People’s Open Bible
Infancy Gospel of Thomas 7
Teacher Admits Jesus' Superior Knowledge
Open in the reader →1(1) When the teacher heard such good familiarity (and) such lines of the first letter Jesus talked about, he was baffled by such teaching and his defense. And the teacher said, “Woe is me! Woe is me! I’ve been baffled and am miserable. I’ve brought shame on myself, taking on this child. (2) “Take (him) away from me, brother, because I can’t bear his gaze, nor the clarity of his word. This child is simply not of this earth. He can even tame fire! Perhaps this child existed before the creation of the world. What kind of womb bore him? What kind of mother raised him? I don’t know. Woe is me, brother! He stupefies me. My mind can’t follow him. I’ve deceived myself, thrice-unhappy as I am. I thought to gain a disciple, and I’m found having a teacher. (3) “Friends, I ponder my shame, old man that I am, that I’ve been defeated by a child. I should be cast out and die, or flee this village because of this child. I can’t be seen any longer among everyone, especially those who saw that I was defeated by a very small child. But what can I say or tell anyone about the lines of the first element? The truth is that I don’t know, friends, because I understand neither the beginning nor the end! (4) “Therefore, brother Joseph, lead him away with salvation into your house, because this child is a great thing – whether a god or an angel or whatever else I might say – I don’t know.”
Composed from original Hebrew, Greek, Latin, and Ge’ez manuscripts, rendered in multiple passes to stay as close to the originals as possible. About this project