The Infancy Qospel of Thomas

Edy Christians wde naturally curious 10leam the details of Jesus,life. As stories circukicd about the inspired teachings and miraculous deeds oI Jcsus public ministrl, some Christians began ro speculateon what be said md did beforeit began. Only a coupleofincidentsinaolvingJesus priorto his baptismare found in the New Tesrament cospls:the narrarivcs his of birth and infancy i! Maflhe\r and Luke and rhe account, unique !o Luke, of his pilsrimageto fte Jerusalem Templeas a twelveyear old (Lukc 2:41 52). Other storiesof Jesus a yourh,however. as werc soor in circularion. Behind mny of theselegendslay a furdamentalquestion: Jesus if wls a miracle-working of Cod as an adull,what was he tikc as a chitd? Son The lnfancy cospel of Thomas,nol to be corfused with the Coltic Gospel of Thomasdiscovered near Nag Hammadi Egypt, is one of lhe earlie$ accounts these legends.The bmk was allegedly written by of "Thomas. lhe h.aelire." It is rot clear whcrher tle author inrended his readenlo recognize asJudas him Thomas. rhought someearlyCbrisrlans by to have been Jesus'own brothcr lf he did. then his accounts of Jcsusas a youth,leedless say,would havcbeenba$d on o impeccable to authority. The narralive begins with Jesus as a live-yem old boy and relltcs a number of incidents, most of them miraculous, that behay a srreak of the mischievous in Josephand Mary's precocious son. Here are anecdotesof Jesusat play with his childhood coinpdions (sornetines harming them with his divinepower.sometimes bealingthen), ir confmnrllior with his eldcrs (usuallybetteringthem).at scboolwith his teacher!(revcaling their igno rance).dd in the workshopwith his father (mimculouslycofrectinghis mistakes). For modem re.iders it is difncult lo decide whether sucb stories weremeantas rious accounts ofJesus'earlylife or sinply as speculative and enle aining storles of the youthtul Son of cod. The text provides few cluesto belp us fix the time of i1scomposition. Tunslation BanD. Ehmn, based ihe CEk tcxt or cdn\taniinvonTischendorf, by .. Erorc.lia (Hildesnein: Oln!, 1987i Apdttpha. Cooig original: bp7is, 1867), wnh lexrDal derationsnadby thetrmslator based manuscript on evidcn..

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NON.C,ANONICAL QOSPELS

Most scholds belicve that such "intucy Gospels" beganto circulale durine century. The InfancyGospelof ThomasappeaB the nmt half of the second to havebeenone ofthe earliest.

Tals of the Israelie Philosopher Thomas, Conceming lhe Childhood Adiviries of the Lord

L Thnmrs rh( lsraclite.make Lhis I repon Io dll of lou. m] brutheE amongthe Cenliles,that you may know the rugnilicent childhood activiliesof, ou Lord Jesus Cbrist all thal he did aficr being bom in our country. The be' ginningis as follows: I W hen t hr s c h rl d l rru s w a s l i \e O Z. ) ean nld. he s J s p L J l i n gh y th e ford of a stream; lnd he gathered the then flowing witen inlo poolsandnrade lmmediatelypuE. These things he of dered simply by spea*ing a word. 2 He then made somc soft mud and fasbioned twelve sparows from it. It was the Slb bath whcn he did this. A .umbef of other chit.Len were also playing with him. 3 But lrhen a cendn Jew sdw what Jesus hld done whlle playing on the Srbbath. he lefr right away aDd rcponed rc his ta{her. Joseph, 'Look. your child at lhe steam has taken mud dnd formed $elve spatrows. He bas profaned the sabbathl" 4 WbenJoseph clme 1olheplace andsaw whal hld happencd.he cried our to him. ''Why drc you doing what is tbrbiddcn clappedhis on thc Sabbath?" But Jesus hands and cried to the sparows, Bc goDcl" And the spanows toot flight lnd wcnt oil chi.ping. 5 When the Jewss!$ this they were amazd;and thcy went away and reported ro thei lcaders what do. theyhad seenJesus

