Saying 61 - Jesus On Salome's Couch

Nag Hammadi Coptic Text

BLATZ (61) Jesus said: Two will rest upon a bed; one will die, the other live. Salome said: Who are you, man, whose son? You have mounted my bed and eaten from my table. Jesus said to her: I am he who comes forth from the one who is equal; I was given of the things of my Father. I am your disciple. Therefore I say: If he is equal, he is full of light, but if he is divided, he will be full of darkness.

LAYTON (61) Jesus said, "Two will repose on a couch: one will die, one will live. Salome said, "Who are you, O man? Like a stranger (?) you have gotten upon my couch and you have eaten from my table." Jesus said to her, "It is I who come from that which is integrated. I was given (some) of the things of my father." <. . .> "I am your female disciple." <. . .> "Therefore I say that such a person, once integrated, will become full of light; but such a person, once divided will become full of darkness.

DORESSE 65 [61]. Jesus says: "Two will lie down there on one bed: one will die, the other will live." Salome says: "Who art thou, man; from whom hast thou <come forth,> that thou shouldst lie on my couch and eat at my table?" Jesus says to her: "I am he who has been brought into being by Him who is equal <to me:> I have been given what belongs to my Father!"—"I am thy disciple!" Because of that, I say this: When <a person> finds himself solitary, he will be full of light; but when he finds himself divided, he will be full of darkness.

 

Funk's Parallels

Luke 17:26-35
And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed. In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back. Remember Lots wife. Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it. I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

Luke 10:21-22
In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight. All things are delivered to me of my Father: and no man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him.

Matt 24:37-44
But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.

Matt 11:25-27
At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight. All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.

John 3:31-36
He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all. And what he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth; and no man receiveth his testimony. He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true. For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him. The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

John 13:1-4
Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simons son, to betray him; Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God; He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself.

Excerpts from Theodotus 36:1-2
Indeed, our angels were put forth in unity, they say, being one, because they came forth from one. Now since we were divided, for this reason Jesus was baptized, that the undivided might be divided, until he unites us with them in the Fullness, so that we, the many who have become one, may all be mingled with the One that was divided for us.

 

Scholarly Quotes

Excerpts from Theodotus 36:1-2 state:

"Indeed, our angels were put forth in unity, they say, being one, because they came forth from one. Now since we were divided, for this reason Jesus was baptized, that the undivided might be divided, until he unites us with them in the Fullness, so that we, the many who have become one, may all be mingled with the One that was divided for us."

Marvin Meyer writes:

"'as if you are from someone': literally, 'as from one.' The meaning of the Coptic is unclear. It may possibly be understood to mean 'as if you are from someone special' (so Harold W. Attridge, 'Greek Equivalents of Two Coptic Phrases,' pp. 30-32). Bentley Layton, Nag Hammadi Codex II, 2-7, 1.74, notes two additional possibilities: The Greek for 'as a stranger' may have been mistranslated 'as from one,' or the Greek fr 'as from whom' may have been mistranslated 'as from someone.'"

(The Gospel of Thomas: The Hidden Sayings of Jesus, p. 93)

Robert M. Grant and David Noel Freedman write:

"Unfortunately we do not know what Salome, prominent in the Gospel of the Egyptians, meant by her question, or what Jesus meant by his answer, though it may contain reminiscences of John 5:18 ('He called God his own Father, making himself equal to God'; cf., Philippians 2:6) and Matthew 11:27 ('All things have been delivered to me by my Father' cf., Luke 10:22). If it is the deserted bed which is full of light, we may have a reflection of the Naassene rejection of sexual intercourse (Hippolytus, Ref., 5, 7, 13); see Saying 23 and Commentary."

(The Secret Sayings of Jesus, pp. 167-168)

Jean Doresse writes:

"The main part of this paragraph is taken from some apocryphal gospel (perhaps the Gospel of the Egyptians?). It centres on Salome's question to Jesus: 'Who art thou? Where have you come from, to sit on my couch and eat my table?' (the couch of course being the place where they reclined at table). Then, this reference to the couch probably led to the artificial addition at the beginning of the sentence, of the passage: 'Two will lie down on one bed . . .' The next step was an addition by the editor (another example of such a commentary introduced by the editor is found in 115): from the association of these two texts, he tried to bring out the idea that duality is the source of death and darkness, while unity - isolation, solitariness - leads to light and life. Thus the phrase: 'Because of that . . .' no doubt introduces the editor's comment: 'Because of those two sayings ("Two will lie down . . ." and "Salome says . . ."), I will give you the following teaching. . . .'"

