preface to Samuel and Kings). The number
logion 52 417
consisting of 24 for general consumption, and 70 for advanced readers),14 the

third-century commentator Victorinus of Pettau (on the authority of the Epit-
omes of Theodore),15 and (by a rather convoluted route) Numbers Rabbah
28.21.16 Numbers Rabbah 14.4 and Qoheleth Rabbah 12.11, among other places,
also relate the priestly courses, and the twenty-four nails of the Rabbinic inter-
pretation of Eccl. 12.11, to the twenty-four books of the bible:17
As there are twenty-four books, so were there twenty-four watches, and

as there were twenty-four watches, so the number of nails should be
twenty-four.18
(Midr. Qoh. 12.11)
As the number of priestly and levitical divisions is twenty-four, so the

number of books in the bible is twenty-four.19
(Midr. Num. 14.4)
The enumeration probably results from this combination (following for conve-
nience the most common Christian order today):20
twenty-two (the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet) probably comes by combining
Judges and Ruth, as well as Jeremiah and Lamentations. See R.T. Beckwith, The Old Testa-
ment Canon of the New Testament Church (London: SPCK, 1985), 235–273; L.M. McDonald,
The Biblical Canon: Its Origin, Transmission, and Authority (Peabody: Hendrickson 2007),
150–169.
14 In the Syriac and Ethiopic texts; the Latin is corrupt. See R.A. Coggins & M.A. Knibb, The
First and Second Books of Esdras (Cambridge Bible Commentary; Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1979), 282.
15 Victorinus, In Apoc. 4.5 (on Rev. 5.8): sunt autem libri veteris testamenti qui excipiuntur
viginti quattuor, quos in epitomis Theodori invenimus.
16 Explaining the ‘captain of fifty’ in Isa. 3.3, Numbers Rabbah reports: ‘There are twenty-four
books in Scripture. Add to them eleven of the minor prophets, excluding Jonah which is a
book by itself, the six orders [of the Mishnah] and the nine chapters of the Torath Kohanim
[Sifra] and you obtain a total of fifty.’
17 For a helpful survey of the material, see Strack-Billerbeck, IV/1.419–423, and esp. 419–
420.
18 A. Cohen, tr. Midrash Rabbah: Ecclesiastes (London: Soncino, 1939), 314.
19 J.J. Slotki, tr. Midrash Rabbah: Numbers. Volume II (London: Soncino, 1939), 580.
20 For the counting scheme, see Coggins & Knibb, The First and Second Books of Esdras,
282.
418 logion 52
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy 5

Joshua, Judges, Ruth 3
Samuel, Kings, Chronicles, Ezra-Nehemiah21 4
Esther, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes 6
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel 5
The Minor Prophets22 1
As an enumeration of the prophets as people, Thomas’s count is peculiar. It

is unlikely that one intimately acquainted with Judaism would collapse the
distinction between prophets and books, since it was a common-place that,
for example, Moses wrote the Pentateuch, and Jeremiah wrote Lamentations
as well as the prophecy that bears his name (2Chr. 35.25).
52.1 And did all of them speak about you? The Coptic (lit. ‘in you’, as in
Lambdin’s translation) is a little obscure. Clarification is available in a parallel
in Augustine, which has de adventu eius.23 Hence the translation ‘about you’.24
The same Augustine parallel, where the clause is a question, and the questions
introducing GTh 51 and GTh 53, suggest that GTh 52.1 should also be a ques-
tion.25
21 There is a clear consensus that Ezra and Nehemiah were regarded as a unity in antiquity.
See e.g. H.G.M. Williamson, Ezra, Nehemiah (Waco: Word, 1985), xxi–xxiii. The principal
evidence from antiquity is Melito of Sardis, apud Eusebius, HE 4.26.14; Origen, apud HE
6.25.2; Jerome, Prologue to the Book of Kings; b. BB 15a; b. Sanh. 93b.
22 On the unity of the minor prophets (i.e. that they were usually included together in a single
roll), see A.A. Macintosh, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on Hosea (Edinburgh: T&T
Clark, 1997), li–liii. The most important evidence is Sir. 49.10; Melito, apud Eusebius, HE
4.26.14 (τῶν δώδεκα ἐν μονοβίβλῳ); b. BB 14b; b. Meg. 24a; Jerome, Prologue to the Twelve
(ll. 6–7), where he comments that unum librum esse duodecim prophetarum; Num. Rabbah
18.21.
23 Contra adversarium Legis et Prophetarum 2.4.14: sed apostolis, inquit, dominus noster inter-
rogantibus de Judaeorum prophetis quid sentiri deberet, qui de adventu eius aliquid cecinisse
in praeteritum putabantur, commotus talia eos etiam nunc sentire, respondit: dimisistis
vivum qui ante vos est, de mortuis fabulamini.
24 Baarda, ‘Gospel of Thomas and the Old Testament’, 10. For one alternative (‘in you’),
see e.g. Ménard, 155, taking it in the sense of ‘dans le même esprit’; for another (‘durch
dich’), see Nordsieck, 210. Combining the two, Nagel, ‘Vierundzwanzig Propheten’, 54,
interestingly suggests that ‘in’ refers to the fact that Jesus was present in the prophets, and
that they spoke in, through, and out of him. This is a possibility, but is a rather paraphrastic
interpretation of what would be an enigmatic usage.
25 See Baarda, ‘The Gospel of Thomas and the Old Testament’, 8; E. Bammel, ‘The Baptist in
Early Christian Tradition’, NTS 18 (1971–1972), 95–128 (115 n. 4).
logion 52 419
52.2 You have neglected the living one in front of you. On the ‘living one’,
see GTh Prologue; 37; 59; 111 (cf. also GTh 91, which has ‘the one in front of you’).
Bammel is clearly wrong to identify the living one as John the Baptist.26
52.2 And spoken of the dead. Here the prophets are characterised negatively
(cf. GTh 88). Cf. Lk. 24.5 for a contrast between Jesus, the living one, and the
dead (τί ζητεῖτε τὸν ζῶντα μετὰ τῶν νεκρῶν;). On ‘death’ in Thomas see notes on
GTh 1.
26 Bammel, ‘The Baptist in Early Christian Tradition’, 115 n. 4. There is no problem with Jesus
referring to himself as ‘the living one’ (cf. the self-reference to ‘the Son’ in GTh 44).
Logion 531
53.1 ⲡⲉϫⲁⲩ ⲛⲁϥ ⲛ̄ϭⲓ ⲛⲉϥⲙⲁⲑⲏⲧⲏⲥ ϫⲉ ⲡⲥⲃ̄ⲃⲉ ⲣ̄ⲱⲫⲉⲗⲉⲓ ⲏ ⲙ̄ⲙⲟⲛ 53.2 ⲡⲉϫⲁϥ⳿ ⲛⲁⲩ
ϫⲉ ⲛⲉϥⲣ̄ⲱⲫⲉⲗⲉⲓ ⲛⲉ ⲡⲟⲩⲉⲓⲱⲧ⳿ ⲛⲁϫⲡⲟⲟⲩ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ϩⲛ̄ ⲧⲟⲩⲙⲁⲁⲩ ⲉⲩⲥⲃ̄ⲃⲏⲩ 53.3 ⲁⲗⲗⲁ
ⲡⲥⲃ̄ⲃⲉ ⲙ̄ⲙⲉ ϩⲙ̄ ⲡⲛ̅ⲁ̅ ⲁϥϭⲛ̄ ϩⲏⲩ ⲧⲏⲣϥ⳿
53.1 His disciples said to him, ‘Is circumcision an advantage or not?’ 53.2 He
said to them, ‘If it were an advantage, fathers would beget (children) by their
mothers already circumcised. 53.3 Rather, true circumcision in the Spirit is
entirely profitable.’
Interpretation
The main focus here is negative rather than positive: physical circumcision is
being rejected. In its place is an undefined spiritual circumcision. The language
is derived from Paul (Rom. 2.25–3.2), but the position adopted is more radical:
circumcision is not regarded as in any sense an advantage (contra Rom. 3.1–2),
and this rejection of circumcision is even attributed to Jesus himself. This
third dialogue in the sequence (GTh 51–53) completes the series of debates
about wider (Jewish-)Christian beliefs and practices. The argument against
circumcision in part is an argument from consistency: it does not comport with
natural law to suppose that circumcision is a good.2
Thomas thus joins a wider argument about circumcision which we first see
in Paul’s letters. As almost all agree, GTh 53.2–3 cannot go back to Jesus.3 Paul
never makes such arguments about circumcision, and never rejects it alto-
gether: indeed, the formulation here in Thomas draws on Paul’s language of
circumcision in the Spirit, and the value of circumcision (Rom. 2.25–3.2), dis-
agreeing with Paul’s appraisal of its value. It is in the mid-second century that
1 Bibliography for GTh 53: Lelyveld, Logia de la vie, 99–103; Sellew, ‘Pious Practice and Social
Formation’, 47–56; Marjanen, ‘Thomas and Jewish Religious Practices’, 178–180; Gathercole,
‘The Influence of Paul on the Gospel of Thomas’, 72–94; J.W. Jipp & M. Thate, ‘Dating Thomas:
Logion 53 as a Test Case for Dating the Gospel of Thomas within an Early Christian Trajectory’,
Bulletin for Biblical Research 20 (2010), 221–240; Gathercole, Composition, 227–249.
2 Gianotto’s point (‘Quelques aspects de la polémique anti-juive’, 168) that one of the benefits
of relativising circumcision may be female inclusion is probably not relevant to Thomas.
3 Nordsieck, 216, is a rare example of a scholar seeing this saying as in some form (now
irrecoverable) going back to Jesus.
logion 53 421
we see closer analogies to Thomas. The nearest is that attributed to Q. Tineius

Rufus, governor of Judaea in the early 130s ce and in the Bar Kochba revolt:
‘If God is so pleased with circumcision, why does the child not come out of
the womb circumcised?’4 Similar also is Justin: ‘For if circumcision were nec-
essary, as you think, God would not have made Adam uncircumcised.’5 The
early Christian objection to circumcision, that various patriarchs such as Adam,
Abel, Enoch, Noah and Melchizedek were not circumcised, is quite common.6
More negative still is the demonising of circumcision in Barnabas.7 Diognetus
resorts to ridicule, stating that taking pride in the mutilation of the flesh as a
sign of election is ‘worthy of mockery’ (χλεύης ἄξιον, Diogn. 4.4). There is a hint
of this tone, perhaps, in Thomas’s saying, though not as strongly. The charge is
more one of inconsistency: on this charge, see notes above on GTh 43.3.
Notes
53.1 His disciples said to him, ‘Is circumcision an advantage or not?’ Here the
disciples inquire into the historic practice, enjoined upon Abraham in Genesis
17, of circumcision: that is, ‘the excision of the foreskin or prepuce on the end
of the penis to uncover the glans or corona’.8 The language of circumcision as
an ‘advantage’ reflects Rom. 3.1–2.
53.2 He said to them, ‘If it were an advantage, fathers would beget (chil-
dren) by their mothers already circumcised.’ Here, Thomas sides against Jew-
ish tradition (and Paul) in rejecting physical circumcision outright.9 Indeed,
this pronouncement can stand pars pro toto as a rejection of Judaism as a whole,
given that circumcision was for many outsiders the defining characteristic of
Judaism.10 Perhaps in part as a result of the kind of argument in 53.2, a Jewish
4 Tanhuma B 7 (18a). On Tineius Rufus, see W. Eck, ‘Q.T. Rufus’, Brill’s New Pauly XIV:717, and
especially S. Applebaum, ‘Tineius Rufus and Julius Severus’, in idem, Judaea in Hellenistic
and Roman Times: Historical and Archaeological Essays (Leiden: Brill, 1988), 117–123.
5 Dial. 19.3: εἰ γὰρ ἦν ἀναγκαία, ὡς δοκεῖτε, οὐκ ἂν ἀκρόβυστον ὁ θεὸς ἔπλασε τὸν Ἀδάμ … .
6 Justin, Dial. 92.2; Cyprian, Test. 1.8, and Tertullian, Adv. Jud. 2. See further Gianotto, ‘Quel-
ques aspects de la polémique anti-juive’, 168.
7 Barn. 9.4. See discussion in J. Carleton Paget, Jews, Christians and Jewish Christians in
Antiquity (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2010), 84.
8 D.A. Bernat, ‘Circumcision’, EDEJ 471–474 (471).
9 For parallels, see Jipp & Thate, ‘Dating Thomas’, 251–254.
10 See Schäfer, Judeophobia, 96–102. (Cf. the short-hand περιτομή, for ‘Judaism’/ ‘Jews’ in e.g.
Gal. 2.9.)
422 logion 53
tradition (already attested before Thomas) became more important according

to which various patriarchs were deemed to have been born circumcised.11
53.3 Rather, true circumcision in the Spirit is entirely profitable. This
spiritual circumcision which Jesus puts in the place of the physical variety is
not defined here, but there are various options.12 Justin, Dial. 114 emphasises
the Pauline contrast between physical and spiritual circumcision. It could be
an ethical requirement, as in Philo, for whom circumcision represents the
‘excision of pleasures which bewitch the mind’ and the rejection of pride (Spec.
1.8–10), or as in Gos. Phil. 82,26–29, where Abraham was circumcised, ‘teaching
us that it was proper to destroy the flesh’. Alternatively, a divine act of salvation
may be in view, as in Paul’s conception of the circumcision by the Spirit (Rom.
2.29; Phil. 3.3; Col. 2.11), or Odes of Solomon 11.1–3. This ambiguity means that it
is unclear whether the force is to practise spiritual circumcision or to rejoice in
it having taken place.
11 See I. Kalimi, ‘ “He was Born Circumcised”: Some Midrashic Sources, Their Concepts,
Roots and Presumably Historical Context’, in idem, Early Jewish Exegesis and Theological
Controversy: Studies in Scriptures in the Shadow of Internal and External Controversies
(Assen: Van Gorcum, 2002), 61–76.
12 For various parallels, see Marjanen, ‘Thomas and Jewish Religious Practices’, 179; Gianotto,
‘Quelques aspects de la polémique anti-juive’, 168.
Logion 541
ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ϩⲛ̄ⲙⲁⲕⲁⲣⲓⲟⲥ ⲛⲉ ⲛϩⲏⲕⲉ ϫⲉ ⲧⲱⲧⲛ̄ ⲧⲉ ⲧⲙⲛ̄ⲧⲉⲣⲟ ⲛⲙ̄ⲡⲏⲩⲉ⳿
Jesus said, ‘Blessed are the poor, for yours is the kingdom of heaven.’
Interpretation
As is common in beatitudes, this saying (paralleled in Matt. 5.3 and Lk. 6.20)
pronounces a blessing and then specifies the content of that blessing. In terms
of the meaning, the main debate is about the identity of the ‘poor’. (1) Baarda
and Hedrick interpret this saying on a cosmological level, taking the poor to
refer to those who are in a state of spiritual illness and ignorance; nevertheless,
as GTh 29 has made clear, spiritual wealth has taken up residence in this
poverty, and so ‘there is a message of hope for them’.2 (2) Valantasis, by contrast,
emphasises strongly the material dimension, remarking that, ‘mendicancy,
pauperism, and beggary’ characterise the itinerant Thomas disciples.3 Even if
one is not so committed to the hypothesis of Wanderradikalismus in Thomas,
the saying probably does refer to the Thomas movement as marginalised from
sources of power and perhaps also as lacking in material wealth. One might
compare the invective against rulers in GTh 78. The way the Thomas disciples
appear—i.e. as lacking in power and wealth—belies the truth, however, which
is that they are part of the ultimate kingdom.
1 Bibliography for GTh 54: T. Baarda, ‘Drs. J. Slavenburg en de “Zaligspreking van de Armen”’,
GTT 97 (1997), 28–32; T. Baarda, ‘ “Zalig de Armen …”: John Dominic Crossan over Logion 54
van “Thomas”’, GTT 97 (1997), 127–132; P.J. Hartin, ‘The Poor in the Epistle of James and the
Gospel of Thomas’, HTS 53 (1997), 146–162; Liebenberg, Language of the Kingdom, 448–461;
T. Baarda, ‘“Blessed are the Poor”: Concerning the Provenance of Logion 54 in Thomas’, ARC
33 (2005), 32–51; C. Quarles, ‘The Use of the Gospel of Thomas in the Research on the Historical
Jesus of John Dominic Crossan’, CBQ 69 (2007), 517–536 (518–524); Goodacre, Thomas and the
Gospels, 50–52, 66–69.
2 Baarda, ‘Blessed are the Poor’, 35; cf. Hedrick, 107.
3 Valantasis, 131. He goes on to comment that the saying also functions secondarily, however, to
characterise all disciples as ‘poor’ regardless of their economic status (132).
424 logion 54
Notes
Blessed are the poor. The fifth macarism of 11: for a list see on GTh 7. Thomas,
like Luke 6.20 (against Matt. 5.3), has no reference to ‘in spirit’.4 This point has
been part of the long-standing discussion over which of the three versions is
closest to the original. Only a view about the relationship between Thomas
and the Synoptics reached on other grounds, however, could give reasons for
defining the relationship between this phrase and its parallels. Commentators
advocating independence often work with too scribal a model of possible
dependence in approaching this saying,5 and there is also no reason to dismiss
secondary orality.6
For yours is the kingdom of heaven. On the kingdom in Thomas, see Intro-
duction, §10.1 above. Kingdom ‘of heaven’ fits with Thomas’s usage elsewhere
(cf. 20; 114), and is probably influenced by Matthew’s distinctive formulation
(whether specifically by Matt. 5.3, or Matthew’s usage more widely).7 ‘Yours’,
however, agrees with Luke.
4 The version in Polycarp, Phil. 2.3 is identical to Luke.

5 Plisch, 137: ‘there is no discernible reason for the compiler of the Gospel of Thomas to have
changed the Jesus logion …’; cf. J.D. Crossan, Four Other Gospels: Shadows on the Contours
of Canon (Minneapolis: Winston Press, 1985), 37: on a theory of Thomas’s dependence, ‘one
would have at least to argue that Thomas (a) took the third person “the poor” from Matthew,
then (b) the second person “yours” from Luke, and (c) returned to Matthew for the final
“Kingdom of Heaven.” It might be simpler to suggest that Thomas was mentally unstable.’
6 Pace DeConick, 188.
7 See Goodacre, Thomas and the Gospels, 66–69.
Logion 551
55.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ⲡⲉⲧⲛⲁⲙⲉⲥⲧⲉ ⲡⲉϥ⳿ⲉⲓⲱⲧ⳿ ⲁⲛ⳿ ⲙⲛ̄ ⲧⲉϥⲙⲁⲁⲩ ϥⲛⲁϣⲣ̄ ⲙⲁⲑⲏⲧⲏⲥ ⲁⲛ
ⲛⲁⲉⲓ⳿ 55.2 ⲁⲩⲱ ⲛ̄ϥⲙⲉⲥⲧⲉ ⲛⲉϥ⳿ⲥⲛⲏⲩ⳿ ⲙⲛ̄ ⲛⲉϥⲥⲱⲛⲉ ⲛ̄ϥϥⲉⲓ ⲙ̄ⲡⲉϥⲥ(ⲧⲁⲩⲣ)ⲟⲥ ⲛ̄ⲧⲁϩⲉ
ϥⲛⲁϣⲱⲡⲉ ⲁⲛ ⲉϥⲟ ⲛ̄ⲁⲝⲓⲟⲥ ⲛⲁⲉⲓ
55.1 Jesus said, ‘Whoever does not hate his father and mother will not be
able to be a disciple of mine. 55.2 And whoever does not hate his brothers
and sisters, and take his cross like me, will not be worthy of me.’
Textual Comment
As is common elsewhere in early Christian manuscripts, the staurogram is

employed in the word for ‘cross’ (here: ⲥⳁⲟⲥ; in full, ⲥⲧⲁⲩⲣⲟⲥ).2 This monogram
functions neatly as both a combination of the key consonants (tau and rho,
with tau also containing the relevant vowels), and an image of a person on a
cross.
Interpretation
This hyperbolic logion (parallelled in Matt. 10.37–38/ Lk. 14.26–27; cf. Mk 8.34/
Matt. 16.24/ Lk. 9.23; GTh 101) consists of a pair of statements in synthetic
parallelism (‘father and mother’ is complemented by ‘brothers and sisters’;
taking up the cross lends further specification to ‘be a disciple’). The saying
continues the theme of division envisaged in GTh 16, in which Jesus states, ‘I
have come to bring divisions on the earth … For there will be five in a house,
and three will be against two, and two against three; father against son, and
son against father.’ This saying might be part of a larger Wanderradikalismus
package,3 but it need not be: it might simply be saying that the opinion of and
1 Bibliography for GTh 55: Schrage, Verhältnis, 120–123; Trevijano Etcheverría, ‘La madre de
Jesús’, 271–284; Petersen, Zerstört die Werke der Weiblichkeit, 269–274.
2 See L.W. Hurtado, ‘The Staurogram in Early Christian Manuscripts: The Earliest Visual Refer-
ence to the Crucified Jesus?’, in T.J. Kraus & T. Nicklas, eds. New Testament Manuscripts: Their
Text and Their World (TENTS 2; Leiden: Brill 2006), 207–226.
3 Patterson, Gospel of Thomas, 134; Valantasis, 132, links GTh 54–55 together as common ele-
ments in a poor, itinerant lifestyle.
426 logion 55
affection for father, mother, brother and sisters must be discarded if it conflicts
with true discipleship.
One notable point here is that there is a high status attributed to Jesus. He
is the focus of discipleship (in the first half of the saying), and sets a standard
which must be attained (in the second half).
There is also a rare focus on the cross. In addition to some who have seen the
cross as a metaphor for something rather different,4 there has also been debate
over the relative significance of the death of Jesus in Thomas. On the maximalist
side, DeConick sees the imitation by disciples of Jesus’ crucifixion as ‘neces-
sary for their salvation’,5 with Thomas referring to the cross elsewhere as well
(GTh 87; 112).6 On the other side, Patterson—with most other scholars—sees
this theme as separating Thomas quite sharply from the canonical Gospels.7
Although ideas of redemption and atonement are absent, the cross in this say-
ing does have soteriological significance inasmuch as it represents a normative
ideal of suffering which disciples must embrace just as Jesus did, but this is the
only reference to Jesus’ crucifixion in Thomas, and so it is not obviously a dom-
inant conception of discipleship.
Notes
55.1 Whoever does not hate his father and mother will not be able to be a
disciple of mine. There is an interesting parallel to 55.1 in GTh 101.1–2, although
the latter does not really assist with the interpretation of the former: ‘Whoever
does not hate his father and his mother as I do cannot be a disciple of mine. And
whoever does not love his Father and his Mother as I do cannot be a disciple of
mine.’ Here, as elsewhere in Thomas the Synoptic saying is supplemented with
a contrasting saying (cf. e.g. 47.4a + b).
55.2 And whoever does not hate his brothers and sisters, and take his cross
like me. This is a reference to carrying the cross (or crossbeam) on the way to
crucifixion (Mk 15.21; Matt. 27.32; Lk. 23.26; Jn 19.17). The reference to ‘like me’
4 It seems unlikely that the cross represents the world, i.e. something which must be rejected
(thus Valantasis, 132).
5 DeConick, 189. Also emphasising the importance of this saying is F. Vouga, ‘Mort et résurrec-
tion de Jésus dans la Source des logia et dans l’ Évangile de Thomas’, in Painchaud & Poirier,
eds. Coptica—Gnostica—Manichaica, 1009–1024.
6 DeConick, 253, 294.
7 See, most recently, S.J. Patterson, ‘The View from Across the Euphrates’, HTR 104 (2011), 411–431.
logion 55 427
should probably not be seen within the context of wider discussions of ὁμοίωσις
θεῷ,8 though this might be prominent in other sayings (e.g. GTh 108).
55.2 Will not be worthy of me. There was probably a catchword connection
with GTh 56 in the Greek original (55.2: ⲁⲝⲓⲟⲥ; 56.2: ⲙ̄ⲡϣⲁ).
8 E.E. Popkes, ‘Die Umdeutung des Todes Jesu im koptischen Thomasevangelium’, in J. Frey &
J. Schröter, eds. Deutungen des Todes Jesu im Neuen Testament (WUNT 181; Tübingen: Mohr
Siebeck, 2005), 513–543 (526–527).
Logion 561
56.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ⲡⲉⲧⲁϩⲥⲟⲩⲱⲛ ⲡⲕⲟⲥⲙⲟⲥ ⲁϥ⳿ϩⲉ ⲉⲩⲡⲧⲱⲙⲁ 56.2 ⲁⲩⲱ ⲡⲉⲛⲧⲁ-
ϩ⟦‘ϩ’⟧ⲉⲉ ⲁⲡⲧⲱⲙⲁ ⲡⲕⲟⲥⲙⲟⲥ ⲙ̄ⲡϣⲁ ⲙ̄ⲙⲟϥ ⲁⲛ
56.1 Jesus said, ‘Whoever has come to know the world has found a corpse.
56.2 And whoever has found the corpse, the world is not worthy of him.’
Interpretation
This saying can be considered in the company of its parallels elsewhere in

Thomas:
GTh 80: Jesus said, ‘Whoever has come to know the world has found the
corpse. But whoever has found the body, the world is not worthy of him.’
GTh 110: Jesus said, ‘Whoever has found the world and is rich, let him
renounce the world.’
The closer parallel is GTh 80. The sense in both GTh 56 and 80 is that (a)
the world belongs to the realm of death, and (b) the truly living disciple who
has recognised this is superior to it. These characterisations of the world as
spiritually dead are the two most anti-cosmic sayings in Thomas, since ‘death’
is perhaps the most negatively valued spiritual state (cf. GTh 1; 11; 18; 19; 52; 60;
85; 111: see comment on GTh 1).
Notes
56.1 Whoever has come to know the world has found a corpse. The sense here
is of coming to know the world for what it really is, namely a corpse. It would be
wrong to suppose that ‘found’ here must go back to a Semitic original meaning
something like ‘master’ or ‘dominate’.2 The parallel of ‘knowing’/ ‘finding’ in 56.1
1 Bibliography for GTh 56: Sellew, ‘Death, Body, and the World’, 530–534; Liebenberg, Language
of the Kingdom, 136–149; Uro, Thomas, 55–62; Gathercole, Composition, 77–79, 250–262.
logion 56 429
is a very natural one. Realising the true nature of the world is like finding a dead
body. As Valantasis rightly comments, it is a shock to discover a corpse, and to
see the world for what it is—the realm of death—is an alarming experience.3
The language here ‘indicates the intensity of the conflict between the mundane
world and the new world created by those who have learned to recognize
themselves’.4
56.2 And whoever has found the corpse. Again, ‘finding’ here does not need
to be reinterpreted on the basis of a speculative Vorlage; 56.2 is here picking up
on 56.1: one might translate 56.2, ‘And whoever has found that corpse …’.
56.2 The world is not worthy of him. On the second clause, see the discus-
sion elsewhere.5 It refers to the superiority of the true disciple to the material
cosmos, as reflected in the motif of ruling, and the control which the elect exert
over it (cf. e.g. the obedience of the mountains in GTh 48 and 106, and of the
stones in 13.8): see, further, notes above on GTh 2.4. Reference to ‘worthiness’
links with the previous saying (55.2: ⲁⲝⲓⲟⲥ; 56.2: ⲙ̄ⲡϣⲁ).
3 Valantasis, 133.
4 Valantasis, 133.
Logion 571
57.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ⲧⲙⲛ̄ⲧⲉⲣⲟ ⲙ̄ⲡⲉⲓⲱⲧ⳿ ⲉⲥⲧⲛ̄ⲧⲱ(ⲛ) ⲁⲩⲣⲱⲙⲉ ⲉⲩⲛ̄ⲧⲁϥ ⲙ̄ⲙⲁⲩ ⲛ̄ⲛⲟⲩ-
ϭⲣⲟϭ ⲉ̣ⲧ̣[ⲛⲁⲛⲟⲩ]ϥ⳿ 57.2 ⲁⲡⲉϥϫⲁϫⲉ ⲉⲓ ⲛ̄ⲧⲟⲩϣⲏ⳿ ⲁϥⲥⲓⲧⲉ ⲛ̄ⲟⲩⲍⲓⲍⲁⲛⲓ[ⲟ]ⲛ ⲉ̣ϫ̣ⲛ̄
ⲡⲉϭⲣⲟ̣[ϭ ⲉ]ⲧⲛⲁⲛⲟⲩϥ⳿ 57.3 ⲙ̄ⲡⲉ ⲡⲣⲱⲙⲉ ⲕⲟⲟⲩ ⲉϩⲱⲗⲉ ⲙ̄ⲡⲍⲓⲍⲁⲛⲓⲟⲛ ⲡⲉϫⲁϥ ⲛⲁⲩ ϫⲉ
ⲙⲏⲡⲱⲥ ⲛ̄ⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ⲃⲱⲕ⳿ ϫⲉ ⲉⲛⲁϩⲱⲗⲉ ⲙ̄ⲡⲍⲓⲍⲁⲛⲓⲟ(ⲛ) ⲛ̄ⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ϩⲱⲗⲉ ⲙ̄ⲡⲥⲟⲩⲟ ⲛⲙ̄ⲙⲁϥ⳿
57.4 ϩⲙ̄ ⲫⲟⲟⲩ ⲅⲁⲣ ⲙ̄ⲡⲱϩ̅ⲥ̅ ⲛ̄ⲍⲓⲍⲁⲛⲓⲟⲛ ⲛⲁⲟⲩⲱⲛϩ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ⳿ ⲥⲉϩⲟⲗⲟⲩ ⲛ̄ⲥⲉⲣⲟⲕϩⲟⲩ
57.1 Jesus said, ‘The kingdom of the Father is like a man who had [good] seed.
57.2 His enemy came in the night and sowed weeds over the good see[d]. 57.3
The man did not allow them to pull up the weeds. He said to them, “It is in
case you go to pull up the weeds and pull up the wheat along with them.” 57.4
For on the day of the harvest, the weeds will be revealed. They will be pulled
up and burned.’
Textual Comment
The phrase ϫⲉ ⲉⲛⲁϩⲱⲗⲉ in 57.3 may be corrupt,2 but the general sense is clear.
Interpretation
This is the fifth of Thomas’s 14 parables (see comment above on GTh 8). Vari-
ous interpretations of this parable of the Tares (cf. Matt. 13.24–30) have been
proposed. (1) King takes the following view: ‘To be a member of the commu-
nity means to be able to deal shrewdly and effectively with enemies. It means
to be a moral person whose acts are like the sowing of good seed.’3 There is
no emphasis on ‘sowing of good seed’ in the parable, however, so it is doubtful
that this is a main theme. (2) Valantasis takes the view that the kingdom, i.e.
the Thomas community, is a mixture of good and evil.4 On the other hand, the
1 Bibliography for GTh 57: Schrage, Verhältnis, 123–126; Crossan, ‘Seed Parables of Jesus’, 259–
261; Liebenberg, Language of the Kingdom, 208–224; Goodacre, Thomas and the Gospels, 73–81;
J.P. Meier, ‘The Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds (Matthew 13:24–30): Is Thomas’s Version
(Logion 57) Independent?’, JBL 131 (2012), 715–732.
2 See discussion in Plisch, 141.
4 Valantasis, 134.
logion 57 431
idea that the Thomas movement is a corpus permixtum is at odds with the rest
of Thomas. (3) For Pokorný, the parable reflects a stance of openness towards
outsiders and the possibility of their salvation: ‘The parable warns agains the
premature judgment and rejection of the others … no human is called to judge
the others.’5 This interpretation has some promise, but there is still a stark dual-
ity between the good seed and the weeds, and the agricultural imagery here is
not particularly conducive to a sense of the permeability of the divide between
the in-group and the out-group.
Valantasis and Pokorný are correct, however, that the main element of sur-
prise in the parable is 57.3: the farmer’s refusal to remove the weeds straight
away. Because of this, the parable probably answers the implied question: Why
is evil permitted to remain?6 Even though a direct answer is not given in theo-
logical terms, the concern here is probably with the interim period before the
end, as might be the case with the similar GTh 10. This allows for two possible
interpretations, one cosmic, and one more anthropological. On the first view,
the ‘man’ (= the Father) is in possession of ‘good seed’ (= the elect), among
whom an ‘enemy’ (= evil forces) has scattered weeds (= the non-elect). The
separation of the two will only appear at the harvest (= the end). On this view,
Thomas’s parable here thus closely resembles Matthew 13.24–30, both in form
and in meaning.7 An alternative possibility is that in which the good seed is the
soul, which has become intermingled with matter, an interpretation which is
also found in Theodotus and attributed to the Manichees.8 Finally, a version
of Pokorný’s interpretation where the point is a warning against premature
human judging (cf. GTh 26) may be correct. A certain and precise interpreta-
tion of the parable is unfortunately not possible.
5 Pokorný, 102.
6 Considerable difficulties arise if the parable is not taken in allegorical terms at all. Plisch
is certainly correct to chastise Schrage’s interpretation (Plisch, 143 n. 2), but his own view
works with too rigid a notion of what a parable is (in the contrast between ‘a real parable’ and
‘an allegory’—supposing a pure form of a parable), and so finds it difficult to accommodate
the enemy and the warning of judgment in the interpretation of what is actually present
in Thomas. Meier, ‘Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds’, 719, sees remnants of Matthew’s
allegorical interpretation (n.b. also 721–722).
7 Apparently the view of Ménard, 160. Matthew’s parable almost certainly does not agonize
over the church as a corpus permixtum, as Davies and Allison rightly note. The field is
the world, not the church: Matthew does not envisage leaving weeds in the church until
the parousia, for he advocates church discipline in 18.15–20 (Davies & Allison, Matthew,
II.408–409).
8 Clement, Exc. 53.1; Epiphanius, Pan. 66.65.
432 logion 57
Notes
57.1 The kingdom of the Father is like a man who had good seed. The first
question which arises concerns what the point of comparison is here.9 Is the
kingdom likened to the ‘man’? Or with the whole vignette of the parable? The
kingdom could be quite straightforwardly identified as the ‘man who had good
seed’, as fits the syntax of the opening sentence: the man’s possession of the
good seed would then be analogous to the situation of original goodness in
which the ‘souls’ of the children of the Father pre-existed. Or the focus of the
‘kingdom’ here could be on the current situation, with the kingdom ‘spread over
the earth’ as in GTh 113.4. On the kingdom in Thomas, see Introduction, § 10.1
above.
57.2 His enemy came in the night and sowed weeds over the good seed.
The specific identity of the enemy is not clear here, and indeed there need
not be a one-to-one correlation with a particular demonic figure: the event
envisaged may be a kind of cosmic fall without a particular agent responsible.
In contrast to the picture in GTh 21 and 29, where the ‘good’ falls into the bad,
here the bad enters the good, but the reference is still to the cosmic process
or event which brought about contamination of flesh and spirit, of the divine
and material realms. Opposition is construed elsewhere in Thomas in terms of
figures suggestive of archontic powers, however: GTh 21 talks of the opponents
of the children in the field (21.3), as well as of the thief (21.5) and the robbers
(21.7); GTh 50 refers to when ‘they’ ask about the origin, identity and mark of the
elect. It is not unusual to alternate between speaking of evil forces in singular
and plural terms: Paul, for example, can speak both of the devil (Eph. 6.11) and
in the very next verse of evil ‘rulers’ and ‘authorities’ (6.12). GTh 57 here speaks
in singular terms of the opposition, in harmony with GTh 21.5. The use of the
word for weed (ⲍⲓⲍⲁⲛⲓ[ⲟ]ⲛ) probably reflects the influence of Matthew.10
9 Valantasis argues that there is an oddity here in that judgment is supposed to take place
within the kingdom (Valantasis, 134). However, this is to misread the ‘is like’. The point
here is that the parable brings to light some aspect of the kingdom: it is not that the
whole situation described is simply a parabolic account of the kingdom. Doran rightly
talks of ‘methodological caution against comparing unilaterally the Kingdom with the
first character of a parable rather than with the whole parable’. See R. Doran, ‘A Complex
of Parables: GTh 96–98’, NovT 29 (1987), 347–352 (348).
10 Meier, ‘The Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds’, 726–727: ‘This Greek noun (probably of
Semitic origin) does not occur in the LXX, in other Greek versions of the OT, in secular
Greek before the Christian era, or in the Apostolic Fathers. In the NT, it occurs only in this
parable of Matthew and its interpretation.’
logion 57 433
57.3 The man did not allow them to pull up the weeds. Here, the editor
of the parable has clearly missed out the central part of the story which (a)
describes the sprouting of the weeds, and (b) introduces the farm workers who
see a need to get rid of these weeds (cf. Matt. 13.26–28).11 There is a pattern of
‘missing middles’ in Thomas, as Goodacre has observed.12 Both these events are
assumed in the reference to the farmer not allowing the unspecified ‘them’ to
uproot the weeds. Since there is no antecedent in Thomas’s parable, the parable
here is probably an abbreviation of an earlier form, probably that of Matthew.
57.3. He said to them, “It is in case you go to pull up the weeds and pull
up the wheat along with them.” The explanation of the farmer’s refusal here
is the same as in Matt. 13.29. It is an explanation not specifically of the delay of
a parousia, but more generally of the duration of a history in which the world
and/ or the body contains sin. The partial response in GTh 57.3 is supplemented
by 57.4. A theological answer is not given to the problem; rather the response
sticks to the imagery of the parable, so that the problem is avoided.
57.4 For on the day of the harvest the weeds will be revealed. It is possi-
ble that 57.4 is spoken to the farm-hands, rather than being Jesus’ comment
appended to the parable: in Matthew’s parallel it is clearly spoken to the work-
ers.13 This additional explanation is that there is still an event to come, or an
incomplete process, which will make the weeds evident. This is slightly incon-
gruous, since according to 57.3 the weeds are already visible.14
57.4 They will be pulled up and burned. The language here suggests that an
eschatological judgment is not an alien idea to Thomas. Although there is no
direct parallel to this in Thomas, there are related ideas such as cosmic collapse
(GTh 11; 111), exclusion from the kingdom (64.12), and lack of forgiveness (44).
Especially relevant is Jesus bringing fire in GTh 10 (cf. GTh 16), given the
similarity of theme between GTh 10 and 57.
11 As scholars have very frequently observed (Montefiore & Turner, Thomas and the Evan-
gelists, 51; Crossan, ‘Seed Parables’, 261; Meier, ‘The Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds’,
720).
12 Goodacre, Thomas and the Gospels, 109–127, and 110–111 on GTh 57 in particular on this
point.
13 Hedrick, 110.
14 Meier, ‘Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds’, 723.
Logion 581
ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ⲟⲩⲙⲁⲕⲁⲣⲓⲟⲥ ⲡⲉ ⲡⲣⲱⲙⲉ ⲛ̄ⲧⲁϩϩⲓⲥⲉ ⲁϥϩⲉ ⲁⲡⲱⲛϩ
Jesus said, ‘Blessed is the man who has laboured and found life.’
Interpretation
The present saying sees the quest for knowledge and life as a struggle, but one
which leads to salvation.2 This is one of many sayings setting out the terms of
‘not tasting death’.
Notes
Blessed is the man. This is the sixth macarism of Thomas’s eleven: on these, see
note ad GTh 7.1.3
Who has laboured. The translation ‘suffered’ is also possible.4 The sense of
ϩⲓⲥⲉ elsewhere in Thomas tends towards the meaning ‘labour’, however,5 and the
sequence labour → salvation is a common one in Thomas (on the importance
of work, see also GTh 20; 107; cf. 109). The main question then concerns the
nature of the ‘labour’: is it the hard physical labour of ‘ascetical activity’,6 or is
the labour primarily the ‘textual’ labour of interpretation? As is often the case
in Thomas, the lack of contextual indicators makes a final verdict difficult, and
1 Bibliography for GTh 58: Lelyveld, Logia de la vie, 69–76; J. Schröter, ‘Die Forschung am
Thomasevangelium im Berliner Arbeitskreis für koptisch-gnostische Schriften. Beobachtun-
gen anhand von Logion 58 (NHC II, p. 43,7–9)’, ZAC 13 (2009), 38–47.
2 Various scholars have noted the parallel in 1 Pet. 3.14a: ἀλλ’ εἰ καὶ πάσχοιτε διὰ δικαιοσύνην,
μακάριοι. See e.g. J.B. Bauer, ‘De agraphis genuinis evangelii secundum Thomam coptici’,
Verbum Domini 37 (1959), 129–146 (141). The parallel in Jas 1.12 is no closer than the Sermon on
the Mount parallels in Matt. 5.10–11; Lk. 6.22.
3 For various parallels to this beatitude, see Quispel, ‘The Gospel of Thomas and the New
Testament’, 204.
4 So Lelyveld, Logia de la vie, 76; DeConick, 195–196, giving priority to the parallels in e.g 1Peter
and James.
5 Plisch, 144.
6 Valantasis, 135.
logion 58 435
both are found elsewhere: on the precondition of world-denial for salvation,

see e.g. GTh 27; the labour of ‘seeking’ leads to salvation in GTh 2.
And found life. This phrase combines two of Thomas’s favourite themes,
namely discovery and life/ salvation. Compare e.g. the combination in GTh 1:
‘Whoever finds the interpretation of these sayings will not taste death’. Lan-
guage of ‘life’/ ‘living’ (especially in contrast to death) features heavily in nearby
sayings: see GTh 59; 60.4; 61.1.
Logion 591
ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ϭⲱϣⲧ ⲛ̄ⲥⲁ ⲡⲉⲧⲟⲛϩ ϩⲱⲥ ⲉⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ⲟⲛ̅ϩ̅ ϩⲓⲛⲁ ϫⲉ ⲛⲉⲧⲙ̄ⲙⲟⲩ ⲁⲩⲱ
ⲛ̄ⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ϣⲓⲛⲉ ⲉⲛⲁⲩ ⲉⲣⲟϥ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲧⲉⲧⲛⲁϣϭⲙ̄ ϭⲟⲙ ⲁⲛ ⲉⲛⲁⲩ
Jesus said, ‘Look at the living one while you are alive, lest you die and you
seek to see him, but are not able to see.’
Interpretation
The predominant theme in this saying is the urgency of seeking salvation (cf.
Isa. 55.6: ‘Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is
near’). The viewpoint here is that one’s earthly life is the opportunity to seek
knowledge and true life, an opportunity which will have passed after death.
DeConick rightly emphasises the motif of visionary experience in this say-
ing.2 The language of visuality is very prominent here (‘look at’, ‘seek’, ‘see’, ‘not
… see’). There is a good deal of visual language elsewhere in Thomas (e.g. GTh
5; 15; 27.2; 37; 38; 84), but, as noted in the Introduction, it is not quite as central
(as it is in DeConick’s view) to Thomas as a whole.
This saying is closely related to GTh 60;3 indeed Zöckler comments that it is
a free paraphrase of 60.6.4
Notes
Look at the living one. The identity of the living one is perhaps Jesus (as in
GTh 52; cf. Prologue). Jesus is also probably ‘the son of the living one’ in GTh
37, however, and so there is an ambiguity here: the Father is the object of vision
in GTh 15.
While you are alive. Cf. GTh 38.2: ‘Days are coming when you will seek after
me but will not find me.’ The theme of eschatological urgency, which Jeremias
1 Bibliography for GTh 59: Lelyveld, Logia de la vie, 81–83; DeConick, Seek to See Him, 123–125.
2 DeConick, Voices of the Mystics, 88–89.
3 So rightly Nordsieck, 234.
4 Zöckler, Jesu Lehren im Thomasevangelium, 189; Lelyveld considers 59–60 a unity (Logia de
la vie, 87–94).
logion 59 437
identified as central to Jesus’ teaching,5 is developed in these sayings in the

direction of making the life-time of the hearer the time available to see the
divine.
Lest you die and you seek to see him, but are not able to see. The reference
here may be to a postmortem consciousness of the missed opportunity; such
an idea has a number of parallels.6
5 See the section headings in J. Jeremias, The Parables of Jesus (London: SCM, 1963): ‘Now is the
day of salvation’ (115); ‘The imminence of catastrophe’ (160); ‘It may be too late’ (169).
6 For the theme of the regret of the damned, see some parallels in R.J. Bauckham, ‘Early Jewish
Visions of Hell’, JTS 41 (1990), 355–385.
Logion 601
60.1 ⟨ⲁϥⲛⲁⲩ⟩ ⲁⲩⲥⲁⲙⲁⲣⲉⲓⲧⲏⲥ ⲉϥϥⲓ ⲛ̄ⲛⲟⲩϩⲓⲉⲓⲃ⳿ ⲉϥⲃⲏⲕ⳿ ⲉϩⲟⲩⲛ ⲉϯⲟⲩⲇⲁⲓⲁ 60.2

ⲡⲉϫⲁϥ⳿ ⲛ̄ⲛⲉϥ⳿ⲙⲁⲑⲏⲧⲏⲥ ϫⲉ ⲡⲏ ⲙ̄ⲡⲕⲱⲧⲉ ⲙ̄ⲡⲉϩⲓⲉⲓⲃ⳿ 60.3 ⲡⲉϫⲁⲩ ⲛⲁϥ ϫⲉⲕⲁⲁⲥ
ⲉϥⲛⲁⲙⲟⲟⲩⲧϥ⳿ ⲛ̄ϥⲟⲩⲟⲙϥ⳿ 60.4 ⲡⲉϫⲁϥ ⲛⲁⲩ ϩⲱⲥ ⲉϥⲟⲛϩ ϥⲛⲁⲟⲩⲟⲙϥ⳿ ⲁⲛ ⲁⲗⲗⲁ
ⲉϥϣⲁⲙⲟⲟⲩⲧϥ⳿ ⲛ̄ϥϣⲱⲡⲉ ⲛ̄ⲟⲩⲡⲧⲱⲙⲁ 60.5 ⲡⲉϫⲁⲩ ϫⲉ ⲛ̄ⲕⲉⲥⲙⲟⲧ⳿ ϥⲛⲁϣⲁⲥ ⲁⲛ
60.6 ⲡⲉϫⲁϥ ⲛⲁⲩ ϫⲉ ⲛ̄ⲧⲱⲧⲛ̄ ϩⲱⲧ⳿ⲧⲏⲩⲧⲛ̄ ϣⲓⲛⲉ ⲛ̄ⲥⲁ ⲟⲩⲧⲟⲡⲟⲥ ⲛⲏⲧⲛ̄ ⲉϩⲟⲩⲛ
ⲉⲩⲁⲛⲁⲡⲁⲩⲥⲓⲥ ϫⲉⲕⲁⲁⲥ ⲛ̄ⲛⲉⲧⲛ̄ϣⲱⲡⲉ ⲙ̄ⲡⲧⲱⲙⲁ ⲛ̄ⲥⲉⲟⲩⲱⲙ⳿ ⲧⲏⲩⲧⲛ̄
60.1 ⟨He saw⟩ a Samaritan carrying a lamb as he went into Judaea. 60.2 He
said to his disciples, ‘He is around the lamb.’ 60.3 They said to him, ‘So that
he might kill it and eat it.’ 60.4 He said to them, ‘While it is alive, he will
not eat it. But if he kills it, it will become a corpse.’ 60.5 They said to him,
‘Otherwise, he would not be able to.’ 60.6 He said to them, ‘As for you, seek
for yourselves a place inside rest, so that you do not become a corpse and are
eaten.’
Textual Comment
There is a main verb missing at the beginning of GTh 60.1. The previous saying
ended with ⲉⲛⲁⲩ; most editors presuppose a haplography, and restore ⲁⲩⲛⲁⲩ
(Layton) or ⲁϥⲛⲁⲩ (Berliner Arbeitskreis).2 Jesus’ opening statement in 60.2
is also very enigmatic, and is probably textually corrupt, or a mistranslation:
Plisch’s conjecture that it is a mistranslation of Greek εἶναι περί is a good one,
although it would make a rather banal point.3 Others turn 60.2 into a question:
‘⟨Why does⟩ that person ⟨carry⟩ around the lamb?’4
1 Bibliography for GTh 60: Lelyveld, Logia de la vie, 87–94; E.E. Popkes, ‘Das Lamm und der Ort
der Ruhe—EvThom 60’, in Zimmermann, ed. Kompendium der Gleichnisse Jesu, 893–898.
2 For the former, see Layton & Lambdin, ‘The Gospel according to Thomas’, Nag Hammadi
Codex II,2–7: Volume One, 74; on the latter, see Bethge, ‘Werdet Vorübergehende’, 47–48; Plisch,
147.
3 Plisch, ‘Probleme und Lösungen’, 527.
4 Valantasis, 136. For other suggestions, see Zöckler, Jesu Lehren im Thomasevangelium, 188.
Pokorný’s ‘stalking the lamb’ is a stretch (104).
logion 60 439
Interpretation
In many respects GTh 60 is bewildering, in part because of the textual prob-

lems just noted.5 The scene is difficult to reconstruct: (i) a word is missing at
the beginning; (ii) who is going into Judaea—Jesus or the Samaritan? (iii) Jesus’
statement in 60.2 does not make sense. This makes the scene-setting for the
dialogue very difficult to reconstruct. Some scholars have suspected here crit-
icisms of the temple cult or of meat eating, but these are not evident.6 In the
scenario itself, there is no hint that the lamb is stolen.7 Nevertheless, this saying
is distinctive—along with GTh 61—in being a ‘vignette’,8 with a specification
of the individual as a Samaritan (cf. e.g. ‘a man’ in GTh 72, or ‘a woman’ in 79)
and a specification of place (on the way to Judaea).
As Valantasis rightly points out, however, the ethnic and geographical scene-
setting becomes irrelevant, and the lamb takes centre stage.9 The key point is
that human beings, like the lamb,10 are on their way to death (60.3): ‘this world
is a corpse eater’ which will consume people (Gos. Phil. 73,19–22). The disciples
thus need to act to avert this fate, so as not to ‘taste death’.11 As in GTh 59, there is
chance of salvation while one is alive (60.4): indeed, GTh 60 could be regarded
as an extension of GTh 59, or else they are distinct sayings linked by the phrase
‘while alive’ (ϩⲱⲥ ⲉⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ⲟⲛ̅ϩ̅/ ϩⲱⲥ ⲉϥⲟⲛϩ). This phrase is not just an mnemonic
link, but a key theological motif.
This is reinforced by the concluding application in 60.6. The disciples are
warned that they must not suffer the same fate as this lamb: they must not
fall into the realm of death and be destroyed. In the realm of life, the disciples
are invulnerable (just as in 60.4 the lamb cannot be eaten while alive). If the
disciples succumb to death, however, they are liable to be consumed like a
slaughtered lamb.
5 There is no close Synoptic parallel. The interesting similarities in Heracleon fr. 12 (on Jn
2.13) are probably coincidental.
6 It is not ‘signaled’ here that ‘the temple cult also was obsolete’ (thus DeConick, Recovering
the Original Gospel of Thomas, 90), nor is there discussion of blood sacrifice and meat-
eating (pace Leipoldt, Evangelium nach Thomas, 67; DeConick, 198–199).
7 Pokorný, 105.
8 Davies, The Gospel of Thomas: Annotated and Explained, 78, 80; cf. Plisch, 153 n. 8.
9 Valantasis, 137.
10 The lamb is not the world, as suggested by Grant & Freedman, 166–167; also Valantasis,
137, suggesting that as such the lamb must be killed.
11 Pokorný, 104.
440 logion 60
Notes
60.1 ⟨He saw⟩ a Samaritan carrying a lamb as he went into Judaea. Samaritans
were regarded negatively in early Judaism and Christianity as half-way between
Judaism and paganism.12 As already noted, it is unclear whether it is Jesus or
the Samaritan going into Judaea here, though if the reconstruction ‘He saw’ is
correct, Jesus is more likely to be the one going.13 Either way, the setting places
Jesus, the disciples and the Samaritan in Samaria, though near the border of
Judaea.
The scene is perhaps a reminiscence of the parable of the Good Samari-
tan (Lk. 10.30–35), in which the man going from Jerusalem to Jericho is helped
by a Samaritan. ‘Samaritan’ is the only indication of ethnicity in Thomas and
‘Judaea’ is the only clear place name in Thomas,14 and the parable of the Good
Samaritan is the only parable to have any indications of ethnicity and geogra-
phy among the canonical parables.15 (In the Lukan parable, the geography is
‘from Jerusalem to Jericho’, rather than ‘into Judaea’.)
60.2 He said to his disciples, ‘He is around the lamb.’ This strange expres-
sion has led to various explanations of mistranslation from a Vorlage.16 It is
probably the case that there has either been a mistranslation or a corruption
of the text here. From the statement of the disciples, one might expect Jesus to
ask here, ‘Why is he taking the lamb?’17 Or perhaps, instead, Jesus observes, ‘The
man is pursuing the lamb’, i.e. ‘trying to take away a lamb’ or ‘trying to catch a
lamb’.18
60.3 They said to him, ‘So that he might kill it and eat it.’ The simple
language of killing (ⲉϥⲛⲁⲙⲟⲟⲩⲧϥ) without any explicit reference to sacrifice,
and focus on the Samaritan’s intention to eat the lamb, probably speak against
any allusion to the Samaritan going to the temple.19
12 On the Samaritans, see R. Pummer, ‘Samaritanism’, EDEJ 1186–118.

13 Bethge, ‘Werdet Vorübergehende’, 47–48.
14 The exception, ‘Israel’ in GTh 52, may either refer to the place or the people; cf. also the
implicit indication of geography GTh 71, which probably implies proximity to the temple.
15 I am thinking here of proper nouns; as in GTh 71, the temple is mentioned in Lk. 18.9–14,
and of course one assumes that there the Pharisee especially but also the tax-collector are
Jews (as indeed one assumes of most of the characters in Jesus’ parables).
17 Cf. the translation in Nordsieck, 234: ‘Was will dieser mit dem Lamm machen?’
18 The translation, and glosses, proposed by Plisch, 147.
19 Cf. the possibility raised by Nordsieck, 234.
logion 60 441
60.4 He said to them, ‘While it is alive, he will not eat it. But if he kills it, it
will become a corpse.’ Jesus’ statement here establishes the close connection
between this dialogue and the preceding GTh 59: ‘Look at the living one while
you are alive (ϩⲱⲥ ⲉⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ⲟⲛ̅ϩ̅; cf. here ϩⲱⲥ ⲉϥⲟⲛϩ), lest you die and you seek to
see him, but are not able to see.’
60.5 They said to him, ‘Otherwise, he would not be able to.’ A banal remark
akin to those of Socratic interlocutors: cf. e.g. Meno 78A: καὶ τοῦτο ἀνάγκη.
60.6 He said to them, ‘As for you, seek for yourselves.’ The introduction to
the theological application here agrees verbatim with Jesus’ application of the
parable of the pearl (ⲛ̄ⲧⲱⲧⲛ̄ ϩⲱⲧ⳿ⲧⲏⲩⲧⲛ̄ ϣⲓⲛⲉ ⲛ̄ⲥⲁ … also in 76.3). This reinforces
the semi-allegorical character of the episode in GTh 60.
60.6 A place inside rest. This curious use of ⲉϩⲟⲩⲛ ⲉ- (lit. ‘to inside’, Crum
685–686) perhaps suggests that ‘rest’ is conceived of as a concrete realm, rather
than simply as an abstract noun: the ‘paradise’ in GTh 19 may specifically be
in view. As elsewhere in Thomas, rest has the technical sense of ‘salvation’
here rather than the everyday sense. The use of ‘place’ here may also have the
theological sense of soteriological space (cf. GTh 4, 18, 24, 64). As Vielhauer
rightly notes, it is a space where one is removed from death and destruction,20
but also where labour has come to an end.
60.6 So that you do not become a corpse and are eaten. The alternative to
‘life’ and ‘a place inside rest’ is consumption. This is used elsewhere in Thomas’s
imagery: it is the curse of the man to be eaten by the lion in GTh 7.2, and the
birds (implicitly) and the worms explicitly eat up the seed sown in GTh 9. This
reference to consumption also forges a further link between this saying and
GTh 76:
60.6: As for you, seek for yourselves a place inside rest,

so that you do not become a corpse and are eaten.
76.3: As for you, seek his unfailing and enduring treasure,

where no moth comes near to eat and no worm destroys.
Being ‘eaten’ is thus an image for the fate of those without knowledge, which
in the parallelism in GTh 76 means destruction. It is possible, but unclear,
that the reference to ‘corpse’ and consumption here indicate a warning against
following the bodily dimensions of human existence.21
20 Viehlauer, ‘ΑΝΑΠΑΥΣΙΣ’, 293.

21 Popkes, ‘Das Lamm und der Ort der Ruhe’, 897.
Logion 611
61.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ⲟⲩⲛ̄ ⲥⲛⲁⲩ ⲛⲁⲙ̄ⲧⲟⲛ⳿ ⲙ̄ⲙⲁⲩ ϩⲓ ⲟⲩϭⲗⲟϭ ⲡⲟⲩⲁ ⲛⲁⲙⲟⲩ ⲡⲟⲩⲁ ⲛⲁⲱⲛϩ 61.2
ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲥⲁⲗⲱⲙⲏ ⲛ̄ⲧⲁⲕ⳿ ⲛⲓⲙ⳿ ⲡⲣⲱⲙⲉ ϩⲱⲥ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ϩⲛ̄ ⲟⲩⲁ ⲁⲕⲧⲉⲗⲟ ⲉϫⲙ̄ ⲡⲁϭⲗⲟϭ ⲁⲩⲱ
ⲁⲕ⳿ⲟⲩⲱⲙ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ϩⲛ̄ ⲧⲁⲧⲣⲁⲡⲉⲍⲁ 61.3 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ⲛⲁⲥ ϫⲉ ⲁⲛⲟⲕ⳿ ⲡⲉ ⲡⲉⲧϣⲟⲟⲡ⳿ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ
ϩⲙ̄ ⲡⲉⲧ⳿ϣⲏϣ ⲁⲩϯ ⲛⲁⲉⲓ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ϩⲛ̄ ⲛⲁ ⲡⲁⲉⲓⲱⲧ⳿ 61.4 ⲁⲛⲟⲕ⳿ ⲧⲉⲕ⳿ⲙⲁⲑⲏⲧⲏⲥ 61.5 ⲉⲧⲃⲉ
ⲡⲁⲉⲓ ϯϫⲱ ⲙ̄ⲙⲟⲥ ϫⲉ ϩⲟⲧⲁⲛ ⲉϥϣⲁϣⲱⲡⲉ ⲉϥϣⲏ⟨ϣ⟩⳿ ϥⲛⲁⲙⲟⲩϩ ⲟⲩⲟⲉⲓⲛ ϩⲟⲧⲁⲛ ⲇⲉ
ⲉϥϣⲁⲛϣⲱⲡⲉ ⲉϥⲡⲏϣ ϥⲛⲁⲙⲟⲩϩ ⲛ̄ⲕⲁⲕⲉ
61.1 Jesus said, ‘Two will rest on a couch, one will die, the other will live.’ 61.2
Salome said, ‘Who are you, man, that you have come up as from one on to
my couch and eaten from my table?’ 61.3 Jesus said to her, ‘I am he who is
from the equal. I have been given some of what belongs to my Father.’ 61.4
(Salome said,) ‘I am your disciple.’ 61.5 ( Jesus said,) ‘For this reason I say,
“When he becomes equal, he will be filled with light. But when he becomes
divided, he will be filled with darkness.”’
Textual Comment
It is possible that the phrase ‘as from one’ in Salome’s question (61.2) is textually
corrupt (see notes below). Phrases marking the changes of speaker may have
dropped out of 61.4 and 61.5, though there may have simply been an attempt
to avoid repetition, since it is obvious who is speaking in each case. Salome
is clearly the speaker in 61.4 because of the feminine article prefixing ‘your
disciple’ (ⲧⲉⲕ⳿ⲙⲁⲑⲏⲧⲏⲥ). In 61.5 the phrase ⲉϥϣⲁϣⲱⲡⲉ ⲉϥϣⲏϥ (‘when he is
destroyed’) is assumed by most editors to be a corruption of ⲉϥϣⲁϣⲱⲡⲉ ⲉϥϣⲏϣ
(‘when he becomes equal’).
1 Bibliography for GTh 61: Schrage, Verhältnis, 126–129; Sell, ‘Johannine Traditions in Logion 61’,
24–37; H.W. Attridge, ‘Greek Equivalents of Two Coptic Phrases: CG I,1.65,9–10 and
CG II,2.43,26’, BASP 18 (1981), 27–32; S. Bjorndahl, ‘To Live and Die in Thomas 61’, Forum
10 (1994), 87–94; Dunderberg, ‘Thomas’ I-Sayings and the Gospel of John’, 49–56; K. Cor-
ley, ‘Salome and Jesus at Table in the Gospel of Thomas,’ Semeia 86 (1999), 85–97; Petersen,
Zerstört die Werke der Weiblichkeit, 198–202; Dunderberg, Beloved Disciple in Conflict, 89–101;
C. Losekam, ‘Einssein statt Getrenntsein (Zwei auf dem Bett)—EvThom 61’, in Zimmermann,
ed. Kompendium der Gleichnisse Jesu, 899–903.
logion 61 443
Interpretation
This saying is linked to GTh 60 in that both form a distinctive pair of pronounce-
ment stories: they are vignettes, with specification of character and place. The
setting, unusually in Thomas, is private space (cf. perhaps GTh 22 and 41?).
The scene is quite a shocking one. First, Jesus has apparently turned up unin-
vited (hence Salome’s question in 61.2), going beyond even his chutzpah in
Luke 19.5, where he at least gives Zacchaeus warning of his impending visit.2
Second, Jesus appears to have clambered onto Salome’s couch, making this a
scene of intimacy,3 even a scene with sexual connotations.4 (Compare the sur-
prise expressed by the disciples in Jn 4.27 at Jesus merely speaking alone with
a woman.) Sharing a couch was an action of lovers or a married couple, either
with the man reclining and the woman seated, or with both reclining.5
The link between 61.1 and the rest of the saying is not immediately obvious,
and indeed many commentators treat them as separate units.6 Points in favour
of their being joined are, first, that Jesus’ statement in 61.1 fits well with a setting
of Jesus and Salome sharing a couch (as in 61.2), and secondly, that the themes
in 61.1 are perhaps revisited in 61.5. As Valantasis has put it, the saying ‘shows
evidence of careful crafting: Jesus begins the conversation with Salome with a
reference to division and death, and ends it with a reference to division and
darkness.’7
In fact, the challenge is not so much to integrate 61.1 with the rest of the
saying, but to see how the framing statements in 61.1 and 61.5 cohere with the
‘guts’ in 61.2–4. Understanding the intimacy in the vignette is crucial here. The
probable sense of the scene as a whole is Salome’s movement from ignorance
2 On this aspect of Jesus’ behaviour, see Leipoldt, Evangelium nach Thomas, 68.
3 Valantasis, 140.
4 Rightly, A. Reinhartz, ‘Reflections on Table Fellowship and Community Identity’, Semeia 86
(1999), 227–233 (231); Losekam, ‘Einssein statt Getrenntsein (Zwei auf dem Bett)’, 901.
5 See the various passages and images discussed in M. Roller, ‘Horizontal Women: Posture and
Sex in the Roman Convivium’, AJP 124 (2003), 377–422. Corley’s contrast between Jesus dining
with Salome in the Roman manner on same couch in Thomas and women sitting or kneeling
in the Gospels (‘Salome and Jesus at Table’, 86) is something of a false antithesis, as a woman
might also sit on a couch, but the overall point is a useful one; similarly, Losekam, ‘Einssein
statt Getrenntsein (Zwei auf dem Bett)’, 901. Cf. esp. Lk. 7.38 (the sinful woman ‘standing’),
and 10.39 (Mary of Bethany ‘seated at the Lord’s feet’).
6 Grant & Freedman, 167–168 (following the old numeration of the sayings, in which 61.1 = 61,
and 61.2–5 = 62); DeConick, 200–204; Hedrick, 116–117.
7 Valantasis, 138.
444 logion 61
(as is expressed in her ‘Who?’ question in 61.2), via Jesus’ revelation of his
identity in 61.3, to her confession of allegiance to him (61.4: ‘I am your disciple’).
The principal question then becomes whether she has become in some sense
equal to Jesus,8 or whether her discipleship remains incomplete.9 There does
not seem to be any qualification or diminution of Salome’s confession, however.
Indeed, the posture of Jesus and Salome on the couch may suggest that she, like
Mary Magdalene in the Gospel of Philip, is portrayed here as a kind of ‘beloved’
or ideal disciple: just as Mary’s special intimacy with Jesus in Philip is marked by
(probably) kissing, so the connotations of Salome’s sharing a couch with Jesus
might similarly indicate the ‘oneness’ or equality of Jesus with his true disciple.
Corley has seen reflected in this saying a debate about the status of women,10
indeed more specifically, a controversy in the Thomas movement about the
legitimacy of women reclining at meals like men.11 There is too much mirror-
reading here: Salome’s femaleness is not thematised, nor is her posture. The
equality is metaphysical rather than social. Much more prominent are chris-
tology and discipleship.12
Notes
61.1 Jesus said, ‘Two will rest on a couch, one will die, the other will live.’
Cf. Matt. 24.40, and esp. Lk. 17.34; in Thomas, the theme of ‘life’ has featured
recently in GTh 58; 59 and 60.4 (in 59 and 60 in contrast to death). As noted
above, this part with the end (61.5) frames the dialogue as concerned with life
(cf. being ‘equal’ and ‘filled with light’ in 61.5) and death (cf. ‘divided’ and ‘filled
with darkness’ in 61.5). If this saying is dependent upon the Lukan version,
it has in the process of transmission at some point lost its ‘apocalyptic’ tone
(from ‘will be taken’ to ‘will die’), as Bovon notes;13 it is about the destiny
of the individual instead.14 Those who propose that 61.1 is a discrete saying
8 So Valantasis, 139.
9 A. Marjanen, ‘Women Disciples in the Gospel of Thomas’, in R. Uro, ed. Thomas at the
Crossroads: Essays on the Gospel of Thomas (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1998), 89–106 (92).
10 Corley, ‘Salome and Jesus at Table’, 89.
12 Grosso, 197, rightly emphasises the importance of christology in this saying.
13 F. Bovon, ‘Les sentences propres à Luc dans l’ Évangile selon Thomas’, in L. Painchaud &
P.-H. Poirier, eds. Colloque internationale: “L’ Évangile selon Thomas et les textes de Nag
Hammadi”. Québec, 29–31 mai 2003 (Leuven: Peeters, 2007), 43–58 (50).
14 Petersen, Zerstört die Werke der Weiblichkeit, 200.
logion 61 445
tend to produce rather banal interpretations of it, as an aphorism about the

inevitability of death,15 or about ‘the uncertainty and capriciousness of human
life’,16 or as ‘a proverb counseling resignation in the face of unpredictable
disasters’.17 There is an interesting parallel to this saying, where Salome asks
how long death will continue, and Jesus replies that one element will be saved
(the soul), but the other, visible, element will not.18 The meaning of GTh 61.1
here in Thomas could be anthropological, as in that interpretation, or it could
be a more traditional statement contrasting two human destinies.
61.2 Salome said. There is only one Salome named in the NT (Mk 15.40; 16.1),
and her relations are unclear.19 Nothing is known of her except that she was
a witness of the crucifixion, was one of the women who had supported Jesus’
ministry (Mk 15.41), and was one of the visitors to the tomb on Easter morning
(Mk 16.1–8). She may be included here as Jesus’ host because of the mention in
Mk 15.41 that she was one of the women who had provided for Jesus.
61.2 Who are you, man, that you have come up … on to my couch and
eaten from my table? Dunderberg suggests three possible ‘moods’ of Salome’s
question: (i) surprise at a divine being eating with her; (ii) resentment that a
fellow-human being is claiming the authority to teach her, and (iii) doubt that
Jesus has the right to her hospitality.20 It seems probable, however, that the
shock is at a man joining her on her dining couch.
61.2 … as from one … . The phrase ‘as from one’ (ϩⲱⲥ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ϩⲛ̄ ⲟⲩⲁ) has been
a crux since the discovery of the text.21 There are five principal options. (1)
Some argue that the text is corrupt. It is marked as such by Layton and left out
of Lambdin’s translation altogether.22 (2) Some propose, through mistransla-
tion (perhaps also with a textual corruption) from the Greek, Salome referring
15 Bjorndahl, ‘To Live and Die in Thomas 61’, 87–94.

16 Hedrick, 116.
18 Clement, Strom. 3.9.64.1.
19 Later traditions identified her as the aunt of Jesus (combining Mk 15.40 + Jn 19.25), or as the
mother of James and John (by combining Mk 15.40 + Matt. 27.56). According to the Gospel
of the Egyptians, on the other hand, she was childless (Strom. 3.9.66.1–2). On Salome in
early Christianity, see R.J. Bauckham, ‘Salome the Sister of Jesus, Salome the Disciples of
Jesus, and the Secret Gospel of Mark’, NovT 33 (1991), 245–275, and Petersen, Zerstört die
Werke der Weiblichkeit, 195–241.
20 Dunderberg, Beloved Disciple in Conflict, 95–96.
21 See further Gathercole, Composition, 81–83.
One, 74–75.
446 logion 61
to Jesus ‘as a stranger/ guest’ (ὡς ξένος → ὡς ἐξ ἑνός → ϩⲱⲥ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ϩⲛ̄ ⲟⲩⲁ).23 (3)
Another Greek solution, adopted by the editio princeps and DeConick, sees ϩⲱⲥ
ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ϩⲛ̄ ⲟⲩⲁ as a mistranslation of ὡς ἐκ τίνος (‘as whose?’, ‘as from whom?’).24
(4) Attridge sees the same Greek behind the Coptic, though accented as ὡς
ἐκ τινός, meaning ‘as from someone (special)’.25 (5) Some see a mistranslation
from Syriac: Jesus comes onto Salome’s couch ‘suddenly’ (mn ḥdʾ, mḥdʾ → ⲉⲃⲟⲗ
ϩⲛ̄ ⲟⲩⲁ).26 Finally, (6) it has also been suggested that the Coptic might make
sense as it stands, given that according to Excerpta Theodoti 36.1, Theodotus’s
Valentinians say that our angels were put forth in unity and ὡς ἀπὸ ἑνὸς προελ-
θόντες.27 It is hard to decide. Option (2) is attractive, because dining is a natural
setting for a ξένος (in the sense of ‘guest’), but since Dunderberg has shown that
the phrase makes sense as it stands, the interpretation that Jesus is taken to be
from a divine realm of unity is also possible.28 To Dunderberg’s reference can
be added Steles Seth 120,32–34 (‘you have come from one …’); cf. 122,23–25.
61.3 Jesus said to her, ‘I am he who is from the equal.’29 Equality is an
attribute of divine perfection in various Nag Hammadi texts,30 and so Jesus’
response is clearly one of divine identity.31
61.3 I have been given some of what belongs to my Father. The sense here is
not that what Jesus has is only partial, but that he shares in the unity/ equality
of the Father. Compare Rev. 2.28, and Luke 2.49, where Jesus had to remain ϩⲛ̄
ⲛⲁ ⲡⲁⲉⲓⲱⲧ.
61.4 (Salome said,) ‘I am your disciple.’ As Corley has rightly said, in her
claim to be a disciple, Salome is asserting her status as one undivided and full
23 See e.g. Plisch, ‘Thomas in Babel’, 62–63.

24 Guillaumont, et al., eds. Gospel according to Thomas, 34–35; DeConick, 202.
25 Attridge, ‘Greek Equivalents of Two Coptic Phrases’, 31–32.
26 See e.g. Perrin, ‘Thomas: The Fifth Gospel?’, 71, and M. Wilcox, ‘Semitisms in the New
Testament’, ANRW 2.25.2 (1984), 978–1029 (1009), for discussion of the Aramaic idiom in
question.
27 Dunderberg, ‘Thomas’ I-sayings and the Gospel of John’, 51–53.
28 So also Losekam, ‘Einssein statt Getrenntsein’, 902.
29 Sell, ‘Johannine Traditions in Logion 61’, 31, argues that the Coptic here betrays a Greek
Vorlage ‘isos ho ōn—“the One Being Equal (to me)”’ (from Jn 5.18). The language is rather
different from Jn 5.18, however.
30 Hedrick, 117. In the Paraphrase of Shem, the clouds are divided and unequal because of
the wickedness of nature (39,17–28). On the other hand, in the Tripartite Tractate, the
Son’s equality is a divine predicate (67,36–37), and the image of the light shares in the
indivisibility of the light (94,28–32).
31 Dunderberg, Beloved Disciple in Conflict, 97.
logion 61 447
of light;32 it is even possible, as Corley goes on, that she is androgynous or male
in status (cf. GTh 114).33 Interestingly, in Psalms of Thomas 16, Salome appeals
to Jesus on the basis that, ‘[I] am not double-minded, one is my heart and one
my intention, there is no thought in my heart that is split or divided.’34
61.5 (Jesus said,) ‘For this reason I say, “When he becomes equal, he will
be filled with light. But when he becomes divided, he will be filled with
darkness.”’ Marjanen remarks that the conclusion of the saying suggests that
Salome is not a ‘masterless disciple’ in the full sense like Thomas in GTh 13.35
But 61.5 is an antithetical statement that does not seem easily to allow for the
ambiguous status that Marjanen attributes to Salome, even though ‘disciple’
itself may be an ambiguous term in Thomas: it can designate ‘the disciples’ in
all their ignorance, but also the legitimate inheritors of paradise (GTh 19.2).

