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Gospel of Thomas

A collection of 114 sayings attributed mainly to Jesus, with familiar Gospel parallels and a disputed place in the search for the historical Jesus.^{7 sources}7 sources1. Skinner 2. Evans 3. Mattison)4. Mark 12:17 5. Davies 6. Perrin 7. Davies

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Mark M. Mattison's translation ↗ · Public-domain translation.

Thomas O. Lambdin's translation ↗ · An alternative translation of the sayings collection.

At a glance

Genre: Sayings collection, without a continuous Passion or resurrection narrative.^{1 2}
Length: 114 sayings.^{1 2}
Author: The opening names Didymos Judas Thomas; this is the book's own attribution.^{8 9}
Written: Debated; Patterson places its approximate final form in the 70s AD, Gathercole in the second century.^{4 sources}4 sources1. Skinner 10. Strijdom 11. Strijdom 12. Taylor)
Language: Complete in Coptic; three Greek papyrus fragments also survive.^{6 sources}6 sources1. Skinner 13. Bernhard 14. Bernhard 15. Bernhard 16. Bernhard 17. Grenfell

Summary

Could sayings outside the biblical Gospels preserve independent teaching from Jesus? Thomas offers sayings without a continuous life, death and resurrection narrative. One saying about Caesar resembles Mark's; another locates Jesus in split wood and beneath a stone. Critical scholar Stephen Patterson argued for independence from Matthew, Mark and Luke; Strijdom's review reports his dating of its approximate final form to the 70s AD. Evangelical scholar Simon Gathercole dates it to the second century and argues for influence from Luke. Christopher Skinner's survey reports no widespread agreement on dating or dependence.^{12 sources}12 sources1. Skinner 2. Evans 3. Mattison)4. Mark 12:17 18. Mattison)14. Bernhard 10. Strijdom 11. Strijdom 12. Taylor)15. Bernhard 16. Bernhard 17. Grenfell

Hidden sayings
Prologue
The opening presents Jesus as living and attributes the recording of his hidden sayings to Didymos Judas Thomas.^{8 9}
Light, wood and stone
Saying 77
Jesus describes himself as light over everything and as present where someone splits wood or lifts a stone.^{18 14}
Peter objects to Mary
Saying 114
Peter wants Mary to leave because she is a woman. Jesus' reply links entry into the kingdom with becoming male or manly; translations differ.^{19 20}

Stories

Finding Jesus in ordinary things
Saying 77
The wood-and-stone saying also survives in Greek, attached there to saying 30. Its position in the collection varied.^{18 14}
A difficult ending
Saying 114
Critical scholar Allen Callahan criticizes the final saying's treatment of women and notes that it does not identify which Mary is meant.^{19 20 21}

Connections to the Bible

Echoes and allusions

Mark 12:17 · Saying 100medium confidence
Saying 100 parallels the tribute saying in Mark 12:17, adding a clause about giving Jesus what belongs to him.^{3 4}

Background

Genesis 1:27medium confidence
Stevan Davies interprets Thomas through the theme of spiritual restoration to God's image in Genesis 1.^{20 21}

Shared figures

John 11:16 · Prologue
John calls Thomas Didymus; Thomas's prologue names Didymos Judas Thomas.^{8 9}

Why read it, and why isn't it Scripture?

Early Greek church writer Eusebius condemned a Gospel of Thomas as heretical, citing teaching, style and lack of recognized church testimony. This was his judgment, not a council's vote. For the broader process, critical historian Lee Martin McDonald describes varying canon lists continuing for centuries; Reformed scholar Michael Kruger understands councils as recognizing an existing canon. Neither account makes Nicaea the meeting that chose the books.^{6 sources}6 sources22. Eusebius 23. Eusebius 24. Caesarea 1890 25. Caesarea 1890 26. McDonald 2022 27. Kruger 2013

Why readers value it

Academic (critical)

Stevan Davies values Thomas as a major source for Jesus outside the Bible if its sayings are independent of biblical texts.^{5 6 7}

Academic (critical)

Davies also resists dismissing Thomas simply as Gnostic; it lacks the myth of a lower creator and an evil world that he associates with that label.²⁸

Arguments about authority

Early church: Greek

Eusebius judged gospels attributed to Thomas and other apostles contrary to what he regarded as orthodox teaching and unsupported by recognized church testimony.^{24 25}

Protestant: evangelical

Craig Evans sees a Jesus very different from the Jesus of the New Testament Gospels and regards the church's passing over Thomas as guided by the Holy Spirit.²

Misconceptions

Myth This is the book about Jesus' childhood.
Actually: The Infancy Gospel of Thomas is a separate narrative. This Thomas is a sayings collection.^{4 sources}4 sources2. Evans 29. Grenfell 30. this site's data 1. Skinner
Myth Nicaea voted Thomas out of the Bible.
Actually: Critical scholar Allen Callahan places the beginnings of canon formation before Nicaea; Reformed scholar Michael Kruger likewise rejects a Nicene decision on the New Testament canon.^{20 27}

