EARLY WISDOM GOSPELS 71the Secret Book of John is also attributed to John, or that the Valentinian Her-
akleon composed a commentary on the Gospel of John, or that the Acts of
John contains a Round Dance of the Cross with gnostic features, or that the
Cathar Gospel of the Secret Supper is said to be narrated by John. Nor is it
surprising that some scholars understand the Gospel of John to be a gnosti-
cizing gospel or a gospel written within the context of gnostic themes.
The Gospel of John was composed in Greek, probably near the end of the
first century. The references to followers of Jesus being evicted from the syna-
gogue would suggest a date during the last decade or two of the first century.
Like the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of John may also have been written
somewhere in Syria. However, Thomas, the authoritative figure of the Gospel
of Thomas, is subjected to a much more negative evaluation in the Gospel of
John, where he is made to assume the infamous role of "doubting Thomas."
The translation given here presents three excerpts from the Gospel of
John, chapters 1-3,11-12, and 17-21. These excerpts are crucial for understand-
ing how the author of the gospel portrays Jesus and what gnostics found
attractive about that portrayal. This translation, like that of the Gospel of
Thomas, gives Semitic forms of Semitic names, in order to emphasize the Jew-
ish identity of Jesus and his students and the Jewish context of the life of Jesus.
Thus the name Yeshua is used for Jesus and Yohanan for John. For an identifi-
cation of other names, see the notes.
THE GOSPEL OF JOHN'
(Chapter 1)IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE WORD
In the beginning was the word^2
and the word was with god,- The Gospel of John: translated by Willis Barnstone from the Greek text of the New Testament.
- The word (Greek logos), sometimes capitalized as "the Word," is immediately personified as
"he." See parallel in Genesis 1:1. John 1:1-18 is a prologue and is often held to be a separate
poem adapted for the gospel. Logos may be given multiple meanings: the word of god, the
Greek principle of reason ordering the universe, and a kabbalistic principle of the primacy of
creating words and letters of words, before god could speak the universe into being.