The text, which provided the basis for the jesus seminars scholars version translation of the infancy gospel. I now present the three principal forms of it, as given by tischendorf. It was discovered, along with many other writings, in 1946 near the village of nag hammadi in egypt. Some of these sayings resemble sayings found in the gospels of matthew, mark, luke, and john. The infancy gospel of thomas 150185ad the infancy gospel of thomas, like the infancy gospel of james, is an ancient text attempting to details missing from the canonical gospels.
The earliest mention of an infancy gospel of thomas is between the fourth and sixth centuries. The text of the gospel of thomas from the scholars version translation published in the complete gospels prologue these are the secret sayings that the living jesus spoke and didymos judas thomas recorded. The infancy gospel of thomas concludes with a version of a childhood story found in the gospel of luke. I know the bible pretty well and was curious why some books were not included. The book was condemned in the western church by pope damascus 382, innocent i 405 and by the decreturn gelasianum 496. The gospel of thomass 114 sayings of jesus biblical. Does the gospel of thomas belong in the new testament. In it mary and joseph lose track of the twelveyearold jesus. The infancy gospel of thomas is a biographical gospel about the childhood of jesus, believed to date at the latest to the second century. The childhood of the saviour infancy gospel of thomas. They conduct a search, and, three days later, they find him at the temple, explaining things to adults like a boss. The infancy gospel of thomas is a group of stories about the childhood of jesus. The infancy gospel of thomas annotated paperback september 28, 2017. The earliest authorities are a much abbreviated syriac version of which the manuscript is of the sixth century, and a latin palimpsest at vienna of the fifth or sixth century, which has never been deciphered in full.
Gospel of thomas greek text a 2 infancy 2 infancy, podcastdownload. The infancy gospel of james the following translation is based on the greek text printed in ronald f. The very interesting thing is that the book contains direct citations of jesus christ in 114 verses. The infancy gospel of thomas gives an account of the births of both mary and jesus, and includes an interesting account of how mary and joseph end up together. Infancy gospel of thomas news newspapers books scholar jstor april 2018 learn how and when to remove this. Author the author of the book identifies himself as thomas, the israelite. It fills in gaps in the gospels of the new testament, which mostly skip over the growingup years of jesus. Unlike the other narrative gospels this book does not mention the death and resurrection of jesus but focuses instead on his teachings and how they lead to eternal. Mohammad is known to have had a gnostic slaveconcubinewife from egypt gifted to him. Scholars speculate that the works were buried in response to a letter from bishop athanasius declaring a strict canon of christian scripture. Early references to the gospel of thomas most likely refer to the infancy gospel, rather than what is now known as the gospel of thomas. The older testimonies about this book have been given already.
And going boldly into the school, he found a book lying on the readingdesk. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. And why didnt it make it into the new testament canon. Most of these were based on the earliest infancy gospels, namely the infancy gospel of james also called the protoevangelium of james and infancy gospel of thomas, and on their later combination into the gospel of pseudomatthew also called the infancy gospel of matthew or birth of mary and infancy of the saviour. The infancy gospel of thomas is a noncanonical early christian text that. Recommended books for the study of early christian writings. The lost books of the bible, 1926, full text etext at. Thomas is considered gnostic in origin and viewpoint by many fundamental christians, and is possibly the reason why the book was kept from the original canon of the holy bible if the text was even known by early christian followers at all. From what i understand the gnostic gospels are not considered credible because for one, their authorship is in questionjust about every book carries the name of a new testament character.
The gnostic gospel is an earlier text, perhaps dating to the mid second century, but it has only been accepted and preserved by heretics i. Keith elliott, art and the christian apocrypha londonnew york. The infancy gospel of thomas is thought to be gnostic in origin. Introduction matthew and luke are the only two canonical gospels that include information about jesus birth. Thomas the israelite philosophers account of the infancy of the lord. The gospel of phillip, the gospel of mary, the gospel of peter, the gospel of thomas, the gospel of judas, etc. Luke includes one incident occurring when jesus was twelve, but the gap between babyhood and twelve is glaring. The following critical translation of the infancy gospel of thomas is the result of an.
