Infancy Gospel of Thomas (Greek A)

Contents

1. 1The narrator, Thomas the Israelite, introduces his account of the childhood deeds of Jesus for Gentile believers.
2. 2At five, Jesus makes pools of water clean by his word and forms twelve clay sparrows on the sabbath; rebuked by Joseph, he claps his hands and the sparrows fly away.
3. 3When the son of Annas the scribe scatters the pools, Jesus curses him and he withers, and his parents reproach Joseph.
4. 4Jesus strikes dead a child who bumps into him, and the parents demand that Joseph leave the village or teach him to bless rather than curse.
5. 5Joseph rebukes Jesus, who blinds his accusers; when Joseph pulls his ear, Jesus warns him not to vex him.
6. 6The teacher Zacchaeus takes Jesus to teach him letters, but Jesus calls him a hypocrite who does not know the Alpha and expounds its shape in mysterious terms.
7. 7Zacchaeus, shamed and bewildered, confesses that the child is not of earth, perhaps begotten before the world, and begs Joseph to take him home.
8. 8Jesus declares that he came from above to curse and to call to the things above, and those under his curse are restored; afterwards no one dares to anger him.
9. 9Accused of pushing a playmate off a roof, Jesus raises the dead boy Zeno, who testifies that Jesus did not throw him down.
10. 10Jesus heals a young man whose foot has been split by an axe, and the crowd says that the Spirit of God dwells in him.
11. 11At six, Jesus carries water home in his cloak after breaking the pitcher, and his mother keeps these mysteries in her heart.
12. 12At eight, Jesus sows a single grain that yields a hundred measures, and gives the wheat to the poor of the village.
13. 13When a beam for a rich man's bed is cut too short, Jesus stretches it to the right length, and Joseph blesses God for the child.
14. 14A second teacher strikes Jesus for challenging him on the meaning of Alpha, and falls senseless under his curse; Joseph orders that the child be kept indoors.
15. 15A third teacher takes Jesus gently; Jesus teaches the law by the Holy Spirit, the teacher acknowledges his wisdom, and for his sake the stricken teacher is healed.
16. 16When a viper bites James while he gathers wood, Jesus breathes on the bite, the snake bursts, and James is healed.
17. 17Jesus raises a dead infant in the neighborhood and gives him back to his mother, and the crowd marvels.
18. 18Jesus raises a workman killed at a building site, and the crowd says the child is from heaven.
19. 19At twelve, Jesus stays behind in the temple teaching the elders, is found by his parents, and returns home subject to them, growing in wisdom.