The Acts of Thomas

In some ways the Acts of Thomas may be the best known of the Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles, for this is the text that supports the well-known tradition that the apostle Thomas was the missionary who ﬁrst brought Christianity to India. Thomas is not simply one of the apostles in this account, however. He is actually the brother of Jesus, in fact, his identical twin. (The name “Thomas” is an Aramaic word that means “twin.”) Thomas and Jesus as “look alikes” serves a narrative ploy at one point in the story: when Jesus appears from heaven in a married couple’s bedroom, he is mistaken for his mortal twin—creating considerable confusion, since Thomas has just been seen leaving the house (ch. 11). The narrative recounts how Thomas is compelled to go to India, despite his reluctance: his “master” Jesus sells him as a slave to work as a carpenter for the King of India (chaps. 1–3). Both en route and while there Thomas performs miraculous deeds and proclaims a message of asceticism. For him, the gospel means renouncing this world, its wealth (see chaps. 17–24), and its pleasures—especially its sexual pleasures. Even those who are married are urged to refrain from having sexual relations, as children are a distraction on the one hand and are doomed to lives of sin on the other (see chaps. 10–16). The cost of failing to adhere to this gospel message are extreme; in this account we ﬁnd a graphic description of the torments of hell, reserved for those who did not lead lives of strict morality and renunciation, as told by a woman raised from the dead, who has seen the fates of the damned ﬁrst hand (chaps. 51–58). As with other Apocryphal Acts, it is difﬁcult to know when the Acts of Thomas was written; most scholars have dated it to the third century and assumed that it was written in Edessa, the major city of Eastern Syria.

Translation by J. K. Elliott, Apocryphal New Testament (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1993) 447–57; 468–72; used with permission.

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At that time we apostles were all in Jerusalem—Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the taxgatherer, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Cananaean, and Judas the son1 of James—and we portioned out the regions of the world, in order that each one of us might go into the region that fell to him by lot, and to the nation to which the Lord had sent him. By lot India fell to Judas Thomas, also called Didymus. And he did not wish to go, saying that he was not able to travel on account of the weakness of his body. He said, “How can I, being a Hebrew, go among the Indians to proclaim the truth?” And while he was considering this and speaking, the Saviour appeared to him during the night and said to him, “Fear not, Thomas, go away to India and preach the word there, for my grace is with you.” But he would not obey saying, “Wherever you wish to send me, send me, but elsewhere. For I am not going to the Indians.”

And as he was thus speaking and considering, it happened that a merchant named Abban, who had come from India, was there, sent from King Gundaphorus, having received an order from him to buy a carpenter and bring him to him. And the Lord, having seen him walking about in the market at noon, said to him, “Do you wish to buy a carpenter?” He replied, “Yes.” And the Lord said to him, “I have a slave who is a carpenter, and I wish to sell him.” And having said this he showed him Thomas from a distance and agreed with him for three pounds of uncoined silver, and wrote a bill of sale saying, “I, Jesus, son of the carpenter Joseph, declare that I have sold my slave, Judas by name, to you, Abban, a merchant of Gundaphorus,

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king of the Indians.” When the purchase was completed the Saviour took Judas, also called Thomas, and led him to Abban, the merchant. When Abban saw him he said to him, “Is this your master?” The apostle answered and said, “Yes, he is my Lord.” And he said, “I have bought you from him.” And the apostle held his peace.

On the following morning the apostle prayed and entreated the Lord, saying, “I go wherever you wish, O Lord Jesus, your will be done.”2 And he went to the merchant Abban, carrying nothing at all with him, but only his price. For the Lord had given it to him, saying, “Let your worth also be with you along with my grace, wherever you may go.” And the apostle came up with Abban, who was carrying his luggage into the boat. He too began to carry it along with him. And when they had gone on board and sat down, Abban questioned the apostle, saying, “What kind of work do you know?” And he said, “In wood, ploughs and yokes and balances and ships and boats’ oars and masts and small blocks; in stone, pillars and temples and royal palaces.” And Abban the merchant said to him, “We need such a workman.” They began their voyage. And they had a fair wind; and they sailed cheerfully till they came to Andrapolis, a royal city.

