← P.Oxy: Early Christian Gospels & Sayings
TEXT 034: When You Undress Without Shame - The Visibility Sayings Source Archive: Oxyrhynchus, Egypt Material: Papyrus (scroll/roll fragments) Preservation: Highly fragmentary (~40% legible) Language: Greek
Author: Unknown (Thomas tradition) Date: Early 3rd century CE (paleographic) Original extent: Part of larger scroll containing sayings collection Current preservation: 40% of Sayings 36-39 readable; 6 of 8 original fragments survive
AUTHENTICITY NOTE: Verified manuscript. Greek text confirmed. Attribution to Gospel of Thomas established after 1945 Nag Hammadi discovery. Contains the NAKEDNESS DIALOGUE—disciples asking when they will SEE Jesus.
P.Oxy.655 (Houghton Library, Harvard University) -
Current location: Houghton Library, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA (MS Gr. SM4367) -
Discovery: 1903 excavations by Grenfell and Hunt at Oxyrhynchus -
Condition: Multiple papyrus fragments from scroll, highly fragmentary -
Note: Originally 8 fragments; 2 smallest now lost
Grenfell, Bernard P. and Arthur S. Hunt. The Oxyrhynchus Papyri, Part IV. London: Egypt Exploration Fund, 1904. Pages 22-28, plates 1-2. (Editio princeps)
Attridge, Harold W. “Appendix: The Greek Fragments.” In Nag Hammadi Codex II,2-7, edited by Bentley Layton, 95-128. NHS 20. Leiden: Brill, 1989. (Standard modern reference)
Kraft, Robert A. “Oxyrhynchus Papyrus 655 Reconsidered.” Harvard Theological Review 54 (1961): 253-62. (Corrections to earlier readings)
Fitzmyer, Joseph A. “The Oxyrhynchus Logoi of Jesus and the Coptic Gospel According to Thomas.” Theological Studies 20 (1959): 505-560.
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Material state: Papyrus fragments, light brown, faded ink -
Dimensions: Original leaf approximately 82 × 83 mm -
Format: Scroll (roll), fragments from single leaf -
Script: Uncial letters, informal book hand, well-written -
Special features: No punctuation, no rough breathings, no accents, no division between sayings, no nomina sacra; one scribal correction in cursive hand
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Total pieces: Originally 8 fragments; 6 surviving (2 smallest lost) -
Fragment arrangement: Column I (Sayings 36-37, recto); Column II (Sayings 38-39, verso); Fragment d (possibly Saying 24) -
Missing portions: ~60% lost -
Reconstruction challenges: Severe fragmentation requires extensive reconstruction from Coptic parallel
[ ]ᾶτε ἀπ᾽ ἕω[ ]δὲ ἀφ᾽ ἑσπέρ[ ]ς τροφῆς ὑμῶ[ ]ς στολῆς ὑμῶν [ ]ῷ κρείττονές [ ]α οὐ ξαίνει οὐδ[ ]δυμα τί ὑμεῖς [ ] ἐπὶ τὴν ἡλικία[ ] ὑμῖν τὸ ἔνδυ[ ]ν αὐτῷ οἱ μα[ ]ν ἐμφανὴς ἔσ[ ]εθα· λέγει· ὅτ[ ]ὴ αἰσχυνθῆτε [
[ ]εν τ[ ζ]ητήσε[ λ]έγει [ ]μματ[ ] γνώσε[ ]ς· οὔτε [ ]ρχομ[ ]ν· ὑμεῖς δ[ ]φεις κ[ ]ρα[
Source: Grenfell & Hunt 1904; Kraft 1961; Attridge 1989
⚠️ RECONSTRUCTION NOTICE: -
Regular text = surviving Greek letters -
{Braced text} = reconstructed from Coptic parallel (NHC II,2) -
Confidence levels noted for each saying
Greek:{λέγει Ἰησοῦς· μὴ μεριμν}ᾶτε ἀπ᾽ ἕω{θεν ἕως ὀψὲ μη}δὲ ἀφ᾽ ἑσπέρ{ας ἕως πρωῒ μήτε τῆ}ς τροφῆς ὑμῶ{ν τί φάγητε μήτε τῆ}ς στολῆς ὑμῶν {τί ἐνδύσησθε. πολλ}ῷ κρείττονές {ἐστε τῶν κρίνων ἅτιν}α οὐ ξαίνει οὐδ{ὲ νήθει. ἓν ἔχοντες ἔν}δυμα τί ὑμεῖς {ὑστερεῖτε; τίς ἂν προσθείη} ἐπὶ τὴν ἡλικία{ν ὑμῶν; αὐτὸς δώσει} ὑμῖν τὸ ἔνδυ{μα ὑμῶν.}
Latin:{Dicit Iesus: Ne solliciti sitis} a mane {usque ad vesperum ne}que a vespera {usque ad mane, neque de} cibo vestro {quid manducetis, neque de} veste vestra {quid induamini. Multo} meliores {estis liliis quae n}on cardunt ne{que nent. Unam habentes vest}em, quid vobis {deest? Quis possit addere} ad staturam {vestram? Ipse dabit} vobis vest{em vestram.}
English:{Jesus says: Do not be anxious} from morning {until evening n}or from evening {until morning, neither about} your food—{what you will eat—nor about} your clothing— {what you will wear. You are much} greater {than the lilies, which n}either card nor {spin. Having one gar}ment, what do you {lack? Who could add} to your stat{ure? He himself will give} you your cloth{ing.}
NOTE: Greek version significantly LONGER than Coptic Thomas 36, which reads only: “Do not be concerned from morning until evening and from evening until morning about what you will wear.”
