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- Title
Thomas in Alexandria: Arguments for Locating the Gospel and Book of Thomas in Alexandria.
- Authors
Litwa, M. David
- Abstract
In this article, I argue that the Gospel of Thomas and the Book of Thomas were composed in Alexandria, Egypt. For the Gospel of Thomas, I examine the manuscript attestation and quotations of the gospel from known Alexandrian figures (e.g., Julius Cassianus, Basilideans) and texts (the Gospel according to the Egyptians), and from texts that are arguably Alexandrian (e.g., the Testimony of Truth, Excerpts from Theodotus, and the Naassene discourse). With respect to the Book of Thomas, I examine the treatise's use of the tradent Matthias, the Philonic paradigm of the spiritual athlete, the use of the Alexandrian Apocalypse of Peter, and distinctive overlaps with other Alexandrian figures and texts. Determining the provenance of anonymous ancient texts is hypothetical, but the most reliable and precise evidence for the Gospel and Book of Thomas supports a composition in Alexandria more so than it does the regions of Edessa, Jerusalem, or Antioch.
- Subjects
GOSPEL of Thomas (Coptic Gospel); MANUSCRIPTS; BASILIDEANS; CHRISTIAN Alexandrian school; QUOTATIONS
- Publication
Journal of Biblical Literature, 2024, Vol 143, Issue 1, p163
- ISSN
0021-9231
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.15699/jbl.1431.2024.9