Logion 83 and the “Image” in the Gospel of Thomas: Relationships with Some Pauline and Early Christian Texts

In the Gospel of Thomas, four logia contain the (theologically crucial) image motif. This article analyzes the divisive l. 83, in particular, examining the various translations and interpretations, then providing a reading of the text, relating it to the other logia about the image in Th, but above all to Pauline, deutero/pseudo-Pauline, and Johannine texts. Thus, the study deals with the relationship between Th and Paul, an issue that is still almost unexplored. The article aims to show that l. 83 refers not only to anthropological and protological issues, but also (and significantly) to christological ones. The text could be understood without relating it to Gnosticism; it seems to interact with some Pauline and Johannine motifs, and to evoke Gen 1, but also reflections on Christ as “Image,” connecting eschatology and protology. This is not to claim that the whole Th would be dependent on those texts: Th is a layered text, in which early (and/or independent) logia are juxtaposed to other later ones. The logia about the image could fit into trajectories developed by other early Christian traditions