Saying 102 - Pharisees Impede Nourishment

Nag Hammadi Coptic Text

BLATZ (102) Jesus said: Woe to the Pharisees, for they are like a dog lying in the manger of the cattle; for he neither eats nor does he let the cattle eat.

LAYTON (102) Jesus said, "Woe unto the Pharisees. For what they resemble is a dog sleeping in the manger of some cattle, for it neither eats nor [lets] the cattle feed."

DORESSE 106 [102]. Jesus says: "Cursed are they, the Pharisees, because they are like a dog which has lain in the cattle manger, but will neither eat <the food there> nor allow the oxen to eat it."

 

Funk's Parallels

POxy655 39:1
[Jesus says, "The Pharisees and the scribes] have [taken the keys] of [knowledge; they themselves have] hidden [them.]"

GThom 39:1
Jesus said, "The Pharisees and the scribes have taken the keys of knowledge and have hidden them."

Luke 11:52
Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.

Matt 23:13
But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.

 

Scholarly Quotes

J. D. Crossan writes:

"Strictly speaking this is not, of course, a definite variation of Gos. Thom. 39a. But Quispel has said that 'these words have the sensuousness of good tradition' (1957:204). And Wilson described it as 'a similar saying agaisnt the Pharisees' to Gos. Thom. 39a. He even goes on to say that 'the fact that it is a proverbial saying need create no difficulty: the originality lies not in the saying, but in its application, in the rapier-like thrust of the attack. These would seem to be grounds for including this among those apocrypha with some claim to authority' (1960a:76-77)."

(In Fragments, pp. 33-34)

J. D. Crossan writes:

"The 'dog in the manger' is apparently a Greek proverb going back to 'very ancient times' (Moravcsik: 85). (1) It is included among the Greek proverbs attributed to Aesop: 'a dog lying in the manger who does not eat himself but hinders the donkey from doing so' (Perry, 1952:276). (2) It is also among the Latin fables as follows: 'A dog without conscience lay in the manger full of hay. When the cattle came to eat of the hay he would not let them, but showed his teeth in ugly mood. The oxen protested: "It is not right for you to begrudge us the satisfaction of indulging our natural appetite when you yourself have no such appetite. It is not your nature to eat hay, and yet you prevent us from eating it"' (Perry, 1952:696; 1965:597). (3) Lucian of Samosata (c. A.D. 125-180) gives the following version in 'Timon, or The Misanthrope': 'Not that they were able to enjoy you themselves, but that they were shutting out everyone else from a share in the enjoyment, like the dog in the manger that neither ate the barley (ton kithon) herself nor permitted the hungry horse to eat it' (Harmon: 2.342-343). (4) Again, in 'The Ignorant Book-Collector,' he says: 'But you never lent a book to anyone; you act like the dog in the manger, who neither eats the grain (ton kithon) herself nor lets the horse eat it, who can' (Harmon: 3.210-211). One notes, of course, the inevitable oral variations on dog (male or female), the fodder (hay or grain), and the hindered animals (donkey, cattle, horse)."

(In Fragments, pp. 34-35)

R. McL. Wilson writes:

"This is of course a familiar fable, and Grant and Freedman give references which show that it was proverbial in the second century. As they say, however, its occurence in literary or semi-literary sources does not mean that it was otherwise unknown. Thomas might have picked it up anywhere. More important is the question raised by Bauer, as to whether it may not be an authentic saying of Jesus. As Bauer says, Jesus often made use of popular proverbs, and a possible context in which this saying might have been uttered can be found in Luke xvii. 1 ff. The fact that it is a proverbial saying need create no difficulty; the originality lies not in the saying, but in its application, in the rapier-like thrust of the attack. There would seem to be grounds for including this among those agrapha with some claim to authenticity."

(Studies in the Gospel of Thomas, pp. 76-77)

 

Visitor Comments

Vain religiosity starves, and eventually causes the spiritual demise of both the clergy and the laity.
- 1of2

False teachers will not adhere to sound doctrine nor will they allow the people to know the truth.
- Obadiah

Legalism in the church is not nourished by the spirit, and it blocks others from knowing the spirit.
- jvg