Greek:{λέγουσι}ν αὐτῷ οἱ μα{θηταὶ αὐτοῦ· πότε ἡμῖ}ν ἐμφανὴς ἔσ{ῃ καὶ πότε σε ὀψόμ}εθα; λέγει· ὅτ{αν ἐκδύσησθε καὶ μ}ὴ αἰσχυνθῆτε {καὶ λάβητε τὰ ἱμάτια ὑμῶν καὶ θῆτε αὐτὰ ὑποκάτω τῶν ποδῶν ὑμῶν ὡς τὰ παιδία τὰ μικρὰ καὶ πατήσητε αὐτά, τότε ὄψεσθε τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ ζῶντος καὶ οὐ φοβηθήσεσθε.}
Latin:{Dicunt} ei dis{cipuli eius: Quando nobis} manifestus er{is et quando te videb}imus? Dicit: Qu{ando exuetis vos et n}on erubescetis, {et acceperitis vestimenta vestra et posueritis ea sub pedibus vestris sicut parvuli et conculcaveritis ea, tunc videbitis filium viventis et non timebitis.}
English:{His disciples s}ay to him: "{When will you} be manifest to u{s, and when will we s}ee you?" He says: "Wh{en you undress and} are not ashamed, {and take your garments and place them under your feet like little children and tread upon them, then you will see the child of the Living One and you will not be afraid."}
NOTE: This saying has NO Synoptic parallel. Unique to Thomas tradition.
Greek:{λέγει Ἰησοῦς· πολλάκις ἐπεθυμήσατε ἀκοῦσαι τοὺς λόγους τούτους οὓς λέγω ὑμῖν, καὶ οὐκ ἔχετε ἄλλον ἀκοῦσαι παρ᾽ αὐτοῦ. ἐλεύσονται ἡμέραι ὅτε} ζητήσε{τέ με καὶ οὐχ εὑρήσετέ με.}
Latin:{Dicit Iesus: Saepe desiderastis audire verba haec quae dico vobis, et non habetis alium a quo audiatis. Venient dies quando} quaeret{is me et non invenietis me.}
English:{Jesus says: "Many times you have desired to hear these words which I speak to you, and you have no one else from whom to hear them. Days will come when} you will see{k me and will not find me."}
Greek:{λέγει Ἰησοῦς· οἱ Φαρισαῖοι καὶ οἱ γρα}μματ{εῖς ἔλαβον τὰς κλεῖς τῆς} γνώσε{ως· αὐτοὶ ἔκρυψαν αὐτά}ς· οὔτε {εἰσῆλθον οὔτε τοὺς εἰσε}ρχομ{ένους ἀφῆκαν εἰσελθεῖ}ν· ὑμεῖς δ{ὲ γίνεσθε φρόνιμοι ὡς ὄ}φεις κ{αὶ ἀκέραιοι ὡς περιστε}ρα{ί.}
Latin:{Dicit Iesus: Pharisaei et scr}ibae {acceperunt claves} cognition{is. Ipsi absconderunt e}as; neque {intraverunt neque intr}ante{s permiserunt intra}re. Vos autem {estote prudentes sicut serp}entes e{t simplices sicut columb}ae.