33 Corley, ‘Salome and Jesus at Table’, 91–92.
34 C.R.C. Allberry, A Manichaean Psalm-Book, vol. II (Stuttgart: Kohlhammer, 1938), 223,
lines 2–3.
35 Marjanen, ‘Women Disciples in Thomas’, 92.
Logion 621
62.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̣̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ⲉⲓ̈ϫⲱ ⲛ̄ⲛⲁⲙⲩⲥⲧⲏⲣⲓⲟⲛ ⲛ̄ⲛⲉ̣[ⲧⲙ̄ⲡϣⲁ] ⲛ̣̄[ⲛⲁ]ⲙ̣ⲩⲥⲧⲏⲣⲓⲟⲛ 62.2

ⲡⲉ̣[ⲧ]ⲉ ⲧⲉⲕ⳿ⲟⲩⲛⲁⲙ ⲛⲁⲁϥ ⲙⲛ̄ⲧⲣⲉ ⲧⲉⲕϩⲃⲟⲩⲣ⳿ ⲉⲓⲙⲉ ϫⲉ ⲉⲥⲣ ⲟⲩ
62.1 Jesus said, ‘I speak my mysteries to those who [are worthy of my]
mysteries. 62.2 Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.’
Interpretation
The surface link between the two sayings here is that of sharing knowledge only
with the appropriate recipients. The question is then of whether there is also
a substantive link in meaning. The meaning of 62.1 is clear enough, despite the
lacuna; the difficulty lies in the meaning of the second half. Only if one derives
the meaning of 62.2 from 62.1 can one easily forge a link between two two parts
of the logion: in that case, those on the ‘left’ as the unworthy, and those on the
‘right’ as the worthy—as per the perennial symbolic valuation of ‘right’ and
‘left’ also found in some near-contemporaneous Valentinian writings.2 Plisch
criticises attempts to link the two parts of this logion as ‘artificial’.3 He may be
correct, but since 62.2 is obscure to us we should not pronounce prematurely.
Notes
62.1 I speak my mysteries to those who are worthy of my mysteries. As Valan-

tasis says, there is a restrictive outlook here, which differs from that in which
1 Bibliography for GTh 62: M. Grosso, ‘ “I misteri ai degni”. Un possibile testimonium del Van-
gelo secondo Tommaso in Origene, in Matth. Comm. XIV,14’, Adamantius 16 (2010), 389–398;
idem, ‘A New Link between Origen and the Gospel of Thomas: Commentary on Matthew 14,14’,
VC 65 (2011), 249–256.
2 See e.g. Val. Exp. On Bap. 41,23–27; Gos. Phil. 60,27–28; Gos. Truth 32,5–17; cf. Irenaeus, AH
2.24.6. The phenomenon is widespread in religious and other discourse across many cultures.
See R. Hertz, ‘The Pre-eminence of the Right Hand: A Study in Religious Polarity’, in R. Need-
ham, ed. Right and Left: Essays on Dual Symbolic Classification (Chicago: University of Chicago
Press, 1973), 3–31, and G.E.R. Lloyd, ‘Right and Left in Greek Philosophy’, 167–186 in the same
volume.
3 Plisch, 154 n. 1.
logion 62 449
the emphasis is more on the access of many to Jesus’ revelation (e.g. GTh 28).4
It resembles the more exclusive sayings such as the pearls-before-swine logion
(GTh 93). There is an emphasis on the important christological point that Jesus
is a revealer (cf. e.g. GTh 17).
62.2 Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. In
the Matthean parallel to this saying (Matt. 6.3), the point of the aphorism is
that—contrary to the hypocrite who trumpets his largesse—the disciple of
Jesus is not even to let his left hand know when his right hand is giving alms.
Hedrick suggests this, but only as one possibility.5 Commentators who see 62.2
as disconnected from 62.1 often resort to rather banal interpretations, such as
‘single-mindedness in any endeavour’,6 or ‘[doing] what is necessary for its own
sake.’7 Also possible is some kind of symbolic valuation of ‘right’ and ‘left’ hands,
one application of which has already been noted.
5 Hedrick, 119. There is nothing in GTh 62 or its vicinity to encourage such an interpretation,
and Thomas may even be averse to the indiscriminate almsgiving envisaged in the Sermon
on the Mount (cf. GTh 14).
6 Hedrick, 119.
7 Plisch, 154.
Logion 631
63.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ⲛⲉⲩⲛ̄ ⲟⲩⲣⲱⲙⲉ ⲙ̄ⲡⲗⲟⲩⲥⲓⲟⲥ ⲉⲩⲛ̄ⲧⲁϥ ⲙ̄ⲙⲁⲩ ⲛ̄ϩⲁϩ ⲛ̄ⲭⲣⲏⲙⲁ 63.2
ⲡⲉϫⲁϥ ϫⲉ ϯⲛⲁⲣ̄ⲭⲣⲱ ⲛ̄ⲛⲁⲭⲣⲏⲙⲁ ϫⲉⲕⲁⲁⲥ ⲉⲉⲓⲛⲁϫⲟ ⲛ̄ⲧⲁⲱ⟦ϩ⟧ⲥϩ ⲛ̄ⲧⲁⲧⲱϭⲉ ⲛ̄ⲧⲁ-
ⲙⲟⲩϩ ⲛ̄ⲛⲁⲉϩⲱⲣ ⲛ̄ⲕⲁⲣ⳿ⲡⲟⲥ ϣⲓⲛⲁ ϫⲉ ⲛⲓⲣ̄ ϭⲣⲱϩ ⲗ̄ⲗⲁⲁⲩ 63.3 ⲛⲁⲉⲓ ⲛⲉ ⲛⲉϥⲙⲉⲉⲩⲉ
ⲉⲣⲟⲟⲩ ϩⲙ̄ ⲡⲉϥϩⲏⲧ⳿ ⲁⲩⲱ ϩⲛ̄ ⲧⲟⲩϣⲏ ⲉⲧⲙ̄ⲙⲁⲩ ⲁϥⲙⲟⲩ 63.4 ⲡⲉⲧⲉⲩⲙ̄ ⲙⲁϫⲉ ⲙ̄ⲙⲟϥ⳿
ⲙⲁⲣⲉϥ⳿ⲥⲱⲧⲙ̄
63.1 Jesus said, ‘There was a rich man who had a lot of money. 63.2 He said,
“I shall make use of my money, so that I may sow, reap, plant, and fill my
store with produce, so that I lack nothing.” 63.3 Such were his thoughts, but
that very night he died. 63.4 He who has ears, let him hear.’
Interpretation
This is the sixth of Thomas’s 14 parables (see comment above on GTh 8). There
are two principal points of dispute in GTh 63 (paralleled in Luke 12.16–20; cf.
Sir. 11.19).2
First, what story is being told? It is a challenge to come to this parable
without reading the Lukan account into it. Valantasis, for example, simply
assumes—like Luke—that this is a ‘rich farmer who intended to invest in
order to produce even greater wealth.’3 Hedrick thinks the opposite: ‘Thomas’s
protagonist is a wealthy investor who intends on becoming a farmer.’4 The
economic potential of such a move is hardly underestimated by the rich man
in 63.2: ‘The rich owned impregnable granaries: they could store the harvest,
in expectation of profit at times of scarcity, when they could sell their grain
1 Bibliography for GTh 63: Birdsall, ‘Luke XII. 16 ff. and the Gospel of Thomas’, 332–336; J.-
M. Sevrin, ‘Un groupement de trois paraboles contre les richesses dans l’Évangile selon
Thomas. EvTh 63, 64, 65’, in J. Delmore, ed. Les Paraboles évangéliques: Perspectives nou-
velles (Paris: Cerf, 1989), 425–439; Hedrick, Parables as Poetic Fictions: The Creative Voice of
Jesus, 142–163; Goodacre, Thomas and the Gospels, 87–96; J.P. Meier, ‘Is Luke’s Version of the
Parable of the Rich Fool Reflected in the Coptic Gospel of Thomas?’, CBQ 74 (2012), 528–
547.
2 The Lukan version is probably influenced by Sirach 11, but Thomas’s version is more distant
from the version in Sirach.
3 Valantasis, 141.
4 Hedrick, 120; Leipoldt, Evangelium nach Thomas, 68, had already argued for this view.
logion 63 451
at a high price. Unlike the subsistence farmer, they could “defeat time”, as
Brown puts it.’5 If we bracket our knowledge of Luke, Hedrick’s interpretation
is unavoidable.
Secondly, what is the point of the parable in Thomas? It seems unlikely that
the protagonist is an example of a great man who is able to achieve a lot in his
lifetime (with the parable being read allegorically about spiritual wealth).6 It is
also not necessarily ‘contre les richesses’per se, as in the title of Sevrin’s article.
Nor is it quite as general as ‘man proposes, God disposes’.7 The point here seems
to be an attack on commerce, especially when it is concerned with establishing
a self-sufficiency in which one might claim to ‘lack nothing’ (63.2) because of
material prosperity.8
This is confirmed by the location of GTh 63 as the first of a trio of parables
warning against involvement in commerce:
GTh 63: Parable of the Rich Fool:

rich man uses money so as to lack nothing;
GTh 64: Parable of the Banquet:
those involved in business are prevented from access to banquet;
GTh 65: Parable of the Wicked Tenants:
vineyard owner fails to receive hoped-for fruit and suffers catastro-
phe.
Notes
63.1 There was a rich man who had a lot of money. The introduction ‘there was
a … man’ may reflect the influence of Luke.9 As noted above, it is not clear that
the man is a farmer at the outset.
63.2 He said, “I shall make use of my money, so that I may sow, reap, plant,
and fill my store with produce, so that I lack nothing.” 63.3 makes it clear that
the ‘saying’ in 63.2 is interior monologue.10 Presumably, the man himself will
5 C. Leyser, ‘Just How Rich Can a Christian Be?’ (Review of Peter Brown, Through the Eye of
a Needle), TLS 21 (December 2012), 13–14 (13).
6 Schrage, Verhältnis, 132–133.
7 Plisch, 155; cf. Hedrick, 120.
8 Lindemann, ‘Gleichnisinterpretation’, 229; Valantasis, 141; Pokorný, 108.
9 See Meier, ‘Luke’s Version of the Parable of the Rich Fool’, 543–544.
10 On this interior monologue and its possible Lukan antecedent, see Meier, ‘Luke’s Version
of the Parable of the Rich Fool’, 544–546.
452 logion 63
not do the hard work. He aims to become a landowner who will be able to store
up grain with the ultimate aim of being self-sufficient without working himself.
63.3 Such were his thoughts, but that very night he died. On sudden death
despite such plans, cf. Sir. 11.19; Jas 4.13–14.
63.4 He who has ears, let him hear.11 Cf. GTh 8; 21; 24, 65 and 96, and see
note on GTh 8.
11 Birdsall, ‘Luke XII. 16 ff. and the Gospel of Thomas’, 332–336, notes that this formula
appears appended to the Lukan version of the parable in some late manuscripts, but
attributes little significant to this since the formula is often added to Gospel pericopae,
especially in lectionaries.
Logion 641
64.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ⲟⲩⲣⲱⲙⲉ ⲛⲉⲩⲛ̄ⲧⲁϥ ϩⲛ̄ϣⲙ̄ⲙⲟ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲛ̄ⲧⲁⲣⲉϥⲥⲟⲃⲧⲉ ⲙ̄ⲡⲇⲓⲡⲛⲟⲛ ⲁϥ-
ϫⲟⲟⲩ ⲙ̄ⲡⲉϥϩⲙϩ̅ⲁ̅ⲗ̅ ϣⲓⲛⲁ ⲉϥⲛⲁⲧⲱϩⲙ ⲛ̄ⲛ̄ϣⲙ̄ⲙⲟⲉⲓ 64.2 ⲁϥⲃⲱⲕ⳿ ⲙ̄ⲡϣⲟⲣⲡ⳿ ⲡⲉϫⲁϥ
ⲛⲁϥ⳿ ϫⲉ ⲡⲁϫⲟⲉⲓⲥ ⲧⲱϩⲙ̄ ⲙ̄ⲙⲟⲕ⳿ 64.3 ⲡⲉϫⲁϥ ϫⲉ ⲟⲩⲛ̄ⲧⲁⲉⲓ ϩⲛ̄ϩⲟⲙⲧ⳿ ⲁϩⲉⲛⲉⲙⲡⲟⲣⲟⲥ
ⲥⲉⲛ̄ⲛⲏⲩ ϣⲁⲣⲟⲉⲓ ⲉⲣⲟⲩϩⲉ ϯⲛⲁⲃⲱⲕ⳿ ⲛ̄ⲧⲁⲟⲩⲉϩ ⲥⲁϩⲛⲉ ⲛⲁⲩ ϯⲣ̄ⲡⲁⲣⲁⲓⲧⲉⲓ ⲙ̄ⲡⲇⲓⲡⲛⲟⲛ
64.4 ⲁϥⲃⲱⲕ⳿ ϣⲁ ⲕⲉⲟⲩⲁ ⲡⲉϫⲁϥ ⲛⲁϥ⳿ ϫⲉ ⲁⲡⲁϫⲟⲉⲓⲥ ⲧⲱϩⲙ̄ ⲙ̄ⲙⲟⲕ⳿ 64.5 ⲡⲉϫⲁϥ
ⲛⲁϥ ϫⲉ ⲁⲉⲓⲧⲟⲟⲩ ⲟⲩⲏⲉⲓ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲥⲉⲣ̄ⲁⲓⲧⲉⲓ ⲙ̄ⲙⲟⲉⲓ ⲛ̄ⲟⲩϩⲏⲙⲉⲣⲁ ϯⲛⲁⲥⲣ̄ϥⲉ ⲁ(ⲛ) 64.6 ⲁ-
ϥⲉⲓ ϣⲁ ⲕⲉⲟⲩⲁ ⲡⲉϫⲁϥ ⲛⲁϥ⳿ ϫⲉ ⲡⲁϫⲟ⳿ⲉⲓⲥ ⲧⲱϩⲙ̄ ⲙ̄ⲙⲟⲕ⳿ 64.7 ⲡⲉϫⲁϥ ⲛⲁϥ ϫⲉ ⲡⲁϣ-
ⲃⲏⲣ ⲛⲁⲣ̄ ϣⲉⲗⲉⲉⲧ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲁⲛⲟⲕ⳿ ⲉⲧⲛⲁⲣ̄ ⲇⲓⲡⲛⲟⲛ ϯⲛⲁϣⲓ ⲁⲛ ϯⲣ̄ⲡⲁⲣⲁⲓⲧⲉⲓ ⲙ̄ⲡⲇⲓⲡⲛⲟⲛ⳿
64.8 ⲁϥ⳿ⲃⲱⲕ⳿ ϣⲁ ⲕⲉⲟⲩⲁ ⲡⲉϫⲁϥ ⲛⲁϥ ϫⲉ ⲡⲁϫⲟⲉⲓⲥ ⲧⲱϩⲙ ⲙ̄ⲙⲟⲕ⳿ 64.9 ⲡⲉϫⲁϥ ⲛⲁϥ⳿
ϫⲉ ⲁⲉⲓⲧⲟⲟⲩ ⲛ̄ⲟⲩⲕⲱⲙⲏ ⲉⲉⲓⲃⲏⲕ⳿ ⲁϫⲓ ⲛ̄ϣⲱⲙ ϯⲛⲁϣⲓ ⲁⲛ ϯⲣ̄ⲡⲁⲣⲁⲓⲧⲉⲓ 64.10 ⲁϥⲉⲓ ⲛ̄ϭⲓ
ⲡϩⲙϩ̅ⲁ̅ⲗ̅ ⲁϥϫⲟⲟⲥ ⲁⲡⲉϥϫⲟⲉⲓⲥ ϫⲉ ⲛⲉⲛⲧⲁⲕ⳿ⲧⲁϩⲙⲟⲩ ⲁⲡⲇⲓⲡⲛⲟⲛ ⲁⲩⲡⲁⲣⲁⲓⲧⲉⲓ 64.11
ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲡϫⲟⲉⲓⲥ ⲙ̄ⲡⲉϥϩⲙϩ̅ⲁ̅ⲗ̅ ϫⲉ ⲃⲱⲕ⳿ ⲉⲡⲥⲁ ⲛⲃⲟⲗ ⲁⲛϩⲓⲟⲟⲩⲉ ⲛⲉⲧⲕⲛⲁϩⲉ ⲉⲣⲟⲟⲩ ⲉ-
ⲛⲓⲟⲩ ϫⲉⲕⲁⲁⲥ ⲉⲩⲛⲁⲣ̣̄ⲇⲓⲡⲛⲉⲓ 64.12 ⲛ̄ⲣⲉϥⲧⲟⲟⲩ ⲙⲛ̄ ⲛⲉϣⲟⲧ̣[ⲉ ⲥⲉⲛⲁⲃ]ⲱ̣ⲕ ⲁⲛ⳿ ⲉϩⲟⲩⲛ⳿
ⲉⲛⲧⲟⲡⲟⲥ ⲙ̄ⲡⲁⲓ̈ⲱⲧ⳿
64.1 Jesus said, ‘A man was having some guests. And when he had prepared
the dinner, he sent his servant to summon the guests. 64.2 He went to the
first and said to him, “My master summons you.” 64.3 He said, “I have some
claims against some merchants. They are coming to me in the evening. I am
going to give them orders. Please excuse me from the dinner.” 64.4 He went
to another and said to him, “My master has summoned you.” 64.5 He said to
him, “I have bought a house and am required today. I shall not have the spare
time.” 64.6 He went to another and said to him, “My master summons you.”
64.7 He said to him, “My friend is getting married, and I am to arrange the
dinner. I shall not be able to come. Please excuse me from the dinner.” 64.8 He
went to another and said to him, “My master summons you.” 64.9 He said to
him, “I have bought a village. I am going to collect the rent. I shall not be able
to come. Please excuse me.” 64.10 The servant came and said to his master,
“Those whom you invited to the dinner have asked to be excused.” 64.11 The
1 Bibliography for GTh 64: J.D. McCaughey, ‘Two Synoptic Parables in the Gospel of Thomas’,
ABR 8 (1960), 24–28; Schrage, Verhältnis, 133–137; Sevrin, ‘Un groupement de trois paraboles
contre les richesses’, 425–439; G.E. Sterling, ‘ “Where Two or Three are Gathered”: The Tradi-
tion History of the Parable of the Banquet (Matt. 22:1–14/Luke 14:16–24/GThom 64)’, in J. Frey,
(BZNW 157; Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 2008), 95–121 (including Greek and Coptic synopses
on 112–121).
454 logion 64
master said to his servant, “Go outside to the streets and bring whomever
you find, so that they may dine.” 64.12 Businessmen and mercha[nts will not
en]ter the places of my Father.’
Interpretation
This parable is the seventh of Thomas’s parables (on these, see ad GTh 8), and
the longest saying in Thomas. It clearly is part allegory, as is the Lukan parallel
(Lk. 14.12–24; cf. Matt. 22.1–14).2 The concluding aphorism in 64.12 makes the
point of the parable clear, such that (i) the host is the Father, (ii) the places
in the banquet are ‘places’ in the kingdom, (iii) the guests who refuse to come
are those who refuse to enter the kingdom, and (iv) the excuses of the invited
guests in the parable stand for the encumbrances of business arrangments
which prevent people from becoming disciples.3 This is the second of a trio
of parables (GTh 63–65) pronouncing against the evils of commerce and its
incompatibility with true discipleship. The guests had initially intended to
attend the banquet (see on 64.1 below), but were prevented from doing so
because of their commercial activities.
Notes
64.1 A man was having some guests. And when he had prepared the dinner, he
sent his servant to summon the guests. This opening statement presupposes
‘the practice of first sending an invitation to a guest and then summoning them
at the time that the meal is ready’.4 The servants should not be seen as divine
figures, despite the peculiar writing of ϩⲙϩ̅ⲁ̅ⲗ̅: the word is not a nomen sacrum,
because there is no abbreviation (the line above also does not cover the whole
word, as is normal).5
2 Contra Sterling, who remarks on the ‘absence of an allegorical understanding of the parable
in Thomas’ (‘Where Two or Three are Gathered’, 106). It is true, however, that there is not any
salvation historical allegory involving the destruction of Jerusalem, as in the rough parallel
in Matthew (Lindemann, ‘Gleichnisinterpretation’, 231–232, and Sevrin, ‘Un groupement de
trois paraboles contre les richesses’, 432).
3 Sterling, ‘Where Two or Three are Gathered’, 105.
4 Sterling, ‘Where Two or Three are Gathered’, 98, citing as parallels Esth. 5.8; 6.14 and Philo,
Opif. 78.
5 Contra Valantasis, 144–145.
logion 64 455
64.2 He went to the first and said to him, “My master summons you.” This
terse way of speaking by the servant perhaps taps into a stereotype: cf. the
first spoken words of the Republic from the servant of Polemarchus to Socrates:
‘Polemarchus tells you to wait’ (Rep. 327B).
64.3 He said, “I have some claims against some merchants. They are com-
ing to me in the evening. I am going to give them orders. Please excuse me
from the dinner.” On ϩⲟⲙⲧ as a ‘claim’ or loan, cf. Crum 678a, where ὀφείλημα
is given as an equivalent in Deut. 24.10.
64.4 He went to another and said to him, “My master has summoned you.”
See on 64.2 above. The change of tense from present to perfect is insignificant.
64.5 He said to him, “I have bought a house and am required today. I
shall not have the spare time.” The house-buying does not appear in the
Matthean or Lukan parallel. Sterling attributes its presence to ‘either the tra-
dition behind Thomas or Thomas used Deuteronomy 20 to expand the list of
potential excuses’.6 However, the ‘excuse’ in Deuteronomy 20.5 belongs to the
man who has built a house and should dedicate it. The link between Deut. 20.6–
7 and Thomas is not strong: Thomas is further away from Deuteronomy than
Luke in his talk of buying a village not a farm/ vineyard, and in the reference to
the friend getting married.
64.6 He went to another and said to him, “My master summons you.”
Cf. 64.2 and 64.4.
64.7 He said to him, “My friend is getting married and I am to arrange the
dinner. I shall not be able to come. Please excuse me from the dinner.” Per-
haps the apparent difference between this case and the other more commercial
excuses evaporates if we read the marriage as the same kind of transaction as
the cases of business.7 In any event, if the meal is a ‘catered affair’, it is a business
transaction for this invitee:8 ‘this too would probably have involved a consider-
able outlay of funds, and all for the folly of a feast.’9
64.8 He went to another and said to him, “My master summons you.”
Cf. 64.2, 64.4, and 64.6.
64.9 He said to him, “I have bought a village. I am going to collect the
rent. I shall not be able to come. Please excuse me.” Arnal here adduces a
helpful parallel from an inscription, which refers to villages as the property of
6 Sterling, ‘Where Two or Three are Gathered’, 105.

7 Blomberg, ‘The Parables of the Gospel of Thomas’, 188, comments that the shift from groom to
best man reflects strong aversion to marriage in Gnostic circles, which is possible but overly
speculative, and may not apply in the case of Thomas.
8 Hedrick, 121.
456 logion 64
a single person.10 This is hardly a normal situation, however, since the owner is
Ptolemaios, ‘military governor and chief priest of Koile Syria and Phoinike’.11
64.10 The servant came and said to his master, “Those whom you invited
to the dinner have asked to be excused.” On the writing of ϩⲙϩ̅ⲁ̅ⲗ̅, see above on
64.1.
64.11 The master said to his servant, “Go outside to the streets and bring
whomever you find, so that they may dine.” On the writing of ϩⲙϩ̅ⲁ̅ⲗ̅, see above
on 64.1. The reference here may have been to gentiles in earlier versions of the
parables, but this probably was no longer the sense within Thomas.12
64.12 Businessmen and merchants will not enter the places of my Father.
Cf. Zech. 14.21b. Lowe comments, a little speculatively, that there is a possible
allusion here to the cleansing of the temple, in which case it may be that GTh 64
was drawn from a source in which this parable is connected to that incident,13
or was at least spoken in the temple: this is the case for the loose Matthean
parallel (Matt. 22.1–14), but not the Lukan (Lk. 14.12–24).14
10 Arnal, ‘Rhetoric of Marginality’, 467; the reference is to Y.H. Landau, ‘A Greek Inscription
Found near Hefzibah’, IEJ 16 (1966), 54–70 (59–61, ll. 22–23), where the property consists
of ‘villages belong to me as property’.
11 Landau, ‘A Greek Inscription Found near Hefzibah’, 66.
12 Cf. Pokorný, 110.
13 M.F. Lowe, ‘From the Parable of the Vineyard to a Pre-Synoptic Source’, NTS 28 (1982),
257–263 (259).
14 Cf. the discussion of the common order of GTh 64–66 and the Synoptics in Lowe, ‘Parable
of the Vineyard’, 260; McArthur, ‘The Gospel according to Thomas’, 65–66, and Gathercole,
Composition, 131.
Logion 651
65.1 ⲡⲉϫⲁϥ ϫⲉ ⲟⲩⲣⲱⲙⲉ ⲛ̄ⲭⲣⲏ[…]ⲥ ⲛⲉⲩⲛⲧ̣[ⲁϥ] ⲛ̄ⲟⲩⲙⲁ ⲛ̄ⲉⲗⲟⲟⲗⲉ ⲁϥⲧⲁ⳿ⲁϥ

ⲛ̄[ϩ]ⲛ̄ⲟⲩⲟⲉⲓⲉ ϣⲓⲛⲁ ⲉⲩⲛⲁⲣ̄ ϩⲱⲃ⳿ ⲉⲣⲟϥ⳿ ⲛ̄ϥϫⲓ [ⲙ̄]ⲡⲉϥⲕⲁⲣ⳿ⲡⲟⲥ ⲛ̄ⲧⲟⲟⲧⲟⲩ 65.2 ⲁϥ-
ϫⲟⲟⲩ ⲙ̄ⲡⲉϥϩⲙϩ̅ⲁ̅ⲗ̅ ϫⲉⲕⲁⲁⲥ ⲉⲛⲟⲩⲟⲉⲓⲉ ⲛⲁϯ ⲛⲁϥ⳿ ⲙ̄ⲡⲕⲁⲣⲡⲟⲥ ⲙ̄ⲡⲙⲁ ⲛ̄ⲉⲗⲟⲟⲗⲉ 65.3
ⲁⲩⲉⲙⲁϩⲧⲉ ⲙ̄ⲡⲉϥϩⲙ̄ϩ̅ⲁ̅ⲗ̅ ⲁⲩϩⲓⲟⲩⲉ ⲉⲣⲟϥ⳿ ⲛⲉ ⲕⲉⲕⲟⲩⲉⲓ ⲡⲉ ⲛ̄ⲥⲉⲙⲟⲟⲩⲧϥ⳿ ⲁⲡϩⲙϩ̅ⲁ̅ⲗ̅ ⲃⲱⲕ⳿
ⲁϥϫⲟⲟⲥ ⲉⲡⲉϥϫⲟⲉⲓⲥ 65.4 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲡⲉϥϫⲟⲉⲓⲥ ϫⲉ ⲙⲉϣⲁⲕ̣⳿ ⲙ̄ⲡ⟨ⲟⲩ⟩ⲥⲟⲩⲱⲛ⟨ϥ⳿⟩ 65.5
ⲁϥϫⲟⲟⲩ ⲛ̄ⲕⲉϩⲙϩ̅ⲁ̅ⲗ̅ ⲁⲛⲟⲩⲟⲉⲓⲉ ϩⲓⲟⲩⲉ ⲉⲡⲕⲉⲟⲩⲁ 65.6 ⲧⲟⲧⲉ ⲁⲡϫⲟⲉⲓⲥ ϫⲟⲟⲩ ⲙ̄ⲡⲉϥ-
ϣⲏⲣⲉ ⲡⲉϫⲁϥ⳿ ϫⲉ ⲙⲉϣⲁⲕ⳿ ⲥⲉⲛⲁϣⲓⲡⲉ ϩⲏⲧϥ⳿ ⲙ̄ⲡⲁϣⲏⲣⲉ 65.7 ⲁⲛ⳿ⲟⲩⲟⲉⲓⲉ ⲉⲧⲙ̄ⲙⲁⲩ
ⲉⲡⲉⲓ ⲥⲉⲥⲟⲟⲩⲛ ϫⲉ ⲛ̄ⲧⲟϥ ⲡⲉ ⲡⲉⲕⲗⲏⲣⲟⲛⲟⲙⲟⲥ ⲙ̄ⲡⲙⲁ ⲛ̄ⲉⲗⲟⲟⲗⲉ ⲁⲩϭⲟⲡϥ⳿ ⲁⲩⲙⲟⲟⲩⲧϥ⳿
65.8 ⲡⲉⲧⲉⲩⲙ̄ ⲙⲁⲁϫⲉ ⲙ̄ⲙⲟϥ⳿ ⲙⲁⲣⲉϥ⳿ⲥⲱⲧⲙ̄
65.1 He said, ‘A […] man had a vineyard. He leased it to farmers so that they
would work it, and he would receive its produce from them. 65.2 He sent his
servant so that the farmers might give him the produce of the vineyard. 65.3
They seized his servant and struck him, nearly killing him. The servant went
1 Bibliography for GTh 65: McCaughey, ‘Two Synoptic Parables in the Gospel of Thomas’, 24–
28; Schrage, Verhältnis, 137–145; J.D. Crossan, ‘The Parable of the Wicked Husbandmen’, JBL 90
(1971), 451–465; J.A.T. Robinson, ‘The Parable of the Wicked Husbandmen: A Test of Synoptic
Relationships’, NTS 21 (1975), 443–461; K. Snodgrass, ‘The Parable of the Wicked Husbandmen:
Is the Gospel of Thomas Version the Original?’, NTS 21 (1975), 142–144; W.G. Morrice, ‘The
Parable of the Tenants and the Gospel of Thomas’, ExpT 98 (1986–1987), 104–107; B. Dehand-
schutter, ‘La parabole des vignerons homicides (Mc., XII, 1–12) et l’évangile selon Thomas’, in
M. Sabbe, ed. L’Évangile selon Marc: Tradition et Rédaction (BETL 34; Leuven: Unversity Press/
Leuven: Peeters, 1988), 203–220; B.B. Scott, Hear Then the Parable: A Commentary on the Para-
bles of Jesus (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1989), 237–253; Sevrin, ‘Un groupement de trois paraboles
contre les richesses’, 425–439; W.E. Arnal, ‘The Parable of the Tenants and the Class Conscious-
ness of the Peasantry’, in M. Desjardins & S.G. Wilson, eds. Text and Artifact in the Religions
of Mediterranean Antiquity (Waterloo, ON: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2000), 135–157;
J. Kloppenborg, The Tenants in the Vineyard: Ideology, Economics, and Agrarian Conflict in
Jewish Palestine (Tübingen: Mohr, 2006); E. Van Eck, ‘The Tenants in the Vineyard (GThom
65/Mark 12:1–12): A Realistic and Social-Scientific Reading’, HTS 63 (2007), 909–936; C. Quar-
les, ‘The Use of the Gospel of Thomas in the Research on the Historical Jesus of John Dominic
Crossan’, CBQ 69 (2007), 517–536 (524–534); C. Gianotto, ‘Il Vangelo secondo Tommaso e il
problema storico di Gesù’, in E. Prinzivalli, ed. L’enigma Gesù. Fonti e metodi della ricerca stor-
ica (Rome: Carocci, 2008), 68–93 (73–78); J.P. Meier, ‘The Parable of the Wicked Tenants in
the Vineyard: Is the Gospel of Thomas Independent of the Synoptics?’, in C.W. Skinner &
K.R. Iverson, eds. Unity and Diversity in the Gospels and Paul: Essays in Honor of Frank J. Mat-
era (SBLECL 7; Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2012), 129–145; Gathercole, Composition,
188–194.
458 logion 65
and told his master. 65.4 The master said, “Perhaps ⟨they⟩ did not recognize
⟨him⟩.” 65.5 He sent another servant. The tenants struck this one too. 65.6
Then the owner sent his son and said, “Perhaps they will respect my son.” 65.7
Since those tenants knew that he was the heir to the vineyard, they seized him
and killed him. 65.8 He who has ears, let him hear.’
Textual Comment
Three minor points can be dealt with briefly. The word ϩⲙϩ̅ⲁ̅ⲗ̅ (‘servant’) in
65.2–3, 5, is written in a way which has suggested to some that it is intended
as a nomen sacrum; this is not correct (see note on GTh 64.1 above). In 65.4,
the manuscript perhaps has ⲙⲉϣⲁⲭ for ⲙⲉϣⲁⲕ, and clearly has ⲙ̄ⲡⲉϥ⳿ⲥⲟⲩⲱⲛⲟⲩ,
which most editors emend to ⲙ̄ⲡⲟⲩ⳿ⲥⲟⲩⲱⲛϥ⳿.
This saying also has one of the most difficult textual problems in Thomas.
The question is over the identity of the man, for which there are two main
options: is he ‘a kind man’ (ⲟⲩⲣⲱⲙⲉ ⲛ̄ⲭⲣⲏ[ⲥⲧⲟ]ⲥ), or is he ‘a usurer’ (ⲟⲩⲣⲱⲙⲉ
ⲛ̄ⲭⲣⲏ[ⲥⲧⲏ]ⲥ).2 The decision is relevant to how the scene in GTh 65 is set: is the
owner of the vineyard positively or negatively valued? We will examine first the
‘kind man’ interpretation.
Understanding the protagonist as a ‘kind man’ was instinctive to some early
interpreters of Thomas given that (i) in the Synoptic parallel, the vineyard
owner represented God. Grant and Freedman simply assume the owner to be
a positive figure.3 Nordsieck notes further that (ii) ⲭⲣⲏⲥⲧⲟⲥ appears nearby,
in GTh 90, and (iii) given Thomas’s dualistic outlook, it is likely that one
party is good and the other evil, and so it makes sense to see the owner as
good in contrast to the undoubtedly wicked tenants.4 One might add (iv) that
the adjacent saying about the rejection of the stone looks like a reference to
the rejection of something good, which might reinforce the point that the
tenants are defying someone good. Finally, (v) the epithet ⲭⲣⲏⲥⲧⲟⲥ can have
a connotation of naivety as well as moral goodness, which might fit well as a
description of the owner with his futile attempts to get his produce.5
2 In favour of ⲭⲣⲏⲥⲧⲟⲥ are Bruce, Jesus and Christian Origins, 139; Ménard, 166, and Blomberg,
‘The Parables of the Gospel of Thomas’; for ⲭⲣⲏⲥⲧⲏⲥ, see e.g. Arnal, ‘The Parable of the
Tenants’; Kloppenborg, Tenants in the Vineyard.
3 Grant & Freedman, 171–172.
4 Nordsieck, 253.
5 LSJ, 2007 (‘χρηστός’) II 4b, ‘(sometimes) simple, silly’.
logion 65 459
On the other hand, none of these points is unassailable. In particular, one

cannot, against (i), assume that the meaning of the parable in Thomas will be
the same as that in the Synoptics. Against (iv), it is not necessarily the case that
adjacent sayings in Thomas are mutually illuminating.
In part because of these criticisms, a number of interpreters (probably now
in the majority) see the owner as a negative figure, and so give a text and
translation which refers to a usurer.6 Pokorný remarks that (i) there is nothing
in the parable to suggest that the figure is positive.7 Indeed, (ii) it looks as
though the deal arranged is rather an extortionate one: according to 65.1 the
tenants do all the work and the owner receives all the produce.8 Certainly
there is no kindness involved in the deal; it is strictly business.9 Although
ⲭⲣⲏⲥⲧⲟⲥ does appear in Thomas, (iii) more immediate are references in GTh
63 to ⲛ̄ⲭⲣⲏⲙⲁ (63.1) and ϯⲛⲁⲣ̄ⲭⲣⲱ ⲛ̄ⲛⲁⲭⲣⲏⲙⲁ (63.2). GTh 64 perhaps refers to
claims upon debts in 64.3, which would support a reference to a ⲭⲣⲏⲥⲧⲏⲥ; the
same parable also has a reference to the collection of rent. Lending at interest
also appears in GTh 95 and 109.10 Finally, Arnal argues (iv) for ⲭⲣⲏⲥⲧⲏⲥ on the
basis of Thomas’s tendency to describe the professions or social standing of his
characters.11
These arguments are not impregnable either. Against (i), although there
is nothing clearly positive about the owner, there is nothing clearly negative
either. Point (ii) is not necessarily correct in seeing an exploitative arrange-
ment: read literally, the tenants get nothing at all, but it is hard to imagine that
sheer slave labour is referred to in GTh 65. Arnal’s argument (iv) is not decisive,
as Thomas also likes to describe their attributes (e.g. the ‘wise’ fisherman in
GTh 8.1; the ‘rich’ man in 63.1). Two further points not often recognised should
also be noted against the ⲭⲣⲏⲥⲧⲏⲥ or ‘usurer’ interpretation. First, the contest
between the two options is not an even one: the Greek word χρήστης is con-
siderably less common than χρηστός. The former does not appear in the LXX,
NT, Philo or Josephus, by comparison with hundreds of occurrences of the lat-
ter.12 For what it is worth, TLG shows that χρήστης in the nom. sing. appears 49
times in its corpus, χρηστός in the nom. masc. sing. 1683 times. Secondly, it is
6 Pokorný, 111.
7 Pokorný, 113.
8 Arnal, ‘Parable of the Tenants’, 140–141; Plisch, 161.
9 Plisch, 160.
10 Some of these parallels are noted by Dehandschutter, ‘Parabole’, 218, and Sevrin, ‘Trois
paraboles’, 437.
11 Arnal, ‘Parable of the Tenants’, 142–143.
12 According to Bibleworks software.
460 logion 65
sometimes assumed, as we have seen, that ⲭⲣⲏⲥⲧⲏⲥ fits the parable much better,
but in fact there is nothing to suggest in the parable that the protagonist—even
if a villain—is specifically a usurer at all. χρήστης means ‘creditor’, ‘usurer’,
‘debtor’, according to LSJ,13 but the man in GTh 65 is apparently none of these
things: he is a landlord.
In the end, it is probably necessary to admit defeat and acknowledge that it
is simply very difficult to know. Hedrick is one example of a commentator who
wisely sees that the better part of valour is discretion in this instance.14
Interpretation
This is the eighth of Thomas’s parables (on these, see ad GTh 8). The interpre-
tation of this parable (cf. Mk 12.1–9; Matt. 22.33–41; Lk. 20.9–16) only partially
hinges on the unknown designation of the vineyard-owner just discussed, and
so it is possible to see some of the key points. There are two main types of inter-
pretation.15
The first sees a reference to a saviour figure. Popkes takes the reference to
the killing of the son as a reference to the death of Jesus, comparing GTh 55 and
71.16 Schrage, similarly, saw the killing as the refusal of the Gnostic messenger,17
and McCaughey saw this accentuated in the statement ‘perhaps he did not
recognize them’ (or vice versa) in 65.4.18 One difficulty with this interpretation
lies in its indebtedness to the Synoptic interpretation. In particular, Thomas
does not think, as do the Synoptics, in terms of the coming of Jesus as the climax
in a series of divine embassies; compare the negative picture of prophets in GTh
52. This view also depends entirely on the vineyard-owner being ‘good’. Thomas
has none of the christological overtones in the Synoptics: Mark’s mention of the
son as ‘beloved’ (12.6) is absent, as is the note in Matthew and Luke that the son
is killed outside the vineyard.19
13 Gianotto, ‘Il Vangelo secondo Tommaso e il problema storico di Gesù’, 76, translates ‘ricco’
(‘rich’), but I have not been able to find this as an equivalent of χρήστης.
14 Hedrick, 124.
15 Scott’s interpretation of the parable as about the failure to grasp wisdom is probably too
distant from the particulars of the parable (Hear then the Parable, 245).
16 Popkes, ‘Die Umdeutung des Todes Jesu im koptischen Thomasevangelium’, 515.
17 Schrage, Verhältnis, 144–145.
18 McCaughey, ‘Two Synoptic Parables’, 25.
19 McCaughey, ‘Two Synoptic Parables’, 26.
logion 65 461
The second main interpretation sees the parable as a tale of the woes of
involvement in commerce.20 This view is almost certainly correct. GTh 65 is
the last in a trio of parables about being involved in business.21 In fact, however,
it is not so much the morality of business which is treated here but rather the
fruitlessness and even danger of it.22 In this respect, the parable of the Tenants
matches its two predecessors:
GTh 63: The Rich Fool—he intends to fill his store but dies;
GTh 64: The Banquet—the guests intend to attend a banquet, but cannot
because of business transactions;
GTh 65: Wicked Tenants—the owner intends to receive fruit but suffers loss
(and tenants seek a vineyard but thereby become murderous).
Like the rich fool and those invited to the banquet, then, the vineyard owner
misses out on what he had hoped for because he had not reckoned on the
ruthlessness of the tenants.23 This climactic parable of the three thus highlights
not only that the relevant characters miss out on what they had hoped to
gain, but also that involvement in worldly transactions can actually lead to
catastrophic loss.24
Notes
65.1 A … man had a vineyard. The dispute over the lacuna here is discussed
above. Like Luke, indeed even more so, Thomas omits the reference to Isaiah
in the scene-setting.25 Isaiah 5 also surfaces later in Mk 12.9 and parallels, but
Thomas has ended the parable by this time.
20 Sevrin, ‘Un groupement de trois paraboles contre les richesses’, 438

21 See esp. Sevrin, ‘Un groupement de trois paraboles contre les richesses’; e.g. Dehandschut-
ter, ‘La parabole’ 217–218 also links to previous two.
22 Rightly, Valantasis, 144: ‘the way of commerce satisfied neither party’; Hedrick, 125, sees
the point as ‘the hazards of involvement with the “world”’.
23 Kloppenborg, Tenants in the Vineyard, 250, links the protagonist of GTh 65 with characters
in GTh 63–64.
24 Pace Van Eck, ‘The Tenants in the Vineyard’, 933–934, it is unclear that the vineyard owner
emerges as an honorable character.
25 It is probably not a conscious ‘deletion’ (so Grant & Freedman, 172); rather Thomas omits
the scene-setting in order to get to the point of the story, or simply because he is most
familiar with the Lukan version.
462 logion 65
65.1 He leased it to farmers so that they would work it, and he would
receive its produce from them. By comparison with the Synoptics (and com-
mon sense), the deal appears very much an unequal one: they work, and he
receives the produce (cf. ‘some of the produce’ in Mk 12.2).26 Indeed, one might
even say that this is an unrealistic element in contrast to that of the Synop-
tics.27 This may simply be a compressed statement, however, unless—as is
not obvious—the parable is meant to be completely unrealistic at the outset.
Hedrick notes that the reference could be to ‘its’ (the vineyard’s) or ‘his’ (the
owner’s) produce.28
65.2 He sent his servant. As in the previous saying, the servants should not
be seen as divine figures, despite the peculiar writing of ϩⲙϩ̅ⲁ̅ⲗ̅ (see Interpreta-
tion of GTh 64 above).29
65.2 So that the farmers might give him the produce of the vineyard.
Thomas shares with Luke a final clause with this syntax, rather than Matthew’s
and Mark’s ‘so that he might receive some of the produce from the farmers’.30
65.3 They seized his servant and struck him, nearly killing him. The ser-
vant went and told his master. In contrast to the Synoptics, Thomas alone has
a servant reporting back to the vineyard owner.
65.4 The master said, “Perhaps they did not recognize him.” This sense
is the result of an emendation: the text reads instead, ‘Perhaps he did not
recognise them’, which is improbable. This clause is rightly understood by
Meier as an attempt to rationalise the sending of a further envoy:31 this is
a feature of Thomas’s parables.32 The ‘perhaps’ is probably the result of the
influence of Luke’s ‘perhaps’ in Lk. 20.13 (cf. GTh 65.6).
65.5 He sent another servant. The tenants struck this one too. The second
in the sequence of envoys, who receives the same harsh treatment as the first,
but is not killed like the son.
65.6 Then the owner sent his son and said, “Perhaps they will respect my
son.” The son is the third, climactic envoy. As in 65.4, the ‘perhaps’ is probably
the result of the influence of Luke’s ‘perhaps’ in Lk. 20.13.
26 Arnal, ‘Parable of the Tenants’, 140–141; Van Eck, ‘The Tenants in the Vineyard’, 924.
27 Contra the emphasis in Kloppenborg, Tenants in the Vineyard, 3, and passim.
28 Hedrick, 124.
29 Contra Valantasis, 144–145.
30 K. Snodgrass, The Parable of the Wicked Tenants (Tübingen: Mohr, 1983), 52.
31 Meier, ‘The Parable of the Wicked Tenants’, 140.
32 See comment on 41.2 above, and further, Osborn, ‘Parable and Exposition’, 11–22.
logion 65 463
65.7 Since those tenants knew that he was the heir to the vineyard, they
seized him and killed him. In anticipation of Kloppenborg’s argument for a
quasi-legal background here (he sees Thomas as reflecting legal reality better
than the Synoptics),33 Montefiore comments that ‘it is hardly necessary to
imagine that the original story turned on a nice point of law. It seems that the
labourers in the parable were the kind of people who believed that possession
is nine-tenths of the law.’34 Notably, Thomas ends the story earlier than do
Matthew, Mark, and Luke, who all describe the vineyard owner as avenging
himself, killing the tenants and giving the vineyard to others. The quotation
from Psalm 118 in the Synoptics’ versions appears in Thomas in a discrete saying
next in GTh 66.
65.8 He who has ears, let him hear. On Thomas’s use of this aphorism, see
comment above on GTh 8.4.
33 Kloppenborg, Tenants in the Vineyard, 330–334.

34 Montefiore & Turner, Thomas and the Evangelists, 49–50.
Logion 661
ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ⲙⲁⲧⲥⲉⲃⲟⲉⲓ ⲉⲡⲱⲛⲉ ⲡⲁⲉⲓ ⲛ̄ⲧⲁⲩⲥⲧⲟϥ⳿ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ⳿ ⲛ̄ϭⲓ ⲛⲉⲧ⳿ⲕⲱⲧ⳿ ⲛ̄ⲧⲟϥ ⲡⲉ
ⲡⲱⲱⲛⲉ ⲛ̄ⲕⲱϩ
Jesus said, ‘Show me the stone which the builders rejected—that is the
corner-stone.’
Interpretation
This saying derives ultimately from Psalm 118.22 (ψ 117.22).2 There is a common
theme of rejection in GTh 65–66, even if the link may be of no interpretive
significance.3 While GTh 65–66 and the Synoptics share a common order at
this point (cf. Mk 12.1–9+10–11 and parallels), Thomas interrupts the link with
a fresh ‘Jesus said’ at the beginning of GTh 66. Clearly the principal theme
here is the rejection by the ignorant world of what is of crucial importance,
the irony being that people who should recognise it do not. The ‘stone’ could
be:4 (1) Jesus;5 (2) his message/ gnosis;6 (3) a combination of these two,7 or (4)
the community.8
Even if GTh 65 is not centred upon Jesus, GTh 66 is still likely to refer to
him—perhaps including his words. Rejection of Jesus is widespread in Thomas:
in 28, he found the world blind and unrepentant; in GTh 16 people misunder-
stand his mission; in 43, the disciples, like the Jews, do not realize who he is;
in 52, the disciples set him aside; in 91, the disciples fail to recognize him. A
1 Bibliography for GTh 66: See bibliography for GTh 65, and in addition, T. Baarda, ‘“The
Cornerstone”: An Aramaism in the Diatessaron and the Gospel of Thomas?’, NovT 37 (1995),
285–300.
2 Cf. Matt. 21.42/ Mk 12.10/ Lk. 20.17; Ac. 4.11; 1 Pet. 2.7; Barn. 6.4; Irenaeus, AH 4.33.1.
3 Cf. Arnal, ‘Parable of the Tenants’, 145, who claims that the two sayings have nothing to do
with one another.
4 The parallel in Ref. 5.7.35, where Adam(as) is the chief corner-stone has not led interpreters
to attribute the same view to Thomas.
5 DeConick, 218; Nordsieck, 259; Pokorný, 114 includes in the conception of Jesus ‘the inner
divine substance of humanity that he represents’.
6 Hedrick, 128.
7 Grosso, 202.
8 Valantasis, 148.
logion 66 465
range of groups, then, reject Jesus in Thomas—the world/ people, the Jews, the
disciples. Although, it is difficult to see any specific group as ‘the builders’, it is
likely that Jesus is the ‘cornerstone’, although this might well also extend to his
message as well.
Notes
Jesus said. In the attribution of this saying to Jesus, Thomas reflects his stance of
distance from, or hostility to, the Old Testament. It is unclear which, however:
Grant & Freedman comment that Thomas ‘deletes’ the reference to reading
what is written,9 whereas Goodacre emphasises the distance (cf. GTh 20; 21; 65),
stating that the knowledge of the OT in Thomas is simply mediated through the
Gospels here as elsewhere.10 As we have noted in connection with GTh 17, there
was something of a tendency in early Christianity to attribute OT language to
Jesus.11
Show me. Thomas’s verb here is the most obviously distinctive feature in
GTh 66. Schrage’s comment that this comes from the Synoptics’ Render unto
Caesar pericope (Matt. 22.19/ Lk. 20.24) is possible, but impossible to prove.12
In its favour are the points that in Luke, the pericopes are adjacent, and the
Sahidic NT has at Luke 20.24 ⲙⲁⲧⲥⲁⲃⲟⲓ, the same grammatical form as appears
in GTh 66 with merely a variation in spelling. This (and other evidence in
Crum 434b) demonstrates that Plisch’s rendering ‘educate me’ is unneces-
sary.13
As Ps. 118.22 and the Synoptic versions stand, there is the slight oddity of
beginning with a free-standing accusative. 1Peter deals with this awkwardness
in one way: it turns it into a nominative. Thomas deals with it a different way,
by supplying a main verb for the object ‘the stone’.
The stone which the builders rejected—that is the corner-stone. A link
with the wording of the Diatessaron Haarense is extremely tenuous, as Baarda

10 Goodacre, Thomas and the Gospels, 189–190. It seems extremely unlikely that Thomas drew
on the Hebrew text of Ps. 118. So Baarda ‘Cornerstone’, 294 n. 41, rightly, against Quispel,
‘Thomasevangelium und Altes Testament’, 247.
11 See Trevijano Etcheverría, ‘La valoración de los dichos no canónicos’, 410, noting the
phenomenon in Hebrews and Justin; cf. Gathercole, Composition, 241–242.
12 Schrage, Verhältnis, 146.
13 Plisch, 163.
466 logion 66
has shown.14 ‘Cornerstone’ may be closer to 1Pet. 2.6 (cf. Eph. 2.20) than to the
Synoptics’ ‘capstone’, but in 1Pet. 2.7 the cornerstone is in any case identified
with the ‘capstone’ of Ps. 118.
14 Baarda, ‘The Cornerstone’.

Logion 671
ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ⲡⲉⲧⲥⲟⲟⲩⲛ ⲙ̄ⲡⲧⲏⲣϥ⳿ ⲉϥⲣ̄ ϭⲣⲱϩ ⲟⲩⲁ ⲁϥⲣ̄ ϭⲣⲱϩ ⲙ̄ⲡⲙⲁ ⲧⲏⲣϥ⳿
Jesus said, ‘Whoever knows all, but is deficient in one thing, is deficient
completely.’
Textual Comment
Some editors’ conjecture of ⲟⲩⲁⲁϥ ⟨ϥ⟩ⲣ̄ for ⲟⲩⲁ ⲁϥⲣ̄ (and different word division)
yields a different sense: ‘Whoever knows all, but is deficient in himself, is
deficient completely.’2 Although it has been influential, such an emendation
is unnecessary.3
Interpretation
Given that a reference to self-knowledge here is absent, interpretations empha-

sising that theme can be discounted.4 The saying makes the point that only
complete knowledge is valid for the true disciple; it is not possible to select
some elements of Thomasine knowledge and reject others. Presumably this
might be a temptation for those who want to belong both to the Thomas move-
ment as well as to other religious groups,5 or the saying is a warning against the
kind of provision for imperfection attested in the Didache: ‘for if you are able
to bear the whole yoke of the Lord, you will be perfect; but if you cannot, do
1 Bibliography for GTh 67: G. Quispel, ‘Hermes Trismegistus and Tertullian’, VC 43 (1989),
188–189; L. Painchaud, M.-P. Bussières & M. Kaler, ‘Le syntagme ⲡⲙⲁ ⲧⲏⲣϥ̄ dans quelques textes
de Nag Hammadi’, in Painchaud & Poirier, eds. Coptica—Gnostica—Manichaica, 619–643.
2 The emendation goes back to Guillaumont, et al., Thomas, 38, and is adopted by Layton: see
Layton & Lambdin, ‘The Gospel according to Thomas’, Nag Hammadi Codex II,2–7: Volume
One, 78. Those accepting the emendation include Wilson, Studies in the Gospel of Thomas, 27;
Valantasis, 146; Nordsieck, 260–261.
3 See, rightly, Plisch, 164. I am grateful to him for explaining the textual issue to me in personal
conversation.
4 See above for those taking this view.
5 Grant & Freedman, 173, are wrong to say that the saying is ‘incomprehensible’.
468 logion 67
what you can’ (Did. 6.2). A polemic against a particular rival group laying claim
to knowledge falsely so-called is also possible.
Parallels to this ‘all except one’ include the often cited Mark 8.36 (‘the whole
world’, but forfeiting the soul) and Zostrianus’s statement: ‘If he apprehends
the glories, he is perfect; but if he apprehends [two] or one, he is drunk’ (Zost.
73,12–15). Perhaps closest is the Rich Young Man pericope, where the man
‘knows’ the commandments (Mk 10.19/Lk. 18.20), and has kept them ‘all’ (Mk
10.20/Matt. 19.20/Lk. 18.21), but still ‘one thing is lacking’ (Mk 10.21/Lk. 18.22).
Notes
Whoever knows all, but is deficient in one thing. This may be a comment upon
the disciple whose understanding is clear but who lapses in behaviour. In this
case, the saying is a rigorist statement, demanding perfection. Alternatively, it
may be a polemical remark against a rival, but quite similar group—a reference
to another group focused around a variant gnosis (‘who knows all’) is a possible
rival here. There is no subjective element here, as in Lambdin’s translation
(‘feels a personal deficiency’) and Valantasis’ interpretation.6
Is deficient completely. There is not a problem in the verb’s allegedly ‘unmo-
tivated perfect tense’,7 given the form ⲁϥⲣ̄. As Layton notes, this construction
‘can also have ingressive meaning, expressing entry into a state; in other words,
the distinction between being and becoming is cancelled’.8 Thus one could
equally translate ⲁϥⲣ̄ ϭⲣⲱϩ as either ‘is deficient completely’, or ‘has become
completely deficient’. The phrase ⲙ̄ⲡⲙⲁ ⲧⲏⲣϥ⳿ literally means ‘everywhere’ (cf.
Crum 154b: ⲙⲁ ⲛⲓⲙ), but often does not mean this. Here it means ‘completely’
in the sense of ‘throughout’ the person’s whole being: this is in line with the
conclusions of Painchaud, Bussières & Kaler who show that it often has a sense
of universality in contrast to a particular, and marks ‘intensité ou la totalité’.9
Depending on which view of the first part of the saying is correct, this is either
a comment upon the spiritual bankruptcy of the imperfect disciple, or that of
the rival group.
One, 79; Valantasis, 146–147.
7 Plisch, 165.
8 Layton, Coptic Grammar, 141 (§ 180 (b)).
9 Painchaud, Bussières & Kaler, ‘Le syntagme ⲙⲁ ⲧⲏⲣϥ̄’, 643.
Logion 681
68.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ⲛ̄ⲧⲱⲧⲛ̄ ϩⲙ̄ⲙⲁⲕⲁⲣⲓⲟⲥ ϩⲟⲧⲁ(ⲛ) ⲉⲩϣⲁⲛⲙⲉⲥⲧⲉ ⲧⲏⲩⲧⲛ̄ ⲛ̄ⲥⲉⲣ̄ⲇⲓⲱⲕⲉ

ⲙ̄ⲙⲱⲧⲛ̄ 68.2 ⲁⲩⲱ ⲥⲉⲛⲁϩⲉ ⲁⲛ ⲉⲧⲟⲡⲟⲥ ϩⲙ̄ ⲡⲙⲁ ⲉⲛⲧⲁⲩⲇⲓⲱⲕⲉ ⲙ̄ⲙⲱⲧⲛ̄ ϩⲣⲁⲓ̈ ⲛ̄ϩⲏⲧϥ⳿
68.1 Jesus says, ‘Blessed are you when they hate you and persecute you. 68.2
But they will not find a place, where they have persecuted you.’
Textual Comment
The initial complication with this saying is that of the text. Haenchen, for
example, has proposed an important move of the ‘not’. Clement records four
macarisms in sequence, one of which is close to GTh 68.2 in particular.
He says, ‘Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteous-
ness, for they will be called “sons of God”’. Or as some of those who change
the Gospels (τινες τῶν μετατιθέντων τὰ εὐαγγέλια) say, he says, ‘Blessed are
those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for they will be
perfect.’ ‘And blessed are those who are persecuted for my sake, for they will
have a place where they are not persecuted (ὅτι ἕξουσι τόπον ὅπου οὐ διωχθή-
σονται).’ ‘And blessed are you, when men hate you, when they cut you off,
when they revile your names as evil for the sake of the son of man.’
(Strom. 4.6.41.2–4)
In part on the basis of the third beatitude in the sequence, Haenchen concludes
that GTh 68.2 can be emended to: ‘But you will find a place where you will
not be persecuted.’2 Plisch on the other hand probably correctly resists the
temptation to emend the text, as it makes sense as it stands, and it is not certain
that Clement has preserved the beatitude more accurately than our Coptic text,
which has a number of differences.3
1 Bibliography for GTh 68: E. Haenchen, ‘Spruch 68 des Thomasevangeliums’, Muséon 75

(1962), 19–29; Toyoshima, ‘Neue Vorschläge zur Lesung und Übersetzung’, 235–239; J.S. Klop-
penborg, ‘Blessing and Marginality: The “Persecution Beatitude” in Q, Thomas and Early
Christianity’, Forum 2 (1986), 36–56.
2 Haenchen, ‘Spruch 68’, 27, a proposal which seems also to be accepted by Kloppenborg,
‘Blessing and Marginality’, 47, 48.
3 Plisch, 166–167. It remains possible that Thomas is Clement’s source: Haenchen is probably
470 logion 68
Interpretation
Important to the interpretation of this saying is the presence of a ‘you’ (plural)

and a ‘they’.4 This is possible in 68.1 (where ‘they’ persecute and hate ‘you’ as in
Matt. 5.11 and Luke 6.225) and necessary in 68.2: if the third-person plural verbs
are taken as passives, then nonsense results (‘but a place will not be found in
the place where you were persecuted’).
The first half of this saying is unproblematic. Opposition from outsiders
should not lead true disciples to consider themselves the objects of divine
disapproval—quite the contrary. The second, more oblique half probably pro-
vides assurance of vindication: those true disciples who are despised by others
really are the blessed elect, but the persecutors will eventually be excluded from
very place where they have vilified the elect. There may well be, then, as some
have averred, a reference to the exclusion of Jews and Jewish Christians from
the land of Israel (see further notes on 68.2), but this perhaps relies too heavily
on a view that the saying is dominical or goes back to Palestinian tradition.6
Notes
68.1 Blessed are you when they hate you and persecute you. This is the seventh
of eleven beatitudes in Thomas (see above on GTh 7.1). Cf. Matt. 5.11 and, to a
lesser extent Lk. 6.22. The next saying, GTh 69, contains two more beatitudes.
68.2 But they will not find a place, where they have persecuted you. As
noted above, some see in this an exclusion of Jews from the land. This finds
some support in various parallels.7 Azariah in Add. Dan. 3.38 laments in Israel’s
exile the absence of a ‘place’ for sacrifice, and this reference is taken up by John
overscrupulous in his treatment of differences such as those between second and third
persons. Haenchen, ‘Spruch 68’, 26.
4 For a survey of older interpretations, see Haenchen, ‘Spruch 68’, 19–24.
5 Matthew has an anonymous ‘they’ persecuting (among other things), and Luke has οἵ ἄνθρω-
ποι ‘hating’.
6 Plisch, 166; H.-M. Schenke, ‘On the Compositional History of the Gospel of Thomas’, Forum 10
(1994), 9–30 (28), takes GTh 68 to be post-Bar Kochba.
7 Slightly different is the speech of Agrippa in Josephus, where, warning against war with Rome,
he threatens that Jews who revolt will not find any place at all (BJ 2.397): ‘for those of you
who are left will not find a place to flee, since everyone has the Romans as their masters, or
fears that they will’ (οὐδὲ γὰρ περιλειφθέντες φυγῆς εὑρήσετε τόπον ἁπάντων ἐχόντων Ῥωμαίους
δεσπότας ἢ δεδοικότων σχεῖν).
logion 68 471
Chrysostom in his polemic against the Jews where he argues for the finality of
the destruction of the temple: the closing words of Demonstratio 17 make it clear
that Judaism relied on the temple, and that the impossibility of the temple’s
rebuilding means that Judaism is now obsolete. After quoting Daniel here, he
repeats the phrase ‘we have no place’ (τόπος).8 Again, in the Adversus Iudaeos,
Chrysostom comments that ‘the Jews of today have no hope of recovering their
forefathers’ way of life’, and shortly after quotes the same part of the Prayer of
Azariah, clearly identifying the ‘place’ as the temple.9 It may well be that GTh
68.2, like Chrysostom, also turns this Jewish lament into a gentile gloat. There
must remain doubt, however, about whether such a reference was intended in
Thomas.
8 Dem. 17.3 (FOTC 73.258 / PG 48.836).

9 Adv. Iud. 4.4–5 (FOTC 68.85/ PG 48.878). For discussion of all this, see R.L. Wilken, John
Chrysostom and the Jews: Rhetoric and Reality in the Late Fourth Century (Berkeley: University
of California Press, 1983), 128–160.
Logion 691
69.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϩⲙ̄ⲙⲁⲕⲁⲣⲓⲟⲥ ⲛⲉ ⲛⲁⲉⲓ ⲛ̄ⲧⲁⲩⲇⲓⲱⲕⲉ ⲙ̄ⲙⲟⲟⲩ ϩⲣⲁⲓ̈ ϩⲙ̄ ⲡⲟⲩϩⲏⲧ⳿ ⲛⲉ-
ⲧⲙ̄ⲙⲁⲩ⳿ ⲛⲉⲛⲧⲁϩⲥⲟⲩⲱⲛ ⲡⲉⲓⲱⲧ⳿ ϩⲛ̄ ⲟⲩⲙⲉ 69.2 ϩⲙ̄ⲙⲁⲕⲁⲣⲓⲟⲥ ⲛⲉⲧϩⲕⲁⲉⲓⲧ⳿ ϣⲓⲛⲁ
ⲉⲩⲛⲁⲧⲥⲓⲟ ⲛ̄ⲑϩⲏ ⲙ̄ⲡⲉⲧⲟⲩⲱϣ
69.1 Jesus says, ‘Blessed are those who have been persecuted in their hearts.
They are those who have truly known the Father. 69.2 Blessed are those who
hunger so that they may fill the belly of the one who desires.’
Interpretation
The first beatitude, in GTh 69.1, is not really related in sense to 69.2.2 In the
absence of an obvious connection, the two can be interpreted separately.
69.1 Although ‘persecution in the heart’ might appear obscure,3 the interpre-
tation is greatly helped by a parallel in Clement:
There is a persecution which arises from without (ἔξωθεν), from people

assailing the faithful, either out of hatred, or envy, or avarice, or through
diabolic agency. But the most painful persecution is internal (ἔνδοθεν),
which proceeds from each person’s own soul being vexed by impious
lusts, diverse pleasures, and base hopes, and destructive dreams … More
grievous and painful is this persecution, which arises from within, which
is ever with a person, and which the persecuted cannot escape, for he
carries the enemy about everywhere in himself.
(Quis 25)
1 Bibliography for GTh 69: Schrage, Verhältnis, 147–151; Kloppenborg, ‘Blessing and Marginal-
ity: The “Persecution Beatitude”’, 36–56; S. Witetschek, ‘Going Hungry for a Purpose: On Gos.
Thom. 69.2 and a Neglected Parallel in Origen’, JSNT 32 (2010), 379–393.
2 So rightly Plisch, 168.
3 Plisch, 168, raises the possibility of textual corruption, with the text having originally meant,
‘Blessed are those who were persecuted ⟨in so far as they are pure⟩ in their hearts.’ In the light
of the Clement parallel, and the interpretation above, this is unnecessary.
logion 69 473
GTh 68 has described those who persecute ‘from without’; GTh 69.1 now
mentions the internal persecution in terms which would be amenable to Thom-
as—the impulses towards such things as lust and pleasure.4 Presumably such
people are blessed not because of the temptations per se, but because they
recognise such things as persecutions and fight against them.5 Or possibly, as
DeConick says, it is a kind of perfectionism, which refers to such temptations
as overcome.6
69.2 There are two main ways of interpreting this beatitude: either as sim-
ilar in sense to the Synoptic parallels (Matt. 5.6, and especially Lk. 6.21a) as
a reference to the hungry being blessed because they will be satisfied,7 or—
understood without reference to the Synoptics—as a blessing upon those who
temporarily abstain from food in order to feed another.8 The problem with the
first interpretation is that it cannot really be sustained by the Coptic, whose
subordinate clause is final, not causal.9
The reference, then, is to ‘social fasting’, that is, fasting in order to provide
food (by the money saved) for others.10 This appears to have its origin already
in Isa. 58.6–7, and is attested roughly contemporaneously with Thomas in the
Shepherd of Hermas, which describes the practicalities involved in its author’s
circles:
And this is what you must do: when you have fulfilled what has been
written, you must taste nothing except bread and water on that day on
which you fast. Then you must estimate the amount of the cost of the
food you would have eaten on that day on which you intend to fast, and
give it to a widow or an orphan or someone in need.
(Herm. 56 [Sim. 5.3].7)
Something very close to Thomas’s version, which also helps to confirm this
interpretation of 69.2, is a parallel in Origen: ‘For we have found it said by the
apostles in some book or other: “Blessed is he who also fasts for a poor man, in
4 Ménard, 171.
5 Valantasis, 148.
6 DeConick, 223.
7 DeConick, 224.
8 Grobel, ‘How Gnostic is the Gospel of Thomas?’, 373; Plisch, 168; Hedrick, 130.
9 On attempts to rectify this by reference to an Aramaic original, see Gathercole, Composi-
tion, 86–87.
10 I am grateful for discussion of this theme with my former colleague, Stephan Witetschek.
474 logion 69
order to feed him.”’11 GTh 69.2 is an interesting case study in the need to bracket
one’s knowledge of the Synoptics when interpreting Thomas.12
Notes
69.1 Blessed are those who have been persecuted in their hearts. This maca-
rism is the eighth in Thomas (see note on 7.1).
69.1 They are those who have truly known the Father. On ‘knowing the
Father’, see GTh 105.1 (and ‘seeing the Father’, 27.2).
69.2 Blessed are those who hunger. This beatitude is the ninth of eleven
in Thomas (see note on 7.1). As per the interpretation above, the hunger, in
contrast to that in the Synoptics, is intentional.
69.2 So that they may fill the belly of the one who desires. In contrast to
interpretations along the lines of the Synoptics, the verb ⲉⲩⲛⲁⲧⲥⲓⲟ should be
taken as having an active, not a passive meaning as in Lambdin’s influential
translation.13
11 Origen, Hom. in Lev. 10.2: inuenimus enim in quodam libello ab apostolis dictum: beatus est
qui etiam ieiunat pro eo ut alat pauperem. For various other references, see Witetschek,
‘Going Hungry for a Purpose’.
12 Bethge notes how odd it is that this has so often been translated to conform to the Synoptic
beatitude (‘Werdet Vorübergehende’, 48).
One, 81.
Logion 701
70.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϩⲟⲧⲁⲛ ⲉⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ϣⲁϫⲡⲉ ⲡⲏ ϩⲛ̄ ⲧⲏⲩⲧⲛ̄ ⲡⲁⲓ̈ ⲉⲧⲉⲩⲛ̄ⲧⲏⲧⲛ̅ϥ̅ ϥⲛⲁⲧⲟⲩϫⲉ
ⲧⲏⲩⲧⲛ̄ 70.2 ⲉϣⲱⲡⲉ ⲙⲛ̄ⲧⲏⲧⲛ̄ ⲡⲏ ϩⲛ̄ ⲧ̣[ⲏⲩⲧ]ⲛ̄ ⲡⲁⲉⲓ ⲉⲧⲉ ⲙⲛ̄ⲧⲏⲧⲛ̅ϥ̅ ϩⲛ̄ ⲧⲏⲛⲉ
ϥ̣[ⲛⲁⲙ]ⲟ̣ⲩⲧ⳿ ⲧⲏⲛⲉ
70.1 Jesus said, ‘When you bring forth what is in you, what you have will save
you. 70.2 If you do not have that in [yo]u, what you do not have in you [will
k]ill you.’
Interpretation
This is a loose reworking of the saying preserved in the Synoptics (Mk 4.25;
Matt. 13.12; Matt. 25.29; Lk. 8.18) and GTh 41: ‘Whoever has in his hand, to him it
will be given. And whoever does not have, even the little which he has will be
taken from him’ (see above on this saying). GTh 70 is much more specific. The
possession in question clearly distinguishes the saved from the condemned; i.e.
it probably represents the ‘light within the luminous person’, as GTh 24 puts
it, or the light within the outward physical image of the person in GTh 83, or
the true image in contrast to that physical image in GTh 84. Commentators on
GTh 70 gloss this with the Pauline language of ‘the inner man’,2 with Pokorný
adding that ‘the Divine is a part of human substance’;3 Grosso uses the language
of the nucleus, or transcendent spiritual element, which corresponds to the
heavenly prototype of the human being.4 These definitions attempt to capture
the fact that the instrument of salvation (as ‘outside’ and ‘inside’ in GTh 3)
is both within and transcendent, although the accent in this saying is on the
former.
There is a connection with another set of sayings in Thomas, namely those
which discuss the inside and the outside. The emphasis here on bringing forth
what is within as a precondition of salvation calls to mind the sayings about
‘outside’ and ‘inside’ (GTh 22; cf. 89), since making the outside like the inside
and vice versa is also made necessary for entering the kingdom in GTh 22.
2 Plisch, 169; Pokorný, 117; Grosso, 213.
3 Pokorný, 118.
4 Grosso, 213.
476 logion 70
The soteriological requirement here, then, is that this real image come to
the fore, rather than remaining obscured: it needs to take precedence over the
external visible image presented in the body and determine the identity and life
of the individual. Similar ideas are found elsewhere. In the Gospel of Judas, Jesus
says: ‘Let whoever is [strong] among you men bring forth (ⲣ̄ⲡⲁⲣⲁⲅⲉ) the perfect
man and stand in the presence of my face’ (Gos. Jud. 35). In the Gospel of Mary,
Levi says: ‘Let us put on the perfect man and bring him forth for ourselves’, with
the verb ϫⲡⲟ for ‘bring forth’ as in Thomas (Gos. Mary 18,15–17; cf. the Son of Man
‘within you’ in 8,18–19).
Notes
When you bring forth what is in you. ‘Bringing forth’ is much the more likely
sense here, rather than ‘acquire’: in the imagery of this saying, the instrument
of salvation is already within the person.5 ‘What is in you’ probably refers to the
true image, or spirit, or light, hidden within the elect.
What you have will save you. This saying is notable for, strictly speaking,
being the only ‘soteriological’ reference in Thomas as far as the specific vocabu-
lary of ‘salvation’ is concerned. Obviously other phrases function as equivalents
to salvation, such as entering ‘the kingdom’ (GTh 22; 99; 114.3), ‘the places of my
Father’ (64.12), or the ‘bridal chamber’ (75), finding the kingdom (27.1) or seeing
the Father (27.2), and the like.
If you do not have that in you. The antithesis to GTh 70.1 suggests that those
who are not true disciples may be constituted differently from the elect (cf.
the ‘light within the luminous person’, in GTh 24), and are merely material or
animate rather than spiritual.
What you do not have in you will kill you. The antithesis of salvation and
killing suggests that the theme of death in Thomas is very negative, and roughly
identified with damnation: on ‘death’ in Thomas see note on GTh 1.
5 DeConick, 225; cf. C.M. Tuckett, The Gospel of Mary (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007),
101, on 18,17. DeConick’s translation ‘when you acquire within you that certain thing’ is
impossible because ϩⲛ̄ ⲧⲏⲩⲧⲛ̄ is not adverbial but adjectival, modifying the object ⲡⲏ.
Logion 711
ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ϯⲛⲁϣⲟⲣ[ϣⲣ̄ ⲙ̄ⲡⲉⲉ]ⲓ̣ⲏⲉⲓ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲙⲛ̄ ⲗⲁⲁⲩ ⲛⲁϣⲕⲟⲧϥ […]
Jesus said, ‘I will dest[roy thi]s house, and no-one will be able to build it […].’
Textual Comment
Layton notes that there is space for 6½–8 letters between the last surviving
part of this saying and the beginning of saying 72.2 Most scholars have resisted
filling the lacuna. Schenke, following a suggestion from DeConick, changes the
meaning dramatically by restoring ⲛ̣̄[ⲥⲁⲃⲗ̄ⲗⲁⲓ̈] at the end, yielding the sense
‘… no-one will be able to build it except me.’ Despite his own confidence in
the restoration,3 it must remain an unprovable speculation; indeed, DeConick
herself does not entertain it.4
Interpretation
This saying parallels those in the Synoptic Gospels about the destruction of the
temple (cf. the accusations in Mk 14.58/ Matt. 26.61; Mk 15.29/ Matt. 27.40). The
1 Bibliography for GTh 71: G. Quispel, ‘The Gospel of Thomas and the Trial of Jesus’, in T. Baarda,
A. Hilhorst, G.P. Luttikhuizen & A.S. van der Woude, eds. Text and Testimony: Essays on New
Testament and Apocryphal Literature in Honour of A.F.J. Klijn (Kampen: Kok, 1988), 193–198;
Crossan, In Fragments, 307–312; Schenke, ‘On the Compositional History of the Gospel of
Thomas’, 9–30; Riley, Resurrection Reconsidered, 133–156; Dunderberg, ‘Thomas’ I-sayings and
the Gospel of John’, 56–58; H.-M. Schenke, ‘Bemerkungen zu #71 des Thomas-Evangeliums’,
Enchoria 27 (2001), 120–126; R. Cameron, ‘Ancient Myths and Modern Theories of the Gospel
of Thomas and Christian Origins’, in idem & M.P. Miller, eds. Redescribing Christian Ori-
gins (Atlanta: SBL, 2004), 89–108 (93–98); Dunderberg, The Beloved Disciple in Conflict, 101–
106.
One, 80.
3 Schenke, ‘Bemerkungen zu #71’, 124 (cf. DeConick, Voices of the Mystics, 106 n. 48): ‘Nun
gehört die Entdeckung von DeConick meiner Meinung nach zu solchen Dingen, die in sich
so evident sind, dass sie eigentlich keines Beweises bedürfen’ (!). See the similar confidence
in Plisch, 171; more cautiously, Pokorný, 118.
4 See DeConick, 226, where she does not consider it as an option.
478 logion 71
principal debates on the saying have concerned the identity of the ‘house’, and
secondly (if the ‘house’ is the Jerusalem temple) what this says about the date
of this saying and Thomas as a whole (see Introduction, § 7.2, above).
On the ‘house’, the options are as follows.5 The most obvious, perhaps, is
the sense in the similar Synoptic sayings, namely (1) the temple in Jerusalem.6
(2) Hedrick has proposed the ‘family unit’ (cf. GTh 16),7 and (3) Valantasis,
more widely, ‘the social arrangements that dominate the mundane world’.8
(4) Gaston and Riley have seen a reference to the physical body, such that
this saying is a denial of bodily resurrection.9 The difficulty with (2) is that
Jesus seems to be indicating a particular ‘house’ (‘this house’), rather than
entities as diffuse as family units. Valantasis offers no evidence for his view
(3).
The main contenders have been (1) and (4), and Riley’s view has come under
severe attack, on various grounds. Cameron criticises Riley for making biblical
resurrection the starting point of the discussion.10 This is an important point:
why should Thomas be interested in resurrection? Dunderberg comments, on
the other references in Thomas which Riley cites as evidence for house = body:
‘The basic difficulty with this evidence is that the association of the “house”
with body is not spelled out in any of these three sayings, but it is, in every case,
the result of Riley’s allegorical reading of them.’11
Riley’s objections to a literal reference to the temple amount to the absence
of the theme elsewhere, and its unusually apocalyptic character.12 The first
point is irrelevant: in the closest parallel instances, Thomas criticises Scrip-
ture in GTh 52, and circumcision in GTh 53, but does not do so in other
places. On the second point, a similar kind of destruction is envisaged in GTh
40 (the pulling up and destruction [ⲧⲁⲕⲟ] of the illegitimate vine) and 57
(pulling up and burning the weeds) to that in GTh 71 (ϣⲟⲣϣⲣ̄); in 11.1 heavens
come to an end, and whole cosmos evaporates in 111.1. The ‘non-apocalyptic’
5 For a full range of possibilities of meaning for ‘house’ in general, see DeConick, Voices of
the Mystics, 105–106 (following a list by Cameron).
6 Crossan, In Fragments, 308; DeConick, 227; Nordsieck, 273; Grosso, 215.
7 Hedrick, 131.
8 Valantasis, 150.
9 L. Gaston, No Stone on Another: Studies in the Significance of the Fall of Jerusalem in the
Synoptic Gospels (NovTSupps 23; Leiden: Brill, 1970), 152; Riley, Resurrection Reconsidered,
133–156.
10 Cameron, ‘Ancient Myths and Modern Theories’, 93–98.
11 Dunderberg, Beloved Disciple in Conflict, 103.
12 Riley, Resurrection Reconsidered, 151.
logion 71 479
Thomas (in contrast to ‘apocalyptic’ Synoptics) is not a particularly helpful con-

struct.13
The likelihood here is that Thomas is referring to the temple of Jerusalem
(cf. ‘destroy this house’ in Ezra 6.12), with this saying probably part of the anti-
Jewish emphasis in Thomas (cf. GTh 39; 43; 52–53). In sum, GTh 71 attributes
destruction of the temple to Jesus himself, and even more strikingly, and in
obvious contrast to the numerous expressions of Jewish expectation of a rebuilt
temple, Jesus announces its perpetual desolation.14
As was seen above (Introduction, §7.2), this saying is most likely to reflect
a date after the Bar Kochba revolt (i.e. post 135ce), when the rebuilding of
the temple would have been regarded as for all practical purposes impossible.
Perhaps the motivation attributed by Martin Goodman to Justin and others
applies to Thomas as well: ‘if Christians were to defend their own good name
and seek converts in a Roman world in which, after 70, the name of the Jews
excited opprobrium, it was easier to join in the attack and agree with the
pagans that the defeat of the Jews and the destruction of the Temple were to be
celebrated as the will of God.’15 If this is right, the anti-Judaism in this saying is
more likely to reinscribe the distance between the Thomas movement and Jews
than to reflect heated interaction between them.
Notes
I will destroy this house. Here, Thomas attributes destruction of the temple
to Jesus himself: in addition to the Synoptic sayings noted above, cf. Jn 2.19;
Ac. 6.14. Quispel’s view that this is the authentic version has not been widely
followed.16 We have a rare instance here of an implied geographical marker
(cf. also ‘Judaea’ in GTh 60): for the saying to work (‘this house’), Jesus is
probably envisaged by the author in, or in the vicinity of, the temple (cf. Jn
2.19–20).
13 See Gathercole, ‘The Heavens and the Earth will be Rolled up’.
14 Compare the Gospel of the Ebionites: ‘I have come to do away with (καταλῦσαι) sacrifices’
(fr. 6, apud Epiphanius, Pan. 30.16.5); cf. Ps.-Clem., Recogn. 1.54, 64 and perhaps Barn. 16.2:
‘But what does the Lord say as he abolishes it?’ (ἀλλὰ πῶς λέγει κύριος καταργῶν αὐτόν;)
15 M. Goodman, Rome and Jerusalem: The Clash of Ancient Civilizations (London: Allen
Lane, 2007), 583, cited in J. Carleton Paget, ‘After 70 and All That: A Response to Martin
Goodman’s Rome & Jerusalem’, JSNT 31 (2009), 339–365 (345).
16 Quispel, ‘The Gospel of Thomas and the Trial of Jesus’, 197–198.
480 logion 71
And no-one will be able to build it … In addition to the destruction of the

temple being attributed to Jesus, the second striking point in this saying is the
certainty about the impossibility of restoration. Jewish eschatological expecta-
tion about a renewed temple in the last days was extremely widespread.17
17 See e.g. E.P. Sanders, Jesus and Judaism (London: SCM, 1985), 77–90; also A.N. Chester, ‘The
Sibyl and the Temple’, in W. Horbury, ed. Templum Amicitiae: Essays on the Second Temple
Presented to Ernst Bammel (JSNTSup 48; Sheffield: JSOT, 1991), 37–69. Note for example
Isa. 60.3–7; Tob. 14.5; 1 En. 25.3–5; 90.29; 91.13; Jub. 1.15–17; Ps. Sol. 17.32; 4QpPs 37 3.11 and
11QTemple 29.8–10.
Logion 721
72.1 [ⲡⲉ]ϫ̣ⲉ̣ ⲟ̣ⲩ̣ⲣ̣[ⲱⲙⲉ] ⲛⲁ̣ϥ ϫⲉ ϫⲟⲟⲥ ⲛ̄ⲛⲁⲥⲛⲏⲩ ϣⲓⲛⲁ ⲉⲩⲛⲁ̣ⲡ̣ⲱϣⲉ ⲛ̄ⲛ̄ϩⲛⲁⲁⲩ

