The Gospel of Thomas
Attributed to Didymus Judas Thomas
A collection of 114 sayings attributed to Jesus, without narrative, discovered at Nag Hammadi in 1945. Some sayings parallel the canonical Gospels; others present a strikingly interior teaching.
- Composed
- Composed 1st to 2nd century CE; Coptic manuscript, 4th century
- Original language
- Coptic (from a Greek original)
- In the SOL library
- 20 searchable passages
- Rights
- Public domain
What this text is
The Gospel of Thomas is a sayings gospel: one hundred fourteen statements attributed to Jesus, with no birth story, no miracles, no crucifixion narrative. A complete Coptic manuscript was found in the Nag Hammadi library in Egypt in 1945, and Greek fragments found earlier at Oxyrhynchus show the text circulated by the second century.
Roughly half the sayings have close parallels in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The other half do not, and their emphasis is different: the kingdom is described as already present, "spread out upon the earth," and the path runs through self-knowledge. Scholars still debate whether Thomas preserves an independent early tradition or reworks the canonical material.
Why researchers read it
Thomas is central evidence in a question SOL investigates directly: whether the earliest Jesus movement carried an interior, transformative teaching that the later institutional tradition reframed. Because Thomas is a primary source rather than a modern reconstruction, it lets a reader test that hypothesis against the actual words.
When you come to know yourselves, then you will become known, and you will realize that it is you who are the sons of the living Father. But if you will not know yourselves, you dwell in poverty and it is you who are that poverty." 4) Jesus said, "The man old in days will not hesitate to ask a small child seven days old about the place of life, and he will live. For many who are first will become last, and they will become one and the same." 5) Jesus said, "Recognize what is in your sight, and that which is hidden from you will become plain to you. For there is nothing hidden which will not become manifest." 6) His disciples questioned Him and said to Him, "Do you want us to fast? How shall we pray? Shall we give alms? What diet shall we observe?" Jesus said, "Do not tell lies, and do not do what you hate, for all things are plain in the sight of Heaven.
The Gospel of Thomas, Attributed to Didymus Judas Thomas · Public domain
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