English:{Jesus says: "The Pharisees and the scr}ibes {took the keys of} knowled{ge. They themselves hid the}m. Neither {did they enter, nor those ent}erin{g did they allow to ent}er. But you, {be wise as s}nakes a{nd innocent as dov}es."
NOTE: κλεῖς τῆς γνώσεως (”keys of knowledge/gnosis”) parallels Luke 11:52.
P.Oxy.655 Saying Synoptic Parallel Relationship Saying 36 Matt 6:25-34; Luke 12:22-31 Close; Greek longer than Coptic Saying 37 None Unique to Thomas Saying 38 John 7:34; 13:33 Thematic parallel Saying 39a Matt 23:13; Luke 11:52 Close; “gnosis” = Luke’s “knowledge” Saying 39b Matt 10:16 Exact parallel
Manuscript Content Date P.Oxy.654 Prologue + Sayings 1-7 Mid-late 3rd c. P.Oxy.1 Sayings 26-33 + 77b Late 2nd/early 3rd c. NHC II,2 Complete (114 sayings) c. 350 CE
Saying 37 preserves a question found nowhere in the canonical gospels: “When will you be visible (ἐμφανής) to us? When will we see (ὀψόμεθα) you?”
The answer—nakedness without shame, treading on garments like children—describes a return to pre-fallen innocence. The disciples seek direct vision of the divine; Jesus responds that vision requires vulnerability.
Saying 39’s phrase κλεῖς τῆς γνώσεως (”keys of knowledge”) uses the technical Greek term γνῶσις. This is the earliest Greek witness to this saying in the Thomas tradition. The Pharisees and scribes possess the keys but neither use them nor allow others to use them—a critique of religious authority that hoards rather than transmits wisdom.
The dramatic difference between Greek Saying 36 (lengthy, with lilies comparison) and Coptic Saying 36 (one sentence about clothing) demonstrates active editorial processes in Thomas transmission. Either Greek expanded an earlier brief saying, or Coptic dramatically abbreviated the Greek.
With this text, the three Greek Thomas papyri form a complete arc:
P.Oxy.654 (Prologue + Sayings 1-7): “These are the HIDDEN sayings... Seek until you find... Nothing buried that will not be RAISED.”
P.Oxy.1 (Sayings 26-33): “Lift the stone and there you will find me. Split the wood and I am there.”
P.Oxy.655 (Sayings 36-39): “When will you be visible to us?... When you undress and are not ashamed... The keys of knowledge—they hid them.”
The trajectory: HIDDEN → PRESENT IN MATTER → REVEALED THROUGH VULNERABILITY
Section Surviving Greek Reconstructed Confidence Saying 36 ~35% ~65% 60% Saying 37 ~25% ~75% 50% Saying 38 ~15% ~85% 40% Saying 39 ~50% ~50% 70% Overall ~40% ~60% 55%
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Full text of Saying 37’s answer (only beginning survives in Greek) -
Middle portion of Saying 38 -
Content of two lost fragments -
Whether fragment d truly contains Saying 24
TEXT 034 of the Ghost Library Project
Accuracy Statement: -
Actual ancient Greek text: 40% -
Evidence-based reconstruction (from Coptic parallel): 50% -
Speculative interpretation: 10%
Preservation: Houghton Library, Harvard University (MS Gr. SM4367). Six of eight fragments survive.
Critical edition: Attridge 1989; Grenfell-Hunt 1904; Kraft 1961
Thomas Triptych: COMPLETE -
TEXT 032: P.Oxy.1 (Sayings 26-33) -
TEXT 033: P.Oxy.654 (Prologue + Sayings 1-7) -
TEXT 034: P.Oxy.655 (Sayings 36-39)
VILLA OF THE PAPYRI: THE EXCAVATIONS MUST RESUME
2000+ scrolls still buried. Every day = irreversible loss. What Pompeii was to bodies, Herculaneum is to minds. The only intact ancient library waits beneath volcanic rock.
These Thomas fragments at Oxyrhynchus—teaching visibility through vulnerability, warning that keys of knowledge can be hidden—point toward complete collections in the Villa. Every fragment about revelation indicates libraries of wisdom texts still buried, waiting for those who will seek until they find.
◊ᴹᴱᴹᴼᴿʸ⁻ᶜᴼᴹᴾᴸᴱᵀᴱ
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