ⲙ̄ⲡⲁⲉⲓⲱⲧ⳿ ⲛⲙ̄ⲙⲁⲉⲓ 72.2 ⲡⲉϫⲁϥ ⲛⲁϥ⳿ ϫⲉ ⲱ ⲡⲣⲱⲙⲉ ⲛⲓⲙ ⲡⲉ ⲛ̄ⲧⲁϩⲁⲁⲧ⳿ ⲛ̄ⲣⲉϥⲡⲱϣⲉ
72.3 ⲁϥⲕⲟⲧϥ̄ ⲁ⳿ⲛⲉϥⲙⲁⲑⲏⲧⲏⲥ ⲡⲉϫⲁϥ ⲛⲁⲩ ϫⲉ ⲙⲏ ⲉⲉⲓϣⲟⲟⲡ⳿ ⲛ̄ⲣⲉϥ⳿ⲡⲱϣⲉ
72.1 A m[an sa]id to him, ‘Tell my brothers to divide my father’s property with
me.’ 72.2 He (sc. Jesus) said to him, ‘O man, who has made me a divider?’ 72.3
He turned to his disciples and said to them, ‘Surely I am no divider?’
Interpretation
The saying here (cf. Lk. 12.13–14) has nothing to do with ‘showing that Chris-
tianity presents no break of any kind in historical Judaism’.2 The principal point
here concerns the identity of Jesus and the nature of his mission. The setting of
the request in GTh 72.1 merely sets the scene for the two declarations by Jesus,
which serve the same function, namely to reject the idea that his work is fun-
damentally about division. Rather, since Jesus has ‘come from the undivided’
(GTh 61) and requires his disciples to repair the binary divisions in themselves
(GTh 22) which have existed since the fall and division of humanity (GTh 11),
we are to see his task as in line with this (cf. also GTh 47; 48; 89; 106, and possi-
bly 4; 108). This is not a matter of worldly or institutional unity, however, as is
made clear by Jesus’ claim to disrupt of worldly relationships in GTh 16.
1 Bibliography for GTh 72: D. Gershenson & G. Quispel, ‘Meristae’, VC 12 (1958), 19–26; T. Baarda,
‘Luke 12:13–14: Text and Transmission from Marcion to Augustine’, in idem, Early Transmission
of the Words of Jesus: Thomas, Tatian and the Text of the New Testament (Amsterdam: Free
University Press, 1983), 117–172; repr. from J. Neusner, ed. Judaism, Christianity and Other
Greco-Roman Cults: Studies for Morton Smith at Sixty (Leiden: Brill, 1975), I.107–162; Riley, ‘The
Influence of Thomas Christianity on Luke 12:14 and 5:39’, 229–234; S.J. Gathercole, ‘Luke in the
Gospel of Thomas’, NTS 57 (2011), 114–144 (139–141); Gathercole, Composition, 87–88, 203–205.
2 Pace Gershenson & G. Quispel, ‘Meristae’, 25. Their theory of a pun on the Hebrew ḥoleq
behind the Coptic, meaning ‘divider’ in the sense of a divisive person is baseless (Gathercole,
Composition, 87–88).
482 logion 72
Notes
72.1 A man said to him. As Goodacre notes, the ‘introductory foil from an
anonymous member of the crowd’ may well be Lukan.3
72.1 Tell my brothers to divide my father’s property with me. The man
clearly treats Jesus as some sort of authoritative figure who could demand, on
the basis of religious, civic, or perhaps even cosmic authority, the hoped-for
redistribution. The situation envisaged by the author is not one brother left
out of pocket by another (as in Lk. 12.13–14), but rather appears to concern
a group of brothers (plural in GTh 72) who have maliciously excluded one
of their number. There is perhaps a sense here that the two concerns of the
man, namely his family relations and money, are both concerns which Thomas
criticises.4
72.2 He said to him, ‘O man, who has made me a divider?’5 There is perhaps
a threefold incredulity here in Jesus’ question, in the words ‘man’, ‘made’ and
‘divider’: he is not a divider, and could not be ‘made’ one, especially by a ‘man’.6
Jesus’ mission is a divine one, not one where he is at the beck and call of other
people.
72.3 He turned to his disciples and said to them, ‘Surely I am no divider?’
It is a misunderstanding based on Lambdin’s ambiguous translation (‘I am not
a divider, am I?’)7 to see Jesus asking a genuine question here. It is hardly
imaginable that in Thomas Jesus wonders who he really is: the question is
rhetorical.8
3 Goodacre, Thomas and the Gospels, 92; Meier, ‘Luke’s Version of the Parable of the Rich Fool’,
539–540.
4 DeConick, 229.
5 There is a distant connection here with the question of the Hebrew in Exod. 2.14; Ac. 7.35,
which probably influenced Luke’s version.
6 The ‘o man’ may well arise from the influence of Lukan redaction (Goodacre, Thomas and the
Gospels, 93).
One, 81.
8 Cf. Valantasis, 151–152. Rightly, Plisch, 174: the implied answer is, ‘of course not.’
Logion 731
ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ⲡⲱϩⲥ ⲙⲉⲛ ⲛⲁϣⲱϥ⳿ ⲛ̄ⲉⲣⲅⲁⲧⲏⲥ ⲇⲉ ⲥⲟⲃⲕ⳿ ⲥⲟⲡⲥ̅ ⲇⲉ ⲙ̄ⲡϫⲟⲉⲓⲥ ϣⲓⲛⲁ
ⲉϥⲛⲁⲛⲉϫ⳿ ⲉⲣⲅⲁⲧⲏⲥ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ⳿ ⲉⲡⲱϩ̅ⲥ̅
Jesus said, ‘The harvest is great, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord to send
out workers to that harvest.’
Interpretation
Saying 73 here (cf. Matt. 9.37–38/ Lk. 10.2) is the first in a trio of sayings which go
together as a group (GTh 73–75), all of which highlight and validate the small
number of true disciples by comparison with the massa perditionis outside (cf.
GTh 23):
GTh 73: harvest great, workers few;

GTh 74: many around about the well, but no-one at or in it;
GTh 75: many outside, only solitaries inside.
On the other hand, GTh 73 is the most positive of the three towards outsiders,
and impinges on the larger question of whether Thomas has a missionary
outlook. Arnal comments that GTh 73 is ‘an isolated saying’ in this respect,2
but supporting the idea is GTh 14.4 (‘if you go into any region and you travel in
the districts, and are received, eat what is set before you’): see the discussion
of GTh 14.4 ad loc. above. Schröter is probably nearer the mark in taking this
saying as indicative of ‘Wandermission’.3 Hedrick notes that GTh 32–33 might
also imply the same.4
1 Bibliography for GTh 73: Schrage, Verhältnis, 153–155; Schröter, Erinnerung an Jesu Worte,
231–232; Goodacre, Thomas and the Gospels, 41–42.
3 Schröter, Erinnerung an Jesu Worte, 231; also Plisch, 175; Hedrick, 135.
4 GTh 50 is not a missionary catechesis; see the interpretation above.
484 logion 73
Notes
The harvest is great. The use of harvest imagery in a spiritual sense (cf. e.g. Jn
4.35–38) also fits with the parable of the sower (GTh 9); there is a diversity of
usage in Thomas, as in the Synoptics, where the harvest can refer both to the
work of mission (as in this saying) as well as to the day of reckoning (GTh 57;
cf. Matt. 13.24–30, 36–43). ‘Harvest’ in some second-century literature can also
have the sense of the ‘collection of spiritual seed’, but that is probably not in
view here.
But the workers are few. The reference to the few as ‘workers’ may also
have been part of the appeal of this saying, given the ‘few’ elect (cf. GTh 23)
and the importance of ‘labouring’ in Thomas (see note on GTh 20 above). In
addition to the Synoptic parallel noted above, a very similar sentiment with
the same imagery is found in the Gospel of Philip: ‘Truth, which existed since
the beginning, is sown everywhere. And many see it being sown, but few are
they who see it being reaped.’ (Gos. Phil. 55,19–22).
Ask the Lord to send out workers to that harvest. This is a peculiar inclusion
in Thomas both in its apparent reference to prayer, and in its use of the divine
title ‘Lord’ (though cf. GTh 74, and ‘lordship’ in GTh 90). On the attitude in
Thomas to prayer, see on GTh 14. The identity of the ‘Lord’ may be the Father,
even though it would be unusual in Thomas to attribute activity to the Father;
it is perhaps Jesus himself. If Jesus is the speaker in GTh 74, however, then there
could be a parallel there to appealing to the Father as Lord.
Logion 741
ⲡⲉϫⲁϥ ϫⲉ ⲡϫⲟⲉⲓⲥ ⲟⲩⲛ̄ ϩⲁϩ ⲙ̄ⲡⲕⲱⲧⲉ ⲛ̄ⲧ⟨ϣ⟩ⲱⲧⲉ ⲙⲛ̄ ⲗⲁⲁⲩ ⲇⲉ ϩⲛ̄ ⲧϣⲱ⟨ⲧ⟩ⲉ⳿
He said, ‘Lord, there are many around the well, but there is no-one in the
well.’
Textual Comment
The two sources of water have both been subjects of discussion: the text has
ϫⲱⲧⲉ (‘penetration, separation’) and ϣⲱⲛⲉ (‘sickness’), neither of which make
good sense. Proposed as alternatives are ϣⲱⲧⲉ (‘well, cistern, pit’, Crum 595a)
and ϭⲱⲧ (‘drinking trough’, Crum 833a; var. ϫⲱⲧ B). Most editors propose
emending ϣⲱⲛⲉ at the end to ϣⲱⲧⲉ.2 More diverse has been opinion about
the earlier ϫⲱⲧⲉ, seen by Layton as a variation of ϭⲱⲧ (hence Lambdin’s
translation ‘drinking trough’) but by Plisch as a variant of ϣⲱⲧⲉ (translated,
‘well’).3 Plisch’s solution, according to which both are forms of ϣⲱⲧⲉ, is perhaps
simplest, and also brings the saying into line with the parallel in the Celestial
Dialogue: πῶς πολλοὶ περὶ τὸ φρέαρ, καὶ οὐδεὶς εἰς τὸ φρέαρ; (Origen, Contra
Celsum 8.15–16).
Interpretation
This saying forms part of the group of three sayings in GTh 73–75 which high-
light the few/ many contrast between the true disciples and the world (cf. also
GTh 23). Miller considers that the saying might be deliberately obscure and
1 Bibliography for GTh 74: H.M. Jackson, ‘Appendix’, to ‘The Setting and Sectarian Provenance
of the Fragment of the “Celestial Dialogue” Preserved by Origen from Celsus’s Ἀληθὴς λόγος’,
HTR 85 (1992) 273–305; R.J. Miller, ‘Drawing a Blank from the Well: Thomas 74’, Forum 10 (1994),
95–108.
2 Guillaumont, et al., eds. Gospel according to Thomas, 40; Layton & Lambdin, ‘The Gospel
according to Thomas’, Nag Hammadi Codex II,2–7: Volume One, 80; Plisch, 176.
One, 80–81; Plisch, 176. A more complex solution might be a word-division of ⲛ̄ⲧϫⲱⲧ ⲉⲙⲛ̄ …,
but this would not fit well with the subsequent ⲇⲉ.
486 logion 74
meaningless.4 This is something of a counsel of despair, however. Valantasis’s

view that the saying describes people as empty (relying on the translation ‘noth-
ing in the well’) is unlikely as a translation (cf. the Celestial Dialogue’s οὐδείς),
and the well does not seem to represent a person.5 It is also far from clear that
something has fallen into the well, and needs to be retrieved:6 the well is an
image of ‘spiritual water’ (cf. GTh 13; 108).7 The point of the saying lies in the
contrast between the two prepositions (compare the positions ‘at the door’ vs
inside in GTh 75): many have access to true knowledge or revelation (‘around
the well’), but scarcely anyone ventures into (‘in the well’) that revelation fully
(cf. Jesus finding everyone drunk but not thirsty in GTh 28).8
Notes
He said. Presumably the speaker is Jesus here, although it is possible that this
is a fragment of a dialogue in which someone else was (possibly still in Thomas
is) the speaker.9
Lord, there are many around the well. The plus of ‘Lord’ in Thomas over
against the version in Celestial Dialogue may have simply been the result of oral
variation, or it could reflect a copyist’s error (perhaps Greek πῶς → Coptic ⲡⲱⲥ10
→ Coptic ⲡϫ̅ⲥ̅?). Lord may also have been added to forge a catchword link with
GTh 73; ‘many’ connects with GTh 75.
But there is no-one in the well. Compare Lambdin’s translation of ‘nothing
in the cistern’.11 Both because of the parallel in the Celestial Dialogue, and
because of the consistent ‘many vs few’ pattern in GTh 73–75, a personal subject
is more likely.12
4 Miller, ‘Drawing a Blank’, 105.

6 DeConick, 232. I leave aside here the question of whether this is the case in Celestial
Dialogue; it is very unclear that this is the point in GTh 74, however.
7 Grant & Freedman, 176; cf. further Jn 4.14; Gos. Sav. 83 and fr. 19F.
8 Rightly, e.g. Nordsieck, 281.
9 So Plisch, 176.
10 Cf. ⲡⲱⲥ in GTh 29.3, and ⲙⲏⲡⲱⲥ in GTh 57.3.
One, 81.
12 Rightly Miller, ‘Drawing a Blank’, 99; Plisch, 176; Grosso, 217.
Logion 751
ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ⲟⲩⲛ ϩⲁϩ ⲁϩⲉⲣⲁⲧⲟⲩ ϩⲓⲣⲙ̄ ⲡⲣⲟ ⲁⲗⲗⲁ ⲙ̄ⲙⲟⲛⲁⲭⲟⲥ ⲛⲉⲧⲛⲁⲃⲱⲕ⳿ ⲉϩⲟⲩⲛ ⲉⲡⲙⲁ
ⲛ̄ϣⲉⲗⲉⲉⲧ⳿
Jesus said, ‘Many are standing at the door, but (only) the solitary will enter
the bridal chamber.’
Interpretation
As per the sequence of GTh 73–75 as a whole, the contrast is between the few
saved and the many unsaved: like GTh 74, this saying is more exclusivist in tone
than GTh 73. Debate on this saying touches first upon the scenario: are the
‘solitary’ the bridesmaids (cf. Matt. 25.1–13, esp. v. 10),2 or those to be united
with the divine in some sense (i.e. as brides)?3 An additional, related, difficulty
not usually observed is that ⲙⲁ ⲛ̄ϣⲉⲗⲉⲉⲧ might refer to the bridal chamber,
but it could also be the place where the marriage occurs (e.g. Matt. 22.9 sa;
Crum 560a).4 Since the uniting of opposites in general, and union with Jesus in
particular (GTh 108; cf. 61), is envisaged in Thomas, however, there is probably a
reference to this union here; less likely in the context of Thomas is the image of
the elect disciples celebrating the marriage of someone else, as if the disciples
were compared with bridesmaids at a marriage-feast. The image is probably
that each solitary individually is united to Jesus in the bridal chamber. The
saying is a nice irony, in which those described by a word (ⲙⲟⲛⲁⲭⲟⲥ) which
might have connotations of celibacy and singleness are precisely those who
will enter the bridal chamber.
Given this interpretation, further debate has centred upon the extent to
which wider conceptions of the ‘bridal chamber’ (especially in the Gospel of
Philip and Valentinian theology more widely, or the Dialogue of the Saviour)
1 Bibliography for GTh 75: Klijn, ‘The “Single One” in the Gospel of Thomas’, 271–278; J. Hel-
derman, ‘Die Herrenworte über das Brautgemach im Thomasevangelium und im Dialog des
Erlösers’, in W.L. Petersen, H.J. de Jonge & J.S. Vos, eds. Sayings of Jesus: Canonical and Non-
Canonical. Essays in Honour of Tjitze Baarda (Leiden, Brill, 1997), 69–88.
2 E.g. Grant & Freedman, 176.
3 E.g. DeConick, 233.
4 Pokorný, 121, has ‘wedding hall’.
488 logion 75
might be brought to bear upon the interpretation here.5 Popkes, for exam-
ple, sees the salvation as becoming androgynous in a Gnostic sense.6 Many
commentators are cautious, however, in applying such conceptions:7 mystical
union is possible without a Gnostic or Valentinian framework.8 What is clear in
this saying is the contrast between the great (soteriological) privilege of union
with Jesus which the few will enjoy, but which the majority will not experience.
Notes
Many are standing at the door. Like the previous saying, this conjures up an
image of ‘many’ who are not far away, but nevertheless outside.
But (only) the solitary. On this designation (ⲙⲟⲛⲁⲭⲟⲥ) see the Appended
Note after the comments on GTh 16 above.
Will enter the bridal chamber. The bridal chamber is the place of salvation
(like the ‘well’ in GTh 74). GTh 75 implies that Jesus is the bridegroom (as in
GTh 104), with whom the souls are united.
5 In the tractate following Thomas, the Gospel of Philip, the bridal chamber is prominent as the
hidden place of rest and light, where primordial unity is restored; later still in the codex is the
Exegesis on the Soul, where the bridal chamber is a place of cleansing and, again, unity with
the Father (132,10–13 & 34–35). See further A.D. DeConick, ‘The Great Mystery of Marriage:
Sex and Conception in Ancient Valentinian Traditions’, VC 57 (2003), 307–342, for a broader
discussion of marriage in Valentinian thought.
7 DeConick, 233; Plisch, 179; Pokorný, 121.
8 Cf. Helderman, who argues that the ‘marriage’ is the unification with the saviour and with the
heavenly self, through being fully ascetical and world-renouncing, in contrast to those ‘at the
door’ who are merely interested (‘Herrenworte über das Brautgemach’, 78).
Logion 761
76.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ⲧⲙⲛ̄ⲧⲉⲣⲟ ⲙ̄ⲡⲉⲓⲱⲧ⳿ ⲉⲥⲧⲛ̄ⲧⲱⲛ ⲁⲩⲣⲱⲙⲉ ⲛ̄ⲉϣⲱⲱⲧ⳿ ⲉⲩⲛ̄ⲧⲁϥ⳿

ⲙ̄ⲙⲁⲩ ⲛ̄ⲟⲩⲫⲟⲣⲧⲓⲟⲛ ⲉⲁϥϩⲉ ⲁⲩⲙⲁⲣⲅⲁⲣⲓⲧⲏⲥ 76.2 ⲡⲉϣⲱⲧ⳿ ⲉⲧⲙ̄ⲙⲁⲩ ⲟⲩⲥⲁⲃⲉ ⲡⲉ ⲁϥϯ
ⲡⲉⲫⲟⲣⲧⲓⲟⲛ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ⲁϥⲧⲟⲟⲩ ⲛⲁϥ⳿ ⲙ̄ⲡⲓⲙⲁⲣⲅⲁⲣⲓⲧⲏⲥ ⲟⲩⲱⲧ⳿ 76.3 ⲛ̄ⲧⲱⲧⲛ̄ ϩⲱⲧ⳿ⲧⲏⲩⲧⲛ̄
ϣⲓⲛⲉ ⲛ̄ⲥⲁ ⲡⲉϥ‘ⲉ’ϩⲟ ⲉⲙⲁϥⲱϫⲛ̄ ⲉϥⲙⲏⲛ⳿ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ⲡⲙⲁ ⲉⲙⲁⲣⲉ ϫⲟⲟⲗⲉⲥ ⲧϩⲛⲟ ⲉϩⲟⲩⲛ⳿
ⲉⲙⲁⲩ ⲉⲟⲩⲱⲙ⳿ ⲟⲩⲇⲉ ⲙⲁⲣⲉ ϥϥⲛ̄ⲧ ⲧⲁⲕⲟ
76.1 Jesus said, ‘The kingdom of the Father is like a merchant who had a load
of merchandise and who found a pearl. 76.2 That merchant was shrewd. He
sold his load of merchandise and bought for himself this one pearl. 76.3 As
for you, seek his unfailing and enduring treasure, where no moth comes near
to eat and no worm destroys.’
Interpretation
The parable of the Pearl is the ninth of Thomas’s parables (on which, see ad GTh
8). GTh 76 (cf. Matt. 13.45–46) focuses on the infinitely precious nature of salva-
tion: the implication is therefore that one should value ‘exclusive commitment
to Jesus’ with the consequence of the ‘abandonment of worldly affairs’.2 This
parable is clearly understood as having allegorical elements, since in GTh 76.3’s
explanation of the parable the clever merchant is the disciple, and the pearl is
(in some sense) salvation. Were it not for the commentary in GTh 76.3, the para-
ble on its own could be understood to refer to divine election. The explanation,
1 Bibliography for GTh 76: Schrage, Verhältnis, 155–160; R. Schippers, ‘The Mashal-character
of the Parable of the Pearl’, in F.L. Cross, ed. Studia Evangelica II (TU 87; Berlin: Akademie,
1964), 236–241; B. Dehandschutter, ‘La parabole de la perle (Mt 13, 45–46) et l’évangile selon
Thomas’, ETL 55 (1979), 243–265; S.R. Johnson, ‘The Gospel of Thomas 76:3 and Canonical Par-
allels: Three Segments in the Tradition History of the Saying’, in J.D. Turner, & A. McGuire, eds.
The Nag Hammadi Library after Fifty Years: Proceedings of the 1995 Society of Biblical Literature
Commemoration (Leiden: Brill, 1997), 308–326; Zöckler, Jesu Lehren im Thomasevangelium,
144–153; Liebenberg, Language of the Kingdom, 250–257; S.R. Johnson, Seeking the Imperish-
able Treasure: Wealth, Wisdom, and a Jesus Saying (Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2008); Gathercole,
‘Luke in the Gospel of Thomas’, 141–143; Gathercole, Composition, 88–89, 133–134, 205–207;
S.R. Johnson, ‘Retranslating the Gospel of Thomas: A Response’, in J. Schröter, ed. The Apoc-
ryphal Gospels within the Context of Early Christian Theology (Leuven/ Paris/ Walpole: Peeters,
2013), 575–580.
2 DeConick, 234; Hedrick, 139.
490 logion 76
however, means it must be taken as very similar in meaning to its canonical

counterpart (Matt. 13.45–46). It is closest in Thomas to the similarly structured
parables of the Fisherman (GTh 8) and the Lost Sheep (GTh 107):

Precious possession: a fish pearl alone one sheep
There has been debate over the understanding of the ‘pearl’ (see note on
76.2 below). A precise solution may not be possible, even if in general terms
the pearl must refer to the salvation in the kindgom that accompanies the
revelation of Jesus. The emphasis here is on its uniqueness, the single focus
which it demands, and its permanence.
Notes
76.1 The kingdom of the Father. For the Father’s kingdom, cf. GTh 57; 96–98;
113 (‘my Father’s kingdom’ in 99). On the kingdom in Thomas, see Introduction,
§10.1 above.
76.1 Is like a merchant who had a load of merchandise and who found a
pearl. Thomas has a general merchant who finds a pearl by accident (unlike
the pearl dealer in Matthew).4 There may be a catchword connection with the
‘finding’ in 77.3, though perhaps only at the Coptic stage.
76.2 That merchant was shrewd. Although the canniness of the merchant
does not dominate the saying, it is highlighted here (the statement is absent
from Matthew);5 compare the ‘wise fisherman’ in GTh 8.

4 Nordsieck, 288; Plisch, 180.
5 King, ‘Kingdom’, 56; Valantasis, 154.
logion 76 491
76.2 He sold his load of merchandise. In contrast to Matthew’s pearl-dealer

who sells everything he has, Thomas’s merchant only sells his consignment of
merchandise.6
76.2 And bought for himself this one pearl. The implication is that the pearl
is a very expensive one.7 Even if the Hymn of the Pearl (Acts Thom. 108–113)
were near enough in milieu to the Gospel of Thomas, it would not be much
help because the meaning of the pearl there is quite obscure. Dehandschutter
understands the pearl in a Gnostic framework.8 Lindemann, on the basis of the
juxtaposition of GTh 76–77, suggests that it might be Jesus himself.9 Pokorný
suggests the ‘human soul with its divine core’.10 Dehandschutter’s Gnostic
understanding is unhelpful, and the referent is not necessarily so specific as
Jesus himself: the precise sense is unclear.
76.3 As for you, seek his unfailing and enduring treasure. The antecedent of
‘his’ can easily be taken as the Father in 76.1 (not the merchant). This statement
has a complicated tradition history (cf. esp. Matt. 6.19–20; Lk. 12.33).11 Its sense
is clear enough, however.12
76.3 Where no moth comes near to eat and no worm destroys. The pair
‘moth’ and ‘worm’ is unparalleled in the Synoptics, but appears in what looks
like an interpretation of this saying in Gos. Truth 32,31–33,32, which begins with
reference to the light ‘which does not fail’ (ⲉⲧⲉⲙⲁϥⲱϫⲛ̄, 32,34; cf. ⲉⲙⲁϥⲱϫⲛ̄
in GTh 76.3) and instructs the disciple, ‘Do not be moths. Do not be worms’
(33,16–17). The association of moths and worms in the parable therefore looks
like a second-century variant.
6 This distinction is fruitless, however, for identifying Thomas’s version as more ‘realistic’
and therefore more authentic (Gathercole, Composition, 133–134).
7 For outlandishly expensive pearls, see e.g. Suetonius, Julius 50, where Caesar buys a pearl
for Servilia at a price of six million sesterces. Pliny the Elder (NH 9.119–121) reports a story
in which Cleopatra has a pair worth ten million (and eats one of them).
8 Dehandschutter, ‘Parabole de la perle’, 258–259.
9 Lindemann, ‘Gleichnisinterpretation’, 220.
10 Pokorný, 122.
11 See Johnson, Seeking the Imperishable Treasure, and the response in Gathercole, Com-
position, 205–207, as well as Johnson’s rejoinder, ‘Retranslating the Gospel of Thomas: A
Response’, 575–580.
12 King comments that the wealth is a ‘metaphor for spiritual things’ (‘Kingdom’, 55).
Logion 771
77.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ⲁⲛⲟⲕ ⲡⲉ ⲡⲟⲩⲟⲉⲓⲛ ⲡⲁⲉⲓ ⲉⲧϩⲓϫⲱⲟⲩ ⲧⲏⲣⲟⲩ ⲁⲛⲟⲕ⳿ ⲡⲉ ⲡⲧⲏⲣϥ⳿ ⲛ̄ⲧⲁ
ⲡⲧⲏⲣϥ⳿ ⲉⲓ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ⲛ̄ϩⲏⲧ⳿ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲛ̄ⲧⲁ ⲡⲧⲏⲣϥ⳿ ⲡⲱϩ ϣⲁⲣⲟⲉⲓ 77.2 ⲡⲱϩ ⲛ̄ⲛⲟⲩϣⲉ ⲁⲛⲟⲕ⳿
ϯⲙ̄ⲙⲁⲩ 77.3 ϥⲓ ⲙ̄ⲡⲱⲛⲉ ⲉϩⲣⲁⲓ̈ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲧⲉⲧⲛⲁϩⲉ ⲉⲣⲟⲉⲓ ⲙ̄ⲙⲁⲩ
77.1 Jesus said, ‘I am the light who is above all things. I am the all. From me
the all came forth, and the all reaches to me. 77.2 Split a piece of wood—I
am there. 77.3 Lift the stone and you will find me there.’
30.3/77.3 ἔγε̣ι[ρ]ο̣ν τὸν λίθο(ν) κἀ̣κεῖ [ε]ὑ̣ρήσεις με· 30.4/77.2 σχίσον τὸ̣ ξυ̣ ̣́λον
κἀγὼ ἐκ̣ ε̣ῖ εἰμι. (Restoration exempli gratia.)
30.3/77.3 Li[ f ]t the stone and you will [ f ]ind me. 30.4/77.2 Split the wood
and I am there.
Textual Comment
As has been recognized by a number of scholars, the linkage of GTh 77.1

to GTh 77.2–3 probably happened at the Coptic stage, since GTh 77.1 and
GTh 77.2 are joined by the catchword ⲡⲱϩ, in the double sense of ‘reach’ and
‘split’.2 It is highly probable, then, that the earliest form of this saying merely
consisted of 77.1, and so the interpretation will be concerned with that part
alone. The alternation of GTh 77.2 and 77.3 in the Coptic and Greek is of no real
significance since the two sentences are synonymously parallel.
1 Bibliography for GTh 77: Walls, ‘Stone and Wood in Oxyrhynchus Papyrus 1’, 71–76; Dunder-
berg, ‘Thomas’ I-sayings and the Gospel of John’, 58–60; A. Marjanen, ‘Is Thomas a Gnostic
Gospel?’, in R. Uro, ed. Thomas at the Crossroads: Essays on the Gospel of Thomas (Edinburgh:
T&T Clark, 1998), 107–139 (121–124); Popkes, ‘Ich bin das Licht’, 641–674; Dunderberg, Beloved
Disciple in Conflict, 106–109; A. Standhartinger, ‘Vom Aufscheinen (Holz und Stein)—EvThom
77,2f.’, in Zimmermann, ed. Kompendium der Gleichnisse Jesu, 904–908; Onuki, ‘Das Logion 77
des koptischen Thomasevangeliums’, 294–317; Eisele, Welcher Thomas, 149–171.
2 See e.g. Haenchen, ‘Literatur zum Thomasevangelium’, 161–162; C.M. Tuckett, ‘The Gospel of
Thomas: Evidence for Jesus?’, NTT 52 (1998), 17–32 21 (n. 17); Popkes, ‘Ich bin das Licht’, 655;
Standhartinger, ‘Vom Aufscheinen (Holz und Stein)’, 907.
logion 77 493
Interpretation
The remarkable statements in GTh 77.1 have as their main focus christology,
often neglected or downplayed in the study of Thomas. GTh 77.1 makes state-
ments, in sequence, of Jesus’ (a) supremacy over, (b) identification with, (c)
origination of, and (d) his status as the goal of, ‘all things’ or ‘the all’.
There has been debate over the precise worldview and christology here: it
cannot readily be called (1) Pauline, as argued by Nordsieck, since if ‘the all’ is
the world, then the identification between Jesus and the all is stronger than in
the texts he cites.3 A second option is (2) panentheism (or ‘panenchristism’):
Valantasis, Pokorný and Hedrick opt for this: ‘the speaker permeates all things
but still remains “I”—that is, distinct from all things’.4 Finally, (3) there may be
a pantheistic meaning, as argued by Grant & Freedman, Plisch and Grosso;5
Orbe uses the term ‘pancristismo’.6
The difficulty in deciding between (2) and (3) lies in the fact that a panen-
theistic interpretation may entail too much watering down of the language of
identification in 77.1, whereas on a pantheistic interpretation, it seems difficult
to the point of impossibility to see how the corpse-like world of GTh 56, or the
‘poverty’ of GTh 29.3, could be part of Jesus. Before a decision can be taken,
there is the question of what the pan- is, i.e. the meaning of ‘all things’ or ‘(the)
all’. (A shift in meaning from ⲧⲏⲣⲟⲩ to ⲡⲧⲏⲣϥ in 77.1 would seem forced.) The
most likely explanation, given the difficulties already noted, is a reading (noted
above in the interpretation of GTh 2), which sees the all not as the material uni-
verse, i.e. heaven and earth, but as the totality of the pneumatic element.7 On
this interpretation, Jesus as the light is identified with the light within all elect
people.
3 Nordsieck, 292, citing Rom. 11.36; 1 Cor. 8.6; Col. 1.16–17. Cf. however, the hyperbolic statement
in Col. 3.11 sa: ⲁⲗⲗⲁ ⲡⲧⲏⲣϥ̄ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲡⲉⲧϩⲙ̄ ⲡⲧⲏⲣϥ̄ ⲡⲉ ⲡⲉⲭ̅ⲥ̅.
4 Hedrick, 141; cf. also Valantasis, 156; Pokorný, 123.
5 Grant & Freedman, 178; Plisch, 183; Grosso, 220. In the definition of one of Umberto Eco’s
characters, ‘a pantheist believes that God is everywhere, even in that speck of a fly you see
there’, in The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana (London: Secker & Warburg, 2006), 341.
6 A. Orbe, Cristología gnóstica: Introducción a la soteriología de los siglos II y III, 2 Volumes
(Madrid: La Editorial Catolica, 1976), I:10. Cf. Walls, ‘Stone and Wood’, 72, on the pantheistic,
or more strictly ‘panchristic Gnostic sense’ in the Coptic.
7 Marjanen, ‘Is Thomas a Gnostic Gospel?’, 121; cf. Dunderberg, Beloved Disciple in Conflict, 108.
Also possible, though more remote, are a technical christological title, and the aeons of the
pleroma.
494 logion 77
There is an apparent difficulty with the ‘high’ interpretation of the all as the
pneumatic element, since GTh 2.4 states (in the Coptic) that the successful
disciple will ‘reign over the all’ (ϥⲛⲁⲣ̄ ⲣ̄ⲣⲟ ⲉϫⲙ̄ ⲡⲧⲏⲣϥ). There the sense (as was
argued above) is likely to be the material, phenomenal world. This might raise
problems for an identification of Jesus with the all. On the other hand, the
phrase ‘over the all’ (ⲉϫⲙ̄ ⲡⲧⲏⲣϥ) in 2.4 is almost certainly a later accretion (it
appears neither in P. Oxy. IV 654 nor in Clement’s quotations from his source in
Strom. 2.9.45.5; 5.14.96.3): as a result, GTh 77.1 is not in conflict with Greek GTh 2
as we have it; it is the later scribe or translator who introduces the difficulty. This
has the great advantages of meaning that the ‘I am’ predication does not need
to be diluted into panentheism, and explaining how Jesus might be imagined
both as the all and above the all. Jesus is ‘the all’ in the sense that he is identified
with the totality of the spiritual element of light wherever that element may
reside.
A further possible contribution of this saying to our understanding of Thom-
as is not usually noted, namely how it might reflect Thomas’s understanding of
the fall. There is a strong suggestion here that ‘the all’—understood as light—
coming forth from Jesus leads to some kind of alienation from him: the verb ⲉⲓ
is suggestive of movement (cf. ϣⲱⲡⲉ, which might be more likely to connote
a kind of creation). This statement can therefore be brought into relation with
the other statements about a fall (e.g. GTh 11; 29). See further the discussion in
the Introduction, §10.1.
Notes
77.1 Jesus said, ‘I am the light’. Compare the similar Johannine statements (Jn
8.12; 9.5; 11.9; 12.35–36, 46) and Ep. Pet. Phil. (NHC VIII) 133,26–134,1; cf. 134,9–10.
In Thomas, however, the light does not straightforwardly transcend humanity,
but lies within humanity.8 There is a continuum between (a) the light in human
beings, (b) the light which is Jesus, and (c) the Father: compare GTh 77 here
with GTh 24, 50 and 83.
77.1 Who is above all things. Cf. Jn 3.31 for Jesus ‘above all’ (ἐπάνω πάντων; cf.
the same phrase in Philo, Somn. 2.78), and the language in the NT of Jesus as
‘Lord of all’ (Ac. 10.36; Rom. 10.12; cf. Rev. 17.14; 19.16). Thomas retains a sense of
the transcendence and supremacy of Jesus.
8 In contrast to John: see E.H. Pagels, ‘Exegesis of Genesis 1 in the Gospels of Thomas and John’,
JBL 118 (1999), 477–496.
logion 77 495
77.1 I am the all. See discussion above.

77.1 From me the all came forth. If ‘the all’ were the phenomenal world, the
sense of ‘coming forth from’ would probably be that of creation (cf. 1 Cor. 8.6,
and the Father ἐξ οὗ τὰ πάντα). Since the all is more likely to be the totality of
the spiritual element, the ‘coming forth’ is probably more like an emanation
(perhaps resulting in a fall).
77.1 And the all reaches to me. Corresponding to Jesus as the origin (‘from
me the all came forth’) is the balancing teleological remark (cf. Col. 1.16 and—
with reference to the Father—Rom. 11.36; 1Cor. 8.6). Here the sense may be that
Jesus, since he qua light is dispersed through the cosmos (cf. the Gospel of Eve,
apud Epiphanius, Pan. 26.3.1), attracts the spiritual element to union with him-
self. This may further define the identification of Jesus and the disciple in GTh
108.1–2 (‘he will become like me. I myself will become him’): the Gospel of Eve
quotation applies here as well.9
77.2–3 Split a piece of wood—I am there. Lift the stone and you will
find me there. In its later location in GTh 77, this couplet, with its theme of
Jesus’ permeation of even the lowliest elements of material creation (cf. Eccl.
10.9), perhaps changes the sense of GTh 77.1 to a form of pantheism. For more
detailed comment, see on GTh 30. ‘Finding’ here connects GTh 77 to 76 by a
catchword link.
9 ‘I am you and you are I. And wherever you are, there am I. And I am sown in all things. And
from wherever you want, you (may) gather me. But when gathering me, one gathers himself.’
Logion 781
78.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ⲉⲧⲃⲉ ⲟⲩ ⲁⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ⲉⲓ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ⲉⲧⲥⲱϣⲉ ⲉⲛⲁⲩ ⲉⲩⲕⲁϣ ⲉϥⲕⲓⲙ ⲉ̣[ⲃⲟⲗ] ϩⲓⲧⲙ̄
ⲡⲧⲏⲩ 78.2 ⲁⲩⲱ ⲉⲛⲁⲩ ⲉⲩⲣ[ⲱ]ⲙ̣[ⲉ ⲉ]ⲩ̣ⲛ̄ϣⲧⲏⲛ ⲉⲩϭⲏⲛ ϩⲓⲱⲱⲃ⳿ ⲛ̣̄[ⲑⲉ ⲛ̄ⲛⲉⲧ]ⲛ̣̄ⲣ̄ⲣⲱⲟⲩ
ⲙⲛ̄ ⲛⲉⲧⲙ̄ⲙⲉⲅⲓⲥⲧⲁⲛⲟⲥ 78.3 ⲛⲁⲉⲓ ⲉⲛ[ⲉ]ϣ̣ⲧ̣ⲏ̣ⲛ ⲉ̣[ⲧ]ϭⲏⲛ ϩⲓⲱⲟⲩ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲥⲉⲛ̣[ⲁ]ϣ‘ⲥ̄’-
ⲥⲟⲩⲛ ⲧⲙⲉ ⲁⲛ
78.1 Jesus said, ‘Why have you come out to the countryside? To see a reed
shaken by the wind? 78.2 Or to see a m[an] who is wearing a soft garment
li[ke your] kings and your nobles? 78.3 They have soft garments on, but they
are unable to know the truth.’
Interpretation
The main interest in this saying concerns the very probable application to Jesus
of words which in the Synoptics Gospels are about John the Baptist (Matt.
11.7–8; Lk. 7.24–25). Thomas’s reader could not be expected to see any reference
to John.2 The focus of the saying’s meaning, however, is not in dispute. Here
Thomas questions the relationship betweeen truth and power: those who are
powerful do not understand the truth; the implied contrast is with the Thomas
movement which may be powerless (cf. GTh 54) but which does possess the
truth. Valantasis notes that, in the absence of a narrative context, this saying is
little more than a ‘harangue’.3
Notes
78.1 Why have you come out to the countryside? The question seems a rhetor-
ical one, with a sense like: ‘What are you doing here?!’ The implied audience is
urban elites, and Jesus is located in the countryside, but it is not clear here that
1 Bibliography for GTh 78: Schrage, Verhältnis, 160–164; R. Cameron, ‘“What Have You Come
Out To See?” Characterizations of John and Jesus in the Gospels’, Semeia 49 (1990), 35–69.
2 As far as I can see, every commentator assumes this view. See Valantasis, 157; DeConick,
240–241; Nordsieck, 296; Plisch, 184; Pokorný, 124; also Cameron, ‘“What Have You Come Out
To See?”’, 44.
3 Valantasis, 158.
logion 78 497
‘the city is singled out for trenchant criticism’.4 Wilson has suggested a literary
relationship to the Synoptics here: since the question in the Synoptics is ‘What
did you go out into the desert to see?’, there is a difference of punctuation, with
the Synoptics placing the “question mark” after ‘to see’, and Thomas putting it
before.5 The verb ⲉⲓ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ links GTh 78.1 to 77.1.
78.1 To see a reed shaken by the wind? It is very unclear that there is any
literal reference here to the natural world (though of course one is more likely
to see reeds in the countryside),6 or from the point of view of Thomas’s editor
to Herod Antipas.7 The reed in the wind is obviously a person who is easily
influenced to side with a particular party in power, or by persuasive words
(cf. the image of the wind in Eph. 4.14). Hedrick refers to ‘allegiances [which]
change like the wind’.8
78.2 Or to see a man who is wearing a soft garment? This was particularly
apposite as a contrast to John the Baptist, who wore a garment of camel’s hair
(Mk 1.6/Matt. 3.4). Presumably Thomas here assumes that Jesus similarly wore
cheap, rough clothes.
78.2 Like your kings and your nobles. Since the two nouns seem comple-
mentary here, the rendering ‘nobles’ is given here for the ambiguous ⲙⲉⲅⲓⲥⲧⲁ-
ⲛⲟⲥ,9 despite the possible translation ‘ruler’.
78.3 They have soft garments on, but they are unable to know the truth.
The implication here is that a life focused upon comfort and luxury is incom-
patible with understanding true spiritual realities, or perhaps more precisely:
those ‘whose social status is marked by their clothing are excluded from recog-
nising the truth’.10 ‘Truth’ (ⲙⲉ) perhaps links GTh 78, albeit weakly, with the next
saying (cf. 79.2).

5 Wilson, ‘Thomas and the Synoptics’, 36.
6 Valantasis, 157.
7 A suggestion of Plisch, 185 n. 4, who comments that Antipas issued coins with reeds. This
understanding of the reed would be possible at the historical-Jesus stage, but becomes
even less likely at a greater historical remove from Antipas.
8 Hedrick, 142.
9 Meaning ‘grandee’ (Lampe, 837a), ‘king’ or ‘noble’. According to TLG, the earliest unam-
biguous references to μεγιστᾶνος as a nominative form are in Test. Sol. (3rd cent.?) and
Agathangelus (5th cent.). The earlier form is μεγιστάν (cf. e.g. the nom. sing. in Sir. 10.24).
10 Plisch, 185.
Logion 791
79.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲟⲩⲥϩⲓⲙ[ⲉ] ⲛⲁϥ ϩⲙ̄ ⲡⲙⲏϣⲉ ϫⲉ ⲛⲉⲉⲓⲁⲧⲥ̣ [ⲛ̄]ⲑϩⲏ ⲛ̄ⲧⲁϩϥⲓ ϩⲁⲣⲟⲕ ⲁⲩⲱ
ⲛ̄ⲕⲓ̣[ⲃ]ⲉ ⲉⲛⲧⲁϩⲥⲁ⟦ϩ⟧ⲛⲟⲩϣⲕ 79.2 ⲡⲉϫⲁϥ ⲛⲁ[ⲥ] ϫⲉ ⲛⲉⲉⲓⲁⲧⲟⲩ ⲛ̄ⲛⲉⲛⲧⲁϩⲥⲱⲧⲙ̄
ⲁ⳿ⲡⲗⲟⲅⲟⲥ ⲙ̄ⲡⲉⲓⲱⲧ ⲁⲩⲁⲣⲉϩ ⲉⲣⲟϥ ϩⲛ̄ ⲟⲩⲙⲉ 79.3 ⲟⲩⲛ̄ ϩⲛ̄ϩⲟⲟⲩ ⲅⲁⲣ ⲛⲁϣⲱⲡⲉ
ⲛ̄ⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ϫⲟⲟⲥ ϫⲉ ⲛⲉⲉⲓⲁⲧⲥ̄ ⲛ̄ⲑϩⲏ ⲧⲁⲉⲓ ⲉⲧⲉ ⲙ̄ⲡⲥⲱ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲛ̄ⲕⲓⲃⲉ ⲛⲁⲉⲓ ⲉⲙⲡⲟⲩϯ ⲉⲣⲱ-
ⲧⲉ
79.1 A woma[n] in the crowd said to him, ‘Blessed are the womb which bore
you and the brea[s]ts which nursed you.’ 79.2 He said to he[r], ‘Blessed are
those who have heard the word of the Father and have truly kept it. 79.3 For
days are coming when you will say, “Blessed are the womb which has not
conceived and the breasts which have not given milk.”’
Interpretation
This saying has parallels in two different parts of Luke.2 Its main point, as is
apparent from the presence of ‘Blessed are …’ in each of the three parts, is to
define the true nature of blessedness for women in particular. A wrong defi-
nition appears first (bearing great children) in 79.1, followed by Jesus’ correc-
tion in 79.2; he then follows this by saying that his point of view will eventu-
ally be admitted to be true by the audience. In the absence of an historical-
eschatological scenario for Thomas in 79.3, it is likely that the author is advo-
cating some kind of ascetical identity for women.3 Thomas may be sympathetic
with the position of those criticised by Clement as ‘opposing God’s creation’,
who styled Salome as one who ‘did well’ not bearing children, and saw one of
Jesus’ roles as to ‘destroy the works of the female’.4 The ambiguity of to when
exactly in the future 79.3 refers, however, allows for Uro’s interpretation that
1 Bibliography for GTh 79: Schrage, Verhältnis, 164–168; Petersen, Zerstört die Werke der Weib-
lichkeit, 267–269; Goodacre, Thomas and the Gospels, 97–108.
2 GTh 79.1–2/ Lk. 11.27–28; GTh 79.3/ Lk. 23.29.
3 Valantasis, 159, noting a reference here to a specifically female asceticism; cf. Jacobson, ‘Jesus
against the Family’, 215; DeConick, 242.
4 Clement, Strom. 3.9.63.1; 3.9.66.1–2 and (citing the Gospel of the Egyptians) 3.9.63.2 respec-
tively. Petersen, Zerstört die Werke der Weiblichkeit, 269, sees Thomas as more negative than
Luke about the family here.
logion 79 499
celibacy (if in view here) may only be a preferred, rather than compulsory, state
in the present.5
Notes
79.1 A woman in the crowd said to him. Goodacre notes the Lukan character
of the anonymous interlocutor from the crowd (cf. GTh 72.1).6
79.1 Blessed are the womb which bore you and the breasts which nursed
you. The first, wrong, definition of blessedness taps into a culturally widespread
attitude of what constitutes greatness for a woman, namely having great chil-
dren.7
79.2 He said to her, ‘Blessed are those who have heard the word of the
Father and have truly kept it.’ Jesus pronounces his correction. This is the
ninth of eleven beatitudes in Thomas. (See on 7.1 above; 79.1 and 79.3 are
not included, because they are not Jesus’ blessings.) Here, as perhaps also in
GTh 99, we have a preference for the language of ‘Father’ over that of ‘God’
(cf. ‘God’ in Lk. 11.28).8 A particular reason for the word in this saying may
be a contrast between the mother, negatively valued in 79.1 and the Father,
positively valued here. There is a similar context and content in GTh 99.2,
though the point there is the true definition of relation to Jesus, rather than
the character of true blessedness as here in 79. ‘Truly’ (ϩⲛ̄ ⲟⲩⲙⲉ) perhaps is a
catchword link to the previous saying, which ends with a reference to truth
(ⲙⲉ).
79.3 For days are coming. This phrase (cf. GTh 38.2) echoes the familiar OT
phrase (ⲟⲩⲛ̄ ϩⲛ̄ϩⲟⲟⲩ … ⲛⲁϣⲱⲡⲉ ← ἰδοὺ ἡμέραι ἔρχονται ← hnh ymym bʾym), though
Thomas is more distant from the OT than the Synoptic counterpart Lk. 23.29:
the frequent OT phrase invariably has ‘behold’,9 as does the Lukan parallel to
Thomas. (Elsewhere, however, Luke does not have ‘behold’ in versions of this
expression.10)
5 Uro, ‘Asceticism’, 222.

7 Plisch, 187.
8 Cf. ‘the will of my Father’ in 99.2/ ‘the will of God’ in Mk 3.35, but ‘Father’ in Matt. 12.50.
9 In the Greek, 1Sam. 2.31; 2 Kgs 20.17; Am. 4.2; 8.11; 9.13; Zech. 14.1; Isa. 39.6; Jer. 7.32; 9.24;
16.14; 19.6; 23.5, 7; 28.52; 30.18; 31.12; 37.3; 38.27; 38.31. Cf. Heb. 8.8.
10 Lk. 5.35; 17.22; 19.43; 21.6.
500 logion 79
79.3 When you will say, “Blessed are the womb which has not conceived
and the breasts which have not given milk.” There has been debate about the
kind of eschatology, if any, envisaged here. Pokorný has suggested the possibility
of apocalyptic sufferings at the end, but it is more likely that an ascetic point is
being made, as argued above, whether this is enjoined (or only recommended)
in the present, or regarded as a reality in the future state.11
11 Cf. Pokorný, 125.

Logion 801
80.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ⲡⲉⲛⲧⲁϩⲥⲟⲩⲱⲛ ⲡⲕⲟⲥⲙⲟⲥ ⲁϥϩⲉ ⲉⲡⲥⲱⲙⲁ 80.2 ⲡⲉⲛⲧⲁϩϩⲉ ⲇⲉ

ⲉⲡⲥⲱⲙⲁ ⲡⲕⲟⲥⲙⲟⲥ ⲙ̄ⲡϣⲁ ⲙ̄ⲙⲟϥ⳿ ⲁⲛ⳿
80.1 Jesus said, ‘Whoever has come to know the world has found the body.
80.2 But whoever has found the body, the world is not worthy of him.’
Interpretation
This saying is one of a trio of similar sayings dispersed through Thomas:
GTh 56: Jesus said, ‘Whoever has come to know the world has found a corpse.
And whoever has found the corpse, the world is not worthy of him.’
GTh 80: Jesus said, ‘Whoever has come to know the world has found the
body. But whoever has found the body, the world is not worthy of
him.’
GTh 110: Jesus said, ‘Whoever has found the world and is rich, let him re-
nounce the world.’
As can be seen here, GTh 80 is identical to 56, except for the substitution of
‘corpse’ (ⲡⲧⲱⲙⲁ) with ‘body’ (ⲡⲥⲱⲙⲁ): the author seems to be playing on the
similar senses, and the graphic and phonetic resemblances of the two words.2
Both parts of GTh 80 are elliptical, and difficult to interpret. Pokorný sees
the body in a (potentially) positive light, on the grounds that the Spirit can
reanimate the corpse and make it a body.3 Valantasis sees the body as the
spiritual community.4 Neither of these find much support from the text of GTh
80 or from Thomas more widely. More likely is an interpretation similar to the
meaning of GTh 56, namely, a concern with coming to see the true nature of
the world (80.1), upon which the true disciple rises above that world (80.2).
Plisch remarks that ‘body’ in GTh 80 can easily be interpreted synonymously
1 Bibliography for GTh 80: Sellew, ‘Death, Body, and the World’, 530–534; Liebenberg, Lan-
guage of the Kingdom, 136–149; Uro, Thomas, 55–62; Gathercole, Composition, 77–79, 250–262.
2 The tone is perhaps slightly milder (thus Leipoldt, Evangelium nach Thomas, 71).
3 Pokorný, 125–126.
4 Valantasis, 160.
502 logion 80
with ‘corpse’ in the earlier saying, especially since ‘body’ also appears to be used
negatively in GTh 87. This must remain a tentative interpretation, however.5
Notes
80.1 Whoever has come to know the world has found the body. There is an
ellipsis here: the object of knowledge is probably (as in GTh 56) ‘(the true nature
of) the world’, ‘the world (as it really is)’. The result is that the disciple ‘has found
the (dead) body (that the world is)’.
80.2 But whoever has found the body, the world is not worthy of him. I.e.,
‘whoever has found that body (i.e. the world)’. This discovery is clearly highly
valued, hence the conferral of the high status: the person is no longer simply
part of the world, but has transcended it. On the phrase, ‘the world is not
worthy’ (cf. Heb. 11.38), see on GTh 56.2.6
5 Plisch, 188.
6 On the relation to Heb. 11.38, see Gathercole, Composition, 250–262.
Logion 811
81.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ⲡⲉⲛⲧⲁϩⲣ̄ ⲣⲙ̄ⲙⲁⲟ ⲙⲁⲣⲉϥⲣ̄ ⲣⲣⲟ 81.2 ⲁⲩⲱ ⲡⲉⲧⲉⲩⲛ̄ⲧⲁϥ⳿ ⲛ̄ⲟⲩⲇⲩⲛⲁ-
ⲙⲓⲥ ⲙⲁⲣⲉϥⲁⲣⲛⲁ
81.1 Jesus said, ‘Whoever has become rich, let him reign; 81.2 and whoever
has power, let him renounce it.’
Interpretation
This saying (cf. Dial. Sav. 19,13–14) is joined with GTh 80, at least from the per-
spective of GTh 110, which combines elements of GTh 80–81 (see interpretation
of GTh 110 below); GTh 82 also has ‘kingdom’. Davies takes the view that GTh 81
‘may indicate that those who have found self-knowledge and who metaphori-
cally rule ought not to think that this automatically entitles them to political
authority within the movement’,2 but 81.2 is about renunciation rather than a
warning against a presumption. Nordsieck takes 81.1 to advocate being liberal
and generous like a king;3 this puts quite a strain on the Coptic, as well as on
how Thomas might have understood kings.
The main question arising from this saying among scholars is whether 81.1
should be understood metaphorically, in terms of spiritual wealth and reign,4
or ironically, as a sarcastic demand (‘if you have money, go ahead and reign,
why don’t you!’), with an implied condemnation of such a course.5 Another
way of expressing the difference is whether the elements of the couplet stand
in complementary parallel (exercise spiritual power; renounce worldly power)
or antithetical parallel (go ahead and exercise worldly power! no—not really;
renounce it). The ironic view does not necessarily fit as well within Thomas’s
style, however, and the elements of 81.1 make good sense as referring to spiritual
wealth and reign, both of which are found elsewhere in the Gospel (see notes
below). There is an interesting parallel in Plotinus with much of the same
language (Enn. 1.4.14).
3 Nordsieck, 301–302.
4 Valantasis, 161; Hedrick, 146.
5 Plisch, 188–189; both options are mentioned by Pokorný, 126.
504 logion 81
Notes
81.1 Whoever has become rich, let him reign. On the connection between
spiritual wealth and reign, cf. 1Cor. 4.8. On spiritual wealth, cf. GTh 3.5; 29.3;
85.1. The rule envisaged is presumably that of GTh 2.4.
81.2 And whoever has power, let him renounce it. This is probably meant in
a more literal sense, referring to abdication from positions of worldly might. It
is probably an expression of hope that those in authority would acknowledge
the truth of the incompatibility of spiritual and worldly power (cf. GTh 78).
Logion 821
82.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ⲡⲉⲧϩⲏⲛ ⲉⲣⲟⲉⲓ ⲉϥϩⲏⲛ ⲉⲧⲥⲁⲧⲉ 82.2 ⲁⲩⲱ ⲡⲉⲧⲟⲩⲏⲩ⳿ ⲙ̄ⲙⲟⲉⲓ ϥⲟⲩⲏⲩ
ⲛ̄ⲧⲙⲛ̄ⲧⲉⲣⲟ
82.1 Jesus said, ‘He who is near me, is near the fire; 82.2 and he who is far
from me is far from the kingdom.’
Interpretation
Most of the interest in this saying has centred on its possible authenticity,
and the various parallels. For the close parallels in Origen, Didymus, Gospel
of the Saviour, and the Exposition of the Gospel in Armenian (which may well
be influenced by Thomas) see Introduction, §4.1–2 above. On the authenticity
(and the more distant parallels), see note below (ad ‘Jesus said’).
As far as the sense is concerned, the question is what ‘fire’ means, and a great
number of potential solutions has been offered. Some advocate fire in the sense
of (1) judgment.2 Plisch sees it as (2) the danger of suffering and martyrdom.3
Others, such as Pokorný, identify the fire more positively as (3) moral purifica-
tion;4 Valantasis identifies it as the fire of (4) ‘transformative interpretation’.5
King combines (3) and (4) into a fire of (5) ‘ascetic/ moral purification and illu-
1 Bibliography for GTh 82: J.B. Bauer, ‘Das Jesuswort “Wer mir nahe ist”’, ThZ (1959), 446–450;
J.B. Bauer, ‘Echte Jesusworte’, in W.C. van Unnik, ed. Evangelium aus dem Nilsand (Frank-
furt: Heinrich Scheffer, 1960), 108–150 (122–124); Jeremias, Unknown Sayings of Jesus, 66–73;
O. Hofius, ‘Unknown Sayings of Jesus’, in P. Stuhlmacher, ed. The Gospel and the Gospels (Grand
Rapids: Eerdmans, 1991 [1983]), 336–360; DeConick, Seek to See Him, 105–109; E.K. Broadhead,
‘An Authentic Saying of Jesus in the Gospel of Thomas?’ NTS 46 (2000), 132–149; C.W. Hedrick,
‘An Anecdotal Argument for the Independence of the Gospel of Thomas from the Synoptic
Gospels’, in H.-G. Bethge, S. Emmel, K.L. King & I. Schletterer, eds. For the Children, Perfect
Instruction: Studies in Honor of Hans-Martin Schenke on the Occasion of the Berliner Arbeit-
skreis für koptisch-gnostische Schriften’s Thirtieth Year (NHMS 54; Leiden: Brill, 2002), 113–126;
Nagel, ‘Apokryphe Jesusworte in der koptischen Überlieferung’, 499–501.
2 Bauer, ‘Das Jesuswort’, 448; Grosso, 227, also emphasising theophany with the judgment.
3 Plisch, 190.
4 Pokorný, 127.
5 Valantasis, 162.
506 logion 82
mination’.6 DeConick sees the fire as theophanic, and referring to the ‘nearness’
of, or (6) union with Jesus in mystical visionary experience.7
Although it is hard to be definite, Plisch’s view is probably closest. Against
views (3–6), fire is generally negative and destructive in Thomas (cf. GTh 10, 13,
16, 57), but—against (1)—it is unlikely that being near to Jesus invites divine
judgment. Positively, the rough parallel to this saying in Ignatius has fire in
a list of potential sufferings which may be inflicted upon Christians by their
persecutors.8 So the meaning of the saying is, put more prosaically: it may be
that following Jesus is highly dangerous (82.1), but not following him is even
worse, as access to the kingdom can only be had through him (82.2).
Notes
Jesus said. In this particular saying, the introductory formula is of interest

because, although not closely paralleled in the Synoptic Gospels,9 Origen (with
hesitation), Didymus and the Armenian Exposition of the Gospel introduce this
statement as a saying of Jesus. This raises even more sharply than in other
places in Thomas the question of authenticity.10 (The saying was already much
discussed as an agraphon by Resch and Jeremias even before the publication of
Thomas in Coptic.) Various points have been adduced as evidence of the say-
ing’s authenticity. (1) One factor is Ménard’s argument that, when retroverted
into Aramaic, the saying has four phrases (or two four-beat stichoi) with alliter-
ation and rhyme.11 (2) For Jeremias, ‘the most important indication of authen-
ticity is the purpose of the saying’, in the sense that it echoes Jesus’ message of
eschatological urgency.12 (3) Broadhead has argued that the 82.1 is most likely
6 King, ‘Kingdom’, 70 (with reference to the context in 83 and 81).

7 DeConick, 247. As she puts it elsewhere, Jesus is ‘God’s glory surrounded by fire’ as in
Jewish speculative tradition (Voices of the Mystics, 91).
8 Ignatius, Smyrn. 4.2: ‘Why have I given myself up to death, to fire, to the sword, to the
wild beasts? Well, “near to the sword, near to God”, and “in company with wild beasts, in
company with God”—as long as it is in the name of Jesus Christ.’
9 Cf. however Mk 9.49; Mk 7.6/Matt. 15.8 and esp. Mk 12.34.
10 Chilton ‘Gospel according to Thomas’, 168, even talks about a consensus on authenticity.
More moderately, Higgins accepts the saying as authentic, but ‘with some hesitation’:
A.J.B. Higgins, ‘Non-Gnostic Sayings in the Gospel of Thomas’, NovT 4 (1960), 292–306
(303).
11 Ménard, ‘Les problèmes de l’ Évangile selon Thomas’, 60; Jeremias, Unknown Sayings of
Jesus, 71–72. See discussion in Gathercole, Composition, 90–91.
12 Jeremias, Unknown Sayings of Jesus, 72.
logion 82 507
to go back to John the Baptist in the first instance, but that this first half was
then taken up by Jesus and supplemented with the reference to the kingdom.13
If one were to apply the traditional ‘criteria of authenticity’, it satisfies the
criterion of coherence (with e.g. Mk 8.34, on the dangers of discipleship, and
Jesus’ relation to the kingdom in e.g. Mk 10.14; Matt. 7.21; Lk. 22.29; 23.42), and
among the second-division criteria, the retroversion of Jeremias might show its
Aramaic quality; the ‘multiple attestation’ question is more difficult, as it is hard
to know to what extent the other parallels are indebted to Thomas.14 As has
been widely shown, however, the criteria are deeply flawed (see Introduction,
§11.5–6, above).
Few would dispute that GTh 82 is just the kind of thing which Jesus might
well have said. On the other hand, it might also be that it is primarily Aesopic
fable tradition exerting an influence upon Thomas here, as it does elsewhere.
This is most prominent in Thomas’s redaction of Matt. 23.13/ Luke 11.52/ GTh
39 in GTh 102, where the Pharisees’ attempts to prevent people from entering
the kingdom is supplemented with the image of the dog in the manger. GTh 82
also has a close connection with the Aesop tradition, as the sayings ὁ ἐγγὺς Διός,
ἐγγὺς κεραυνοῦ (‘he who is near Zeus is near the thunderbolt’) and πόρρω Διός τε
καὶ κεραυνοῦ (‘far from Zeus, far from the thunderbolt’) have (separately) been
preserved in collections of Aesopic tradition;15 cf. Ignatius, Smyrn. 4.2: ἀλλὰ ὁ
ἐγγὺς μαχαίρας, ἐγγὺς θεοῦ, ὁ μεταξὺ θηρίων, μεταξὺ θεοῦ.16
13 Broadhead, ‘Authentic Saying of Jesus’, 147–148 and 148 respectively.

14 Grant & Freedman, 90, imply that Origen took the saying from Thomas; for the contrary
view, see Hedrick, ‘Thomas and the Synoptics’, 45.
15 ὁ ἐγγὺς Διός, ἐγγὺς κεραυνοῦ: see ΠΑΡΟΙΜΙΑΙ ΑΙΣΩΠΟΥ 7. Text in E.L. Leutsch & F.G.
Schneidewin, Corpus Paroemiographorum Graecorum (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ru-
precht, 1831), II.228; B.E. Perry, Aesopica (Urbana, IL: University of Illinois 1952), I.290.
Discussion of ms. in L. Cohn, ‘Die Sprichwörter des Cod. Laur. LVIII 24’, in idem, Zu
den Paroemiographien (Breslau, 1887), 1–44 (esp. 3). For πόρρω Διός τε καὶ κεραυνοῦ, see
(Ps.-)Diogenianus, 7:77b. Text in Leutsch & Schneidewin, Corpus Paroemiographorum
Graecorum, 1:300. Comment in W. Bühler, Zenobii Athoi Proverbia (Göttingen: Vanden-
hoeck & Ruprecht, 1987), I.188–275. The maxim appears already in Synesius, Oratio de
regno 11 (c. 400ce). Cf. Dixit philosophus: Rex est similis igni: Cui si nimis admotus fueris,
cremaberis; si ex toto remotus, frigebis. (Petrus Alfonsi, Disc. XXVI). See Hilka & Söderhjelm,
Die Disciplina Clericalis des Petrus Alfonsi, 39, ll. 24–26, cited in Bauer, ‘Das Jesuswort’, 449.
16 Ignatius seems to quote the first half as a kind of proverbial proof-text, given the introduc-
tory ἀλλά, its elliptical character, and the fact that he seems to coin the secondary saying
about the beasts off the back of it.
508 logion 82
He who is near me, is near the fire. If the danger of persecution is implied
here, this is paralleled in GTh 3, where inquisition of members of the Thomas
movement may be implied, and in the blessing upon the persecuted in GTh 68.
And he who is far from me is far from the kingdom. There is an exclusivist
claim here that not being a disciple is the same as being outside the pale of the
kingdom. This saying brings Jesus and the kingdom into very close relationship.
On the kingdom in Thomas, see Introduction, § 10.1 above.
Logion 831
83.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ⲛϩⲓⲕⲱⲛ ⲥⲉⲟⲩⲟⲛϩ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ⲙ̄ⲡⲣⲱⲙⲉ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲡⲟⲩⲟⲉⲓⲛ ⲉⲧⲛ̄ϩⲏⲧⲟⲩ ϥϩⲏⲡ⳿
ϩⲛ̄ ⲑⲓⲕⲱⲛ 83.2 ⲙ̄ⲡⲟⲩⲟⲉⲓⲛ ⲙ̄ⲡⲉⲓⲱⲧ⳿ ϥⲛⲁϭⲱⲗⲡ⳿ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲧⲉϥϩⲓⲕⲱⲛ ϩⲏⲡ⳿ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ
ϩⲓⲧⲛ̄ ⲡⲉϥ⳿ⲟⲩⲟⲉⲓⲛ
83.1 Jesus said, ‘The images are visible to man, but the light which is within
them is hidden. In the image (or, reflection) 83.2 of the light of the Father it
will be revealed, but his image is hidden by his light.’
Textual Comment
The problematic element is the adverbial phrase ‘in the image of the light
of the Father’, which may either be the hiding-place of the light in 83.1 (‘the
light in them remains concealed in the image of the light of the Father’; thus
Lambdin2), or the location of the revelation of the light in 83.2 (‘In the image
of the light of the Father, it will be revealed’). Plisch sees both of these as
problematic, on the grounds that ‘the expression “the image of the light of
the Father” is simply nonsense, since the light of the Father does not have any
image’.3 As a result, he proposes emending ⲙ̄ⲡⲟⲩⲟⲉⲓⲛ to ⲡⲟⲩⲟⲉⲓⲛ: this results in
a clear sentence division between 83.1 and 83.2.4 This is a possibility, but there
may be other solutions which do not require a textual conjecture. Elsewhere
the light can be said to have an image (e.g. ‘the image of the light’, in Tri. Trac.
94,24–25; Paraph. Shem 10,31; 39,16; cf. ‘the likeness of the light’ in Paraph. Shem
1 Bibliography for GTh 83: DeConick, Seek to See Him, 100–117; J.Ma. Asgeirsson, ‘Plato’s Ti-
maeus and the Gospel of Thomas’, in J.Ma. Asgeirsson, A.D. DeConick & R. Uro, eds. Thoma-
sine Traditions in Antiquity: The Social and Cultural World of the Gospel of Thomas (Leiden:
Brill, 2006), 155–174 (162–171); Popkes, Menschenbild, 227–233 (and 216–347 more generally);
E.E. Popkes, ‘Das Licht in den Bildern—EvThom 83’, in Zimmermann, ed. Kompendium der
Gleichnisse Jesu, 909–915; E.E. Popkes, ‘The Image Character of Human Existence: GThom 83
and GThom 84 as Core Texts of the Anthropology of the Gospel of Thomas’, in J. Frey, J. Schröter
& E.E. Popkes, eds. Das Thomasevangelium: Entstehung—Rezeption—Theologie (BZNW 157;
Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 2008), 416–434; Patterson, ‘Jesus Meets Plato’, 190–196.
One, 85; also, as far as the structure is concerned, DeConick, 247.
3 Plisch, 191.
4 ‘Images are visible to man, but the light which is within them is hidden in the image. The light
of the Father will reveal itself, but his image is hidden by his light.’
510 logion 83
3,34–35), so the idea is not necessarily nonsensical. There are also other options
for the interpretation, as we shall see.
Interpretation
This saying is closely related to GTh 84 which follows. Some elements of it

are reasonably clear. There are four statements, which are concerned with
visible—invisible—visible—invisible respectively.
There is initially (in 83.1) a contrast between the visible appearance of human
beings on the one hand, and the invisible light within them on the other (cf. the
‘light within a luminous person’ in GTh 24.3), between images in the sensible
realm, and spiritual light in the intelligible realm. This is how human beings are
constituted in the present. By contrast, the reverse is true of the constitution of
the Father:5 his image is within his light (83.2), that is, he is surrounded by light.
Although the light within humans is hidden at present, it will be revealed in the
future (83.2).
The unclear element is, as has already been noted, the adverbial phrase ‘in
the image of the light of the Father’, which may either be the ‘hiding-place’
of the light in 83.1 (‘concealed in the image of the light of the father’), or the
location of the revelation of the light in 83.2, as in the translation above. A
potential difficulty with the former is how the image within a person might be
concealed in the image of the light of the Father: an image seems much more
likely to be an instrument of revelation than of concealment; hence it makes
better sense to tie the phrase ‘in the image of the light of the Father’ to what
follows (‘it will be revealed’) than to what precedes (‘is hidden’). The way in
which the light of the Father reveals the light within people is that the light
within people shows up reflected in the light of the Father. For further detail,
see the notes.
Notes
83.1 The images are visible to man, but the light which is within them is
hidden. People can see each others’ physical, visible appearances,6 but the
5 Rightly, Plisch, 192.

