Gospel of Thomas

At a glance

History, context & interpretation

The text and its story

A sayings gospel without narrative. Some sayings match the canonical gospels; others are mysterious, such as 'Split a piece of wood; I am there.'

Traditional attribution

Secret sayings written down by Didymus Judas Thomas.

Historical scholarship

A collection of 114 sayings; scholars disagree on whether its core is early or 2nd-century.

Context and curiosity

Greek fragments of it were dug up at Oxyrhynchus before anyone knew what they were.

Chronology and transmission

This text belongs to Christianity (Early Christianity). The catalogue gives its approximate dating as c. 60–250 CE (debated) and original language or script as Greek (fragments), Coptic. The dated manuscript witnesses and traditional claims may not refer to the same historical event.

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Sources and further reading

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gospel_of_Thomas

Historical descriptions are educational summaries. Religious traditions, scholarly interpretations and unverified claims are distinguished where possible; imagery may be illustrative rather than an artifact photograph.