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Scholarly Quotes

Joseph A. Fitzmyer writes: “The thirty-sixth Coptic saying, which corresponds to this Oxyrhynchus fragmentary text, is much shorter than the Greek. It may represent a different Greek recension of the Gospel or a deliberate shortening of the text in the Coptic. At any rate, we can only use the Coptic as a control for the restoration of the first few lines of the Greek text.” (Essays on the Semitic Background of the New Testament, p. 406)

Robert M. Grant and David Noel Freedman write: “Do not worry about what you will wear (Matthew 6:25; Luke 12:22). ‘Morning and evening’ are presumably Thomas’s substitutes for ‘the morrow’ of Matthew 6:34. In the Greek version more quotations from the gospels are provided (Matthew 6:25, 28, 27; Luke 12:22, 27, 25). This fact may suggest that the editor of Coptic Thomas wanted to remove such obvious traces of his sources.” (The Secret Sayings of Jesus, p. 152)

Joseph A. Fitzmyer writes: “There is no reason why this form of the saying should not be given the same degree of authenticity that is accorded the canonical versions. E. Jacquier (RB 15 [1918] 116) regarded it as authentic, but J. Jeremias (Unknown Sayings, 86) would consider only the last three lines as authentic. He rejects the rest because he makes of this and the following saying but one unit. Since the following saying is marked with Gnostic ideas on sexual asceticism, it is not to be regarded as authentic (ibid., 17). However, I do not believe that these two sayings should be treated as one. The change of subject in line 17 is the beginning of a new saying, as is now evident from several similar cases in the Coptic version. See note on Oxy P 654:32. This saying deals only with excessive solicitude for food and clothing and the correct dependence that the Christian should have on the Father.” (Essays on the Semitic Background of the New Testament, p. 407)

Funk and Hoover write: “Verses 3-4 are gnostic additions. Thomas 37 is actually an expansion on these remarks, although 36:3-4 are preserved only in Greek Thomas. The notion that humans will return to the primordial state of sexual non-differentiation when they put off the body (their clothes) is congenial to the developing gnostic trend. These additions provide a peculiar setting for the sayings in vv. 1-2, but they seem not to have led to the revision of the primary sayings.” (The Five Gospels, p. 493)

Gerd Ludemann writes: “The key to the history of the tradition is provided by that part of the Greek version which goes beyond the Coptic translation. It contains, first, a modification of the Coptic version (underlined); secondly, at the end (= vv. 3-4), a Gnostic interpretation (the symbol of the garment); and thirdly, before that, a part (= v. 2) which recalls Matt. 6.25-31/Luke 12.22-29). As the Gnostic part is certainly secondary, the same conclusion may be drawn about the other pieces. The Coptic translation is probably an abbreviation of a Greek version.” (Jesus After 2000 Years, p. 608)