6 Given 84.1, the images are very probably exclusively human; cf. Nordsieck’s more generalising
view (307).
logion 83 511
divine realm, though immanent, is invisible: on this latter, compare GTh 113.4,
in which ‘the kingdom of the Father is spread out upon the earth and people
do not see it’. The language of ‘images’ may ultimately go back to Genesis, but
the emphasis here is more on the outward appearances of people, rather than
a theology of the imago dei: there is no thought in GTh 83–84 that people
are made in the image of a higher power.7 The light within these images may
well only belong to the elect, rather to than humanity as a whole, as per
GTh 24.3: ‘there is light within a luminous person’. Because it is within, it is
invisible.
83.2 In the image (i.e. reflection) of the light of the Father it (sc. the light
within people) will be revealed. One possible key to the interpretation of this
statement is to take ‘image’ in the sense not of form or likeness, but of ‘reflection’
(LSJ 485b: ‘image in a mirror’). The framework of understanding in GTh 83.2
may be similar to that in the eschatological scene at the end of Concept of our
Great Power:
Then the souls will appear, who are holy through the light of the Power,
who is exalted, above all powers, the immeasurable, the universal one, I
and all those who will know me. And they will be in the aeon of beauty of
the aeon of judgment, since they are ready in wisdom, having given glory
to him who is in the incomprehensible unity; and they see him because of
his will, which is in them. And they all have become as reflections (ⲛϩⲓⲕⲱⲛ)
in his light. They all have shone, and they have found rest in his rest.
(Conc. 47,9–26)
If this parallel is appropriate, GTh 83.2 is referring to a future event in which

the light within the elect8 will appear: at present, their light is not evident,
but when the time comes, it will be revealed in reflection of the Father’s light.9
The event may be eschatological and universal, or it could be an individual
one which occurs when the person attains knowledge, or experiences mystical
7 Pace DeConick, 248. It is also a difficulty for Popkes’ view of a background to Thomas in the
Apocryphon of John that the precise use of ⲉⲓⲛⲉ and ϩⲓⲕⲱⲛ for ‘the different aspects of the image
character of human existence’ does not work for GTh 83 (Popkes, ‘The Image Character of
Human Existence’, 430). GTh 83 uses ϩⲓⲕⲱⲛ both for the outward, physical human image and
for the image of the Father.
8 Probably not the light of the Father (as argued by Valantasis); it is more likely that 83.2 is
speaking of the future revelation of what in 83.1 is hidden.
9 On the view proposed here, it is unlikely that the ‘image of the light of the Father’ is Jesus (the
view of Bruce, Jesus and Christian Origins, 144).
512 logion 83
vision (cf. 5.1). It may be that there is some Platonic background, as a number
of scholars say, but there is no very precise source.10
83.2 But his image is hidden by his light. The point here may be that
the Father himself remains invisible, although this would contradict GTh 15,
which refers to vision of the Father. More likely perhaps is that the Father is
surrounded by light, and in this surrounding light the Father (alone) can see
his own image: the image is contained within the light, rather than penetrating
it and going outside. This idea may be seen in the Apocryphon of John:
For it is he who contemplates him[self] in his light which surrounds

[him], namely the spring [of] living water … And in every direction he
[perceives] his image (ϩⲓⲕⲱⲛ) by seeing it in the spring of the [Spirit].11
Here, the Father sees himself in the light-water surrounding him; he perceives
his image as the light reflects it back to him. This might make sense of the
apparent paradox at the end of this saying in Thomas, where the Father has
an image, but it is hidden by his light.
10 Pokorný, 128; Hedrick, 148. There may be a contrast between the hidden light and the
visible light in the cave allegory, but the parallel is inexact.
11 Ap. John II 4,19–24 and parallels in the other manuscripts.
Logion 841
84.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ⲛ̄ϩⲟⲟⲩ ⲉⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ⲛⲁⲩ ⲉⲡⲉⲧⲛ̄ⲉⲓⲛⲉ ϣⲁⲣⲉⲧⲛ̄ⲣⲁϣⲉ 84.2 ϩⲟⲧⲁⲛ ⲇⲉ ⲉ-

ⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ϣⲁⲛⲛⲁⲩ⳿ ⲁⲛⲉⲧⲛ̄ϩⲓⲕⲱⲛ⳿ ⲛ̄ⲧⲁϩϣⲱⲡⲉ ϩⲓ ⲧⲉⲧⲛⲉϩⲏ ⲟⲩⲧⲉ ⲙⲁⲩⲙⲟⲩ ⲟⲩⲧⲉ
ⲙⲁⲩⲟⲩⲱⲛϩ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ⲧⲉⲧⲛⲁϥⲓ ϩⲁ ⲟⲩⲏⲣ⳿
84.1 Jesus said, ‘When you see your likenesses, you rejoice! 84.2 But when
you see your images which came into being before you—which neither die
nor are revealed—how much will you bear!’
Interpretation
In this saying, the theme of the revelation of images continues from GTh 83,
with a shift from the third person to direct address in the second person plural.
The revelation of the images in GTh 83, as they appear in the Father’s light,
may be the same as the vision in 84.2. The contrast introduced now in GTh 84
between ‘image’ and ‘likeness’ means that here an allusion to Genesis 1.26–27
is more apparent.2 The main point here is straightforward: ‘It contrasts the
act of gazing at one’s corporeal likeness with the vision of one’s heavenly self,
image, or angelic counterpart.’3 Popkes emphasises here that Thomas (along
with the Apocryphon of John) depends on a Gnostic interpretation of Gen.
1.26–27,4 arguing that the image theology here cannot be accounted for by
early Jewish interpretation but that Thomas depends here on the full Gnostic
myth (see further notes below).5 The distinction between an immortal and a
transient, external image, which is the main point here, is not uniquely Gnostic,
however.6
1 Bibliography for GTh 84: DeConick, Seek to See Him, 148–172; Asgeirsson, ‘Plato’s Timaeus and
the Gospel of Thomas’, 162–171; Popkes, Menschenbild, 227–233 (and 216–347 more generally);
Patterson, ‘Jesus Meets Plato’, 190–196; Popkes, ‘The Image Character of Human Existence’,
416–434.
2 Popkes, Menschenbild, 229–230.
3 DeConick, Voices of the Mystics, 94.
5 Popkes, Menschenbild, 343–344.
6 Cf. 1Cor. 15.49; Philo, Opif. 134; cf. Patterson, ‘Jesus Meets Plato’, 194.
514 logion 84
Notes
84.1 When you see your likenesses, you rejoice! The reference here is to the
everyday non-theological events of seeing one’s likeness in a mirror, window,
shadow or in water (or—less commonly—in a portrait or bust), events which
are pleasant.7 ‘Likeness’ here (ⲉⲓⲛⲉ) is distinguished from the ‘image’ in 84.2
(ϩⲓⲕⲱⲛ), although the external likeness in 83.1 was designated by ϩⲓⲕⲱⲛ.8
84.2 But when you see your images which came into being before you.
These ‘images’ are the pre-existent beings which existed in the beginning (GTh
18), and come from the light (GTh 49–50). Philo also distinguishes between the
man in his present (νῦν) form, and the first, noetic man formerly (πρότερον)
created (Opif. 134).
84.2 Which neither die nor are revealed. The first element of this paren-
thetical remark is easily comprehensible—the pre-existent images are under-
standably everlasting entities. That they are not revealed probably means that
they never appear in the sensible realm, hence the vision of these images in
84.2 is an intellectual-spiritual vision, in contrast to the everyday sense of sight
involved in 84.1. Again, Philo refers to the true idea of ‘man’ made in the image
of God as both imperishable and visible only to the intellect, in contrast to the
visible mortal man (Opif. 134).
84.2 How much will you bear! Rather than being a genuine question,9 this
is probably an exclamation of what a painful shock it will be for those who
encounter their true images.10 The idea perhaps recalls what is also expressed
in Plato’s cave allegory:
7 So Patterson, ‘Jesus Meets Plato’, 194: ‘one’s own likeness, say in a mirror, a pool, or a
painting.’ Unlikely is a more technical sense suggested in Plisch, 193, 194 n. 3, (a view noted
also by Pokorný, 129) of seeing fellow human beings.
8 Popkes, ‘The Image Character of Human Existence’, 430, notes: ‘While the term ϩⲓⲕⲱⲛ
describes the image character of mankind to the upper deity, ⲉⲓⲛⲉ marks the likeness of
mankind to Yaldabaoth and his archons.’ He is correct to take the term as a representation
inferior to the ‘image’ in 84.2 (even if the distinction is not observed in GTh 83; cf. also
Apoc. Paul 19,28–29, where Paul’s image below is designated by ⲉⲓⲛⲉ). Popkes emphasises
that this parallels the terminology in Ap. John (see esp. Menschenbild, 229, 321–322, and
313–342 more widely).
9 ⲟⲩⲏⲣ does not appear always to have an interrogative sense: see e.g. Psalms of Heracleides
5 (Allberry, Manichaean Psalm-Book II, 192, line 8); also Layton, Coptic Grammar, 61 (§73).
10 See e.g. DeConick, 249, who also emphasises the dimension of the pain involved in the
transformation. Pace Patterson, ‘Jesus Meets Plato’, 194, who takes the reference to be to
the greatness of the image which they will reclaim and ‘bear’ in the heavenly realm.
logion 84 515
When one of them (i.e. a prisoner in the cave) was untied, and forced to
stand up suddenly, turn his head, and walk, and look towards the light, he
would find all these things painful.
(Rep. 7 [515C])
If he was forced to look at the light itself, would it not hurt his eyes?
(Rep. 7 [515E])
Hence the vision in Thomas of the true images, which is undoubtedly positive
overall, is initially discomforting. Perhaps there is some correspondence here
to the idea that the final rest and rule promised in GTh 2 must be preceded by
(disturbing) astonishment (see on GTh 2 above).
Logion 851
85.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ⲛ̄ⲧⲁ ⲁⲇⲁⲙ ϣⲱⲡⲉ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ϩⲛ̄ⲛⲟⲩⲛⲟϭ ⲛ̄ⲇⲩⲛⲁⲙⲓⲥ ⲙⲛ̄ ⲟⲩⲛⲟϭ̣
ⲙ̣̄ⲙⲛ̄ⲧⲣⲙ̄ⲙⲁⲟ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲙ̄ⲡⲉϥϣⲱⲡⲉ ⲉ̣[ϥⲙ̄ⲡ]ϣⲁ ⲙ̄ⲙⲱⲧⲛ̄ 85.2 ⲛⲉⲩⲁⲝⲓⲟⲥ ⲅⲁⲣ ⲡⲉ [ⲛⲉϥ-
ⲛⲁϫⲓ ϯ]ⲡ̣[ⲉ] ⲁⲛ ⲙ̄ⲡⲙⲟⲩ
85.1 Jesus said, ‘Adam came into being from a great power and a great
wealth, but he did not become [wor]thy of you. 85.2 For if he had been worthy,
[he would] not [have tas]ted death.’
Interpretation
This is one of a number of sayings which draw attention to the exalted status
of the disciple in Thomas. Adam here, like the world elsewhere (GTh 56; 80;
111), is not worthy of the elect. This is evident from the fact that he tasted death
whereas the true disciple will not (GTh 1).
Notes
85.1 Adam came into being. Adam (also mentioned in GTh 46.1) is the only OT
figure named in Thomas.2 There is no reason to suppose an exalted superhu-
man Adam (or ‘Adamas’) of a Gnostic or related sort (especially in the light of
GTh 46, where Adam is clearly human).
85.1 From a great power and a great wealth. Power and wealth are divine
attributes of a sort in Rev. 5.12. Using similar language, Teaching of Silvanus
112,8–10 refers to a ‘Great Power and a Great Glory’ who ‘has revealed the world’.
The phrase ‘great power’ is common in the Nag Hammadi literature, usually
referring either to a supreme deity (e.g. in Concept of our Great Power), but also
to other positive, lesser entities.3
The identity of the creator figure in GTh 85 is unclear. The Father is probably
not a creator in Thomas, since he is not in general depicted as an agent. Jesus
1 Bibliography for GTh 85: Lelyveld, Logia de la vie, 49–54; Patterson, ‘Jesus Meets Plato’,
190–196.
2 G.C. Stead, ‘New Gospel Discoveries’, Theology 62 (1959), 321–327 (326).
3 In Allogenes 50, there are various ‘great powers’. In Ap. John, Sophia is in possession of a great
power, which Yaldabaoth took from her (II 10,19–21 and parallels).
logion 85 517
is a possibility, since he is in some sense the source of everything in GTh 77.1,

but it would perhaps be peculiar for Jesus to refer to himself so obliquely in
this way. Interestingly, Jesus speaks in GTh 101.3 of his true mother who gave
him life, which may be evidence of a female creator figure, and would fit with
the gender of ‘power’ and ‘wealth’, at least in the Coptic (ⲇⲩⲛⲁⲙⲓⲥ, ⲙⲛ̄ⲧⲣⲙ̄ⲙⲁⲟ,
both feminine); a female Spirit may be in view. The designation ‘a great power
and a great wealth’ leaves open the possibility of some sort of demiurgic figure.
Although sometimes evil (e.g. in ‘classical’ Gnostic works such as Ap. John and
Gos. Jud.), two points reinforce the positive valuation of Adam’s creator here
(whether Jesus or a demiurge): first, wealth of a spiritual kind is positively
valued in Thomas (29.3; 81.1), as elsewhere in early Christian literature (and
Nag Hammadi texts); secondly, the point of referring to this origin of Adam
is to highlight the drastic nature of his fall into death (probably) from such an
exalted position.
Thomas may be consciously taking a position in the discussion of Adam’s
origins (even if that position is not completely clear to us). It is evident that GTh
85.1 contrasts with the Second Treatise of the Great Seth, where Adam is created
as a counterfeit man by the Hebdomad, an evil demiurge (62,27–31). Thomas
may be closer to the view of the Valentinians as reported in Irenaeus: ‘they
declare that Paradise, situated above the third heaven, is a fourth archangel,
from whom Adam derived certain qualities while he conversed with him’ (AH
1.5.2). Closer to Thomas is the view which Irenaeus attributes to Saturninus,
namely that man was created by the angels, but being too weak to stand, he was
given a spark of life by ‘the Power’ (AH 1.24.1). Hippolytus’s Naassenes see Adam
as enlivened by ‘many powers’ (Ref. 5.7.6). How much Thomas is in continuity
with the older view of the supreme creator God as the maker of Adam, explicitly
upheld in e.g. Theophilus (Autolyc. 2.18), is unclear.
85.1 But he did not become worthy of you. On the theme of unworthiness,
cf. GTh 56; 80; 111.
85.2 For if he had been worthy, he would not have tasted death. On ‘tasted
death’, see comments and bibliography ad GTh 1. Probably more than Adam’s
physical death is envisaged here, since mere biological death (something expe-
rienced by Jesus as well—no doubt—as some of the Thomas movement: cf.
55.2) would probably not indicate unworthiness. An allusion to Adam’s death
as penalty or Unheil is probably in evidence; Adam not only experienced phys-
ical death but expulsion from paradise (cf. GTh 19), and therefore forfeited
the state of primeval innocence. Hence Thomas probably participates in the
second-century discussion of whether Adam was to be saved, taking the neg-
ative position of Tatian which was so strongly to be condemned by Irenaeus
(AH 1.28.1; cf. Irenaeus’s own view in AH 3.23.8). This is interesting in the
518 logion 85
context of the second century, when Adam became a subject of discussion in

his own right in Christian texts, rather than simply as a type of Christ (only
mentioned by name 9× in the NT; cf. the depiction in Paul in Rom. 5.12–19;
1Cor. 15.22, 45). He is not an object of any speculation in the Apostolic Fathers.
Logion 861
86.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ̣ [ⲛⲃⲁϣⲟⲣ ⲟⲩⲛ̄ⲧ]ⲁ̣ⲩ ⲛ[ⲟ]ⲩ̣[ⲃⲏⲃ] ⲁⲩⲱ ⲛ̄ϩⲁⲗⲁⲧⲉ ⲟⲩⲛ̄ⲧⲁⲩ ⲙ̄ⲙⲁⲩ
ⲙ̄ⲡ̣[ⲉ]ⲩⲙⲁϩ 86.2 ⲡϣⲏⲣⲉ ⲇⲉ ⲙ̄ⲡⲣⲱⲙⲉ ⲙⲛ̄ⲧⲁϥ⳿ ⲛⲛ̣[ⲟⲩ]ⲙⲁ ⲉⲣⲓⲕⲉ ⲛ̄ⲧⲉϥ⳿ⲁⲡⲉ
ⲛ̄ϥ⳿ⲙ̄ⲧⲟⲛ⳿ ⲙ̄[ⲙⲟ]ϥ̣⳿
86.1 Jesus said, ‘[Foxes ha]ve [hole]s, and birds have their nests, 86.2 but the
son of man does not have a place to lay his head and rest hi[msel]f.’
Interpretation
This saying (cf. Matt. 8.20/Lk. 9.582) has a three-tier scheme, with birds above
in the sky, foxes below the earth in holes, and the ‘son of man’ upon the earth.3
The main point has been variously described. Gärtner sees evidence of Gnostic
redaction in the addition of ‘rest’ to the Synoptic saying.4 Pokorný accents the
‘vulnerability and even the homelessness of human beings compared with the
rest of the creation’.5 Hedrick emphasises the theme of itinerant mission, with
the ‘son of man’ highlighting insignificant misery (cf. Job 25.4–6);6 similarly,
Patterson identifies a ‘lament that befits the plight of the wandering itinerant’.7
Doran sees more the thought of alienation.8
Although the Gnostic reading is not helpful, the addition of ‘rest’ is signifi-
cant, because of the theme’s importance as a soteriological category in Thomas
(esp. GTh 60; 90; cf. 50; 51). As a result, the place of rest in this saying is proba-
bly not a room of one’s own (as in the itinerancy interpretation), but rather rest
1 Bibliography for GTh 86: F.A. Strobel, ‘Textgeschichtliches zum Thomas-Logion 86 (Mt
8,20/Lk 9,58)’, VC 17 (1963), 211–224; R. Doran, ‘The Divinization of Disorder: The Trajectory
of Matt 8:20//Luke 9:58//Gos. Thom. 86’, in B.A. Pearson, A.T. Kraabel & G.W.E. Nickelsburg,
eds. The Future of Early Christianity: Essays in Honor of Helmut Koester (Minneapolis: Fortress,
1991), 210–219; Schröter, Erinnerung an Jesu Worte, 227–231; N. Perrin, ‘Thomas: The Fifth
Gospel?’, JETS 49 (2006), 67–80; Gathercole, Composition, 91–93.
2 The minor variations are ‘birds’ rather than the Synoptics’ ‘birds of the air’, and the addition
of ‘and rest it/ himself’ at the end.
3 Plisch, 197 n. 5.
4 Gärtner, Theology of the Gospel of Thomas, 60.
5 Pokorný, 130–131.
6 Hedrick, 152, noting GTh 14; 36 and perhaps 42 as parallels.
8 Doran, ‘Divinization of Disorder’, 218–219.
520 logion 86
in a theological sense. Taking ‘son of man’ in a more general sense than in the
Synoptics (see notes below), the meaning of GTh 86 is that true rest is not to be
found from this world.
Notes
86.1 Foxes have holes and birds have their nests. We are here in the realm of the
material world. Plisch is right that the choice of foxes and birds is not arbitrary,
for they occupy the spheres above and below human beings (cf. GTh 3.1–3 Gk).9
86.2 But the son of man does not have a place to lay his head and rest him-
self. There may be a connection between ‘son of man’ here and Adam in GTh
85, but even if so, no particular illumination results. At least five interpreta-
tions of ‘son of man’ are theoretically possible. (1) A Gnostic ‘Son of Man’ in the
sense of a primordial, divine figure;10 (2) Jesus;11 (3) a member of the Thomas
movement;12 (4) a combination of the two, such that Jesus is the ‘Exemplum des
wahren Menschen’, which the disciple can follow and share in (cf. GTh 108);13
(5) human beings in the widest sense: a more ‘uncanonical’ translation such as
‘child of humankind’ is of course possible.14 If it is right as proposed above that
the theme of ‘rest’ is crucial, and the point is that this rest is not available from
the material world, then a view close to (3) and (5) is most likely: to the Thomas
movement, the message is that they are right not to seek solace in the material
world (and that they should not seek to do so); furthermore, the words of Jesus
in the Gospel are the only hope for salvation for those outside.
9 Plisch, 197 n. 5.
10 Cf. Ap. John II 14,14–15 and parallels.
11 Plisch, 196.
12 Pokorný, 130–131.
14 M.W. Meyer, ‘Albert Schweitzer and the Image of Jesus in the Gospel of Thomas’, in
idem, Secret Gospels: Essays on Thomas and the Secret Gospel of Mark (Harrisburg, PA:
Continuum, 2003), 17–38 (21).
Logion 871
87.1 ⲡⲉϫⲁϥ ⲛ̄ϭⲓ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ⲟⲩⲧⲁⲗⲁⲓⲡⲱⲣⲟⲛ⳿ ⲡ̣ⲉ̣ ⲡⲥⲱⲙⲁ ⲉⲧⲁϣⲉ ⲛ̄ⲟⲩⲥⲱⲙⲁ⳿ 87.2 ⲁⲩⲱ
ⲟⲩⲧⲁ̣ⲗⲁⲓⲡⲱⲣⲟⲥ ⲧⲉ ⲧ⳿ⲯⲩⲭⲏ ⲉⲧⲁϣⲉ ⲛ̄ⲛⲁⲉⲓ ⲙ̣̄ⲡ̣ⲥⲛⲁⲩ
87.1 Jesus said, ‘Wretched is the body which depends on a body, 87.2 and
wretched is the soul which depends on these two.’
Interpretation
This saying is a near doublet of GTh 112 (‘Woe to the flesh which depends on
the soul. Woe to the soul which depends on the flesh’). There are interesting
parallels to the saying in the Macarian corpus, e.g.:2
Woe to the body, when it stands on its own nature, because it is destroyed
and dies. And woe to the soul, if it stands on its own nature alone … .3
(Spiritual Homilies 1)
This parallel might suggest a focus on (1) the interdependence of body and
soul in GTh 87 as well.4 The difficulty, however, is that the Coptic is not easily
amenable to this: 87.1 criticises the interdependence of one body and another,
and of the soul and bodies.
Another view, proposed by DeConick, is that the reference is not to ‘hanging’
in the sense of ‘depending’ but of ‘crucifixion’. As a result, the couplet is (2) a
lament of the situation of embodiment, as likened to crucifixion.5 There are
difficulties with translating the saying in terms of crucifixion, however, and the
embodiment of the soul cannot really be in view in 87.1; the problem is with
two bodies.6
1 Bibliography for GTh 87: Uro, Thomas, 58–62; Patterson, ‘Jesus Meets Plato’, 186–190.
2 For further discussion, see Introduction, § 4.1.
3 Cf. the almost identical: ‘Woe to the body, when it stands on its own nature, because it is
destroyed and dies. And woe also to the soul, if it stands on its own nature alone …’ (Homilies
9.3.7). For the Greek texts, see Introduction, § 4.1.
4 See the discussion of Uro’s emphasis on interdependence in comment on GTh 112 below.
5 DeConick, 254.
6 Gianotto (‘Étude critique’, 307) remarks that the verb ⲉⲓϣⲉ here is qualitative (ⲁϣⲉ), whereas
a reference to crucifixion would require a transitive usage.
522 logion 87
Davies has argued that the body depending upon the body is the human
body depending upon eating meat, and therefore the saying is (3) a criticism of
a carnivorous diet, alluding to the same theme in GTh 11.7 It is difficult to see
this point supported elsewhere in Thomas, however, even in GTh 11. GTh 14.4–5
in particular advocates a flexible stance towards eating.
Grosso sees the second body not as a human body but as the world, and the
point is thus (4) a criticism of the person who is too integrated into the world,
at great cost for the soul.8 The symmetry of the two bodies, and the ‘hanging’ of
the soul from both perhaps makes this unlikely, but the ‘world’ interpretation
remains a possibility.
Plisch sees ‘the body which depends on a body’ as (5) a reference to sex and
marriage.9 ‘Depends’ thus has the sense of ‘depends for its happiness or plea-
sure’, or for protection and provision: it is in any case a bodily dependence. If
this interpretation is correct, the saying is a slightly veiled criticism of marriage
and sex. A more general application of Plisch’s view is seen by Valantasis and
Hedrick, who see in the saying (6) a criticism of dependence upon other people
in general, contrasting dependence with solitariness and making the two into
one.10
Overall, Plisch’s view perhaps does best justice to the fact that there is a kind
of symmetry in the reference to two bodies (implying that they are similar
bodies); a change in meaning from (literal) body to (metaphorical) world is
not impossible, though it is a stretch. Against a criticism of a more general
dependency (6) is the fact that 87.2 refers specifically to two bodies. The saying
makes good sense as lamenting the situation when a soul is dependent for its
satisfaction upon two distinct persons, which fits well as a lament of marriage
and specifically of sexual relations.11
Notes
87.1 Wretched is the body which depends on a body. The ‘Wretched is …’

formula in GTh 87 contrasts with the beatitudes in Thomas, but is not quite
as negative as the ‘Cursed is …’ or ‘Woe’ formulae (GTh 7.2, and 102; 112): it is

8 Grosso, 232.
9 Plisch, 198; I am grateful to Uwe-Karsten Plisch for explaining his view in personal conver-
sation.
10 Valantasis, 167–168; Hedrick, 153; cf. similarly Pokorný, 131.
11 This reading does better justice to 87.2 than Grosso, 232, allows.
logion 87 523
more lament than imprecation (see note on GTh 7.2). The verb ⲉⲓϣⲉ can mean
hang in a physical sense (hence DeConick’s interpretation as crucifixion), or
dependency in a personal sense.12
87.2 And wretched is the soul which depends on these two. Other systems
use the language of the soul hanging on the body. The Platonic view, for exam-
ple, as cited by DeConick, is the fastening of the soul upon the body in the
manner of a crucifixion.13 Secondly, there is the Valentinian hymn cited in Hip-
polytus, where, in the great continuum of being, the visionary sees ‘flesh hang-
ing from soul’ (σάρκα μὲν ἐκ ψυχῆς κρεμαμένην).14 Neither of these two themes
seems in view in GTh 87. Nor is there a criticism here of the soul as a merely
psychic entity (i.e. at a level inferior to the pneumatic).15 The criticism is of the
person who is dependent—in 87.2 at a more ‘psychological’ level—on their
marital status.
12 Crum 88b–89a.
13 See M. Hengel, Crucifixion in the Ancient World and the Folly of the Message of the Cross
(London: SCM, 1977), 67 and n. 4. The idea derives from Plato, Phaed. 83D, where the soul
is fastened to the body by desire which is like a nail; cf, also Philo, Post. 61.
14 Hippolytus, Ref. 6.36.7. The wider use of this language means that the specification of
DeConick, 253, of the ‘hanging’ here very specifically in terms of crucifixion is unlikely:
a more cosmological and anthropological sense is probably in view.
Logion 881
88.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ⲛ̄ⲁⲅⲅⲉⲗⲟⲥ ⲛⲏⲩ ϣⲁⲣ̣ⲱⲧⲛ̄ ⲙⲛ̄ ⲛ̄ⲡⲣⲟⲫⲏⲧⲏⲥ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲥⲉⲛⲁϯ ⲛⲏⲧⲛ̄
ⲛ̄ⲛⲉⲧⲉⲩⲛ̄ⲧⲏⲧⲛ̄ⲥⲉ 88.2 ⲁⲩⲱ⳿ ⲛ̄ⲧⲱⲧⲛ̄ ϩⲱⲧ⳿ⲧⲏⲩⲧⲛ̄ ⲛⲉⲧⲛ̄ⲧⲟⲧ⳿ⲧⲏⲛⲉ ⲧⲁⲁⲩ ⲛⲁⲩ
ⲛ̄ⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ϫⲟⲟⲥ ⲛⲏⲧⲛ̄ ϫⲉ ⲁϣ ⲛ̄ϩⲟⲟⲩ ⲡⲉⲧⲟⲩⲛ̄ⲛⲏⲩ ⲛ̄ⲥⲉϫⲓ ⲡⲉⲧⲉ ⲡⲱⲟⲩ
88.1 Jesus said, ‘Messengers and prophets will come to you, and will offer you
what you have. 88.2 And you for your part, give them what you have, and say
to yourselves, “When will they come and take what belongs to them?” ’
Interpretation
There are three main interpretations of this saying proposed thus far.
The first view, taken probably by a majority, sees a rule about provision
for itinerant preachers, on analogy with Didache 11–13.2 The ‘messengers and
prophets’ are thus wandering missionaries and Christian prophets who will
visit the Thomas community (‘will come to you’) and proclaim the word (‘offer
you …’).3 The community, in return for the spiritual blessing of the teaching
received, offers material help (cf. Rom. 15.27): the addressees are to ‘give them
what you have’ (88.2). The cryptic last part of the saying is explained by Grosso
as involving the need for the community to be organised and anticipate the
coming of such people, and their ‘taking what belongs to them’.4 The difficulty
with this view is that the itinerants give the disciples addressed ‘what you have’.
Plisch attempts to gloss this with ‘i.e. what is due to you’, but the reference is
fairly clearly to possession, i.e. to ‘what you (already) have’.5
The second, minority, view takes the saying as a scene of final judgment:
‘On the day when mortal life ends the heavenly messengers give men their
proper heritage.’6 On this view, however, it is difficult to see why prophets
2 Nordsieck, 318; DeConick, 255; Plisch, 199; Pokorný, 132; Hedrick, 154; Grosso, 233–234.
3 Leipoldt, Evangelium nach Thomas, 72.
4 Grosso, 234.
5 Plisch, 199.
6 Bruce, Jesus and Christian Origins, 146; noted also (though not advocated) by Nordsieck, 318,
citing K. Berger & C. Nord, Das Neue Testament und frühchristliche Schriften (Frankfurt am
Main: Insel, 1999), 664 (non vidi).
logion 88 525
are specifically highlighted, why these judges give the disciples what they (the
disciples) have, and how GTh 88.2 would make sense.
A third view, peculiar to Valantasis, sees this saying as highlighting the
exalted status of disciples, in that they have knowledge which surpasses that of
angels and oracular speakers.7 It is hard to make sense of such a strange scene,
however.
A solution to the problem may lie in an interpretation which has elements of
the first view (which fits most of the evidence), but which can also do justice to
the fact that the true disciples already possess what is offered by the itinerant
preachers.
What perhaps works best is to suppose an encounter between Thomasine
disciples on the one hand (‘you’), and other early Christian ‘messengers and
prophets’ on the other, an encounter which is more confrontational than that
proposed in the first view above. In this confrontation, the messengers and
prophets offer the Thomas disciples the gospel of salvation and eternal life,
but the latter of course already possess life (88.1); in that sense these other
early Christian workers are pictured as offering the Thomas disciples what they
already have. On the other hand (88.2), these other Christian itinerants have
not taken possession of the life which the Thomas movement enjoys: hence
the elect addressed in this saying are to offer the truth to those messengers and
prophets (88.2a), even as the Thomasine elect lament the fact that the other
Christians do not accept it (88.2b). A similar idea, of the stubbornness of others
near to the truth, and a similar tone of frustration, is perhaps expressed in GTh
74: ‘Lord, there are many around the well, but there is no-one in the well’ (see
on this above, ad loc.). As Hedrick notes, it is unclear whether the saying is
a warning or an encouragement.8 Any interpretation of this confusing saying
must remain provisional, however.
Notes
88.1 Messengers and prophets will come to you. On the syntax (lit. ‘messengers
will come to you, and prophets’), cf. 111.1. ⲁⲅⲅⲉⲗⲟⲥ here is to be understood in the
terrestrial sense of ‘messenger’,9 and prophet in the sense of Christian prophet
rather than OT prophets (cf. the ‘prophets, sages and scribes’ sent by Jesus in
8 Hedrick, 155.
9 For the translation ‘messenger’, see Bethge, ‘Werdet Vorübergehende’, 46.
526 logion 88
Matt. 23.34; Did. 11, 13). There was no special office of ‘messenger’ in the early
church, but there were those who played such roles.10
88.1 And will offer you what you have. The verb ϯ, while conventionally
translated ‘give’, can have the sense of wider sense of ‘offer’.11 This is the sense
here: ‘(try unsuccessfully) to give’, because the Thomasine disciples have no
need of what is offered as they already possess it.
88.2 And you for your part, give them what you have. Literally, ‘… the things
in your hand(s), give them to them.’ Here, the Thomas disciples are to present
the knowledge that they themselves have discovered to those others who claim
to be Christians.
88.2 And say to yourselves, “When will they come and take what belongs to
them?” Jesus anticipates the Thomasine disciples’ great frustration with these
others who will not come and find the truth which they (the true disciples)
possess. These others are entitled to this revelation—it ‘belongs to them’—but
refuse to accept it.
10 See e.g. 1Clem. 65.1; Ignatius, Polyc. 7.2; 8.1.

11 E.g. Matt. 27.34/ Mk 15.23 sa, where the soldiers offered, ⲁⲩϯ, Jesus wine, which he refused.
Logion 891
89.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ⲉⲧⲃⲉ ⲟⲩ ⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ⲉⲓⲱⲉ ⲙ̄ⲡⲥⲁ ⲛⲃⲟⲗ⳿ ⲙ̄ⲡⲡⲟⲧⲏⲣⲓⲟⲛ 89.2 ⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ⲣ̄ⲛⲟⲉⲓ
ⲁⲛ ϫⲉ ⲡⲉⲛⲧⲁϩⲧⲁⲙⲓⲟ ⲙ̄ⲡⲥⲁ ⲛϩⲟⲩⲛ ⲛ̄ⲧⲟϥ ⲟⲛ⳿ ⲡⲉⲛⲧⲁϥⲧⲁⲙⲓⲟ ⲙ̄ⲡⲥⲁ ⲛⲃⲟⲗ⳿
89.1 Jesus said, ‘Why do you cleanse the outside of the cup? 89.2 Do you not
realise that he who made the inside also made the outside?’
Interpretation
This saying is parallelled in Matthew and Luke (cf. Thund. 20,18–22), with the
significant difference that 89.2 reverses the order of the outside/ inside contrast
(cf. esp. Lk. 11.40).2 The saying has evoked a variety of interpretations, which
may be classified as (1) ritual vs ethical, (2) social, and (3) anthropological.
The first sees the main concern of the saying in Jewish ritual washings.3
As Marjanen remarks: ‘the main purpose of the logion is … to emphasize
that purifying one’s outside does not help to correct the deficiency in one’s
inside.’4 Uro sees that such a view of Jewish practices fits with the rejection
and spiritualisation of other observances such as circumcision and Sabbath
observance,5 while observing the polemic here as aimed at other Christians,
1 Bibliography for GTh 89: A. Baker, ‘The Gospel of Thomas and the Diatessaron’, JTS 16 (1965),
449–454; R.J. Miller, ‘The Inside is (Not) the Outside: Q 11:39–41 and GThom 89’, Forum 5 (1989),
92–106; Iacopino, ‘Mt 15,11 e Lc 11,39–40 nel Vangelo di Tommaso’, 85–93; R. Uro, ‘“Washing the
Outside of the Cup”: Gos. Thom. 89 and Synoptic Parallels’, in J.Ma. Asgeirsson, K. De Troyer &
M.W. Meyer, eds. From Quest to Q: Festschrift James M. Robinson (Leuven: Leuven University
Press/Peeters, 2000), 303–322; Goodacre, Thomas and the Gospels, 117–119.
2 See Matt. 23.25–26/ Lk. 11.39–40 (cf. also Mk 7.18; Matt. 15.17). Among other places, Lk. 11.40 in
P45 C D shares this reversed order with Thomas. Uro, ‘Washing’, 317, notes that Thomas here
is closer to Luke but much shorter. Thomas may have modified the Lukan version, removing
the material about the inside being bad.
3 DeConick, 256–257, helpfully refers to m. Kel. 25.1–8 for discussion of the inside and outside
of vessels.
4 Marjanen, ‘Is Thomas a Gnostic Gospel?’, 120.
5 Uro, ‘Washing the Outside of the Cup’, 319, with reference to GTh 6; 14; 27; 53. Cf. Iacopino, ‘Mt
15,11 e Lc 11,39–40 nel Vangelo di Tommaso’, 90–91: ‘Il senso gnostico a tutto il discorso viene
dal l. 89, dove la polemica contro le norme di purità transpare più dissimulata, ma altrettanto
viva.’ Also Grant & Freedman, 184; Grosso, 235; Hedrick, 156.
528 logion 89
however, rather than at Jews.6 (Hence, the reference could be to baptism.) This
interpretation sees the logic as similar to that of Luke’s version: the same one
made outside and inside, therefore why do you cleanse the outside (only), or
indeed, why do it at all? The problem with that is that the emphasis in 89.2 is
on the creator as maker of the outside.
Others consider that GTh 89 has lost the earlier reference to ritual wash-
ing.7 Thus Miller sees the inside/ outside as referring to social boundaries, con-
cerning insiders and outsiders, which may be particularly relevant in a Jewish
milieu, he argues.8 It does not yet have an anthropological sense, he maintains.9
This fits better with the emphasis in 89.2. The difficulty with Miller’s view, how-
ever, is that Thomas does not seem overly concerned with social inclusion, and
his view is not easily able to account for 89.1.
Thirdly, an anthropological reading concerned with the inside/ outside di-
chotomy does have the advantage of reflecting a theme widespread in Thomas,
and not least on the point of the unification of ‘outside’ and ‘inside’ (cf. esp.
GTh 22).10 This makes good sense of 89.2, and 89.1 could then be paraphrased:
‘Why do you make a distinction between the outside and the inside?’ The prob-
lem there is again (as in the anti-ritual interpretation) that the emphasis is in
89.2 on the creator as maker of the outside. There would be something of a non
sequitur between 89.1 and 89.2.
Views (1) and (3) raise the important question of creation. Marjanen notes
that the Father is implied as a creator here,11 and Uro similarly comments that
material creation seems positive.12 If we could be sure about the meaning of
the cup, this would be clearer. Part of the difficulty in interpreting Thomas’s
version is that it seems to have become garbled in the course of abbreviation: it
has a ‘missing middle’, specifically a missing premise.13 In addition, Thomas’s
reversal of the Lukan order of the outside and inside in 89.2 leaves a real
difficulty remaining, because it seems to be stressing the importance of the
outside.
6 Uro, ‘Washing’, 319–320.

7 Gianotto, ‘Quelques aspects de la polémique anti-juive’, 166; Pokorný, 133.
8 Miller, ‘Inside is (Not) the Outside’, 95.
9 Miller, ‘Inside is (Not) the Outside’, 103.
10 Valantasis, 169–170; Pokorný, 133.
11 Marjanen, ‘Is Thomas a Gnostic Gospel?’, 118, 120; cf. Miller, ‘Inside is (Not) the Outside’,
94.
12 Uro, ‘Washing’, 319–320.
logion 89 529
One, perhaps remote, possibility is to see a parallel with GTh 53, where in
response to a question about the validity of circumcision, Jesus replies: ‘If it
were an advantage, fathers would beget (children) by their mothers already
circumcised.’ (53.2). It may be that the same logic obtains in GTh 53 and 89:
[Premise 1: The ideal state is the new-born state]

Premise 2: People are born uncircumcised.
Conclusion: Therefore: don’t bother with physical circumcision.
Premise 1: The creator also made the outside (not just the inside).
[Premise 2: He made it perfectly well, ‘uncleansed’ by you.]
Conclusion: Therefore: do not bother cleansing (baptising?) the
outside.
If this is right, then there is a criticism of cleansing on the basis that it would
be an attempt to improve upon creation, most likely as a criticism of Christian
baptism: this would also fit well with the circumcision analogy in GTh 53. Like
circumcision, baptism cannot work because it is a vain attempt to improve
what God has made. But it must be admitted that this is speculative.
Notes
89.1 Why do you cleanse the outside of the cup? This is a rhetorical question
implying negative criticism, like Jesus’ other ‘Why?’ (ⲉⲧⲃⲉ ⲟⲩ) question in GTh
78. The identity of the ‘cup’ is not immediately straightforward, and therefore
the cleansing is not self-evident either. Seeing the cup as the ‘vessel’ of the
body, or the person more broadly, finds support in Matt. 23.25–26/ Lk. 11.39–
40.14
89.2 Do you not realise? GTh 89.2 reinforces the negativity of the rhetori-
cal question in the first half of the saying with this expression of incredulity,
common in Paul’s letters (Rom. 7.1; 1Cor. 6.2, 3, 9, 15, 16, 19; 9.24); but the word-
ing here in Thomas (ⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ⲣ̄ⲛⲟⲉⲓ ⲁⲛ ϫⲉ …) is closest to another passage—also
incredulous—loosely parallel to this saying in the Synoptics (Mk 7.18; Matt.
15.17).
14 Cf. the description of the body as a σκεῦος (LSJ, sense 3; Lampe 1236b, senses 3–6): cf. 2Cor.
4.7; 1Thess. 4.4.
530 logion 89
89.2 That he who made the inside also made the outside? Cf. Lk. 11.40. As
noted, although it might have been more natural for Jesus to say ‘that he who
made the outside also made the inside’, the syntax of the Coptic on the other
hand stresses the point that the maker made the outside. In contrast to the
‘great power and great wealth’ from which Adam came (GTh 85), the maker
here in 89.2 is grammatically masculine.
Logion 901
90.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓⲏ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ⲁⲙⲉⲓⲧⲛ̄ ϣⲁⲣⲟⲉⲓ⳿ ϫⲉ ⲟⲩⲭⲣⲏⲥⲧⲟⲥ ⲡⲉ ⲡⲁⲛⲁϩⲃ⳿ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲧⲁⲙⲛ̅ⲧ̅ϫⲟⲉⲓⲥ

ⲟⲩⲣⲙ̄ⲣⲁϣ ⲧⲉ 90.2 ⲁⲩⲱ ⲧⲉⲧⲛⲁϩⲉ ⲁⲩⲁⲛⲁ{ⲩ}ⲡⲁ⟨ⲩ⟩ⲥⲓⲥ ⲛⲏⲧⲛ̄
90.1 Jesus said, ‘Come to me, because my yoke is kind and my lordship is
mild, 90.2 and you will find rest for yourselves.’
Interpretation
This saying (cf. Matt. 11.28–30) ultimately goes back to Wisdom tradition, espe-
cially as expressed in Ben Sira.2 (1) Some see Wisdom themes as still strongly
in evidence;3 (2) DeConick emphasises Targumic connections,4 and (3) others
interpret the saying along Gnostic lines.5
In reverse order, (3) the Gnostic view has little to commend it; although
‘rest’ is a common enough theme in Nag Hammadi texts (and cf. the use of
the Matthean saying in PS 95), it is very widespread across a great variety
of literature.6 On the other hand, (2) DeConick’s Aramaic background is not
compelling either.7 Even (1) Wisdom, despite its popularity, is not necessarily
significant. Although some scholars see Wisdom as permeating Thomas, the
theme is not really so prominent.8 The epithet ‘wise’ is certainly positive in GTh
8 (cf. ‘clever’ in 39; ‘shrewd’ in 76), but the designation of Jesus by Matthew
as ‘wise philosopher’ in GTh 13.3 seems to be regarded as inadequate. As a
1 Bibliography for GTh 90: J.B. Bauer, ‘Das milde Joch und die Ruhe, Matth. 11,28–30’, TZ 17
(1961), 99–106; A.D. DeConick, ‘The Yoke Saying in the Gospel of Thomas 90’, VC 44 (1990),
280–294; C.N. Jefford, ‘Bearing the Yoke: A Tradition of Wisdom behind Thomas 90’, Forum 10
(1994), 109–128.
2 Lady Wisdom makes her appeal (cf. Sir. 24.19: ‘Come to me’); she has a yoke (cf. Sir. 51.26: ‘put
your necks under her yoke’); ‘and you will find rest’ (Sir. 6.28: ‘you will find rest from her’).
3 Jefford, ‘Bearing the Yoke’, 124; Zöckler, Jesu Lehren im Thomasevangelium, 129.
4 DeConick, ‘The Yoke Saying’.
5 Vielhauer, ‘ΑΝΑΠΑΥΣΙΣ’; Dehandschutter, ‘La parabole de la perle’, 252.
6 Dehandschutter provides a wealth of instances of ‘lordship’ in Nag Hammadi texts, but they
do not shed any particular light on GTh 90. Dehandschutter, ‘La parabole de la perle’, 252 and
n. 28.
8 Cf. e.g. Patterson, ‘Jesus Meets Plato’, 204: ‘a wisdom gospel that has been brushed over with
the animating notions of Middle Platonism’.
532 logion 90
result, one should perhaps not press Thomas’s Jesus into the mould of ‘wisdom
christology’. (See discussion of GTh 28 above.) It may be that Thomas is in any
case rather detached from Jewish wisdom literature such as Sirach, and so for
the author/ editor and his readers there was little association with wisdom.
Jefford’s statement that ‘it is the personification of Wisdom through whom
this saying is offered’ thus reads too much into GTh 90.9 What is clear, here,
however, is that there is an emphasis on the person of Jesus and his character,
and his ability to provide salvation in the shape of rest.
Notes
90.1 Come to me, because my yoke is kind and my lordship is mild. There is an
implicit christology here, especially in the reference to the ‘yoke’ (i.e. authority),
and ‘lordship’, unique in Thomas in identifying Jesus as Lord, or at least, master
(cf. the unclear references in GTh 73–74). This is an invitation not so much to
discipleship (‘come to me’, rather than ‘come after me’), as to a master/ servant
relationship.10 In this case, the master offers relief from troubles in exchange for
easy and generously apportioned tasks to be carried out by the subordinate. It
is not clear that there is a polemic here against other kinds of yokes which are
harsher.11
90.2 And you will find rest for yourselves. In addition to the Matthean
parallel, cf. Jer. 6.16 (‘and find rest for your souls’). Here, ‘rest’ has a soteriological
sense (esp. GTh 60; 86; cf. 50; 51),12 with a more specific connotation of relief
from the world, and possibly also of divine, immovable perfection (cf. the
divine marks of ‘motion and rest’ in GTh 50; and the ‘standing’ motif).13
9 Jefford, ‘Bearing the Yoke’, 124.

10 A.J. Dewey, ‘Keep Speaking until You Find …: Thomas and the School of Oral Mimesis’, in
R. Cameron & M.P. Miller, eds. Redescribing Christian Origins (Atlanta: Society of Biblical
Literature, 2004), 109–132 (116), is thus wrong to see 90.1 as suggesting ‘a wisdom teacher
orally inviting students to enter his tutorship’—it is lordship which is promised.
11 As might be the case in Matthew (cf. Jesus’ light burden and the heavy burdens of the
Scribes and the Pharisees; Matt. 11.30; 23.4). Hedrick, 157, may be correct that the yoke is
easy because of the ‘lax ritual obligations’, especially if one sees a link with GTh 89. In
Thomas, there could be a contrast with the oppressive burden of living in the world (e.g.
GTh 56, 86).
12 Hedrick, 157; Grosso, 237.
13 Valantasis, 171 highlights the aspect of ceasing from activity.
Logion 911
91.1 ⲡⲉϫⲁⲩ ⲛⲁϥ⳿ ϫⲉ ϫⲟⲟⲥ ⲉⲣⲟⲛ ϫⲉ ⲛ̄ⲧⲕ ⲛⲓⲙ⳿ ϣⲓⲛⲁ ⲉⲛⲁⲣ̄ⲡⲓⲥⲧⲉⲩⲉ ⲉⲣⲟⲕ⳿ 91.2
ⲡⲉϫⲁϥ ⲛⲁⲩ ϫⲉ ⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ⲣ̄ⲡⲓⲣⲁⲍⲉ ⲙ̄ⲡϩⲟ ⲛ̄ⲧⲡⲉ ⲙⲛ̄ ⲡⲕⲁϩ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲡⲉⲧⲛ̄ⲡⲉⲧⲛ̄ⲙ̄ⲧⲟ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ⳿
ⲙ̄ⲡⲉⲧⲛ̄ⲥⲟⲩⲱⲛϥ⳿ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲡⲉⲉⲓⲕⲁⲓⲣⲟⲥ ⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ⲥⲟⲟⲩⲛ ⲁⲛ ⲛ̄ⲣ̄ⲡⲓⲣⲁⲍⲉ ⲙ̄ⲙⲟϥ⳿
91.1 They said to him, ‘Tell us who you are, so that we might believe in you.’
91.2 He said to them, ‘You inquire into the appearance of the sky and the
earth, but the one who is in front of you you do not know, nor do you know
this season and inquire into it.’
Interpretation
This saying retains the ‘weather’ theme of the Synoptic parallels (Matt. 16.2–3,
esp. 3b; Lk. 12.54–56, esp. 56), enabling the play on καιρός in the sense both
of seasonal time (e.g. ‘the season for figs’, Mk 11.13) and time of salvation.2
The criticism is of those who concern themselves with the former, but are not
interested in the latter, which is of far greater significance. The indictment is
both of the listeners’ ignorance of Jesus and the ‘moment of decision-making’,3
but also of their method for discovering what is of supreme importance.4
Notes
91.1 They said to him. One might assume that the question here is posed by
the disciples, but there has not been any reference either to a named disciple
or to the group since GTh 72. A number of scholars emphasise the absence of
specification.5 In Matthew, Jesus is asked by the Pharisees and the Sadducees;
in Luke there is no question (and Jesus addresses the crowd).
2 Thomas is rather closer to Lk. 12.56 than to Matthew.
3 Plisch, 205.
4 Valantasis, 172.
5 E.g. Valantasis, 171; Hedrick, 158.
534 logion 91
91.1 Tell us who you are, so that we might believe in you. Cf. Jn 8.25 (‘Who
are you?’) and Jn 6.30 (‘… so that we may see and believe in you’).6 There is
a more pronounced christological emphasis in GTh 91.1 than in the Synoptic
parallels.7
91.2 He said to them, ‘You inquire into the appearance of the sky and
the earth.’ Rather than a merismus (meaning ‘everything’) the reference in
sky and earth is to the weather and seasons.8 The Synoptic parallel refers
to forecasting the weather on the basis of what is going on in the present:
clouds portend rain, a southerly wind anticipates hot weather (Luke 12.54–55),
and in the old proverbial paraphrase of Matt. 16.2–3: ‘Red sky at night, shep-
herds’ delight; red sky in the morning, shepherds’ warning’. Similarly, here in
Thomas, Jesus goes on to criticise a focus on such common wisdom as of purely
secondary, worldly importance by comparison with what Jesus’ audience has
missed.
91.2 But the one who is in front of you. There is ambiguity in the Coptic,
which could read ‘but that (thing) which is in front of you’, referring to an
impersonal element.9 GTh 5 has the same ambiguity in Coptic, and the Greek
is missing in the key place. GTh 52.2, however, has a similar statement, with a
more clearly personal meaning, referring to Jesus himself (‘you have ignored
the living one in front of you’).
91.2 You do not know … nor do you know. Or, perhaps better in this con-
text, ‘recognize’. (‘Know’ has been retained in the translation to highlight the
connections with other places in Thomas.) It is perhaps implied in Jesus’ reply
that preferable to ‘faith’ or ‘believing’ is inquiry leading to knowledge, in a pos-
sible polemic against assigning great importance to faith, as was common in
early Christianity.10 ‘Recognizing’, or ‘knowing’ (ⲥⲟⲟⲩⲛ) is a familiar theme from
Thomas already (see Introduction, §10.1–2 above). Here it is not reflexive as in
GTh 3 but has the objects ‘what is before you’ and ‘this season’.
91.2 This season. Jesus elsewhere insists on the time being limited for recog-
nition of Jesus: compare GTh 59, where there is also reference to looking out
6 Nordsieck, 326.
7 Grosso, 238.
8 Pace Plisch, 205.
9 For reference to Jesus, see Plisch, 205; Pokorný, 134, and perhaps Hedrick, 158. For the
impersonal sense, see Nordsieck, 325. Grant & Freedman, 185, specify the sense of ‘self-
knowledge’.
10 Thus Valantasis, 171. The πιστ- word group is no less common in the Apostolic Fathers (e.g.
35× in 1Clem.; 44 × in Ignatius; 10 × in Polycarp, Phil.; 8× in 2Clem.; 20× in Barn.) than in
the NT.
logion 91 535
for ‘the living one’ during one’s own lifetime; similarly GTh 38 says the time for
hearing Jesus’ words is temporary: cf. also what follows in GTh 92.2.
91.2 And inquire into it. Inquiry (ⲣ̄ⲡⲓⲣⲁⲍⲉ) appears only here in Thomas,
though is probably very similar to the motif of ‘seeking’ which is frequent and
highly commended (GTh 2; 76; 92; 94; cf. ‘asking’ in GTh 4), and leads to the
promise of finding life. In this respect, the reference to inquiry at the end
of this saying leads naturally into the next, with its reference to seeking and
investigating.
Logion 921
92.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ϣⲓⲛⲉ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲧⲉⲧⲛⲁϭⲓⲛⲉ 92.2 ⲁⲗⲗⲁ ⲛⲉⲧⲁⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ϫⲛⲟⲩⲉⲓ ⲉⲣⲟⲟⲩ
ⲛ̄ⲛⲓϩⲟⲟⲩ ⲉⲙ̄ⲡⲓϫⲟⲟⲩ ⲛⲏⲧⲛ̄ ⲙ̄ⲫⲟⲟⲩ ⲉⲧⲙ̄ⲙⲁⲩ ⲧⲉⲛⲟⲩ ⲉϩⲛⲁⲓ̈ ⲉϫⲟⲟⲩ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ϣⲓⲛⲉ
ⲁⲛ⳿ ⲛ̄ⲥⲱⲟⲩ
92.1 Jesus said, ‘Seek and you shall find. 92.2 But the things about which you
asked me when I did not then tell you, I now desire to say. But you do not seek
them.’
Interpretation
This saying begins a block of material which appears together in Matthew and
(partially) in Luke: GTh 92/ Matt. 7.7/ Lk. 11.9; GTh 93/ Matt. 7.6; GTh 94/ Matt.
7.8/ Lk. 11.10.2 Jesus orders the audience to seek the truth in the interpretation
of his words,3 and intensifies the command with a rebuke of the audience’s
lack of interest in the present. There is some connection with GTh 38, although
there are also differences. GTh 92 stresses a past when the disciples asked but
Jesus did not answer, in contrast to the present, in which Jesus is now willing to
answer but the audience is no longer interested.4 Like 92, GTh 38 emphasises
a past in which the disciples inquired (‘many times you have desired to hear
these words …’) but also warns of a future when it will be too late (‘days are
coming when you will seek after me but will not find me’). The relationship
between the narrative audience and the readers of Thomas is rather unclear,
however.
1 Bibliography for GTh 92: E. Peretto, ‘Loghia del Signore e Vangelo di Tommaso’, Rivista biblica
24 (1976), 13–56 (39–42); Attridge, ‘ “Seeking” and “Asking” in Q, Thomas, and John’, 295–302;
Watson, Gospel Writing, 356–370.
2 For other examples of such clusters, and the implications, see Gathercole, Composition, 131.
3 Plisch, 207; Pokorný, 135.
4 Watson, Gospel Writing, 361: ‘Jesus withheld his clearest revelations from his disciples until
the very end of his life.’
logion 92 537
Notes
92.1 Seek and you shall find. Like Matt. 7.7 and Lk. 11.9, this statement appears
in the form of an imperative with an attached promise (cf. GTh 94/ Matt. 7.8/
Lk. 11.10, on which see below).5 This recalls the programmatic statement in GTh
2 about the need to do this (cf. also seeking the living one in GTh 59, and the
treasure in GTh 76). This continues the theme of GTh 91: inquiry (‘seek’) leads
to knowledge (‘you shall find’). As Watson notes, this new setting yields a very
different sense from the earlier context of ‘seeking’ as prayer.6
92.2 But the things about which you asked me. The ‘things’ here are pre-
sumably the substance of Jesus’ saving revelation.
92.2 When I did not then tell you, I now desire to say. This also harks back
to GTh 91 and understanding the present season. It looks back to a period of
Jesus’ ministry when he did not reveal the truth; as such, it may be describing
the public ministry of Jesus as a time of ignorance—one impulse for this might
be the various instances in the Synoptic Gospels when Jesus refuses to answer
questions.7 Or again, a possible parallel is John 16.25 with its contrast between
a period of Jesus speaking figuratively and a future time when he will speak
openly. The present epoch, ‘this season’ in GTh 91, is a time of revelation and
the opportunity to find salvation. There will come another time in the future,
however, when it will be too late (after death, in GTh 59; later in the audience’s
experience in GTh 38).
92.2 But you do not seek them. Despite the present season of revelation, at
least some of the addressees are, as in the previous saying, wilfully ignorant.
Compare also Jesus’ incredulity in GTh 113: ‘the kingdom of the Father is spread
out upon the earth, and people do not see it.’
5 For discussion of parallels, see further Tuckett, Gospel of Mary, 157 n. 72.
6 Watson, Gospel Writing, 361.
7 Mk 11.33 (parr. Matt. 21.27/ Lk. 20.8) explicitly refers to Jesus’ refusal to answer a question, that
of the origin of his authority; in Lk. 23.9, Herod asks numerous questions, which Jesus refuses
to answer; Jesus makes no reply to Pilate and the chief priests in Mk 15.5; he is silent in the
face of the High Priest’s charge: Mk 14.61/ Matt. 26.63.
Logion 931
93.1 ⲙ̄ⲡⲣ̄ϯ ⲡⲉⲧⲟⲩⲁⲁⲃ ⲛ̄ⲛⲟⲩϩⲟⲟⲣ⳿ ϫⲉⲕⲁⲥ ⲛⲟⲩⲛⲟϫⲟⲩ ⲉⲧⲕⲟⲡⲣⲓⲁ 93.2 ⲙ̄ⲡⲣ̄ⲛⲟⲩϫⲉ

ⲛⲙ̄ⲙⲁⲣⲅⲁⲣⲓⲧⲏ̣[ⲥ ⲛ̄]ⲛⲉϣⲁⲩ ϣⲓⲛⲁ ϫⲉ ⲛⲟⲩⲁⲁ⟨ⲩ⟩⳿ ⲛ̣̄ⲗ̣ⲁ[…]
93.1 ‘Do not give what is holy to dogs, lest they cast them into the dung. 93.2
Do not cast pearls [to] pigs, lest they make them … .’
Textual Comment
It is not necessary to restore ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ at the beginning (cf. e.g. GTh 27; 101).2 The
penultimate word has a mistaken singular suffix (ⲛⲟⲩⲁⲁϥ⳿). Suggestions for the
final word have included ⲛ̣̄ⲗ̣ⲁ[ⲁⲩ] (‘make them nothing’), ⲛ̣̄ⲗ̣ⲁ[ϫⲧⲉ] (‘make them
into mud’), ⲛ̣̄ⲗ̣ⲁ[ⲕϩ] and ⲛ̣̄ⲗ̣ⲁ[ⲕⲙ̄] (‘break them into pieces’).3 In Matthew, the
danger is ‘lest they trample them under their feet’, but it is difficult to make this
fit the Coptic text.
Interpretation
This saying (cf. Matt. 7.6) appears in a cluster of material found together in
Matthew (see above on GTh 92). It is probably easier simply to see both instruc-
tions as impossibilia, or ridiculous scenarios which are to be avoided. When
it comes to the meaning, the explanations in the reception of this enigmatic
saying are not much help as they are very diverse.4 In the Didache, ‘what is
holy’ is the Eucharist, from which the unworthy are to be excluded (Did. 9.5).
Among the Naassenes, the pearls are the elect souls who have been cast down
1 Bibliography for GTh 93: H. von Lips, ‘Schweine füttert man, Hunde nicht—ein Versuch,
das Rätsel von Mt 7,6 zu lösen’, ZNW 79 (1988), 165–186; S. Schreiber, ‘Cavete Canes! Zur
wachsenden Ausgrenzungsvalenz einer neutestamentlichen Metapher’, BZ 45 (2001), 170–192
(180–187); U.-K. Plisch, ‘ “Perlen vor die Säue”—Mt 7,6 im Licht von EvThom 93’, ZAC 13 (2009),
55–61.
2 Plisch, 207–208; pace Layton & Lambdin, ‘The Gospel according to Thomas’, Nag Hammadi
Codex II,2–7: Volume One, 86.
3 See Layton & Lambdin, ‘The Gospel according to Thomas’, Nag Hammadi Codex II,2–7: Volume
One, 86.
4 See further DeConick, 264, on the later parallels in Recognitions.
logion 93 539
into this world, and the work of the dogs and pigs is intercourse between man
and woman (Hippolytus, Ref. 5.8.33). In an allusion in the Gospel of Philip, this
saying is applied to the perfect instruction which only the children are allowed
to receive, whereas people likened to dogs and pigs only receive the spiritual
equivalent of bones and acorns (Gos. Phil. 80,23–81,14). Tertullian uses the apho-
rism to restrict admission to baptism (Bapt. 18.1, linking the saying with 1 Tim.
5.22). According to Epiphanius, the Basilideans took the saying to mean that
one should not confess before persecutors (Pan. 24.4–5).5 Others saw the saying
as justifying keeping mysteries from those not initiated (the Elchasaites in Hip-
polytus, Ref. 9.17.1; cf. Tertullian, Praescr. 26). Clement evinces a certain worry
about porcine readers of his work when he uses the sayings (Strom. 1.12.55.3–
4), and also says that God does not reveal himself without a degree of caution
(Strom. 2.2.7.4). Origen applies it to those in the church who neither leave like
unbelievers nor stay faithful as Christians (Hom. in Jos. 21.2). Also of possible
relevance is 2Peter 2.22, where false teachers are likened to dogs and pigs.6
Among modern commentators, some see GTh 93 as a ‘mission rule’, exhort-
ing disciples not to waste Jesus’ words on the unworthy,7 or, more moderately,
‘an admonition to proclaim the gospel in a careful way that avoids the possi-
bility of misunderstanding or ridicule.’8 DeConick, by contrast, sees it in con-
nection with GTh 92.2 (‘you asked me when I did not then tell you’), explaining
why Jesus did not answer the disciples’ questions in the past.9 Others see a con-
nection with 92.1, and thus in a sense which restricts the seeking and finding to
the worthy.10 A connection with GTh 92 is helpful. Obviously to advocate with-
holding the words of Jesus from those outside tout simple is out of the question,
or no-one could ever join the movement at all. A qualification, however, that
the words of Jesus should not be entrusted to outsiders until they display their
readiness (and worthiness) is both more realistic, and fits (to some extent) the
scenario in GTh 92.11
5 See also F. Williams’ valuable notes in his translation: The Panarion of Epiphanius of
Salamis (NHMS 63; Leiden: Brill, 22008), 79 nn. 20–21.
6 Von Lips, ‘Schweine füttert man’, 168, 172.
7 Plisch, 209.
8 Pokorný, 136.
9 DeConick, 264.
10 Valantasis, 175; Nordsieck, 331.
11 It only partially fits GTh 92, because it seems there that the audience is still not ready. Nor
is the transition from 92–93 seamless, since GTh 91–92 presuppose ignorant addressees,
whereas GTh 93 does not.
540 logion 93
Notes
93.1 Do not give what is holy to dogs, lest they cast them into the dung. Schol-
ars have disagreed over the realism of this aphorism. Plisch has maintained
a real life setting, and an everyday rule of piety applicable to the situation of
the bones of sacrificed meat ending up on the streets, to be eaten by dogs.12
Hedrick considers it unrealistic however, objecting that ‘dogs do not throw
things on dung piles’.13 The final clause in 93.1 probably does make Plisch’s view
difficult, and the instruction ‘do not give’ probably suggests something more
intentional than allowing sacrificial meat to fall into the hands of the dogs. It
is more straightforward to see the saying in line with 93.2 (which all agree is
unrealistic) as a ridiculous scenario.
93.2 Do not cast pearls to pigs, lest they make them … An unquestionably
unrealistic scenario, in synonymous parallelism with 93.1.
12 Plisch, ‘Perlen vor die Säue’, 58: ‘Die Regel ist also eine ganz praktische Vorschrift für den
religiösen Alltag.’ Cf. also Plisch, 208–209.
13 Hedrick, 161.
Logion 941
94.1 [ⲡⲉϫ]ⲉ̣ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ⲡⲉⲧϣⲓⲛⲉ ϥⲛⲁϭⲓⲛⲉ 94.2 [ⲡⲉⲧⲧⲱϩⲙ̄ ⲉ]ϩ̣ⲟⲩⲛ ⲥⲉⲛⲁⲟⲩⲱⲛ ⲛⲁϥ⳿
94.1 Jesus [sai]d, ‘He who seeks will find. 94.2 To him [who knocks], it will be
opened.’
Interpretation
This saying (cf. Matt. 7.8; Lk. 11.10) appears in a cluster of material found
together in Matthew (see above on GTh 92). It follows on from GTh 92 in the
same way as Matt 7.8 and Luke 11.10 follow on from an imperatival form of the
‘seek and ye shall find’ saying.2 For further detail on ‘seeking-finding’ see on
GTh 92 above.
These images again represent the inquiry-knowledge schema mentioned in
GTh 91 and 92. Thomas differs in an important way from the Matthean and
Lukan versions of the saying, where the ‘seek-ask-knock’ trio is an exhortation
to prayer: the references to seeking and knocking are sandwiched between a
reference to asking, and the illustration in which Jesus refers to human fathers
not giving sons the opposite of what they asked and the theological point that
God will give to those who ask of him. In Luke the point is even clearer, with this
section having followed on from the Lord’s prayer. Thomas has no reference to
asking and being given either at the beginning or at the end, which may reflect
Thomas’s attitude to prayer (see above on GTh 14).3 In Thomas the saying is
about the labour of interpretation which leads to knowledge. The terminology
of seeking harks back to GTh 2, which thematises seeking as the right approach
to this book.
1 Bibliography for GTh 94: Attridge, ‘ “Seeking” and “Asking” in Q, Thomas, and John’, 295–302;
Watson, Gospel Writing, 356–370.
2 GTh 94 differs from GTh 92 in being formed with ‘articulated attributive clause constructions’
(the article with a relative clause) rather than imperatives. See Layton, Coptic Grammar,
332–333 (§411).
3 Plisch, 210; Pokorný, 135.
542 logion 94
Notes
He who seeks will find. Cf. e.g. Gos. Mary 8,20–21. The theme of seeking and
finding is a central one in Thomas (esp. GTh 2; 76; 92; 107; cf. differently 97).
To him who knocks, it will be opened. This is a further metaphorical ampli-
fication of the previous point, using the image of knocking at a door (cf. the
exclusion of those at the door in GTh 75).4
4 In view of the parallelism with GTh 94.1, 94.2 is not to be understood literally (in terms of
hospitality in a mission situation), as Plisch, 210, suggests is possible.
Logion 951
95.1 [ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ] ⲉϣⲱⲡⲉ ⲟⲩⲛ̄ⲧⲏⲧⲛ̄ ϩⲟⲙⲧ⳿ ⲙ̄ⲡⲣ̄ϯ ⲉⲧⲙⲏⲥⲉ 95.2 ⲁⲗⲗⲁ ϯ̣ [ⲙ̄ⲙⲟϥ]
ⲙ̣̄ⲡ̣ⲉⲧ̣[ⲉ]ⲧⲛⲁϫⲓⲧ⟨ϥ̄⟩ ⲁⲛ ⲛ̄ⲧⲟⲟⲧϥ⳿
95.1 [ Jesus said,] ‘If you have money, do not lend it at interest; 95.2 rather,
give [it] to one from whom you will not receive it back.’
Interpretation
This saying begins with reiterating the biblical2 and early Christian3 prohibi-
tion of taking interest on a loan; 95.2 then intensifies it with the command
to lend without expecting the money back at all (Lk. 6.30–35).4 The assump-
tion here is, as Grosso remarks, that in Thomas’s asceticism, renunciation of
the material goods is a condition for following Jesus.5 One might soften this
slightly to saying that the true disciple’s indifference to money means that it
can be disposed of freely. Almsgiving is not rejected as in GTh 14, but renamed
and redefined.6
Notes
95.1 If you have money. The author regards it as imaginable that a disciple
may have surplus money, though one cannot generalize about the Thomas
movement on this basis.
2 Exod. 22.24/25; Lev. 25.35–37; cf. Neh 5.7, 10; Ps. 15.5; Ezek 18.8, 13, 17; 22.12. Note the restriction,
rather than blanket prohibition, in Deut. 23.19–20.
3 The earliest condemnation of usury in early Christianity is usually taken to be the vision of
usurers in hell in Apoc. Petr. 31 Co/ 10 Eth. See J.K. Elliott, The Apocryphal New Testament
(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993), 606, for translations of the parallel versions. See
further R.P. Maloney, ‘The Teaching of the Fathers on Usury: An Historical Study on the
Development of Christian Thinking’, VC 27 (1973), 241–265; L.J. Swift, ‘Usury’, in E. Ferguson ed.
Encyclopedia of Early Christianity (New York: Garland Publishing Company, 1997), 1150–1151.
4 Cf. Did. 1.5; Clement, Strom. 2.18.84.4; Tertullian, Marc. 4.17.
5 Grosso, 242.
6 Valantasis, 175.
544 logion 95
95.1 Do not lend it at interest. Lending at interest is also mentioned again in

GTh 109, in one of Thomas’s ‘immoral’ parables (cf. discussion of GTh 98 below).
On Thomas’s reasoning, see the next comment.
95.2 Rather, give it to one from whom you will not receive it back. The rea-
son for the prohibition of usury in GTh 95.1, then, is not merely the broader
opposition to engagement in business in Thomas (cf. GTh 64), or the prac-
tical risk involved in lending money,7 or the philosophical critique that it is
unnatural for money to breed money.8 The OT prohibitions are unlikely to be of
interest to Thomas (cf. GTh 52). Nor perhaps is it only the patristic critique that
usury contradicts the principle of Christian love which entails that one should
give without expecting even repayment, let alone interest, though this may be
part of Thomas’s concern (cf. GTh 25).9 Perhaps alongside the altruistic ele-
ment, what is equally prominent is that Thomas encourages a lack of concern
with money. Just as diet and clothes are clearly adiaphora—‘eat whatever is set
before you’ (GTh 14), and ‘do not be concerned about what you will wear’ (GTh
36)—so the same carefree approach to money appears here: a similar attitude
is displayed in GTh 100.2 with its injunction to give to Caesar what is Caesar’s.
7 Plato, Laws 742C.

8 Philo, Virt. 14.82–83, following Aristotle, Pol. 1258B, who calls it μάλιστα παρὰ φύσιν.
9 Swift, ‘Usury’, 1150: ‘Although the New Testament has virtually nothing to say on the subject
… the church fathers inveighed against usury on the basis of Old Testament prohibitions …
and the conviction that the practice is inherently opposed to the demands of Christian love.’
Logion 961
96.1 ⲡ̣[ⲉϫⲉ] ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ⲧⲙ̅ⲛ̅ⲧⲉⲣⲟ ⲙ̄ⲡⲉⲓⲱⲧ⳿ ⲉⲥⲧⲛ̄ⲧⲱ[ⲛ ⲁⲩ]ⲥϩⲓⲙⲉ 96.2 ⲁⲥϫⲓ ⲛ̄ⲟⲩⲕⲟⲩⲉⲓ
ⲛ̄ⲥⲁⲉⲓⲣ [ⲁⲥϩ]ⲟ̣ⲡϥ⳿ ϩⲛ̄ ⲟⲩϣⲱⲧⲉ ⲁⲥⲁⲁϥ ⲛ̄ϩⲛ̄ⲛⲟ[ϭ ⲛ̄]ⲛⲟⲉⲓⲕ⳿ 96.3 ⲡⲉⲧⲉⲩⲙ̄ ⲙⲁⲁϫⲉ
ⲙ̄ⲙⲟϥ ⲙⲁ[ⲣⲉ]ϥ̣ⲥⲱⲧⲙ̄⳿
96.1 Jesus s[aid], ‘The kingdom of the Father is lik[e a] woman. 96.2 She took
a little leaven, [h]id it in some dough, and made it into lar[ge] loaves. 96.3
He who has ears, le[t] him hear.’
Interpretation
Thomas here moves from Sermon on the Mount/Plain material (in GTh 92–95)
to a trio of parables (GTh 96–98), all of which are concerned with ‘the kingdom
of the Father’. This first, the parable of the Leaven (cf. Matt. 13.33/ Lk. 13.20–21),
like the second in GTh 97, has a female protagonist. It is Thomas’s tenth parable
(see comment above on GTh 8). GTh 96 is interpreted in two principal ways.
The first interpretation focuses upon the woman as model of action: as
Doran notes, Thomas has the woman as the subject of all three verbs (‘She took
…, hid …, and made …’).2 King says of the woman, along with the attackers in
GTh 35 and 98: ‘They are all prepared, they know what to do, and this assures
them of success.’3 Along different lines, Heldermann thinks that a Manichaean
redactor has edited GTh 96–98 en bloc:4 as a result GTh 96 is about a catechu-
men (likened to Martha), over against the elect (like Mary) in GTh 97.5 Hearon
and Wire also draw attention to the prominent role of the woman.6 For some,
1 Bibliography for GTh 96: Doran, ‘A Complex of Parables’, 347–352; Fleddermann, ‘The Mus-
tard Seed and the Leaven’, 216–236; J. Helderman, ‘Manichäische Züge im Thomasevangelium’,
in S. Emmel, et al., eds. Ägypten und Nubien in spätantiker und christlicher Zeit: Akten des 6.
Internationalen Koptologenkongresses, Münster, 20.–26. Juli 1996 (Wiesbaden: Reichert, 1999),
II.488–493; Liebenberg, Language of the Kingdom, 328–335; Hearon & Wire, ‘“Women’s Work
in the Realm of God” ’, 136–157.
2 Doran, ‘Complex of Parables’, 348.
4 Helderman, ‘Manichäische Züge’, 493.
6 Hearon & Wire, 137–138, noting also that calling this saying the ‘parable of the Leaven’
obscures this point.
546 logion 96
this prominence also reflects the prominent position of women in the Thomas
community.7 Doran emphasises the striving involved in the woman’s action,
a point at which Grant & Freedman see a rather Pelagian attitude in such an
emphasis.8 Doran sees Thomas as striking a balance between divine and human
agency, however: ‘While 96 and 98 stress the action of the individual, 97 shows
that the individual on her/his own cannot survive.’9
Secondly, others emphasise as more prominent the point that the kingdom
begins small and hidden, but grows into something disproportionately large.10
The first and second views are not mutually exclusive: King can also say that
one point is that ‘to belong to the kingdom means to have access to hidden, but
effective power’,11 and Doran can also note that the ‘unseen action of the leaven
is juxtaposed to the mysterious advent of God’s reign.’12
To evaluate these two emphases, it seems unlikely that the emphasis lies on
the woman’s behaviour. The emphasis is not on ‘the practical know-how of the
good baker’;13 any quite mediocre baker or housewife of the time would have
known to do this much. Although Thomas has the woman as the subject three
times, this is only one occasion more than the Synoptic parallels. Nor are her
actions particularly dramatic or remarkable, as those of the figures in GTh 35
and 98 are. It is also hard to see how a quotidian domestic image would reflect
the gender-inclusivity of the Thomas community.
Much more likely to be important is the contrast between small and large
(cf. GTh 8; 20; 107). Thomas refers to the amount of yeast as ‘small’ and the
loaves as ‘large’, neither of which epithets appears in the Synoptic parallels.14
Hence the primary theme is similar to that of the parable of the Mustard Seed,
namely the apparently inconspicuous character of the kingdom in the present,
whose greatness will nevertheless eventually be clearly apparent.15 There may
be a sense that the leaven is the light or image within—which is not small, but
7 Valantasis, 176–177; Grosso, 243.

