Early Christian Writings Gospel of Thomas Saying 27 Previous - Gospel of Thomas Home - Next
You can view this web page along with Grondin's Coptic/English Interlinear in frames.
Nag Hammadi Coptic Text Funk's Parallels
POxy1 27, POxy654 6:1,
GThom 6:1, GThom
14:1, GThom 104, Matt
9:14-17, Matt 12:1-8,
Mark 2:18-22, Mark
BLATZ LAYTON DORESSE 2:23-28.
(27) <Jesus> said: If you do (27) <Jesus said>, "If you 32 [27]. "If you do not fast
not fast to the world, you (plur.) do not abstain from from the world, you will not
will not find the kingdom; if the world, you will not find find the Kingdom. If you do
you do not keep the Sabbath the kingdom. If you do not not make the Sabbath the
as Sabbath, you will not see make the sabbath a sabbath <true> Sabbath, you will
the Father. you will not behold the not see the Father."
father."
Oxyrhynchus Greek Fragment
DORESSE - Oxyrhynchus ATTRIDGE - Oxyrhynchus
Jesus says: "If you do not fast from the (27) Jesus said, "If you do not fast as
world, you will not find the Kingdom of regards the world, you will not find the
God. And if you do not make the Sabbath kingdom of God. If you do not observe the
the <true> Sabbath, you will not see the Sabbath as a Sabbath, you will not see the
Father." father."
Visitor Comments Scholarly Quotes
A degree of withdrawal from Marvin Meyer writes: "Clement of Alexandria, Miscellanies ('Stromateis') 3.15.99.4,
the "world" provides the incorporates a beatitude with similar content: 'Those who have castrated themselves
perspective to realize your from all sin for the sake of heaven's kingdom are fortunate: They are the ones who
true place in Reality. fast from the world.' Fasting from the world means abstaining from the material
Meditation on God (a true things that the world has to offer; keeping the sabbath a sabbath seems to imply that
Sabbath) is necessary to one should rest in a truly significant way and separate oneself from worldly concerns.
understanding a part of the Thus 'Macarius' of Syria is cited by Aelred Baker ('Pseudo-Macarius and the Gospel
Nature of God. of Thomas,' p. 220) as making the same sort of statement: 'For the soul that is
- active-mystic considered worthy from the shameful and foul reflections keeps the sabbath a true
Be IN the world but not OF sabbath and rests a true rest. . . . To all the souls that obey and come he gives rest
the world. It is a schoolroom, from these . . . impure reflections . . ., (the souls) keeping the sabbath a true sabbath.'
not a quasi-utopia. Do not let The words 'observe the sabbath as a sabbath' in saying 27 could also be taken to
the things OF the world rule derive from the idiom 'keep the sabbath (in reference to) the sabbath,' as in the
you. Observe the sabbath, Septuagint. Further, since the Coptic employs two different spellings for the word
that is follow the instructs of translated 'sabbath' in saying 27 (sambaton and sabbaton), it is conceivable - but
your teacher probably too subtle - that the text could be translated 'observe the (whole) week as
- Thief37 the sabbath'; compare Tertullian, Against the Jewish People 4: 'We ought to keep a
sabbath from all servile work always, and not only every seventh day, but all the
Yes, I think here what is time.'" (The Gospel of Thomas: The Hidden Sayings of Jesus, pp. 81-82)
meant is meditation. Time Joseph A. Fitzmyer writes: "'Fasting to the world' must mean withdrawal from a
for contemplation. If you do worldly or secular outlook; it is an abstention from the world that involves becoming
not have time for reflective a 'solitary' (monarchos)." (Essays on the Semitic Background of the New Testament,
thought you will not see. p. 391)
- Willows
Joseph A. Fitzmyer writes: "Being a construction with a cognate accusative (lit., 'to
27 sabbatize the sabbath'), it explains the peculiar Coptic construction, where the
repeated word is really superfluous, etetntmeire mpsambaton ensabbaton. (The
dissimilation of bb to mb in the first occurence of the word in Coptic, but not the
second, should be noted.) The Greek expression occurs in the LXX at Lv 23:32; 2
Alias:
Chr 36:21. C. Taylor (op. cit., pp. 14-15) showed that it does not simply mean 'to
observe the (weekly) sabbath'. In Lv 23:32 it refers to the Day of Atonement, which
is to be kept as a real sabbath. Hence, it is likely that we should understand the
expression in this saying in a metaphorical or a spiritual sense. Cf. Heb 4:9 and Justin
(Dial. w. Trypho 12, 3; PG 6, 500), who uses sabbatizein in the sense of a spiritual
sabbath opposed to the formal Jewish observance; for him it consisted in abstention
from sin." (Essays on the Semitic Background of the New Testament, p. 392)
Gerd Ludemann writes: "A literal understanding, namely sabbath observance, is to be
excluded. Rather, 'sabbath' here may be synonymous with 'world'. In that case v. 2
Post the Note
symbolizes abstinence from worldly values. For 'seeing the Father' cf. Matt. 5.8 ('see
God')." (Jesus After 2000 Years, p. 604)
Discuss it now at AMC M. A. Williams writes: "In the Gospel of Thomas, Jesus says, 'If you do not fast with
forums! respect to the world, you will not find the Kingdom' (saying 27). But another saying
in that gospel (14) seems to reject external acts of piety, including fasting, as things
that can lead to sin, possibly because of pride or hypocrisy. The fasting 'with respect
to the world' in saying 27 could therefore be intended as a metaphor for general
withdrawal from involvement in the world (which itself implies other forms of
ascetic denial). It is possible that it is not fasting per se which is rejected in saying 14
of Gos. Thom. but only hypocritical or empty fasting, which does not reflect a
genuine indifference to the world." (Rethinking "Gnosticism", p. 142)
F. F. Bruce writes: "This saying (whose Greek text is preserved in P. Oxy. 1. 2) seems
to have been widely known in the church of the second and third centuries; its
substance appears in Justin, Clement of Alexandria and Tertullian. [Justin, Dialogue
with Trypho 12.3; Clement, Miscellanies iii. 99.4; Tertullian, Against the Jews 4.]
While literal fasting and sabbath-keeping are deprecated (cf. Sayings 14, 104), the
spiritual counterpart to these religious exercises is recommended (cf. Saying 6)."
(Jesus and Christian Origins Outside the New Testament, p. 125)
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Early Christian Writings Gospel of Thomas Saying 27 Previous - Gospel of Thomas Home - Next