Matthew and luke are the only two canonical gospels that include information about jesus birth. As far as we know, the apostle thomas never wrote a gospel. However, there are parallels in the quran, so dont tell a muslim such. Several versions of the infancy gospel have come to light. The gospel of thomas was written in 340 in coptic, but the foundations are earlier oral traditions. The gospel of thomas has been one of the most widely studied books not included in the new testament because of how it was rediscovered and the interesting nature of its contents. The gospel narrative does not extend beyond jesus infancy and focuses. The latin version translated here is found in more manuscripts than the greek. The infancy gospel of thomas concentrates on jesus as a childbetween 5 and 12 years of ageand credits him with performing a series of farfetched miracles. This gospel is believed to date back to the second century and to.
This manuscript contains 114 sayings attributed to jesus. The gospel of thomas is a coptic manuscript discovered in 1945 at nag hammadi in egypt. Henry sike, professor of oriental languages at cambridge, first translated and published this. These psalms, which otherwise reveal mandaean connections, also contain material overlapping the gospel of. Jesus is presented as a naughty, irascible, vindictive child, who uses his miraculous powers to take revenge on teachers, neighbors, and other children, some of whom he blinds, cripples, or even kills. Full text of the first gospel of the infancy of jesus. Pages 10219 in the reception and interpretation of the bible in late antiquity. In addition, the nag hammadi library contains a book of thomas the athlete which professes to contain the secret words spoken by jesus to judas thomas. The sayings of jesus in the gospel of thomas biblical. The gospel of thomas is a noncanonical sayings gospel. The infancy gospel of thomas as a supplement to the gospel of luke.
It was discovered near nag hammadi, egypt, in december 1945 among a group of books known as the nag hammadi library. It is based on the earliest greek manuscript, hagios saba 259. The following translation has been committed to the public domain and may be freely copied and used, changed or unchanged, for any purpose. Download the gospel of thomas download the free pdf.
For more information about hagios saba 259, see the manuscript information page. The writing of the holy apostle thomas concerning the conversation of the lord in his childhood. This work should not be confused with the gospel of thomas that has become popular in recent years. The name of thomas was also attached to the book of thomas the.
The gospel of thomas, as we shall see, is not the fifth gospel or an earlier or more reliable source for jesus than the new testament gospels which were written in the first century sometime between 55100 a. The infancy gospel of thomas bible study biblewise. Gospel of thomas encyclopedia of the bible bible gateway. After all, the gospel of thomas is hardly the only ancient gospel that was kept out of the bible. These psalms, which otherwise reveal mandaean connections, also contain material overlapping the gospel of thomas. The forbidden gospels and epistles bible full audio book unabridged ancient books. A new translation the following critical translation of the infancy gospel of thomas is the result of an earnest attempt to approach as near as possible the text of the gospel in its earliesti. The original in greek, from which this translation is made, will be found printed by cotelerius, in his notes on the constitutions of the apostles, from a ms. The infancy gospel of thomas latin the lost books of. This is to be distinguished from the betterknown but equally apocryphal gospel according to thomas, about which more below. The stories of thomas the israelite, the philosopher, concerning the works of the childhood of the lord. Hock in the book the complete gospels, harper collins, 1992. One early christian text, the infancy gospel of thomas.
More than 30 books written before the year 600 are referred to as a gospel. The homicidaljesus stories come from something known as the infancy gospel of thomas. The gospel according to thomas also known as codex ii was found in egypt in 1945. In this case, the author describes details that are absent from the childhood narrative of jesus particularly as his childhood was described in the gospel of luke. Thomass gospel of the infancy of jesus christ lost. I, thomas the israelite, have thought it needful to make known unto all the brethren that are of the gentiles the mighty works of childhood which our lord jesus christ wrought when he was conversant in the body, and came unto the city of nazareth in the fifth. Again, most of these look very, very different from the four that got into the new testament. This book records some of the earliest events that involved jesus. I thomas, an israelite, write you this account, that all the brethren from among the heathen may know the miracles of our lord jesus christ in his infancy, which he did after his birth in our country. The forbidden gospels and epistles bible full audio book. The infancy gospel of thomas is a loose collection of childhood stories about jesus. The writing to which you refer is spurious and was composed by a member of a gnostic sect, probably in the late second century, which explains why its not in the bible. Paterson brown, who is affiliated with the ecumenical coptic project in athens, greece. It is a famous text, but what do we really know about it.