8 Doran, ‘Complex of Parables’ 351–352; Grant & Freedman, 187.
10 Nordsieck, 339; Pokorný, 138; Hedrick, 165.
12 Doran, ‘Complex of Parables’, 351–352.
13 Pace Doran, ‘Complex of Parables’, 348.
14 Higgins, ‘Non-Gnostic Sayings in the Gospel of Thomas’, 301; Fleddermann, ‘The Mustard
Seed and the Leaven’, 230; Petersen, ‘Jülicher’, 193.
15 Nordsieck, 339; Hedrick, 165. In dealing with the Matthean version, Davies and Allison
mention various possibilities, most of which in some degree emphasize the contrast
between the small leaven and the large loaves (Matthew, II.422).
logion 96 547
is invisible and perhaps insignificant from the world’s point of view.16 If this is
the case, there is similarity with the views of both the Naassenes, for whom the
yeast is interpreted in conjunction with Luke 17.21 as the kingdom within,17 and
Clement (and probably Theodotus), for whom the leaven is (at least in part) ‘the
elect seed’.18 In the Valentinian interpretation criticised by Irenaeus the woman
is Sophia, the yeast is Christ and the three loaves are the pneumatics, psychics
and hylics;19 this is an interpretation specifically of the Matthean version and
is not relevant here.20
Notes
96.1 The kingdom of the Father is like a woman. On the kingdom in Thomas,
see Introduction, §10.1 above. For the ‘kingdom of the Father’, cf. GTh 57; 76;
97–98; 113 (cf. 99). There is perhaps a deliberate jolt here in the clash of gen-
ders, which may be intended to signal that the kingdom is to be understood in
paradoxical terms. The syntax here in Thomas differs slightly from the Synop-
tics’ version in likening the kingdom to the woman, rather than (as in Matthew
and Luke) to the leaven. This enables GTh 96 and 97 to function as a pair of
parables where a female character is the protagonist (with GTh 98 as rather
different).
96.2 She took a little leaven, hid it in some dough, and made it into large
loaves. In contrast to the paradox just noted, we are introduced to a very stan-
dard activity of a woman at the time of Thomas. For ‘little leaven’, cf. 1 Cor. 5.6.
The leaven is positive here, in contrast to its usually negative use in antiquity
(cf. Ignatius, Magn. 10.2).
16 It is unlikely to be a reference to the Thomas community, as Valantasis argues: ‘this

similitude posits a very positive and natural growth from a small, hidden group of people,
to a large body capable of providing others with sustenance’ (176). This reference to
sustenance is to read the parable too literally.
17 Hippolytus, Ref. 5.8.8.
18 Clement, Exc. Theod. 1.1.3.
19 Irenaeus, AH 1.8.3: ‘For they teach that the woman represented Sophia; the three measures
of meal, the three kinds of men—spiritual, animal, and material; while they say that the
leaven denoted the saviour himself.’
20 Contra W.R. Schoedel, ‘Gleichnisse in Thomasevangelium’, in W. Harnisch, ed. Gleich-
nisse Jesu. Positionen der Auslegung von Adolf Jülicher bis zur Formgeschichte (Wege der
Forschung; Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 1982), 369–389 (383–384),
who ascribes significance to this parallel.
548 logion 96
96.3 He who has ears, let him hear. This is the sixth, and final usage of this
formula in Thomas. For discussion, see note on GTh 8. Here it perhaps signals
the need to interpret this parable in an allegorical sense.
Logion 971
97.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ⲧⲙⲛ̄ⲧⲉⲣⲟ ⲙ̄ⲡⲉ̣[ⲓⲱⲧ ⲉ]ⲥ̣ⲧⲛ̄ⲧⲱⲛ ⲁⲩⲥϩⲓⲙⲉ ⲉⲥϥⲓ ϩⲁ ⲟⲩϭⲗ̄[ⲙⲉⲉⲓ]

ⲉϥ⳿ⲙⲉϩ ⲛ̄ⲛⲟⲉⲓⲧ⳿ 97.2 ⲉⲥⲙⲟⲟϣⲉ ϩ[ⲓ ⲧⲉ]ϩⲓⲏ⳿ ⲉⲥⲟⲩⲏⲟⲩ ⲁⲡⲙⲁⲁϫⲉ ⲙ̄ⲡϭⲗ̄ⲙ̣[ⲉ]ⲉ̣ⲓ̣
ⲟⲩⲱϭⲡ⳿ ⲁⲡⲛⲟⲉⲓⲧ⳿ ϣⲟⲟⲩ ⲛ̄ⲥⲱⲥ̣ [ϩ]ⲓ̣ ⲧⲉϩⲓⲏ 97.3 ⲛⲉⲥⲥⲟⲟⲩⲛ ⲁⲛ ⲡⲉ ⲛⲉ ⲙ̄ⲡⲉⲥⲉⲓⲙⲉ ⲉϩⲓ-
ⲥⲉ 97.4 ⲛ̄ⲧⲁⲣⲉⲥⲡⲱϩ ⲉϩⲟⲩⲛ ⲉⲡⲉⲥⲏⲉⲓ ⲁⲥⲕⲁ ⲡϭⲗ̄ⲙⲉⲉⲓ ⲁⲡⲉⲥⲏⲧ⳿ ⲁⲥϩⲉ ⲉⲣⲟϥ ⲉϥ⳿ϣⲟⲉⲓⲧ⳿
97.1 Jesus said, ‘The kingdom of the Fa[ther] is like a woman who was
carrying a jar full of meal. 97.2 While she was away on a long journey, the
handle of the jar broke and the meal emptied out behind her on the road.
97.3 She did not realise it. She did not feel tired. 97.4 When she reached her
house, she put the jar down and found it empty.’
Interpretation
The parable, which is Thomas’s eleventh (see comment above on GTh 8), has
no Synoptic parallels,2 but like its predecessor in GTh 96, it has a female pro-
tagonist. Its peculiarity has ensured that it has attracted a number of different
lines of interpretation.3
1 Bibliography for GTh 97: R. Merkelbach, ‘Logion 97 des Thomasevangeliums’, BASP 22 (1985),
227–230; B.B. Scott, ‘The Empty Jar’, Forum 3 (1987), 77–80; Doran, ‘Complex of Parables’,
350–352; J. Helderman, ‘Log 97 vom manichäischen Gesichtspunkt ausgesehen’, in W. Beltz,
ed. Der Gottesspruch in der koptischen Literatur: Hans-Martin Schenke zum 65. Geburtstag
(Halle: Druckerei der Martin-Luther-Universität, 1994), 149–161; J. Helderman, ‘Manichäische
Züge im Thomasevangelium’, in S. Emmel, et al. eds. Ägypten und Nubien in spätantiker und
christlicher Zeit: Akten des 6. Internationales Koptologenkongresses, Münster, 20.–26. Juli (Wies-
baden: Reichert, 1999), II.483–494 (n.b. in the opening footnote of Helderman, ‘Manichäische
Züge’, he disowns the 1994 essay, ‘Log 97’, as mis-edited); Nagel, ‘Das Gleichnis vom zerbroch-
enen Krug’, 229–256; K. Blessing, ‘The Woman Carrying the Jar of Meal’, in Beavis, ed. The
Lost Coin: Parables of Women, Work and Wisdom, 158–173; U.-K. Plisch, ‘Die Frau, der Krug
und das Mehl. Zur ursprüngliche Bedeutung von EvThom 97’, in L. Painchaud & P.-H. Poirier,
eds. Coptica—Gnostica—Manichaica. Mélanges offerts à Wolf-Peter Funk (BCNH 7; Louvain:
Peeters, 2006), 747–760; S. Petersen, ‘Die Frau auf dem Weg (Vom Mehlkrug)—EvThom 97’, in
Zimmermann, ed. Kompendium der Gleichnisse Jesu, 916–920.
2 It has nevertheless attracted some advocates at least tentatively in favour of its authenticity
(Doran, ‘Complex of Parables’, 351; Higgins, ‘Non-Gnostic Sayings’, 303–305; Stead, ‘Some
Reflections’, 392–393).
3 See the survey of some views in Merkelbach, ‘Logion 97’, 227–228; Helderman, ‘Manichäische
550 logion 97
(1) The most common interpretation sees the parable as focused upon the
woman’s ignorance or emptiness, with the parable therefore being a warning
of the danger of loss, or a more straightforward description of how ignorance
leads to emptiness.4 One cannot help feeling, however, that if this were correct,
the parable would have been better introduced, ‘The kingdom of the Father is
not like …’.5
(2) Scott sees a parallel with 1Kings 17.12 and the incident with Elijah and the
widow, in which she is provided with an everlastingly full jar of meal. In contrast
to 1Kings, however: ‘There is no prophet to come to the widow’s aid; nor will her
jar be filled. The kingdom is not identified with divine intervention but divine
emptiness. Like the Leaven, this parable attacks and subverts the myth of the
appearance of God.’6 This seems, however, like a rather post-modern, “death
of God” interpretation. The problem is that this view of the kingdom scarcely
fits with the understanding of the kingdom elsewhere in Thomas. DeConick,
in a similar manner, sees this parable as reflecting that the kingdom had not
come as expected, and thus the parable is ‘the story of expectations dashed’.7
This is scarcely compatible with Thomas’s positive depiction of the kingdom
elsewhere, however.
(3) Doran takes the view that this parable must be interpreted in close asso-
ciation with GTh 96 and 98.8 These adjacent parables emphasize the agency
of individuals, whereas GTh 97 stands in tension with them, emphasizing our
lack of control over our destinies:9 the woman is not negligent, but is simply
ill-fated.10 This sounds odd as a parable of the kingdom, however.
Züge’, 487–488; Nagel, ‘Gleichnis vom zerbrochenen Krug’; Plisch, ‘Die Frau, der Krug und
das Mehl’.
4 Grant & Freedman, 187; Bruce, Jesus and Christian Origins, 148; Lindemann, ‘Gleich-
nisinterpretation’, 232; King, ‘Kingdom’, 56–57; Valantasis, 178–179; Nordsieck, 340–341;
Hedrick, 166; an option suggested by Higgins, ‘Non-Gnostic Sayings’, 304. L. Cerfaux (with
G. Garitte), ‘Les Paraboles du royaume dans l’ “Évangile de Thomas”’, in L. Cerfaux, Recueil
Lucien Cerfaux: études d’exégèse et d’histoire religieuse de Monseigneur Cerfaux (Gem-
bloux: Duculot, 1962), III.61–80 (80), sees a contrast between this woman with an empty
jar and the Samaritan woman who has a jar full of living water.
5 Rightly, Petersen, ‘Die Frau auf dem Weg’, 919.
6 Scott, ‘The Empty Jar’, 79.
7 DeConick, 271.
logion 97 551
(4) Nagel sees as the point that suffering in itself is not a guarantee of getting
to the goal (the kingdom); some suffering leads to emptiness, like the wretches
in Gos. Phil. 63,11–21 whose ‘labour’ (ϩⲓⲥⲉ) is in vain.11 Nagel emends Thomas’s
ⲙ̄ⲡⲉⲥⲉⲓⲙⲉ ⲉϩⲓⲥⲉ to ⲙ̄ⲡⲉⲥⲉⲓⲙⲉ ⲉ⟨ⲥ⟩ϩⲓⲥⲉ, resulting in the meaning, ‘she did not realise
while she was struggling’.12 Again we have the problem of the discontinuity
between kingdom and parable, with no point of continuity.
(5) Plisch takes the view that the parable (in its original, pre-Thomas form)
is a ‘metaphor for the imperceptible spread of God’s kingdom removed from
human reach’, just as the kingdom is spread across the earth unnoticed in
GTh 113.13 This at least makes sense of the introductory formula. However, it
necessitates the excision of 97.3 as a later accretion, which Plisch considers
(because of its focus on ignorance) as incompatible with 97.1.14
(6) K. Blessing, relating this parable to other ‘lost and found’ parables (cf. Luke
15 and GTh 109), speculates that the woman may be ‘set up’ for salvation having
experienced worldly loss, and that this parable may be about knowledge.15 It is,
however, about knowledge only in the sense that it refers to ignorance.
(7) Merkelbach’s interpretation focuses almost exclusively on the journey, and

the fact that the meal has left a path to follow: the one on the way has effectively
found the kingdom because of the trail.16 This view has some appeal, as it has a
positive, kingdom related sense, but it probably neglects too many of the details
of the parable to be correct.
Finally, (8) Helderman interprets the parable from a radically different stand-
point, namely that the emptying of the jug can be taken as a good thing in
itself.17 Manichaeism supplies the context in which labour (ϩⲓⲥⲉ) can be seen as
a bad thing, and conversely amerimnia a good.18 Relatedly, in the Manichaean
11 Nagel, ‘Gleichnis vom zerbrochenen Krug’, 242–243.

13 Plisch, 215; this is an option suggested by Higgins, ‘Non-Gnostic Sayings’, 304. There is
some similarity here with the interpretation in Petersen, ‘Die Frau auf dem Weg’, 919, with
different emphasis.
14 Plisch, ‘Die Frau, der Krug und das Mehl’, 757–758.
15 Blessing, ‘The Woman Carrying the Jar’, 167; cf. 169.
16 Merkelbach, ‘Logion 97’, 229.
18 Helderman, ‘Manichäische Züge’, 491–492.
552 logion 97
Psalm-Book, Luke 10.38–42 is a parable of the elect who are free of work (Mary)
and the working hearers (Martha).19 (For Helderman, Mary corresponds to the
woman here in GTh 97; Martha to the figure GTh 96, on which see the dis-
cussion above.) Because one needs to find a milieu in which labour is valued
negatively, Helderman draws the strong conclusion: ‘Demnach möchten wir
den Schluss ziehen, dass die Botschaft des Gleichnisses in Logion 97 nur vom
manichäischen Denken her voll zum Klingen kommt.’20 He notes an analogous
parable in the Macarian corpus which is strikingly similar to GTh 97:
It is as if someone goes away and travels on a long journey to a particular

city, and carries a bag full of sand, but this has a very small hole at the
bottom. And the further he goes, it spills out all along the way, and his
load is lightened. And when he has reached his destination in the city,
the very heavy sand has emptied out, and he is relieved and is perfectly
rested from the weight of the sand. (So it is with the tested soul when it
leaves its burden of sin behind …).21
In favour of Helderman’s view, understanding ϩⲓⲥⲉ as ‘Arbeit/Mühe’22 (‘work’,

‘struggle’) is much more plausible than the conventional translations of ‘acci-
dent’ or ‘problem’.23 More negatively, however, the Manichaean background is
not necessary—as is evident from the Macarian parallel.
An interpretation (9!) which draws on Helderman but is not indebted to a

Manichaean background can be identified. It is first necessary to clarify the
imagery in 97.3b, where ϩⲓⲥⲉ appears. In addition to Helderman’s ‘Arbeit/Mühe’,
ϩⲓⲥⲉ can also mean what results from that, namely ‘weariness’ (Crum 711b);

21 ὥσπερ ἐάν τις ὁδεύῃ ὁδὸν μακρὰν ἀπερχόμενος εἰς πόλιν τινά, βαστάζῃ δὲ μαρσίπιον μεστὸν
ἄμμου, τὸ δὲ τοιοῦτον ἔχῃ κάτωθεν ὀπὴν λεπτοτάτην, καὶ ὅσῳ βαδίζει καθ’ ὅλης τῆς ὁδοῦ
ἀπορρέῃ καὶ αὐτὸς κουφίζεται, καὶ τέλος καταντήσαντος ἐν τῇ πόλει ἡ βαρυτάτη ἄμμος ἐκενώθη
καὶ αὐτὸς ἠλαφρύνθη καὶ ἀνεπαύθη τελείως ἀπὸ τοῦ βάρους τῆς ἄμμου. See H. Berthold &
E. Klostermann, eds. Neue Homilien des Makarius/Symeon (TU 72; Berlin: Akademie Verlag,
1961), 121, ll. 8–13 (Hom. 23.4 [Aus Typus III]) = H. Berthold, ed. Makarios/Symeon: Reden
und Briefe, 2 vols. (GCS; Berlin: Akademie Verlag, 1973), 212, ll. 16–21 (Hom. 20.1.3). I am
unsure of the relationship between the two manuscripts edited in these editions, but the
text of the parable is identical in both.
One, 89; DeConick, 270.
logion 97 553
in any case, it can be understood in a negative sense as ‘suffering struggle’,

something which at least in certain respects is negatively valued everywhere.
As a result of this, it is possible to understand Thomas’s parable in line to some
extent with the Macarian parallel: the protagonist embarks on a long journey
with a heavy load, but due to a hole in the vessel, the load leaks out onto the
road and gets progressively lighter, so that at the end of the journey, the main
character actually feels rested. The application, then, explicit in Macarius, is
that in the course of the long journey of life the elect soul is initially burdened
with sins and passions (97.1), but strips these off (97.2), such that in the end it
finds rest (97.3).24 (See further the notes below.) Such a scenario is of course
right up Thomas’s street. If it is right that the protagonist represents the soul,
that may account for the fact that GTh 97 is about a woman, because the soul
is feminine in Greek and Coptic, and is female in her many personifications
(cf. e.g. in the Exegesis of the Soul in the same codex as Thomas; the Macarian
parable is strange in this respect). Any interpretation of this enigmatic parable,
however, must remain tentative. Nevertheless, that offered here at least avoids
unusual translations of ϩⲓⲥⲉ, textual emendations, and viewing certain elements
as later, incompatible accretions.
Notes
97.1 The kingdom of the Father is like a woman. For the ‘kingdom of the
Father’, cf. GTh 57; 76; 96; 98; 113 (cf. 99). The kingdom is reflected in the whole
scenario rather than simply identified with the woman per se. GTh 97 evokes
the previous parable, where there was also a clash between the referent and
the image: the ‘kingdom of the Father’ and the ‘woman’ are rather oxymoronic
here. (On the kingdom in Thomas, see Introduction, § 10.1 above.)
97.1 Who was carrying a jar full of meal. Again, as in GTh 96 this is com-
bined with a very standard activity of a woman: in GTh 96, baking bread; here
carrying meal. The ‘full’ jar contrasts with the empty jar in 97.4. Schrage takes
the meal to be the divine essence of the Gnostic, but this has not been accepted
by many, and is clearly incompatible with the wider interpretation of the para-
ble proposed here.25 There are similarities and differences with the Macarian
parable, with the jar full of meal contrasting with the bag of sand.
24 Crum, 711b, gives ⲁⲛⲁⲡⲁⲩⲥⲓⲥ as an antonym of ϩⲓⲥⲉ.

25 Schrage, Verhältnis, 185.
554 logion 97
97.2 While she was away on a long journey. The phrase is a biblical idiom:
cf. Num. 9.10; Prov. 7.19 (ⲁϥⲃⲱⲕ ⲉⲩϩⲓⲏ ⲉⲥⲟⲩⲏⲟⲩ): the same idiom in Greek (ὁδὸν
μακράν) appears in the Macarian parable. It is perhaps odd that a woman is on
a long journey (the strong sense conveyed is that she is alone), and also that a
jar of meal should be carried such a long distance.
97.2 The handle of the jar broke. Nagel supposes that this is a mistranslation
of an original in which the bottom of the jar has leaked, with ⲡ-ⲙⲁⲁϫⲉ ← ⲡ-ⲟⲩⲥ
(‘handle’) ← ποῦς (‘foot’), which is ingenious, but unnecessarily speculative.26
Evidently the jar only had one handle.27 It is likely that what is envisaged is that
the handle—the most vulnerable part of a jar—broke off and in the process
part of the jar also developed a hole.28
97.2–3 And the meal emptied out behind her on the road. She did not
realise it. Presumably she was carrying the jar on her head, or on her back,
for the meal to empty out behind.29
97.3 She did not feel tired. The translation here, especially of ϩⲓⲥⲉ (‘trouble,
effort, difficulty’ in GTh 8.3 and 107; cf. 58), is difficult.30 Plisch remarks that
this statement is ‘almost incomprehensible’,31 and, as we have seen, Nagel feels
obliged to emend the text. The Macarian parable does help out considerably
at this point. There, the result of all the sand leaking out is that when the man
arrives at his destination, his burden is lightened (καὶ αὐτὸς κουφίζεται) and he
is ‘relieved’ (ἠλαφρύνθη) and ‘perfectly rested from the weight of the sand’ (καὶ
ἀνεπαύθη τελείως ἀπὸ τοῦ βάρους τῆς ἄμμου). This helps yield a rational meaning
for GTh 97, according to which, as the woman’s grain leaks out, she experiences
no ϩⲓⲥⲉ in the sense of suffering labour or tiredness. The journey has become
easier along the way, not harder.
97.4 When she reached her house, she put the jar down and found it
empty. Presumably, the thought here is that in the end, she (the soul) expe-
riences rest at her final destination.

27 Leipoldt, Evangelium nach Thomas, 73; Plisch, 214.
28 Plisch, 214; thus, broken is more likely than ‘damaged’, ‘cracked’; for these latter, see Nagel,
‘Gleichnis vom zerbrochenen Krug’, 238–239.
29 Leipoldt, Evangelium nach Thomas, 73, and Plisch, 214, presume it is on her head.
30 See J.B. Bauer, ‘Arbeitsaufgaben am koptischen Thomasevangelium’, VC 15 (1961), 1–7 (3),
for a survey of early translations of 97.3.
31 Plisch, 214.
Logion 981
98.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ⲧⲙⲛ̄ⲧⲉⲣⲟ ⲙ̄ⲡⲉⲓⲱⲧ⳿ ⲉⲥⲧⲛ̄ⲧⲱⲛ ⲉⲩⲣⲱⲙⲉ ⲉϥⲟⲩⲱϣ ⲉⲙⲟⲩⲧ ⲟⲩⲣⲱⲙⲉ
ⲙ̄ⲙⲉⲅⲓⲥⲧⲁⲛⲟⲥ 98.2 ⲁϥϣⲱⲗⲙ⳿ ⲛ̄ⲧⲥⲏϥⲉ ϩⲙ̄ ⲡⲉϥⲏⲉⲓ ⲁϥϫⲟⲧⲥ̄ ⲛ̄ⲧϫⲟ ϫⲉⲕⲁⲁⲥ ⲉϥ-
ⲛⲁⲉⲓⲙⲉ ϫⲉ ⲧⲉϥϭⲓϫ⳿ ⲛⲁⲧⲱⲕ⳿ ⲉϩⲟⲩⲛ 98.3 ⲧⲟⲧⲉ ⲁϥϩⲱⲧⲃ̅ ⲙ̄ⲡⲙⲉⲅⲓⲥⲧⲁⲛⲟⲥ
98.1 Jesus said, ‘The kingdom of the father is like a man who wanted to kill
a nobleman. 98.2 He drew his sword at home and drove it into the wall, in
order to find out whether his hand would be strong enough. 98.3 Then he
killed the nobleman.’
Interpretation
The parable of the Assassin, which is the twelfth parable in Thomas (see com-
ment above on GTh 8), has no parallel in the Synoptics (or, indeed, anywhere
else). Pokorný sees it as an ‘immoral parable’, comparing it with the Unjust
Steward (Lk. 16.1–8), and the Hidden Treasure in GTh 109 where the protag-
onist lends money at interest.2 There is a majority scholarly view of GTh 98, as
well as a ‘minority report’.3
Probably the majority of scholars take the view that the assassin represents
the disciple who must prepare himself rigorously for the battles involved in
discipleship.4 The closest analogues in the Synoptics are usually seen to be
Jesus’ figures of towerbuilding (Lk. 14.28–30) and going to war (14.31–32).5 The
1 Bibliography for GTh 98: Hunzinger, ‘Unbekannte Gleichnisse Jesu’, 211–217; Bauer, ‘De “la-
bore” Salvatoris’, 123–130; Lindemann, ‘Zur Gleichnisinterpretation im Thomas-Evangelium’,
220–222; T. Schramm & K. Löwenstein, Unmoralische Helden: Anstößige Gleichnisse Jesu (Göt-
tingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1986), 53–55; Doran, ‘Complex of Parables’, 347–352; N. För-
ster, ‘Die Selbstprüfung des Mörders (Vom Attentäter)—EvThom 98’, in Zimmermann, ed.
Kompendium der Gleichnisse Jesu, 921–926; C.W. Hedrick, ‘Flawed Heroes and Stories Jesus
Told: The One about a Killer’, in T. Holmén & S.E. Porter, eds. Handbook for the Study of the
Historical Jesus, vol. 4: Individual Studies (Leiden: Brill, 2011), 3023–3056.
2 Pokorný, 141; cf. Schramm & K. Löwenstein, Unmoralische Helden.
3 For a more detailed history of research, see Hedrick, ‘Flawed Heroes and Stories Jesus Told’,
3034–3038.
4 Grant & Freedman, 188; Davies, The Gospel of Thomas: Annotated and Explained, 120; Plisch,
216; Pokorný, 141.
5 As a result of the close analogy, some see in the parable of the Assassin an authentic say-
ing of Jesus; the criterion of embarrassment also plays a role: see Hunzinger, ‘Unbekannte
556 logion 98
analogy is not exact:6 the Lukan sayings concern counting the cost before
embarking upon discipleship, whereas the Thomas saying is usually taken to
be preparation in the course of discipleship.7 The goal of the preparation can
be variously described as planning attack upon the world,8 or upon the internal
enemy, desire.9
The minority interpretation (advocated by Hunzinger and Nordsieck) makes
God the assassin, and is intended as a reassurance to the disciples that God
would not set a plan in train without first knowing that it could be com-
pleted.10
Some scholars have offered other interpretations which have not been wide-
ly followed. A Gnostic reading is now no longer regarded as plausible.11 For
Plisch, an alternative to the majority view is the possibility that the theme is
the unexpected arrival of the kingdom of God.12 This sees events from the per-
spective of the nobleman, however, whereas the point-of-view in the parable
is closer to that of the assassin. According to King: ‘The interest of the para-
ble seems twofold: one to emphasize that to belong to the community means
to have access to power through knowledge, and secondly that that power
will allow a person to overcome his or her enemies, even if they are power-
ful.’13 Doran follows the interpretation that GTh 98 emphasises responsibil-
ity and action, like GTh 96, with GTh 97 stressing that this is not sufficient.14
Gleichnisse Jesu’, 211–217; Higgins states that ‘the boldness of its theme forbids any other
author than Jesus himself’ (‘Non-Gnostic Sayings’, 304); Frey, ‘Lilien und das Gewand’,
177 (a possibility). Stead (‘Some Reflections’, 392) comments that the parable ‘recalls the
intrigue-ridden atmosphere of the Herodian court’, though of course such a mood is also
more widespread; cf. also Förster, ‘Die Selbstprüfung des Mörders’, 922–925, on the cultural
context.
6 Again, for Higgins: ‘In all three the theme appears to be thorough preparation before
action’ (Higgins, ‘Non-Gnostic’, 304). But this is not quite true: the Lukan protagonists
only ‘sit down and consider’, so if this is preparation, it is much different. For Hunzinger,
‘Unbekannte Gleichnisse Jesu’, 212–213, both Thomas and Luke 14.31–32 are about prepa-
ration for a military operation, but the Thomas parable is not really this.
7 Grant & Freedman, 188, refer to counting the cost in the Thomas saying, however.
9 DeConick, 272.
10 Hunzinger, ‘Unbekannte Gleichnisse Jesu’, 217; Nordsieck, 343.
11 Cf. the Gnostic interpretations in Haenchen, ‘Literatur zum Thomasevangelium’, 177;
Lindemann, ‘Gleichisinterpretation’, 222.
12 Plisch, 216.
14 Doran, ‘Complex of Parables’, 351–352.
logion 98 557
Hedrick’s view is that the parable advocates bold action without serious plan-
ning.15
The majority view is probably correct. The idea that God, or the Father, in
Thomas plans and is an agent does not quite fit with Thomas elsewhere. Even if
the analogies from Luke 14 are not exact, GTh 98 makes good sense as drawing
attention to two phases, that of preparation (98.2), and that of execution (98.3).
Such a scenario is apparent in a number of places in Thomas where one
sees imagery of violent attack: GTh 21.5–6 speaks of guarding one’s house
against the thief, i.e. the world; GTh 21.7–8 go on to exhort preparation against
attacking brigands; GTh 103 pronounces a blessing on the one who knows
where marauders will enter. The principal difference between these passages
and GTh 98 is of course that in the parable of the Assassin the protagonist (i.e.
the disciple) is the assailant, rather than the assailed. There is, however, a closer
analogy in GTh 35:
Jesus said, ‘It is impossible to enter the house of the strong man and
subdue him, unless one binds his hands. Then he can take from his house.’
The logic of GTh 35 is very similar to the Assassin, with its two phases of (a)
binding the strong man’s hands preparatory to (b) plundering his house.
Still unanswered are the questions of what exactly the preparation is, and
what the final goal is in the parable. Definitive answers are not available, but
it is reasonable to suppose that reference is to (a) the ascetical disciplines
commended in Thomas, as conditions of (b) being able to master the world
rather than being mastered by it.
Notes
98.1 The kingdom of the father is like a man who wanted to kill a nobleman.
On the kingdom in Thomas, see Introduction, §10.1 above. For ‘kingdom of the
Father’, cf. GTh 57; 76; 96–97; 113 (cf. 99). On ⲙⲉⲅⲓⲥⲧⲁⲛⲟⲥ (‘nobleman’, or ‘ruler’)
see notes on GTh 78 above: the point here is not his nobility, but his power. This
parable most probably describes what the kingdom is like from the disciple’s
point of view (rather than from the divine vantage point). The disciple has a
great opponent to overcome.
15 Hedrick, 167; see further his, ‘Flawed Heroes and Stories Jesus Told’, 3044, although he
thinks that the original meaning in Jesus’ mind is ‘lost forever’ (3046).
558 logion 98
98.2 He drew his sword at home and drove it into the wall. This is phase 1,
the experiment in private. Hedrick notes that the particular type of sword here
is probably a short, double-edged dagger.16 Driving a sword through a wall was
not such a difficult task as it perhaps might be in some houses today; Ezekiel
was able to dig through the wall of his house with his hands (Ezek. 12.7), and
cf. the ‘digging’ or ‘cutting’ into the house in GTh 21.5.17 Plisch remarks that the
likely building material of the wall was ‘air-dried mud bricks’.18
98.2 In order to find out whether his hand would be strong enough. On
‘would be strong enough’, cf. ⲧⲱⲕ ⲉϩⲟⲩⲛ as a translation of ἐπισχύω in Lk. 23.5.
98.3 Then he killed the nobleman. The goal of discipleship is not to be
dominated by rulers, but to rule (cf. notes on GTh 2 above).
16 See discussion in Hedrick, ‘Flawed Heroes and Stories Jesus Told’, 3040–3041.
17 A reminiscence of Eph 2.14–16, even with its breaking through a wall, and ‘killing an
enemy’ (Stead, ‘Some Reflections’, 392–393), is unlikely.
18 Plisch, 216; also Hedrick, ‘Flawed Heroes and Stories Jesus Told’, 3041.
Logion 991
99.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲙ̄ⲙⲁⲑⲏⲧⲏⲥ ⲛⲁϥ ϫⲉ ⲛⲉⲕ⳿ⲥⲛⲏⲩ ⲙⲛ̄ ⲧⲉⲕⲙⲁⲁⲩ ⲥⲉⲁϩⲉⲣⲁⲧⲟⲩ ϩⲓ ⲡⲥⲁ ⲛⲃⲟⲗ
99.2 ⲡⲉϫⲁϥ ⲛⲁⲩ ϫⲉ ⲛⲉⲧⲛ̄ⲛⲉⲉⲓⲙⲁ ⲉϯⲣⲉ ⲙ̄ⲡⲟⲩⲱϣ ⲙ̄ⲡⲁⲉⲓⲱⲧ⳿ ⲛⲁⲉⲓ ⲛⲉ ⲛⲁⲥⲛⲏⲩ ⲙⲛ̄
ⲧⲁⲙⲁⲁⲩ 99.3 ⲛ̄ⲧⲟⲟⲩ ⲡⲉ ⲉⲧⲛⲁⲃⲱⲕ⳿ ⲉϩⲟⲩⲛ ⲉⲧⲙⲛ̄ⲧⲉⲣⲟ ⲙ̄ⲡⲁⲉⲓⲱⲧ⳿
99.1 The disciples said to him, ‘Your brothers and your mother are standing
outside.’ 99.2 He said to them, ‘Those who are here who do the will of my
Father—these are my brothers and my mother. 99.3 It is they who will enter
the kingdom of my Father.’
Interpretation
There is happily a general consensus on this dialogue, that the point is the
construction of a new ‘fictive family’; in other words, the meaning is the same
as in the Synoptic parallels (Mk 3.31–35; Matt. 12.46–50; Lk. 8.19–21; Gos. Eb. in
Epiphanius, Pan. 30.14.5).2 Some take this further and see Thomas advocating
abandonment of natural family.3 Grosso sees a rejection of the hierarchical
values of the oikos, but we do not know that the Thomas movement was
more egalitarian (see further note on ‘brothers’ below).4 Even if this language
of ‘abandonment’ and ‘rejection’ is perhaps too strong, there is certainly an
implied indifference to natural ties (and GTh 101 probably does justify the
strong language).
Notes
99.1 The disciples said to him, ‘Your brothers and your mother are stand-
ing outside.’ Thomas is distinctive in introducing the disciples as those who
1 Bibliography for GTh 99: Schrage, Verhältnis, 185–189; M.H. Smith, ‘Kinship is Relative: Mark
3:31–35 and Parallels’, Forum 6 (1990), 80–94; Trevijano Etcheverría, ‘La madre de Jesús’,
271–284; Petersen, Zerstört die Werke der Weiblichkeit, 269–274; Luomanen, ‘“Let Him Who
Seeks, Continue Seeking” ’, 130–137; Gathercole, Composition, 196–198.
2 Valantasis, 180; Nordsieck, 347; Plisch, 218; Pokorný, 142; Hedrick, 168.
3 Grant & Freedman, 188; DeConick, 273.
4 Grosso, 247.
560 logion 99
announce Jesus’ family.5 Of the family here, only James is mentioned elsewhere
in Thomas (GTh 12).6 The implication here is that—as is rarely made clear in
Thomas—Jesus is inside private space (cf. GTh 61; 22?; 41?).
99.2 He said to them, ‘Those who are here who do the will of my Father.’
Obedience to the will of the Father perhaps highlights the importance of ethics
for Thomas, as is also reflected in the various imperatives: ‘know’ (GTh 5), ‘seek’
(76, 92, 94), ‘love/ guard your brother’ (GTh 25) etc. ‘Father’, as opposed to ‘God’
is perhaps from Matthean redaction; cf. also 2 Clem. 9.11, but could simply be
the result of Thomas’s own preference. The reference to the Father also has the
function here of lending additional strength to the kinship motif.
99.2 These are my brothers and my mother. Jesus ignores the demands of
his natural family, and instead observes that obedient disciples are his true
kin (cf. similarly GTh 79). The reference to ‘brothers and mother’ means that
there is no specificity to the place of others in the fictive family. The point
here in Thomas is mere belonging to the family rather than role in it. On the
other hand, elsewhere in Thomas Jesus is clearly a son: though he is never
actually identified as the Son spoken of in GTh 37 and 44, he does refer to the
Father as ‘my Father’ (61, 64, and twice in this saying). This need not imply an
egalitarian relation of Jesus to the disciples (or even among the disciples), since
brotherhood in antiquity by no means automatically entailed equality, as for
example in Plutarch.7
99.3 It is they who will enter the kingdom of my Father. On ‘entering the
kingdom’ see ad GTh 22 (cf. also GTh 39, 64, 114). Distinctive in this saying is
the description of the kingdom in terms of a household, with the Father as
paterfamilias, although without any further roles specified in detail. On the
kingdom in Thomas, see Introduction, §10.1 above.

6 This is assuming that the references in GTh 21.1 and 114.1 are to Mary Magdalene, not to the
mother of Jesus.
7 See e.g. Frat. Am. 486F–487B and the treatment of it in R. Aasgaard, My Beloved Brothers
and Sisters: Christian Siblingship in Paul (London/ New York: T&T Clark, 2004), 101, and
surrounding discussion.
Logion 1001
100.1 ⲁⲩⲧⲥⲉⲃⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ⲁⲩⲛⲟⲩⲃ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲡⲉϫⲁⲩ ⲛⲁϥ⳿ ϫⲉ ⲛⲉⲧⲏⲡ⳿ ⲁⲕⲁⲓⲥⲁⲣ⳿ ⲥⲉϣⲓⲧⲉ ⲙ̄ⲙⲟⲛ
ⲛ̄ⲛ̄ϣⲱⲙ⳿ 100.2 ⲡⲉϫⲁϥ ⲛⲁⲩ ϫⲉ ϯ ⲛⲁ ⲕⲁⲓⲥⲁⲣ⳿ ⲛ̄ⲕⲁⲓⲥⲁⲣ 100.3 ϯ ⲛⲁ ⲡⲛⲟⲩⲧⲉ
ⲙ̄ⲡⲛⲟⲩⲧⲉ 100.4 ⲁⲩⲱ ⲡⲉⲧⲉ ⲡⲱⲉⲓ ⲡⲉ ⲙⲁⲧⲛ̄ⲛⲁⲉⲓϥ
100.1 They showed Jesus a gold coin and said to him, ‘Caesar’s men demand
taxes from us.’ 100.2 He said to them, ‘Give Caesar’s property to Caesar; 100.3
give God’s property to God; 100.4 and what is mine, give to me.’
Interpretation
This dialogue was evidently popular, because it has a number of parallels both
among the Synoptics (Mk 12.13–17; Matt. 22.15–22; Lk. 20.20–26),2 and outside
(P.Egerton 2, fr. 2r; and Exc. Theod. 86; PS 113; Justin, 1 Ap. 17.2; Sent. Sext. 20).
There is general agreement on the sense: ‘Each power receives what properly
belongs to it.’3 The question of the structure of Jesus’ reply is crucial: is Caesar—
God—Jesus an ascending tricolon, according to which there is a God inferior
in importance to Jesus; or, does Jesus simply appear at the end because he has
1 Bibliography for GTh 100: J. Guey, ‘Comment le “denier de César” de l’Évangile a-t-il pu
devenir une pièce d’ or?’, Bulletin de la Société française de Numismatique 15 (1960), 478–479;
J.N. Sevenster, ‘Geeft den Keizer, wat des Keizers is, en Gode, wat Gods is’, NTT 17 (1962–1963),
21–31; Schrage, Verhältnis, 189–192; E. Cuvillier, ‘Marc, Justin, Thomas et les autres: Variations
autour de la pericope du denier à César’, ETR 67 (1992), 329–344; S. Arai, ‘Caesar’s, God’s and
Mine: Mk 12:17 par. and Gos. Thom. 100’, in H. Preissler & H. Seiwert, eds. Gnosisforschung und
Religionsgeschichte. FS Kurt Rudolph zum 65. Geburtstag (Marburg: Diagonal-Verlag, 1994),
43–48; Baarda, ‘The Gospel of Thomas’, 58–64; S. Witetschek, ‘Ein Goldstück für Caesar?
Anmerkungen zu EvThom 100’, Apocrypha 19 (2008), 103–122; Goodacre, Thomas and the
Synoptics, 112–115.
2 Assessing the priority or dependence of Thomas vis-à-vis the Synoptics is hard, but perhaps
not impossible. Goodacre observes the familiar Thomasine ‘missing middle’ (Thomas and
the Synoptics, 112–115). There are also some minor agreements between Lukan redaction and
Thomas which might support Goodacre’s argument (see Gathercole, ‘Luke in the Gospel
of Thomas’, 134–135). Untenable is the argument that Thomas’s version is more primitive
‘according to the laws of form criticism’, as argued by G. Quispel, ‘Some Remarks on the
Diatessaron Haarense’, VC 25 (1971), 131–139 (135).
3 Valantasis, 181.
562 logion 100
been tacked on by the editor? The absence of evidence elsewhere in Thomas for
a demiurge (though see discussion on 85.1 above) means that the latter expla-
nation may well be correct. Since the immediately preceding GTh 99 refers to
‘those who are here who do the will of my Father’ (99.2), the references in GTh
100 to God and Jesus may well belong together, over against the reference to
Caesar, yielding what is more like a two-part than a three-part contrast. Giving
taxes to Caesar is uncontroversial for Thomas, given the indifference to money
elsewhere in the Gospel: compare GTh 95 with its exhortation to give away
money, just as other property such as clothing (GTh 36) is a matter of indiffer-
ence (see above Introduction, §10.1–2). By contrast, what is of supreme concern
is giving the Father what is due to him, in the form of obedience (99.2 and 100.3),
which comes about by rightly responding to Jesus’ revelation (GTh 100.4; cf. 17
et al.).4
Thomas’s attitude in this saying seems similar to that suggested by the
Sentences of Sextus:5
18 A sage without property is like God. 19 Make use of worldly things for
real necessities. 20 Carefully render to the world the things of the world,
but the things of God to God. (τὰ μὲν τοῦ κόσμου τῷ κόσμῳ, τὰ δὲ τοῦ θεοῦ
τῷ θεῷ ἀκριβῶς ἀποδίδου.) 21 Consider your soul to be a deposit from God.
The ascetical tendency in the Sextus version comports well with the indiffer-
ence to property exhibited in the roughly contemporaneous Thomas saying.
When embedded in Thomas, the saying is perhaps more negative to Caesar
than it is in the Synoptics, and Sextus is similarly disparaging of the world.6
Notes
100.1 They showed Jesus a gold coin and said to him. It is unclear who is
showing the coin and addressing Jesus here. It could be the disciples: probably
4 Since there is no reference to the ‘image’ of Caesar in Thomas’s saying, there is almost certainly
no question of a reference to humanity’s divine image here, as is sometimes thought to be
the case in the Synoptics (Davies & Allison, Matthew, II.217, trace this interpretation back to
Tertullian).
5 I owe this reference to Dr Daniele Pevarello.
6 D. Pevarello, ‘Christians in Cynic rags? Caesar’s denarius and the ideal of poverty in Sextus
the Pythagorean’, unpublished paper delivered at the Oxbridge PhD New Testament Seminar
(2009), 7.
logion 100 563
Jesus’ fellow-countrymen—those who are subject to the same taxation as is

Jesus—are in view.
The fact that we have a gold coin (ⲛⲟⲩⲃ) here is an oddity:7 the Synoptics have
the (silver) denarius, and Pistis Sophia has a ‘stater’ (Coptic ⲥⲁⲧⲉⲉⲣⲉ is a normal
translation of denarius, as e.g. in the Sahidic translations of this pericope).8 In
the time of Tiberius, the gold aureus weighed 7.72g, and was minted in Lyons
and Rome; in the second century, after various fluctuations, it was reduced
to 7.4–7.25g.9 It was still worth 25 denarii: Thomas thus increases the value
of the coin considerably. Some have tried to explain the difficulty by arguing
for an Aramaic/ Syriac origin for this formulation,10 whereas Witetschek takes
it as evidence for the very late inclusion of this saying in Thomas, after the
Diocletianic reform (305ce), and in Egypt.11 The Aramaic explanation is weak,
and the variation in the coin may simply be of the kind that often happens in
translation, as for example in the case of the King James Version’s ‘penny’, and
the ‘shilling’ (or, ‘schelling’) in the Dutch Bible Society translation. By analogy,
the assarion in Matt. 10.29/ Lk. 12.6 becomes variously a ‘farthing’ (KJV), a
‘penny’ (NIV) and even a ‘cent’ (NASB). Plisch’s explanation that the gold coin is
‘an unrealistic exaggeration’ may well be right: Thomas is perhaps deliberately
turning the scene into a parabolic one.12
100.1 Caesar’s men demand taxes from us. In Thomas, Caesar is introduced
early on by the interlocutors, not by Jesus.13 The word here for ‘tax’ (ϣⲱⲙ) is
general (cf. Luke’s φόρος), in contrast to the more specific ‘poll-tax’ of Matthew
and Mark (κῆνσος),14 and Thomas is probably not interested in the details
of the taxation.15 Understood on its own, without reference to the Synoptic
7 Titian’s ‘The Tribute Money’ also has a gold coin in the scene, according to J. Kosnetter,
‘Das Thomasevangelium und die Synoptiker’, in J. Kisser, F. Krones & U. Schöndorfer,
eds. Wissenschaft im Dienste des Glaubens: Festschrift für Abt. Dr. Hermann Peichl (Wien:
Katholische Akademie, 1965), 29–49 (34).
8 See further Crum, 366a.
9 A. Mlasowsky, ‘Aureus’, Brill’s New Pauly II.386–388.
10 Guey, ‘Le denier de César’, 478–479; DeConick, 274.
11 Witetschek, ‘Ein Goldstück für Caesar?’, 122.
12 Plisch, 219.
13 North comments that the punchline in Jesus’ conclusion is ruined in Thomas because
Caesar is already mentioned by the disciples at the outset: see R.G. North, ‘Chenoboskion
and Q’, CBQ 24 (1962), 154–170 (165).
14 Arai, ‘Caesar’s, God’s and Mine’, 46.
15 On taxation in the time of the original event in the ministry of Jesus, see F.F. Bruce, ‘Render
to Caesar’, in E. Bammel & C.F.D. Moule, eds., Jesus and the Politics of his Day (Cambridge:
564 logion 100
parallels, Jesus is not asked a question: thus the statement might even be an
encouragement to pay the tax. On the other hand a Synoptic-like question
could be implied: ‘Caesar’s men demand taxes from us, but should we pay those
taxes?’
‘Caesar’ in Jesus’ own time was Tiberius. If the rough date ascribed to Thomas
in the present commentary (see Introduction, ‘Date’ above) is correct, the
Caesar at the time of composition may have been Antoninus Pius (138–161 ce)
or Marcus Aurelius (161–180ce).
100.2 He said to them, ‘Give Caesar’s property to Caesar.’ The implication
here is that coins, as belonging to the economy of the empire, are the prop-
erty of the emperor. The same indifference to money which is envisaged of the
disciple is found in GTh 95.2, with its reference to giving money to those who—
like Caesar!—will not repay it. There is not an explicitly negative valuation of
Caesar here, though it might well be assumed from what is said about those in
power in GTh 78.16 An implied contempt for the realm of Caesar and his prop-
erty may be implied: the repetition of Caesar’s name may suggest that 100.2 can
be read as dismissive (cf. ‘Let the dead bury their dead’, in Matt. 8.22/Lk. 9.60).
100.3 Give God’s property to God. This is unlikely to be a reference to the
temple tax.17 The two main options here have been to see in ‘God’ an ‘inferior or
evil god of the material world’18 and an archontic demiurge (cf. GTh 21 and the
lion in GTh 7),19 or a positive reference to the Father. In favour of the demiurgic
interpretation is (a) the apparent scale Caesar-God-Jesus, and (b) Thomas’s
lack of fondness for the term ‘god’, especially in the Coptic text where the only
other occurrence is in the mysterious GTh 30, and (c) the fact that demiurges
and archons can be called by the title ‘god’ in Nag Hammadi texts.20 There are
Cambridge University Press, 1984), 249–264, or for a view more sceptical of the Synoptic
gospels, F.E. Udoh, To Caesar What is Caesar’s: Tribute, Taxes, and Imperial Administration
in Early Roman Palestine 63 BCE–70 CE (Providence, RI: Brown University Press, 2005).
16 So rightly Arai, ‘Caesar’s, God’s and Mine’, 46. He also adduces the parable of the Assassin
(GTh 98) as evidence of the same, though this is inadmissible.
17 Pace Davies, The Gospel of Thomas: Annotated and Explained, 122.
18 J.D. Crossan, ‘Mark 12:13–17’, Int 37 (1983), 397–401 (400).
19 Baarda, ‘The Gospel of Thomas’, 63–64; cf. Grant & Freedman, 189; Cuvillier, ‘Marc, Justin,
Thomas et les autres’, 342; Arai, ‘Caesar’s, God’s and Mine’, 43–44.
20 E.g. among many instances, Gos. Jud. 34,6–13; Tri. Trac. 100,28; Testim. Truth 47,15; 48,1, and
the surrounding context. Conversely it is sometimes said of the supreme being that he
should not be called god: ‘it is not right to think about him as a god or something similar.
For he is more than a god, since there is no one above him, nor does anyone lord it over
him …’ (Ap. John II 2,33–35); Zost. 13,4–5 ‘that perfect child who is higher than god’.
logion 100 565
difficulties with this demiurgic interpretation of GTh 100, however. In the first
place, there is no clear evidence for a demiurgic creator elsewhere in Thomas.21
Secondly, the word θεός probably appears in the Greek fragments (27.1 Gk) in
a positive sense, though the text is damaged (see discussion ad GTh 27). If the
reference here is to the Father, then there is continuity with ‘doing the will of
[Jesus’] Father’ in GTh 99, and no ascending tricolon.
100.4 And what is mine, give to me. The last element, referring to Jesus
himself, is a distinctive feature of Thomas’s version over against all the others,22
and presupposes a high christology.23 Plisch and DeConick are probably correct
to remark that this third element is an ad hoc appendage tacked on because
of the Thomas community’s reverence for Jesus.24 The question remains what
‘belongs to Jesus’. For Valantasis, it is the community around Jesus’ words, but
it is hard to see how this can be ‘given’ to Jesus by the audience.25 For Patterson
it is ‘support for the Thomas mendicants’, but the point is probably something
more fundamentally soteriological.26 Arai says that it is ‘the authentic “I” ’, or
‘what is within you’ (GTh 70),27 i.e. the internal image. This is more likely, given
the prominence of this theme in Thomas, and the fact that this internal image
is the light that is continuous with the being of Jesus himself. The other main
possibility is that what is due to Jesus is response to his revelation.
21 Uro, Thomas, 31–53, and 42–43 specifically on GTh 100.

22 L. Walt, ‘“Rendete a tutti ciò che è dovuto” (Rm 13,7): Paolo, Gesù e il tributo a Cesare’, in
M. Pesce & M. Rescio, eds. La trasmissione delle parole di Gesù nei primi tre secoli (Brescia:
Morcelliana, 2011), 71–94 (85).
23 Plisch, 220; cf. also Hedrick, 169.
24 DeConick, 275; Plisch, 220.
25 Valantasis, 181.
26 Patterson, Thomas, 148–149, cf. 137–138.
27 Arai, ‘Caesar’s, God’s and Mine’, 47.
Logion 1011
101.1 ⲡⲉⲧⲁⲙⲉⲥⲧⲉ ⲡⲉϥⲉⲓ̣[ⲱⲧ]⳿ ⲁ̣ⲛ ⲙⲛ̄ ⲧⲉϥ⳿ⲙⲁⲁⲩ ⲛ̄ⲧⲁϩ‘ⲉ’ ϥⲛⲁϣⲣ̄ ⲙ̣[ⲁⲑⲏⲧⲏ]ⲥ̣ ⲛ̣ⲁ̣ⲉⲓ
ⲁ(ⲛ) 101.2 ⲁⲩⲱ ⲡⲉⲧⲁⲙⲣ̄ⲣⲉ ⲡⲉϥ̣[ⲉⲓⲱⲧ ⲁⲛ ⲙ]ⲛ̣̄ ⲧⲉϥⲙⲁⲁⲩ ⲛ̄ⲧⲁϩⲉ ϥⲛⲁϣⲣ̄ ⲙ[ⲁⲑⲏⲧⲏⲥ
ⲛⲁ]ⲉⲓ ⲁⲛ 101.3 ⲧⲁⲙⲁⲁⲩ ⲅⲁⲣ ⲛ̄ⲧⲁⲥ̣[…]ⲟⲗ [ⲧⲁⲙⲁⲁⲩ] ⲇⲉ ⲙ̄ⲙⲉ ⲁⲥϯ ⲛⲁⲉⲓ ⲙ̄ⲡⲱⲛϩ
101.1 ‘Whoever does not hate his fat[her] and his mother as I do cannot be
a d[iscipl]e of mine. 101.2 And whoever does [not] love his [Father a]nd his
Mother as I do cannot be a d[isciple of ] mine. 101.3 For my mother who […];
but [my] true [Mother] has given me life.’
Textual Comment
The usual, introductory ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ is lacking, but this is so common that
it hardly requires emendation. Various suggestions have been made for the
lacuna in 101.3: (1) Layton’s edition, noting also a suggestion of Emmel, cau-
tiously suggests ⲛ̄ⲧⲁⲥ̣[ϯ ⲛⲁⲉⲓ ⲙ̄ⲡϭ]ⲟⲗ (‘who deceived me’);2 (2) Plisch suggests
ⲛ̄ⲧⲁⲥ̣[ϫⲡⲟⲓ ⲁⲥⲃⲟⲗⲧ ⲉⲃ]ⲟⲗ (‘who gave birth to me, destroyed me’);3 (3) DeConick
has ⲛ̄ⲧⲁⲥ̣[ϫⲡⲟⲓ ϯϫⲱⲕ ⲉⲃ]ⲟⲗ (‘who begot me gave me death’);4(4) and Hedrick’s
commentary cautiously leaves a blank. Plisch’s suggestion, and perhaps also
that of DeConick, are rather too long to fill the lacuna, however. It is probably
best left blank.
Interpretation
This saying has a parallel in GTh 55.1: ‘Whoever does not hate his father and
mother will not be able to be a disciple of mine.’ The additional ‘as I do’ in
GTh 101.1 is also not present in the Synoptic parallels to the saying (Matt. 10.37;
Lk. 14.26). The usual view of this saying is probably correct, namely that there
is a contrast between the rejection of biological parentage and affirmation
1 Bibliography for GTh 101: Trevijano Etcheverría, ‘La madre de Jesús’, 271–284; Petersen,
Zerstört die Werke der Weiblichkeit, 269–274.
One, 88.
3 Plisch, 220.
logion 101 567
of spiritual parentage, which consists of the Father referred to elsewhere in

Thomas, but also the (here ambiguous) maternal Spirit.5 The recent GTh 99,
where Jesus ignores the request of his family is possibly milder than GTh 101
here, with its language of hatred.
Notes
101.1 Whoever does not hate his father and his mother as I do cannot be a
disciple of mine. The ‘as I do’ recalls what in Thomas is the very recent refusal
by Jesus to acknowledge his earthly mother and brothers (GTh 99); here the
rejection by Jesus is of Mary (and possibly Joseph as well).6 DeConick also sees
the ‘perpetuation of the world’ as one part of the target.7
101.2 And whoever does not love his Father and his Mother as I do cannot
be a disciple of mine. The Father is familiar enough already (see ad GTh 3); the
Mother is expanded on a little in the second half of 101.3.
101.3 For my mother who … . The text is unfortunately too fragmentary to
identify with any precision the (almost certainly negative) attitude to physical
maternity and birth.
101.3 But my true Mother has given me life. The contrast here is not between
a biological mother and a disciple who is a spiritual relation (as per GTh 99).8
The reference here is to a feminine power. Trevijano Etcheverría identifies the
figure as the Holy Spirit of GTh 44.9 Another possibility (which may also refer
to the Holy Spirit) is ‘the great power and the great wealth’, who produced
Adam, and is/ are grammatically feminine (GTh 85). The Spirit, a connection
with Adam, and the life-giving Mother are combined in the Hypostasis of the
Archons, where Adam addresses the spirit-endowed female counterpart who
has been removed from him during his sleep: ‘And when he saw her, he said,
“You are the one who has given me life; you will be called the mother of
the living. For she is my mother.”’ (Hyp. Arch. 89,13–16). There are numerous
5 Petersen, Zerstört die Werke der Weiblichkeit, 272; Nordsieck, 352–353 (adding that the Spirit is
in some way identified with Wisdom); DeConick, 278; Plisch, 222; Hedrick, 170 (tentatively);
Grosso, 249.
7 DeConick, 278.
8 Valantasis, 182, is unusual in seeing the spiritual parentage in this saying as arising out of the
community.
9 Trevijano Etcheverría, ‘La madre de Jesús’, 271.
568 logion 101
parallels to a female, maternal Spirit in apocryphal texts and Manichaean

literature.10 The Spirit specifically as life-giver derives from the OT (Job 33.4)
and is picked up in Jn 6.63 and 2Cor. 3.6. ‘Given to me’ perhaps picks up on the
end of GTh 100 (‘give to me’).
10 See e.g. Gos. Heb. fr. 2; Gos. Phil. 55,24–27; see further parallels in Plisch, 222–223, and
Grosso, 249. For Manichaean parallels, see e.g. Index to I. Gardner & S.N.C. Lieu, eds. & tr.
Manichaean Texts from the Roman Empire (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004),
sub ‘Living Spirit/ Mother of Life’.
Logion 1021
ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ [ϫⲉ ⲟ]ⲩⲟⲉⲓ ⲛⲁⲩ ⲙ̄ⲫⲁⲣⲓⲥⲁⲓⲟⲥ ϫⲉ ⲉⲩⲉⲓⲛⲉ̣ [ⲛ̄ⲛ]ⲟ̣ⲩⲟⲩϩⲟⲣ ⲉϥ⳿ⲛ̄ⲕⲟⲧⲕ⳿ ϩⲓϫⲛ̄
ⲡⲟⲩⲟⲛⲉϥ⳿ ⲛ̄ϩ̣[ⲛ̄ⲛ]ⲉϩⲟⲟⲩ ϫⲉ ⲟⲩⲧⲉ ϥⲟⲩⲱⲙ ⲁⲛ ⲟⲩⲧⲉ ϥⲕ̣[ⲱ] ⲁ̣ⲛ ⲛ̄ⲛⲉϩⲟⲟⲩ ⲉⲟⲩⲱⲙ
Jesus said, [‘W]oe to those Pharisees, for they are like a dog sleeping in the
manger of so[me] cattle, for it neither eats nor al[low]s the cattle to feed.’
Interpretation
In addition to the Synoptic versions, this saying is closely paralleled in GTh

39.1–2 (cf. Matt. 23.13; Lk. 11.52): ‘The Pharisees and the Scribes have taken the
keys of knowledge and have hidden them. They have not entered, and have not
allowed those who want to enter to do so.’2 The sense of GTh 102, amplified by
reference to the dog in the manger fable, is clear: the opponents not only fail
to understand the truth themselves and thereby to enter the kingdom, but also
hinder others from doing so. Pokorný sees here a criticism of the mainstream
church, whereas Hedrick identifies the Pharisees as perhaps a cipher for Jews
more generally.3 It is unclear whether the wider Christian church is in view or
the emerging Rabbinic movement; the former are a closer target for Thomas,
though the latter might be suggested by the reference to the Pharisees. The
allusion to the dog in the manger fable may reflect a popularity of that image
in the second century, given that the earliest other references (cited below)
are in Strato of Sardis (fl. 117–135ce)4 and Lucian (c. 120–190), who are roughly
contemporaneous with Thomas on the date argued for in this commentary.
1 Bibliography for GTh 102: I. Trencsényi-Waldapfel, ‘Das Thomas-Evangelium aus Nagʾ Ham-
mâdi und Lukian von Samosata’, AcOr 13 (1961), 131–133; I. Trecsényi-Waldapfel, ‘Der Hund in
der Krippe’, AcOr 14 (1962), 139–143; G. Moravcsik, ‘ “Hund in der Krippe”: Zur Geschichte eines
griechischen Sprichwortes’, Acta Antiqua 12 (1964), 77–86; J. Priest, ‘The Dog in the Manger:
In Quest of a Fable’, Classical Journal 81 (1985), 49–58; J. Leonhardt-Balzer, ‘Wer vertreibt den
Hund aus der Futterkrippe? (Vom Hund in der Krippe)—EvThom 102’, in Zimmermann, ed.
Kompendium der Gleichnisse Jesu, 927–931; Löhr, ‘Jesus und die Tora als ethische Norm’, 368–
370.
2 For further parallels, see comment on GTh 39 above.
3 Pokorný, 145; Hedrick, 171.
4 On the floruit of Strato in the principate of Hadrian, see Priest, ‘Dog in the Manger’, 57, and
N. Hopkinson, ‘Straton of Sardis’, OCD3 1149.
570 logion 102
Notes
Woe to those Pharisees. The ‘woe’ formula also appears twice in GTh 112 (on
similar formulae in Thomas, see note above on GTh 7.2). The sense is probably
pure invective, rather than calling down judgment, or tapping into honour and
shame protocols.5 The Pharisees constituted a movement in the time of Jesus
concerned with extending purity throughout the nation of Israel, and they
played a decisive role in the shaping of the Rabbinic movement after 70ce.6 The
syntax of this sentence (lit. ‘woe to them, the Pharisees’) is not so distinctively
Semitic to require an Aramaic or Syriac source behind Thomas.7
For they are like a dog sleeping in the manger of some cattle, for it neither
eats nor allows the cattle to feed.8 Although this story is not attested in the
ancient Greek and Roman fable collections, the proverbial ‘dog in the manger’
makes its appearance twice in Lucian: ‘… like the dog lying in the manger, which
does not eat the barley itself, nor lets the horse eat it which can’ (Indoct. 30);
‘like the dog in the manger which neither ate the barley itself, nor permitted the
hungry horse to eat it’ (Timon 14).9 Strato’s version is less close to Thomas and
Lucian than these two are to each other: ‘… like the dog in the manger with the
roses, and stupidly barking, it neither gives the good thing to itself nor to anyone
else’ (Strato, ad Gk Anth. 12.236).10 The fable appears subsequently in Hesychius’
Dictionary (fifth century ce), and in a number of later manuscript collections.11
5 Valantasis, 182, translates, ‘Damn the Pharisees’. For the honour/ shame interpretation, see
Hedrick, 171.
6 See further J. Schaper, ‘The Pharisees’, in W.D. Davies, et al. eds., The Cambridge History
of Judaism, vol. III (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999), 402–427; R. Deines,
‘Pharisees’, EDEJ 1061–1063. See e.g. the schematic presentation of the ‘sects’ in Josephus
(BJ 2.119–166; AJ 13.171–173; 18.11–25).
7 See Gathercole, Composition, 98.
8 At the risk of offending dog-lovers, I have translated pronouns referring to the dog with
‘it’, to avoid the difficulty that the dog is masculine in Coptic, but feminine in the Greek
parallels.
9 Indoct.: τῆς κυνὸς … τῆς ἐν τῇ φάτνῃ κατακειμένης, ἣ οὔτε αὐτὴ τῶν κριθῶν ἐσθίει οὔτε τῷ ἵππῳ
δυναμένῳ φαγεῖν ἐπιτρέπει. Timon: καθάπερ τὴν ἐν τῇ φάτνῃ κύνα μήτε αὐτὴν ἐσθίουσαν τῶν
κριθῶν μήτε τῷ ἵππῳ πεινῶντι ἐπιτρέπουσαν. Leonhardt-Balzer (‘Wer vertreibt den Hund aus
der Futterkrippe?’, 929–930) notes the relative similarity of Thomas to Indoct. rather than
to Timon.
10 As is the case in such anthologies, the attribution may not be completely certain.
11 For the Hesychius reference, see Moravcsik, ‘Hund in der Krippe’, 79; see Moravcsik’s
article, and Trecsényi-Waldapfel, ‘Der Hund in der Krippe’ on the transmission in later
collections more widely.
Logion 1031
ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ⲟⲩⲙⲁ̣[ⲕⲁ]ⲣⲓⲟⲥ ⲡⲉ ⲡⲣⲱⲙⲉ ⲡⲁⲉⲓ ⲉⲧⲥⲟⲟⲩ(ⲛ) ϫⲉ ϩ[ⲛ̄ ⲁϣ] ⲙ̄ⲙⲉⲣⲟⲥ

ⲉⲛⲗⲏⲥⲧⲏⲥ ⲛⲏⲩ ⲉϩⲟⲩ(ⲛ) ϣⲓⲛⲁ̣ [ⲉϥ]ⲛ̣ⲁⲧⲱⲟⲩⲛ⳿ ⲛ̄ϥⲥⲱ⟦ϩ⟧ⲟⲩϩ ⲛ̄ⲧⲉϥ⳿ⲙⲛ̄ⲧ̅ⲉ̣[ⲣⲟ] ⲁⲩⲱ
ⲛ̄ϥⲙⲟⲩⲣ ⲙ̄ⲙⲟϥ ⲉϫⲛ̄ ⲧⲉϥ⳿ϯⲡⲉ ϩ̣[ⲁ] ⲧⲉϩⲏ ⲉⲙ⳿ⲡⲁⲧⲟⲩⲉⲓ ⲉϩⲟⲩⲛ
Jesus said, ‘Bl[es]sed is the man who knows a[t what] point the brigands will
enter. Then [he] will arise and muster his kingd[om] and prepare himself
b[e]fore they come in.’
Interpretation
This parabolic macarism (cf. Matt. 24.43; Lk. 12.39) is another statement of the
need for the disciple to be prepared for confrontation. We have encountered
a parable to this effect recently in GTh 98 (the parable of the Assassin), and
this theme began in GTh 21, where the illustration of the householder being
on watch for the thief (21.5) is applied practically to the audience who must
be on guard against the world and robbers (21.6). GTh 103 is closer to GTh
21 than to GTh 98, which uses “offensive” imagery whereas the other two
are about how to defend against incursion. There is a consistent pattern in
these sayings, however, of (1) a main character, (2) an opponent, (3) a danger,
(4) the preparation whereby the danger can be averted, and (5) the desired
outcome:
GTh 21.5 GTh 98 GTh 103
Main character householder/ king? assassin king

Opponent thief ruler brigands
Danger thief digging/ stealing weakness/ failure brigands entering
Preparation advance knowledge/ vigil practice thrust advance knowledge
Resolution not allowing entry killing the ruler mustering for battle
1 Bibliography for GTh 103: Toyoshima, ‘Neue Vorschläge zur Lesung und Übersetzung’, 230–
235.
572 logion 103
The clearest statement of the practical meaning of this motif comes directly
after GTh 21.5 with its householder/ thief image: ‘As for you, keep guard against
the world. Prepare yourselves with great strength, lest the brigands find a way
to come to you.’ (GTh 21.6–7). There are several connections between GTh
21.6–7 and GTh 103 here: (a) the similar structure, (b) the reference to ‘brigands’
(ⲛ̄ⲗⲏⲥⲧⲏⲥ), and (c) the idiom of ‘girding up one’s loins’, for preparing. This
clearly justifies the interpretation of the macarism in GTh 103 as an exhortation
to readiness. A necessary element in this readiness is, as in GTh 21.5, knowledge.
There may not be any particular danger in view (thus Plisch).2 Alternatively,
Grosso suggests that the danger is the passions of the flesh, and temptation
which needs to be resisted;3 Pokorný identifies it as the world, with the vul-
nerable ‘point’ being the human soul, and the warning, ‘against the loss of the
divine substance’;4 for DeConick it is the ‘demons, the desires of the body’.5 It
is hard, and probably not necessary, to choose between the anthropological,
cosmological and demonological interpretations.
Notes
Blessed is the man who knows. This is the last of eleven beatitudes in Thomas
(on the formula, see note on GTh 7.1). Noteworthy here is the connection
between blessing and knowledge. Although the ‘man who knows’ is a character
in a parable, there is clearly a commendation of real knowledge in disciples.
At what point. The translation ‘point’ here reflects the ambiguity of the
Graeco-Coptic ⲙⲉⲣⲟⲥ (‘part’), which might be spatial, or temporal.6 In the
former case, the ‘part’ would be a region or district of the man’s ‘kingdom’;7
in the latter, the ‘part’ is the part of the day or night. Although a spatial sense
is more common for ⲙⲉⲣⲟⲥ, the temporal sense fits with the (admittedly loose)
Synoptic parallel (Matt. 24.43; Lk. 12.39): ‘Know this, that if the householder
knew at what watch of the night (Lk: at what hour) the thief was coming, (Matt:
+ he would have kept watch and) he would not have allowed his house to be
broken into.’
2 Plisch, 225.
3 Grosso, 251.
4 Pokorný, 145.
5 DeConick, 280.
6 Rightly, Nordsieck, 357; Plisch, 225; Grosso, 251. Valantasis’s emphasis on the shift from the
Synoptics’ temporal horizon to Thomas’s spatial imagery is thus misguided (183).
7 LSJ, ‘μέρος’: IV 1 ‘part[s] of the country; region[s]’; IV 4 ‘district’.
logion 103 573
The brigands will enter. On the Graeco-Coptic term ⲗⲏⲥⲧⲏⲥ (λῃστής), see
above on 21.7.
Then he will arise and muster his kingdom. Lit. ‘So that he might arise …’:
the whole of GTh 103 is in Coptic a single sentence. The reference to ‘kingdom’
indicates that the main character is a king, so the attack is not merely a theft
from a private estate.8
And prepare himself before they come in. ‘Prepare himself’ is literally the
biblical idiom ‘gird up his loin(s)’9 (very common in the OT; in the NT, Lk. 12.35;
Eph. 6.14; 1Pet. 1.13): see also GTh 21.7. It means not ‘departure’10 or ‘arming
oneself’11 per se, but preparing oneself for actions. The use of the phrase may be
indicative of a relationship to Luke’s version:12 Luke’s Jesus exhorts the disciples
to gird up their loins (Lk. 12.35), before recounting the parable in which the
master of the house will gird himself (Lk. 12.37), and the instruction parallel to
this saying in GTh 103 (Lk. 12.39).
8 Although there may be some exceptions, the overwhelming majority of references to

ⲙⲛ̄ⲧⲉⲣⲟ (cf. βασιλεία) are to kingdoms proper. ‘Kingdom’ (here written ⲙⲛ̄ⲧ̅ⲉⲣⲟ) is restored;
Hedrick has proposed that ⲙⲛ̄ⲧ̅ⲉϩⲟ (‘treasure’) is also possible, but the parallel with GTh
21 makes ‘kingdom’ very likely.
9 There is no particular significance in ϯⲡⲉ being singular (pace Plisch, 225); Crum (423a)
notes that the singular is to be expected when only one person is in view.
10 Plisch, 225.
11 DeConick, 280.
12 Pokorný, 146, raises the possibility of Lukan influence.
Logion 1041
104.1 ⲡⲉϫⲁⲩ ⲛ̣̄[ⲓ̅]ⲥ̣̅ ϫⲉ ⲁⲙⲟⲩ ⲛ̄ⲧⲛ̄ϣⲗⲏⲗ⳿ ⲙ̄ⲡⲟⲟⲩ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲛ̄ⲧⲛ̄ⲣ̄ⲛⲏⲥⲧⲉⲩⲉ 104.2 ⲡⲉϫⲉ
ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ⲟⲩ ⲅⲁⲣ⳿ ⲡⲉ ⲡⲛⲟⲃⲉ ⲛ̄ⲧⲁⲉⲓⲁⲁϥ⳿ ⲏ ⲛ̄ⲧⲁⲩϫⲣⲟ ⲉⲣⲟⲉⲓ ϩⲛ̄ ⲟⲩ 104.3 ⲁⲗⲗⲁ ϩⲟⲧⲁⲛ
ⲉⲣϣⲁⲛ ⲡⲛⲩⲙⲫⲓⲟⲥ ⲉⲓ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ϩⲙ̄ ⲡⲛⲩⲙⲫⲱⲛ ⲧⲟⲧⲉ ⲙⲁⲣⲟⲩⲛⲏ⳿ⲥⲧⲉⲩⲉ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲙⲁⲣⲟⲩϣ-
ⲗⲏⲗ⳿
104.1 They said to [ Je]sus, ‘Come, let us pray and fast today.’ 104.2 Jesus said,
‘What sin have I committed, or how have I been defeated? 104.3 But when the
bridegroom comes out of the bridal chamber, then let them fast and pray.’
Interpretation
The first two parts of this saying are straightforward: people exhort Jesus to join
their prayer and fasting, he refuses because he has no need to do so. There are
five main options for interpreting this saying in a way which takes account of
the difficult conclusion in 104.3.
(1) Like its counterpart in the Synoptic Gospels (Mk 2.18–20; Matt. 9.14–15; Lk.
5.33–35), this saying could mean that it is wrong to fast and pray while Jesus
is present, but that when he departs (cf. GTh 12), they will be appropriate.2
There are two problems with this, however. First, the positive view of fasting
and prayer runs counter to the prohibition against them in GTh 14, though this
may not be seen as a difficulty for the interpretation of GTh 104 by those who
consider contradiction as par for the course in Thomas. Perhaps a more signif-
icant difficulty, however, lies in Thomas’s reference to Jesus leaving the bridal
chamber (the Synoptics speak of the bridegroom leaving the wedding guests).
If this event referred to Jesus’ departure from the world, then the bridal cham-
ber would effectively be a reference to the world. This is unlikely, however, given
that in GTh 75 (and very commonly elsewhere in other, especially Valentinian,
literature) the bridal chamber is a soteriological metaphor.
1 Bibliography for GTh 104: P. Sellew, ‘Pious Practice and Social Formation in the Gospel of
Thomas’, Forum 10 (1994), 47–56; Trevijano Etcheverría, ‘Las prácticas de piedad en el Evan-
gelio de Tomás’, 321–349; Helderman, ‘Die Herrenworte über das Brautgemach im Thomase-
vangelium’, 78–80; Segelberg, ‘Prayer among the Gnostics?’, 58–60.
2 DeConick, 281, mentions this as a possibility.
logion 104 575
(2) A second view sees fasting and prayer as viable practices for true disciples
only in extremis, such as for those whose state of oneness/ wholeness ‘breaks
down’.3
(3) More negatively still, the statement could apply to those who have aposta-
tised.4
(4) The practices might simply apply to another group altogether. Segelberg
and Sellew make the important point that prayer and fasting appear to be dis-
missed as practices for others, not for Jesus and his disciples.5 Segelberg draws
attention to the third-person plural ‘let them fast and pray’, and concludes: ‘It
has nothing to do with Jesus and the disciples.’6
(5) Grant & Freedman, followed by Valantasis, take the view that the criticism
of traditional practices is unqualified, and that the situation in 104.3 is purely
hypothetical. ‘Since no Gnostic leaves the bridechamber (see Saying 75), this
means that the Gnostic will never fast.’7 Valantasis comes to the same result,
while taking the groom as Jesus, rather than ‘the Gnostic’: ‘there will never
be a time when the groom has left the nuptial chamber, because Jesus’ voice
perpetually speaks in the sayings read and interpreted.’8 Speaking in such
hypothetical terms is not paralleled elsewhere in Thomas, however.
(6) Helderman raises the possibility that the saviour leaves the bridal chamber
in the sense that at the end of history the Gnostic Jesus will leave the pleroma
to come and destroy the ignorant.9 Thus GTh 104 is a saying of judgment. Such
a larger mythology is not clearly assumed in Thomas, however, and a judgment
scene in any conventional sense is not apparent.
(7) Another way to take GTh 104.3 is to see (a) Jesus’ departure from the bridal
chamber as referring to the passing of the time of salvation, the eschatological
event at which the world ends, and (b) prayer and fasting as describing some
3 Loader, Jesus’ Attitude Towards the Law, 494.

