The Words of Jesus in the Gospel of Thomas This book offers a detailed analysis of the Gospel of Thomas in its historic and literary context, providing a new understanding of the genesis of the Jesus tradition. Discovered in the 20th century, the non-canonical Gospel of Thomas is an important early text whose origins and place in the history of Christianity continue to be subjects of debate. Aiming to re-locate the Thomasine community in the wider context of early Christianity, this study considers the Gospel of Thomas as a bridge between the oral and literary phases of the Christian movement. It will therefore be useful for religion scholars working on Biblical studies, Coptic codices, gnosticism, and early Christianity. David W. Kim is a visiting fellow at the School of History, Australian National University, Canberra, and an associate professor of the history of Christianity, Kookmin University, Seoul. His publications include Sacred Sites and Sacred Stories across Cultures: Transmission of Oral Tradition, Myth, and Religiosity (2020), Colonial Transformation and Asian Religions in Modern History (2018), Religious Encounters in Transcultural Society: Collision, Alteration, and Transmission (2017), Religious Transformation in Modern Asia: A Transnational Movement (2015), and Intercultural Transmission in the Medieval Mediterranean (2012). Gnostica Series Editors: Garry Trompf, University of Sydney, Australia Jason BeDuhn, Northern Arizona University, USA Jay Johnston, University of Sydney, Australia Gnostica publishes the latest scholarship on esoteric movements, including the Gnostic, Hermetic, Manichaean, Theosophical, and related traditions. Contributions also include critical editions of texts, historical case studies, critical analyses, cross-cultural comparisons, and state-of-the-art surveys. https://www.routledge.com/religion/series/GNOSTICA Angels of Desire Esoteric Bodies, Aesthetics and Ethics Jay Johnston Histories of the Hidden God Concealment and Revelation in Western Gnostic, Esoteric, and Mystical Traditions Edited by April D. DeConick and Grant Adamson Contemporary Esotericism Edited by Egil Asprem and Kennet Granholm Sufism in the Secret History of Persia Milad Milani The Religion of the Peacock Angel The Yezidis and Their Spirit World Garnik S. Asatrian and Victoria Arakelova Ritual Embodiment in Modern Western Magic Becoming The Magician Damon Zacharias Lycourinos The Words of Jesus in the Gospel of Thomas The Genesis of a Wisdom Tradition David W. Kim The Words of Jesus in the Gospel of Thomas The Genesis of a Wisdom Tradition David W. Kim First published 2021 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2021 David W. Kim The right of David W. Kim to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record has been requested for this book ISBN: 978-0-367-62922-9 (hbk) ISBN: 978-0-367-62924-3 (pbk) ISBN: 978-1-003-11146-7 (ebk) Typeset in Sabon by MPS Limited, Dehradun Contents List of Tables, Figures, and Boxes viii Preface ix Introduction 1 1 The transmission of a Thomas tradition 21 2 The Thomasine community 56 3 Hermeneutical debates over mystical Logia: Sapiential versus gnostic 113 4 The parables and kingdom language in Thomas 169 5 The female disciples in Thomas 224 Conclusion 247 Appendix 254 References 260 Index 297 List of Tables, Figures, and Boxes Tables 1.1 A comparison between Mark and Thomas 27 1.2 A comparison between the Greek text and the Coptic text 42 2.1 Modern conclusions on Thomas 61 3.1 A comparison between Philosophumena (i.e., Haeres.) 5.7.20 and Logion 4 117 3.2 Surveys of the Sapiential Logia in Thomas 143 3.3 A comparison of Deuteronomy 30:10–5 and P. Oxy. 654.9–17 150 4.1 Logia in Thomas identified as parables 171 4.2 A comparison of mustard-seed parables 188 4.3 A comparison of weed parables 190 5.1 NHC II, 2.43:23–34 228 5.2 A comparison of Gos. Thom. Logion 61a with passages in Luke and Matthew 231 Figures 0.1 The hypothesis for the origin of the Thomas text 2 0.2 Thomas studies by year, 1897–2006 5 1.1 A generational diagram from Jesus to the fourth generation 32 2.1 The image of Jesus in the “I” Logia of Thomas 75 4.1 The stream of the harvest tradition 182 4.2 Three concepts of the kingdom language in Thomas 201 Boxes 2.1 NHC II, 2.34:25–30 68 Preface The motive for this research goes back to my previous studies. One course that caught my attention during my master's studies was called The Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS) and Early Christianity. By the end of the course I was fascinated by the birth of early Christianity and the question of how the early Christian movement