D.W. Kim, «Where Does It Fit? The Unknown Parables in the Gospel of Thomas», Vol. 94 (2013) 585-595
This article explores the genesis of some parables in the Gospel of Thomas not found elsewhere. They are not thematically related to each other. Then, how many parables exist in the text? In what way are they different or the same in comparison with the canonical Gospels? These parables in Thomas were not excluded from the concern of the post-1960s scholars, but the literary standard was not unified. The Greek fragments (P. Oxy. 654, 1, and 655) do not offer any crucial source in this case, but the Coptic manuscripts (NHC II, 2. 32-51) evince a new insight that the unknown parable tradition is not intended to show dependency on the canonical tradition; rather they commonly provide key evidence which proves the pre-gnostic Jewish sophia tradition.
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WHERE DOES IT FIT?
As a result of the woman’s obedience, the three people ate for many days
and “the meal was not spent†as prophesied by the prophet (v. 16). The
Jewish parable and the Thomasine parable contain different perspectives and
conclusions: that the meal of the Zarephath widow was not consumed while
the Thomasine woman found the jar empty. This does not indicate the
irrelevance of both traditions, but should be perceived as indicating that “the
parable of the empty jar reverses the 1 Kings story†26. The theory of the
transformation of the Thomasine tradition from the narrative of the Jewish
tradition is supported by Waller who opines that the OT passage (story of
the Zarephath widow) was used as a source at the early stage of the
development of Jewish-Christian literature (Thomas) 27.
III. Logion 98: The Parable of the Assassin
Thirdly, there are two males in Logion 98 of Thomas’ gospel. They
are identified neither as farmers nor businessmen. This parable of the
Assassin 28 is only known in the Thomasine tradition. The parable starts
with a graphic description of an act of revenge. The text does not describe
the main reason why the two men became enemies, but reflects the mind
of the powerless man who prepares to kill the rwme _mmegictanoc
(“the powerful manâ€). The narrator of the parable reports the successful
murder plan: “Then he slew the powerful man†(NHC 2, II. 49:20). The
main theme of the violent parable is that “the weak in the end is able to
kill someone powerful†29.
26
See B.B. SCOTT, “The Empty Jarâ€, Forum 3 (1987) 77-80; R. Q. FORD,
“Body Language: Jesus’ Parables of the Woman with the Yeast, the Woman
with the Jar, and the Man with the Swordâ€, Int. 56 (2002) 295-307; T. B.
WOODWARD, “Re-Imagine the World: An Introduction to the Parables of
Jesus.†STRev 46 (2003) 407.
27
E. WALLER, “The Parable of the Leaven: A Sectarian Teaching and the
Inclusion of Womenâ€, USQR 35 (1979-1980) 103.
28
“Jesus said, “The kingdom of the father is like a certain man who
wanted to kill a powerful man. In his own house he drew his sword and stuck
it into the wall in order to find out whether his hand could carry through.
Then he slew the powerful man†(Logion 98). See LAMBDIN, “The Gospel of
Thomas (II, 2)â€, 124-138.
29
Logion 35, which has a close relation with a Q saying (Q 11:21-22), is
familiar with this parable of a strong man, but there is no textual or external
connection. The parable of Q relates that they do not know each other, and
the scene of Thomas is about attacking or robbing a strong man’s house, not
the action of revenge. See Matt 12,29 and Luke 11,21-22. M. MEYER, The
Gospel of Thomas. The Hidden Sayings of Jesus (New York 1992) 104.
PATTERSON, The Gospel of Thomas, 90.
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