From: "Mark Goodacre" Organization: Fac of Arts:The Univ. of Birmingham To: "Antonio Jerez" , crosstalk@info.harpercollins.com Date: Mon, 16 Feb 1998 14:53:40 GMT Subject: Re: Thomas and allegory Dear Antonio Many thanks for the interesting comments on allegory in Thomas -- all food for thought. I have just a couple of comments at this stage: > I also took a look at the Vineyard - Thomas 65 - and > found much the same pattern there. There is nothing > as far as I see that says that the parable in Thomas is > totally unallegorical. Basically it is just as allegorical as > the version in Mark. Thomas leaves out the last allegorical > detail about the fate of the tenant farmers. > This parable can in its proper Jewish context ONLY > be understood as an allegory about Israel, its leaders, > the fate of the prophets and the fate of Jesus (the son). > The parable started its life as an allegory and has only > a meaning as an allegory. There are a couple of other relevant features. None of the servants die in Thomas -- the drama rises to a climax with the death of the Son at the end, as in Luke. In Mark and Matthew, on the other hand, the servants are killed. This is usually taken as an allegory on the death of the prophets, a favourite theme especially of Matthew. Second, the Synoptics all talk about the Son as AGAPHTOS, unlike Thomas (relying on the English translation, though; I don't know what the equivalent Coptic might be). This rings an obvious bell -- the AGAPHTOS son of the baptism / transfiguration. A small point, but one that solidifies the identification between the 'son' in the parable and Jesus. > > As for the Great Supper, Thomas 64, I think Mark > conceded to much when he said that "appears > markedly less allegorical than Matthew's or Luke's". > It is true compared to Matthew, but certainly not > compared to Luke. Luke is on the whole about as > allegorical or nonallegorical as Thomas. The additional allegory that I see in Luke is the extra mission at the end of the account, traditionally taken (and I agree) as an allegory of the Gentile mission, the renegade Jews already having been allowed in from the highways and byways. All the best Mark -------------------------------------- Dr Mark Goodacre M.S.Goodacre@bham.ac.uk Dept of Theology, University of Birmingham Homepage: http://www.bham.ac.uk/theology/goodacre.htm