New Developments in the Study of the Syriac Infancy Gospel of Thomas

May 14, 2007 by Tony

As part of my efforts to unravel the complexities of the transmission history of the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, I have begun the process of collecting and collating the various Syriac manuscripts of the text. The Syriac tradition of IGT is very important—it is among the earliest evidence we have for the text (two manuscripts are from the 5/6th century) and it is the best witness for the “short” version of the text, a version that is likely to be closer to the original than the longer versions we have in the Greek manuscripts.

The evidence for Syriac IGT comes in three forms:

1. Two manuscripts featuring a compilation of the Protevangelium of James, the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, and the Assumption of the Virgin. One of these (London, British Library, Add. 14484 of the sixth century; =SyrW) was published in 1865. The second (Göttingen, Universitätsbibliothek, Syr. 10 of the fifth or sixth century; =SyrG) was collated against the first in 1993/1994. I have obtained copies of both manuscripts and confirmed their contents. Both contain apparent omissions (that is, when compared with what is known about the short version from other witnesses): SyrW is missing sections of chs. 6, 7 and 15; SyrG is missing sections of chs. 4, 5, 7, 19 and all of chs. 14 and 15.

2. The Nestorian Life of Mary: this compilation includes the Protevangelium of James, material incorporated also in the Arabic Infancy Gospel, IGT, episodes from the canonical gospels, the Assumption of the Virgin, and an account of several miracles worked through Mary’s intercession. The entire text was published from two manuscripts in 1899, though the IGT material was extant in only one of the manuscripts (a personal copy commissioned by the editor but based on a 13/14th century original; =SyrB). The IGT material has been shuffled around in the text; it consists of chs. 4, 6, 7, 11-16 (thus filling in some of the sections missing in SyrW and SyrG). A number of other manuscripts are known of the Nestorian Life of Mary. One of these, Urmia 43, was believed lost. However, it appears now that it is housed at the Speer Library of the Theological Seminary at Princeton (Clemons 346). Apparently related to the Nestorian tradition is a Vatican manuscript Vat. syr. 159, dated1622/1623; =SyrP) of which only chs. 5-8 have appeared (translated into French). The full extent of this text has yet to be determined.

3. The Jacobite Life of Mary: Another compilation featuring the Protevangelium of James, the Vision of Theophilus, IGT, and the Assumption of the Virgin. Only the Vision section of this text has been published to date. I have obtained two of the available manuscripts (Mingana syr. 5 and 48). These manuscripts provide us (finally) with complete copies of the Syriac IGT. I have yet to finish translating their contents, but the results so far are promising.

In the months ahead I will continue the process of hunting down and obtaining copies of the known manuscripts of the text—a process made difficult by the confusion in previous scholarship about which manuscript belongs to which tradition (Jacobite or Nestorian) and by what seems to be a poorly-documented exchange of manuscripts between institutions. I have promised a paper on the Syriac tradition of IGT for the September Workshop at York University. By that time I will at least be able to present an edition of the still-unpublished (yet important) Jacobite tradition.

For more information on the Syriac IGT, see the Infancy Gospel of Thomas section of my web site.

Leave a Reply