Texts in Conversation
In the Gospel of Thomas, moth and worm cannot destroy lasting treasure. In the Gospel of Truth, people must not become moth or worm, using the same destructive creatures to warn about how people behave.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Gospel of Thomas 76
Nag Hammadi
75 Jesus said, “Many are standing at the door, but the solitary are the ones who will enter the bridal chamber.” 76 Jesus said, “The kingdom of the Father is like a merchant who had merchandise and found a pearl. That merchant was prudent; he sold the merchandise and bought the single pearl for himself. You too seek his unfailing treasure that is enduring, where neither moth approaches to devour nor worm destroys.” 77 Jesus said, “I am the light that is over all things. I am the All; the All came forth from me, and to me the All has come. Split a piece of wood, and I am there. Lift up the stone, and you will find me there.”
Gospel of Truth 12:6
Nag Hammadi
Be concerned about yourselves alone. Do not concern yourselves with others, those you have expelled from your midst. What you have vomited, return not to it to eat. Be not moths. Be not worms, given that already you are throwing it away. Be not a place for the devil, given that already you have annihilated him. Do not strengthen your hindrances, those stumbling, like a reinforcement,
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Notes and References
“... 76.3 As for you, seek his unfailing and enduring treasure. The antecedent of ‘his’ can easily be taken as the Father in 76.1 (not the merchant). This statement has a complicated tradition history (cf. esp. Matt. 6.19–20; Lk. 12.33). Its sense is clear enough, however. 76.3 Where no moth comes near to eat and no worm destroys. The pair ‘moth’ and ‘worm’ is unparalleled in the Synoptics, but appears in what looks like an interpretation of this saying in Gos. Truth 32,31–33,32, which begins with reference to the light ‘which does not fail’ [...] and instructs the disciple, ‘Do not be moths. Do not be worms’ (33,16–17). The association of moths and worms in the parable therefore looks like a second-century variant. ...”
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