And leaving the boat they went into the city. And behold, the sounds of ﬂute-players and water-organs and trumpets echoed round them. And the apostle inquired saying, “What festival is it in this city?” And the inhabitants there answered, “The gods have brought you to keep festival in this city. For the

Brother?

Matt. 6: 10; Luke 22:42.

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king has an only daughter and now he is going to give her to a husband in marriage. This festival, then, which you see to-day, is the rejoicing and public assembly for the marriage. And the king has sent forth heralds to proclaim everywhere that all are to come to the marriage, rich and poor, bond and free, strangers and citizens. But if anyone should refuse and not come to the marriage, he is answerable to the king.’ And Abban, having heard this, said to the apostle, “Let us also go so that we give no offence to the king, especially as we are strangers.” And he said, “Let us go.” And having obtained lodgings at the inn and rested a little they went to the wedding. And the apostle, seeing them all reclining, reclined also in their midst. And they all looked at him as at a stranger, a man coming from a foreign land. And Abban the merchant, being the master, reclined in another place.

And whilst they were eating and drinking, the apostle tasted nothing. Those about him said to him, “Why have you come here, neither eating nor drinking?” And he answered and said to them, “For something greater than food or even drink have I come here, that I might accomplish the will of the king. For the heralds proclaim the wishes of the king, and whoever will not hear the heralds will be liable to the judgement of the king.” When they had dined and drunk, and crowns and perfumes had been brought, each took perfume, and one anointed his face, another his beard, and others different parts of the body. And the apostle anointed the crown of his head, and put a little of the ointment in his nostrils, and dropped it also in his ears, and applied it also to his teeth, and carefully anointed the parts round about his heart; but the crown that was brought to him, wreathed with myrtle and other ﬂowers, he put on his head, and he took

a branch of reed in his hand and held it. And the ﬂute-girl, holding her ﬂute in her hand, went round them all; and when she came to the place where the apostle was she stood over him, playing the ﬂute over his head a long time. And that ﬂute-girl was a Hebrew by race.

And as the apostle looked to the ground, one of the cupbearers stretched forth his hand and struck him. And the apostle, having raised his eyes, looked at the man who had struck him, saying, “My God will forgive you for this wrong in the world to come, but in this world he will show his wonders, and I shall soon see that hand that struck me dragged along by dogs.” And having spoken he began to sing this song: “The maiden is the daughter of the light, On whom rests the majestic splendour of kings; Delightful is the sight of her, Resplendent with brilliant beauty Her garments are like spring ﬂowers Sending forth sweet fragrance. On the crown of her head the king is seated Feeding with his own ambrosia those who live under him. Truth rests upon her head, Joy she shows forth with her feet. Her mouth is opened, and becomingly. Thirty-and-two are they who praise her. Her tongue is like a door-curtain, Drawn back for those who go in. Made by the ﬁrst creator. Her two hands point and make secret signs predicting the chorus of the blessed ages, Her ﬁngers show the gates of the city. Her chamber is bright, Breathing forth scent from balsam and every perfume,

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Sending forth a sweet smell of myrrh and herbs. Within are strewn myrtle-branches and all manner of sweetsmelling ﬂowers, The portal is adorned with reeds.

She is surrounded by her groomsmen, seven in number, Chosen by herself; Her bridesmaids are seven, Who dance before her. Twelve in number are they who minister before her And are at her bidding. Their gaze is attentively directed at the bridegroom, That they be enlightened by his sight, And be for ever with him in that everlasting joy, And sit down at that wedding to which the princes assemble, And abide at the supper, of which the eternal ones are deemed worthy, And put on royal garments, and be dressed in splendid robes That both may rejoice and exult And praise the Father of all, Whose majestic light they have received And have been enlightened by the sight of their Lord, Whose ambrosial food they received, Of which there is no deﬁciency, And drank also of his wine, Which brings to them neither thirst nor desire, And they praised and gloriﬁed with the living spirit The Father of truth and the mother of wisdom.”

