J. K. Elliott (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 1993
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198261827
- eISBN:
- 9780191600562
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198261829.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies
An English translation of the oldest and most important early Christian non‐canonical writings. It is based on the earlier collection edited in 1924 by Montague Rhodes James. The book is divided into ...
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An English translation of the oldest and most important early Christian non‐canonical writings. It is based on the earlier collection edited in 1924 by Montague Rhodes James. The book is divided into the conventional categories of gospels, acts, epistles, and revelatory texts. A long subsection deals with stories of Jesus’ infancy and childhood. Another section deals with fragmentary gospel texts on papyrus. The bulk of the book is given over to second‐century legends of individual apostles. Another section covers apocryphal acpocalypses. An appendix gives a selection of stories about the Virgin Mary's assumption and dormition. Each translated text is prefaced with an introduction and select bibliography. Full indexes of citations and themes are provided.Less
An English translation of the oldest and most important early Christian non‐canonical writings. It is based on the earlier collection edited in 1924 by Montague Rhodes James. The book is divided into the conventional categories of gospels, acts, epistles, and revelatory texts. A long subsection deals with stories of Jesus’ infancy and childhood. Another section deals with fragmentary gospel texts on papyrus. The bulk of the book is given over to second‐century legends of individual apostles. Another section covers apocryphal acpocalypses. An appendix gives a selection of stories about the Virgin Mary's assumption and dormition. Each translated text is prefaced with an introduction and select bibliography. Full indexes of citations and themes are provided.
Stephen J. Davis
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- September 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780300149456
- eISBN:
- 9780300206609
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300149456.003.0007
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
Chapter 7 focuses on the interpretation of infancy stories about Jesus in the Arabic-speaking world among both Muslims and Christians. Topics for investigation include the inclusion of the story ...
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Chapter 7 focuses on the interpretation of infancy stories about Jesus in the Arabic-speaking world among both Muslims and Christians. Topics for investigation include the inclusion of the story about Jesus and the birds in the Qur’ān and Qur’ānic commentary, the transmission of the teacher stories in the Arabic Gospel of the Infancy (contextualized by the Graeco-Arabic translation movement), and the development of a “science of letters” in medieval Sufi asceticism. The chapter shows how Muslims and Christians in these different contexts shared a certain sensibility rooted in four areas of practice: scriptural interpretation and commentary, storytelling about prophetic miracles, the production of scientific knowledge, and ascetic discipline.Less
Chapter 7 focuses on the interpretation of infancy stories about Jesus in the Arabic-speaking world among both Muslims and Christians. Topics for investigation include the inclusion of the story about Jesus and the birds in the Qur’ān and Qur’ānic commentary, the transmission of the teacher stories in the Arabic Gospel of the Infancy (contextualized by the Graeco-Arabic translation movement), and the development of a “science of letters” in medieval Sufi asceticism. The chapter shows how Muslims and Christians in these different contexts shared a certain sensibility rooted in four areas of practice: scriptural interpretation and commentary, storytelling about prophetic miracles, the production of scientific knowledge, and ascetic discipline.
Stephen J. Davis
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- September 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780300149456
- eISBN:
- 9780300206609
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300149456.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
Christ Child is a book about Christian, Jewish, and Muslim memories of Jesus’ childhood. Its focus is the so-called Infancy Gospel of Thomas, a collection of stories originally entitled “The ...
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Christ Child is a book about Christian, Jewish, and Muslim memories of Jesus’ childhood. Its focus is the so-called Infancy Gospel of Thomas, a collection of stories originally entitled “The Childhood Deeds of Jesus.” In these stories, Jesus turns clay birds into live ones, curses people to death, and displays preternatural knowledge in school. Drawing on sociologies of cultural memory, the book explores how such infancy tales were transmitted and transformed by different generations of readers, how the figure of a young Jesus was “constantly reimagined … to conform to the eye and image of the beholder” (p. 197). The book is organized in three parts. Part 1 (chapters 1–2) provides an introduction to studies on memory and childhood, and documents the infancy stories’ controversial history of interpretation from antiquity to the present day. Part 2 (chapters 3–5) investigates “sites of memory” in the Graeco-Roman world—texts and material artifacts connected with birds, cursing, and elementary education—in order to understand how ancient readers would have tried to make sense of this enigmatic young Jesus. Part 3 (chapters 6–7) focuses on the way these stories were contested and reshaped in the context of Jewish-Christian and Christian-Muslim religious encounters. An epilogue and three appendixes include discussions of visual art connected with Jesus’ childhood and English translations of important primary sources. The end result is a fascinating book that traces how the Christ child occupied “a unique but ever-shifting place in late ancient and early medieval cultural memory” (p. 44).Less
Christ Child is a book about Christian, Jewish, and Muslim memories of Jesus’ childhood. Its focus is the so-called Infancy Gospel of Thomas, a collection of stories originally entitled “The Childhood Deeds of Jesus.” In these stories, Jesus turns clay birds into live ones, curses people to death, and displays preternatural knowledge in school. Drawing on sociologies of cultural memory, the book explores how such infancy tales were transmitted and transformed by different generations of readers, how the figure of a young Jesus was “constantly reimagined … to conform to the eye and image of the beholder” (p. 197). The book is organized in three parts. Part 1 (chapters 1–2) provides an introduction to studies on memory and childhood, and documents the infancy stories’ controversial history of interpretation from antiquity to the present day. Part 2 (chapters 3–5) investigates “sites of memory” in the Graeco-Roman world—texts and material artifacts connected with birds, cursing, and elementary education—in order to understand how ancient readers would have tried to make sense of this enigmatic young Jesus. Part 3 (chapters 6–7) focuses on the way these stories were contested and reshaped in the context of Jewish-Christian and Christian-Muslim religious encounters. An epilogue and three appendixes include discussions of visual art connected with Jesus’ childhood and English translations of important primary sources. The end result is a fascinating book that traces how the Christ child occupied “a unique but ever-shifting place in late ancient and early medieval cultural memory” (p. 44).
