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The gospel according to Thomas is an ancient collection of sayings attributed to Jesus and thought to be recorded by his brother Judas, the Twin (Thomas means "twin" in Aramaic). Some scholars suggest that this gospel was collected from New Testament sayings, while others believe it springs from a completely independent author because many of the quotations are not in the New Testament at all. It slept for two millennia in a stone jar until it was accidentally exhumed by a group of fertilizer gatherers in the northern Egyptian desert in 1945. (The gospel is just one document in the fourth-century papyrus library discovered near the city of Nag Hammadi, from which the entire collection gets its name.) Marvin Meyer's distinguished translation includes Coptic text on each left page and the English translation on the right. It is considered by many to be perhaps the closest we'll ever get to reading what was actually said by the historical Jesus. In The Gospel of Thomas, you'll discover a different kind of Christ--a wandering spiritual teacher from Galilee who performs no miracles, reveals little prophecy, announces no apocalypse, and dies for no one's sins. --P. Randall Cohan
Birger Pearson, University of California, Santa Barbara, Religious Studies Review
"In this book an excellent, very readable translation of the Gospel of Thomas accompanies a new edition of the Coptic text and learned notes."
Theology Digest
"The Gospel of Thomas, a collection of 114 sayings of Jesus, is one of the Nag Hammadi gnostic texts discovered in 1945 in upper Egypt. The collection belongs to the genre of wisdom sayings, and some of the sayings parallel those of Jesus in the synoptic gospels and Q. Professor Meyer, professor of religion at Chapman University, presents a critically established Coptic text and a new English translation on facing pages. He also provides an introduction and notes. Also included is a brief appreciation by Harold Bloom."
NAPRA Trade Journal
"Discovered among the gnostic texts found in Egypt in 1945, this gospel from Thomas gives the reader a fresh vision of Christ's teachings. Free of dogma, Zen-like wisdom graces the pages of this scholarly yet immensely readable work...superbly presented."
John Dominic Crossan, author of The Historical Jesus
"Thomas tells us more about the historical Jesus than all of the Dead Sea Scrolls put together. A superb presentation of the most important early Christian text discovered in this century."
Gnosis
"Best known of the Nag Hammadi manuscripts (a collection buried c. 370 C.E. and found accidentally by an Egyptian farmer in 1945), the Gospel of Thomas confronts readers with sayings attributed to a Jesus who seems more like a Zen master ('Split a piece of wood; I am there') than either a political messiah or incarnate god.... Many historians of religion now think the Gospel of Thomas is the nearing surviving approximation to Q, a hypothetical collection of material about Jesus believed to have been used as a source by the authors of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, the so-called 'synoptic' gospel. Thomas, however, contains no stories about Jesus, but instead consists of a compilation of 114 sayings attributed to him.... Free as it is from the encrustation of orthodoxy, the Gospel of Thomas can take the reader, as much as any book can, directly to an enigmatic teacher who walked out of Galilee two millennia ago."
Book Description
Jesus said, "Know what is in front of your face, and what is hidden from you will be disclosed to you. For there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed."
Many scholars of the historical Jesus believe the Gospel of Thomas contains original sayings of Jesus that circulated among his followers before the composition of the New Testament Gospels.
This fresh revision of Marvin Meyer's masterful translation is clearly the most complete, up-to- date, accurate, and literary version of the Gospel of Thomas. Meyer has refined the translation in light of the latest research and has updated the Notes and Bibliography.
Readers of Thomas will be enthralled by the Jesus revealed here through his Zen master-like sayings. What emerges is not the canonical Jesus but, as Harold Bloom puts it in his skillful interpretation, a gospel that "spares us the crucifixion, makes the resurrection unnecessary, and does not present us with a God named Jesus. . . . If you turn to the Gospel of Thomas, you encounter a Jesus who is unsponsored and free."
Language Notes
Text: English (translation)
From the Publisher
A fresh, authoritative English translation, with an informative introduction, fascinating explanatory notes, and the Coptic text, with interpretation by Harold Bloom, our preeminent literary critic.
From the Back Cover
"Combines a very readable style with an up-to-date introduction, transcription, translation, notes, and bibliography. The notes alone provide the best available commentary on the 114 sayings, explaining many otherwise obscure passages and supplying many ancient parallels that support these interpretations." (James M. Robinson, general editor, The Nag Hammadi Library) "This lucid rendering restores the Coptic script to literature and wisdom. After Meyer's version, it remains an odd affront to faith and truth not to include the account of the wise man Jesus in the Gospel of Thomas as the fifth gospel in The New Covenant." (Willis Barnstone, Institute for Biblical and Literary Studies, Indiana University, editor of The Other Bible) "A fresh, sparkling translation. It is true to the Coptic text and fully informed by the most recent critical scholarship on the earliest traditions of the teachings of Jesus. Brief notes of exceptional quality explain idiomatic features of the text, and Meyer's excellent introduction makes this gospel come alive." (Burton L. Mack, author of The Lost Gospel: The Book of Q and Christian Origins and Who Wrote the New Testament?)
About the Author
Marvin Meyer is an authority on gnostic and early Christian texts and the premier scholar on the Gospel of Thomas. Meyer was the managing editor of The Nag Hammadi Library in English, the editor and translator of The Gospel of Thomas and The Ancient Mysteries, and the author of many other books. He is professor of religion at Chapman University.
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