(The Secret Books of the Egyptian Gnostics, p. 375)

Funk and Hoover write of 61:1, "Live or die":

"Most of the Fellows were of the opinion that the version in Thomas was older than the Q version because it is simpler. However, in its Thomean form it was probably a piece of common wisdom: death strikes when we least expect it and rather arbitrarily. Two on a couch probably refers to a dinner party or symposium - a place one is least likely to anticipate death. This context is confirmed by the remark of Salome in v. 2: 'Who are you, mister? You have climbed onto my couch and eaten from my table as if you are from someone.' Jesus is here represented as an intruder at a dinner party."

(The Five Gospels, p. 507)

Gerd Ludemann writes of 61:3:

"Jesus comes from the One, who is equal. Jesus has a divine origin and is equal to God (cf. John 5.18)."

(Jesus After 2000 Years, p. 620)

F. F. Bruce writes:

"The translation of Jesus's conversation with her [Salome] is uncertain, but the main point seems to be that the perfect state involves a return to the pristine unity of male and female (cf. Saying 4). 'He who is the Same' (others render 'who is my equal') is synonymous with the Father of Jesus, who is unchanging perhaps in the sense of being undifferentiated."

(Jesus and Christian Origins Outside the New Testament, p. 137)

Funk and Hoover write:

"Thom 61:5 has no parallels. It picks up themes that are important elsewhere in Thomas, especially the theme of 'light' (Thom 11:3; 24:3; 50:1; 83:1-2) and the concept of unity as opposed to division (Thom 11:4; 22:4; 106:1). The remark here is reminiscent of the claim, in 24:3, that 'there is light within a person of light.' Persons of light come from the light, that is, they come from the Father who is light (83:1-2). These themes are characteristic of Thomean Christianity; since they do not have echoes elsewhere in the gospels, they are foreign to Jesus."

(The Five Gospels, p. 507)

Gerd Ludemann writes:

"This verse presents two possibilities: either one is - like God - equal (cf. v. 3) and is filled with light or one is separated from God. Then one is filled with darkness. On the concept of light cf. 11.3; 24.3; 50.1; 83.1-2. The theme of division is mentioned in 72.1-3."

(Jesus After 2000 Years, p. 621)

 

Visitor Comments

Layton's translation of 61.4 ("I am your female disciple") is incorrect. The word 'female' doesn't occur in the text, and there's no grammatical implication about the gender of the speaker.
- Mike Grondin

When a man and woman become one they are filled with light, but when they are separated they become filled with darkness or emptiness.
- seeker of truth

God, being eternal, having no need to procreate, has no need for a gender. Adam, created in the image of God, also had no gender. Remember that "adamah" means "ground" or "earth". Adam's gender (maleness) only appeared when he was dis-integrated (the female element was separated from him). As God created day and night through the single act of dividing the light from the darkness, so too were Male and Female created in the same instant, at the moment that they were separated from one another. I know of no words in any human language that convey (as pronouns) the unique "whole gender" state in which God exists and in which Adam and Jesus were created. Therefore we must be careful with the words "male" and "man"; they have dual meanings. One to convey the male sex that only existed after Female was taken from male, and one to convey the previous (divine) state of integration into One.
- PJE

The first sentence should have been numbered as a distinct saying. Its meaning is: Twins will rest together at the last seder: Judas will die, Jesus will live.
- Simon Magus

When parts of one's innate child self are repressed, each part is buried with an associated cognitive attitude. When the self repairing "light" shines on both, the cognitive attitude disappears.
- Rodney

See also Luke 11:34.
- george

If you try to serve God and the world, you will be in darkness. It doesn't matter whose son you are in the world; all that matters is that you are a Son of God.
- Random