page_title: Gospel of Thomas
section_title: Finds and publication
hierarchical_section_title: Gospel of Thomas / Finds and publication
caption_attribution_description: English: folio recto of P. Oxy. 1
context_page_description: The Gospel of Thomas is a non-canonical sayings gospel. It was discovered near Nag Hammadi, Egypt, in December 1945 among a group of books known as the Nag Hammadi library. Scholars speculate that the works were buried in response to a letter from Bishop Athanasius declaring a strict canon of Christian scripture. Scholars have proposed dates of composition as early as AD 60 and as late as AD 140.
  The Coptic-language text, the second of seven contained in what modern-day scholars have designated as Codex II, is composed of 114 sayings attributed to Jesus. Almost two thirds of these sayings resemble those found in the canonical gospels and its editio minor counts more than 80% of parallels, while it is speculated that the other sayings were added from Gnostic tradition. Its place of origin may have been Syria, where Thomasine traditions were strong.
  The introduction states: "These are the hidden words that the living Jesus spoke and Didymos Judas Thomas wrote them down." Didymus and Thomas both mean "twin". The text's authorship by Thomas the Apostle is rejected by modern scholars.
context_section_description: The manuscript of the Coptic text (CG II), found in 1945 at Nag Hammadi, Egypt, is dated at around 340 AD. It was first published in a photographic edition in 1956. This was followed three years later (1959) by the first English-language translation, with Coptic transcription. In 1977, James M. Robinson edited the first complete collection of English translations of the Nag Hammadi texts. The Gospel of Thomas has been translated and annotated worldwide in many languages.
  The original Coptic manuscript is now the property of the Coptic Museum in Cairo, Egypt, Department of Manuscripts.
caption: P. Oxy. 1
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