Texts in Conversation
In the Gospel of Thomas, Jesus says that of two on a couch, one will die and one will live. Clement of Alexandria has Salome ask how long people will die, and explains that a person can mean the outward body or the soul, one saved and one not.
Share:
2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Gospel of Thomas 1:61
Nag Hammadi
60 They saw a Samaritan carrying a lamb on his way to Judea. He said to his disciples, “Why is that man carrying the lamb?” They said to him, “So that he may kill it and eat it.” He said to them, “While it is alive, he will not eat it, but only when he has killed it and it has become a corpse.” They said, “Otherwise he cannot do it.” He said to them, “So also with you: seek for yourselves a place of rest, lest you become a corpse and be eaten.” 61 Jesus said, “Two will rest on a couch; one will die, one will live.” Salome said, “Who are you, man? As if from One, you have ascended onto my couch and eaten at my table.” Jesus said, “I am he who comes from the one who is whole. I was given from my Father’s things.” Salome said, “I am your disciple.” Jesus said, “For this reason I say, if one is whole, he will be filled with light; but if he is divided, he will be filled with darkness.” 62 Jesus said, “I speak my mysteries to those [who are worthy] of my mysteries. Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.”
Early Christian
Their birth is the soul's corruption, since then we are "dead in sins." And this is the incontinence referred to as "female." Birth and the corruption chiefly involved in the creation must necessarily continue until the achievement of complete separation and the restoration of the elect, on whose account even the beings mingled with this world are restored to their proper condition. It is probably therefore with reference to the consummation that Salome says: "Until when shall men die?" The Scripture uses the word "man" in two senses, the outward man and the soul, and again of him who is being saved and him who is not; and sin is said to be the death of the soul. That is why the Lord gave a cautious answer-" As long as women bear children," that is, as long as the desires are active.
Date: 195 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Search:
Notes and References
“... Those who propose that 61.1 is a discrete saying tend to produce rather banal interpretations of it, as an aphorism about the inevitability of death, or about ‘the uncertainty and capriciousness of human life’, or as ‘a proverb counseling resignation in the face of unpredictable disasters’. There is an interesting parallel to this saying, where Salome asks how long death will continue, and Jesus replies that one element will be saved (the soul), but the other, visible, element will not. The meaning of GTh 61.1 here in Thomas could be anthropological, as in that interpretation, or it could be a more traditional statement contrasting two human destinies. ...”
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
Your Feedback:
Leave a Comment
Anonymous comments are welcome. All comments are subject to moderation.
User Comments
,