jewish-christian gospels recovered Theophania Syriaca .
The Syriac version^98 of Eusebius’Theophaniacontains the following
passage:
Then he taught about the divisions of the souls which will come about in
the houses, as we have found somewhere in the gospel which exists among
the Jews in the Hebrew language, in which it is said: “I choose myself the
good ones, the good ones whom my father in heaven has given to me.”^99
Eusebius is dealing with synoptic the story of the Divisions within the
Households (Matt :–/Luke :–) but it is not certain if this
also was the original context of the passage that he quotes. Eusebius’
introduction suggests that he found the passage as a floating saying
without knowing its exact context in the “gospel which exists among the
Jews in Hebrew language.” If the quoted passage was explicitly dealing
with the “divisions of the souls,” as Eusebius suggests, then its context
may not have been the passage of the Divisions Within the Households
which Eusebius himself is explaining.
Another synoptic story that would come closer to the theme of choos-
ing is the exhortation to watchfulness in Luke :–/Matt :–,
where “there will be two in one bed; one will be taken and the other left”
and “two women grinding meal together, one will be taken and the other
left.” Notably, in Luke, these stories explicitly deal with the problem of
how to save one’s “soul” (ψυ68).
Klijn points out—correctly—that it is typical of John to emphasize
that Jesus has chosen the ones that the Father has given to him (John
:,,,; :).^100 However, the idea that a savior chooses the “worthy
ones” that are predestined to salvation by the Father is not restricted to
the Gospel of John. Instead, it can be seen as a typical idea in wisdom
literature, rooted in the myth of Wisdom seeking a worthy place of
rest. In theGospel of Thomas, the idea appears in a slightly gnosticized
form which describes the disciples of Jesus as the ones who have “come
from the light” and are “elect of the living father” (Gos. Thom. ). It is
to these who are worthy of Jesus’ mysteries that he tells his mysteries
(^98) Eusebius’TheophaniahassurvivedinsomeGreekfragments(seetheprevious
section) and in a Syriac translation which, however, is considered early and quite accurate
(dated to the beginning of the fifth century).
(^99) The translation follows Klijn , . The translation of the repeated “good ones”
(
) is problematic but I agree with Klijn’s solution. For the
discussion, see Klijn , –.
(^100) Klijn , .