David A. deSilva
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780195329001
- eISBN:
- 9780199979073
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195329001.003.0000
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies
The Infancy Gospel of Thomas attests to a reluctance among early Christians to regard Jesus as learning from his senior contemporaries, a tendency that has persisted throughout the centuries, ...
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The Infancy Gospel of Thomas attests to a reluctance among early Christians to regard Jesus as learning from his senior contemporaries, a tendency that has persisted throughout the centuries, contributing to an image of Jesus standing apart from Judaism and addressing it from outside. This image is reinforced by reading practices that include the Hebrew Bible or Protestant Old Testament, but not the Apocrypha/Deuterocanonicals, such that the reader brings an anachronistic portrait of Judaism to the study of the early church. Familiarity with post-prophetic Jewish literature, however, leads to a much greater appreciation of how much Jewish sources contributed to the formation of Jesus and his brothers. Criteria for assessing influence are discussed.Less
The Infancy Gospel of Thomas attests to a reluctance among early Christians to regard Jesus as learning from his senior contemporaries, a tendency that has persisted throughout the centuries, contributing to an image of Jesus standing apart from Judaism and addressing it from outside. This image is reinforced by reading practices that include the Hebrew Bible or Protestant Old Testament, but not the Apocrypha/Deuterocanonicals, such that the reader brings an anachronistic portrait of Judaism to the study of the early church. Familiarity with post-prophetic Jewish literature, however, leads to a much greater appreciation of how much Jewish sources contributed to the formation of Jesus and his brothers. Criteria for assessing influence are discussed.
Ashraf Alexandre Sadek
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- January 2017
- ISBN:
- 9789774166631
- eISBN:
- 9781617976551
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- American University in Cairo Press
- DOI:
- 10.5743/cairo/9789774166631.003.0011
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
Dayr al-Muharraq could very well be the most blessed place in Egypt for Christian Egyptians. The fame of Dayr al-Muharraq is linked to its history—a history that is very much dependent on the ...
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Dayr al-Muharraq could very well be the most blessed place in Egypt for Christian Egyptians. The fame of Dayr al-Muharraq is linked to its history—a history that is very much dependent on the traditions of the Holy Family's sojourn on the spot, Qusqam, where the monastery now stands. On what grounds did such traditions develop? This chapter examines fifty texts that may be considered as textual “sources” of the traditions on the coming of the Holy Family to Egypt. These texts have only two points in common: they mention at least one aspect of the legend of the Flight into Egypt, and they all have their origin before the eighth century. Apart from that, they are extremely different and belong to four main categories: the apocryphal infancy gospels; reports of pilgrims and travelers during antiquity and the early Middle Ages; Church Fathers in early anti-Christian literature; and Coptic textual evidence. The first part of the chapter is dedicated to the presentation of these texts; the second part deals with the events or facts they mention.Less
Dayr al-Muharraq could very well be the most blessed place in Egypt for Christian Egyptians. The fame of Dayr al-Muharraq is linked to its history—a history that is very much dependent on the traditions of the Holy Family's sojourn on the spot, Qusqam, where the monastery now stands. On what grounds did such traditions develop? This chapter examines fifty texts that may be considered as textual “sources” of the traditions on the coming of the Holy Family to Egypt. These texts have only two points in common: they mention at least one aspect of the legend of the Flight into Egypt, and they all have their origin before the eighth century. Apart from that, they are extremely different and belong to four main categories: the apocryphal infancy gospels; reports of pilgrims and travelers during antiquity and the early Middle Ages; Church Fathers in early anti-Christian literature; and Coptic textual evidence. The first part of the chapter is dedicated to the presentation of these texts; the second part deals with the events or facts they mention.