And when he had ﬁnished this song all who were present looked at him. He kept silence. They also saw his form

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changed, but they did not understand his words, as he was a Hebrew and his words were spoken in Hebrew. Only the ﬂutegirl understood him, being of the Hebrew race; and leaving him she played the ﬂute to the others, but repeatedly looked back and gazed at him. For she loved him as one belonging to her race, and he was also beautiful in appearance above all who were there. And when the ﬂute-girl had ﬁnished her ﬂute-playing, she sat down opposite him, and looked steadily at him. But he looked at no one at all, neither did he pay attention to any one, but kept his eyes only on the ground, waiting until he could depart. And the cupbearer that struck him came down to the fountain to draw water. And there happened to be a lion there which killed him and left him lying in the place, after tearing his limbs asunder. And dogs immediately seized his limbs, among them a black dog, which grasped his right hand in his mouth and brought it to the place of the banquet.

When they all saw it they were frightened and inquired who was absent. And when it became known that it was the hand of the cupbearer that struck the apostle, the ﬂute-girl broke her ﬂute and threw it away, and went and sat at the feet of the apostle, saying, “This man is either God or God’s apostle. For I heard him say in Hebrew to the cupbearer, ‘I shall soon see the hand that struck me dragged about by dogs.’ This you have now seen. For just as he said, so also it has come to pass.” Some believed her, and some not. And when the king heard of it he came and said to the apostle, “Rise up and go with me, and pray for my daughter. For she is my only child and to-day I give her away in marriage.” And the apostle would not go with him, for the Lord had not yet been revealed to him there. But the king took

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him away against his will to the bridal chamber, that he might pray for them.

And the apostle stood and began to pray and speak thus: “My Lord and my God,3 who accompanies his servants, guide and leader of those who believe in him, refuge and repose of the afﬂicted, hope of the poor and deliverer of the captives, physician of the souls laid low by disease, and saviour of every creature, who gives life to the world and strengthens the souls, you know the future and accomplish it through us; you, Lord, who reveal hidden mysteries and declare secret words; you, Lord, are the planter of the good tree and by your hand all good works are produced; you, Lord, are in all, and come through all, and exist in all your works and make yourself manifest through the working of them all; Jesus Christ, the Son of compassion and perfect Saviour; Christ, Son of the living God, the undaunted power which has overthrown the enemy; the voice, heard by the rulers, which shook all their powers; messenger, sent from on high, who went down even to Hades; who also, having opened the doors, brought out from there those who had been shut in for many ages in the treasuries of darkness, and showed them the way that leads up on high—I beseech you, Lord Jesus, offering you supplication for these young persons, that you may do to them what helps, beneﬁts, and is proﬁtable for them.” And having laid his hands on them and said, “The Lord be with you,” he left them in that place and went away.

The king requested the groomsmen to leave the bridal chamber. When all had left, and the doors were shut, the bridegroom raised the curtain of the bridal chamber, that he might bring the bride to himself. And he saw the Lord

Jesus talking with the bride. He had the appearance of Judas Thomas, the apostle, who shortly before had blessed them and departed; and he said to him, “Did you not go out before them all? And how is it that you are here now?” And the Lord said to him, “I am not Judas Thomas, I am his brother.” And the Lord sat down on the bed and ordered them to sit down on couches, and he began to speak to them.

“Remember, my children, what my brother said to you, and to whom he commended you; and know that if you refrain from this ﬁlthy intercourse you become temples holy and pure, being released from afﬂictions and troubles, known and unknown, and you will not be involved in the cares of life and of children, whose end is destruction. But if you get many children, for their sakes you become grasping and avaricious, plundering orphans and deceiving widows, and by doing this you subject yourselves to most grievous punishments. For most children become unproﬁtable, being possessed by demons, some openly and some secretly. For they become either lunatics or half-withered or crippled or deaf or dumb or paralytics or idiots. And though they be healthy, they will be again good-for-nothing, doing unproﬁtable and abominable works. For they will be detected either in adultery or in murder or in theft or in unchastity, and by all these you will be afﬂicted. But if you obey and preserve your souls pure to God, there will be born to you living children, untouched by these hurtful things, and you will be without care, spending an untroubled life, free from grief and care, looking forward to receive that incorruptible

John 20: 28.

