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“Chose” or “Collected”: Concerning an Aramaism in Logion 8 of the Gospel of Thomas and the Question of Independence1
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 June 2011
Extract
One of the methodical approaches to the tradition in the Gospel of Thomas is the search for Aramaisms in order to ascertain the Semitic background of the logia of Jesus. Aramaic, admittedly, was the language of Jesus and of the earliest strata of the Gospel tradition. Therefore, the discovery of Aramaisms or at least of a Semitic coloring in the Greek or Coptic wording could be helpful in reconstructing a pre-Greek or presynoptic stage of tradition. Some scholars have claimed to have traced genuine Aramaisms in the logia of the Gospel of Thomas that would carry us back to the earliest stages of oral or written tradition in the Aramaic speaking communities. It has been argued that in several cases Semitic coloring in the sayings of the Gospel of Thomas is stronger than in their synoptic parallels. If this observation is true, it would help in establishing the independence of the Gospel of Thomas. In itself this methodological approach is legitimate and should be applied to each of the logia preserved in this document. It is important, however, to avoid generalizations. If real Aramaisms are found in a logion, this may point to the archaic character of that specific logion, but this is not proof that the whole document is therefore rooted in early Aramaic tradition.
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References
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73 This is in line with what Quispel wrote in one of his earliest contributions, “The Gospel of Thomas and the New Testament,” 207: “We must have very strong arguments before we decide that in some cases the text of the new documents is to be preferred” (reprinted in Quispel, Gnostic Studies, 2. 16).
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77 See my discussion of the thesis of Alfred Resch in Baarda, “Clement of Alexandria, the Fisherman and the Fish,” sec. 16.
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93 Jülicher, , Gleichnisreden 2. 567–58, my emphasisGoogle Scholar.
94 Dölger, Ιχθγξ, 1. 1, my emphasis.
95 I will not pursue here the suggestion of Quispel (“The Gospel of Thomas Revisited,” 229) that “before it became a parable in the mouth of Jesus, its theme was already known to the first century poet Babrius.” Apart from the fact that Babrius is usually connected with the second century CE, one should observe that the theme in Babrius is quite different; only the imagery is similar. Of course, one cannot absolutely exclude the possibility that the fable in a pre-Babrian form influenced the wording of Thomas and Matthew (see Koester, “One Jesus,” 176–77 n. 61), but there is no urgent reason to suppose that this was actually the case. The imagery of the fisherman, the net, and the fish is found in several fables of Babrius and elsewhere, but it may have been so common in the Middle Eastern world that its use in wisdom, preaching, and prophecy suggested itself to everyone who wished to convey a message in metaphorical language. Moreover, there is a remarkable difference between the fable of Babrius on the one hand and Thomas and Matthew on the other hand that should not be overlooked. Quite remarkable is the conclusion of Quispel (“The Gospel of Thomas Revisited,” 229): “If Clement and Thomas are Gnostic, then so are Tatian and Babrius” (by which he implies that Thomas is not gnostic). I do not find the reasoning here sound. One should interpret each text on the basis of its own way of expressing the message that it wishes to convey to its readers. Similarity of expression and the use of a similar imagery do not by themselves say anything about the intention of the person that presents us with the parable, saying, or fable; much depends on the setting in which the stories are told. Whether Clement is gnostic or not cannot be deduced from his references to the fisherman, for he uses it to show that even in Greek philosophy there are sometimes ideas of great value for Christians; whether Tatian is gnostic or not cannot be deduced from his form of Matt 13:47-50 because he brings out the eschatological setting of the parable according to the testimony of the sources that we have. Whether Babrius is gnostic or not cannot be answered on the basis of the fable, for he uses it for practical wisdom. Finally, whether Thomas is gnostic or not should be judged on the basis of both setting and contents of the saying.