The Gospel of Thomas in English, Haitian Creole and French Levanjil Toma a nan lang angle, kreyòl ayisyen ak franse Évangile selon Thomas en anglais, créole haïtien et français Edited by Benjamin Hebblethwaite and Jacques Pierre Translated by Hans-Gebhard Bethge Benjamin Hebblethwaite and Jacques Pierre and Michel Weber Includes introduction in Haitian Creole and English: The Gospel of Thomas in its Historical Context by Benjamin Hebblethwaite and Jacques Pierre Classic Editions Gainesville, Florida 2005 Copyright © 2005 Benjamin Hebblethwaite, Jacques Pierre, Hans-Gebhard Bethge and Michel Weber All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, digitizing or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher. Short excerpts may be cited. Classic Editions 4221 NW 19th Street Gainesville, Florida 32605 United States of America Printed in the United States of America and the United Kingdom by Lightning Source, Inc. First Edition Cover Design by Don Miller: The photograph was taken by Don Miller in Belle-Rivière (Bèl Rivyè), a village in South-Eastern Haiti, in November 2004. The lettering on the lower edge is from the original Coptic manuscript of The Gospel of Thomas. The photograph was kindly provided by the Institute for Antiquity and Christianity in Claremont, California. Cataloging-in-Publication Data: The Gospel of Thomas in its Historical Context / Introduction by Benjamin Hebblethwaite and Jacques Pierre. Includes bibliographical references. The Gospel of Thomas in English, Haitian Creole and French / English translation by Hans-Gebhard Bethge, Haitian Creole translation by Benjamin Hebblethwaite and Jacques Pierre and French translation by Michel Weber. ISBN 0-9765196-0-7 (Paperback) ISBN 0-9765196-1-5 (Hardback) Library of Congress Control Number: 2005900308 I. Hebblethwaite, Benjamin, 1971. II. Pierre, Jacques, 1970. III. Bethge, Hans-Gebhard. IV. Weber, Michel, 1963. V. Title Key words: 1. Gospel of Thomas – Criticism, interpretation, etc. 2. Gnosticism. 3. Apocrypha. 4. The New Testament. 5. Early Christianity. 6. Nag Hammadi codices 7. Foreign Languages – Haitian Creole, French. 8. Polyglot 9. Jesus Logia. 10. Religion. 11. Apostle Thomas. For Dr. Gregory Riley in thanks for an excellent New Testament class in the spring of 1995. Nou dedye liv sa a pou Gregory Riley (Doktè nan domèn relijyon), nou te gen chans suiv yon kou nan men li sou Nouvo Kontra a nan lane 1995. Contents — Sa k nan liv la — Table des matières Levanjil Toma a nan kontèks istorik li 6 Benjamin Hebblethwaite ak Jacques Pierre The Gospel of Thomas in its Historical Context 7 Benjamin Hebblethwaite and Jacques Pierre The Gospel of Thomas in English 46 Translated from the Coptic by Hans-Gebhard Bethge et al. Levanjil Toma a an kreyòl ayisyen 47 Pou tradiksyon vèsyon angle a an kreyòl ayisyen Benjamin Hebblethwaite ak Jacques Pierre Évangile selon Thomas en français 47 Traduit de l’anglais par Michel Weber Levanjil Toma a nan kontèks istorik li Benjamin Hebblethwaite ak Jacques Pierre The Gospel of Thomas in its Historical Context Benjamin Hebblethwaite and Jacques Pierre Levanjil Toma a nan kontèks istorik li Benjamin Hebblethwaite ak Jacques Pierre Entwodiksyon Nan liv sa a, aspè lengwistik, espirityèl ak istorik fè yon sèl. Objèktif nou se te fè reviv Apòt Toma a ak ansèyman li sou Jezi. Entwodiksyon an chita tradisyon Toma nan istwa konplèks ak kad entètekstyèl li. Nan tradiksyon nou sou Levanjil Toma a, nou bat pou n itilize yon langaj fasil pou n ka rann tèks la fasil pou nou konprann. Prezantasyon tèks Toma an ann angle, kreyòl ayisyen ak franse sou yon menm paj ap pèmèt lèktè yo wè pi rapid ki jan ajansman fraz yo fèt, enpi ki mo nou itilize kòm ekivalan soti nan yon lang pou ale nan yon lòt. Pwojè sa a te konmanse nan lane 2003. Baz vèsyon Levanjil Toma a an kreyòl ayisyen ak franse chita sou tradiksyon angle Pwofesè Hans-Gebhard Bethge a. Nou chwazi itilize tradiksyon Pwofesè Bethge a paske se tradiksyon angle ki pi fasil pou li epi ki pi klè pou pèmèt tout moun konprann Levanjil Toma a. Dezi nou se pou travay sa a ki nan plizyè lang kapab ensite kreyolofòn yo ki ta enterese fouye sou Toma pi plis jwenn yon dokiman preliminè ki va gide yo pou ale pi lwen nan rechèch yo. Akote vèsyon angle Bethge a, nou sèvi ak vèsyon angle Koester ak Lambdin nan (nan Robinson 1978) epi ak vèsyon