4 Trevijano, ‘Las prácticas de piedad’, 345–346; similarly, Jipp, ‘Death and the Human Predica-
ment’, 259.
5 Sellew, ‘Pious Practices’, 54, says that the saying shifts the practices to a different community.
6 Segelberg, ‘Prayer among the Gnostics?’, 59.
8 Valantasis, 185.
9 Helderman, ‘Herrenworte’, 79.
576 logion 104
kind of future state of perfection.10 This interpretation gains plausibility when

seen in connection with the Gospel of Philip. In the first place, Philip is the locus
classicus for bridal chamber theology. Secondly, Philip shares the emphasis on
grasping the soteriological blessing of the bridal chamber in this present age: ‘If
anyone becomes a son of the bridal chamber, he will receive the light. If anyone
does not receive it while he is here, he will not be able to receive it in the other
place.’ (Gos. Phil. 86,4–7). Thirdly, the Gospel of Philip also discusses the place
of prayer relative to these two epochs or ‘places’:
Those who sow in winter reap in summer. The winter is the world, the
summer the other aeon. Let us sow in the world that we may reap in the
summer. Because of this, it is fitting for us not to pray in the winter. Summer
follows winter. But if any man reap in winter he will not actually reap but
only pluck out, since it will not provide a harvest for such a person.
(Gos. Phil. 52,25–33)
It is interesting that Philip here has a schema according to which prayer does
not take place in the present age but—presumably reconceptualised accor-
dingly—in the next.
Gospel of Thomas Gospel of Philip
(i) time not to pray or fast winter = the world = time of sowing,
not praying
(ii) bridegroom leaves bridal chamber
(iii) time for fasting and prayer summer = other aeon = time of reaping
Such a scheme would make sense for Thomas who rejects prayer ‘today’ (104.1:
ⲙ̄ⲡⲟⲟⲩ) but not in the future (104.3: ‘when the bridegroom comes out …’). Quite
how Philip conceives of prayer, associated with ‘reaping’ in ‘summer’, in the age
to come is unclear.11 Perhaps, given that prayer means being with the Father
in the inmost realm, the pleroma (Gos. Phil. 68,8–17),12 it refers to the kind of
union with the Father which is only possible in the other aeon. Thomas does
10 Cf. GTh 11; 111.

11 On the analogies of ‘winter: world’ and ‘summer: age to come’, see also Herm. [Sim. 3–4]
52–53.
12 Cf. prayer as entering the holy of Holies in Heb. 10.19–22.
logion 104 577
not quite share this temporal schema, but as has been mentioned, there is
a distinction between ‘today’ and the time of Jesus’ absence from the bridal
chamber. In this later epoch, prayer is perhaps reconceptualised in Thomas as
a kind of immediate union, and fasting might mean that the world and matter
have been decisively rejected (cf. GTh 27).
Against this interpretation, however, is the potential objection that it is too
convoluted to be credible. It may well be the case that, as in interpretation
(4) above, the saying is about the willful persistence of the ignorant in their
traditional practices, now that Jesus and the opportunity for salvation are no
longer with them. This does justice to the peculiar statement ‘let them …’ in
the conclusion.
Notes
104.1 They said to Jesus. The speakers are probably, though not certainly, the
disciples: cf. in the Markan and Lukan parallels, ‘some people’ (and ‘the disci-
ples of John’ in Matt. 9.14).13
104.1 Come, let us pray and fast today. The implication is perhaps a fixed
day of fasting (cf. Did. 8.1), accompanied by prayer (which is more likely to be
assumed not to take place only on a particular day). The reference to prayer
here is evidence of the incorporation of Lukan redaction (from Lk. 5.33).14
104.2 Jesus said, ‘What sin have I committed, or how have I been defeated?’
These two questions are probably synonymous, ‘defeat’ referring either to sin-
ning,15 or to being exposed as sinful.16 The questions presume negative answers,
and so this saying presupposes the sinlessness of Jesus found elsewhere in early
Christianity.17 The implied response to the initial invitation in 104.1 is thus also
clearly negative. The link between fasting and sin is traditional, and perhaps
the references to sin and defeat here connect with prayer, on the assumption
that one only needs to pray out of weakness (or for forgiveness of sins, as in the
Lord’s prayer). As Plisch has put it, for Thomas here, ‘praying and fasting are an
expression of a disheartened religious mind.’18 GTh 104.2 may well be related to
the Gospel of the Nazaraeans, or a source common to both: ‘They said to him:
13 Hedrick, 173, also raises the possibility that the Pharisees or other rivals are in view.
15 Rom. 12.21a; 2Pet. 2.20.
16 Cf. John 8.46: ‘who among you has convicted me of sin?’
17 Jn 7.18; Rom. 8.3; 2 Cor. 5.17; Heb. 4.15 (cf. Heb 7.16?); 1 Pet. 2.21–23.
18 Plisch, 226; cf. Davies, The Gospel of Thomas: Annotated and Explained, 126.
578 logion 104
“Let us go and be baptized.” … He said to them, “How have I sinned, such that I
should go and be baptized by him?”’19
104.3 But when the bridegroom comes out of the bridal chamber, then let
them fast and pray. France notes the contrast between the Synoptics’ ‘removal’
(ἀπαρθῇ) and Thomas’s lack of reference to violent death (the bridegroom
‘comes out’ or ‘comes forth’).20 Compare Bovon’s contrast between Luke’s ‘one
will be taken, the other will be left’, and ‘one will die, one will live’ in GTh 61.1.21
The word for ‘bridal chamber’ (ⲛⲩⲙⲫⲱⲛ, νυμφών) is probably more specific than
GTh 75’s ⲙⲁ ⲛ̄ϣⲉⲗⲉⲉⲧ, which can be either bridal chamber or the place of the
marriage feast (see comment on GTh 75). This second reference to prayer is a
result of the influence of Lukan redaction (see also above on 104.1).
19 Quid peccavi ut vadam et baptizer ab eo? (G. Naz. in Jerome, Adv. Pelag. 3.2.1.) Quispel, ‘The
Gospel of Thomas and the New Testament’, 190–191, thinks this evidence that Gos. Naz. is
related to Thomas via Gos. Heb.: he sees Gos. Ebion. and Gos. Naz. as ‘just recensions of an
underlying Gospel of the Hebrews’, which was a source for Thomas. Unfortunately, this is
merely a tissue of speculation upon speculation.
20 France, Gospel of Mark, 140 and n. 37.
21 Bovon, ‘Sentences propres’, 50.
Logion 1051
ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ⲡⲉⲧⲛⲁⲥⲟⲩⲱⲛ ⲡⲉⲓⲱⲧ⳿ ⲙⲛ̄ ⲧⲙⲁⲁⲩ ⲥⲉⲛⲁⲙⲟⲩⲧⲉ ⲉⲣⲟϥ⳿ ϫⲉ ⲡϣⲏⲣⲉ

ⲙ̄ⲡⲟⲣⲛⲏ
Jesus said, ‘Whoever knows the Father and the Mother will be called “son of
a prostitute”’.
Interpretation
This is a puzzling saying, as can be seen from the multiplicity of approaches to

it.
(1) Nordsieck and Davies see this saying as a christological statement accord-
ing to which Jesus, although the one who truly knows the Father and the
maternal Spirit, is nevertheless accused particularly by Jews of being ille-
gitimate.2 A reference specifically to Jesus is implied by some translations,
such as Lambdin (‘He who knows the father and the mother …’.3), but
is unlikely. The future ⲡⲉⲧⲛⲁⲥⲟⲩⲱⲛ most probably makes the statement
indefinite (‘Whoever knows the father and the mother …’).4
(2) Another approach sees this saying as critical of family ties. For DeCon-
ick and other commentators, those who know father and mother are de-
nounced as those who remain too close to their biological families.5 How-
ever, ‘will be called “son of a prostitute”’ is an odd sort of denunciation:
the implication of the wording is ‘will be called (by others)’ or ‘will gener-
ally be known as’, not called such specifically by the addressees of Thomas.
The phrasing is unlikely to mean ‘should be regarded in this way by true
disciples’. The Coptic’s ‘the father and the mother’ are perhaps also against
this. Coptic is just as fond as English of possessive pronouns, and so one
1 Bibliography for GTh 105: Trevijano Etcheverría, ‘La madre de Jesús’, 271–284.
2 Nordsieck, 362; Davies, The Gospel of Thomas: Annotated and Explained, 126.
One, 91.
4 Layton, Coptic Grammar, 239 (§ 311 i); cf. Grosso, 252–253.
5 DeConick, 283–284; cf. Ménard, 204; Valantasis, 185; Hedrick, 175; Grosso, 253–254.
580 logion 105
might expect ‘his father and his mother’ instead, whereas ⲡⲉⲓⲱⲧ ⲙⲛ̄ ⲧⲙⲁⲁⲩ
suggests more readily ‘the Father and the Mother’.6
(3) Plisch’s interpretation removes the difficulty by adding a ‘not’ (‘whoever
does not know’). The saying then means: ‘Only the one who has full spiri-
tual cognition (of father and mother) is not a son of a whore; everybody else
who is still connected to the biological kin and does not have full knowl-
edge of his spiritual parental identity is rightfully called a son of a whore
…’7 Adding a ‘not’ is a rather desperate measure, and the parallel which
Plisch adduces from the Gospel of Philip (52,21–24) is not unproblematic
either, because it refers to orphans who do know their mothers but not their
fathers.
(4) A fourth possibility, suggested by Grant & Freedman, is that in this say-
ing Jesus is taken to anticipate the criticisms which Thomas Christians will
meet: although they are truly those who know the supreme Father and
spiritual Mother, the Holy Spirit (cf. GTh 101), the elect disciples will be
accused of being spiritually illegitimate. This is the most likely interpreta-
tion. It does justice to the language of ‘knowing the father and the mother’:
cf. 69.1: ‘those who know the Father’ (ⲛⲉⲛⲧⲁϩⲥⲟⲩⲱⲛ ⲡⲉⲓⲱⲧ), and the numer-
ous other instances of ‘the Father’. It also makes sense of the ‘will be called’
phraseology. The accusation of bastardy against disciples makes sense as
an extension of the same accusation against Jesus himself: just as Jesus was
accused of being a ‘son of a prostitute’ (quaestuariae filius, Tert. Spect. 30,
c. 196–197ce),8 so the same could be applied to his true disciples.
Notes
Whoever knows the Father and the Mother. A reference here to biological
parents, of whom knowledge is the norm, would make the saying very odd.
Rather, the sense is of heavenly parentage. The heavenly, spiritual Mother is
not such common currency as the Father, but cf. GTh 101 (‘my true Mother gave
me life’), and may be equated with the Holy Spirit (cf. GTh 44) and possibly also
the ‘great power and great wealth’ (GTh 85).9 (For discussion of the Mother, see
6 Compare GTh 55: ⲡⲉⲧⲛⲁⲙⲉⲥⲧⲉ ⲡⲉϥ⳿ⲉⲓⲱⲧ⳿ ⲁⲛ⳿ ⲙⲛ̄ ⲧⲉϥⲙⲁⲁⲩ … ⲁⲩⲱ ⲛ̄ϥⲙⲉⲥⲧⲉ ⲛⲉϥ⳿ⲥⲛⲏⲩ⳿ ⲙⲛ̄ ⲛⲉϥⲥⲱⲛⲉ,
and GTh 101: ⲡⲉⲧⲁⲙⲉⲥⲧⲉ ⲡⲉϥⲉⲓⲱⲧ⳿ ⲁⲛ ⲙⲛ̄ ⲧⲉϥ⳿ⲙⲁⲁⲩ … ⲁⲩⲱ ⲡⲉⲧⲁⲙⲣ̄ⲣⲉ ⲡⲉϥⲉⲓⲱⲧ ⲁⲛ ⲙⲛ̄ ⲧⲉϥⲙⲁⲁⲩ … .
7 Plisch, 229.
8 See Horbury, Jews and Christians in Contact and Controversy, 176–179, on this passage.
9 See Trevijano Etcheverría, ‘La madre de Jesús’.
logion 105 581
GTh 101.) As such, the reference is to spiritual knowledge of these heavenly and
divine parents.
Will be called “son of a prostitute”. This metaphorical accusation more
naturally fits a reference specific to Jesus, but can also be found in a more
general sense: see e.g. Pes. Rabb. 21.6 (100b–101a), where the ‘son of a prostitute’
is envisaged as saying that there are two gods.10 Closer in time to Thomas are
the frequent references in Philo to those polytheists who are symbolically ἐκ
πόρνης, in the sense that they have many divine fathers whom they worship but
are ignorant of the real Father (Mig. 69; Dec. 8; Conf. 144; Spec. Leg. 1.331–332).
10 For the passage, see W.G. Braude, tr. Pesikta Rabbati: Discourses for Feasts, Fasts, and Special
Sabbaths (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1968), 422; for discussion, see P. Schafer, Jesus
in the Talmud (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2007), 109–111.
Logion 1061
106.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ϩⲟⲧⲁⲛ ⲉⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ϣⲁⲣ̄ ⲡⲥⲛⲁⲩ ⲟⲩⲁ ⲧⲉⲧⲛⲁϣⲱⲡⲉ ⲛ̄ϣⲏⲣⲉ ⲙ̄ⲡⲣⲱⲙⲉ
106.2 ⲁⲩⲱ ⲉⲧⲉⲧⲛ̄ϣⲁⲛ⳿ϫⲟⲟⲥ ϫⲉ ⲡⲧⲟⲟⲩ ⲡⲱⲱⲛⲉ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ⳿ ϥⲛⲁⲡⲱⲱⲛⲉ
106.1 Jesus said, ‘When you make the two one, you will become sons of man.
106.2 And when you say, “Mountain, move away!”, it will move.’
Interpretation
This saying is parallelled in a number of places in the Synoptics (Mk 11.23; Matt.
21.21; cf. 17.20), with both parts related to, and rephrasings of, prayer statements.
Thomas’s saying has nothing to do with prayer. GTh 106 repeats to a large extent
the language of GTh 48:2
Jesus said, ‘If two make peace with one another in this one house, they
will say to the mountain, “Move away”, and it will move.’
The point of GTh 106 is to assert that those who engage in the activity of
recovering the primordial unity which existed prior to the cosmic disruption
will attain to true humanity (106.1) and also attain a position of ascendancy
in the cosmos. Valantasis rightly notes that GTh 106 brings together three
important themes in Thomas: becoming one, true humanity (being sons of
man), and spiritual supremacy over physical realities. The two apodoses may
be related: becoming true sons of man (106.1) and having supremacy over
the world (106.2) might be traced back to Genesis, where Adam was to have
dominion over the earth (Gen. 1.26, 28; cf. Dan. 7.13–14).
Notes
106.1 When you make the two one. Schröter rightly emphasises that this pro-
tasis is signficant for our understanding of Thomas’s soteriology.3 The clause
1 Bibliography for GTh 106: Klijn, ‘The “Single One” in the Gospel of Thomas’, 271–278.
2 It is a doublet also in Matthew (17.20; 21.21).
logion 106 583
repeats the familiar theme of recovering primordial unity, and those who
achieve this will be true human beings (see Introduction, § 10.1–2).4 Thomas
envisages the fall into duality in a number of ways (male/ female; inside/ out-
side, etc.), but the reference here is general.5 This protasis is probably related to
(and derived from) Matt. 18.19, where ‘if two agree’, what they ask will be done
for them.6
106.1 You will become sons of man. The phrase ‘sons of man’ is usually taken
to refer to true human beings, with small variations around the edges.7 Grosso
makes the nice observation that ‘sons of man’—the disciples’ true identity—
might well stand in contrast to the ‘son of a prostitute’ in the previous saying
(GTh 105).8 In addition to the contrast of authenticity vs (alleged) inauthen-
ticity, there may be a gender contrast (cf. a possible similar contrast between
mother and Father in 79.1–2).
106.2 And when you say, “Mountain, move away!”, it will move. This state-
ment recalls the Synoptic sayings about having faith sufficient to tell mountains
to move (Mk 11.23; Matt. 17.20; 21.21; cf. Lk. 17.6; 1Cor. 13.2). In the Synoptics, the
point is that with faith nothing is impossible. In Thomas, the main interest is
that those who cultivate unity will reach the position of having authority over
the world: similarly, in GTh 2 ‘finding’ leads ultimately to ruling; in GTh 19.2,
‘these stones will serve’ true disciples. The superiority over the world is also
expressed in the ‘world is not worthy’ sayings (GTh 56; 80; 111). See further the
notes on GTh 2.4 above.
4 Bauer, ‘De agraphis genuinis’, 131: ‘veri homines, perfecti scilicet’, in reference to a view of
Leipoldt.
5 It is not specifically or exclusively gender difference which is in view (cf. Plisch, 231).
6 P. Pokorný, ‘Die Herrenworte im Thomasevangelium und bei Paulus. Ein Beitrag zur Über-
lieferungsgeschichte der Sprüche Jesu’, in P. Nagel, ed. Carl-Schmidt-Kolloquium an der Mar-
tin-Luther-Universität 1988 (Halle-Wittenberg: Martin-Luther-Universität, 1990), 157–164 (161).
7 Nordsieck, 365, sees Jesus as the son of man in the first instance, which can also include
true disciples (similarly, Valantasis, 186); DeConick, 285, sees Adam in his pristine state as
the model and goal (similarly, Pokorný, 148; Hedrick, 176). Cf. also Ignatius, Rom. 6.2, where
after his death, Ignatius ‘will be a man’.
8 Grosso, 254.
Logion 1071
107.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ⲧⲙⲛ̄ⲧⲉⲣⲟ ⲉⲥⲧⲛ̄ⲧⲱ(ⲛ) ⲉⲩⲣⲱⲙⲉ ⲛ̄ϣⲱⲥ ⲉⲩⲛ̄ⲧⲁϥ⳿ ⲙ̄ⲙⲁⲩ ⲛ̄ϣⲉ
ⲛ̄ⲉⲥⲟⲟⲩ 107.2 ⲁⲟⲩⲁ ⲛ̄ϩⲏⲧⲟⲩ ⲥⲱⲣⲙ⳿ ⲉⲡⲛⲟϭ ⲡⲉ ⲁϥⲕⲱ ⲙ̄ⲡⲥⲧⲉⲯⲓⲧ ⲁϥϣⲓⲛⲉ ⲛ̄ⲥⲁ
ⲡⲓⲟⲩⲁ⳿ ϣⲁⲛⲧⲉϥϩⲉ ⲉⲣⲟϥ 107.3 ⲛ̄ⲧⲁⲣⲉϥϩⲓⲥⲉ ⲡⲉϫⲁϥ⳿ ⲙ̄ⲡⲉⲥⲟ⟦ⲩ⟧ⲟ‘ⲩ’ ϫⲉ ϯⲟⲩⲟϣⲕ⳿
ⲡⲁⲣⲁ ⲡⲥⲧⲉⲯⲓⲧ⳿
107.1 Jesus said, ‘The kingdom is like a shepherd who had a hundred sheep.
107.2 One of them, the largest, wandered off. He left the ninety-nine, and
searched for this one until he found it. 107.3 When he had laboured, he said
to the sheep, “I love you more than the ninety-nine.”’
Interpretation
The parable of the Lost Sheep (cf. Matt. 18.12–14; Lk. 15.3–7) has attracted a large
number of explanations. It is Thomas’s thirteenth parable (see comment above
on GTh 8). Some minority interpretations can be mentioned before discussing
the two main options.
An interpretation along Valentinian lines is unlikely, whether it is based
on Irenaeus’s report (AH 1.8.4; 2.5.2) or the Gospel of Truth (also paralleled in
AH 2.24.6).2 In the former case, Thomas’s shepherd is the saviour who seeks
for Achamoth.3 In the latter case, the ninety-nine are the heavenly world, the
pleroma, and the one is ‘that part of the light world which is not “at home,”
but outside, imprisoned in the material world’, but which when restored brings
1 Bibliography for GTh 107: Cerfaux & Garitte, ‘Les Paraboles du royaume dans l’“Évangile
de Thomas”’, III.76–79; Bauer, ‘De “labore” Salvatoris’, 123–130; Schrage, Verhältnis, 193–197;
Schnider, ‘Das Gleichnis vom verlorenen Schaf’, 146–154; W.L. Petersen, ‘The Parable of the
Lost Sheep in the Gospel of Thomas and the Synoptics’, NovT 23 (1981), 128–147; Zöckler,
Jesu Lehren im Thomasevangelium, 158–164; Liebenberg, Language of the Kingdom, 424–430;
A. Lorenzo Molinari, ‘The Parable of the Lost Sheep and its Lost Interpretation: A Proposal
for Gospel of Thomas 107 as Stage 1 in an Early Christian Jesus Trajectory’, in L. Painchaud
& P.-H. Poirier, eds. Colloque internationale: “L’ Évangile selon Thomas et les textes de Nag
Hammadi”. Québec, 29–31 mai 2003 (Leuven: Peeters, 2007), 301–322.
2 Cf. Schnider, who interprets the parable along the more general lines of the Gnostic redeemer
myth (‘Gleichnis vom verlorenen Schaf’, 151), and twice refers to Thomas’s concern as ‘esoteric’
(151, 154).
3 So, tentatively, Bauer, ‘De labore Salvatoris’, 127, on Thomas’s version as well.
logion 107 585
perfection.4 There is no trace in GTh 107 of Thomas’s dependence upon the

Valentinian myth.5
More recent interpretations include that of King, who comments that ‘the
emphasis of the parable is on love for those who, having gone astray, have been
found.’6 Hedrick considers the parable to be about spiritual insight (which may
be seen as illogical, like the action of the shepherd), as opposed to common
wisdom.7 For Valantasis, the ‘one’ sheep is the self over against the ninety-
nine who represent the ‘dominant culture’, whether the point is the relative
value of each, or the need for the self to withdraw from the great major-
ity.8 Similarly, for Pokorný, the one leaves the majority of the mainstream
church.9
Considerable light is shed on the parable by its closest analogues in Thomas,
namely GTh 8 and 76, which help decide the key question of whether the
protagonist is the Father/ Jesus or the disciple.10 In the parable of the Dragnet
(GTh 8), is the wise fisherman Jesus who chooses the ‘single’ elect, or is it the
disciple who casts aside all other options in preference for true knowledge? In
the parable of the Pearl (GTh 76), is the shrewd merchant the divine agent of
election who casts aside the rest of humanity in preference for the precious true
disciple, or is he that true disciple who has counted all rubbish for the sake of
having the pearl of knowledge, the only treasure worth having? So also here: is
the shepherd the divine Father or Jesus on the one hand, or the elect disciple
on the other?11 As has been noted in the discussions of the other parables, the
similarities among the three are striking:
4 Gärtner, Theology of the Gospel of Thomas, 236. There is no sense in GTh 107, however,
that ‘the alterations to the parable of the lost sheep in Logion 107 seem to be based upon
precisely these ideas’ (236). Indeed the shepherd’s greater love for the one does not make
good sense against this background.
5 For further interpretations recorded by Irenaeus, see AH 1.16.1 (the Marcosians); 1.23.2
(Simon Magus), and AH 2.24.6 (paralleling the Gospel of Truth). Irenaeus’ own interpreta-
tion can be seen in 3.23.1 (where the sheep is Adam).
7 Hedrick, 177.
9 Pokorný, 149.
10 Grant & Freedman, 192–193, leave the matter open.
11 See e.g. Haenchen, Botschaft, 47, for the view that the shepherd is God/ Jesus.
586 logion 107
Introduction: ‘The man is like …’ ‘kingdom … is like …’ ‘kingdom is like …’

Precious possession: a fish ‘this one pearl’ ‘this one’ sheep
Two elements might point in favour of the ‘divine election’ interpretations of

these parables: (i) the language of “choosing” in GTh 8, and (ii) the contrast
between the one and the many might lead the reader to connect these with
GTh 23: ‘I will choose you, one out of a thousand, and two out of ten thousand.
And they will stand as single ones.’ (iii) The parallel with the Synoptic Gospels
might suggest a parable about divine rather than human action.
On the other hand, assuming that Thomas’s parables correspond in function
to their Synoptic counterparts is a dangerous assumption. Taking these para-
bles in Thomas as parables of the elect disciple coming to knowledge also has
much to commend it: (i) the language of “finding” which is common to all three
parables appears frequently in Thomas as the activity of the elect (GTh 1, 2, 49,
77, 90, 92, 94, 110, 111). Most decisively in favour of this interpretation, however,
is (ii) the interpretation of the parable of the pearl supplied in GTh 76.3: ‘As for
you, seek his unfailing and enduring treasure, where no moth comes near to
eat and no worm destroys.’ The pearl is thus clearly the treasure of knowledge,
rather than the true disciple. Given the structural similarities among these
three parables it is tempting to take them to have this common application.
Finally (iii), the ‘labour’ (ϩⲓⲥⲉ) involved in the shepherd’s search for the sheep
makes good sense as an element of the disciple’s quest (cf. GTh 58; also 2; 109).13
The focus in this parable lies, then, in the total concern of the disciple with
the salvation provided by Jesus and the complete indifference to all other

13 It could also, however, be taken as integral to Jesus’ work of revelation: cf. the travail of
Jesus’ soul in GTh 28.3 (Bauer, ‘De labore Salvatoris’, 126–127, sees a reference in GTh 107
to the passion). This is a less prominent theme in Thomas than the effort required of the
disciple.
logion 107 587
competing concerns.14 As Petersen rightly commented in response to Schnider,

the parable is ‘not intrinsically Gnostic’ in Thomas. Against Petersen, however,
the acceptance of an Edessan provenance should not lead one to assume ‘a
reader of Thomas, acquainted with all the OT precedents’, and that Israel is
the lost sheep.15 Much more in tune with the rest of Thomas is the focus on the
treasured possession of salvation in contrast with an indifference to or rejection
of all else.
Notes
107.1 The kingdom is like a shepherd who had a hundred sheep. Schnider
points out that the introductory ‘kingdom’ formula is distinctive to Thomas,
thus bringing it into relation to the other kingdom sayings.16 On the kingdom in
Thomas, see Introduction, §10.1 above. As noted above, the point of comparison
with the kingdom in this parable is that the shepherd denotes the disciple, and
the theme is that disciple’s attitude to the kingdom.
107.2 One of them, the largest. As Bruce notes, the main difference in
Thomas’s version is that while in the Synoptics, ‘the owner puts himself to
exceptional trouble over the hundredth sheep just because it is lost’, Thomas
‘rationalises the situation’ in explaining that this sheep is the largest.17 Lorenzo
Molinari agrees, for different reasons.18 Thomas highlights the worthiness of
the object of the searching, which would fit well with the object being the
14 Petersen, ‘Parable of the Lost Sheep’, 128–130; Plisch, 232; Grosso, 255.
15 Petersen, ‘Parable of the Lost Sheep’, 133. A contrast between the milieu of Thomas as Jew-
ish and the ‘Gentile (or mixed Jewish-Gentile)’ milieu of the Synoptics is surely misguided
(cf. e.g. GTh 52–53), especially his idea that the readers of Thomas were ‘Jews and pros-
elytes who considered Jesus to be a prophet or the messiah’ (‘Parable of the Lost Sheep’,
136). Petersen’s rabbinic parallels to the counting of the sheep of Israel fail because in the
parable here Israel is on his reading one sheep among the many nations. Although he crit-
icises Jeremias for reading the parable too much through the lens of the canonical gospels,
Petersen himself does not seem to consider the possibility that the shepherd might be the
disciple rather than God.
16 Schnider, ‘Gleichnis vom verlorenen Schaf’, 150–151; also Plisch, 232.
17 Bruce, Jesus and Christian Origins, 151; cf. Grant & Freedman, 192; Schnider, ‘Gleichnis’, 151
(‘eine rationale Erklärung’).
18 Lorenzo Molinari, ‘Parable of the Lost Sheep’, considers the original parable to be a vicious
story about the abandonment of the 99, those such as the Pharisees and Scribes (312–313),
with Thomas’s version also serving to justify this outrageous action (316).
588 logion 107
knowledge of salvation, rather than human beings. The ‘great’ here is best
explained not as a reference to Israel as a ‘great’ nation, but on the analogy of
the great fish in GTh 8.19 It is possible that this accentuation of the ‘large’ sheep
is in contrast to Matthew’s ‘little ones’, who are the theme of the Matthean
parable (Matt. 18.10 and 18.14, bracketing the parable in 18.12–13);20 against this,
however, Thomas can also value the ‘little one’ (GTh 46.2).
107.2 Wandered off. There is no real difference here with either Luke’s ‘lost’
sheep, or Matthew’s which has merely strayed (with Thomas closer to the
latter). The shepherd still has to ‘search for’ and ‘find’ the sheep (107.2).
107.2 He left the ninety-nine, and searched for this one until he found it.
Unlike Matthew and Luke, Thomas does not specify where the others are left.
Thomas’s subordinate clause corresponds exactly to Luke 15.4 (ϣⲁⲛⲧⲉϥϩⲉ ⲉⲣⲟϥ
= ἕως εὕρῃ αὐτό). As in the analogous sayings (GTh 8 and 76), the wise disciple
selects the one true treasure and discards everything else; the ninety-nine
therefore corresponds essentially to competing but inferior interests which the
true disciple leaves behind.
107.3 When he had laboured. Petersen’s translation (‘Having tired himself
out …’) captures the sense nicely.21 The ‘labour’, a difference from the Synoptics’
version of the parable, highlights the hard work required of the disciple in the
quest for the knowledge (cf. e.g. GTh 20, 58, 109).22
107.3 He said to the sheep, “I love you more than the ninety-nine.” The
shepherd speaking to the sheep is distinctive to Thomas’s version. One might
suppose here the influence of the Matthean parable (‘he rejoices over it more
than over the ninety-nine’; Matt. 18.13; cf. Lk. 15.7), such that what is ‘correct only
at the time of the finding’ in Matthew becomes generalised and rationalised in
Thomas.23 This is speculative, however.
19 Pace Petersen, ‘Parable of the Lost Sheep’, 133.

20 Plisch, 232.
21 Petersen, ‘Parable of the Lost Sheep’, 129.
22 It is possible that this slightly enigmatic reference to ‘labour’ also arises by interference
from another piece of Jesus tradition which refers to rescuing sheep, namely the halakhic
discussion in Matt 12.11 of whether it is classified as ‘labour’ on the Sabbath to rescue a
sheep from a pit. It may be relevant here that the Gospel of Truth pairs the parable of the
Lost Sheep with this discussion (31,35–32,37).
23 The quotation is from Davies & Allison, Matthew, II.775, referring to the explanation of
Lindemann.
Logion 1081
108.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ⲡⲉⲧⲁⲥⲱ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ϩⲛ̄ ⲧⲁⲧⲁⲡⲣⲟ ϥⲛⲁϣⲱⲡⲉ ⲛ̄ⲧⲁϩⲉ 108.2 ⲁⲛⲟⲕ ϩⲱ
ϯⲛⲁϣⲱⲡⲉ ⲉⲛⲧⲟϥ ⲡⲉ 108.3 ⲁⲩⲱ ⲛⲉⲑⲏⲡ⳿ ⲛⲁ⳿ⲟⲩⲱⲛϩ ⲉⲣⲟϥ⳿
108.1 Jesus said, ‘Whoever drinks from my mouth will become like me. 108.2
I myself will become him, 108.3 and what are hidden will be revealed to him.’
Interpretation
Alongside the commonplace of the revelation of the hidden in GTh 108.3 (cf.
GTh 5, 6), the dominant motif here is that of the disciple becoming like, or
even sharing in the identity of the revealer. This idea is attributed by Irenaeus
to Marcus Magus, who allegedly said—in particular to his female adherents:
‘Adorn yourself as a bride expecting her bridegroom, so that you may be what I
am, and I what you are’ (ut sis quod ego et ego quod tu).2 Similarly, the Gospel of
Eve is cited by Epiphanius as follows:
I stood upon a high mountain and saw a tall man, and another who was
short. And I heard something like the sound of thunder. I went nearer to
hear, and he spoke to me and said: ‘I am you and you are me (ἐγὼ σὺ καὶ
σὺ ἐγώ). And wherever you are, I am there, and I am sown in all things …’3
One can also compare the Gospel of Philip, according to which the one who
acquires the name with the chrism ‘is no longer a Christian but a Christ’ (Gos.
Phil. 67,26–27), in accordance with Philip’s theology of becoming like the divine
which one beholds (61,20–35). Very similar language appears again in Pistis
Sophia 96. There is a much wider theology in the Greek philosophical tradition
of ὁμοίωσις θεῷ.4
1 Bibliography for GTh 108: DeConick, Seek to See Him, 105–115; Marjanen, ‘Portrait of Jesus’,
209–219.
2 Irenaeus, AH 1.13.3.
3 Epiphanius, Pan. 26.3.1.
4 See the excellent survey of the theme in G.H. van Kooten, Paul’s Anthropology in Context:
The Image of God, Assimilation to God, and Tripartite Man in Ancient Judaism, Ancient Phi-
losophy and Early Christianity (WUNT 232; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2008), 124–181. Popkes,
Menschenbild, 176 makes the link between ὁμοίωσις θεῷ and GTh 108.
590 logion 108
What is particularly difficult to define here is the nature of the identity

between Jesus and the disciple. As Zöckler rightly notes: ‘Es können verschie-
dene Formen der mystischen Identifikation mit einer erlösenden Figur unter-
schieden werden.’5 A ‘soft’ reading of this likeness might, beginning from the
surrounding references to revelation in 108.1 and 108.3, understand this iden-
tity as a shared knowledge of heavenly origin: this is something which even the
elect do not have unless they take on board the revelation of Jesus.6 On accept-
ing Jesus’ words, however, the elect share with Jesus that they have come from
the kingdom (cf. GTh 49). A ‘stronger’ reading, on the other hand, might see the
identity more in terms of an inclusion of the disciple somehow into the being
of Jesus (cf. Jesus’ identification with the all in GTh 77?), or that on coming to
knowledge the disciple takes on an identity constituted by the inner, invisible
image which is synonymous with Jesus himself (cf. GTh 84?). The softer read-
ing is uncontroversial within the limits of what Thomas says elsewhere; the only
question is whether it does justice to the strength of the language in 108.2.7 The
harder readings attempt to do justice to 108.2, but are more speculative because
they receive less support from elsewhere in Thomas though they can be paral-
leled. Perhaps a strong reading is the better option, according to which the true
disciple who has actualised salvation is thereby defined so completely by the
true light image—which is ‘part’ of Jesus himself—that he is thereby identified
with Jesus.
This identification of the disciple with Jesus raises the question of whether
there is a ‘twin theology’ (as, for example, in the Acts of Thomas). This is thought
to apply first and foremost to the disciple Judas Thomas, because the name
‘Thomas’ is related to the Aramaic/ Syriac for ‘twin’, tʾm(ʾ). It may also have been
inspired in part by Jesus having a brother called Jude/ Judas (Mk 6.3/ Matt.
13.55). Thereafter, it is thought to be possible that believers in general might
enter into this relation of twinship. Some scholars argue for the presence of
this idea in Thomas, largely on the basis of the Prologue (identifying this work
as the gospel message of the twin), the ideal of masterless discipleship in GTh
13.5, and perhaps especially GTh 108 here.8 GTh 108 does not quite envisage
5 Zöckler, Jesu Lehren im Thomasevangelium, 245–246.

6 So Marjanen, ‘Portrait of Jesus’, 214.
7 Plisch interprets the statement as referring to a union with Jesus, which is perhaps too weak.
8 For a positive verdict, see e.g. Gunther, ‘Judas Thomas’, 114; Janssen, ‘Evangelium des Zwill-
ings?’, 231, 236; Gagné, ‘Sectarianism, Secret Teaching and Self-Definition’, 234–236, and espe-
cially M. Frenschkowski, ‘Zwillingsmythologie in der Thomastradition’, in J. Schröter, ed. The
Apocryphal Gospels within the Context of Early Christian Theology (Leuven/ Paris/ Walpole:
Peeters, 2013), 509–528. Poirier, ‘Évangile de Thomas, Actes de Thomas, Livre de Thomas’,
logion 108 591
twinship, however, but rather a kind of identity: there is probably no sense

of Jesus’ twinship in Thomas. Without the later writings which characterise
Thomas as Jesus’ twin (such as the Acts of Thomas) one could not divine on
the basis of GTh 13.5 and 108 such a view of Thomas in his Gospel.9
Notes
108.1 Whoever drinks from my mouth will become like me. GTh 108 begins
with a weaker statement about the resemblance of the disciple to Jesus as a
result of receiving revelation. Something like ‘drinking’ from Jesus has already
been mentioned in Thomas, in GTh 13 where Thomas has drunk ‘from the
bubbling spring which I have dug’ (cf. Jn 4.13–14; 7.37–38), which is also associ-
ated with masterless discipleship. Plisch suggests that 108.1 may reflect a kiss of
peace in Thomas’s community, but this is probably overstressed.10 More appro-
priate might be a communal drink, as reflected in the use of similar language
in Irenaeus’ report of Mark the Mage, but this is probably not necessary either.
More proximate is GTh 13, where Thomas has drunk from the spring which
Jesus has dug; the same idea is implied in the image of the cistern as a place
of salvation in GTh 74 (cf. GTh 47). Drinking from Jesus’ mouth here can be
straightforwardly interpreted as the acceptance of Jesus’ words of revelation,
without recourse to ritual elements which are not found elsewhere in Thomas.
108.2 I myself will become him.11 The saying then becomes stronger, with
the sense of identity between Jesus and the disciple increased by comparison
with GTh 108.1.
108.3 And what are hidden will be revealed to him. The closest parallel in
Thomas is GTh 5.1, and one might also compare the revelation and the event
of ‘seeing’ in 83–84.12 In this state, the disciple is in full possession of the secret
knowledge of his origin and destiny. The theme (and language) of the ‘hidden’
being revealed continues into GTh 109.
22, sees the Acts as a development of what is already present in the Gospel. In contrast, see
DeConick, 45; Meyer, ‘Beginning’, 45; Pagels, Beyond Belief, 57; Perrin, Thomas: The Other
Gospel, 124.
9 For a cautious discussion of the twin motif, see Uro, Thomas, 10–15.
10 Plisch, 233. See the various helpful parallels he supplies, however.
11 For the Coptic construction, see Layton, Coptic Grammar, 202 (§255).
12 The revelation of the hidden in GTh 6 is of a rather different character.
Logion 1091
109.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ⲧⲙⲛ̄ⲧⲉⲣⲟ ⲉⲥⲧⲛ̄ⲧⲱⲛ ⲉⲩⲣⲱⲙⲉ ⲉⲩⲛ̄ⲧⲁϥ [ⲙ̄]ⲙ̣ⲁⲩ ‘ϩ’ⲛ̄ ⲧⲉϥ⳿ⲥⲱϣⲉ
ⲛ̄ⲛⲟⲩⲉϩⲟ ⲉϥϩ[ⲏⲡ ⲉ]ϥ̣ⲟ ⲛ̄ⲁⲧⲥⲟⲟⲩⲛ⳿ ⲉⲣⲟϥ 109.2 ⲁⲩⲱ ⲙ̄[ⲙⲛ̄ⲛⲥⲁ ⲧ]ⲣⲉϥⲙⲟⲩ ⲁϥⲕⲁⲁϥ
ⲙ̄ⲡ̅ⲉϥ⳿[ϣⲏⲣⲉ ⲛⲉ] ⲡ̣ϣⲏⲣⲉ ⲥⲟⲟⲩⲛ ⲁⲛ⳿ ⲁϥϥⲓ⳿ ⲧⲥⲱϣⲉ ⲉⲧⲙ̄ⲙⲁⲩ ⲁϥⲧⲁⲁⲥ̣ [ⲉⲃⲟ]ⲗ 109.3
ⲁⲩⲱ ⲡⲉ̣[ⲛ]ⲧⲁϩⲧⲟⲟⲩⲥ ⲁϥⲉⲓ ⲉϥⲥⲕⲁⲉⲓ ⲁ[ϥϩ]ⲉ̣ ⲁⲡⲉϩⲟ ⲁϥⲁⲣⲭⲉⲓ ⲛ̄ϯ ϩⲟⲙⲧ⳿ ⲉⲧⲙⲏⲥⲉ
ⲛ̣̄[ⲛⲉ]ⲧ̣ϥ̄ⲟⲩⲟϣⲟⲩ
109.1 Jesus said, ‘The kingdom is like a man who had in his field a hi[dden]
treasure without knowing of it. 109.2 And a[ fter] he died, he left the field to
his [son]. The son did not know. He took that field and sold it. 109.3 And the
one who bought it went ploughing. [He fou]nd the treasure, and began to
lend money at interest to whomever he wished.’
Textual Comment
Most of the restorations in this lacunose saying are broadly agreed, except
that Hedrick contests the reading ⲙ̄[ⲙⲛ̄ⲛⲥⲁ ⲧ]ⲣⲉϥⲙⲟⲩ (‘after he died’) in 109.2,
preferring ⲙ̄[ⲡⲁⲧϥⲙⲟⲩ ⲡ]ⲣⲉϥⲙⲟⲩ on grounds both of sense (bequeathing before
death), and that it fills the space better.2 The size of writing at the bottom of this
page (p. 51 of NH II) is irregular, however, and I am unsure how to make sense of
Hedrick’s Coptic here.3 The sense of the text provided above is unproblematic:
the bequest would only take effect upon the father’s death.
Interpretation
GTh 109 is the last of Thomas’s 14 parables (see on GTh 8 above), and like most
of them, it has given rise to a wide variety of interpretations. It is paralleled in
1 Bibliography for GTh 109: Schrage, Verhältnis, 196–199; B. Dehandschutter, ‘Les paraboles
de l’évangile selon Thomas: la parabole du Trésor caché (log. 109)’, ETL 47 (1971), 199–219;
J.D. Crossan, ‘Hidden Treasure Parables in Late Antiquity’, SBLSP (1976), 359–379; Hedrick,
Parables as Poetic Fictions, 117–141; Zöckler, Jesu Lehren im Thomasevangelium, 154–158;
Liebenberg, Language of the Kingdom, 225–243; Liebenberg ‘To Know How to Find’, 109–119.
2 Hedrick, 180.
3 Hedrick simply translates ‘before he died’, which is awkward as a rendering of his text.
logion 109 593
Matt. 13.44, and has loose parallels elsewhere,4 although none of them really
provides a solution to the meaning, which must be found within Thomas.
(1) The parable might mean that revelation comes ‘in the concrete engage-
ment with the world, with the mundane’.5 This is an un-Thomasine theme,
however, despite Liebenberg’s attempt to see it elsewhere.6 (2) Some interpre-
tations focus on the negative characters, the father and son, and their ignorance
and loss;7 the parable is thus a warning. Such a reading neglects the prime
importance of the climactic third character. (3) Lindemann and Patterson see
this main character as negative, because of his despicable engagement in usury
(cf. GTh 95), and so take the parable to be a warning against wealth which is
reinforced by the connection to GTh 110 with its condemnation of riches.8 This
neglects the fact, however, that the lending happens in the parabolic world,
and that the ignorance vs finding motif is something much more prominent in
Thomas. (4) Some interpret the parable in a strongly allegorical manner, seeing
perhaps a sequence of hylikos—psychikos—pneumatikos,9 or Israel—Jewish
Christians—Gentile (Thomas) Christians.10 On the former, one might expect
the second man to have a slightly higher station in the parable than his father,
whereas both are equally ignorant. In any case, as Gärtner notes, the tripartite
structure could be purely literary,11 and Grosso notes that Thomas might have a
fondness for tripartition (cf. GTh 44; 50; 65; 86; 100).12 (5) Hedrick rather gives
up on a definite interpretation, and says that the meaning is ‘open-ended’.13
Because of the importance of the theme in Thomas, and because of the
literary structure of the parable, the ‘finding’ by the third man is likely to be
4 Horace, Sat. 2.6.10–13 appears to refer to a well-known story along these lines; cf. also Philo,
Imm. 91–92. For various rabbinic parallels, see e.g. Jeremias, Parables of Jesus, 32, 198, and
see further parallels in Crossan, ‘Hidden Treasure Parables’.
5 Liebenberg, ‘Know How to Find’, 119.
6 See e.g. on GTh 8 above.
7 Crossan, ‘Hidden Treasure Parables’, 365; King, ‘Kingdom’, 56–57.
8 Lindemann, ‘Gleichnisinterpretation’, 234; Patterson, Gospel of Thomas and Jesus, 146.
9 Wilson, Studies in the Gospel of Thomas, 93 (raising this as a possibility); Dehandschutter,
‘Les paraboles de l’ évangile’, 217. In Studies in the Gospel of Thomas, 93 n. 2, Wilson presents
a related view, that the ‘treasure’ might be the interpretation of the OT, which was hidden
from both Israel and the magna ecclesia. This is less vulnerable to the criticism above,
but runs aground on the fact that Thomas seems to have no interest in the correct
interpretation of the OT (cf. GTh 52).
10 Plisch, 236.
11 Gärtner, Theology of the Gospel of Thomas, 237–238.
12 Grosso, 257.
13 Hedrick, 181.
594 logion 109
the focal point. ‘Finding’ appears as a soteriological good in GTh 1; 2; 8; 27; 38;
49; 56; 58; 77?; 80; 90; 92; 94; 97?; 107; 110; 111, and so it is reasonable to suppose
that this is the sense of 109.3. There need not be a great distinction between
the first two men, though their ignorance may represent the fact that the truth
was ‘unnoticed by generations of people who lack the knowledge’.14 The sense
of the parable is not quite ‘l’acte d’abandon total en faveur du bien suprème’,15
because Thomas—unlike Matthew—does not say that the character got rid of,
or ignored, everything else in order to get the treasure (cf. also GTh 8; 76; 107).
The parable is quite similar to the parable of the Pearl, however—the pearl is
another ‘treasure’ which is ‘found’ (GTh 76). What may well mark out the third
man is that he is the only one of the three to work (‘ploughing’) and who gets
his reward;16 both the terminology of ‘labour’ (ϩⲓⲥⲉ; GTh 58; 107; though cf. 8; 97)
and effort in general (e.g. GTh 2) are important elsewhere in Thomas. What he
finds is the treasure of salvation, i.e. rest in the kingdom. The imagery of usury
might point to the great spiritual profit that the true disciple receives: compare
the sixty-fold and one-hundred-and-twenty-fold yield of the seed in the parable
of the Sower (GTh 8). On the moral question, see note on 109.3 below.
Notes
109.1 The kingdom is like. This is another kingdom parable (cf. GTh 8?; 20; 57;
76; 96–98; 107), with the first man mentioned certainly not himself embodying
the kingdom. (On the kingdom in Thomas, see Introduction, § 10.1 above.) The
closest analogy in the parable to the kingdom is the treasure, as is explicit in
Matthew’s version, but in Thomas it is the vignette as a whole which encap-
sulates a key truth about the kingdom. There is general agreement that this
parable in its Matthean form presupposes the presence of the kingdom, which
is also the case for Thomas’s version.17
109.1 A man who had in his field a hidden treasure without knowing of
it. The opening of this parable is considerably more elaborate than Matthew’s
version, with Thomas wanting to draw attention to the theme of ignorance;
this first person mentioned is not the ‘hero’ of the parable. The theme of
14 Pokorný, 150.
15 Dehandschutter, ‘Les paraboles de l’ évangile’, 218.
16 Valantasis, 190; Gärtner, Theology of the Gospel of Thomas, 237–238. Gärtner’s other sugges-
tion, that a doctrine of reincarnation underlies this parable, is extremely unlikely (238).
GTh 59 looks as though it would in any case contradict the idea of reincarnation.
17 On the point in Matthew, see Davies & Allison, Matthew, II.435.
logion 109 595
treasure recalls the earlier parable of the Pearl (GTh 76),18 a pearl which at
the end of that saying is glossed as a ‘treasure’ (ⲉϩⲟ). That pearl was, implicitly,
hidden, as it was discovered by the merchant in a consignment of merchandise.
As ‘unknowing’ (ⲁⲧⲥⲟⲟⲩⲛ), the owner of the field, however, lacks one of the
essential characteristics advocated by Thomas, knowledge.
109.2 And after he died, he left the field to his son. The son did not know.
The son is also defined in very similar language as ignorant. It is just possible
that there is an anti-familial implication here, but this may be to press the
imagery too far.
109.2 He took that field and sold it. As Hedrick notes, ‘taking X and doing Y
to X’ is a very common Semitism or biblical idiom (cf. Matt. 13.33).19
109.3 And the one who bought it. Being an element in a parable, there is
no real conflict here with the author’s real stance on commerce. This element
can be compared with GTh 76, where the merchant sells his consignment of
merchandise in order to be able to buy the pearl, which is also explained as a
treasure.
109.3 Went ploughing. This element perhaps draws attention to the element
of ‘working’ integral to finding knowledge in a number of sayings (e.g. GTh 58;
107.3). Interestingly, the man who digging to plant a tree finds a treasure in
Philo, Imm. 91–92 is likened to discovering treasure from God χωρὶς καὶ πόνου,
‘without labour’ (cf. GTh 8).
109.3 He found the treasure. ‘Finding’ is one of the key verbs employed in
Thomas to describe coming to the knowledge of salvation (see references in the
interpretation above): ‘finding’ language continues into GTh 110 and 111.
109.3 And began to lend money at interest to whomever he wished. This
clause highlights the great prosperity of the man who found the treasure. This
statement is not at odds with GTh 95, since the presence of a motif in a parable
does not signal approval of the theme in the real world.20 This is one of the
so-called ‘immoral parables’, on which see the interpretation of GTh 98.
18 Dehandschutter, ‘Les paraboles’, 212: ‘la parabole jumelle de la perle’.

19 Hedrick, Parables as Poetic Fictions, 137, citing a number of examples including Matt. 13.33.
A Semitism of this kind does not of itself, however, indicate a Semitic Vorlage for Thomas.
See Gathercole, Composition, 100.
20 The idea that there is a ‘serious discrepancy’ (Valantasis, 190; cf. Hedrick, 180, and Linde-
mann and Patterson as discussed above) is unfounded. Pace Hedrick, Parables as Poetic
Fictions, 140–141, since the usury motif is embedded within a parable, there is no question
of the readers or auditors being left to come to a conclusion about the morality of the
third man becoming a banker. Cf. the motif of lending at interest in Matt. 25.27; Lk. 19.23.
Thomas leaves unambiguous its stance towards usury in the real world in GTh 95.
Logion 1101
ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ⲡⲉⲛⲧⲁϩϭⲓⲛⲉ̣ ⲙ̣̄ⲡⲕⲟⲥⲙⲟⲥ ⲛ̄ϥⲣ̄ ⲣⲙ̄ⲙⲁⲟ ⲙⲁⲣⲉϥⲁⲣⲛⲁ ⲙ̄ⲡⲕⲟⲥⲙⲟⲥ
Jesus said, ‘Whoever has found the world and become rich, let him renounce
the world.’
Interpretation
There is a difficult ambiguity here. The jussive main clause is unambiguous,

but the relative clause could refer either to (a) the person who has ‘found the
world (to be what it is)’, that is, a corpse,2 and thus is spiritually rich, or to (b)
the person ‘who has discovered the rules of the visible world’, and has thereby
profited from the world.3 Some help comes from the parallels to GTh 110:
GTh 56: Jesus said, ‘Whoever has come to know the world has found a
corpse. And whoever has found that corpse, the world is not
worthy of him.’
GTh 80–81: Jesus said, ‘Whoever has come to know the world has found a
corpse. But whoever has found the body, the world is not worthy
of him.’ Jesus said, ‘Whoever has become rich, let him reign; and
whoever has power, let him renounce it.’
GTh 110 is thus an abbreviated version of GTh 80–81, and therefore proba-
bly means: recognising the external, material world for what it is (finding
the world), and finding instead what is of true spiritual value (‘and is rich’),
should lead to an uncompromising rejection of its values (‘let him renounce
the world’).
1 Bibliography for GTh 110: Sellew, ‘Death, Body, and the World’, 530–534; Liebenberg, Lan-
guage of the Kingdom, 136–149.
3 Pokorný, 151.
logion 110 597
Notes
Whoever has found the world. The ellipsis in the phrase ‘finding the world’ is
similar to that of ‘knowing the world’, or ‘coming to know the world’, in GTh 56
and 80. Both phrases presumably mean ‘finding out what the world truly is’ or
‘coming to know the character of the world.’ ‘Finding’ here connects GTh 110 on
both sides with GTh 109 and 111; ‘world’ (as well as its components, heaven and
earth) also comes in GTh 111.
And become rich. Plisch and Hedrick note a grammatical infelicity here,
but Layton provides some analogous examples.4 The use of the conjunctive
implies that the action is subsequent to the finding of the world; the translation
with a past tense here reflects that in GTh 81. A reference to metaphorical
wealth is likely because (i) the interpretation of ‘finding the world’ proposed
above probably requires it; (ii) this is the sense in the parallel GTh 81, and (iii)
the previous saying GTh 109 has just likened the elect person to one who has
discovered a treasure which enables him to set himself up as a banker.5 The
metaphorical use of riches to refer to spiritual wealth is common enough.6
The true disciple in GTh 110, then, is the one who has both discovered the true
nature of the world, and come into possession of the greatest riches in the form
of the treasure of salvation.
Let him renounce the world. The possession of spiritual riches means that
the world, in the sense of the world’s system of values, with its esteem of wealth
and honour, should be rejected by the true disciple. There is resemblance
here to Mk 8.34–37 and parallels, in which the command to deny oneself is
explained partly on the basis that gaining the world but losing one’s soul would
be ridiculous; an even closer conjunction comes in Titus, with its injunction to
‘renounce impiety and worldly passions’ (Tit. 2.12).
4 Plisch, 236–237; Hedrick, 182; cf. Layton, Coptic Grammar, 280–281 (§353), e.g. his reference
to Shenoute III 41:5–6.
5 Plisch, 237, links 109–110.
6 In addition to the ‘treasure’ in GTh 76 and 109, cf. e.g. 2 Cor. 8.9; 9.11; Heb. 11.26; Eph. 1.18, for
riches as salvation; as understanding, in Col. 1.27 (‘the riches of this glorious mystery’); 2.2
(‘complete riches of fulness of understanding’). The motif can also be used of abundance in
an ethical context: Lk. 12.21 (‘rich towards God’); 1 Tim. 6.18 (‘rich in noble deeds’); Jas. 2.5 (‘rich
in faith’).
Logion 1111
111.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ⲙ̄ⲡⲏⲩⲉ ⲛⲁϭⲱⲗ⳿ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲡⲕⲁϩ ⲙ̄ⲡⲉⲧⲛ̄ⲙ̄ⲧⲟ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ⳿ 111.2 ⲁⲩⲱ ⲡⲉⲧⲟⲛϩ
ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ϩⲛ̄ ⲡⲉⲧⲟⲛϩ ϥⲛⲁⲛⲁⲩ ⲁⲛ ⲉⲙⲟⲩ 111.3 ⲟⲩⲭ ϩⲟⲧⲓ ⲉⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲱ ⲙ̄ⲙⲟⲥ ϫⲉ ⲡⲉⲧⲁϩⲉ ⲉⲣⲟϥ⳿
ⲟⲩⲁⲁϥ ⲡⲕⲟⲥⲙⲟⲥ ⲙ̄ⲡϣⲁ ⲙ̄ⲙⲟϥ⳿ ⲁⲛ
111.1 Jesus said, ‘The heavens and the earth will roll up in your presence; 111.2
and he who lives from the living one will not see death.’ 111.3 It is not that
Jesus said, ‘Whoever has found only himself, the world is not worthy of him.’
Interpretation
The point of this saying is to observe that those who are truly ‘alive’, viz. the
true disciples, will be mere bystanders or spectators at the dissolution of the
world:2 death will not touch them as a result of it. Their immunity from death
arises from the fact that they derive their life from the true source of life (‘living
from the living one’), not merely from themselves. GTh 111 finds a close parallel
in 11.1–2: ‘This heaven will pass away, and the one above it will pass away. But
the dead will not live, and the living will not die.’
Notes
111.1 The heavens and the earth will roll up. On the syntax3 (lit. ‘the heavens will
roll up, and the earth’), cf. also GTh 88.1. ‘The heavens and the earth’ correspond
to the cosmos or world in GTh 111.3.4 The muted character of eschatology in
1 Bibliography for GTh 111: B. Gierth, ‘Un apophtegme commun à la Pistis Sophia et à l’ Évangile
selon Thomas?’, RevScRel 64 (1990), 245–249; Hogeterp, ‘The Gospel of Thomas and the
Historical Jesus’, 381–396; Popkes, ‘Von der Eschatologie zur Protologie’, 211–233; Gathercole,
‘“The Heavens and the Earth will be Rolled up” ’, 280–302; Gathercole, Composition, 250–262.
2 Valantasis, 191.
3 Plisch, 238, sees it as strange, but such a pattern is common in Greek. Cf. e.g. 1Jn 2.17: καὶ ὁ
κόσμος παράγεται καὶ ἡ ἐπιθυμία αὐτοῦ. P.-H. Poirier, ‘L’ Évangile selon Thomas (NH II,2; P. Oxy.
1, 654, 655), Témoin de la théologie chrétienne primitive?’, in J. Schröter, ed. The Apocryphal
Gospels within the Context of Early Christian Theology (Leuven/ Paris/ Walpole: Peeters, 2013),
95–125 (123), suggests that ‘and the earth’ is an interpolation.
4 Rightly, Gierth, ‘Un apophtegme commun’, 248.
logion 111 599
Thomas comes out here: of terms which can be used to depict the disintegration
of the cosmos, ‘roll up’, like ‘pass away’ in GTh 11, is one of the least violent. The
image of the rolling is probably the rolling up of a scroll (Isa. 34.4; Rev. 6.14) or
perhaps a garment (Heb. 1.12).5 The emphasis is on the impermanence of the
cosmos by contrast with the immutability of the living sphere.6 On heaven and
earth passing away in Jesus tradition, cf. Mk 13.31/Matt. 24.35/Lk. 21.33; Matt.
5.18; Lk. 16.17.
111.1 In your presence.7 It is possible that this refers to the author’s view
of an imminent end.8 The principal point, however, is the irrelevance of the
disintegration of the heavens and the earth to the disciples: they will observe
the end of the cosmos as unaffected bystanders.9
111.2 And the one who lives from the living one. The identity of the ‘living
one’ is left vague (cf. GTh 59); it might refer specifically to the Father (cf. GTh 3,
‘the living Father’; also 37, 50) or Jesus (cf. Prologue, ‘the living Jesus’; also 52).10
The final statement in 111.3 reinforces this point that Thomas’s theology is not
a humanistic one.
111.2 Will not see death. This identity as ‘the living’ is permanent. It guaran-
tees immunity from death (cf. GTh 1, etc.) at the disintegration of the cosmos
in 111.1. The phrase ‘see death’ appears in Ps. 89.48; Lk. 2.26; Jn 8.51; Heb. 11.5
(contrast Thomas’s preferred ‘taste death’ in GTh 1; 18; 19; 85).
111.3 It is not that Jesus said, ‘Whoever has found only himself, the world
is not worthy of him.’ On ‘finding’, cf. also GTh 109–110: the latter also has a
reference to the ‘world’. There are two possible ways to construe the sentence,
5 Cf. also Or. Sib. 3.823; PS 3. For the comparison of this image with other eschatological
terminology, see Gathercole, ‘Heavens and the Earth’, 295–296.
6 Cf. the reference to ϭⲱⲗ in the Manichaean Psalm-Book: ‘Thou endurest, thou shalt
endure also; the universe shall roll up, but thou shalt not roll up’. (Allberry, Manichaean
Psalm-Book II, 190; translation slightly modified); similarly the comparison in Heb. 1.12, in
the context of Heb 1.10–12, quoting the words from Ps. 101.26–28.
7 Contra the proposal in Gierth, ‘Un apophtegme commun’, 248, which seems to take ⲉⲃⲟⲗ
in 111.1 with the verb ϭⲱⲗ (thus, ‘repulse’, ‘reject’), rather than, as must be the case, as part
of the phrase ⲙ̄ⲧⲟ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ (‘presence’).
8 I am grateful to Dr Edward Adams for alerting me to this possibility; cf. also Nordsieck,
377.
9 In this respect, Popkes’ account of Thomas’s eschatology, that it is ‘prinzipiell falsch
bzw. bedeutungslos’ (‘Von der Eschatologie zur Protologie’, 223), is nearer the mark than
Hogeterp’s interpretation (‘Gospel of Thomas and the Historical Jesus’) of Thomas as
reflecting the same ‘now/ not yet’ as does the NT. As I have argued in ‘Heavens and the
Earth’, however, Popkes’ latter epithet is more apposite than the former.
10 Pokorný, 152, notes the ambiguity.
600 logion 111
with the two principal factors in question involving (a) whether the sentence is
a question or a statement, and (b) how to understand the Coptic phrase ⲡⲉⲧⲁϩⲉ
ⲉⲣⲟϥ⳿ ⲟⲩⲁⲁϥ.
(i) The standard way to translate this sentence is as a rhetorical question:

‘Does not Jesus say, “Whoever has found himself is superior to the world?”’11
The Coptic ⲡⲉⲧⲁϩⲉ ⲉⲣⲟϥ⳿ ⲟⲩⲁⲁϥ is then taken as a pure reflexive: ‘whoever
has found himself’. It would be strange in particular, however, for ⲟⲩⲭ ϩⲟⲧⲓ
to introduce a question. I know of no parallel.
(ii) The better solution is one proposed by Leipoldt as a reading of the text,
but which he finds incompatible with Thomas’s theology.12 If one takes the
phrase ⲡⲉⲧⲁϩⲉ ⲉⲣⲟϥ⳿ ⲟⲩⲁⲁϥ as merely reflexive (‘whoever finds himself’),
then the only real option—as in option (i)—is to take GTh 111.3 as a rhetor-
ical question.13 However, the word ⲟⲩⲁⲁ(ⲧ)⸗ need not merely emphasise the
reflexive ⲉⲣⲟϥ. It also regularly means ‘only’, ‘alone’, ‘by oneself’/ ‘of one’s
own accord’.14 In light of these factors, the sense is probably ‘whoever has
found only himself’. In this sense, the saying does fit within Thomas, since
salvation is not just a matter of self-discovery, but also ‘living from the liv-
ing one’ (111.2).15 This interpretation does justice to both (a) the usual sense
of ⲟⲩⲭ ϩⲟⲧⲓ, as introducing a corrective statement, and (b) to the theology
of Thomas as a whole.
11 See e.g. Layton & Lambdin, ‘The Gospel according to Thomas’, Nag Hammadi Codex II,2–7:
Volume One, 93; DeConick, 293; Plisch, 238; Pokorný, 151.
12 Leipoldt, Evangelium nach Thomas, 53, 76; cf. Plisch, 240, although he follows option (i) in
his translation (238).
13 The word can be used in pure reflexives: see e.g. Sahidic Gal. 6.3; Eph. 5.2; 2Tim. 2.13.
14 Layton, Coptic Grammar, 118 (§ 152). For the implication (a) ‘only’, see Lk. 4.9: ‘Worship
the Lord your God and serve him only (ⲛⲁϥ ⲟⲩⲁⲁϥ = αὐτῷ μόνῳ)’; Phil. 4.15: ‘not one church
shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only (ⲛ̄ⲧⲱⲧⲛ̄ ⲟⲩⲁⲁⲧ ⲧⲏⲩⲧⲛ̄
= ὑμεῖς μόνοι)’; 1 Tim. 5.5: ‘The widow who is really in need and left on her own (ⲉⲧϭⲉⲉⲧ
ⲟⲩⲁⲁⲧⲥ = μεμονωμένη) …’. For (b) ‘alone’ with a reflexive (as here in 111.3), see Jn 5.19: ‘I tell
you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself (ϩⲁⲣⲟϥ ⲟⲩⲁⲁϥ = ἀφ’ ἑαυτοῦ); he can do
only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.’
For (c), the sense ‘of his own accord’, as opposed to by someone else, see Heb. 5.5: ‘Christ
did not glorify himself (ⲛⲁϥ ⲟⲩⲁⲁϥ = ἑαυτόν) so as to become a high priest, rather it was the
one who said to him …’. Cf. GTh 50.1, in the reference to ‘the place where the light came
into being from itself, of its own accord’ (ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ϩⲓⲧⲟⲟⲧϥ⳿ ⲟⲩⲁⲁⲧϥ⳿).
15 As Plisch, 240, helpfully notes.
logion 111 601
The function of GTh 111.3, then, is as an explanatory gloss to reinforce GTh

111.2, and to guard against a misunderstanding of Thomas’s soteriology as a
matter of mere self-knowledge. It is not necessary to suppose that this gloss
‘hardly derived from the compiler of the Gospel of Thomas’, but was added by a
later scribe, as some suppose.16 Mark 7.19b is a well-known example of a similar
kind of gloss added by the author of the Gospel (cf. e.g. Jn 19.35; 21.20). The
clarification is rather like that appended to Jesus’ challenge to Peter in John’s
Gospel, that the beloved disciple could in theory survive until the parousia
(21.22); since this started a rumour that this had been meant as a fact, the author
reminds the reader of Jesus’ actual words: ‘But Jesus did not say that he would
not die; he only said, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you?”’
(21.23). One might also compare Paul’s clarification that Scripture does not say
‘seeds’ plural, but ‘seed’ singular (Gal. 3.16). The purpose of the clarification in
Thomas is to amplify the point in 111.2 that life is from the living one, and is not
intrinsic to the world or even to the self.
16 Plisch, 239; also Hedrick, 183.

Logion 1121
112.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ⲟⲩⲟⲉⲓ ⲛ̄ⲧⲥⲁⲣⲝ⳿ ⲧⲁⲉⲓ ⲉⲧⲟϣⲉ ⲛ̄ⲧⲯⲩⲭⲏ 112.2 ⲟⲩⲟⲉⲓ ⲛ̄ⲧⲯⲩⲭⲏ ⲧⲁⲉⲓ
ⲉⲧⲟϣⲉ ⲛ̄ⲧⲥⲁⲣⲝ
112.1 Jesus said, ‘Woe to the flesh which depends on the soul. 112.2 Woe to the
soul which depends on the flesh.’
Interpretation
This saying has a close parallel in GTh 87: ‘Wretched is the body which depends
on a body, and wretched is the soul which depends on these two.’2 Despite this
parallel, the sayings are too different to be synonymous.3 The two statements
here in 112.1 and 112.2 are not each to be understood on their own terms, which
would make the interpretation of GTh 112.1 very difficult. Rather they form a
kind of merismus: the point is that Jesus warns his disciples of too close an
association between the flesh and the soul; the two spheres should be kept
apart from one another.4 The reason for this is probably the superiority of
the soul, rather than because both spheres are positive but merely different.5
There is no specific opposition here to the idea that Jesus came in flesh.6 On
the other hand, it is difficult to see here a criticism restricted to an ‘unhealthy
dependence’ which leaves room for a more constructive kind of dependence:
Plutarch may ‘advocate an ethos emphasizing an intimate interaction and
mutual dependence between soul and body’, as Uro puts it, but Plutarch is not
a good parallel to Thomas at this point.7 Thomas’s framing of the saying as a
‘double woe’ seems too strong to allow for this interpretation.
1 Bibliography for GTh 112: Uro, Thomas, 58–62; Patterson, ‘Jesus Meets Plato’, 186–190.
2 There are also close parallels in the Macarian corpus, though with almost the opposite
meaning, namely that soul and body should be interdependent. See e.g. Homilies 9.3.7 and
the very similar Spiritual Homilies 1, both cited above in the comment on GTh 87. See further
Introduction, §4.1.
3 Plisch, 241, pushes the two rather too close together in seeing a sexual connotation in 112.2.
4 I owe this point to Prof. Francis Watson. Similarly, Grant & Freedman, 196.
5 So, rightly, Grosso, 259; contra Valantasis, 193.
6 Thus Moreland, ‘The Twenty-Four Prophets of Israel’, 85.
7 Pace Uro, Thomas, 59–60.
logion 112 603
Notes
112.1 Woe to the flesh which depends on the soul. The meaning is probably
not specifically to do with crucifixion here.8 There may be a hint of it, but
the language is general and can have other applications. For example, a close
verbal (though not conceptual) parallel exists in the Valentinian hymn cited by
Hippolytus (σάρκα μὲν ἐκ ψυχῆς κρεμαμένην).9 In most systems, this woe would
on its own be very strange, as the idea of the flesh depending on the soul would
be an unobjectionable one. When combined with GTh 112.2, however, the point
can be seen to be the perils of soul and flesh becoming too intimately entangled.
112.2 Woe to the soul which depends on the flesh. This aphorism is much
more natural on its own than is GTh 112.1, and could be said to be the main
force of the saying. ‘Soul’ hanging on ‘flesh’ is contrary to properly conceived
cosmology and anthropology, and so would mean ethical disaster. According to
GTh 29.3, it is a present fact that the soul inhabits the poverty of the body and
the material world, but that soul must nevertheless strive to be independent
of the flesh. Thomas thus disagrees with the sentiment of Irenaeus: ‘Now since
man is a living being compounded of soul and flesh, he must needs exist by
both of these’.10 For further discussion of the saying, see comment on GTh 87.
8 Pace DeConick, 294.

