Saying 72 - Jesus Is Not An Arbitrator Of Possessions

Nag Hammadi Coptic Text

BLATZ (72) [A man said] to him: Speak to me brothers, that they may divide my father's possessions with me. He said to him: O man, who made me a divider? He turned to his disciples. He said to them, I am not a divider, am I?

LAYTON (72) Some person [said] to him, "Tell my siblings to share my father's possessions with me." He said to that person, "My good fellow, who has made me into an arbitrator?" He turned to his disciples and said to them, "So am I an arbitrator?"

DORESSE 76 [72]. [Someone (?) said] to him: "Speak to my brothers, that they may share with me my father's possessions!" He answered him: "Man, who made me a sharer?" He turned to his disciples and said to them: "Let me not be a sharer!"

 

Funk's Parallels

Luke 12:13-21
And one of the company said unto him, Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me. And he said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you? And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a mans life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

 

Scholarly Quotes

'Abd al Jabbar in the Book on the Signs of Muhammed's Prophecy states:

"A man said to him, 'Master, my brother (wishes) to share (with me) my father's blessing.' (Jesus) said to him, 'Who set me over you (in order to determine your) share?'"

(from Shlomo Pines, The Jewish Christians of the Early Centuries of Christianity According to a New Source, p. 13)

Marvin Meyer writes:

"Gilles Quispel, 'The Gospel of Thomas Revisited,' p. 243, proposes that in this saying 'divider' may be understood to mean 'schismatic,' so that Jesus denies being a schismatic or heretic. Such an understanding may be related to the Eighteen Benedictions ('Shemoneh `Esreh') used in Jewish worship, since Benediction 12 was a prayer against Nazarenes and Minim, or heretics, and was meant to exclude such heretics (who included Jewish Christians) from the synagogue."

(The Gospel of Thomas: The Hidden Sayings of Jesus, p. 97)

Funk and Hoover write:

"The unit in Thomas consists of two parts, a dialogue (vv. 1-2) and a question addressed to disciples (v. 3). The dialogue portion in Luke and Thomas is quite similar; Jesus rejects the requested role. The second element in each version is strikingly different. The dialogue in Luke ends with this general admonition: 'Guard against greed in all its forms; after all, possessions, even in abundance, don't guarantee someone life.' The subject in Luke is evidently the dangers of wealth, while for Thomas the final words of Jesus appear to be focused on division, in spite of the request made in 72:1. This theme is reminiscent of Thom 61:5: 'If one is <whole>, one will be filled with light, but if one is divided, one will be filled with darkness.' Division appears to be a Thomean motif."

(The Five Gospels, pp. 513-514)

Robert M. Grant and David Noel Freedman write:

"The final question is added by Thomas. Jesus is not really a divider (in spite of Sayings 16, 56, and 98); he comes to restore man's lost unity."

(The Secret Sayings of Jesus, p. 175)

 

Visitor Comments

This passage seems deliberately humorous, an almost Jewish kind of humor. Why has no one commented on that?
- Serious

The scholars seem to be deliberately overlooking the most obvious explanation of this verse - that Jesus was cracking a pun. (remember, he is a Uniter, not a Divider) Perhaps because it would be too "human" a moment?
- Agreed

I am here to teach higher laws, not be a lawyer interpreting lower laws
- Thief37

The message was to love, to transcend the material, and to minimize emotions relating to attachment.
- Zooie