Stollman nan ki nan lang nelandè (2003). Nan konmansman lane 2004, Pwofesè Hans-Gebhard Bethge, yon Chèchè nan Fakilte Teyoloji nan Inivèsite Houmbòl (Humboldt) nan vil Bèlen ki chita nan peyi Lalmay, te jantiman ban nou pèmisyon li pou itilize vèsyon angle li a ki te parèt premye fwa nan yon liv ki rele The Fifth Gospel (Patterson elatriye 1998). Pwofesè Bethge te ajoute kèk chanjman ak korèksyon nan vèsyon sa nou gen ki nan liv la. Nan lane 2004 tou, Pwofesè Michel Weber, yon Chèchè nan Enstiti siperyè Filozofi nan Inivèsite Katolik nan Louven-la-Nèv ki chita nan peyi Labèljik, te di nou li dakò pou l pare yon nouvo vèsyon franse k ap baze sou tèks pwofesè Bethge a tou. Nou byen kontan ofri piblik la bèl ti travay sa a ak lèspwa jefò sa a ap rafrechi memwa yo sou Krisyanis la epi tou ede yo nan etid y ap fè sou kreyòl ayisyen, angle ak franse. The Gospel of Thomas in its Historical Context by Benjamin Hebblethwaite and Jacques Pierre Introduction Linguistic, spiritual and historical strands intertwine in this book. Our aim has been to revive the Apostle Thomas and his teachings on Jesus. The introduction situates the Thomas tradition in its complex historical and intertextual setting. In our translations of The Gospel of Thomas we strive to use flowing language in order to open up the ideas of this scripture. The multilingual facing-page format gives readers an opportunity to enrich their knowledge of English, Haitian Creole or French by means of immediate feedback. Our project began in the year 2003. The base version of The Gospel of Thomas in Haitian Creole and French is the English translation by Dr. Hans-Gebhard Bethge. We chose to use Dr. Bethge’s translation because it is reliable and readable; it allows everyone to grasp the teachings in The Gospel of Thomas. Alongside Dr. Bethge’s English version, we used Koester and Lambdin’s English version (in Robinson 1978) and Stollman’s Dutch version (2003). Our wish is that this multilingual tool will spur the emergence of full-fledged Creolophone Coptic scholars who can prepare a definitive version. In early 2004, Dr. Hans-Gebhard Bethge, Professor in the Theology Faculty at Humboldt University in Berlin, Germany, kindly granted us permission to use his English version which appeared first in a book entitled The Fifth Gospel (Patterson et al. 1998). Dr. Bethge has also made various changes and corrections to the text appearing here. Also in 2004, Dr. Michel Weber, Researcher at the Institut supérieur de Philosophie of the Université catholique in Louvain- la-Neuve, Belgium, agreed to prepare a new French version also based upon Dr. Bethge’s text. We are very happy to offer the public this precious scripture in a format that is sure to refresh the understanding of Christianity and advance the knowledge of English, Haitian Creole and French. 8 Levanjil Toma a nan kontèks istorik li Nan pwochen pati a, nou pral antre nan yon analiz istorik pou n konnen pi plis sou Levanjil Toma a. Nan tout rès travay la, n ap rele li Toma. Toma nan kontèks istorik li Toma se yon kolèksyon pawòl ak ansèyman ki entèprete sa Jezi te di. Toma reflete yon bann kouran entèlektyèl, filozofik ak espirityèl nan monn ansyen an. Tankou liv ki fòme Nouvo Kontra a nan Bib la, vèsyon orijinal Toma a te ekri nan lang grèk okonmansman, konsa li gen mak kilti sa a. Toma soti nan yon epòk kote Anpi Women an te domine monn mediteraneyen an, konsa tou li pote mak anpi sa a. Pi fò nan gwo save biblik yo kwè Toma te parèt nan ane 60 rive 100 nan premye syèk la, sa vle di 30 a 70 ane konsa apre Jezi te mouri (Patterson 1998; Riley 1995; Pagels 2003). Gen lòt save tou ki di Toma te parèt nan lane 140 yo konsa. Nou dakò ak premye pozisyon an; nou panse Toma te soti nan premye syèk la akoz fason Toma mare ansanm avèk levanjil kanonik Jan an tankou nou pral wè sa pi devan. Nan sans sa, lè n di kanonik, n ap pale de yon mouvman ki parèt nan katriyèm syèk la. Lè sa a, Legliz Katolik la te konmanse chwazi kèk liv li konsidere ki sakre, kidonk pawòl liv sa yo soti nan bouch Bondye. Toma kanpe sou tout tradisyon Jwif la, espesyalman liv Jenèz la nan Bib la ak literati hekalòt [“hekalot”] epi mèkaba tou [“Merkabah”] (Pagels 2003: 101; Toma 85). Toma gen yon aspè Nòstik tou. Nòstisis se te yon mouvman espirityèl ki te kwè moun kapab jwenn Bondye anndan yo menm (Pagels 2003: 121; Toma 