9 Hippolytus, Ref. 6.36.7.
10 Irenaeus, Dem. 2 (tr. Robinson).
Logion 1131
113.1 ⲡⲉϫⲁⲩ ⲛⲁϥ ⲛ̄ϭⲓ ⲛⲉϥⲙⲁⲑⲏⲧⲏⲥ ϫⲉ ⲧⲙⲛ̄ⲧⲉⲣⲟ ⲉⲥⲛ̄ⲛⲏⲩ ⲛ̄ⲁϣ ⲛ̄ϩⲟⲟⲩ 113.2 ⟨ⲡⲉϫⲉ
ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ⟩ ⲉⲥⲛ̄ⲛⲏⲩ ⲁⲛ ϩⲛ̄ ⲟⲩϭⲱϣⲧ⳿ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ⳿ 113.3 ⲉⲩⲛⲁϫⲟⲟⲥ ⲁⲛ ϫⲉ ⲉⲓⲥϩⲏⲏⲧⲉ ⲙ̄ⲡⲓⲥⲁ
ⲏ ⲉⲓⲥϩⲏⲏⲧⲉ ⲧⲏ 113.4 ⲁⲗⲗⲁ ⲧⲙⲛ̄ⲧⲉⲣⲟ ⲙ̄ⲡⲉⲓⲱⲧ⳿ ⲉⲥⲡⲟⲣϣ⳿ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ϩⲓϫⲙ̄ ⲡⲕⲁϩ ⲁⲩⲱ
ⲣ̄ⲣⲱⲙⲉ ⲛⲁⲩ ⲁⲛ ⲉⲣⲟⲥ
113.1 His disciples said to him, ‘When will the kingdom come?’ 113.2 ⟨ Jesus
said,⟩ ‘It will not come by looking for it. 113.3 It will not be said, “Look! Here
it is!”, or “Look! There it is!” 113.4 Rather, the kingdom of the Father is spread
out upon the earth, and people do not see it.’
Interpretation
This dialogue resembles GTh 18 and especially GTh 51 (cf. also Luke 17.20–21).
The latter also has a question about an event supposedly in the eschatological
future (‘when will the rest for the dead come, and when is the new world
coming?’), in response to which Jesus asserts that the reality about which the
disciples inquire is already present (‘that which you are looking for has come,
but you do not know it’). In GTh 113 also, Jesus dismisses the ‘when’ question,
stating that the kingdom is (as it always has been) accessible now: as in GTh 3,
the kingdom is not to be found up above or down below. The kingdom is not
purely transcendent but accessible.2 Nor is it confined to a particular region:
the point of 113.4 is not so much that it is on the earth per se, as that it is ‘spread
out’ everywhere rather than in a particular place, as 113.3 (not ‘here’ or ‘there’
only) makes clear.
The disciples probably function as a mouthpiece for views widely held
among Christians about a climactic future expectation. The consummation of
the kingdom was still expected, as reflected in the widely used Lord’s Prayer
(Matt. 6.10/ Lk. 11.2/ Did. 8.2). Across the NT, the language of ‘inheriting’ the
kingdom is used, strongly suggesting its future character (Matt. 25.34; 1 Cor.
6.9–10; 1Cor. 15.50; Gal. 5.21; Eph. 5.5; Col. 1.12; Jas 2.5), and this idiom is picked
1 Bibliography for GTh 113: Lelyveld, Logia de la vie, 114–123; Liebenberg, Language of the
Kingdom, 486–494; Hogeterp, ‘The Gospel of Thomas and the Historical Jesus’, 381–396;
Popkes, ‘Von der Eschatologie zur Protologie’, 211–233; Gathercole, ‘“The Heavens and the
Earth will be Rolled up” ’, 280–302.
2 Zöckler, Jesu Lehren im Thomasevangelium, 119.
logion 113 605
up also by Ignatius (Eph. 16.1; Philad. 2.3) and Polycarp (Phil. 5.3, citing 1 Cor.
6.9–10). The same sentiment is present in 1Clement’s language of the kingdom’s
future revelation (1Clem. 50.3), and in ‘the kingdom to come’ in 2 Clement
5.5. Against this background, the certainty of Thomas’s position is striking,
although it too has its source in Jesus’ teaching in Luke 17.20–21 (cf. also Matt.
12.28/ Lk. 11.20), a saying already alluded to in GTh 3.
The second point which Thomas is making, in addition to the accessibility of
the kingdom, is the ignorance of people about it. In addition to here and in GTh
51, this theme is given prominence in GTh 97 and 109.1–2, as a counterpoint to
the ‘knowledge’ essential in the book.
Notes
113.1 His disciples said to him, ‘When will the kingdom come?’ This is part of
a set of silly questions which the disciples pose to Jesus. Some others are also
concerned with eschatology (cf. GTh 18; 51), as well as with other themes (the
identity of Jesus in GTh 43, circumcision in GTh 53). Such questions are oppor-
tunities for Jesus to correct existing views. This instance is concerned with the
disciples’ false idea that the kingdom is a future reality. On the kingdom in
Thomas, see Introduction, §10.1 above.
113.2 ⟨Jesus said.⟩ As all editors note, it is essential to take the rest of this
logion as speech from Jesus, despite the absence of any explicit indication of a
change of speaker in the Coptic. Cf. the similar omission in e.g. GTh 61.4–5.
113.2 It will not come by looking for it. Cf. Lk. 17.20 (‘the kingdom of God
does not come with observation’, μετὰ παρατηρήσεως); Thomas’s Coptic is not
quite identical, involving probably also the notion of ‘waiting’. The English ‘look
for’ captures the sense of ϭⲱϣⲧ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ, because both can either mean ‘wait for’
(‘look for’, especially in earlier English, as e.g. in the KJV) or—with a more visual
emphasis—‘look out for’.3
113.3 It will not be said, “Look! Here it is!”, or “Look! There it is!” Cf. Lk. 17.21.
Grant & Freedman note the popularity of Luke 17.21 with the Naassenes.4 Cf.
also Gos. Mary 8,15–19: ‘Beware that no one lead you astray saying, “Look, here”,
or “Look, there.” For the Son of Man is within you.’
3 Visuality is not necessarily a less common element in ϭⲱϣⲧ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ: see Crum, 838ab, who
gives Greek parallels with ὁράω, ἐπεῖδον, παρακύπτω, βλέπω, and the substantive σκοπία; cf.
Gathercole, Composition, 101.
4 Grant & Freedman, 196, citing Hippolytus, Ref. 5.7.20 (the reference to the Gospel of Thomas)
and 5.8.8.
606 logion 113
113.4 Rather, the kingdom of the Father is spread out upon the earth, and
people do not see it. Valantasis notes that the world and the kingdom are thus
not separate or antagonistic.5 It is notable that Thomas uses the term ‘earth’
(ⲕⲁϩ) here, rather than ‘world’. The reference here is thus not to the world qua
material realm, but to the world qua accessible space.6 The very close parallel
in the Macarian corpus may give a clue to the Greek Vorlage of 113.4: ὥς φησιν ὁ
κύριος· ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ χαμαὶ ἥπλωται καὶ οἱ ἄνθρωποι οὐκ ἐμβλέπουσιν αὐτήν,7
with Thomas (at least in the Coptic) having ‘Father’ instead of ‘God’ (on this
difference, see comment on GTh 27 above).
5 Valantasis, 193.
6 Unlikely here is a reference to something like the ‘sign of extension’ (cf. Did. 16.6), which by
contrast is something clearly visible; cf. Justin, Dial. 90.4.
7 Ps.-Macarius, Hom. 35.1.5. See further discussion in Introduction, §4.1, above.
Logion 1141
114.1 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲥⲓⲙⲱⲛ ⲡⲉⲧⲣⲟⲥ ⲛⲁⲩ ϫⲉ ⲙⲁⲣⲉ ⲙⲁⲣⲓϩⲁⲙ ⲉⲓ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ⲛ̄ϩⲏⲧⲛ̄ ϫⲉ ⲛ̄ⲥϩⲓⲟⲙⲉ
ⲙ̄ⲡϣⲁ ⲁⲛ⳿ ⲙ̄ⲡⲱⲛϩ 114.2 ⲡⲉϫⲉ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ⲉⲓⲥϩⲏⲏⲧⲉ ⲁⲛⲟⲕ⳿ ϯⲛⲁⲥⲱⲕ⳿ ⲙ̄ⲙⲟⲥ ϫⲉⲕⲁⲁⲥ ⲉⲉⲓ-
ⲛⲁⲁⲥ ⲛ̄ϩⲟⲟⲩⲧ⳿ ϣⲓⲛⲁ ⲉⲥⲛⲁϣⲱⲡⲉ ϩⲱⲱⲥ ⲛ̄ⲟⲩⲡⲛ̅ⲁ̅ ⲉϥⲟⲛϩ ⲉϥⲉⲓⲛⲉ ⲙ̄ⲙⲱⲧⲛ̄ ⲛ̄ϩⲟⲟⲩⲧ
114.3 ϫⲉ ⲥϩⲓⲙⲉ ⲛⲓⲙ⳿ ⲉⲥⲛⲁⲁⲥ ⲛ̄ϩⲟⲟⲩⲧ⳿ ⲥⲛⲁⲃⲱⲕ⳿ ⲉϩⲟⲩⲛ ⲉⲧⲙⲛ̅ⲧ̅ⲉⲣⲟ ⲛⲙ̄ⲡⲏⲩⲉ
114.1 Simon Peter said to them, ‘Let Mary come out from us, because women
are not worthy of life.’ 114.2 Jesus said, ‘Behold, I will draw her so that I might
make her male, so that she also might be a living spirit resembling you males.
114.3 For every woman who makes herself male will enter the kingdom of
heaven.’
Textual Comment
Davies claims that this saying, with the additional exception of GTh 1, is a
later accretion, on the basis of five alleged anomalies:2 (i) the peculiarity of a
1 Bibliography for GTh 114: K.H. Rengstorf, ‘Urchristliches Kerygma und “gnostische” Interpre-
tation in einigen Sprüche des Thomasevangeliums’, in U. Bianchi, ed. Le Origini dello Gnos-
ticismo. Colloquio di Messina 13–18 Aprile 1966 (Leiden: Brill, 1967), 563–574; J.J. Buckley, ‘An
Interpretation of Logion 114 in The Gospel of Thomas’, NovT 27 (1985), 245–272; M.W. Meyer,
‘Making Mary Male: The Categories “Male” and “Female” in the Gospel of Thomas’, NTS 31
(1985), 554–570, reprinted in Secret Gospels: Essays on Thomas and the Secret Gospel of Mark
(Harrisburg, PA: Continuum, 2003), 76–95; Lelyveld, Logia de la vie, 138–143; E. Castelli, ‘“I
Will Make Mary Male”: Pieties of the Body and Gender Transformation of Christian Women
in Late Antiquity’, in J. Epstein & K. Straub, eds. Body Guards: the Cultural Politics of Gender
Ambiguity (New York: Routledge, 1991), 29–49; S. Arai, ‘ “To Make her Male”: An Interpretation
of Logion 114 in the Gospel of Thomas’, in E.A. Livingstone, ed. Studia Patristica 24 (Lou-
vain: Peeters, 1993), 373–376; P. Schüngel, ‘Ein Vorschlag, EvTho 114 neu zu übersetzen’, NovT
36 (1994), 394–401; K. Vogt, ‘ “Becoming Male”: A Gnostic and Early Christian Metaphor’, in
K.E. Børresen, ed. Image of God and Gender Models in Judaeo-Christian Tradition (Minneapo-
lis: Fortress, 1995), 170–185; Marjanen, ‘Women Disciples’, 94–106; Petersen, Zerstört die Werke
der Weiblichkeit, 169–178; M.W. Meyer, ‘Gospel of Thomas Saying 114 Revisited’, in idem, Secret
Gospels: Essays on Thomas and the Secret Gospel of Mark (Harrisburg, PA: Continuum, 2003),
96–106; J. Brankaer, ‘L’ironie de Jésus dans l’ Évangile de Thomas: le logion 114’, Apocrypha
16 (2005), 149–162; Schüngel, ‘Zur Neuübersetzung des Thomasevangeliums’, 275–291; Gagné,
‘Connaissance, identité et androgynéité’, 135–139.
2 Davies, Gospel of Thomas and Christian Wisdom, 175; so also, cautiously, Marjanen, ‘Women
Disciples’, 103–104.
608 logion 114
saying opening with one disciple addressing the other disciples; (ii) the idea
of Jesus ‘guiding’; (iii) the form of the phrase ‘kingdom of heaven’, as opposed
to the form ‘kingdom of the Father’ elsewhere in this section of Thomas (GTh
96–99, 113); (iv) the idea of someone ‘becoming a living spirit’, and (v) the
contradiction with GTh 22, where male and female are relativised. In response
to these observations the following points might be made.
(i) There is no consistent pattern to the introductions of sayings. Many begin

‘Jesus said’; others begin with statements or questions from the disciples,
others are initiated by those outside the college of disciples, and others
have no introduction at all. There are various unique occurrences: only in
GTh 21 does a single disciple address Jesus; in GTh 72 an unnamed ‘man’
addresses Jesus; in GTh 79 a woman from a crowd speaks; only GTh 100
begins with an action rather than a statement; only GTh 91 begins, ‘They
said to him’; only GTh 14 begins, ‘Jesus said to them’, and so on.
(ii) The peculiarity of Jesus ‘guiding’ is unremarkable. There are not many
actions attributed to Jesus in Thomas (apart from speaking), and most
of them Jesus only does once (‘guarding’ in GTh 10; ‘giving’ in GTh 17;
‘choosing’ in GTh 23, etc.).
(iii) This point relies entirely on Davies’ peculiar structuring of Thomas, which
has as far as I am aware has not been accepted by other scholars. See the
discussion in the Introduction, §8 (‘The Structure of Thomas’) above.
(iv) The absence of any other reference to a ‘living spirit’ is unremarkable.
Again, there are a number of phrases which only appear once in Thomas,
and references to the ‘living one’ or the epithet ‘living’ (8 × outside GTh
114) and the noun ‘spirit’ (5× outside GTh 114) are remarkably frequent
given Thomas’s brevity, and so to find them in combination is not surpris-
ing.
(v) GTh 22 and 114 may be contradictory, but that depends upon what is
meant by ‘male’ and ‘female’ in each case. See further the discussion
below.
Davies concedes that taken alone, ‘any one of these discrepancies could be
overlooked’, contending that it is their cumulative force which is significant.3
It is apparent, however, that only the last could conceivably be regarded as
a discrepancy, and its significance for a theory of GTh 114 as a later addition
would then depend on (a) whether the contradiction was real, and (b) if it were,

logion 114 609
whether that would necessitate a theory of a later gloss.4 One might also note
the point of Janssens, that it is curious that by comparison with Thomas, the
Gospel of Mary ‘se termine sur une note analogue’.5
Interpretation
Some scholars have speculated about why Thomas should end here, though
the question is not easily answered.6 Janssens’ observation, just noted, about
the similar ending of the Gospel of Mary, is important to bear in mind.
The principal question in the interpretation of this saying concerns the
meaning of ‘making Mary male’.7 At the outset, however, two other approaches
to this saying will be dealt with, namely the arguments (1) that the statement of
Jesus is ironic, and (2) that the salvation of a woman is construed as a two-stage
process.
(1) First, it has been argued in different ways by Brankaer and Schüngel that
Jesus’ remark in 114.2 (‘so that I may make her male’) is in fact ironic. Brankaer
considers Jesus to be sarcastically mocking Peter (who has obviously not under-
stood GTh 22) with a response whose central point is Jesus’ action of ‘drawing’
Mary to be a living spirit. ‘L’expression “comme vous, mâles” est adressée aux
disciples et a sans doute une connotation ironique.’8 Brankaer argues that the
disciples have, so far in Thomas, shown themselves very much not to be ‘liv-
ing spirits’. She argues more tentatively that reference to the ‘kingdom of the
heavens’ may also be a negative one in view of the destruction of the heavens
according to GTh 111 and the negative comment upon locating the kingdom
in heaven in GTh 3.9 The saying is to be read on two levels, the surface level
4 For a different line of opposition to Davies, see Brankaer, ‘L’ironie’, 151, arguing that GTh 114
draws a number of Thomasine strands together in conclusion.
6 See the suggestions of Grant & Freedman, 198, and Plisch, 244. Lelyveld, Logia de la vie, 132,
calls GTh 114 an ‘epilogue’.
7 For a marvellously detailed survey of additional scholarly interpretations of this saying,
see Buckley, ‘An Interpretation of Logion 114’, 247–250. Meyer, ‘Gospel of Thomas Saying
114 Revisited’, 99–100, is cautious about whether there may be a definitive interpretation
discoverable at all.
8 Brankaer, ‘L’ironie’, 160.
9 Brankaer, ‘L’ironie’, 160–161.
610 logion 114
according to which Jesus adopts Peter’s own perspective,10 and the level which
focuses on Jesus’ recreation of Mary as a living spirit. In response to Brankaer’s
case, two points can be made. On the less important point about the kingdom
of ‘heaven’, it can be observed that ‘kingdom of heaven’ is used elsewhere pos-
itively, and even by Jesus himself (GTh 54; cf. GTh 20). Furthermore, although
this is not always the case, the disciples can be treated by Jesus in Thomas very
positively, and as in possession of salvation (e.g. GTh 49–50). The main dif-
ficulty with Brankaer’s interpretation is the chopping and changing in Jesus’
reply to Peter. On her view one must suppose the following alternation between
Jesus’ ‘serious’ voice (in bold type) and his mocking voice (in italics):
(114.2) Jesus said, ‘Behold, I will draw her so that I might make her male,
so that she also might be a living spirit resembling you males. (114.3)
For every woman who makes herself male will enter the kingdom of
heaven.’
The principal problem lies in particular in taking the suggestion about Mary
becoming male in 114.2 sarcastically (‘si Jésus dit qu’ il va faire Marie comme
eux, hommes, il se moque peut-être de ses disciples’11) and the similar state-
ment in 114.3 straightforwardly (‘l’accès au Royaume est promis par Jésus aux
femmes qui se font mâles, et non aux disciples’).12 Overall, then, this approach
probably cannot be accepted.
Moving to Schüngel’s rather different case for an ironic reading, 114.2 is made
into a question, mocking Peter: ‘Jesus sagte: Seht doch hin! Soll ich, ausgerech-
net ich sie so traktieren, dass ich sie männlich mache?’13 In response it can be
stated that ⲥⲱⲕ need not be rendered in the negative sense of drag ‘ohne, ja
gegen Wunsch und Willen’.14 It can, like the Greek ἕλκω/ ἑλκύω, be used in the
sense of a saviour ‘drawing’ people to salvation (see note on 114.2 below). One
might add that turning a sentence gratuitously into a question does look rather
like a counsel of despair. Other criticisms have also been made by others.15
10 An analogy has been drawn by Brankaer to GTh 12, where Jesus might be said to adopt the
limited, intra-cosmic perspective of the disciples, even though the fate of the cosmos has
been set out in GTh 11.
11 Brankaer, ‘L’ironie’, 160.
12 Brankaer, ‘L’ironie’, 161–162.
13 Schüngel, ‘Ein Vorschlag’, 290.
14 Schüngel, ‘Ein Vorschlag’, 289.
15 Brankaer, ‘L’ironie’, 149–150 n. 2, comments on the improbability of the syntax proposed
by Schüngel; various aspects of his hypothesis are also criticised effectively in Marjanen,
‘Women Disciples’, 97–98.
logion 114 611
(2) It might be asked whether the superior male position is an ultimate one, that
is, whether the two final clauses (‘so that I might make her male, so that she also
might be a living spirit resembling you males’) are sequential or synonymous.
The majority view has been that the disciples as males are in the ultimate
position of being ‘living spirits’ to which Mary is to be conformed. Buckley,
however, has argued that Jesus making Mary male is only a step on the way
to her salvation. The complete ordo salutis is ‘female → male → “living spirit” ’.16
While this might work for 114.2, which is ambiguous, the difficulty lies in 114.3,
where Jesus implies that Mary making herself male is the sufficient condition
for her entry into the kingdom.17 This is very close, as we shall see.
(3) We can move to address the main question, the character of the ‘maleness’
and Mary’s transformation.18 This has been variously understood.
(i) Some have seen here the idea that men and women alike are transformed
into Osiris, though this is too indebted to an (uncertain) Egyptian prove-
nance for Thomas in general, or this saying in particular (see Introduction,
§6: ‘The Provenance of Thomas’, above).19
(ii) Some have argued that the maleness is a kind of embodied masculine
identity, where women perhaps renounce female appearance (by e.g.
cutting hair and wearing men’s clothes) but especially abandon the tra-
ditional female role of maternity: the saying thus enjoins sexual asceti-
cism.20
(iii) A related, and overlapping, ascetical interpretation is that of DeConick,
whereby the ‘becoming male’ is about the re-entry of the woman, Eve,
into Adam to produce an androgyne.21 A version of this is probably the
majority view, where there is ‘gender-neutrality’: for Valantasis, males also
16 Buckley, ‘An Interpretation of Logion 114’, 246.

17 Buckley glosses over this point, remarking that Mary must return to the spiritual state of
Gen. 2.7 ‘via the male element’ (‘An Interpretation of Logion 114’, 247).
18 Marjanen, ‘Women Disciples’, 99–101, provides a helpful taxonomy of some of the views
here, rightly noting that they are not all mutually exclusive.
19 Rengstorf, ‘Urchristliches Kerygma und “gnostische” Interpretation’, 570; cf. also Leipoldt,
Evangelium nach Thomas, 76–77.
20 Suggested by Patterson, Gospel of Thomas and Jesus, 155, focusing especially on the latter
(citing examples of the other phenomena provided by Castelli).
21 DeConick, Seek to See Him, 18; DeConick, 297, also assumes that (ii) is correct; view (ii) is
not mutually exclusive of other views.
612 logion 114
need to become female, ‘and both into a single one’.22 For Hedrick, women
can also ‘become male-female’.23
(iv) Another possibility is the abolition of sexual differentiation, though in a
male direction,24 i.e. ‘male androgyny’, by comparison with the more pure
androgyny in view (iii).25 Gagné rightly emphasises the point that Mary
must return to a state of being like ‘le premier homme androgyne (Gn
2,22)’.26 Petersen’s view lies somewhere between (iii) and (iv), emphasis-
ing that GTh 114 is to be read against the backdrop of the sublimation of
worldly distinctions in GTh 22 but emphasises the maleness of the gender
neutrality as well.27
(v) Finally, there is the view of a reversal, of an extreme transformation out
of femaleness into maleness (thus without the more ‘egalitarian’ sense
of androgyny). Nash’s feminist interpretation of Thomas takes this view,
and sees Thomas as thereby reprehensible, reflecting ‘a harsh and violent
process for women, amounting to psychic rape, a lobotomy of the female
self’.28
How then should this reference be taken? Given the difficulty of the dialogue,
it is easier to criticise the views of others than to come up with a constructive
alternative. One path to avoid is to take a rather dewy-eyed view of Thomas
which attempts to rescue GTh 114 from any suspicion of unfashionable ‘sexism’.
As Marjanen rightly notes: ‘in logion 114 salvation is defined by employing the
patriarchal language patterns of the contemporary culture. It is important to
realize that it is not only Simon Peter’s statement which displays this attitude
but also Jesus’ response.’29
22 Valantasis, 195.
23 Hedrick, 186.
25 The phrase ‘male androgyny’ comes from D. Wallace, ‘Androgyny as Salvation in Early
Christianity’ (PhD Dissertation, Claremont Graduate University, 2000), 103–141, 241–243
(non vidi), cited in Meyer, ‘Saying 114 Revisited’, 103. This seems to be the view that
DeConick ascribes to Peter in GTh 114, and which is therefore opposed on her view
(DeConick, 297).
26 Gagné, ‘Connaissance, identité et androgynéité’, 139 (emphasis original).
27 Petersen, Zerstört die Werke der Weiblichkeit, 175–177.
28 Nash, ‘The Language of Mother Work’, 175; cf. King’s slightly more muted point: ‘The
statement at some level operates only on the basis of an unremitting patriarchalism.’
(‘Kingdom’, 66).
29 Marjanen, ‘Women Disciples’, 102.
logion 114 613
The clear points in the saying are as follows. (1) The disciples are in a
privileged position as living spirits (cf. GTh 49–50). (2) This is related, rather
than unconnected, to their maleness. (3) This maleness relates in part to being
male in a literal sense (drawing attention to what were thought to be spiritual
qualities of men, rather than focusing on physical characteristics): otherwise
the specific reference to women in 114.3, and the contrast between Mary and
the male disciples, would be meaningless.30 (4) This maleness does not consist
merely in their position qua men but rather also in the disciples’ elect status, or
knowledge, or some other soteriological blessing (otherwise all men qua men
would be saved). The best way to construe Jesus’ statements in GTh 114.2–3 is as
follows: the disciples are male both naturally (in that men are deemed to possess
spiritual strength), and by virtue of being living spirits; Mary must also attain to
maleness (in both these senses) in order to reach perfection—she must make up
for her deficient female gender, and attain the knowledge and status which men
also require. As a result, view ‘iv’ above, that of ‘male androgyny’ as expressed
by Gagné, is nearest the mark; the position taken here is also very similar to
view (2), that of Buckley, though not regarding the two elements of maleness
as attained sequentially by Mary. (The process can be construed either as Jesus’
action or Mary’s action: the question of agency is not a matter of concern for the
author.31) The disciples’ maleness consists in their being both men and living
spirits. Mary becoming male results in her becoming a living spirit like the men,
and being able to enter the kingdom. The strong suggestion of the saying is
that the male disciples occupy a spiritual position above that of Mary. This is
quite in keeping with a number of philosophical traditions according to which
women are characterised by deficiency: most famously, Aristotle, but also those
closer to Thomas such as Philo32 and the Valentinian Theodotus.33 According to
30 Cf. the view of purely symbolic maleness. See Meyer, ‘Male and Female’, 567, where
Mary shares in symbolic ‘femaleness’ just as all human beings do; cf. also his ‘Saying 114
Revisited’, 103–104.
31 Marjanen, ‘Women Disciples’, 98–99: ‘perhaps the disagreement between “Jesus making
Mary male” and “every woman making herself male” is not so great after all.’
32 Fug. 51: ἀεὶ γὰρ προνομίαν τοῦ ἄρρενος ἔχοντος ἐνδεῖ καὶ ὑστερίζει τὸ θῆλυ; Quaest. Exod. 170:
λέγεται ὑπὸ φυσικῶν ἀνδρῶν οὐδὲν ἕτερον εἶναι θῆλυ ἢ ἀτελὲς ἄρρεν. For a helpful discussion,
see Meyer, ‘Male and Female’, 563–564.
33 See references below. Williams comments: ‘it would seem that subordination, weak-
ness, dependency, imperfection, and so forth, still belong among the connotations that
Theodotus attaches to the social position of women.’ M.A. Williams, ‘Variety in Gnostic
Perspectives on Gender’, in K.L. King, ed. Images of the Feminine in Gnosticism (Harrisburg,
PA: Trinity Press International, 2000), 2–22 (15).
614 logion 114
the Gnostic Zostrianus, femininity is ‘madness and bondage’, and masculinity

‘salvation’ (Zost. 131,5–8).
The question then arises of the compatibility of this saying with GTh 22.5
(‘in order that you make the male and the female one and the same, so that
the male be not male nor the female female’), where there is apparently a
more ‘pure’ androgyny (cf. view ‘iii’ above). In the first place, one can note
that other texts are able to combine the two perspectives. The Tripartite Trac-
tate, for example, can contrast being ‘weak like a female nature which has
abandoned its virility’ (Tri. Tract. 78,10–13) and ‘… forms of maleness, since
they are not from the illness which is femaleness …’ (Tri. Trac. 94,16–18), on
the one hand, with an eschatological androgyny in the purer form: ‘For the
end will receive a unitary existence just as the beginning, when there is no
male nor female, nor slave and free …’ (Tri. Trac. 132,20–25). Similarly, for
Theodotus, Adam contained both male and female (apud Clement, Exc. 21.3);
people as children of the female are formless matter until they receive from
the husband and become children of that husband (Exc. 68); similarly the
seed, which having been unformed is ‘changed into a man and becomes a son
of the bridegroom … having been made masculine’ (Exc. 79).34 As a result,
composed of female matter and male form, they become male. The peculiar
mathematics is: female + male = male. Or, to put it another way that may be
closer to Thomas (with Clement, Strom. 6.12.100.3), neither male nor female =
Male.35
Secondly, the tension could simply reflect a tension in the original Gen-
esis narrative, on a particular reading of Genesis 2. In the second creation
account in Genesis 2.4–20, the human being was male, yet contained within
himself femaleness, which in 2.21 was then drawn out of him, so that there
then existed distinct humans, a male and a female. The saved state, then, may
well reflect the Urzeit of Gen. 2.4–20 when male and female are both one and
the same (as in GTh 22), and exist as a male androgyne, Adam (as here in
114).
Notes
114.1 Simon Peter said to them, ‘Let Mary come out from us, because women
are not worthy of life.’ Gärtner and Petersen note parallels to Peter’s antag-
34 Cf. in a slightly different vein, Exc. 21.

35 Thus Petersen, Zerstört die Werke der Weiblichkeit, 176–177.
logion 114 615
onism to Mary as a woman in the Gospel of Mary and the Pistis Sophia.36
These parallels also confirm that the Mary in question is the Magdalene (on
Mary, see note on 21.1 above).37 It is, however, perhaps an interesting reflection
of Thomas’s environment that ‘Mary’, the commonest Jewish female name in
Palestine in antiquity, is not disambiguated here (cf. GTh 21, although here in
GTh 114 it would be more awkward because it occurs in direct speech). Simon
Peter’s remark does not introduce the topic of female leadership roles, but
rather that of belonging in the kingdom.38 If one can ‘mirror-read’ this dialogue,
Pokorný would be correct in noting that the issue is the justification of women’s
presence in the community.39
114.2 Behold, I will draw her. Cf. Jn 6.44, and in particular Jn 12.32: ‘I will draw
all people (πάντας ἑλκύσω/ ϯⲛⲁⲥⲉⲕ ⲟⲩⲟⲛ ⲛⲓⲙ) to myself’ (12.32). A later instance
refers to how Ezekiel ‘draws’ (ⲝⲱⲕ) people to contemplation.40
114.2 So that I might make her male. Here Jesus is the agent of transfor-
mation (cf. 114.3: ‘every woman who makes herself male’). Note the comments
above about the transformation into a male androgyne. Cf. 1 Apoc. Jas. 41,15–19:
‘The perishable has gone up to the imperishable and the female element has
attained to this male element.’
114.2 So that she also might be a living spirit resembling you males. Valan-
tasis notes the interesting point that Jesus says ‘you males’, not ‘us males’.41
He perhaps transcends the male/ female divide altogether. It is possible that
ⲛ̄ϩⲟⲟⲩⲧ is a further qualification of ⲡⲛ̅ⲁ̅, ‘that she too may become a living male
spirit, being similar to you’, to emphasise the non-biological nature of the male-
ness and femaleness.42 Two points speak in favour of the more conventional
translation (e.g. that of Lambdin: ‘so that she too may become a living spirit
resembling you males’). First, the word order suggests that it is better to take
ⲛ̄ϩⲟⲟⲩⲧ as qualifying the more proximate ⲙ̄ⲙⲱⲧⲛ̄. Secondly, there is a certain
tautology in a translation along the lines of ‘… so that I might make her male,
36 Gos. Mary 17,18–22; PS 36 and 146, noted in Gärtner, Theology, 253; cf. also Gos. Phil. 64,1–3.
For full discussion, see Petersen, Zerstört die Werke der Weiblichkeit, 163–188.
37 It is just possible, but very unlikely, that another Mary is meant (Plisch, 247 n. 3). J. Lagrand,
‘How was the Virgin Mary “Like a Man”? A Note on Matthew I 18b and related Syriac
Christian texts’, NovT 22 (1980), 97–107 (107), is wrong to insist that the Mary is the mother
of Jesus.
38 Contra Plisch, 244.
39 Pokorný, 155.
40 Acrostic Hymns 1.14.
41 Valantasis, 195.
42 Plisch, 247 n. 4; Pokorný, 155–156.
616 logion 114
so that she also might be a living male spirit …’. Even on the other translation,
however, Jesus states that he will elevate Mary to the status of the male disci-
ples.
114.3 For every woman who makes herself male will enter the kingdom of
heaven. Plisch takes ϫⲉ here not causally (‘For …’) but ‘als ϫⲉ neue recitativum’
(i.e. a second ‘so that …’) on the grounds that the logical flow from 114.2–3 is
problematic;43 but the tension of who the agent of transformation is remains
even on this view. On the kingdom in Thomas, see Introduction, § 10.1 above.
There may be a catchword link with the two references to ‘kingdom’ in GTh 113.
43 Plisch, ‘Probleme’, 528.

Subscriptio1
ⲡⲉⲩⲁⲅⲅⲉⲗⲓⲟⲛ ⲡⲕⲁⲧⲁ ⲑⲱⲙⲁⲥ
The Gospel according to Thomas
Textual Comment
The originality of this title to the work as a whole is frequently disputed.2 There
are no real grounds for doubting it, however. (i) The attribution to Thomas is
attested in the main body of the work, in the incipit, where Thomas is identified
as the scribe already in P. Oxy. IV 654. (ii) The work is already called the Gospel
according to Thomas in the early-third century by (Ps.-)Hippolytus, who is
familiar with its content.3 (iii) Shortly after the Elenchus, Origen in the 230s
or 240s refers to a Gospel according to Thomas, and he is also—independently
of Hippolytus—familiar with its content.4
Interpretation
This title clearly locates Thomas among existing Gospels; in addition to Mat-
thew, Mark, Luke and John, it is possible that the Gospel of Mary and some
other Gospels had also already been written. Named Gospels written roughly
contemporaneously with Thomas probably include the Gospel of Judas, the
Gospel of Truth,5 and the Gospel of Peter, and perhaps a little later, the Gospel
of Philip.
1 Bibliography for Subscriptio: S.J. Gathercole, ‘Named Testimonia to the Gospel of Thomas: An
Expanded Inventory and Analysis’, HTR 104 (2012), 53–89.
2 For the view that the title is secondary, see e.g. J.M. Robinson, ‘Foreword’, in Kloppenborg, et
al., eds. Q-Thomas Reader, vii–x (viii). For questioning of this certainty, see Poirier, ‘L’Évangile
selon Thomas (NH II,2; P. Oxy. 1, 654, 655), Témoin de la théologie chrétienne primitive?’, 104.
3 Ref. 5.7.20, where he cites something like GTh 4.
4 See Homiliae in Lucam 1 for reference to the title, and on Origen’s knowledge of Thomas, see
further Introduction, § 3.2 and § 4.1, above.
5 That there were works circulating in the mid-second century under these titles is clear from
Irenaeus (AH 1.31.1–2 and 3.11.9 respectively), whether or not the titles correspond to what we
know as the gospels of Judas and Truth.
618 subscriptio
Notes
The Gospel. The term (often in the plural) was used in Greek for ‘good news’
in a more general sense, as in the widely cited Priene Calendar inscription.6
The verb εὐαγγελίζω (esp. in the middle) and the feminine noun εὐαγγελία were
used in the Septuagint, after which εὐαγγέλιον was frequently used in the NT
to refer to the preached message of the good news. Then the term came to
refer to a larger oral body of teaching about Jesus, and then a written body of
material, perhaps under the influence of Mark 1.1. There is plenty of evidence
that εὐαγγέλιον was used in the first half of the second century to refer to a
book,7 in the Didache (e.g. 15.3–4), Marcion,8 and perhaps 2 Clement (8.5). Justin
in the 150s refers to the memoirs of the apostles ἃ καλεῖται εὐαγγέλια (1 Ap. 66.3;
cf. Dial. 2.10), which suggests a conventional usage.9
According to Thomas. This summarises the relation of Thomas to the Gos-
pel noted in the Prologue: he is scribe, but not author or owner—it is not ‘of’
Thomas. Gospels could be followed by a genitive, as in the Gospel of Truth (i.e.
the ‘truthful Gospel’, or the Gospel which contains the truth) and the Gospel of
Judas (the Gospel in which Judas is a protagonist, but in no sense an author).
The preposition ⲕⲁⲧⲁ also appears in the titles in Coptic NT manuscripts.10 On
Thomas, see further comment on the Prologue above.
6 See C.A. Evans, ‘Mark’s Incipit and the Priene Calendar Inscription: From Jewish Gospel
to Greco-Roman Gospel’, Journal of Greco-Roman Christianity and Judaism 1 (2000), 67–81.
7 J.A. Kelhoffer, ‘ “How Soon a Book” Revisited: ΕUΑΓΓΕΛΙΟΝ as a Reference to “Gospel”
Materials in the First Half of the Second Century’, ZNW 95 (2004), 1–34.
8 Kelhoffer, ‘How Soon a Book Revisited’, 3–4.
9 Kelhoffer, ‘How Soon a Book Revisited’.
10 S.J. Gathercole, ‘The Titles of the Gospels in the Earliest New Testament Manuscripts’, ZNW
104 (2013), 33–76.
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Index locorum
1 The Gospel of Thomas
Prologue 19–20, 76, 78–79, 81, 130–131, 4 20, 99, 101, 155, 160, 162, 197,
137, 139, 152, 181, 191, 193, 195, 202, 213, 214–219, 310, 314,
196, 197, 202, 213, 350, 419, 349, 397, 441, 481, 535, 617
436, 599, 618 4.1 20, 65, 216, 316
1–2 6, 191, 203 4.3 314, 216, 218
1–6 130 5–6 6, 20
1–7 6, 19 5 17, 20, 87, 101, 153, 202,
1–9 128, 130 220–223, 224, 347, 436, 534,
1 19–20, 32, 81, 128, 130–131, 560, 589
140, 145, 152, 159, 165, 191, 192, 5.1–2 221
193, 195, 196, 197, 202, 203, 5.1 81, 152, 220, 222, 512, 591
288, 292, 407, 415, 419, 428, 5.2–3 17, 222
435, 476, 516, 517, 586, 594, 5.2 17, 20, 179, 221
599, 607 5.3 17, 221, 224
2–3 6, 20, 25 6–7 232
2–5 130 6 30, 33, 128, 129, 162, 165, 192,
2–6 19 202, 221, 223–227, 232, 252,
2–17 129 253, 267, 268, 269, 271, 325,
2 62, 76, 99, 101, 129, 131, 153, 327, 386, 527, 591
159, 195, 192, 196, 198–205, 6.1 16, 20, 224, 346, 367
290, 319, 358, 402, 435, 6.2–3 33, 226
493–494, 515, 535, 537, 6.2 202, 226
541–542, 558, 583, 586, 594 6.3 226
2.2 20, 96 6.4–6 225
2.4–5 79 6.4 17, 224
2.4 290, 429, 494 6.5–6 226
3–4 6 6.5 221, 222
3 74, 130–131, 146, 149, 152, 163, 6.6 221, 224
180, 197, 202, 205, 206–213, 6.12 432
222, 312, 351, 366, 475, 508, 7–8 131
534, 567, 599, 604, 605 7–11 130
3.1–2 209 7 68, 90, 135, 160, 202, 226,
3.1–3 520 228–232, 236, 248, 290, 424,
3.2–5 20 564
3.2 96, 208 7.1 20, 228, 229, 231, 287, 470,
3.3 22, 83, 208 474, 499, 572
3.4–5 372 7.2 68, 161, 228, 231, 441, 522
3.4 152, 153, 193, 209, 213, 274 8–9 132
3.5 152, 504 8 135, 159, 201, 232, 233–238,
4–5 6, 25 239, 240, 297, 301, 430, 450,
index locorum 675
452, 454, 460, 489, 490, 531, 14 30, 129, 150, 162, 164, 165, 178,
545, 546, 548, 549, 555, 584, 224, 225, 226, 267–269, 325,
585–586, 588, 592, 593, 594, 327, 358, 380, 402, 483–484,
595 527, 541
8.1–2 373 14.1–3 267, 268
8.3 93, 95, 236, 554 14.1 226, 391
8.4 316 14.2 270
9 129, 201, 202, 232, 237, 14.3 10, 96
239–241, 244, 354, 441, 484 14.4–5 226, 269, 318
10–11 128 14.4 111, 269, 270, 347, 483
10 129, 149, 152, 211, 242–244, 14.5 271
246, 266, 431, 433, 506, 608 15–16 129
10.31 99 15 153, 160, 436, 512
11 90, 146, 147, 154, 226, 242, 16 30, 149, 152, 160, 211, 219, 275,
245, 246, 255, 257, 310, 415, 277, 281, 310, 404, 408, 425,
428, 433, 481, 494, 522, 576, 433, 464, 478, 506
599, 610 16.1–2 275
11.1 247 16.1 276
11.1–2 246 16.2 152, 275
11.3–4 246 16.3 275
11.3 65, 246, 248 16.4 205, 276, 287, 292
11.4 246, 403 17–18 129
12–13 132 17 85, 130, 140, 152, 180, 284,
12–17 128 354, 562, 608
12 26, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 114, 128, 18–19 128, 146, 197, 404
163, 173, 192, 225, 249, 252, 18–22 131
256–258, 260, 368, 560, 574 18–38 128
12.1 152 18 30, 33, 128, 165, 196–197, 213,
12.2 181, 202, 380 232, 287, 289, 292, 404, 428,
12.6 460 441, 514, 599, 604–605
13–14 271 18.1 202
13–17 130 18.2–3 286
13 29, 30, 33, 95, 115, 120, 151, 18.2 202, 287
165, 178, 192, 202, 252, 18.3 152, 287, 289, 292
256–258, 259–260, 262, 266, 19 130, 196, 197, 205, 218, 232,
309, 344, 402, 447, 486, 506, 286, 289, 428, 441, 517, 583,
531, 591 599
13.2–4 262 19.1–3 289
13.2 181 19.1 64, 76, 289
13.3 447, 531 19.2–3 129
13.4 181 19.2 153, 205, 289, 290, 402, 583
13.5 202, 263 19.3 78, 83, 287
13.6 79, 263, 264 19.4 152, 287, 289
13.7 181 20–21 132
13.8 79, 93, 96, 181, 429 20–22 397
676 index locorum
20 33, 128, 180, 225, 232, 239, 24 7, 19, 26, 31, 33, 128, 133, 149,
297–298, 308, 424, 434, 484, 155, 225, 238, 290, 315, 377,
546, 594, 610 386, 404, 441, 475–476
20.1 31, 202 24.1 21, 166, 202
20.2–4 33 24.2–3 72
21 30, 33, 74, 96, 132, 149, 155, 24.3 21, 33, 315, 350, 510–511
156, 160, 182, 217, 225, 232, 25–26 133
238, 243, 300, 306, 308, 354, 25–36 130
452, 465, 571, 608, 615 25 162, 544
21.1 202, 306, 560 25.1 318, 319
21.2–3 148 25.2 318
21.2–4 301–302 26–28 19–20
21.3 302, 304, 305, 432 26–33 5, 19
21.4 159, 302 26 101, 320–321, 431
21.5–6 557 26.1 322
21.5–8 301 26.2 16, 20, 340
21.5 94–95, 152, 301–302, 305, 27 17–18, 73, 158, 159, 165, 208,
432, 557, 571 225, 243, 269, 323, 325, 332,
21.6–7 572 405, 527, 594
21.6–9 301 27.1 21, 64, 146, 226, 323, 325, 327,
21.6 305, 571, 572 329, 476, 565
21.7–8 305, 557 27.2 16, 21, 153, 274, 321, 325, 331,
21.7 305, 306, 432, 573 340, 436, 474, 476
21.9–10 302, 306 28 20–21, 60, 150, 151, 183, 211,
21.9 318, 373 276–277, 327, 330–331, 332,
21.10–11 33 344, 464
21.10 299, 301, 306 28.1–3 331
21.11 301 28.1 21, 331
22 28, 32, 33, 63, 79, 146, 28.2 16, 331, 332
154–156, 160, 219, 307, 309, 28.3 21, 79, 319, 329, 332, 333, 586
314, 354, 397, 403, 443, 475, 28.4 331
481, 560, 608 29 21, 148, 213, 333, 336, 423,
22.1–5 217 432, 494
22.1 217, 310 29.1–2 10, 335–336
22.2 308 29.1 335
22.4–5 308, 311 29.2 335
22.4–6 165, 308, 312 29.3 150, 336, 337, 493, 504, 517
22.4 77, 165, 202, 219, 310 30–32 19
22.5 278, 308, 310, 311, 614 30 16, 19, 20, 30, 183, 340, 495,
22.6 308 564
22.7 165, 312 30.1–2 69
23 30, 130, 152, 192, 263, 277, 313, 30.1 88, 339, 340, 341
316, 405, 408, 484–485 30.2–3 17–18
23.1 65, 81, 85, 87 30.2 16, 21–22, 88, 339–340
23.2 278 30.3–4 340, 342
index locorum 677
31–32 20, 129 39 19–20, 146, 151, 152, 164,

31–35 343, 349, 351, 359, 393, 399 203, 367, 374, 386, 479, 507,
31 100, 270, 343, 346, 349, 351, 560
359, 393, 399 39.1–2 371, 569
31.1 15, 21, 344 39.1 94–95, 152, 181, 371, 569
31.2 16, 21, 152, 343, 344, 345 39.2 21, 370
31.3 179, 345 39.3 21, 101, 371
32–33 135, 349, 483 40 151, 163, 347, 371, 374, 478
32–34 159 40.2 374
32 15, 21–22, 101, 111, 346, 349, 41 354, 377, 443, 560
483 41.1 376, 377
33 270, 348 41.2 376, 377, 378, 462
33.1 348, 349 42–43 380
33.2–3 21, 179, 348, 349 42 128, 149, 229, 270, 379, 381,
33.2 348 385, 519
33.3 179 43–45 393
34 351 43 33, 121, 128, 151, 154, 164, 225,
35 354, 545–546, 557 374, 393, 464, 479
35.1 377 43.1–2 384, 386
36–37 19–20, 135 43.2 152
36–39 7, 19 43.3 181, 371, 386, 380, 384
36 17–18, 133, 135, 150, 355, 360, 44–45 117, 135
381, 399, 519, 544 44–50 130
36.1–2 358 44 82–83, 88, 146, 178, 386, 433,
36.1 357 560, 567, 593
36.2–3 358 44.2–3 391
36.2–4 357 44.3 10, 389
36.2 205, 356, 358 45 106, 393
36.3 357 45.1 399
36.4 343, 357, 358 45.2–4 96, 392
37 15, 18, 30, 33, 128, 153, 155 160, 45.2 393
162, 193, 197, 217, 225, 273, 45.3 272, 393
274, 301, 358, 365, 419, 436, 46 28, 32, 73, 146, 147, 151, 155,
560, 599 160, 273, 394, 397, 399
37.1 21, 202, 304, 363, 366 46.1–2 399
37.2 21, 202, 303, 357, 362, 363 46.1 181, 395, 397
37.3 21, 363, 364, 391 46.2 152, 181, 309, 395, 397
38–42 130 46.3–5 399
38–48 129 47 83–84, 154, 398–399, 591
38 129, 152, 153, 159, 192, 203, 47.2 398
367, 436, 536, 594 47.3 399
38.1 64, 284, 368 47.4 399, 426
38.2 16, 31, 64, 367, 368, 369 47.5 399
39–53 128 48 75, 153, 154, 156, 205, 276,
39–40 378, 386 429, 481
678 index locorum
49–50 129, 145, 146, 213, 610, 613 56 29, 149, 152, 153, 159, 197, 205,
49–54 410, 411 243, 327, 428, 501, 516, 583,
49 63, 146, 159, 218, 232, 281, 287, 594
290, 350, 406–407, 410, 586, 56.1 429
594, 610, 613 56.2 427, 429
49.1 404 57–58 131
49.2 404 57 145, 148, 232, 239, 243, 375,
50–51 134 432–433, 484, 490, 506, 547,
50 123, 145, 149, 155, 159, 197, 594
205, 213, 265, 270, 329, 404, 57.3 430, 433
405, 407, 410, 494, 519, 532, 57.4 226, 375, 433
593, 599 57.13 431
50.1 316, 408, 600 58 159, 197, 213, 232, 298, 434,
51–52 165 444, 554, 588, 594
51–53 411, 414 59 129, 193, 197, 273, 274, 368,
51–61.1 129 407, 419, 444, 534, 537
51–98 128 60–61 134
51 30, 33, 128, 134, 153, 165, 205, 60 30, 33, 135, 153, 159, 197, 205,
225, 329, 411–412, 415, 418, 225, 248, 329, 428, 439, 444,
420, 519, 532, 604–605 479, 532
51.1 413 60.2 438, 439
51.2 152, 413 60.3 439
52–53 164, 183, 325, 479, 587 60.4 435, 439, 444
52 30, 33, 86, 90, 134, 182– 60.6 436, 439, 441
183, 193, 220, 225, 252, 61–71 130
344, 386, 414, 416, 428, 61 33, 93, 123, 135, 145, 158, 183,
436, 440, 464, 478, 587, 439, 487, 560
599 61.1 33, 181, 435, 443, 444, 445
52.1 181, 418 61.2–4 443
52.2 220, 413, 421, 534 61.2 94–95, 181, 442, 443, 444
53 26, 30, 33, 121–123, 151, 180, 61.3 147, 202, 391, 444
182, 225, 326, 386, 392, 410, 61.4–5 605
418, 478, 527, 529 61.4 442, 444
53.2–3 420 61.5 442, 443, 444, 447
53.2 420, 529 62–65 132
53.3 10 62–67 129
54–55 425 62–76 129
54–59 130 62 67, 449
54–114 128 62.1 448, 449
54 146, 232, 425, 496, 610 62.2 153, 448, 449
55 152, 158, 160, 358, 402, 425, 63–64 461
580 63–65 111, 150, 454
55.1 426, 566 63 111, 232, 238, 450–451, 454,
55.2 427, 429, 517 459
56–58 132 63.1 459
index locorum 679
63.2 450, 451, 459 75 146, 156, 161, 162, 277,

63.3 451 281–282, 405, 476, 486–488,
64–66 456 578
64 30, 111, 135, 145, 146, 232, 441, 76–77 491
459, 544, 560 76 32, 107, 129, 135, 145, 159, 203,
64.1 454, 456, 458 232, 441, 489, 495, 535, 542,
64.2 455 547, 553, 557, 560, 585, 588,
64.3 459 594, 595, 597
64.4 455 76.1 491
64.6 455 76.2 373
64.12 391, 433, 454, 476 76.3 441, 491
65–66 135, 179, 299, 464 77–82 129
65 32, 106, 111, 179, 232, 238, 77 5, 135, 147, 148–149, 151,
452, 460–461, 464, 465, 152, 159, 173, 204, 339, 342,
593 494–495, 586, 590, 594
65.1 459 77.1 17–18, 492–493, 495, 497, 517
65.2–3 458 77.2–3 18, 19, 492
65.4 152, 458, 460, 462 77.2 16, 492
65.5 458 77.3 490, 492
65.7 152 78–79 10
66 464–465 78 111, 150, 423, 496
67–68 131 78.1 410
67–70 133 78.3 152
67 152, 163, 333, 467 79 33, 146, 160–161, 225, 333,
68 30, 117, 232, 473 499, 560, 608
68.1 470 79.1–2 498, 583
68.2 31, 469, 470, 471 79.1 202, 232, 498, 499
69 226, 269, 470 79.2 232, 497, 498
69.1 152, 232, 472–473, 580 79.3 160, 232, 369, 498, 499
69.2 66, 162, 226, 232, 270, 402, 80–81 503, 596
472, 473 80–90 130
70 155, 197, 308, 312, 316, 404, 80 29, 129, 153, 159, 205, 243,
475 428, 501, 516, 517, 583, 594,
70.1 310 596, 597
71 117, 120, 124, 151, 164, 182–183, 80.1 152, 501
225, 440, 460, 478–479 80.2 501
72 33, 147, 225, 276, 310, 439, 81 129, 158, 166, 597
482, 533, 608 81.1 213, 503, 517
72.1 202 81.2 503
73–74 532 82 66, 68–69, 77–78, 146, 184,
73–75 313, 483, 485, 486, 487 505, 507
73–78 130 82.1 506
73 96, 162, 163, 270, 318, 331, 483, 82.2 506
485, 487, 532 83–84 123, 183, 222, 308, 377, 408,
74 32, 333, 484, 488, 591 511, 591
680 index locorum
83 145, 183, 377, 475, 494, 509, 95 10, 135, 161, 270, 358, 459, 543,
513–514 562, 593
83.1 408, 509, 510, 511, 514 95.1 544
83.2 511, 509, 510, 511 95.2 150, 543
84 151, 153, 154, 155, 274, 312, 405, 96–97 557
436, 510, 590 96–98 132, 184, 490, 545, 594
84.1 514 96–99 145, 608
84.2 204, 513, 514 96 184, 232, 234, 297, 306, 452,
85–113 129 546, 547, 549–550, 552–553,
85 146, 196, 197, 305, 428, 516, 556, 608
520, 567, 599 97–98 547
85.1 173, 181, 213, 504, 562 97 73, 90, 152, 232, 405, 542, 546,
86 72, 117, 205, 519, 532, 593 547, 550, 552–553, 556, 594,
87 70–71, 72, 148, 426, 521– 605
523 97.1 551, 553
87.1 96, 521 97.2 553
87.2 319, 521, 523 97.3 152, 551, 552, 553
88 344, 419, 524 97.4 553
88.1 525 98 184, 232, 304, 306, 347, 547,
88.2 524 354, 545, 546, 553, 555–556,
88.3 525 571
89 147, 149, 154, 173, 225, 310, 98.2 152, 557
475, 481, 528, 529, 532 98.3 557
89.1 528 99 33, 128, 145, 146, 152, 159–160,
89.2 527, 528, 529, 530 161, 179, 193, 213, 225, 253,
90 152, 153, 159, 205, 329, 458, 277, 309, 333, 358, 366,
484, 519, 531–532, 586, 594 476, 490, 547, 553, 557, 562,
91–92 539 567
91 31, 33, 166, 203, 220, 225, 263, 99.1 202
464, 537, 539, 541 99.2–3 391
91.1 534 99.2 499, 562
91.2 33, 152 100 18, 28, 30, 33, 95, 130, 149, 150,
92–93 539 152, 182, 324, 358, 561, 565,
92–94 135 593, 608
92–95 545 100.1–2 181
92–98 130 100.1–3 33
92 129, 159, 192, 203, 535, 536, 100.1 94
541, 542, 560, 586, 594 100.3 562
93 538 101–103 130
93.1 540 101 145, 146–147, 158, 160, 161,
93.2 540 213, 273, 333, 425, 517, 538,
94 129, 159, 203, 535, 537, 560, 559, 566–567, 580
586, 594 101.1–2 426
94.1 542 101.2–3 213
94.2 542 101.3 273, 517, 566, 567
index locorum 681
102 123, 151, 164, 181, 232, 371, 374, 110 158, 159, 243, 327, 428, 586,
386, 507, 522 594, 596
103 152, 232, 305, 557, 571 111 29, 30, 146, 153, 159, 193, 196,
104 33, 162, 179, 225, 270, 327, 574 197, 205, 213, 226, 247, 419,
104.2 202, 375, 391 428, 433, 516, 517, 576, 583,
104.3 574, 575, 576 586, 594, 598, 601, 609
105–112 130 111.1–2 598
105 73, 145, 146, 152, 583 111.1 478, 525
106–107 131 111.2 600, 601
106 153, 154, 156, 205, 290, 310, 111.3 598, 599, 601
402, 429, 481, 582 112 70–71, 72, 148, 150, 232,
106.1 582 319, 336, 426, 521, 522, 570,
106.2 582 602–603
107–110 132 112.1 319, 602–603
107 129, 152, 159, 203, 232, 236, 112.2 602
297, 298, 405, 434, 542, 546, 113–114 128
554, 584–586, 594 113 30, 32, 33, 70, 73, 90, 128, 130,
107.2 588 145, 146, 150, 211, 221, 225,
107.3 159, 595 276, 413, 432, 490, 547, 553,
108 151, 158, 263, 309, 481, 486, 557, 604, 608
520, 589–591 113.1 551
108.1–2 158, 495 113.3 604, 605
108.1 590, 591 113.4 211, 273, 432, 604, 606
108.2 590 114 33, 74, 88, 109, 130, 154, 158,
108.3 589, 590 161, 182, 197, 225, 262, 268,
109–110 599 274, 424, 447, 560, 608–609,
109 161, 232, 237, 405, 434, 459, 612, 615
555, 586, 588, 592, 597, 114.1 181
599 114.2–3 613, 616
109.1–2 605 114.2 10, 202, 609–611
109.1 152 114.3 476, 610–611, 613, 615
109.2 152, 592 114.5 274
109.3 159, 594 Subscriptio 137, 140, 146, 181, 617–618
2 Old Testament
Genesis 2.9 291, 293

1–2 156 2.21–22 248
1.26–27 513 2.22 612
1.26 582 2.24 248, 310
1.28 582 2.25 155, 364
1.29 293 3.1 155
2.4–20 614 3.10 364
2.7 157, 336, 611 4.9 319
682 index locorum
Genesis (cont.) 30.11–14 212

17 421 32.10 319
17.3 274 32.30 314
17.12 217
19.3 354 Joshua
21.4 217 5.14 274
33.11 354 7.6 274
9.4 400
Exodus
2.14 482 Judges
20.16 226 6.21 266
22.24/25 543 17.5 240
32.29 240
1 Samuel
Leviticus 2.31 499
8.33 240
9.24 274 2 Samuel
12.3 217 14.4 274
19.18 318, 319 14.22 274
23.32 328
24.14–16 265 1 Kings
25.35–37 543 17.12 550
26.34–35 328
2 Kings
Numbers 7.15 199
9.10 554 20.17 499
14.5 274
16.4 274 1 Chronicles
16.22 274 21.16 274
16.45 274
22.31 274 2 Chronicles
20.18 274
Deuteronomy 35.25 418
1.1 193 36.21 328
4.8 211
4.29 203 Ezra
6 216 6.12 479
6.2 218
20.5 455 Nehemiah
20.6–7 455 5.7 543
23.19–20 543 5.10 543
24.10 455
28.65 394 Esther
29.17 240 5.8 454
30 211 6.14 454
index locorum 683
Job 40.15 255

1.21 333 55.1 333
12.7–8 211 55.6 436
14.1 273 58.6–7 473
15.14 273 60.3–7 480
25.4–6 519 64.10–12 119
25.4 273 64.3 283
33.4 568 65.16 283
Psalms Jeremiah
15.5 543 3.14 314
17.8 319 6.16 532
43.12 68 7.32 499
48.18 333 9.24 499
68.3/4 395 16.14 499
89.48 599 19.6 499
101.26–28 599 23.5 499
118 465, 466 23.7 499
118.22/117.22 464, 465 28.52 499
119/118.82 395 29.13 203
30.18 499
Proverbs 138 31.12 499
1.28 369 37.3 499
2.1 94 37.4 193
7.2 319 38.27 499
7.9 554 38.31 499
8.7 203 50.3 [27.3 LXX]
10.25 250 119
11.27 203
19.10 354 Lamentations
2.11 394
Ecclesiastes
5.15 333 Ezekiel
7.28 314 1.28 274
10.9 342, 495 2.8 380
12.11 417 3.23 274
9.8 274
Isaiah 11.13 274
3.3 417 12.7 558
5 461 18.8 543
11.1–10 276 18.13 543
28.10 264 18.17 543
28.13 264 22.12 543
34.4 599 43.3 274
39.6 499 44.4 274
684 index locorum
Daniel Amos
6 231 4.2 499
7.9 215 8.11 499
7.13–14 582 9.13 499
7.13 215
7.22 215 Zechariah
14.1 499
Hosea 14.21 456
12.7 354
3 New Testament
Matthew 78 7.7 135, 536, 537

3.4 497 7.8 536, 537, 541
3.9 290 7.11 336
4.3 290, 336 7.12 226
4.6 336 7.16 386, 392
5.3 423, 424 7.17–20 386
5.6 333, 473 7.21 507
5.9 276 8.10 337, 369
5.10–11 434 8.20 72, 519
5.11 470 8.22 564
5.14–15 135, 349 8.31 336
5.14 101, 317, 346 9.14–15 574
5.15 349 9.14 577
5.18 247, 599 9.16 401
5.29 336 9.37–38 483
5.30 336 9.38 270
5.38 311 10.3 193
6.1–18 224, 268 10.8–10 271
6.3 449 10.16 101, 372
6.10 146, 604 10.25 336
6.19–20 491 10.26 227
6.22–23 316 10.27 349
6.23 336 10.29 563
6.24 83, 400 10.34–35 160
6.25–34 358 10.34–36 275
6.28 356, 360 10.34 276
6.30 336 10.37–38 425
7.3–5 321 10.37 566
7.5 320 11 151
7.6–8 135 11.7–8 496
7.6 536, 538 11.11 273, 395
7.7–8 203 11.14 336
index locorum 685
11.15 238 16.2–3 533, 534

11.17 386 16.13–23 260
11.21 336 16.17 599
11.25–26 214 16.18–19 254
11.28–30 531 16.24 425
11.30 532 17.6 274
12.11 588 17.20 582, 583
12.26 336 18.1–5 309
12.27 336 18.2–5 309
12.28 336, 605 18.3 397
12.29 353, 354 18.10 329, 588
12.31–32 82–83, 386, 388 18.12–13 588
12.31–35 135, 393 18.12–14 584
12.33 386 18.13 588
12.34–35 386, 392 18.14 588
12.35 106 18.15–20 341, 431
12.46–50 559 18.19 402, 403
12.50 499 18.20 332, 340, 341
13.3–8 239 19.5–6 310
13.8 241 19.13–15 309
13.9 238 19.30 99, 216, 218
13.12 376, 377, 475 19.35 601
13.17 368 20.16 216, 218
13.24–30 430, 431, 484 20.23 145, 405
13.26–28 433 21.20 60
13.29 433 21.21 402, 403, 582, 583
13.31–32 297 21.22 601
13.31 595 21.23 601
13.33 545 21.27 537
13.36–43 484 21.42 464
13.44–46 328 22.1–10 135
13.45–46 489, 490 22.1–14 454, 456
13.44 405, 593 22.9 487
13.47–48 234 22.14 314
13.47–50 235 22.15–22 561
13.48 93 22.19 465
13.55 590 22.33–41 460
13.57 100, 344 23.4 532
14.28 336 23.13 371, 507, 569
15.8 506 23.23 386
15.11 271, 374 23.25–26 527, 529
15.13 347, 374 23.34 526
15.14 351 24.1–2 118
15.17–18 271 24.13 572
15.17 527, 529 24.35 247, 599
686 index locorum
Matthew (cont.) 7.6 506

24.40 444 7.15 271
24.43–44 304 7.18 271, 527, 529
24.43 571 7.19 601
25.1–13 487 7.20 271
25.27 595 8.27–33 260
25.29 376, 377, 475 8.31–32 253
25.34 145, 146, 405, 604 8.34–37 597
26.39 274 8.34 425, 507
26.61 477 8.36 468
26.63 537 9.1 196
27.32 426 9.31–32 253
27.34 526 9.31–34 249
27.40 477 9.33–34 253
27.56 445 9.33–36 309
9.36 309
Mark 62 9.43–48 311
1.1 618 9.49 506
1.6 497 10.8 310
2.18–20 179, 574 10.13–16 309
2.21 401 10.13 216
2.22 400 10.14 507
3.18 193 10.15 397
3.27 353, 354 10.19 468
3.28–29 388 10.20 468
3.29 82–83 10.26 222
3.31–35 160, 559 10.30 413
3.35 499 10.31 218
4.3–8 239 10.40 145, 405
4.8 241 11.3 533
4.9 238 11.17 305
4.21 179, 349 11.23 402, 403, 582, 583
4.22 100, 222, 227 11.33 537
4.23 238 12.1–5 106
4.25 376, 377, 475 12.1–9 179, 460, 464
4.26–29 306 12.10–11 464
4.29 306 12.2 462
4.30–32 297 12.9 461
4.32 298 12.10 464
4.41 385 12.13–17 561
6.1 343 13.31 247, 599
6.3 590 12.34 506
6.4–5 344 14.58 477
6.4 100, 343, 344 14.61 537
6.6 337 15.5 537
index locorum 687
15.21 426 7.38 443

15.23 526 8.5–8 239
15.29 477 8.8 238, 241
15.40 445 8.16 179, 349
15.41 445 8.17 100, 222, 227
16.1–8 445 8.18 376, 378, 475
16.1 445 9.18–22 260
20.21 468 8.19–21 559
9.23 425
Luke 62 9.46–48 309
1.1 184 9.52 519
1.59 217 9.54 266
1.78–79 276 9.58 72
2.10–14 276 9.60 564
2.21 217 10.2 270, 483
2.26 599 10.7–9 271
2.41–52 214 10.8 111, 271
2.49 446 10.24 368
3.8 290 10.30–35 440
4 138 10.38–42 552
4.3 290 10.39 443
4.9 600 11.1 225
4.24 100, 344 11.2 146, 604
5.12 274 11.9–10 203
5.33–35 179, 574 11.9 536, 537
5.33 577 11.10 537, 541
5.35 499 11.20 605
5.36 401 11.21–22 353
5.39 400 11.27–28 498
6.12 434 11.27 160
6.15 193 11.28 499
6.20 423, 424 11.33 179, 349
6.21 473 11.34–36 316
6.22 470 11.39–40 527
6.30–35 135, 543 11.40 527, 530
6.39 351 11.42 386
6.41–42 321 11.52 371, 372, 507, 569
6.42 100, 321 12.2 222, 227
6.43–44 386 12.3 349
6.44–45 392 12.6 563
7 151 12.10 388
7.9 337 12.13–14 481, 482
7.24–25 496 12.16–20 450
7.28 273, 395 12.21 597
7.32 386 12.22–32 358
688 index locorum
Luke (cont.) 19.43 499

12.33 304, 491 20.8 537
12.35 573 20.9–16 460
12.37 573 20.9–17 179
12.39–40 304 20.12 106
12.39 304, 571, 572, 573 20.13 462
12.49 242, 243, 244, 276 20.17 464
12.51–53 160, 275 20.20–26 561
12.54–55 534 20.24 465
12.54–56 533 21.6 499
12.56 533 21.33 247, 599
13.18–19 297 22.29 507
13.20–21 545 23.5 558
13.30 216, 218 23.9 537
14 557 23.26 426
14.12–24 454, 456 23.29 160, 498, 499
14.26–27 425 23.42 507
14.26 160, 566 23.47 255
14.28–30 555 24.5 193, 419
14.31–32 555, 556 24.25 416
14.35 238 24.27 416
15 551 24.36 332
15.3–7 584
15.4 588 John 62, 78
15.7 588 1.9 317
16.1–8 555 1.12–13 395
16.3 83 2.13 439
16.7 247 2.19–20 479
16.13 400 2.19 479
17.6 583 3.3–8 395
17.20–21 604, 605 3.4 310
17.20 605 3.31 199, 494
17.21 212, 605 4.9 121
17.22 369, 499 4.13–14 591
17.34 444 4.14 486
18.9–14 440 4.20 121
18.15–17 309 4.22 121
18.17 397 4.27 443
18.20 468 4.35–38 484
18.21 468 4.44 100, 344
18.22 468 5.18 446
19.5 443 5.19 600
19.23 595 6.30 534
19.26 376, 377 6.44 615
19.40 290 6.46 329
index locorum 689
6.63 568 10.36 494

7.18 577 10.43 416
7.34 369 12.2 254
7.37–38 491 15.20 226
7.53–8.11 48 15.29 226
8.12 317, 494 16.6 380
8.25 386, 534 20.2 380
8.46 577 21.30 207
8.51–52 196 22.14 255
8.51 599
8.52 196 Romans
9.5 317, 494 1.1–2 416
10.33 265 2.29 422
11.9–10 316 2.25–3.2 180, 420
11.9 494 3.1–2 420, 421
11.16 193 3.21 416
12.35–36 494 5.12–19 518
12.46 494 7.1 529
12.32 615 8.3 577
13.33 121 10 210, 211–212
14.5 193 10.12 494
14.9 329 10.20 363
14.22 105, 190 11.36 493, 495
15.5 263 12.21 577
16.25 537 15.27 524
19.17 426 16.6 303
19.25 445
20.24–29 193 1 Corinthians
20.26–29 190 1.17 379
20.31 140, 196 2.9 283
21.25 139 3.22 204
4.8 504
Acts 5.6 547
1.6 413 6.2 529
1.13 193 6.3 529
3.14 255 6.5 306
3.18 416 6.9–10 146, 604, 605
3.24 416 6.9 529
4.11 464 6.15 529
6.11 265 6.16 529
6.14 479 6.19 529
7.26 332 7.7 160
7.35 482 8.6 493, 495
7.52 255 9.24 529
7.57–58 265 10.27 271
690 index locorum
1Corinthians (cont.) Philippians

12.10 379 1.16–17 493
13.2 402, 583 2.15 317
13.12 213 3.3 422
15 412 3.5 217
15.22 518 3.11 493
15.45 518 4.15 600
15.49 513
15.50 146, 604 Colossians
16.1–2 226 1.12 146, 604
1.16 495
2Corinthians 1.27 597
3.6 568 2.2 597
4.7 529 2.11 422
4.16 379
5.17 413, 577 1 Thessalonians
6.14 380 4.4 529
8.9 597 5.2 304
9.11 597 5.4 304
12.2–4 247
13.13 390 2 Thessalonians
13.14 390 2.2 410
Galatians 1 Timothy
1.19 254 3.16 331, 332
2.9 421 5.5 600
3.10 268 5.22 539
3.13 231 6.7 333
3.16 601 6.18 597
4.9 213
5.21 146, 604 2 Timothy
6.3 600 2.13 600
6.15 413 2.18 412
Ephesians Titus
1.18 597 2.12 597
1.21 413
2.14–16 558 Hebrews
2.20 15, 466 1.10–12 599
4.13 216 1.12 599
4.14 497 2.9 196–197
5.2 600 4.15 577
5.5 146, 604 5.5 600
5.18 264 6.12 379
6.11 432 7.16 577
6.14 573 8.8 499
index locorum 691
10.19–22 576 1.1 284, 285

11.4 415 2.1–2 255
11.5 599 2.17 598
11.14 343 2.22 539
11.26 597 2.27 263
11.38 502 2.29 395
12.15 240 4.7 395
12.26–27 410
Revelation 78
James 1.4–5 390
1.5 269 1.17–18 193
1.12 434 2.7 238
2.5 146, 597, 604 2.11 238
2.6 207 2.17 238
2.8 319 2.28 446
3.5–8 272 2.29 238
3.13 306 3.2 380
4.13–14 452 3.3 304
5.6 255 3.6 238
3.13 238
1 Peter 3.22 238
1.13 573 5.8 417
2.6 466 5.12 516
2.7 464, 466 6.14 599
2.21–23 577 13.9 238
3.14 434 16.15 304
3.18 255 17.2 333
17.14 494
2 Peter 18.3 333
2.20 577 19.16 494
3.10 247, 304 21.1 247
21.22 117
1 John
4 Apostolic Fathers
Barnabas, Epistle of 4.10 281

119, 120, 164, 167 5.6 331
1.1 193 6.4 464
1.4 319 6.6–7 331
1.8 263 6.9 331
3.3 327 6.11 217
4.6 319 6.14 331
4.9 263 9.4 421
692 index locorum
Barnabas, Epistle of (cont.) 13 526

10 226 15.3–4 618
11.10 292 16.6 606
14.5 331
15 328 Diognetus, Epistle to
16.2 479 4.2 387
20.2 333 4.4 421
6.8 210
1Clement 10.2 210, 256
5.1–5 258
24.5 239 Ignatius
34.8 283 To Polycarp
42.4 271 2.2 372
50.3 605 7.2 526
65.1 526 8.1 526
To the Ephesians
2Clement 110, 114, 143, 398 2.14–16 310
5.5 146, 200, 605 3.1 263
6.1 400 9.1 390
8.5 618 16.1 146, 605
9.1 412 20.2 196
9.11 560 To the Magnesians
11.7 283 1.2 157
12 77, 79 9.1 328
12.1–2 308 10.2 547
12.2 63 13.1 390
14.1 290, 292 To the Philadelphians
16.3 222, 247 2.3 146, 605
16.4 224, 268 To the Smyrnaeans
4.2 506, 507
Didache 120 6.2 268
1.2 226 7.1 268
1.5 543 To the Trallians
5.2 333 11.1 374
6.2 468
7.1 390 Martyrdom of Polycarp
7.3 390 2.3 283
8 268 9.3 388
8.1 225, 577 22.3 [23.5] 390
8.2–3 226
8.2 146, 604 Polycarp
9.5 538 To the Philippians
11–13 524 2.3 424
11 526 4.1 333
11.7 389 5.3 146, 605
index locorum 693
Shepherd of Hermas Herm. 54 [Sim. 5.1].3–4

Herm. 1 [Vis. 1.1].6 327
256 Herm. 54 [Sim. 5.1].5–8
Herm. 3 [Vis. 1.3].4 225
208 Herm. 54 [Sim. 5.1].5
Herm. 8 [Vis. 2.4].1 327
290 Herm. 56 [Sim. 5.3]
Herm. 9 [Vis. 3.1].6–7 225, 269
226 Herm. 56 [Sim. 5.3].7
Herm. 27 [Mand. 2].1 473
217 Herm. 67 [Sim. 8.1].1
Herm. 52–53 [Sim. 3–4] 299
576 Herm. 103 [Sim. 9.26].3
Herm. 72 [Sim. 8.6 .5 281
372
Herm. 54 [Sim. 5.1]
269, 327
5 Patristic & Medieval Writings
Abercius Augustine
Epitaph 13–14 234, 236 Contra adversarium Legis et Prophetarum
1.1.1 86
Acts of the Second Council of Nicaea 2.4.14 86, 418
6.5 43 Contra Faustum
30.4 57–58
Ambrose Sermon the Mount
Exposition of Luke II, 5, 17 74
1.2 39
Basilica (Scholia)
Aphrahat Book 21, Title 1: Chapter 45.3
Demonstrations 107 48
18.11 280
Bede
Aristides In Lucae evangelii expositio
Apology 1, Prol. 42
1 256
15 226 Clement of Alexandria
Stromata
Pseudo-Athanasius 1.1.16.3 234, 237
Synopsis scripturae sacrae 1.12.55.3–4 539
40 2.2.7.4 539
2.9.45.4 203
2.9.45.5 63, 99, 199, 494
694 index locorum
Stromata (cont.) Cyprian

2.18.84.4 543 Testimonia
3.9.63.1 498 1.8 421
3.9.63.2 498 3.29 64, 369
3.9.64.1 445
3.9.66.1–2 161, 445, 498 Cyril of Jerusalem
3.10.68–70 340 Catechesis
3.13.92 77, 79 4.36 37
3.13.92.2 84, 308, 363, 364, 6.31 37–38
365
3.13.93.1 365 Tatian
3.15.99.4 64, 327 Diatessaron 32–33, 63, 114
4.6.41.2–4 469
4.18.116.2 409 Didascalia
5.4.23.1 212 15 75, 107, 403
5.14.96.3 63, 99, 199, 494
6.11.95.3 234, 235 Didymus the Blind
6.12.100.3 614 Commentary on Ecclesiastes
7.7.41 269 8.3–7 38
Eclogae Propheticae In Psalmos
14.1 64, 327 88.8 68
Excerpta Theodoti Decretum Gelasianum
1 298, 319 5.3 40
1.1.3 547
21 614 (Ps.-)Diogenianus
21.3 614 7:77b 507
36.1 94, 446
52.1 354 Doctrina Addai
53.1 431 Fol. 28a 380
68 614
78.2 153, 212 Ephrem
79 614 Commentary on the Diatessaron
86 561 69
Hypotyposeis 254 14.24 69
Paedagogus 18.7 304
3.1.1 212 Exposition of the Gospel
Who is the Rich Man…? 78, 505
25 472 83 69
Hymns on Paradise
Commentariolus Byzantinus 10.3 292
Scholion §1 44–45
Epiphanius
Coptic Acrostic Hymns Panarion
1.14 615 24.4–5 539
24.5.4 313
index locorum 695
26.3.1 495, 589 Gratian

30.13.4–5 97 Decretum
30.14.5 559 Pt 1, Dist. 15, Canon 3, §35
30.16.5 479 50
30.16.17 251
33.4 416 Gregory of Palamas
33.5.11–13 326 In Defense of the Hesychasts
34.18.13 64, 368 I 1.19 71
66.65 431
Hesychius
Etheria Dictionary 570
Peregrinatio
19 58 (?Ps-)Hippolytus
140
Etymologicum Gudianum Refutatio 116
88 5.8.33 539
5.7.1 252, 258
Eusebius 5.7.6 517
Historia Ecclesiastica 5.7.20 208, 215, 258, 605, 617
1.13.11 105 5.7.20–21 35–36, 106, 113
2.1.3 254 5.7.25 409
2.13.7 63, 200 5.7.28 349
2.23.4 254 5.8.4 264
3.25.6 36–37 5.8.8 547, 605
3.38 263 5.8.28–29 239
4.6.4 119 5.8.32 65, 245
4.7.7 389 5.9.6 298
4.7.9 169 6.36.7 172, 523, 603
4.22.8 98 6.42.2 214
4.26.14 418 7.35.1 169
6.25.1–2 416 9.17.1 539
6.25.2 418
Theophania Innocent I
4.18 118 Epistula 6.7
4.20 120
Irenaeus
Euthymius of Constantinople Adversus Haereses
Epistula Invectiva 1.5.1 170
48–49 1.5.2 517
1.5.3 170
George the Sinner 1.6.2 163
Chronicon breve 1.8.3 547
3.162 45–46 1.8.4 584
1.11.1 169–170
1.11.5 170
696 index locorum
Adversus Haereses (cont.) John of Caesarea (Attr.)

