Bloomsbury Other Early Christian Gospels: A Critical Edition of the Surviving Greek Manuscripts: v. 315 (The Library of New Testament Studies)

Since the late nineteenth century our knowledge of early Christianity and its literature has been improved significantly by the recovery of numerous ancient manuscripts. Among the most important finds are the Greek manuscripts that preserve portions of little-known early Christian gospels, such as the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Peter, and the "Unknown Gospel" of Egerton Papyrus 2. These fragmentary manuscripts provide us with direct access to texts that seem to have been written at about the same time as the New Testament gospels. They allow us to study ancient writings about the life of Jesus in their original language, without the filters of later translation or commentary. They make long-forgotten gospels penned by some of Jesus' earliest followers available once again, shedding new light on the formative years of Christianity and, perhaps, even on Jesus himself. Other Early Christian Gospels collects all the recently-recovered Greek manuscripts containing parts of long-lost early Christian gospels into a single volume. It includes new critical editions, English translations, and exhaustive indexes of the Greek fragments of the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Peter, the Egerton Gospel, and six other unidentified gospels. This invaluable work makes long-forgotten texts, authored by some of Jesus' earliest followers, available once again, shedding new light on the formative years of Christianity and, perhaps, even on Jesus himself. In addition, Other Early Christian Gospels features "student's Greek texts" that present the restored Greek texts without any potentially confusing apparatus, editorial signs, or unidentifiable word fragments. This special student's version makes the fragmentary ancient texts dramatically more accessible to those still in the process of learning Greek.