Early Christian Writings Commentary
Title: Gospel of Thomas Commentary: Saying 92
Subheading: This page explores modern interpretations of the Gospel according to Thomas, an ancient text preserved in a Coptic translation at Nag Hammadi and Greek fragments at Oxyrhynchus. With no particular slant, this commentary gathers together quotations from various scholars in order to elucidate the meaning of the sayings, many of which are rightly described as “obscure.”
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From: Early Christian Writings
Related Link:
By:
Horst Balz. (T87)
Bentley Layton. (T68)
Harold W Attridge. (T34)
Jean Doresse. (T81)
Robert Funk. (T71)
Our Ref:
ECST: 014.10.000.T34
ECST: 014.10.000.T68
ECST: 014.10.000.T71
ECST: 014.10.000.T81
ECST: 014.10.000.T87
Nag Hammadi Coptic Text
BLATZ[1]4CM Translator ID: T87
(92) Jesus said: Seek, and you will find; but the things you asked me in those days and I did not tell you then, now I desire to tell them, but you do not ask about them.
LAYTON[2]4CM Translator ID: T68
(92) Jesus said, “Seek and you (plur.) will find. Yet, now I am willing to say the things which you used to ask me about and which I did not say to you; and you are not seeking them.”
DORESSE[3]4CM Translator ID: T81
96 [92]. Jesus says: “Seek and you will find! But the things you have asked me about during these days and which I have not told you up till now, I now want to tell you, so that you will not have to seek them any longer.”
Funk’s Parallels[4]4CM Translator ID: T71
• Matt 7:7-11 KJV
• Matt 21:18-22 KJV
• John 15:16-17 KJV
• John 14:12-14 KJV
• John 16:20-28 KJV
• Mark 11:20-25 KJV
• GHeb 4b (Gospel to the Hebrews)
• DialSav 9-12 (Dialogus Saluatoris)
• DialSav 20 (Dialogus Saluatoris)
Scholarly Quotes
Helmut Koester points out a parallel with John 16:4b-5: “Those things I did not tell you from the beginning when I was with you. Now I am going to the one who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?'”
J. D. Crossan writes: “As in the preceding instance, only the seek/find stich is present; but now it is accompanied by another saying whose meaning is not exactly clear. More significant for my own purpose is the fact that the stich’s version here is in imperative/future format and thus in the second person.”
Funk and Hoover write: “Just as Thom 2:2-4 is an expansion of the basic saying in 2:1, so here 92:2 is an editorial comment on 92:1: it apparently refers to Jesus’ earlier refusal to tell the disciples all his secret knowledge, coupled with the reprimand that his current disciples are not seeking true knowledge. The editorial comment undoubtedly refers to the knowledge (gnosis in Greek) that was important in this branch of the Christian movement.”
Gerd Ludemann writes: “This verse calls on the reader not to give up the search, even though signs of neglect are becoming evident (v. 2b). Gnostic existence is grounded in a ‘religion of searching’.”
References
