“The Kingdom is within you and outside of you. When you come to know yourselves, ye shall be known and you will realize that you are the children of the living Father.” — Logion 3

1) What is the Gospel of Thomas?

The ET is a “gospel of the”: a collection of 114 logia (sentences and short dialogues) attributed to Jesus, no life story, passion or resurrection. Its incipit reads: “These are the hidden words that the living Jesus spoke and which Didymos Judas Thomas wrote.” Most of the research does not agree to the authorship of the apostle Thomas; the real author is unknown.

2) Manuscripts and findings

• Codex coptic Nag Hammadi (NH II): full text in coptic sahídico, dated paleográficamente towards the middle of the fourth century; it was part of the “Nag Hammadi Library” was discovered in Egypt in 1945. The ET is the second treaty of codex II.
• Greek fragments from Oxyrhynchus: three papyri (P. Oxy. 1, 654, and 655) published at the beginning of the XX century; it is dated between ca. 130-250 d.C. and confirm the existence of a Greek tradition prior to the coptic.

“In Thomas, Jesus does not save by dying on the cross, but waking up in the soul of man.” — Jean-Yves Leloup

3) Content and literary features

• Structure: 114 such, many introduced by “Jesus said...”, some in mini-dialogue with the disciples. There is No frame narrative or clear command.
• Parallel and unique material: about two-thirds presented parallel (sometimes nearby, sometimes free) with the synoptic gospels; the rest of it's own.
• Recurring themes: the Kingdom “in and out”, the drive/individuation (“to become one”), the investment securities (the“first/last”), the knowledge (gnōsis), such as lighting, and a tone often encratita/ascetic. To query the text: translation Lambdin and resources interlineales.

“The one who seek should not stop seeking until he finds; and when halle disturbs, and the troubled marvel, and will reign over the All.” — Logion 2

4) Theology and reading keys

• Knowledge and inner vision: several lodge emphasize that “there is nothing hidden that will not become manifest”, and that the Kingdom is “spread out on the earth”, but it is not perceived. (See lodge 5 and 113 in translation academic).
• Christology implied: Jesus appears as a developer sapiential; there is no passion or resurrection explicit, which suggests a different gender to that of the canonical gospels.
• Voltage and internal polemics: such as the 12 (pre-eminence of James the Just) and 114 (Mary and “becoming a man”) reflect discussions of identity and, probably, layers editorial.

“It is the gospel closer to a meditation: not read, contemplate.” — April DeConick

5) Origin, language and community

• Languages: Greek origin with subsequent transfer to the coptic; the coptic preserves a writing advanced.
• Probable location: Syria (traditions “tomasinas”, possible environment edeseno) or Alexandria (hypothesis minority).
• Community sr tomasina: some researchers propose a group that valued the wisdom of Jesus and the experience of “know-see”, with practices of asceticism moderate. (An overview in Britannica and synthesis academic).

“If you take out what is inside you, that you take will save you; if you don't take it out, that they don't put out you will destroy them.” — Logion 70

6) Dating: the debate

There are two major positions, both with nuances:

• Dating early (core 1.Nd half s. I – beginnings s. II): is supported in the genus “collection of sayings” the independence of the order in respect of the synoptic gospels, and certain echoes of traditions pre-70 (e.g., role of James). This line is located strata early that could be parallel to sources such as Q.
• Dating late (c. 120-180 d.C., with later additions): most of the manuals put the composition in the s. II, with traces of conflación and harmonization dependent on the canonical gospels, and with the features of religiosity gnostic subsequent maturation.

Conclusion operational: the full manuscript is the s. IV; the work circulated already in Greek in the early/mid s. II; his final draft probably is the s. II, although with the oldest materials in several such.

7) Dependence or independence of the synoptics

• To favor a certain degree of independence (for a kernel): differences of order, formulations are not markedly mateanas or lucanas, and parables without glosses allegorical.
• In favour of dependence (in the wording of late): combinations that seem to “harmonize” Matthew and Luke, and echoes of the theological later. Balance: many experts consider tradition mixed (these early reworked in a collection of s. (II).

“The Father's Kingdom is spread on the earth, but men do not see.” — Logion 113

8) Canonicidad and reception

ET never joined the canon majority. Parents and ecclesial traditions ignored or considered to be apocryphal; but today no confession greater recognizes it as Writing, although it is key to study the diversity of early christianity, and the phenomenon of the “gospels of such”.

9) Lodge remarkable

(Quoting brief fragments, sending translations to the academic; the translations vary minimally depending on edition.)

• Prologue + logion 1: “Who finds the interpretation of these words will not taste death.” Program hermeneutic and soteriological of the book.
• Logion 3 / 113: Kingdom “within you, spread on the earth”, a critique of the exclusivism space-time.
• Logion 12: primacy of James the Just: indication of a memory judeo-christian archaic.
• Logion 114: Mary and the “transformation male”: controversial text; there is debate on whether it involves devaluation ontological or metaphor of fullness/under.

“When you make the two one, and the inner as the outer, and of the male and the female one... then you will never enter the Kingdom.” — Logion 22

10) How to read Thomas today (practical method)

1. Text base: working with an editing/translation criticism (Lambdin; interlineales showing coptic/Greek and variants).
2. Synopsis: compare each logion with its parallel in Mark-Matthew-Luke (and John when appropriate).
3. Critical strata: to distinguish possible layers (core judgments traditional vs. glosses/writing).
4. Context NH: place the ET within the set of Nag Hammadi (diversity gnostic s. II–IV).
5. The history of the reception: see their marginalization canonical and its revaluation modern as a witness of the plurality early christian.

11) common Errors

• Identify “gnostic” = late automatically: the ET coexists with materials that can be early; what late is the final compilation or certain layers.
• Read it as “gospel narrative”: your gender is collection of wisdom as such.
• Assume that lacks ancient manuscripts: there are P. Oxy. 1/654/655 (s. II–III).

“The Gospel of Thomas does not seek faith, seeks to consciousness.” — Elaine Pagels

12) references and recommended resources

• Synthesis general academic: Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Gospel of Thomas” (panorama, content, date).
• Reference input coptic: Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia (ET and Nag Hammadi Library)
• Text and commentary compared to: Gnostic Society Library (text coptic, multiple translations and interlineales).
• Classic translation online: Thomas O. Lambdin (PDF).
• Context Nag Hammadi (disclosure academic): Biblical Archaeology Society (NH and ET; panoramas recent).
• Critical view accessible: Bart D. Ehrman, blog posts about ET (genre, structure, and reception).

Conclusion

The Gospel of Thomas is a a collection of wisdom 114 such transmitted in coptic (s. IV) with Greek roots attested since the s. II. It is not a story about Jesus, but a corpus of sentences that requires interpretation; it combines parallel synoptic with your own material. The dating more prudent located final wording in the s. IIwhile a number of lodge preserve most ancient traditions. Your value is not canon but historiographical and theological compared: opens a window to the current early christian-centered knowledge of transformer, the interiority and the wisdom as a pathway to the Kingdom.

“There is nothing hidden that will not be manifested.” — Logion 5

“In these words there is less religion and more revelation.” — Marvin Meyer