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and true marriage, and you will enter as groomsmen into that bridal chamber full of immortality and light.”

And when the young people heard this, they believed the Lord and gave themselves over to him and refrained from ﬁlthy lust, and remained thus spending the night in the place. And the Lord went away from them saying, “The grace of the Lord be with you!”4 And when dawn came the king arrived, and having furnished the table brought it in before the bridegroom and the bride. And he found them sitting opposite each other, and he found the face of the bride uncovered, and the bridegroom was very cheerful. And the mother came in and said to the bride, “Why do you sit thus, child, and are not ashamed, but act as if you had lived for a long time with your own husband?” And her father said, “Is it because of your great love to your husband that you are unveiled?”

The bride answered and said, “Truly, father, I am in great love, and I pray to my Lord that the love which I have experienced this night may remain, and that I obtain that man whom I have experienced today. That I do not veil myself is because the mirror of shame has been taken away from me; I am no longer ashamed or abashed, since the work of shame and bashfulness has been removed far from me. And that I am not frightened is because alarm did not abide in me. And that I am cheerful and glad is because the day of joy has not been disturbed. And that I have set at naught this husband and these nuptials which have passed away from before my eyes is because I have been joined in a different marriage. And that I had no conjugal intercourse with a temporary husband, whose end is repentance and

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bitterness of soul, is because I have been united to the true husband.”

And when the bride was saying even more, the bridegroom answered and said, “I thank you, Lord, who have been proclaimed by the stranger and found in us; who have put corruption far from me, and have sown life in me, who have delivered me from this disease, hard to heal, hard to cure and abiding for ever, and established in me sound health; who have shown yourself to me, and have revealed to me my condition, in which I am; who have redeemed me from falling, and have led me to something better, and who have released me from things temporary, but have deemed me worthy of things immortal and everlasting; who have humbled yourself to me and my weakness, to place me beside your greatness and to unite with you; who have not kept your compassion from me, who was lost, but have shown me how to seek myself, and to know who I was and who and how I now am, that I may become again what I was; whom I did not know, but you have sought me out; of whom I did not know; but you stood by me; whom I have experienced and am not able to forget; whose love is fervent in me and of whom I cannot speak as I ought. But what I have to say about him is short and very little, and is not in proportion to his glory; but he does not ﬁnd fault with me if I dare to tell him even what I know not; for it is out of love to him I say this.”

And when the king heard these things from the bridegroom and the bride, he rent his garments and said to those standing near him, “Go out

1 Cor. 16: 23.

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quickly, and search the whole city, and seize and bring that man, the sorcerer, who has come by evil chance into this city. For I led him with my own hands into my house, and I told him to pray for my most unfortunate daughter. Whoever shall ﬁnd him and bring him to me, I give him whatever he shall ask of me.” They departed, therefore, and went round seeking him, and did not ﬁnd him; for he had set sail. They also went into the inn where he had stayed, and found there the ﬂutegirl weeping and in distress, because he had not taken her with him. And when they told her what had taken place with the young people, she rejoiced greatly upon hearing it, setting aside her grief, and said, “Now I also have found repose here!” And she arose and went to them, and was with them a long time, until they had instructed the king also. And many of the brethren also met there, until the rumour had spread that the apostle had gone to the cities of India, and was teaching there. And they went away and joined him.

When the apostle came into the cities of India with Abban the merchant, Abban went away to greet King Gundaphorus and told him about the carpenter whom he had brought with him. And the king was glad and ordered him to appear before him. When he had come in the king said to him, “What trade do you know?” The apostle said to him, “That of the carpenter and the housebuilder.” The king said to him, “What work in wood do you know and what in stone?” The apostle said, “In wood, ploughs, yokes, balances, pulleys, and ships and oars and masts; in stone, monuments, temples, and royal palaces.” And the king said, “Will you build me a palace?” And he answered, “Yes, I shall build it and ﬁnish it; for because of this

I have come, to build and to do carpenter’s work.”