1.13.3 589 Capita VII contra Manichaeos
1.16.1 585 59
1.20.2 64, 147, 368
1.23.2 585 John of Damascus
1.24 264 Orationes de imaginibus tres
1.24.6 313, 389 II 16 42
1.25.6 170
1.28.1 175, 517 John Chrysostom
1.29 170, 171 Against the Judaizers
1.30–31 170 4.4–5 471
1.31.1–2 617 Demonstration
2.5.2 584 17.3 471
2.24.6 448, 584, 585 Against Jews and Pagans
3.2.7 170 16.4 118
3.11.9 617 16.8 120
3.23.1 585 17.13 120
3.23.8 517
4.30.3 321 Justin Martyr
4.33.1 464 1 Apology
4.51.3 170 15–17 143
20.1 287 15 358
Demonstratio 17.2 561
2 603 47 119
44 64 65.3 390
66.3 618
Ivo of Chartres Dialogue with Trypho
Decretum IV 2.10 618
65 50–51 12.3 329
16.2 119
Jerome 17.1–4 119
Against the Pelagians 17.4 372
3.2.1 578 19.3 122, 421
Commentary on Matthew 22 119
Prol. 38 47 163
Lives of Illustrious Men 90.4 606
2 252, 254 92.2 421
Preface to Samuel and Kings 114 422
416 125 239
Prologue to the Book of Kings
418 Lactantius
Prologue to the Twelve Divine Institutes
ll. 6–7 418 4.8.1 64
index locorum 697
Liber Graduum 107, 327 Peri tou Pascha

660, 10 73 2.6.3 65, 313
Long Greek Abjuration Formula Paul the Deacon

3 46–47 Homily 59 44
Macarius. See Pseudo-Macarius Peter of Sicily

Historia Manichaeorum seu Paulicianorum
Mechitar of Ayrivank 67–68 46
Chronicle
I, 33 53–54 Philostorgius
Church History
Muratorian Fragment 7.9a 118
29–31 285
Pseudo-Leontius of Byzantium
Nicephorus De sectis
Chronographia brevis 3.2 41
45
Pseudo-Macarius
Nicephorus Callistus Homilies
Historia ecclesiastica 9.2.1 72
Book II, 46 54 9.3.7 71, 602
20.1.3 552
Nicetas Seides 23.4 552
Conspectus librorum sacrorum 35.1.5 70, 606
23 52 New Homilies
6.4 72
Origen Spiritual Homilies
Commentary on John 1 71, 521, 602
Frag. 106 55–56 28.6 73
Commentary on Matthew
67 Peter Abelard
Contra Celsum Sic et Non 51
4.22 119
6.31 408 Philip of Side
8.15–16 485 Church History
Homilies on Leviticus Fragment 39
10.2 474
Homilies on Joshua Pseudo-Photius
4.3 66–65 On the Recent Reappearance of the
Homilies on Jeremiah Manichaeans
L. I (III), 3 66–65 50 47–48
Homilies on Luke
1 36, 617
698 index locorum
Quaestiones uel Glosae in euangelio nomine: Against Marcion

Quaestiones euangelii 3.15 399
2 43–44 4.17 543
4.35 212
Sargis Chnohali On Baptism
Commentary on the Catholic Epistles 1 236
‘Preface to 2Peter’ 18.1 539
49–50 Prescription against the Heretics
26 539
Second Council of Lyons: Synopsis of the Shows
Canons against the Latins 30 580
10 59–60
Theophilus
Sentences of Sextus To Autolycus
25, 141 2.18 517
18–21 562 2.34 226
20 561
60 204 Theophylact of Ohrid
243 314 Vita Clementis Ochridensis
398 212 28 49
Severus 59 Thomas Aquinas

Catena aurea in Lucam
Synesius 1.1 53
Oratio de regno Catena aurea in Matthaeum
11 507 Preface 52
Synodicon Orthodoxiae, Anathemata Timothy of Constantinople

synodica De reception haereticorum
9 390 41–42
10 47
Victorinus
Tertullian In Apoc.
Against the Jews 4.5 417
2 421
4 329
12 119
6 Classical Authors
Aristotle Babrius
Politics Fables
1258B 544 4 234
index locorum 699
Cicero Lucretius
Letters to Atticus On the Nature of Things
xv.1a.1 345 3.9–13 142
Letters to Friends
XIII, 20 345 Mara bar Serapion
On Ends Letter to his Son
2.7.20 142 263
Epictetus 141 Martial

Discourses Epigrams
1.14.3 361 4.4 326
Epicurus Pausanias
Kuriai doxai 141–142 Description of Greece
Letter to Menoeceus 10.24.1 212
124–127
Vaticanae sententiae Plato
141–142 Alcibiades I
130E 212
Euripides Theaetetus
Hippolytus 155D 203
247 204 Meno
78A 441
Homer Parmenides
Odyssey 145E 409
11 210 162B–163B 409
Phaedo
Horace 67D 151
Satires 2.6.10–13 593 69C 314
83D 523
Iamblichus Politicus
De Anima 289C 359
23 147 Republic
26 148 7 [515C] 515
27 148–149 7 [515E] 515
327B 455
Lucian 350D 209
Indoctus 458D 209
30 570 515E 204
Peregrinus Timaeus 147
11 263
Timon Pliny the Elder
14 570 Natural History
9.119–121 491
700 index locorum
Pliny the Younger Moral Epistles

Letters 95.47 387
10.96 388 102.25 333
Plotinus Strato
Enneads In: Greek Anthology 12.236
1.4.14 503 570
1.6.8 312
2.2.3 410 Suetonius
2.9 171, 172 Julius
2.9.6 172 39 400
4.8.4–5 148 50 491
Augustus
Plutarch 76 326
Moralia Domitian
669E–670B (Quaest. Conv.) 12.2 387
387
486F–487B (Frat. Am.) Virgil
560 Aeneid
6 210
Porphyry
Life of Plotinus Xenophon
5 171, 172 Oeconomicus
16 169, 171, 172 7.32 309
24 172
Seneca
On Benefits
VI 15,4 345
7 Judaica
Philo and Josephus On the Confusion of Tongues

144 581
Philo On the Contemplative Life
Allegorical Laws 25,30 281
2.50 157 On the Creation of the World
2.53 155 66 319
On Dreams 78 454
2.78 494 105 309
On Flight and Finding 134 157, 513,
51 613 514
On Planting On the Decalogue
36 292, 293 8 581
index locorum 701
On the Life of Moses Apocrypha

2.288 157
On the Migration of Abraham Additions to Daniel
69 581 3.38 470
On the Posterity of Cain
61 523 1 Maccabees
On the Special Laws 4.6 332
1.8–10 422
1.294–295 333 2 Maccabees
1.331–332 581 7.11 311
3.180 157
3.194 319 Sirach
On the Unchangeableness of God 6.28 531
82–84 157 9.10 400
91–92 237, 593, 595 10.24 497
159 382 11 450
On Virtues 11.19 450, 452
7 351 13.9 380
14.82–83 544 24.19 531
Questions on Exodus 33.23 380
170 613 38.23 413
That Every Good Man is Free 44.1 395
140 319 49.10 418
Who is the Heir of Divine Things 51.26 531
240 148
Tobit 23
Josephus 4.15 226
Contra Apionem 12.8 224, 268
1.38 416 14.5 480
Jewish War
2.119–166 570 Wisdom of Solomon
2.254 305 2.17–20 255
2.397 470 10.14 354
6.435–437 118 17.3 199
Antiquities
4.314 118
12.43 255 Pseudepigrapha
12.157 255
13.171–173 570 2 Baruch
18.11–25 570 15.7 255
20.197–203 254 14.18–19 255
21.24 255
3 Baruch
4.7 293
702 index locorum
1Enoch 4QpPs37
5.8 317 3.11 480
9.5 347
25.3–5 480 11QTemple
90.29 480 29.8–10 480
91.13 480
Rabbinic Literature
4Ezra
6.26 196 Mishnah
6.55–59 255 Abot 138
7.11 255 Kel.
25.1–8 527
Jubilees 292 Nid.
1.15–17 480 5.2 298
Tohor.
Psalms of Solomon 8.8 298
2.14 333
17.32 480 Tosefta
Sanh. 13.3 392
Sibylline Oracles
3.823 599 Sifre Deuteronomy
§ 47, 11.21 255
Testament of Abraham
[Red. A] 12.12–17 Talmud
392 b. Bava Batra
14b 418
Testament of Moses 15a 418
1.12–13 255 b. Megillah
5–10 117 24a 418
b. Sanhedrin
Testament of Solomon 93b 418
497 98b 256
Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs Midrashim

Midrash Numbers
Testament of Reuben 2.9 14.4 417
351 18.21 418
28.21 417
Dead Sea Scrolls Midrash Qohelet
12.11 417
4Q174 139 Midrash Canticles
2.14 372
4Q175 139 Pesikta Rabbati
21.6 581
index locorum 703
8 Christian Apocrypha
Acts of John 105, 369 Gospel of Eve 158

39 79
98 368 Gospel of Judas 63, 97, 114, 154, 163, 191, 192,
264, 517, 617, 618
Acts of Peter 34,6–13 564
9 77, 79, 308 35 476
38 308 35,2–6 155, 312
39 85 35,3 382
35,6–14 397
Acts of Philip 45,14–24 292
140 77, 79, 308 47,20–21 408
53,24 204
Acts of Thomas 60, 75, 104–107, 114, 194, 226,
279, 294, 590 Gospel of Mary 22, 97, 140, 176, 191, 264, 316,
27 291, 295 609, 617
39 78–79 8,7 380
47 79, 265 8,10–11 238
108–113 491 8,15–19 212, 605
136 79, 200 8,18–19 476
8,20–21 203, 542
Armenian Gospel of the Infancy 10,4–6 192
98 15,1–5 305
16,4 407
Ascents of James 251 17,18–22 615
18,8–9 22
Celestial Dialogue 18,15–17 155, 312, 476
114
Gospel of Peter 97, 115, 262, 332, 372, 617
‘Egerton’ Gospel 184, 561
Gospel of the Ebionites
Epistle of the Apostles 578
4–5 138
47 351 Gospel of the Egyptians
27, 63, 77, 84–85, 114, 158, 161,
Epistle of Thomas 256, 308, 363, 364, 365
60
Gospel of the Hebrews
Gospel of Barnabas 27, 63, 97, 98, 101, 199, 203,
192 254, 256, 578
19.1 192 Fr. 2 568
Gospel of Bartholomew Gospel of the Nazaraeans

265 577, 578
704 index locorum
Gospel of Philip. See below under Protevangelium of James

Nag Hammadi texts 98
Gospel of the Saviour Psalms of Thomas

505 16 447
71 69, 77
83 486 Pseudo-Clementines
97,21–22 317 Homilies
107,4–9 365 18.16 372
Fr. 19F 486 18.16.4 376
Recognitions
Gospel of Thomas. See separate index above 1.17 254
1.43 254
Infancy Gospel of Thomas 1.44 254
60, 97, 105 1.54 372, 479
5.3 203 1.59 415
6.9 287 1.64 254, 479
11.1 239 1.66 254
13.1–2 287 1.68 254
1.70 254
Martyrdom of Conon 1.72 254
2.7 207 1.73 254
2.7.2–3 277
Martyrdom of Peter. See Acts of Peter 2.30 372
Odes of Solomon Revelation of Thomas

104, 106, 109, 279 60
11.1–3 422
11.7–8 264, 333
21.4 311
9 Nag Hammadi and Related Literature
Allogenes 41,15–19 615

50 516 42 251
1 Apocalypse of James 2 Apocalypse of James

252 252, 256
18,16–20 255 55,3–56,7 251
18,16–25 262 55,15–56,14 252
33,15–16 407 56,2–7 200
33,15 409
33,16–18 409
index locorum 705
Apocalypse of Adam Book of Thomas the Contender

82,10–19 204 10, 12–13, 60, 75, 78, 105,
114, 192
Apocalypse of Paul 138,1–4 76, 192
19,15–18 250 139,37 264, 333
19,28–29 514 140,42–141,2 76
22,23–30 216 140,41–141,43 200
23,2 407 145,10–16 200
23,11 407
Concept of our Great Power
Apocalypse of Peter 516
78,26–31 372 36,12 241
81,17–18 193 43,21–22 241
83,19–84,6 376 47,9–26 511
Apocryphon of James Dialogue of the Saviour

184, 251 62–63, 167, 184, 278,
3,9 264, 333 487
8,1–10 138 19,13–14 503
8,3 239 98,60–62 219
10,4 317 120,6 405
15,5–15,11 252 120,25–121,1 382
120,26 281
Apocryphon of John (NH II,1) 121,18–20 281
10, 12–13, 513, 514, 517 121,18 281
2,33–35 564 124,3 382
4,19–24 512 125,18–126,1 316
7,15–32 408 139,8–13 138
10,19–21 516 144,5–8 298
11,16–18 416 145,7–24 382
13,18–23 416
14,14–15 520 Discourse on the Eighth and Ninth
22,22–25 416 58,13–14 264
23,3–4 416
27,27–30 391 Epistle of Peter to Philip
29,6–10 416 133,26–134,1 494
134,9–10 494
Asclepius
22 314 Exegesis on the Soul
10, 553
Authoritative Teaching 132,1 94
27,25–27 337 132,10–13 488
29,3–30,25 234 132,34–35 488
29,17–30,25 231 133,13–14 94
33,4–21 372
706 index locorum
Gospel of Philip 10, 12–13, 76, 97, 105–106, 135, 32,5–17 448
157, 162, 167, 176, 182, 269, 32,27–30 328
303, 407, 444, 487–488, 617 32,31–33,32 491
52,21–24 580 32,34 491
52,25–33 576 33,16–17 491
52,25–35 270
52,26–29 163 Concept of our Great Power
53,10–13 354 36,11–12 218
55,19–22 484
55,24–27 568 Hypostasis of the Archons
55,29–30 386 10, 12
56,15–19 412 89,13–16 567
56,20–26 337 91,3–7 175
60,27–28 448 93,16–17 263
61,20–35 589
63,11–21 551 Interpretation of Knowledge
64,1–3 615 9,30–31 317
64,9–12 76
66,16–20 364 On the Origin of the World
67,26–27 589 10
67,30–34 77 110,2–6 292
67,30–68,17 308 110,30–111,8 294
68,8–17 576 127,7–14 204
68,22–24 286
70,9–17 158 Paraphrase of Shem
70,9–22 310 123, 199, 204
70,23–28 158 3,34–35 509–510
71,22 291 10,39 509
73,1–5 412 39,16 509
73,19–22 439 39,17–28 446
80,23–81,14 539 42,28–43,1 364
82,26–29 422 43,20–27 364
85,29–31 374
Second Treatise of the Great Seth
Gospel of Thomas. See separate index above. 62,27–31 517
62,27–34 175
Gospel of the Egyptians (NH III,2) 62,27–64,1 396, 416
251
64,1 193 Sophia of Jesus Christ
64,12–13 252 22
68,1–9 192 114,8–12 303
Gospel of Truth 284, 584, 588, 617, 618 Teaching of Silvanus

25,32 266 92,10–14 212
27,30–28,4 64 95,5–33 372
index locorum 707
105,2–10 231 Valentinian Exposition On Baptism

105,13–17 364 41,23–27 448
105,26–32 231
105,33–34 248 Zostrianus 277
112,8–10 516 13,4–5 564
73,12–15 264, 333, 468
Testimony of Truth 131,5–8 614
172
35,25–36,3 212 1 Jeu
44,30–45,6 212 33 409
47,15 564 41 295
48,1 564
2 Jeu 291, 407, 409
Three Steles of Seth 42 295
277 44 295
120,32–34 446 50 78, 295
122,23–25 446
Pistis Sophia 291, 407
Thunder, Perfect Mind 1 295
20,18–22 527 3 599
10 295
Treatise on the Resurrection 36 615
167 42–43 12, 56–57
46,34–39 150 86 295
47,38–48,3 155 93 295
48,1–3 312 95 295, 531
49,9–37 412 96 295, 589
113 561
Tripartite Tractate 121 304
51,27–30 274 134 313
67,36–37 123, 446 136 265
77,11–36 147 146 615
78,10–13 614
94,16–18 614 Epistle of Ptolemy to Flora
94,24–25 509 164, 167, 262, 416
94,28–32 446
100,28 564 Heracleon
118,14–122,12 163 Fragment 12 439
132,20–25 614
Naassene Sermon
171
708 index locorum
10 Manichaean Literature
Epistula Fundamenti Manichaean Psalm-Book

Fr. 2 81 291, 398, 552,
599
Gospel of the Manichaeans 160,20–21 83
80 161,17–29 83, 294
179,24–27 83
Kephalaia of the Teacher (1 Keph.) 187 368
291 192,2–3 214
6 294 197 208
48 294 198 208
120 294 254,23–24 84
163:28–29 81, 221 278,26–30 84
285:24–25 81
187:32–188:1 85
Kephalaia of the Wisdom of

My Lord Mani (2 Keph.)
416:12–16 82–83, 88, 390
417:25–29 82–83, 88, 390
11 Mandaean Literature
Mandaean Prayers Right Ginza

90 87, 313 305 313
307 313
12 Samaritan Literature
Samaritan Chronicle II
54–55
Modern Author Index
Aasgaard, R. 560 Bauer, J.B. 86, 121–122, 233–234, 237, 330, 343,
ʿAbd al Masīḥ, Y. 3, 10, 229 345, 434, 505, 507, 531, 554–555, 583–584,
Achelis, H. 75, 403 586
Adriaen, M. 38 Bauer, W. 108–109
Aland, K. 10, 22, 201, 262 Beardslee, W.A. 378
Alcock, A. 57 Beare, F.W. 176
Allberry, C.R.C. 447, 514, 599 Beavis, M.A. 307, 355, 549
Allison, D.C. 183–184, 298, 351–352, 359, 431, Beckwith, R.T. 417
546, 562, 588, 594 Bellett, P. 406
Anasyan, H.S. 53 Beltz, W. 80, 84, 98, 323, 398, 549
Andresen, C. 340 Berger, K. 524
Applebaum, S. 421 Bernabé, A. 210
Arai, S. 259, 265, 561, 563–565, 607 Bernat, D.A. 421
Ariel Blount, J. 9 Bernhard, A.E. 4, 6–7, 339
Arnal, W.E. 24, 27–28, 110–111, 166, 331, Bernhardy, G. 88
455–459, 462, 464, 483, 497 Berthold, H. 70–72, 552
Arnold-Döben, V. 293 Bethge, H.-G. 9, 12–13, 80, 201, 261, 284, 315,
Asgeirsson, J.Ma. 28, 111, 151, 161, 198, 200, 271, 355, 440, 505
314, 367, 379, 414, 509, 513, 527 Betz, H.-D. 133, 343, 354, 380
Attridge, H.W. 3–4, 6–8, 14, 35, 113, 190, Billerbeck, P. 417
215–216, 220, 274, 324, 338–339, 367, 442, Birdsall, J.N. 238, 450, 452
446, 536, 541 Bjorndahl, S. 442, 445
Aune, D.E. 103, 145, 176, 206, 378 Blessing, K. 197, 469, 472, 549, 551
Avemarie, F. 392 Blomberg, C.L. 116, 234, 240–241, 455, 458
Bodnár, I. 409
Baarda, T. 16, 83, 86, 93, 112, 127, 138, 192, Böhlig, A. 91, 251, 258
230, 233–234, 307, 323, 325, 370–371, Bovon, F. 444, 578
379–380, 388, 390, 394, 396, 398, 414– Boyce, M. 85
416, 418, 423, 464–466, 477, 481, 561, Boyer, B.B. 51
564 Brakke, D. 169
Badham, F.P. 83, 88, 390 Brankaer, J. 607, 609–610
Badian, E. 400 Braude, W.G. 581
Bagnall, R. 113 Brent, A. 113–114
Baker, A. 70–73, 107, 183, 226, 323, 327–328, Broadhead, E.K. 176, 505–507
527 Brock, S. 292
Bammel, E. 119, 198–200, 255, 418, 419, 563 Brockington, L.H. 369
Barclay, J.M.G. 118, 165, 251 Brooke, G.J. 139
Barker, D. 113, 324 Brown, P. 323, 328
Barnard, L.W. 103, 126 Brox, N. 137, 173, 286
Bartsch, H.W. 125 Bruce, F.F. 78, 150, 177, 182, 229, 240, 295,
Bauckham, R.J. 180, 250, 254, 262, 304, 328, 301, 310, 318, 324, 391, 458, 524, 550, 563,
437, 445 587
710 modern author index
Buckley, J.J. 607, 609, 611 Darrouzès, J. 59

Budge, E.A.W. 265, 395 Davies, S.L. 26, 62, 109–110, 114, 125, 128–129,
Bühler, W. 507 144, 150, 160, 162, 167, 178, 192, 200, 242, 248,
Bumazhnov, D.F. 278–279 261, 268, 331, 333, 366, 439, 445, 503, 522,
Burkitt, F.C. 291 555, 577, 579, 607–608
Bussières, M.-P. 467–468 Davies, W.D. 298, 351–352, 359, 431, 546, 562,
Buth, R. 117 588, 594
de Boor, C. 39, 45
Callahan, A.D. 128, 131, 216, 348 de Jonge, H.J. 4, 156, 487
Callan, T. 307 de Stefani, E.L. 88
Calzolari, V. 50 DeConick, A.D. xii, 8–9, 24, 26–27, 30–33,
Cameron, R. 27–28, 78, 112, 128, 233, 236, 278, 62, 91–94, 103, 106, 111–112, 114, 117, 123,
477–478, 496, 532 125, 144, 152–153, 159, 161, 166, 168, 173,
Carleton Paget, J. 118–119, 164, 416, 421, 479 188, 193–194, 198, 200, 204–205, 208, 216,
Carlson, S.C. 65 224, 226, 229, 232, 235, 237, 242–243,
Carrez, M. 132–133 248, 250, 253–254, 259–260, 265–266,
Casey, R.P. 170 271, 273, 275, 277–281, 287, 292, 298,
Castelli, E. 607 301–302, 305–306, 312, 316, 319, 321,
Cerfaux, L. 109, 144, 174, 550, 584 323–328, 337, 339, 341, 353–354, 357,
Chadwick, H. 25, 139, 171, 293 362–365, 374, 378–382, 393, 399, 406–407,
Charron, R. 218 414–415, 426, 434, 436, 439, 443, 446, 464,
Chartrand-Burke, A. 98 473, 476–478, 482, 486–489, 496, 498,
Chavannes, E. 294–295 505–506, 509, 511, 513–514, 521, 523–524,
Chepey, S. 254–255 527, 531, 539, 550, 552, 556, 559, 563,
Chester, A.N. 480 565–567, 572–574, 579, 583, 589, 591, 600,
Chilton, B.D. 126, 176, 196, 397, 506 611–612
Choat, M. 194 Dehandschutter, B. 103, 109–110, 112, 127, 131,
Clarysse, W. 259, 264 133–134, 459, 489, 491, 531, 592–595
Coggins, R.A. 417 Deines, R. 570
Cohen, A. 417 Denzey Lewis, N. 9
Cohn, L. 507 deSilva, D.A. 226
Coneybeare, F.C. 83, 88, 390 Desjardins, M. 106–108, 457
Connolly, R.H. 75, 107, 226, 403 Dewey, A.J. 28, 379, 381, 532
Corley, K. 158, 443–444, 446–447 Di Segni, L. xii
Cotton, H.M. xii Diebner, B.J. 128–129
Coyle, J.K. 80–81 Dillon, J.M. 147–148
Crislip, A. 228–231 Dobbin, R.F. 361
Crossan, J.D. 24, 29–30, 33, 137, 176– von Dobschütz, E. 40
177, 183, 297–299, 355, 398, 402, 423– Donfried, K.P. 307
424, 430, 433, 457, 477–478, 564, 592– Doran, R. 134, 432, 519, 545–546, 549–550,
593 555–556
Crum, W.E. 59, 199, 236, 253, 264, 295, Doresse, J. 9
303, 322, 336, 395, 441, 455, 465, 468, 485, Dörries, H. 71
552–553, 573, 605 Doutreleau, L. 170, 173
Cuvillier, E. 561, 564 Drijvers, H.J.W. 104, 107, 109, 116, 127
modern author index 711
Dronsch, K. 239 Frey, J. 3, 12, 18, 70, 77, 80, 91, 104, 120, 123, 144,
Dubois, J.D. 379, 381 164, 189, 206, 284, 300, 307, 338, 341, 355,
Dunderberg, I. 26, 62, 94, 117–118, 125, 362, 368, 370, 406, 427, 453, 509, 556
200, 204, 211, 249, 253, 257, 259, 283–285, Friedberg, E. 50
330–331, 384–385, 442, 445, 478, 492– Funk, R.W. 174
493 Funk, W.-P. 57, 80–81, 85, 284, 313
Eck, W. xii, 122, 421 Gagné, A. 10, 25, 152, 260, 280, 307–309,
Eco, U. 493 404–406, 410–411, 590, 607, 612–613
Egan, G.A. 69 Gardner, I. 57, 68, 81–82, 85–86, 294, 568
Ehlers (Aland), B. 103 Garitte, G. 62, 91, 109, 550, 584
Ehrman, B.D. 125, 372 Gärtner, B.E. 132–133, 144, 174, 193, 231,
Eisele, W. 14–15, 19, 189–191, 198, 206, 283–284, 330, 332, 335, 519, 585, 593–594,
208–210, 220, 223, 338, 355–356, 362, 492 614
Elliott, J.K. 8, 543 Gaston, L. 478
Emmel, S. 3, 9–10, 62, 77–78, 80, 253, 284, Gaylord, H.E. 294
315, 355, 505, 545, 549, 566 von Gemünden, P. 374
Endsjø, D. 412 Gershenson, D. 481
Englezakis, B. 338, 340–341 Gianotto, C. 63, 125, 164, 176, 261, 263,
Evans, C.A. 618 267–268, 379, 381, 415, 420, 422, 457, 460,
521, 528
Fallon, F.T. 27, 78, 112, 128 Gibson, M.D. 75, 403
Feder, F. 22 Gierth, B. 598–599
Ficker, G. 48 Girgis, W.A. 96, 261
Fieger, M. 24 Giversen, S. 8, 24, 80, 223–224, 267, 362
Finamore, J.F. 148 Glasson, T.F. 206, 211, 355–356
Fitzmyer, J.A. 3, 14, 17, 23, 127, 139 Goodacre, M.S. 9, 100, 112, 114–115, 118,
Fleddermann, H. 297, 545–546 123, 126, 178–180, 183, 277, 297–299, 306,
Fleet, B. 147–148 320–322, 367, 369, 423, 430, 433, 450, 465,
Flemming, J. 75, 403 482–483, 498–499, 527–528, 561
Fossum, J.E. 362 Gooder, P.R. 247
Foster, P. 97, 115, 137, 332, 372 Goodman, M. 118, 305, 479
Fox, G. 46 Gouillard, J. 47
France, R.T. 188, 376, 578 Grant, R.M. xii, 10, 67, 177, 188, 191, 230,
Franzmann, M. 177 235–236, 240–241, 243, 250, 264, 268, 271,
Freedman, D.N. xii, 10, 67, 177, 188, 191, 235, 273, 275–276, 284, 290, 297, 301, 305, 319,
236, 240–241, 243, 263–264, 266, 268, 271, 325, 335, 341, 347, 357, 379, 386, 400, 416,
273, 275–276, 284, 290, 297, 301, 304–305, 439, 443, 458, 465, 467, 486–487, 493,
319, 325, 335, 341, 347, 349, 353, 357, 373, 507, 534, 546, 550, 555–556, 559, 564,
379, 386, 400, 409, 439, 443, 458, 461, 465, 575, 580, 585, 587, 596, 602, 605, 609,
467, 486–487, 493, 507, 527, 534, 546, 550, 612
555–556, 559, 564, 575, 580, 585, 587, 596, Gregory, A.F. 71, 115, 137, 140, 176, 307, 348
602, 605, 609, 612 Grenfell, B.P. 3–8, 168, 190, 321, 339
Frend, W.H.C. 111, 154, 159, 191, 249, 255 Griffith, S.H. 278–279
Frenschkowski, M. 259, 265, 590 Grobel, K. 109, 168, 328, 473
Gronewald, M. 68, 228 Hengel, M. 523

Grosso, M. xii, 35, 62, 64–65, 67, 70, 73, 80, Hennecke, E. 8
144, 188, 194–195, 208, 218, 233, 236–237, Hertz, R. 448
243, 253, 273–274, 277, 298, 311, 318, 331, 335, Higgins, A.J.B. 54, 506, 546, 549, 551,
346, 349, 351, 353, 374, 376–377, 382, 396, 556
399, 402, 406, 444, 448, 464, 475, 478, 486, Hilgard, A. 44
493, 505, 522, 524, 527, 532, 534, 543, 546, Hilka, A. 382
559, 567–568, 572, 579, 583, 587, 593, 602 Hock, R.F. 98
Guarienti, A. 52–53 Hofius, O. 126, 190, 204, 216, 505
Guey, J. 94–95, 561, 563 von Hofmann, J. 415
Guillaumont, A. 3, 10, 73, 91, 93–94, 106–107, Hogeterp, A. 245, 598, 599, 604
229, 266, 323, 326, 339, 341, 363, 446–467, Holwerda, D. 48
485 Hooker, M.D. 110, 184, 251
Gundry, R.H. 355, 357, 360–361 Hopkinson, N. 569
Gunther, J.J. 104, 106, 194, 265, 590 Horbury, W. 164, 305, 480
Horman, J.F. 28, 239, 343
Haenchen, E. 18, 25, 91, 144, 192, 220, 280, Hornung, E. 210
374, 380, 382, 469–470, 492, 556, 585 Horsley, G.H.R. 137, 194
Hagen, J.L. 77 Houghton, H.P. 3, 96
Hagner, D.A. 376 Hultgren, A.J. 370, 372
Hammerschmidt, E. 61, 80 Hunt, A.S. 3–8, 168, 190, 321, 339
Hannah, D.D. 226 Hunzinger, C.-H. 233, 235, 555–556
Harl, M. 278, 279 Hurtado, L.W. 3–7, 11–12, 425
Harnack, A. 67, 170 Husson, P. 66–67
Hartenstein, J. 300, 303
Hartin, P.J. 133, 249, 256, 423 Iacopino, G. 267, 527
Hausherr, I. 73 Isaac, B. xii
Head, P.M. 3, 332 Isenberg, W. 97, 135
Healey, J.F. 107–109
Hearon, H. 355, 359, 545 Jackson, H.M. 228–231, 485
Hedrick, C.W. xii, 8–10, 67–77, 121, 164, Jackson, R. 385
184–185, 188, 191, 211, 222, 225, 227, 234, Jacobson, A.D. 161, 498
236–237, 253, 257, 264, 265, 268, 273–274, James, E.O. 269
286, 305–306, 314, 316, 319, 321, 332, 334, Janssen, M. 104, 189, 590
335, 341, 344, 348, 351, 353, 358, 363, 365, Janssens, Y. 128, 130, 217, 280, 523, 609
371, 374–376, 378–379, 386, 389, 390, Jaubert, A. 66–67
395–396, 399–400, 402, 406, 423, 433, 443, Jefford, C.N. 531–532
445–446, 449–451, 455, 460–462, 464, 473, Jeremias, J. 66, 176, 233, 338, 342, 379, 382,
478, 483, 489, 493, 497, 503, 505, 512, 519, 437, 505–506, 593
522, 524–525, 527, 532–534, 540, 546, 550, Jiménez San Cristóbal, A.I. 210
555, 557, 559, 567, 569–570, 573, 577, 579, Jipp, J.W. 122, 144, 381, 420, 575
583, 585, 592–593, 595, 597, 612 Johnson, K. 62, 114
Heil, C. 283, 355, 357, 360–361 Johnson, S.R. 35, 220–221, 223, 489, 491
Helderman, J. 80, 156, 488, 545, 549, 551–552, Jongkind, D. 64, 355, 361
574–575 Judge, E.A. 278, 280, 282
Kaestli, J.-D. 126 Lampe, G.W.H. 119, 497

Kaler, M. 467–468 Lancellotti, M.G. 215
Kalimi, I. 422 Landau, Y.H. 456
Kasser, R. 97, 128, 135 Lane, W.L. 479
Katz, P. 355 Laurent, V. 59
Kee, H.C. 214, 217, 304, 307–308, 362, 394 Layton, B. 3, 10–11, 13, 16, 63, 75, 113, 126, 147,
Kelber, W.H. 137–138, 142–143 169, 172, 190, 201–202, 208, 215, 305, 320, 336,
Kelhoffer, J.A. 618 363, 365, 393, 395, 438, 445, 467–468, 474,
Khalidi, T. 382 477, 482, 485–486, 509, 538, 541, 552, 566,
Kim, D.W. 232 579, 597, 600
King, K.L. 9, 80, 97, 130, 131, 145–146, 169, Le Boulluec, A. 323, 327, 329
172–173, 284, 298, 306, 315, 325, 329, Leipoldt, J. 74, 217, 229–230, 280, 332, 385,
354–355, 363, 430, 490, 505–506, 545–546, 450, 524, 554, 583, 600
550, 556, 585, 593, 612–613 Leloir, L. 69, 280
Kinzig, W. 395–396 Lelyveld, M. 128, 134, 137, 189, 193, 206, 214,
Kitchen, R.A. 73 218, 259, 286, 289, 291, 362, 364, 365, 406,
Klauck, H.-J. 12, 97, 104, 200 410, 414, 420, 434, 436, 438, 516, 604, 607,
Klimkeit, H.-J. 80 609
Kloppenborg, J.S. 10, 138, 141, 203, 457–458, Leonhardt-Balzer, J. 12–13, 569, 570
461, 463, 469, 472 Leutsch, E.L. 507
Klostermann, E. 67, 71–72, 552 Leyser, C. 451
Knibb, M.A. 417 Liebenberg, J. 135, 206, 233–234, 237, 239,
Knox, W.L. 146, 194, 293 297, 394, 411, 423, 428, 430, 489, 501, 545,
Koester, H. 11, 62–63, 105, 113, 115, 125, 584, 592–593, 596, 604
138–237, 257, 262 Liesenborghs, L. 38
van Kooten, G.H. 197, 245, 589 Lieu, S.N.C. 46, 59, 68, 85–86, 568
Kosnetter, J. 563 Lincoln, B. 159, 396
Kotter, P.B. 42 Lindemann, A. 28, 131, 135, 233–235,
Kraft, R.A. 7–8 237, 451, 454, 491, 550, 555–556, 588,
Kraus, T.J. 97, 425 593
Kroeger, M. 71 von Lips, H. 538
Kruger, M.J. 97 Lloyd, G.E.R. 448
Kühn, C.G. 345 Loader, W.R.G. 164, 223, 225, 249, 267–268,
Kuhn, K.H. 91 270, 307, 575
Kushnir-Stein, A. xii Lodge, D. ix
Kvalbein, H. 145, 206 Logan, A.H.B. 12, 65, 171, 173, 204
Kvasnica, B. 117 Löhr, H. 164, 370, 569
Löhr, W. 313, 389
Labib, P. 10 Lorenzo Molinari, A. 584
Lagrand, J. 615 Losekam, C. 228, 442, 443
Lake, K. 48 Lowe, M.F. 456
Lambdin, T.O. 10, 201, 208, 253, 264, 305, 363, Löwenstein, K. 555
385, 405, 418, 438, 445, 467, 468, 474, 477, Lührmann, D. 3, 8, 68, 201, 228, 232, 355
482, 485–486, 509, 538, 552, 566, 579, 600, Luijendijk, A. 3, 12, 87–88, 220
615 Luomanen, P. 198–199, 372, 559
Luttikhuizen, G.P. 197, 206, 211, 245, 477 Moravcsik, G. 569–570

Luz, U. 352 Moreland, M. 414–415
Morey, C.R. 236
MacDermot, V. 56 Morgan, T. 141
Macdonald, J. 54 Morrice, W.G. 233, 237, 341, 457
Macintosh, A.A. 418 Most, G.W. 39, 193, 230, 261, 264, 356, 485,
Mack, B.L. 174 505, 592
Maloney, R.P. 543 Mueller, D. 206, 208
Mansi, Domenico Giovanni [J.D.] 43 Müller, F.W.K. 85, 340
Marcovich, M. 14, 91, 217, 348–349, 357 Mutzenbecher, A. 74
Marjanen, A. 104, 146, 149, 151, 164, 167–168,
173–174, 267–269, 303, 314, 420, 444, 447, Nagel, P. 70, 80–81, 84–86, 91, 114, 189–190,
492–493, 527–528, 589, 607, 610–613 198, 201, 206, 233, 237, 283–284, 293, 323,
Marshall, I.H. 333 328, 368, 398, 414–415, 418, 505, 549–551,
Mayser, E. 190 554, 583
Mazzucco, C. 307 Nash, K. 307, 612
McArthur, H.K. 109, 126, 135, 299, 456 Nautin, P. 66–67
McCaughey, J.D. 453, 457, 460 Neller, K.V. 26, 28
McDonald, L.M. 417 Nicklas, T. 97, 425
McKeon, R. 51 Nongbri, B. 113
McNally, R.E. 43 Nord, C. 524
Mees, M. 138 Nordsieck, R. ix, xii, 128–129, 176, 188,
Meier, J.P. 177, 179, 430–433, 450, 457, 462, 192, 229, 246, 261, 265, 271, 273, 303, 317,
482 324–325, 331, 332, 336, 344, 357, 382, 393,
Ménard, J.-É. xii, 91, 97–98, 107, 116, 121, 126, 396, 414–415, 418, 420, 458, 464, 467, 478,
188, 206, 213, 231, 264, 279, 323, 326, 376, 418, 486, 490, 493, 496, 503, 510, 524, 534,
431, 458, 473, 506, 579 539, 546, 550, 556, 559, 567, 572, 579, 583,
Merkelbach, R. 549, 551 599
Merz, A. 177 North, R.G. 563
Meyer, M.W. x, 13, 97, 125, 137–138, 141,
161, 189, 191, 194–196, 198, 362–363, 367, Onuki, T. 283, 338, 492
379–380, 382, 520, 527, 591, 607, 609, van Oort, H.J. 104
612–613 Orbe, A. 493
Michelsen, J.A.H. 6 Osborn, E.F. 378, 462
Milev, A. 49
Miller, B.F. 145, 286 Pagels, E. 62, 105, 114, 165, 194, 261–263, 274,
Miller, R.J. 485–486, 527–528 312, 494, 591
Mink, G. 22 Painchaud, L. 80, 125, 128, 137, 176, 189, 218,
Minns, D. 122, 383 233, 261, 323, 379, 426, 444, 467–468, 549,
Mirecki, P.A. 67, 77, 80, 84, 362 584
Misgav, H. xii Painter, J. 249, 253, 256
Mlasowsky, A. 563 Papachryssanthou, D. 46
Montefiore, H.W. 9, 14, 106, 138, 144, 158–159, Parmentier, M.F.G. 73
167, 235, 335–337, 350, 406, 433, 463 Parsons, P.J. 3
Morard, F.-E. 278, 280, 282 Parvis, P. 122, 383
Pasquier, A. 97, 128, 130, 134, 137–138, 141, 189, 522, 524, 533–534, 536, 538–540, 541,
193, 195 549–551, 554–556, 558–559, 563, 565–568,
Patte, D. 307 572–573, 577, 580, 583, 587–588, 591, 593,
Patterson, S.J. x, 103–105, 106, 112, 125, 128, 131, 597–598, 600–602, 609, 615–616
137–138, 141, 149, 161–162, 176–178, 192, 196, Pognon, H. 295
201, 233, 242, 270, 283, 307, 335, 348, 364, Poirier, P.-H. 25, 75, 78, 80, 107, 125, 128, 137,
380, 404, 406, 425–426, 455, 509, 513–514, 139, 176, 189, 194, 218, 233, 261, 275, 278, 280,
516, 519, 521, 531, 565, 593, 595, 602, 611 313, 315, 317, 323, 379, 426, 444, 467, 549,
Paulsen, H. 379 584, 590, 598
Pearson, B.A. 98, 104, 126, 168, 519 Pokorný, P. xii, 113, 242, 246, 254, 256, 257,
Pekáry, T. 95 263–264, 290, 299, 302–303, 306, 314,
Pellegrin, P. 409 319, 331, 334, 337, 341, 348–349, 353, 358,
Pelliot, P. 294–295 364–366, 371, 376, 385, 389, 399, 402, 406,
Peretto, E. 145, 536 411, 414–415, 431, 438–439, 451, 456, 459,
Perkins, P. 378 464, 475, 477, 487–488, 491, 493, 496, 500,
Perrin, N. 62–63, 91–94, 104, 115–117, 127–128, 501, 505, 512, 519, 520, 524, 528, 534, 536,
131, 137, 144, 165, 176, 194, 208, 259, 261, 446, 539, 541, 546, 555, 559, 569, 572–573, 583,
519, 591 585, 594, 596, 599, 615
Perry, B.E. 234–235, 507 Popkes, E.E. 3, 12–14, 18, 26, 76, 80, 91, 104,
Perttilä, E. 16, 22 115, 120, 137, 144, 146, 154, 162, 164, 206, 214,
Pesce, M. 233, 307, 379, 565 237, 245–247, 249–250, 259, 271, 277–279,
Petersen, S. 156, 300, 303, 307, 425, 442, 281–282, 284, 292, 300, 307, 311, 313, 315,
444–445, 487, 498, 546, 549, 550, 559, 560, 317–319, 338, 341, 355, 370, 405–406, 408,
566, 567, 584, 587–588, 607, 612, 614 415, 427, 438, 441, 453, 460, 488, 492, 509,
Petersen, W.L. 156, 300, 303, 307, 425, 442, 511, 513–514, 589, 598–599, 604
444–445, 487, 498, 546, 549–550, 559–560, Porter, S.E. 2, 7, 176, 184, 202, 355, 360, 555
566–567, 584, 587–588, 607, 612, 614 Pratscher, W. 63, 110, 307, 311
Pétré, H. 58 Preuschen, E. 55
Pettipiece, T. 291 Price, J. xii
Pevarello, D. 562 Priest, J. 569
Phillips, G. 380 Puech, H.-C. 3, 10, 35, 64, 74, 87–88, 103,
Piovanelli, P. 20, 103, 108 220–221, 229, 264–265, 289, 291, 293, 295
Pleše, Z. 372 Puig, A. 24, 104, 129
Plested, M. 70 Pummer, R. 440
Plisch, U.-K. x, xii, 77, 104, 107, 112, 118, 123,
160, 188, 191–193, 195–196, 198, 201, 209, Quarles, C. 29–30, 176, 423
211, 213, 224–225, 229, 234, 236–237, 239, Quecke, H. 94, 300
242–243, 248, 253, 261, 265, 268, 273, Quispel, G. 3, 10, 27, 32, 63, 70, 72–74, 91,
286–287, 289, 300–301, 303–305, 314, 317, 93–94, 103–104, 106–107, 126, 163, 168, 177,
319, 337, 341, 351, 353, 357–358, 365, 374, 229, 235, 256–257, 262, 277–279, 282, 318,
376, 382, 384, 389, 394, 396, 400, 403, 380, 390, 414–415, 434, 465, 467, 477, 479,
405, 409, 411, 424, 431, 434, 438–439, 446, 481, 561, 578
448–449, 451, 459, 465, 467–470, 472–473,
475, 482, 485–486, 488, 490, 493, 496–497, Ragg, L. (Laura) 192
499, 501–503, 505–506, 509–510, 519–520, Ragg, L. (Lonsdale) 192
Rau, E. 193 Schreiber, S. 538

Rauer, M. 36 Schröter, J. x, 3, 12–13, 23, 25, 62, 70, 77,
Reinhartz, A. 443 80, 91, 103–104, 112, 120, 123, 144, 162,
Rengstorf, K.H. 305, 607, 611 164, 168, 176, 189, 201, 206, 267, 284, 300,
Rescio, M. 233, 307, 379, 565 307, 330, 338, 350, 353–355, 357, 360,
Ricchuiti, T. 14, 16, 22–23, 191, 207, 215, 324, 368, 370, 402, 406, 410–411, 427, 434,
343, 357, 371 453, 483, 489, 509, 519–520, 582, 590,
Richardson, C.C. 74, 159, 168, 174, 257 598
Riley, G.J. 62, 78, 114, 133, 333, 362–363, Schüngel, P. 206, 351, 607, 609–610
398–399, 477–478, 481 Schwarz, E. 36
Robbins, V.K. 125 Scott, B.B. 146, 457, 460, 549–550
Roberts, C.H. 8, 338, 339 Segal, J.B. 109
Robinson, J.A.T. 457 Segelberg, E. 267, 269, 574–575
Robinson, J.M. xii, 3, 9–10, 64, 112, 121, 135, Sell, J. 262, 442, 446
138–139, 141, 161, 177–178, 188, 201, 355, 357, Sellew, P. 25, 28, 149, 164, 177, 223, 267, 327,
358, 360, 361, 367, 527, 617 379, 381, 420, 428, 501, 574–575, 596
Roller, M. 443 Sevenster, J.N. 189, 561
Ross, J.F. 400 Sevrin, J.-M. 28, 103, 111, 126, 130, 133, 137, 176,
Ross, S.K. 108 280, 283, 285, 450, 453–454, 457, 459, 461
Rousseau, A. 170, 173 Sgherri, G. 119
Royse, J.R. 23 Sheldon, J. 46
Simon, M. 119, 170, 202, 255, 261, 372, 612, 615
Sahlin, H. 382 Simotas, P.N. 52
Salzman-Mitchell, P. 309 Skeat, T.C. 355–357
Sanders, E.P. 166, 480 Skinner, C.W. 62, 112, 137, 144, 206, 283, 457
Saunders, E.W. 259, 264, 283, 315 Skinner, Q. 174
Scarborough, J. 345 Slotki, J.J. 417
Schäfer, P. 182, 326 Smith, J.Z. 110, 162, 301–302, 362–364, 365
Schäfers, J. 69 Smith, M.H. 559
Schaper, J. 570 Snodgrass, K. 106, 457, 462
Scheltema, H.J. 48 Söderhjelm, W. 382, 507
Schenke, H.-M. 9, 12–13, 80, 84, 118, 126, 201, Standhartinger, A. 307, 492
470, 477, 505, 549 Stead, G.C. 27, 115, 126, 130, 137, 165, 230, 293,
Schenkl, C. (Karl) 39 516, 549, 556, 558
Schippers, R. 489 Steinhauser, M.G. x, 141
Schmidt, C. 56, 583 Sterling, G.E. 453–455
Schneemelcher, W. 8 Stone, M.E. 53, 283, 478, 493
Schneidewin, F.G. 507 Strack, H.L. 417
Schnider, F. 377, 584, 587 Strobel, F.A. 519
Schoedel, W.R. 379, 547 Stroker, W.D. 87, 176, 283, 313
Schrage, W. 220, 233, 239, 267, 275, 297, 348, Strugnell, J. 283
351, 370, 392, 398, 425, 430–431, 442, 451, Stuckenbruck, L.T. 23
453, 457, 460, 465, 472, 483, 489, 496, 498, Sundermann, W. 85–86
553, 559, 561, 584, 592 Swete, H.B. 6, 97
Schramm, T. 555 Swift, L.J. 543–544
Taussig, H. 145, 183 409, 423, 425, 429–432, 434, 438–439, 443,
Taylor, C. 201, 323–324 449–451, 461, 464, 467–468, 473, 478, 482,
Terian, A. 98 486, 490, 493, 496–498, 501, 503, 505, 511,
Thate, M.J. 122, 420–421 522, 525, 528, 532–533, 539, 543, 546–547,
Theissen, G. 177 550, 556, 559, 561, 565, 567, 570, 572, 575,
Thomassen, E. 163 579, 582, 583, 585, 594, 595, 598, 606, 612,
Till, W. 3, 10, 229 615
Todesco, V. 83, 390 Van Eck, E. 457
Tornau, C. 406, 408 Vattasso, M. 83, 390
Torrey, C.C. 92–93 Vielhauer, P. 205, 413, 441, 531
Townsend, J.T. 122 Vinzent, M. 278, 412
Toyoshima, K. 300, 469, 571 Vogt, K. 607
Trecsényi-Waldapfel, I. 569–570 Vos, J.S. 156, 487
Trevijano Etcheverría, R. 132, 152, 189, 209, Votaw, C.W. 8, 137
214–215, 218, 245, 249–250, 257, 259, 262, Vouga, F. 128, 130, 134, 137–138, 141, 189, 193,
267, 283, 285–286, 289, 315, 323, 332, 404, 195, 426
406, 425, 465, 559, 566, 574
Tripp, D.H. 128 Waldstein, M. 295
Tuckett, C.M. xi, 4, 11, 18, 26, 97, 110, 137, 140, Walker, P.W.L. 120
172, 176, 178, 183, 222, 249, 283, 307, 349, 476, Wallace, D. 14, 191, 612
492 Walls, A.F. 249, 253, 257, 259, 338, 341, 342,
Turner, E.G. 8, 188 492–493
Turner, H.E.W. 9, 14, 106, 133, 138, 144, Walt, L. 565
158–159, 167, 235, 335–337, 350, 406, 433, Ward, R.B. 254–255
463 Wasserman, T. 190
Turner, J.D. 10, 25, 78, 126, 238, 489 Watson, F.B. 24, 138, 261–262, 536–537,
Turner, M.L. 141 541
Webb, R.L. 394
Udoh, F.E. 564 Weeks, S.D.E. 23, 130
Uro, R. 26, 94, 103, 106, 111, 115, 125, 144, Wendland, P. 35
146, 152, 160–161, 164, 166, 189, 198, 200, Wessely, C. 8
249, 257, 259–260, 267, 270–271, 278, Wilcox, M. 446
280, 284, 324, 362, 364, 379, 414, 428, 444, Wilken, R.L. 120, 471
492, 498–499, 501, 509, 521, 527–528, 565, Williams, F. 539
602 Williams, M.A. 12, 168, 172–173, 276–277, 289,
292, 539, 613
Vaccari, A. 83, 390 Williams, P.J. 128, 131
Valantasis, R. ix, xii, 24, 125, 155, 185, 192, Williamson, H.G.M. 418
194, 196, 199, 205, 211–213, 221–222, 225, Wilson, R.McL. 24–25, 135, 319, 395, 457, 497,
230, 240, 242–243, 246–247, 251, 264, 593
268, 274–275, 286, 289, 290, 297, 299, Wire, A.C. 355, 359, 545
303, 306, 308, 311, 313–314, 318, 321, 328, Wisse, F. 98, 251, 258, 295, 408
331, 337, 345, 347, 351, 353, 358, 364, 366, Witetschek, S. 66, 95, 259, 264, 330, 472, 474,
372, 374, 376, 380–381, 384, 386, 389, 392, 561, 563
395–396, 398–399, 402, 404–405, 407, Witte, B. 65
Wolska-Conus, W. 47 Zelyck, L. 369

Wood, J.H. 493 Zimmermann, R. 228, 233–234, 239, 245,
Woschitz, K.M. 137, 286 509, 549, 555, 569
Wright, N.T. 116, 140–141 Zöckler, T. 14, 26, 144, 146, 149, 198, 233, 286,
Wurst, G. 97, 115 307, 311, 315, 317, 320, 330, 336, 355, 436, 438,
489, 531, 584, 590, 592, 604
Young, D.W. 74, 468 Zycha, J. 57, 81
Subject Index
Accretions 24, 27, 30, 123, 494, 551, 607 Clothes. See also Baptism 18, 84–85, 133, 302,
Adam 98, 146, 147, 155, 157, 158, 173, 175, 181, 357, 364–365
213, 255, 295, 305, 396, 421, 464, 516, 517, 518, Commerce. See also Wealth 150, 454, 461,
520, 567, 582, 583, 611, 614 595
Adiaphora. See Indifference Creation 30, 146, 147, 148, 149, 171, 173, 255,
Alcalà Bible (Complutensis 1) 23 257, 290, 292, 325, 413, 495, 498, 528, 614
Androgyny 158, 217, 612, 613, 614
Antioch 108 Death 81, 132, 140, 145, 147, 149, 152, 162, 173,
Apelles 44 195, 196, 197, 216, 217, 218, 221, 247, 249, 254,
Asceticism 26, 89, 154, 159, 161, 174, 246, 268, 255, 269, 286, 289, 302, 368, 381, 396, 407,
278, 280, 396, 499, 505, 543 412, 428, 429, 435, 439, 443, 444, 476, 506,
Aspect, Verbal 201–203 517, 578, 592, 598, 599
Asyndeton 16, 339, 346 Demiurge 149, 171, 172, 229, 230, 325, 416, 517,
Aureus 563 562
Denarius 182, 562, 563
Baddas/Bouddas 37, 46 Diatessaron. See also Tatian 32, 33, 63, 233,
Baptism. See also Clothes/ Undressing 162, 464
248, 302, 364, 528, 529, 539 Diet. See also Fasting 18, 132, 150, 223, 270,
Bartholomew 44, 52, 265 271, 356, 358, 359, 387, 473, 522
Basilides 36, 39, 44, 52, 313 Disciples 37, 46, 48, 56, 121, 124, 132, 146,
Body 147, 148, 150–151, 153, 157, 161, 168, 213, 153, 160, 161, 164, 165, 166, 171, 192, 194,
229, 301, 302, 319, 335, 337, 354, 364, 365, 197, 202, 203, 213, 224, 225, 237, 240, 248,
381, 428, 429, 478, 501, 502, 521, 522, 523, 249, 250, 253, 259, 260, 261, 262, 263, 264,
529, 547, 572, 596, 602, 607 265, 268, 269, 272, 276, 277, 278, 287, 289,
Bridal Chamber 156, 161, 162, 269, 487, 488, 290, 291, 295, 297, 298, 301, 302, 303, 307,
574, 577, 578 309, 310, 316, 317, 318, 332, 353, 354, 358,
360, 362, 365, 366, 371, 374, 381, 384, 385,
Caesar/ Emperor 18, 149, 181, 182, 465, 561, 386, 392, 397, 408, 409, 412, 413, 415, 416,
562, 563, 564, 565 423, 426, 439, 440, 443, 444, 445, 447, 454,
Catchwords 18, 92, 93, 129, 130, 131, 132, 134, 464, 465, 470, 476, 525, 526, 533, 536, 539,
135, 186, 203, 205, 213, 222, 232, 240, 260, 556, 559, 560, 575, 577, 579, 580, 583, 598,
328, 332, 339, 403, 492, 499 599, 602, 604, 605, 607, 608, 609, 610, 611,
Celibacy 159, 160, 161, 281, 487, 499 613
Child/ Children 36, 65, 122, 132, 155, 156, 160, Discovery. See Finding
213, 214, 216, 217, 218, 250, 286, 301, 302, 303, Division. See also Union 10, 147, 154, 160, 246,
304, 307, 308, 309, 310, 341, 362, 364, 365, 248, 281, 295, 310, 311, 357, 425, 443, 481, 482,
394, 409, 420, 421, 432, 498, 505, 529, 614 485, 615
Christology 26, 152, 184, 261, 262, 313, 331, Docetism 332
368, 493, 532 Doublets 27–28, 371, 521
Circumcision 26, 121, 122, 164, 167, 182, 183,
225, 252, 326, 386, 410, 420, 421, 422, 478, Edessa. See also Syria 20, 29, 58, 103, 104, 107,
527, 529 108, 109, 110
720 subject index
Egypt 3, 8, 9, 11, 36, 38, 44, 52, 63, 83, 84, 88, 240, 241, 249, 257, 276, 283, 295, 298, 299,
109, 110, 113, 158, 197, 210, 245, 251, 256, 365, 318, 325, 331, 353, 382, 413, 455, 488, 491, 492,
390, 394, 445, 498 506, 513, 516, 519, 528, 531, 549, 551, 556, 575,
Elect/ Election 80, 85, 123, 133, 145, 146, 154, 607, 613, 614
159, 199, 205, 213, 235, 247, 272, 274, 277, 281, God 17, 18, 49, 58, 74, 89, 93, 109, 118, 122, 148,
282, 287, 290, 298, 313, 316, 349, 358, 382, 149, 155, 157, 173, 192, 208, 209, 211, 212, 236,
392, 402, 404, 405, 407, 408, 409, 412, 431, 244, 255, 274, 278, 279, 311, 324, 327, 328,
432, 476, 484, 511, 525, 553, 580, 585, 586, 355, 357, 359, 360, 368, 372, 387, 389, 390,
597 421, 458, 493, 498, 499, 506, 539, 550, 551,
Eschatology 10, 12, 26, 27, 132, 146, 183, 206, 556, 557, 560, 561, 562, 563, 564, 565, 589,
245, 246, 247, 287, 404, 411, 433, 498, 506, 595, 605, 606
511, 575, 598, 599, 605, 614 Gospel of Thomas
As ‘Rolling Corpus’ 24–34
Fall 147, 150, 248, 336, 403, 478, 481, 583 Authorship 124, 166, 181
Family 160, 161, 213, 253, 275, 281, 333, 344, Date 61, 112–124
345, 358, 478, 559, 560, 567, 579 Genre 62, 98, 137–143, 192–193
Fasting. See also Diet 73, 158, 162, 164, 165, Original Language 61, 89, 98, 91–102,
194, 224, 225, 226, 252, 268, 269, 270, 323, 107–108, 326
325, 326, 327, 473, 574, 575, 577 Provenance 11, 61, 89, 97, 103–111, 194, 271,
Father 36, 70, 73, 82, 132, 134, 145, 152, 156, 587
157, 159, 165, 183, 193, 197, 207, 213, 219, Structure 128–136, 608
264, 274, 275, 277, 281, 325, 329, 366, 375, Graeco-Coptic Vocabulary 22, 96, 224, 305,
382, 388, 389, 390, 391, 408, 409, 412, 425, 572–573
426, 431, 432, 442, 446, 454, 474, 476, 482,
484, 488, 490, 494, 495, 499, 509, 510, Hiddenness, Secrecy 17, 63, 79, 81, 85, 123,
511, 512, 513, 547, 553, 557, 559, 560, 565, 128, 132–133, 137, 139–140, 154, 186, 189,
566, 567, 576, 579, 580, 585, 600, 606, 191–193, 196–197, 206, 211, 215, 221–223, 265,
608 285, 341, 347, 350, 370, 408, 510–512, 555,
Finding 5, 9, 28, 36, 63, 65, 83, 91, 129, 132, 589–592, 594–595
133, 134, 135, 139, 159, 165, 168, 171, 178, 196, Hippocrates 36
197, 198, 200, 203, 207, 209, 213, 233, 235,
237, 300, 305, 323, 325, 328, 331, 332, 365, Ignorance. See also Knowledge 39, 110, 134,
369, 372, 404, 405, 428, 429, 435, 445, 469, 150, 153, 161, 166, 171, 181, 261, 276, 333, 372,
470, 490, 495, 502, 526, 532, 535, 536, 537, 412, 443, 464, 537, 539, 550, 577, 594–595,
541, 542, 552, 555, 558, 572, 583, 586, 588, 605
593, 594, 595, 596, 597, 599, 600 Image 123, 134, 150–151, 155–156, 183, 308, 312,
Flesh. See also Body 60, 84, 133, 142, 150, 151, 377, 405, 476, 509–514, 562
156, 185, 229, 230, 330, 332, 333, 335, 336, Independence 67, 178–179, 233, 430, 457, 505,
337, 421, 432, 521, 572, 602, 603 603
Indifference/ Adiaphora 150, 161, 237, 543,
Gnostic/ Gnosticism. See also Valentinus/ 559, 586
Valentinianism 3, 9, 10, 12, 13, 24, 60, 75, Israel 151, 181, 255, 375, 386, 414–416, 440, 570,
91, 107, 116, 122, 123, 129, 133, 141, 144, 146, 587–588, 593
148, 151, 163, 166, 167, 168, 169, 170, 171, 172, Itinerancy. See also Mission 162, 270–271,
173, 174, 175, 176, 193, 196, 197, 199, 229, 231, 380–382, 389, 423, 425, 524–525
subject index 721
James 26, 31, 114, 161, 163–164, 173, 181, Mandaeans 87, 313
249–258, 328 Mani 37, 41, 46, 48, 59, 74, 80–81, 85–86,
Jesus, Historical 176–184 116, 124, 141
Jews 92, 97, 121, 133, 154, 255–256, 280, 283, Manichees / Manichaeism 43, 46, 59,
325, 371, 374, 378, 384–387, 464–465, 471, 61–62, 68, 80, 84–86, 89–90, 124, 175,
479 208, 291, 294, 362, 431, 447, 552, 568,
Judaism 108, 133, 163–164, 182, 206, 210, 599
224–225, 252, 255–256, 268–269, 326, Manuscripts
414–415, 418, 471, 527–528 P22 6
Pharisees 151, 164, 181, 352, 371, 374, 386, P45 23, 527
393, 507, 532–533, 569–570 P46 23
John the Baptist 72, 386, 394–396, 416, 496, P47 23
507 P66 23
P72 23
Kernel 30, 32–33, 117, 205, 382, 393 P75 23, 100, 105
Kingdom. See also Light, Paradise 18, 36, ‫ א‬100, 355, 360, 361
56, 69, 72–74, 83, 88, 132, 134, 145–146, A 100
149, 151, 155, 159, 165,178, 183, 192, 200, 205, B
207–213, 215, 217–218, 221–222, 233–234, C 100
236, 239, 268, 286–287, 290, 297–299, 304, D 105, 226
306–312, 323–325, 327–329, 354, 365, 397, W 100
404–405, 412–413, 423–424, 430, 432–433, 1006 48
454, 489–491, 503, 506–508, 511, 545–547, Nag Hammadi, Codex II 3, 10, 13, 97–98,
549–551, 553, 556, 557, 560, 573, 585–587, 163, 174, 188, 208, 258, 467–468, 477, 482,
593–594, 604–605, 607–610, 612–613, 616 485, 509, 566, 579
Knowledge. See also Ignorance 9, 45, 64, 67, Nag Hammadi, Codex XIII 10
91, 94, 108, 152–153, 159, 163, 176, 178, 183, P. Oxy. I 1 4–5, 12, 19, 88, 100, 106, 113,
193, 208, 210–213, 218, 221, 264, 266, 293, 168
309, 346, 361, 370–371, 376, 386, 400, 407, P. Oxy. IV 654 3, 6–7, 15–16, 19, 104–105,
441, 451, 467, 475, 486, 503, 524, 534, 543, 106, 113, 168, 190, 228
556, 572, 580, 586, 588, 590, 595, 601, 605, P. Oxy. IV 655 3, 5, 7, 16, 19, 106, 113, 135,
613 370
P. Oxy. V 840 97
Labour 9–11, 10, 13, 15, 23–24, 27, 45, 60, 69, Mary Magdalene 303, 560, 615
78, 80, 88, 97–98, 108, 124, 137, 152–153, Mat(t)hias 36–39, 52, 54, 58
159, 162, 195–196, 237, 255, 258, 298, 303, Matthew (the disciple) 56–57, 261–263, 331,
326, 333, 337, 340, 342, 355, 409, 424, 434, 531
459, 462, 479, 481, 484, 511, 529, 539, 549, Mission 60, 85, 162, 250, 253–254, 269–271,
551–552, 554, 586, 588, 594–595, 612 318, 344, 347, 349, 381, 406, 464, 483–
Light. See also Kingdom 9, 23, 26, 56–57, 484
123, 133, 146, 148, 151–153, 155, 183, 204, 211, Mother, Spiritual. See also Spirit 73,
213, 245, 248, 290, 295, 315–317, 327, 341, 566–567, 580, 612
349–350, 377, 387, 407–408, 413, 432, 442,
446–447, 475–476, 491, 494, 501, 509–513, Naassenes 35, 65, 106, 113, 171, 173, 215, 252,
516, 532, 565, 584, 600 258, 264, 605
722 subject index
Nag Hammadi. See also under Manuscripts Revelation 17, 60, 63, 117, 123, 130, 134, 152,
3, 9–10, 13, 25, 91, 96–98, 123, 163, 174, 216, 221–222, 225, 237–239, 258, 264–265,
177, 189, 204–205, 208, 218, 233, 251, 258, 276, 284–285, 368, 371–372, 395, 399, 413,
261, 265, 291, 295, 323, 379, 438, 444, 446, 444, 449, 486, 490, 509–510, 513, 537, 562,
467–468, 477, 482, 485, 509, 516–517, 531, 586, 589–591, 593, 605
538, 566, 579, 584
Nomina sacra 4, 7, 188, 458 Sabbath. See also Rest 158, 162, 164, 167,
192, 273–274, 323, 325–326, 328, 387, 527,
Orality 28, 67, 78, 137, 184, 267, 618 588
Oxyrhynchus. See also under Manuscripts Salome 94, 161, 181, 250, 300, 442–447, 498
3, 5–8, 14, 23, 25, 95, 106, 113, 116, 126, 168, Scribal Error 4–5, 266, 339, 341, 357–358, 394
189–190, 201, 208, 221 424, 440
Shroud 87, 221 Secrecy. See Hiddenness
Seeking. See also Finding 63, 129, 133,
Pantheism/ Panchristism 18, 339, 341, 493, 159, 200, 203, 369, 435–436, 535, 537,
495 541–542
Parables 73, 93, 95, 132–134, 135, 156, 159, Semitisms 92, 94–95, 97, 102, 139, 182, 196,
161, 179, 184, 206, 234–236, 239–240, 297, 319, 359, 380, 432, 446
299, 301–304, 353–354, 375, 378, 430–433, Sin 31, 147, 159, 267, 269, 273, 327, 389, 577
440, 450–454, 456–462, 464,484, 489, 491, Solitaries 110, 133–134, 160, 278–282, 340, 382,
544–545, 547, 549–551, 553–557, 571, 573, 404–405, 487–488
584–588, 592–595 Soul. See also Spirit 10, 71, 147–148, 150–151,
Paradise. See also Kingdom 49, 83, 89, 146, 157–159, 197, 212–213, 242, 265, 275, 295,
196–197, 247, 287, 289, 291–293, 295, 404, 302, 305, 312, 316, 318–319, 332, 336–337,
441, 517 354, 405, 431, 445, 468, 472, 491, 521–523,
Parousia, Delay of 298, 312, 369, 433, 550 552–554, 572, 586, 602–603
Particles 22, 96, 325 Spirit. See also Soul 10, 49, 53, 60, 82,
Persecution 117, 211, 389, 469–470, 472–473, 147–148, 150–151, 153–154, 158, 250–251, 264,
508 280, 311, 335–337, 388–391, 405, 420, 422,
Prayer 162–165, 224–225, 252, 268–270, 402, 432, 501, 512, 567–568, 579–580, 608–611,
484, 541, 575–578, 604 615
Standing 141, 166, 276–278, 287, 292, 313–314,
Q 29, 32, 33, 98, 122, 138, 262, 360–361, 386, 316, 332, 347, 364, 408, 424, 443, 488,
421 532
Syria. See also Edessa 29, 89, 97, 103–104, 106,
Reign 17, 79, 156, 199–200, 204–205, 290, 295, 108, 110, 126, 144, 157, 160, 182, 194, 226, 250,
358, 429, 494, 503–504, 583, 596, 602 278, 280, 372
Rest. See also Sabbath 17–18, 33, 72, 76, 79,
128, 133–134, 145, 148–149, 153, 156, 159, Targum 22
173, 197–200, 205, 209, 238, 281, 292, 326, Tatian. See also Diatessaron 63, 73, 103, 106,
329, 359, 409–413, 441, 443–444, 519–520, 109, 116–117, 131, 379, 390, 481, 517
531–532, 553, 604–605 Temple 121, 124, 151, 164, 167, 182–183, 212,
Resurrection 17, 140, 165, 191, 194, 220–222, 225, 250, 439, 440, 456, 471
224, 230, 308, 311–312, 333, 411–412, Destruction, Rebuilding of 117–120, 471,
478 477–480
subject index 723
Testimonia (Named and Content) 12, 35, Wealth. See also Commerce 146, 148, 173,
47–61, 62–90, 113, 369 333, 337, 376, 423, 489, 503–504, 516–517,
Thomas (disciple) 35–55, 193–195, 256–258, 531, 567, 593, 597
259–266, 591–592 Wisdom 81, 109–110, 125, 138, 143, 145, 167,
Trees, Five 78, 83, 289, 291, 293–296 174, 183, 218, 236–237, 245, 259, 262, 316, 331,
Twin, Twinship 29, 80, 152, 194, 263, 333, 369, 373, 459–460, 489, 531–532, 549,
590–591 567, 585, 607
Work. See Labour
Undressing. See also Baptism 18, 84–85, 133, World 9–10, 28, 72–73, 117, 133–134, 146,
302, 357, 364–365 149–150, 153, 156, 158, 162–163, 165, 168,
Union. See also Division 112, 151, 154, 157–158, 172, 182, 192, 197–198, 200, 204–205, 210,
219, 276, 294, 309–311, 314, 403, 410–411, 436, 213, 229, 237, 242–244, 246–247, 255–256,
446, 481, 488, 576, 582–583 269, 271, 275–276, 284, 286, 294, 300–302,
305, 315–317, 323, 325–333, 341, 351, 353,
Valentinus/ Valentinianism 13, 116, 147, 151, 376, 379–382, 399, 411, 413, 426, 428–429,
169–173, 200, 214, 218, 517 431, 433, 435, 439, 461, 464, 468, 478–479,
Vision/ Visionary experience 55, 153, 227, 501–502, 509, 516, 520, 522–523, 532, 557,
259, 273–274, 329, 358, 364–365, 436, 562, 571–572, 575–576, 582–584, 593,
512–514, 543 595–599, 603–604, 606

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The Gospel of Thomas

Texts and Editions for

Stanley E. Porter and Wendy J. Porter

The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/tent

Copyright 2014 by Koninklijke Brill nv, Leiden, The Netherlands.

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

2 A Comparison of the Greek and Coptic Texts 14

3 Named Testimonia to Thomas 35

4 Early References to the Contents of Thomas 62

5 The Original Language of Thomas 91

6 The Provenance of Thomas 103

7 The Date of Thomas (with Authorship) 112

8 The Structure of Thomas 128

9 The Genre of Thomas 137

10 The Religious Outlook of Thomas 144

11 Thomas, the New Testament and the Historical Jesus 176

12 The Plan of the Commentary 185

Prologue, Logia 1–114, Subscriptio 189–618

I have incurred a number of debts in course of writing this commentary. First,

I, he has been an excellent teacher to me, as well as an extremely generous

I began a commentary on the works of Jane Austen, the aim of which

CII/PH.M. Cotton, L. Di Segni, W. Eck, B. Isaac, A. Kushnir-Stein, H. Misgav,

A.D. DeConick, The Original Gospel of Thomas in Translation: With a Commentary

On 21 July, 1897, the London Daily Graphic published a sketch of an eight-year-

© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2014 | doi: 10.1163/9789004273252_002

1.2 P. Oxy. IV 654 (British Library, London: Pap. 1531)

1.3 P. Oxy. IV 655 (Houghton Library, Harvard: Houghton MS Gr

This manuscript actually consists of eight fragments, discovered at Oxyrhyn-

table 1 Sample of dates assigned to the Greek fragments

P. Oxy. I 1 P. Oxy. IV 654 P. Oxy. IV 655

There is an extensive discussion, by Linda Ogden, of the binding of the co-

1.5 The Manuscripts and Their Use

personal spiritual fulfilment.’61 Conversely, if there are not copies in forms

61 Hurtado, ‘Greek Fragments’, 31.

Popkes argues, followed tentatively by Leonhardt-Balzer, ‘that the three texts,

A Comparison of the Greek and Coptic Texts1

A detailed saying-by-saying comparison of the Greek and Coptic texts will be

1 Bibliography: Fitzmyer, ‘The Oxyrhynchus Logoi’, 505–560; M. Marcovich, ‘Textual Criticism

© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2014 | doi: 10.1163/9789004273252_003

2.1 Differences: A Brief Sketch

In order to assess of the significance of the differences, it is necessary to group

8 Eisele, Welcher Thomas, 264, and accompanying table.

Translation Technique and the Differences between the Greek and

16 Fitzmyer, ‘The Oxyrhynchus Logoi’, 518.

Clearly the Coptic is not a straightforwardly literal translation that would

Substantial Common Order in Greek and Coptic Texts

Substantial Common Material in Greek and Coptic

In particular, there is substantial similarity in meaning between the Greek

Common Greek and Graeco-Coptic Vocabulary23

Thereafter, in GTh 3.4–5 (ϩⲟⲧⲁⲛ, ⲧⲟⲧⲉ, ⲇⲉ) the Greek is lacunose.

GTh 4.1 ⲉⲧⲃⲉ ⲡⲧⲟⲡⲟⲥ: cf. Gk περὶ τοῦ τόπου

GTh 24.3 ⲉⲡⲕⲟⲥⲙⲟⲥ: cf. Gk [… κ]ό̣σμῳ

GTh 30.2 ⲏ: No Gk parallel

GTh 33.2–3 (ⲅⲁⲣ, ⲟⲩⲇⲉ, ⲁⲗⲗⲁ, ⲧⲗⲩⲭⲛⲓⲁ) is not extant in Greek.

GTh 39.3 ⲇⲉ: cf. Gk δέ