Recovering Jewish-Christian Sects and Gospels (Supplements to Vigiliae Christianae)

jewish-christian gospels and syriac gospel traditions 

The synoptic parallel for this saying is in Matt :– (Matthew’s
special tradition). On the whole, Matt :– is the section within the
synoptic gospels where Jesus most clearly speaks as personified Wisdom.
Although it remains open whether Matt :–, paralleled inGos.
Thom. , was in a Jewish-Christian gospel,^116 it is clear that the tenor of
Thomas’ logia  and  accords well with the surviving fragment about
Jesus’ baptism in theGospel of the Hebrews.^117

The Spirit—The Mother of Jesus and Her Relation to Men
In contrast to synoptic accounts, where a voice is heard “from heaven(s)”
(Mark :; Matt :; Luke :), in the fragment about Jesus’ baptism,
the Holy Spirit claims to have given birth to Jesus. This accords with
another fragment—usually ascribed to the same gospel—which explicitly
describes the Holy Spirit as Jesus’ mother.

A moment ago my Mother the Holy Spirit, took me by one of my hairs and

broughtmetothegreathill,theTabor.

(Origen,Comm. Jo. .; NGH: theGospel of the Hebrews).

It is often noted that the idea of the Spirit as mother seems to presuppose
a Semitic original where the gender of the word would have been correct,
feminine.^118 It was also noted above that the Holy Spirit is often charac-
terized as “mother” in theActs of Thomas(c. , c. , c. , c. ) which
is usually regarded as a product of the same Syrian sphere of tradition
as theGospel of Thomas. Thomasdoes not explicitly refer to the Spirit as
mother but it makes a distinction between Jesus’ earthly mother and his
true one:^119

(^116) A marginal reading in Matt : (“To Ioudaikon;” Codex Novi Testamenti ,
ad. Matth. :) indicates that at least the preceding verses, Matt :–, were also in
a “Jewish” gospel. However, it is impossible to be sure whether this “Jewish” gospel was
theGospel of the Ebionites,theGospel of the Hebrews, or some other gospel that the scribes
regarded “Jewish” enough (cf. the discussion in Chapter . and ..). Nevertheless,
given the strong influence of Wisdom traditions on theGospel of the Hebrewsand the
fact thatGospel of the Hebrewsused synoptic traditions, I would be surprised if Matt
:–/Luke :– and Matt :– had not found their way into theGospel of
the Hebrews.
(^117) In contrast to the GH which assumes that the Jewish variant readings were all
derived from the “Gospel of the Nazarenes.”
(^118) This was already noticed by Jerome in one of the places where he quoted this saying
(Comm. Isa. .–).
(^119) InPelag...(writtenince,fiveyearsaftertheCommentary on Isaiah), Jerome
quotes a passage where Jesus’ mother and brothers ask him to be baptized by John. The
Three Gospel Hypothesis ascribes this passage to the “Gospel of the Nazarenes.” However,
the argument of the hypothesis is circular and there is no compelling reason to assume