And the king, having accepted him, took him out of the gates of the city, and on the way began to discuss with him the building of the palace, and how the foundations should be laid, till they came to the place where the work was to be carried out. And he said, “Here is where I wish the building to be!” And the apostle said, “Yes, this place is suitable for the building.” For the place was wooded and there was water there. And the king said, “Begin at once!” And he answered, “I cannot commence now.” The king said, “When can you?” He said, “I shall begin in November and ﬁnish in April.” And the king was surprised, and said, “Every building is built in the summer, but can you build and ﬁnish a palace in the winter?” And the apostle replied “Thus it must be done; it is impossible any other way.” And the king said, “If you have resolved upon this, draw a plan for me how the work is to be done, since I shall come here after some time.” And the apostle took a reed, measured the place, and marked it out: the doors to be set towards the rising of the sun, to face the light; the windows toward the west, to the winds; the bakehouse he made toward the south; and the water-pipes necessary for the supply toward the north. When the king saw this, he said to the apostle, “You are truly a craftsman, and it is ﬁtting that you should serve kings.” And having left a lot of money with him, he went away.

And at the appointed times the king sent coined silver and the necessities for his and the workmen’s living. And the apostle took everything and divided it, going about in the cities and surrounding villages, distributing to the

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poor and needy, and bestowing alms, and gave them relief, saying, “The king knows that he will receive royal recompense, but the poor must be refreshed, as their condition requires it.” After this the king sent a messenger to the apostle, having written the following: “Let me know what you have done or what I should send to you or what you need.” The apostle sent word to him saying, “The palace is built, and only the roof remains to be done.” Upon hearing this the king sent him again gold and uncoined silver and wrote, “If the palace is built, let it be roofed.” And the apostle said to the Lord, “I thank you, Lord, in every respect, that you died for a short time, that I may live in you for ever, and that you have sold me, to deliver many through me.” And he did not cease to teach and refresh the afﬂicted, saying, “The Lord has dispensed this to you and he gives to each his food. For he is the support of the orphans and the nourisher of the widows, and rest and repose to all who are afﬂicted.”

When the king came to the city he inquired of his friends concerning the palace which Judas, surnamed Thomas, had built for him. And they said to him, “He has neither built a palace, nor did he do anything of that which he promised to do, but he goes about in the cities and villages, and if he has anything he gives it to the poor, and teaches a new God, heals the sick, drives out demons, and performs many miracles. And we believe that he is a magician. But his acts of compassion and the cures done by him as a free gift, still more his simplicity and gentleness and ﬁdelity, show that he is a just man, or an apostle of the new God, whom he preaches. For he continually fasts and prays and eats only bread with salt, and

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his drink is water, and he wears one coat, whether in warm weather or in cold, and he takes nothing from anyone but gives to others what he has.” Upon hearing this the king hit his face with his hands, shaking his head for a long time.

And he sent for the merchant who had brought him, and for the apostle, and said to him, “Have you built the palace?” And he said, “Yes, I have built it.” The king said, “When shall we go to inspect it?” And he answered and said, “Now you cannot see it, but you shall see it when you depart this life.” And the king was very angry and ordered both the merchant and Judas Thomas to be bound and cast into prison, until he should ﬁnd out to whom the property of the king had been given, and so destroy him and the merchant. And the apostle went to prison rejoicing and said to the merchant, “Fear nothing, believe only in the God who is preached by me, and you shall be freed from this world, and obtain life in the world to come.” And the king considered by what death he should kill them. He decided to ﬂog them and burn them with ﬁre. On that very night Gad, the king’s brother, fell ill; and through the grief and disappointment which the king had suffered he was grievously depressed. And having sent for the king he said to him, “Brother and king, I commend to you my house and my children. For I have been grieved on account of the insult that has befallen you, and lo, I am dying, and if you do not proceed against the life of that magician you will give my soul no rest in Hades.” And the king said to his brother, “I considered the whole night by what death I should kill him, and I have decided to ﬂog him and burn him with ﬁre, together with the merchant who brought him.”