Now fte son of Ama lhe scribe J *u" *hnaine there with Josephi dnd he took a willow bmnch and scat tered the water thdt Jesushad gathered. 2 Jesuswa-sirritated when he saw what and had happened, he said to himi "You uffighteous. iffeverenl idiotl Stat did the poolsof waler do 10ham you? S@, now you also will be witheted like a tree. and you will never bear leavesor rool or fruit-" 3 ltrliediately that child was complerely withered. Jesusletl and retumed to Joseph\ house. But the pdents of the withered child ca.ried him away, mouming his lost yourh. They brought him lo Josephand begrn to accusehim. "Vhar kind of chjld do you havc who does such thingsT' Sornewharldtcr he \va\ gorng / aLl rhroushthe !rlLd8e. a child 'i 'Jn up and banged into his shoutder. Jesus was aggmvated lnd said to him, "You will go no funher on your way-' And ri8ht away the child fell down and died. Some of lhose who saw wbrt happend said, 'Where was lhis child boml For evefything he says is a deed accomplished?' 2 The parentsof the deadchild cameto Joseph and blamedhim, saling ''Sinceyou havesucha child you cannot live \,eith us in the village. Or each him 1l]bless ard not to curse-for he is killiog

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callcJ to the lhiid and ad |JoseDh rnonrsrco po" arel y.w hy cre rrrm C you doins suchlhingsl Thesepmple de sutering, they hate us and are p6ecutreplied."l know these ing usl" But Jesus

THE INFANCY qOSPELOF IHOM

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ue not your wordsi and so I also will keepsilentfor youf sake- lhose But olhe6 will bear then punishnent." And inme dialely those who wcre accusirs hnn were blinded. 2Those who saw these lhings were frighbned and disturbed; they began saying about him. "Every thlng he has said,whelhergood or bnd, has becomean amazingrealir)." When Joseph sawwbrt Jesus done.he rose had up. gmbbedhis ed, and yankedit hard. 3 Thechild was lritated andsaidtohim, ''It is enough you to seekaodnot lindi tbr you havenor rcted at all wisely.Do you not know that I am you6? Do not grieve

tively crossing,lhen comjng togeficr, lnd proceeding upwardagai. dll lhey rerch rhe top, so thrt it h divided into three equrl parts, eacb of tbem tundamenlal ard tbundational, equal leogth.Now of you havetbe set patterns oftbe Alpha.'i When the teacher Zachaeushcard -7 / the child seliingfonh so nany allegorical inte.pretations like this oI l}le fi$t lettef, be was at a completeloss aboutlhis kind ofexplanationandteaching, and he said to thosestanding lhere. .Woe is mel I am wretched and a1 a complclc loss; I have put nryself 1l) shame,taking on this child. 2I beg of you, brother Joseph,tale him !way. I can not bear his stem gaze or make scnsc of a single word. This child is not of dris worldi he can even lame 1ire. Maybc he was bom before the world came into be ing. I cannotfathomwhatkind of ulerus bore him or what kind of {onb nourisbed him. Woe is me, friend. He has beluddledmei I cannotfbllow his ieasoning.Ihavefooledmyselfandam miserablc thrcc times over- I was struSgllng to havc a student,lnd I have been tbund to havc a tcachcf,3 My iiiends, I lnow all too well my shlmc: though an old Inan. I have been defeated by a chi1d. I rnay gros weak and die becauseof this child. For at rhis momen!I cannotiook bim in the face. Wben everyone saysftal I have ben defeated by a young child. what can I say?And how can I explain the tbings t'e told me about 1be sel pattefns of rbe lirst letter? I hale no idea. my frie|ds. For I do not know its'begin oing or cnd- 4 And so I ask you. bfother loscph. t*e hin back home. I do not lnow what kind of grcat thine he is whclhcr ! divine bcing or lngeli I do not lnow evcn what to say."

Ther( an ih'ruc'or nftd Zd A "as \,, chaeu.ltandingoff to thr sidc sho heardJesussay thesethings |o his father And he was amazedrharhe was spealing suchthings.thoughjust a child. 2 Aier a few days he approached Josephand said to him. "You havea bright child with a good miod. Come,let me havehim that be may learnto read,andthrough reading I wiU teach him everythbg. including how to gret all tbe elden and to bonor them as his ancestors thtbers, and and to lovechildrcnhis own age. 3 And he told him all the letters from Alpha to omega, clearly and wilh errcalprecision. Bul le sus looked the insructor Zach.reusin fte face and said to hin, 'Since you do not know rhe lrue nature of ihe Alpha, how cm you teachanlone the Beta?You hypocrilel If you know il. firs1 leach |he Alpha. and then we \rill blieve you aboulthe Beta."Then be began questo tion the teachersharply about the nmt lettet rnd he was not able to Bive him the answe6. 4And wbile many otheB werclistening. childsaidto Zachaeus, the ''Listen, teacbef,to the arrangement of the iirst letter of the alphabet; observe here how it has sel pdttems, and mid dle slrokes which you see collcc-