Sources

30 sources from 17 works

1
Christopher W. Skinner, “Gospel of Thomas”, e-Clavis: Christian Apocrypha (NASSCAL)↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d ↩^e ↩^f ↩^g ↩^h
2
Craig A. Evans, “Doubting Thomas's Gospel”, Christianity Today, June 15, 1998↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d ↩^e ↩^f ↩^g ↩^h
Gospel of Thomas (tr. Mark M. Mattison), The Gospel of Thomas: a public domain translation
- 3
  Saying 100↩^a ↩^b ↩^c
- 8
  Prologue↩^a ↩^b ↩^c
- 18
  Saying 77↩^a ↩^b ↩^c
- 19
  Saying 114↩^a ↩^b
4
Mark 12:17↩^a ↩^b ↩^c
Stevan L. Davies, “The Gospel of Thomas: Frequently Asked Questions”
- 5
  What is the Gospel of Thomas↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d
- 7
  Will the Gospel of Thomas be added to the Bible?↩^a ↩^b ↩^c
- 21
  What is the basic perspective of the Gospel of Thomas?↩^a ↩^b
- 28
  Is the Gospel of Thomas Gnostic?↩
6
Nicholas Perrin, “Thomas: The Fifth Gospel?”, JETS 49/1 (2006), p. 67, quoting S. J. Patterson, The Gospel of Thomas and Jesus↩^a ↩^b ↩^c
9
John 11:16↩^a ↩^b ↩^c
J. M. Strijdom, “Review of S. J. Patterson, The Gospel of Thomas and Jesus (1993)”
- 10
  HTS Teologiese Studies 52/2-3 (1996), pp. 550-551↩^a ↩^b
- 11
  HTS Teologiese Studies 52/2-3 (1996), p. 550↩^a ↩^b
12
Simon Gathercole (interviewed by Justin Taylor), “Interview with Simon Gathercole on the Gospel of Judas and the Gospel of Thomas”, The Gospel Coalition blog, question 2↩^a ↩^b
Andrew Bernhard and Mark M. Mattison, “Manuscript Information”
- 13
  gospels.net, Gospel of Thomas: NHC II, 2↩
- 14
  gospels.net, P.Oxy. 1↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d
- 15
  gospels.net, P.Oxy. 654↩^a ↩^b
- 16
  gospels.net, P.Oxy. 655↩^a ↩^b
Bernard P. Grenfell and Arthur S. Hunt, New Sayings of Jesus and Fragment of a Lost Gospel from Oxyrhynchus
- 17
  Oxford University Press for the Egypt Exploration Fund, 1904, preface↩^a ↩^b
- 29
  1904, p. 31↩
20
Allen D. Callahan, “Doubting Thomas (review of Elaine Pagels, Beyond Belief)”, PBS Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly, November 21, 2003↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d
Eusebius, Church History
- 22
  3.25.6 (NPNF2 1, tr. A. C. McGiffert), New Advent↩
- 23
  3.25.6↩
Eusebius of Caesarea, Church History (tr. A. C. McGiffert, NPNF2 vol. 1), via New Advent (1890)
- 24
  3.25.6-7↩^a ↩^b ↩^c
- 25
  3.25.7↩^a ↩^b ↩^c
26
Lee Martin McDonald, “The New Testament Canon (Bible Odyssey, SBL)” (2022)↩
27
Michael J. Kruger, “Ten Basic Facts about the NT Canon: #8 (Canon Fodder blog)” (2013)↩^a ↩^b
30
Checked in this site's verse database: Infancy Gospel of Thomas books in the site database↩
How this was derived
SELECT osis, name FROM books WHERE osis LIKE 'InfThom%' ORDER BY osis

Gospel of Thomas

At a glance

Summary

Contents

Hidden sayings

Light, wood and stone

Peter objects to Mary

Stories

Finding Jesus in ordinary things

A difficult ending

Connections to the Bible

Echoes and allusions

Background

Shared figures

Why read it, and why isn't it Scripture?

Why readers value it

Academic (critical)

Academic (critical)

Arguments about authority

Early church: Greek

Protestant: evangelical

Misconceptions

Further reading

Sources

Report a problem

At a glance

Summary

Contents

Hidden sayings

Light, wood and stone

Peter objects to Mary

Stories

Finding Jesus in ordinary things

A difficult ending

Connections to the Bible

Echoes and allusions

Background

Shared figures

Why read it, and why isn't it Scripture?

Why readers value it

Academic (critical)

Academic (critical)

Arguments about authority

Early church: Greek

Protestant: evangelical

Misconceptions

Related books

Further reading

Sources

Report a problem