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While they were talking, the soul of Gad, his brother, departed, and the king mourned for Gad exceedingly, because he loved him, and ordered him to be prepared for burial in a royal and costly robe. While this was going on, angels received the soul of Gad, the king’s brother, and took it up into heaven, showing him the places and mansions there, asking him, “In what place do you wish to dwell?” And when they came near the ediﬁce of the apostle Thomas, which he had erected for the king, Gad, upon beholding it, said to the angels, “I entreat you, my lords, let me dwell in one of these lower chambers.” But they said to him, “In this building you cannot dwell.” And he said, “Why not?” They answered, “This palace is the one which that Christian has built for your brother.” But he said, “I entreat you, my lords, allow me to go to my brother to buy this palace from him. For my brother does not know what it is like, and he will sell it to me.”

And the angels let the soul of Gad go. And as they were putting on him the burial robe his soul came into him. And he said to those standing round him, “Call my brother to me, that I may beg of him a request.” Straightway they sent the good news to their king, saying, “Your brother has become alive again!” And the king arose and with a great multitude went to his brother. And coming in he went to the bed as if stupeﬁed, unable to speak to him. And his brother said, “I know and I am convinced, brother, that if anyone had asked of you the half of your kingdom, you would give it for my sake. Wherefore I entreat you to grant one favour, which I beg of you to do: that you sell to me that which I ask from you.” And the king answered and said, “And what is it that you wish

me to sell to you?” And he said, “Assure me by an oath that you will grant it to me.” And the king swore to him, “Whatever of my possession you ask, I will give you.” And he said to him, “Sell me the palace which you have in heaven.” And the king said, “A palace in heaven— where does this come to me from?” And he said, “It is the one that Christian built for you, the man who is now in prison, whom the merchant brought, having bought him from a certain Jesus. I mean that Hebrew slave whom you wished to punish, having suffered some deception from him, on account of whom I also was grieved and died, and now have come alive again.”

Then the king heard and understood his words about the eternal beneﬁts that were conferred upon him and destined for him, and said, “That palace I cannot sell you, but I pray to be permitted to enter into it and to dwell there, being deemed worthy to belong to its inhabitants. And if you really wish to buy such a palace, behold, the man is alive, and will build you a better one than that.” And immediately he sent and brought the apostle out of prison, and the merchant who had been shut up along with him, saying, “I entreat you; as a man entreating the servant of God; pray for me, and ask him, whose servant you are, to pardon me and to overlook what I have done to you or intended to do, and that I may become worthy to be an inhabitant of that house for which indeed I have done nothing, but which you, labouring alone, have built for me with the help of the grace of your God, and that I may also become a servant and serve this God, whom you preach.” His brother also fell down before the apostle and said, “I entreat you and supplicate before your God that I may become worthy of this service

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and become partaker of that which was shown to me by his angels.” . . .

Now there was a certain young man, who had committed a nefarious deed. He came and partook of the eucharist. And his two hands withered, so that he could no longer put them to his mouth. When those present saw him, they told the apostle what had happened. And the apostle called him and said, “Tell me, my son, and be not afraid of what you have done before you came here. For the eucharist of the Lord has convicted you. For this gift, by entering many, brings healing, especially to those who come in faith and love; but you it has withered away, and what has happened has happened not without some justiﬁcation.” And the young man convicted by the eucharist of the Lord came up, fell at the apostle’s feet, and besought him and said, “An evil deed has been done by me, whilst I thought to do something good. I loved a woman who lived in an inn outside the city, and she loved me also. And when I heard about you, believing that you proclaim the living God, I came and received the seal from you along with the others. And you said, ‘Whoever shall indulge in impure intercourse, especially in adultery, shall not have life with the God whom I preach.’ As I loved her very much, I entreated her and tried to persuade her to live with me in chaste and pure conduct, as you teach. And she would not. Since she would not, I took a sword and killed her. For I could not see her commit adultery with another.”