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while $e lewi w e re B r!' n g Z a Q (, Lhaeu( ddvr(e. the Lhild laushed aloud and said. "Now let what is yours bearfruit. and le1the blind in heartsee. I have cone from above to curse tbem and call them to the realm above.just as the one who sentme for your sakecommanded." 2when fte child noppd spcdtirg, irnnediately all those who had fallen under his curse were bealed. No one dred to anger bim from that rime on. icding thar he mighl cripple lhen

healed. ADd he said |o the young mm, "Rise now. split tbe wood. and remember me-' When lhe crowd saw what had happened i1 wonhiped the child, saying, "The Spiril of God cdainly tives within this child." .l when he wJs si\ yeds otd. his 1 | | morher gare him a sarer jug and sent him to draw somewarer ro bring back home. But he was joslled by the crowd, and the water jug was shauered. 2So Jesusunfolded fie cloak he was wearing md lilled it wirh water and brought it back to his mother. When his mother saw the sign that had happened, she kissed him. And rhe kepr to herself lhe mysterious deeds thar she saw

sume^days Ldrer Jesu\\rds playing roofiup ot a house,and one ofthe childrenplaying with him fell lrom the roof dd died. When the other children saw what had happened. they mn !way! !o that Jesussrood there alone. 2 When the parents of the one who died arived they accusedhim of throwing him down.But Jesus said,"I cenainlydidnot throw him down." But lhey began 10 abuse him verbally. 3 Jesusleapr down lronr the roof and sbod besidelhe child s corpse,and wilh a loud voice he cried out, "Zenonl (for tnat was his name) ''nse up and tell me: did I throw you down?" And riebt away be rose up and said, 'No! ar all Lord!You did nor throw me down, but you have raisedme upl" When $ey saw this they werc astounded. The parentsof the child glorified cod for the sign that had occurred, md they worO

l1,h* ir lare. becde r,me ior O so\vinc, chrldweniour wirh I Zrhe his flthef to sow wheat ih their field. And when his father sowed, the child Jesus also sowed a single grain of wheat. 2 When he hNested and threshed tbe 8rain. i1 Foduced a hundred large busbels. He called all the poor people of the village to ihe threshing flor and gave them the wheati and Joseph took whar was left of ir. He was eight years old whenhe did lhis si8n. { Now his rarher wa\ d carpenrer, 1 Z | \,, andatrhl r ri meheusedtomate plows od yokes. He .eceived an order from a certain rich mn ro rDl a bed. But wheDthe measuremeDt one of the for beautiful oossbeamscame out 1ooshort. he did not loow what to do. The child lsus said a, his father Josepb,"Plfte the two pieces of wood on rhe floor and line them up fron tbe middle to one end.' 2 Josephdid jusr as the child said. The. Jesusstood al the other end, grabbedthe shorler board, md st etched it ou1 10 make it the samelength as the orher His

A les dn)s larer Lhere sa( d 1 n I v )uun8 rnan whn wds splirrinC wood in a se.luded spot. The axe fll and spLitopen lhe sole of his foot. He lost a lot of blood and was dying. 2 There wal a disturbance and a crowd slaned to gather and lhe childJesus alsoran tothe spo1. Fofcinghis way througbthecrowd, he grabbedthe young man's tbor .hat hrd been struck, and immediately it was

THE INFANCY QOSPEL THOMAS OF

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falber Josepbsaw whal he had dore and was amued- He embracedthe child and gavehim a kiss,saying"I amblessedthat God has Sivenme this cbild." when loseph obqened the 4 , | + mind of the chrld and srw that he wns starting to mature. he again did tot want him to be unabl 10 rcad, and so took him ou1 to give him over to another teacher.The teachersaid to Joseph, "Fi^t I will teach him to readGreek. and ther Hebrew" For the leacher tnew of the cbildh leamirg and was afraid of bim. Nonetbeless. wrole out ttle alhe phabetand practiced it fo. him for a long time; but thc child gavehim no response. 2 Thn Jesus said to him, lf you re really a teacherand know the letters well, telt lne the power of the Alpha, ud I will lell you the power of the Bet ." The teacher was aggravatedlnd shlck him on the head. The child wls hun md cuned him: and immediately he fainted and fell to the ground on his face. 3 The child returned to Joseph\ bouse. Joseph was smitlen with grief and orderedhis mother. "Do nol lel bim out the doo4 for thosewho angerbim die." some rime larer rherewas an 1 E I W orheLinsrrucror. close friend a of Joseph,who said to hin, 'Bring lhe child lo me at the school. Maybe I c0 use flatlery 1Ir1erchhim 1()read-" Joseph said 1()him. ']f you're that courageous. brorber, take him along wirh you." He took hin with grerlt fear and much anxieqr,but thechiidwentalonggladly. He 2 entercd tle school witb corfidence and found a book 1yin8on the readingdesk. He picked it up, but insteadof rsding lhe words in it, he operedhis moutha.d begaDto speak in the Holy Spirit. teaching the Law to those who were sta.ding lhere. A BIeal crcwd gathered, stdding ftere 1(]hear him: and they were anazed

