The Gospel of St Thomas - Hardcover

Meyer, Marvin; Bloom, Harold

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 006065581X ISBN 13: 9780060655815

Publisher: Bravo Ltd, 1993

Synopsis

A fresh, authoritative English translation, with an informative introduction, fascinating explanatory notes, and the Coptic text, with interpretation by Harold Bloom, our preeminent literary critic.

About this title

Review:

The gospel according to Thomas is an ancient collection of sayings attributed to Jesus thought to be recorded by his brother Judas, the Twin (Thomas is "twin" in Aramaic). Some scholars suggest that this gospel was collected from New Testament sayings; some say that those written by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John used The Gospel of Thomas as a source in compiling their histories; while others believe it springs from a completely independent author because many of the quotations are not in the New Testament at all. It slept for two millennia in a stone jar until accidentally exhumed by a group of fertiliser gatherers in the northern Egyptian desert in 1945. (The gospel is just one document in the fourth-century papyrus library discovered near the city of Nag Hammadi from which the entire collection gets its name). Marvin Meyer's distinguished translation includes Coptic text on each left page with the English version on the right, and is considered by some as perhaps the closest we will ever get to reading what was actually said by the historical Jesus. In it, you will discover a different kind of Christ--a wandering spiritual teacher from Galilee who performs no miracles, reveals little prophecy, announces no apocalypse and dies for no one's sins. --P. Randall Cohan

From the Back Cover:

'THE GOSPEL OF THOMAS'

“Thomas tells us more about the historical Jesus than all of the Dead Sea Scrolls put together. A superb presentation of the most important early Christian text discovered in this century.”
JOHN DOMINIC CROSSAN, author of 'The Historical Jesus'

“Combines a very readable style with an up-to-date introduction, transcription, translation, notes, and bibliography. The notes alone provide the best available commentary on the one hundred and fourteen sayings, explaining many otherwise obscure passages and supplying many ancient parallels that support these interpretations.”
JAMES M. ROBINSON, general editor, 'The Nag Hammadi Library'

“This lucid rendering restores the Coptic script to literature and wisdom. After Meyer’s version, it remains an odd affront to faith and truth not to include the account of the wise man Jesus in the Gospel of Thomas as the fifth gospel in The New Covenant.”
WILLIS BARNSTONE, professor of comparative literature, Indiana University

“A fresh, sparkling translation. It is true to the Coptic text and fully informed by the most recent critical scholarship on the earliest traditions of the teachings of Jesus. Brief notes of exceptional quality explain idiomatic features of text, and Meyer’s excellent introduction makes this gospel come alive.”
BURTON L. MACK, author of 'The Lost Gospel: The Book of Q and Christian Origins'

About this edition

• Publisher: Bravo Ltd
• Publication date: 1993
• ISBN 10: 006065581X
• ISBN 13: 9780060655815
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 130