When the apostle heard this he said, “O insane intercourse, how you lead to shamelessness! O unrestrained lust, how have you excited this man to do this! O work of the serpent, how you rage in your own!” And the

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apostle ordered some water to be brought in a dish. And when the water had been brought he said, “Come, waters from the living waters; everlasting, sent to us from the everlasting; rest, sent to us from the one who gives rest; power of salvation, proceeding from that power which overcomes all and subjects it to its will— come and dwell in these waters, that the gift of the Holy Spirit may be completely fulﬁlled in them!” And to the young man he said, “Go, wash your hands in these waters.” And when he had washed them they were restored. And the apostle said to him, “Do you believe in our Lord Jesus Christ, that he can do all things?” And he said, “Though I am the least, yet I believe. But I did this in the hope of doing something good. For I entreated her, as I told you already, but she would not be persuaded by me to keep herself chaste.”

And the apostle said to him, “Come, let us go to the inn where you committed the deed, and let us see what happened.” And the young man went before the apostle on the road. When they had come to the inn they found her lying there. And when the apostle saw her he was sad, for she was a beautiful girl. And he ordered her to be brought into the middle of the inn. And putting her on a couch they carried it out and set it in the midst of the courtyard of the inn. And the apostle laid his hand on her and began to say, “Jesus, who appear to us at all times—for this is your will, that we should always seek you, and you have given us the right to ask and to receive, and have not only permitted us this, but have also taught us how to pray— who are not seen by us with the bodily eyes, but who are never hidden from those of our soul, and who are hidden in form, but manifested to us by your works; by your many deeds we have recognized

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you as much as we are able, and you have given us your gifts without measure saying, ‘Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall ﬁnd; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.’5 We pray, therefore, being afraid of our sins. And we ask you not for riches or gold or silver or possessions or any of those things that come from earth and go into the earth again; but we beg of you and entreat that in your holy name you raise this woman lying here by your power, to your glory and to an awakening of faith in those who stand by.”

And he said to the young man, after sealing him, “Go and take her hand and say to her, ‘With iron I killed you with my hands, and with my hands I raise you because of faith in Jesus.’ ” And the young man went and stood by her, saying, “I have believed in you, O Christ Jesus.” And looking upon Judas Thomas the apostle, he said to him, “Pray for me, that my Lord, upon whom I call, may come to my help.” And laying his hand on her hand he said, “Come, Lord Jesus Christ, give her life and me the reality of your faith.” And he drew her by the hand, and she sprang up and sat looking at the great multitude standing around. And she also saw the apostle standing opposite her, and leaving her couch she sprang up and fell at his feet and took hold of his garments, saying, “I pray, Lord, where is your companion who has not left me to remain in that fearful and grievous place, but has given me up to you, saying, ‘Take this one, that she may be made perfect, and thereafter be brought into her own place.’?”

And the apostle said to her, “Tell us where you have been.” And she answered, “Do you, who were with me, to whom also I was entrusted, wish to hear?” And she commenced thus:

“An ugly-looking man, entirely black, received me; and his clothing was exceedingly ﬁlthy. And he took me to a place where there were many chasms, and a great stench and most hateful vapour were given forth thence. And he made me look into each chasm, and in the ﬁrst I saw blazing ﬁre, and ﬁery wheels running, and souls were hung upon these wheels, dashing against each other. And there was crying and great lamentation and no Saviour was there. And that man said to me, ‘These souls are akin to you, and in the days of reckoning they were delivered to punishment and destruction. And then others are brought in their stead; in like manner all these are again succeeded by others. These are they who perverted the intercourse of man and wife.’ And again I looked down, and saw infants heaped upon each other, struggling and lying upon each other. And he said to me, ‘These are their children, and for this they are placed here for a testimony against them.’

“And he brought me to another chasm, and as I looked into it I saw mud and worms spouting forth, and souls wallowing there; and I heard a great gnashing of teeth come from them. And that man said to me, ‘These are the souls of women who left their husbands and committed adultery with others, and they have been brought to this torment.’ And he showed me another chasm, and looking into it I saw souls hung up, some by the tongue, some by the hair, some by the hands, others by the feet, head downward, and reeking with smoke and sulphur. Concerning these the man who accompanied me said the following: ‘The souls hung up by the tongue are slander-

Matt 7:7.