al the great beautyof his teacbingaDd his carefully crafted words anazed ftat he could speak such things though still a babe. 3 But when Josephheardlbout dris he was frighlened. He ran 1()the school, thi.king that this instruclor rnay also have p.oved ig.orant. Bur the instructor said to Joseph, "You should know. brother. that I took the child as a pupili bul he is filled with great grace and wisdom. Now I ask you brothea take him home." 4 When the child hedd lhese things. he immedialely laughed at him ind srid, "Since you have rishtly spokeu a.d dghtly bome wihess. for your sakelhar other one wbo was slruck down will b healed."And right away the oder instructor was healed.Josephtook (he child

N o w Jokph senr ( sonJames hi 1A | \, to b undl e some sood rnd bri ng it to the house. The child Jesusalso followed hirn. Whil Janes was sarhering the firewood. a snake bit his hand. 2 When he was strelched out on the ground dying. Jesuscame up 1()him ed breathed or the bite. The pain irnllEdi ately stopped, the animal burst. and stnigbt away James was reumed to

Atur rhese Ltxnss. inlant In an 7 | / Joseph\ nershborhood became sick and diedi nnd his nother was weep ing loudly. When Jcsusheffd the outburst of sonow rnd the dislurbdce, he ran up quickly and found the child dead. He louchedits brea-sl, sayjng"I say rc you. you.g child. do not die but live. and be with your motberl lmmediately thechjld ope.ed its eyes and laughed. Jesussaid to the woman,"Ial<ehim,givehim milk, and rememberme." 2when the crowd standing theresawwhathadbappered, it was amazed. peoplesaid,"Truly this The child is either Cod or an ansel of God, I

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NON,CANONICAL qOSPEL5

for his every wod is an acconplished deed." Jesustben lcti from there to play wilh tbe olhef childrcn. .1 $ar some rjnrc ldkr d hoL,se Q | (, being builr and rhere $Js c grcatdisturbancc. gor Jesus up and wenr out to the place. He saw a nran lying down. deadtlaking his hand he said,-l say 10you, o man.rise up and do your work." Immediaely he rose np and worshiped him. 2when tbe cfowd saw. i1 was amazed and said, "Thischild comes from heaven.For he bas savcd mmy souls fioDr death his cntne iife he is

wh( n hc ua 5 rw e h ey e .n o l d 1 O | , nr\ pdJcn's maoernerrcu{o'n dy trip 1o Jerusalem,in a caravan, for rhe Passover feasl Afler ihe Passover lhey relumedhone. While they werere weDtback up to luming, fie child Jesus But he Jerusalem. bis parcntsthouSrht wds in rhe ca.avaD. 2 Atier thcir first day oI tnvel, tbey be8anlooking for him smong their relatives and werc upselnol ro lind bim. They rciurned again ro the city !o look for him. And after the lhnd day they tbund hirn sitring in lhe Tenple in the

midst ol rhc teachers, both listeningand Everyone was alaskingthemquestions. tending closely, anazed tbat though a and child.hequestioned theelders reachers of the people sharply. explaining ttre chicf poinN of the Law and the pdables of ihe prophels. Whenbis mothcrMdy 3 cane up 10hlm shesaid. Why haveyou donethis Io us. childl Scc,we hale been replied lookingfo! youl Jesus distressed, to them, 'Why dc you lookjng for me? Don'tyou kDowlhat I muslbe wilh those who are my Father\?"b 4The scribes aod Pbdises said,"Are you lhe nother of trris child?" she replied. "I am." They said to her, "You are most fortunatc lmong women. becauseGod has blesscd the fruil of your womb. Fof wc have ncver seenor heardof such8lory, such vinue and wisdom. 5 Jesusgot up fiom there and followed his mothef, lnd he was obedienl lo bis penrs. But his molher kept to hemelf all lhese things And Jesusgrew in thai bad happencd. wisdomandstlture sd grace. him be To the glory fbrevcrand ever.Amen.