Early Christian Writings Gospel of Thomas Saying 60 Previous - Gospel of Thomas Home - Next

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Nag Hammadi Coptic Text Funk's Parallels
GThom 11:1, POxy654 7,
GThom 7.

BLATZ LAYTON DORESSE

(60) <They saw> a
Samaritan carrying a lamb,
who was going to Judaea.
He said to his disciples:
(What will) this man (do)
with the lamb? They said to
him: Kill it and eat it. He
said to them: While it is
alive he will not eat it, but
(only) when he kills it (and)
it becomes a corpse. They
said to him: Otherwise he
cannot do it. He said to
them: You also, seek a place
for yourselves in rest, that
you may not become a
corpse and be eaten.
(60) <THEY SAW> a
Samaritan carrying a lamb
as he went into Judaea. He
said to his disciples, "This
<. . .> . . . the lamb." They
said to him, "So that he
might slaughter it and have
it to eat. He said to them,
"He will not eat it while it
(or he) is alive, but rather
when he has slaughtered it
so it becomes a carcass."
They said, "Otherwise, he
cannot do it?" He said to
them, "You (plur.), too, seek
for yourselves a place of
repose, lest you become a
carcass and be devoured.
[60. Doresse 64 continued.]
Just then a Samaritan was
going into Judea carrying a
lamb. He <=Jesus> said to
His disciples: "What <will>
this man <do> with the
lamb?" They answered: "He
will kill it and eat it!" But
he said to them: "He will
not eat it as long as it is still
alive, but only if he kills it
and it becomes a corpse."
They said to him: "In no
other way will he hurt it!"
<Then> he said to them:
"You yourselves, then, seek
a place of rest so that you
do not become corpses and
are eaten!"

Visitor Comments Scholarly Quotes

Your faith will be tested by
other people. So after being
in the world find a place to
rebuild your faith or else you
might lose it.
- seeker of faith
If we make a place for
ourselves, where we are able
to rest and recover, we can
Jean Doresse writes: "This dialogue recalls a notion found in the apocryphal II
Epistle of Clement: 'The Lord said indeed: You shall be as lambs in the midst of
wolves! Peter replied: And if the wolves rend the lambs? And Jesus said to Peter:
After their death, the lambs have nothing further to fear from the wolves. You also,
fear not those who kill you and cannot then make you suffer anything further. But
fear him who after your death has power to cast your soul and your body into the
gehenna of fire! Know then . . . that the promise of Christ is great . . . as also the
Repose of the Kingdom . . .!'" (The Secret Books of the Egyptian Gnostics, p. 375)
Helmut Koester writes: "But at least one correction in the translation of the parable of
recover. And when we have
recovered, we can continue
our work with love.
- Peter T.
Find truth and
understanding, and Satan
cannot consume you.
- Random
The amplified translation of
Strephon Kaplan-Williams
makes more sense: 60 While
Jesus was traveling with his
students they met a man
from Samaria carrying a
lamb. Jesus said, 'See that
tied up lamb. What do you
think about it?' A student
replied, 'He has the lamb tied
up so he can eat it.' 'Yes,'
Jesus answered, 'but he
cannot eat the lamb while it
is still alive. He must kill it
first, must he not?' His
students agreed, wondering
what might be the teaching.
Jesus continued, 'Take care
you are not likewise tied up
so your spirit will be killed
and made into nothing by
someone else. Only the truly
free have life.'
- anon
60
Alias:
the Samaritan Carrying a Lamb, suggested by Hans-Martin Schenke, needs to be
emphasized: Gos. Thom. 60 is usually translated 'They saw a Samaritan carrying a
lamb on his (i.e., the Samaritan's) way to Judaea.' But the text should certainly be
restored to provide the following translation: 'He (i.e., Jesus) saw a Samaritan
carrying a lamb, when he (i.e., Jesus) was on his way to Judaea.'" (Ancient Christian
Gospels, p. 106)
Robert M. Grant and David Noel Freedman write: "It may be that Jesus is the lamb,
but the details of the saying remain incomprehensible. More probably, the lamb is the
world (see Saying 6 and Commentary). Note that the 'place' of rest is 'within,' as in
Saying 25." (The Secret Sayings of Jesus, pp. 166-167)
Funk and Hoover write: "This is a complex dialogue culminating in the obscure
saying in v. 6. The words attributed to Jesus in vv. 2 and 4 are probably incidental
dialogue (holes in the manuscript make the text difficult to interpret) and so are the
creation of the storyteller. The meaning of the pronouncement in v. 6 is unknown.
The term 'rest' is a special Thomean or gnostic category, meaning 'salvation' (the term
is discussed more fully in the comments on Thom 51:1-2). The saying as a whole is
reminiscent of Thomas 7, which is also probably the invention of Thomas or his
community. For the Thomean use of the term 'carcass' compare Thomas 58. All of
these are reasons for thinking Thomas 60 is the special language of Thomas and not
Jesus. In addition, there is no trace of this kind of language elsewhere in the words
attributed to Jesus." (The Five Gospels, p. 506)
Gerd Ludemann writes: "The meaning of this logion consisting of a dialogue
between Jesus and his disciples is obscure. Nevertheless it is certain that 'alive' (v. 4)
is a key word linking it to Logion 59 and Logion 58. The Gnostics are to seek a place
of rest (= salvation) for themselves (v. 6), so that they are not consumed by the world,
like the lamb, and become a corpse. As the living beigns that they are they cannot be
eaten and become corpses (v. 4)." (Jesus After 2000 Years, p. 620)
Stevan Davies writes: "This theme is peculiar to Thomas in early Christian writing. It
stems from the observation that people do not eat living animals but dead ones
(saying 60), an observation contrasted with the possibility of eating that which is
living, which would entail living from the living one rather than from dead animals
(saying 111)." (http://www.misericordia.edu/users/davies/thomas/jblprot.htm)
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