GOSPEL OF THOMAS, an apocryphal gospel of Gnostic origin,
possibly from the late second century. The most "popular" of the
Coptic texts of the NAG HAMMADI LIBRARY (II. 2), the Gospel of
Thomas has been translated into several languages and circulated
widely in learned circles among specialists both in gnosticism
and in New Testament studies, as well as among the general
public. It has even been considered a fifth canonical Gospel. An
infancy gospel under this name was known before the discovery of
the texts in Nag Hammadi in 1945. Preserved in its original
Greek version and in various translations (Latin, Syriac,
Georgian, and Slavonic), this gospel has nothing to do with the
Nag Hammadi text, which consists of a collection of "sayings" of
Jesus. Hippolytus (Refutation 5. 7. 20) mentions a "Gospel
according to Thomas" used by the sect of the Nassenes (Ophites).
A phrase quoted by Hippolytus may derive from the Coptic
collection, although the ascription is uncertain. It has been
argued that it may instead have