THE ACTS OF THOMAS

ers and such as have spoken false and disgraceful words and are not ashamed. Those hung up by their hair are the shameless, who are not ashamed at all and go about with uncovered heads in the world. Those hung up by the hands are they who took that which did not belong to them and have stolen, and who never gave anything to the poor, nor helped the afﬂicted; but they did so because they wished to get everything, and cared neither for law nor right. And these hung up by the feet are those who lightly and eagerly walked in wicked ways and disorderly paths, not visiting the sick nor escorting those who depart this life. On this account each soul receives what it has done.’

“And again he led me forth and showed me a very dark cavern, exhaling a very bad stench. Many souls were peeping out thence, wishing to get some share of the air. And their keepers would not let them look out. And my companion said to me, ‘This is the prison of those souls which you saw. For when they have fully received their punishment for that which each has done, others succeed them. Some are fully consumed, others are given up to other punishments.’ And the keepers of the souls in the dark cavern said to the man that had charge of me, ‘Give her to us, that we may bring her to the others till the time comes when she is handed over to punishment.’ But he said to them, ‘I will not give her to you, because I am afraid of him who delivered her to me. For I was not told to leave her here; I shall take her back with me, till I get an injunction about her.’ And he took me and brought me to another place, where there were men who were cruelly tortured. He who is like you took me and gave me up to you, saying to you, ‘Take her, for she is one of the sheep which have wan-

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dered away.’ And received by you, I now stand before you; I beg, therefore, and supplicate you that I may not come to those places of punishment which I have seen.”

And the apostle said, “You have heard what this woman has recounted. And these are not the only punishments, but there are others worse than these. And you too, unless you turn to the God whom I preach, and abstain from your former works and from the deeds which you did in ignorance, shall ﬁnd your end in these punishments. Believe, therefore, in Christ Jesus, and he will forgive you the former sins and will cleanse you from all your bodily desires that remain on the earth, and will heal you from the faults that follow after you and go along with you and are found before you. Let every one of you put off the old man and put on the new,6 and leave your former course of conduct and behaviour. Those who steal, let them steal no more, but let them live, labouring and working.7 The adulterers are no more to commit adultery, lest they give themselves up to everlasting punishment. For with God adultery is an evil exceedingly wicked above all other evils. Put away also covetousness and lying and drunkenness and slandering, and do not return evil for evil!8 For all these are alien and strange to the God whom I preach. But walk rather in faith and meekness and holiness and hope, in which God rejoices, that you may become his kinsmen, expecting from him those gifts which only a few receive.”

59 6

The whole people therefore believed and presented obedient

Cf. Col. 3: 9.

Cf. Eph. 4: 28.

Cf. I Pet. 3: 9.

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NON-CANONICAL ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

souls to the living God and Christ Jesus, rejoicing in the blessed works of the Most High and in his holy service. And they brought money for the service of the widows. For he had them gathered together in the cities, and he sent to all of them by his deacons what was necessary, both clothing as well as food. He himself did not cease to preach and to speak to them and to show that this Jesus is the Messiah of whom the Scriptures have spoken that he should be cruciﬁed and be raised after three days from the dead. He also showed to them and explained, beginning from the prophets, what was said concerning the Messiah, that it was necessary for him to come, and that everything had to be accomplished which had been prophesied

of him. And the fame of him spread over all the cities and villages, and all who had sick persons or such as were troubled by unclean spirits brought them to him; and some they laid on the road by which he was to pass, and he healed all by the power of the Lord. And those who were healed by him said with one accord and one voice, “Glory to you, Jesus, who in like manner has given healing to all through your servant and apostle Thomas! And being in good health and rejoicing, we pray that we may become members of your ﬂock and be counted among your sheep. Receive us, therefore, O Lord, and consider not our trespasses and our former transgressions, which we did while we were in ignorance!”