Introduction

There is a general consensus among scholars that the Gospel of Thomas  discovered over a half century ago in the Egyptian desert  dates to the very beginnings of the Christian era and may well have taken first form before any of the four traditional canonical Gospels. During the first few decades after its discovery several voices representing established orthodox biases argued that the Gospel of Thomas (abbreviated, GTh) was a late-second or third century Gnostic forgery. Scholars currently involved in Thomas studies now largely reject that view, though such arguments will still be heard from orthodox apologists and are encountered in some of the earlier publications about Thomas. Today most students would agree that the Thomas Gospel has opened a new perspective on the first voice of the Christian tradition. Recent studies centered on GTh have led to a stark reappraisal of the forces and events forming "orthodoxy" during the second and third centuries. But more importantly, the Gospel of Thomas is awakening interest in a forgotten spiritual legacy of Christian culture. The incipit (or "beginning words") of Thomas invite each of us "who has ears to hear" to join in a unique quest:



These are the hidden words that the living Jesus spoke,

and that Didymos Judas Thomas wrote down. And He said:

"Whoever finds the meaning of these words will not taste death."

The Gospel of Thomas Collection in the Gnostic Society Library catalogs materials about the Gospel of Thomas available both in our archives and elsewhere on the internet. Included are audio lectures about GTh, links to a wide variety of internet resources including several academic articles and essays, and a bibliography of GTh manuscript sources. Despite the wealth of material available here, the reader should also consult a few important books on the subject. An annotated selection of the best available translations of GTh and publications about GTh is provided in the suggested readings section of our Bookstore. We sincerely hope these resources help you in your studies of this most remarkable document.

English Translations of the Gospel of Thomas

Five excellent and widely used translations of the Gospel of Thomas are available in our Library collection. We prefer the Lambdin translation or Meyer translation for personal reading, but each edition adds its own nuance of understanding. This is a text that reveals itself freshly with each new reading. Take it slowly -- each saying stands independently full of meaning. Lambdin Translation Meyer Translation Davies Translation Patterson and Meyer Translation Patterson and Robinson Translation

Coptic Text of the Gospel of Thomas

Greek Fragments from the Gospel of Thomas

At the very beginning of the twentieth century three separate fragments from Greek versions of the Gospel of Thomas were discovered during archeological excavations of an ancient site in Oxyrhynchus, Egypt. (Fragments of the Gospel of Mary were also found at Oxyrhynchus.) The three papyrus fragments of Thomas  known as the Oxyrhynchus fragments  date to between 130 - 250 CE. Translations of the sayings found in these Greek fragments of Thomas are presented here, followed by versions of the same sayings as they appear in the Coptic manuscript found at Nag Hammadi (we have used the Lambdin translation of GTh). The Gospel of Thomas Fragments from Oxyrhynchus

Other Texts from the Thomas Tradition

In early Christianity there existed traditions, often geographical localized, that honored a specific Christian apostolic figure as patron and initiatory source. The Pauline and Johannine traditions are commonly recognized examples of this early division in Christianity, and each left its own textual legacy. Though less well understood, there apparently also existed a Thomas tradition. Geographically, the name of Thomas was associate with the region of Syria, perhaps because Thomas or disciples claiming him as apostolic sponsor once located themselves in the area. Unfortunately, writings associated with the Thomas tradition  prominently including the Gospel of Thomas  fell out of favor during the formation of orthodoxy, and by the end of the fourth century most had been condemned and destroyed. Three important documents from the Thomas tradition have nonetheless survived: The Gospel of Thomas, The Book of Thomas the Contender, and the Acts of Thomas. The latter two were recovered in the Nag Hammadi Library. Several copies of the third text, the Acts of Thomas, survived over the centuries in monastic collections. Imbedded within the Acts of Thomas we find a beautiful and complete statement of a classic Gnostic myth describing the exile and redemption of the soul. The text is known as the "Hymn of the Pearl". What astounds most is that such a clear rendition of the Gnostic mythos was allowed to survive within a text which resided for centuries on the back shelves of orthodox archives. Hymn of the Pearl (from the Acts of Thomas) This beautiful text, excerpted from the Acts, is highly recommended reading. The Acts of Thomas The complete text the Acts of Thomas, from The Apocryphal New Testament, translated by M. R. James. (Important Note: Virtually all digital versions of the Acts of Thomas found on the internet are copies of a single file that has resided in our Archives since 1994. Unfortunately we have recently found that this original file had an internal formatting error. As a result, many short sections of text are lost in pirated copies of the file, making the text unintelligible in several places. We ask those who have reproduced this file to take note of the problem and help correct the error.) The Book of Thomas the Contender (from the Nag Hammadi Library Collection)

Though not integrally related to the central Thomas tradition surrounding the Gospel of Thomas, several other ancient noncanonical Christian documents claimed authority in the name of Thomas. For completeness, these are listed here: The Apocalypse of Thomas The Infancy Gospel of Thomas: Greek Text A The Infancy Gospel of Thomas: Greek Text B The Infancy Gospel of Thomas: Latin Text

Online Audio Lectures about Thomas

The following lectures by Dr. Stephan A. Hoeller, a noted authority on Gnosticism, are available here in mp3 format. Several more lectures focused on the Gospel of Thomas are available in higher-quality audio mp3 versions at BCRecordings.net. (Check our Web Lectures page for a selection of lectures available online.) Redemption and Redeemer in the Gospel of Thomas The Gospel of Thomas is one of the most important Gnostic texts discovered at Nag Hammadi. In this lecture, Dr. Hoeller explores the "soteriology"  the concept of a redeemer and the process of redemption  as developed in the text of the Thomas Gospel. (MP3 audio format, 79 min.) The Hymn of the Pearl: A Gnostic Tale of the Soul's Exile and Redemption Despite efforts of the evolving orthodoxy to destroy all Gnostic scriptures and documents, a few texts did survive which contained extensive sections of clearly Gnostic character and provenance. One primary example is the "Hymn of the Pearl" found within the Acts of Thomas. Dr. Hoeller explains the function of myth in Gnosticism and then examines this classic Gnostic tale of the soul's exile and redemption. While listening to the lecture, you may wish to read along in The Hymn of the Pearl from the Acts of Thomas. (MP3 audio format, 75 min.) Gnosticism and its Legacy Despite intense persecution, the Gnostic tradition has survived as an important force in Western culture for nearly two thousand years. In this lecture, Dr. Hoeller gives a brief introduction to the history of Gnosticism in Western culture and discusses twelve characteristics that have distinguished Gnosticism as a distinct, living tradition. (MP3 audio format, 77 min.)

The Gospel of Thomas and the Hermeneutics of Vision

In its opening words the Gospel of Thomas offers a stunning hermeneutic challenge: "whoever finds the interpretation of these sayings will not experience death." Unfortunately, modern readers comes to this incipit devoid of a technique of interpretive reading -- an hermeneutics -- that grants entry into the mysterious meaning vouchsafed by such words. This essay, The Gospel of Thomas and the Hermeneutics of Vision by Dr. Lance Owens, explores answer to a compelling question: "Was there an original tradition of interpretation  a hermeneutic technique  implicit in early transmissions of the Thomas tradition that gave an organic coherence to readings of the text, and if so, is that hermeneutic method still accessible? Can modern readers meet the challenge of the Thomas incipit? (A published version of this paper in pdf format iis available at academia.edu)

Scholars Speaking about the Gospel of Thomas