Gospel of Thomas – Introduction

Words by X.H. New Wisdom:

In Gospel of Thomas, 2)# is a key verse which needs much attention. One word difference in translation can lead to thousand miles apart for comprehension, particularly when it matters for the future direction of human social development.

Coptic
Jesus said, “Let him who seeks continue seeking until he finds. When he finds, he will become troubled. When he becomes troubled, he will be astonished, and he will rule over the All.”

Greek
[Jesus said]: “Let him who seeks not cease until he finds, and when he finds he shall wonder; wondering he shall reign, and reigning shall rest.”


I personably prefer the Greek version, but it would be better if these two versions merged like below:

Jesus said, “Let him who seeks continue seeking until he finds. When he finds, he will become troubled and astonished; astonishing he shall reign, reigning he shall rest.”

The reason I’ve included an excerpt of the commentary for Gospel of Thomas is that I think this part serves as a background introduction for how the Text came alive, it is not of opinion comments that may limit your own conscious exploration.

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Translations by: Thomas O. Lambdin (Coptic version)
B.P Grenfell & A.S. Hunt (Greek Fragments)
Bentley Layton (Greek Fragments)
Commentary by: Craig Schenk
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I: Commentary excerpt

The Gospel of Thomas is a collection of traditional Sayings (logoi) of Jesus. It is attributed to Didymos Judas Thomas, the “Doubting Thomas” of the canonical Gospels, and according to many early traditions, the twin brother of Jesus (“didymos” means “twin” in Greek).
We have two versions of the Gospel of Thomas today. The first was discovered in the late 1800’s among the Oxyrhynchus Papyri, and consists of fragments of a Greek version, which has been dated to c. 200. The second is a complete version, in Coptic, from Codex II of the Nag Hammadi finds. Thomas was probably first written in Greek (or possibly even Syriac or Aramaic) sometime between the mid 1st and 2nd centuries.
There has been much speculation on the relationship of Thomas to the canonical Gospels. Many Sayings in Thomas have parallels with the New Testament Sayings, especially those found in the synoptic Gospels. This leads many to believe that Thomas was also based on the so-called “Q” Document, along with Matthew, Luke, and Mark. Indeed, some have speculated that Thomas may in fact be “Q”. Unlike the synoptic Gospels, and like “Q”, the Gospel of Thomas has no narrative connecting the various Sayings. In form, it is simply a list of 114 Sayings, in no particular order. Comparison with New Testament parallels show that Thomas contains either more primitive versions of the Sayings, or developments of more primitive versions. Either way, Thomas seems to preserve earlier traditions about Jesus than the New Testament.

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