tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5759844.post687579400769802859..comments2024-03-21T14:59:20.729-04:00Comments on NT Blog: The Missing Middle in Thomas Synoptic ComparisonsMark Goodacrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05115370166754797529noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5759844.post-83814087735681810432008-11-19T23:21:00.000-05:002008-11-19T23:21:00.000-05:00Darko, thanks for pointing that out; I have adju...Darko, thanks for pointing that out; I have adjusted it in the post. It was also pointed out to me by Mike Grondin, though it took me a while to correct it. Cheers, MarkMark Goodacrehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05115370166754797529noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5759844.post-19806002694079536232007-02-22T17:08:00.000-05:002007-02-22T17:08:00.000-05:00Mark, you write "... In the rush to retell the fam...Mark, you write "... In the rush to retell the familiar story, he does notice that key parts have been left out." There's a "not" missing in there between "does" and "notice",isn't it ;) It's either that famous scribal error rearing its pretty head (and so we now know that you COPY your blog posts rather than create them on the spot), or it was put there intentionally to make it seem so haha ;)<BR/><BR/><BR/>Cheers,<BR/>(hoping that I passed :razz: )<BR/><BR/>DarkoAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5759844.post-52667924019176717592007-02-22T09:49:00.000-05:002007-02-22T09:49:00.000-05:00Its a very interesting comparison that you make an...Its a very interesting comparison that you make and one that my amateur eyes had never seen before.<BR/><BR/>However, I have to agree with Mike Grondin's skepticism towards the explanation you advance. It doesn't seem to follow to me that skipping the central segments is the action of someone desperate to get to the "punchline" through familiarity.<BR/><BR/>As a famously bad joke-teller, if I skip the bulk of the joke and short-cut to the punchline it is because I am unfamiliar with the joke.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5759844.post-56865440526078960892007-02-21T07:30:00.000-05:002007-02-21T07:30:00.000-05:00I agree with the secondariness of Thomas, fatigue ...I agree with the secondariness of Thomas, fatigue being one key reasons. Others are:<BR/>(1) He is often closest to Luke whom I see as the latest of the four<BR/>(2) He is 'rushed' in other ways. The sayings in Mark are nicely formed to a proverbial degree of refinement; not so in Thomas. They are sometimes bombastic, sometimes slapdash in phrasing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5759844.post-20572744644130176932007-02-20T23:57:00.000-05:002007-02-20T23:57:00.000-05:00I've posted this comment on the GThomas e-list, bu...I've posted this comment on the GThomas e-list, but I'll repost it here. With respect to Mark's "thesis":<BR/><BR/>1. Leaving key parts out of a story shows how _familiar_ one is with it? Just the opposite, one would think.<BR/><BR/>2. The Thomas author is in a "rush to retell the familiar story"? But he isn't in a rush and he isn't _retelling_ a story; he's writing it down. The analogy is prima facie all wrong. (Maybe there's a "missing middle"? :-)M.W.Grondinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17103746412468053923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5759844.post-39114618152704861932007-02-20T22:11:00.000-05:002007-02-20T22:11:00.000-05:00Mark,This is interesting and something I had notic...Mark,<BR/><BR/>This is interesting and something I had noticed in passing, but not given any thought. Thanks for drawing attention to it. Thomas isn't consistent, though. Some of his parallels are longer than the synoptic versions.<BR/><BR/>Compare<BR/><BR/><I>Thomas 76</I><BR/>Jesus said, "The kingdom of the father is like a merchant who had a consignment of merchandise and who discovered a pearl. That merchant was shrewd. He sold the merchandise and bought the pearl alone for himself. You too, seek his unfailing and enduring treasure where no moth comes near to devour and no worm destroys."<BR/><BR/>with<BR/><BR/><I>Matt 13:45-46</I><BR/>Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.<BR/><BR/>and<BR/><BR/><I>Thomas 109</I><BR/>Jesus said, "The kingdom is like a man who had a [hidden] treasure in his field without knowing it. And [after] he died, he left it to his [son]. The son [did] not know (about the treasure.) He inherited the field and sold [it]. And the one who bought it went plowing and [found] the treasure. He began to lend money at interest to whomever he wished."<BR/><BR/>with<BR/><BR/><I>Matt 13:44</I><BR/>The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.<BR/><BR/>This might say something about Thomas' sources. The Thomas version of the Treasure is much closer to the version of the story that appears in <I>Song of Songs Midrash Rabbah IV:25</I>, but there it is the Egyptians being compared to the man who has the hidden treasure, not the kingdom, but the 'punchline' is also different in the Midrash. I'm not aware of any rabbinic parallel for the pearl parable (but haven't yet done a thorough search).<BR/><BR/>It would be tempting to suggest that the Nag Hammadi version of the text had been copied from a damaged original, but it's happendd too often for this to be the case.<BR/><BR/>Perhaps, rather, Thomas was an impatient story-teller (and listener) and he did not want to waste his hearers time (or perhaps precious papyrus) with the bits of the story that were irrelevant for his purposes? And perhaps this means that whenever the Thomas version has extra detail that isn't present in the synoptic versions, we need to pay very careful attention to what he might be trying to say.Judy Redmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04350638846246966802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5759844.post-80967841632942114052007-02-20T21:01:00.000-05:002007-02-20T21:01:00.000-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Judy Redmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04350638846246966802noreply@blogger.com