evolved in the Graeco-Roman world of the first century. I discovered that there was not just one group but many Christian communities, and each expressed the Christian message in its own way. During the last century, Thomas studies emerged as one particularly interesting area of research, but in my opinion the texts of Thomas were not fully evaluated in terms of the Logia tradition. My personal concern has focused on examining “the secret sayings” of the Thomasine community. The primary aim of this book, therefore, is to re-locate the position of this early Christian group and its texts in the wider context of early Christianity. While completing this book, I struggled mentally and emotionally with the financial challenges that are common for anyone who undertakes difficult research. If there were disheartened moments of life in Sydney, Australia, with three children, they were uplifted by the constant love of my wife Tammy, who encouraged me to keep going until I walked out the end of the dark tunnel. Our parents on both sides also supported our family in many ways, as did many friends, colleagues, and supervisors. In particular, I would like to honor Professor Iain Gardner, who was my sincere doctoral supervisor, critical reader, and helpful adviser. He has watched over his student and provided great opportunities in an unknown academic world. Emeritus Professor Garry Trompf was my comforter and mentor, guiding me to clarify the key issues of this book. Professor Carole Cusack offered publication possibilities. After her firstproposal, I became passionate about publishing my articles. As a result, (somewhat different versions of) several sections of the book have been published in separate international journals. Nine sections have been officially presented at local, national, and international conferences, and I have published eight books and many book reviews. Dr. Edward Crangle kindly counseled on administrative issues, while Pat Skinner (to whom I did not have time to say goodbye because of her unexpected death), Dr. Ben Copper, Rev. Tom James, and x Preface Katie Curro proofread a work written in my second language and suggested ways to improve the quality of this volume. I also wish to pass on my special thanks to the libraries of the University of Sydney (Fisher), Moore College, Morling College, the United Theological College, Presbyterian Theological Centre, Emmanuel College, Southern Cross College, Wesley Institute, and the University of Queensland. Finally, I remain extremely grateful to two of the editors of Gnostica, Emeritus Professor Garry Trompf and Professor Jason BeDuhn (of Northern Arizona University), for their suggested emendations, clarifications, and proofing. David W. Kim Australian National University and Kookmin University, Seoul Introduction Studies in the Gospel of Thomas (or “Thomas studies”) have had a long history in the modern world, ever since the discovery of the first portion of text in 1897. The complete text(s) of the Gospel (hereafter, Gos. Thom.) constituted one of the most intriguing discoveries of the 20th century, but they were not generally held in positive esteem until the early 1980s. It was then that innovative readers such as Helmut Koester,1 Harold Attridge,2 Bentley Layton,3 Thomas Lambdin,4 and Stephen Patterson5 introduced a change of attitude and method of approach, re-evaluating the authenticity of the Logia tradition from the perspectives of independence and creativity. Furthermore, a few researchers have convincingly demonstrated the shared features of Gos. Thom. with the Jesus tradition of Q, the reconstructed source of the sayings of Jesus used in the composition of the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. This book will rethink the originality of Gos. Thom., examining the Thomasine Jesus tradition not as data for sketching the historical Jesus but as a compilation of community wisdom rendered into writing in the transitional period between the oral and literary phases of the Christian movement, as a stepping-stone or internal bridge.6 As the cano- nical writer Luke puts it, “many [tradition-keepers] have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the firstwere eyewitnesses and servants of the word” (Lk 1:1–2).7 The post-apostolic leader(s) of the Thomas community, which I shall place at “1.5 generations from Jesus,”8 transferred the oral tradition of the Jesus Logia from “memories of the disciple (Thomas)”9 into a written form of tradition as “semi-eyewitnesses of Jesus.” The chronological diagram in Figure 0.1 illustrates the hypothesis argued in what follows: that Gos.