70). Epòk Toma soti a, gwo filozòf tankou Epikiris [“Epicurus”] ak Epiktetis [“Epictetus”] te gen pawòl ak ansèyman pa yo kolekte nan ti liv pa yo. Ti liv sa yo t ap sikile depi se kote yo t ap vann liv. (Sonje, poutèt liv yo te fèt alamen, yo te koute tout yon fòtin). Kilti Ebre, Lejipsyen, Pèsan ak anpil lòt pèp nan zòn lanmè Mediteraneyen an te gen pratik kouche pawòl sajès ak pwovèb sou fèy papiris (Patterson 1998: 37). The Gospel of Thomas in its Historical Context 9 In the next section, we are going to undertake a historical analysis in order to know more about The Gospel of Thomas. In this introduction, we’re going to call it Thomas. Thomas in its Historical Context Thomas is a collection of words and teachings that interpret what Jesus said. Thomas reflects a number of intellectual, philosophical and spiritual currents in the ancient world. As with the books that make up The New Testament in The Bible, Thomas was originally written in the Greek language, thus it is shaped by that culture. Thomas came out in an epoch when the Roman Empire dominated the Mediterranean world, thus it also bears the mark of that empire. Most of the established biblical scholars believe Thomas appeared in the years 60 to 100 in the first century, which means 30 to 70 years after Jesus died (Patterson 1998; Riley 1995; Pagels 2003). There are also other scholars who say Thomas appeared around 140. We stand with the former; we think Thomas came out in the first century because of the way it is linked to the canonical Gospel of John, as we will discuss later. In that sense, when we say “canonical,” we are talking about a movement that appeared in the fourth century. At that time, the Catholic Church began to choose a few books it considered to be sacred, meaning the words of those books are believed to be inspired by God. Thomas stands upon the shoulders of the entire Jewish tradition, especially Genesis in The Bible and the Hekalot and Merkabah literature (Pagels 2003: 101; Thomas 85). Thomas also has a Gnostic dimension. Gnosticism was a spiritual movement that believed humans are able to find God within themselves (Pagels 2003: 121; Thomas 70). During the epoch Thomas came out in, great philosophers such as Epicurus and Epictetus had their words and teachings collected in little books of their own. Those books were circulating from anywhere books were sold. (Recall that since books were made by hand, they were extremely expensive). Hebrew, Egyptian and Persian cultures, among many others in the region around the Mediterranean Sea, had the practice of writing down words of wisdom and proverbs on sheets of papyrus (Patterson 1998: 37). 10 Levanjil Toma a nan kontèks istorik li James Robinson (Djèmz Robinson), yon pwofesè meriken ki te òganize piblikasyon tout tèks dekouvèt Nag Hamadi a, klase tradisyon pawòl ak ansèyman ki nan Toma nan yon lekòl literè ki rele Logoi Sophon (an kreyòl, Logòy Sofòn), sa vle di: Pawòl Saj (1964: 77-96). Toma chita nan yon varyete kouran entèlektyèl ak espirityèl nan lantikite, men sitou nou ka di Toma soti nan ansèyman ak pawòl Jezi atravè Toma oswa disip Toma yo. Ki jan yo te dekouvri Toma? Yon bèjè ki rele Mouhamad Ali al-Samàn [“Muhammad Ali al-Samman”] nan Nag Hamadi [Nag Hammadi], yon ti bouk nan peyi Lejip, te dekouvri yon vèsyon konplè liv Toma a nan lane 1945 (Robinson 1998: 79). Li te jwenn tèks la avèk yon bann lòt tèks nan yon ja ki fèt ann ajil sou bò yon mòn. Peyizan yo te vini nan mòn sa a pou yo fouye tè a pou yo ka jwenn angrè. Jounen jodi a gen toujou kèk kretyen koptik k ap viv nan peyi Lejip, menm si se yon ti minorite tou piti konpare ak kominote mizilman an. Istoryen yo fè konnen liv kretyen tankou Toma te parèt nan lang koptik la depi nan dezyèm syèk apre Jezi gras a tradiksyon kretyen yo t ap fè. Kretyen sa yo soti nan Palestin, epi yo te pote krisyanis la nan Lejip (Patterson 1998: 35). Tèks Toma msye Mouhamad Ali al- Samàn te jwenn nan te soti nan katriyèm syèk la (36). Konsa save di Toma te yon liv ki te popilè pandan yon bon bout tan nan nò Lejip. Save yo kwè kretyen lontan yo ki te plimeyank te manyen mo yo nan Toma tanzantan pandan syèk sa yo. Sa vle di moun ki te kopye Toma pandan premye syèk yo te ka fè kèk pase men, nouvo analiz ak reyòganizasyon nan tèks la (36). Nou menm, nou pa fè l ak vèsyon kreyòl ayisyen, franse oubyen angle nou yo.