Gospel of the Hebrews: Fragment 1 – Fragment 2 – Fragment 3 – Fragment 4 – Fragment 5 – Fragment 6 – Fragment 7
Gospel of the Egyptians: Fragment 1 – Fragment 2 – Fragment 3
This section includes Gospels that are highly fragmentary.
Gospel of the Hebrews: a lost Jewish–Christian gospel containing traditions of Jesus’ preexistence, incarnation, baptism, and temptation, along with some of His sayings. It is one of the earliest apocryphal gospels, probably composed in the early-2nd century.
Gospel of the Nazarenes: While some conflate this gospel with that of the Hebrews, the scholarly consensus now regards it as independent. While an exact date of composition is not known, it predates AD 200.
Gospel of the Egyptians: Not to be confused with the overtly gnostic Coptic Gospel of the Egyptians, the [Greek] Gospel of the Egyptians is an early pseudepigraphic gospel from the 2nd century. It survives only in brief quotations from early writers.
The Oxyrhynchus Gospel: The Oxyrhynchus 840 and 1224 fragments stem from an ancient Gospel (or Gospels) that were composed as early as the second half of the 1st century
The Unknown Gospel: These two fragments belong to an unknown Gospel—called “Egerton”—that was probably composed in the middle of the 2nd century at the latest.
When Christ desired to come on the earth to men, the good Father summoned a mighty power in Heaven, which was called Michael, and entrusted Christ to the care thereof. And the power came into the world, and it was called Mary, and Christ was in her womb seven months.
And it came to pass when the Lord had come up out of the water, the whole fount of the Holy Spirit descended on Him, and rested on Him, and said to Him: “My Son, in all the prophets I was waiting for You, that You should come, and I might rest in You. For You are My rest; You are My first-begotten Son who reigns forever.”
Even so did My mother, the Holy Spirit, take Me by one of My hairs and carry Me away on to the great mountain Tabor.
He that marvels will reign, and he that has reigned will rest.
And never be joyful, except when you behold your brother with love.
He that has grieved the spirit of his brother.
And when the Lord had given the linen cloth to the servant of the priest, He went to James and appeared to him. For James had sworn that he would not eat bread from that hour in which he had drunk the cup of the Lord until he should see Him risen from among them that sleep. And shortly thereafter, the Lord said: “Bring a table and bread!” And immediately it was added: He took the bread, blessed it and broke it, and gave it to James the Just, and said to him: “My brother, eat your bread, for the Son of Man has risen from among them that sleep.”
“Out of Egypt I called My Son.” . . . “He will be called a Nazarene.” . . . See, the Lord’s mother and His brothers were saying to Him, “John the Immerser is immersing for removing sins; let’s go and get immersed by him too.” He said to them: “How have I sinned, so that I need him to immerse Me? Unless maybe what I’ve just said is [a sin of] ignorance.” . . . to Jerusalem. . . . “Give us today our bread for tomorrow.” . . . “If you are in My bosom, and you do not do the will of My Father in Heaven, I will cast you away from My bosom.” . . . “wiser than serpents,” . . . “plunder” . . . “I thank you” . . . “I was a mason seeking a living with my hands. I beg you, Jesus, to give me back my health, so I don’t have to beg for food in shame.” . . . “corban” . . . “son of John!” . . . “If your brother,” He says, “sins verbally against you, and gives you satisfaction, receive him seven times in a day.” His disciple Simon said to Him, “Seven times in a day?” The Lord answered him, saying, “I say again to you, up to seventy times seven. For even in the prophets, even after the Holy Spirit anointed them, sinful speech turned up.” . . . The other of the rich men said to Him, “Master, what good thing will I do and live?” He said to him: “Man, perform the Law and the Prophets.” He answered Him, “I have performed them.” He said to him: “Go, sell all that you have and divide it to the poor, and come, follow Me.” But the rich man began to scratch his head, and it displeased him. And the Lord said to him: “How can you say, I have performed the Law and the Prophets? Seeing that it is written in the Law: You will love your neighbor as yourself; and look, many of your brothers, sons of Abraham, are covered with dung, dying for hunger, and your house is full of many goods, and there goes out from there nothing at all to them.” And He turned and said to His disciple Simon, sitting by Him, “Simon, son of John, it is easier for a camel to enter through the eye of a needle than a rich man into the kingdom of the heavens.” . . . “son of Joiada” . . . “squandered the substance with harlots and flute-women . . . prison” . . . he denied, and swore, and cursed himself . . . the son of their teacher, condemned for sedition and murder . . . a massive lintel of the temple broke and split apart . . . And he gave them armed men to sit right in front of the cave and guard it day and night. . . . “I will select to Myself these things: very, very, excellent are those whom My Father, who is in Heaven, has given to Me.”
[Salome said to Him,] “Until when will men continue to die?” [He replied,] “So long as women bear children.” . . . [And she said,] “Have I done well, then, in not bearing children?” [He replied,] “Eat every plant, but that which has bitterness do not eat.”
“When you have trampled on the garment of shame, and when the two become one, and the male with the female is neither male nor female . . .”
“I came to destroy the works of the female.”
FRAGMENT 1
“. . . before he does wrong makes all manner of subtle excuse. But give heed lest you also suffer the same things as they; for the evildoers among men do not receive their reward among the living only, but also await punishment and much torment.” And He took them and brought them into the very place of purification, and was walking in the temple. And a certain Pharisee, a chief priest, whose name was Levi, met them and said to the Savior, “Who gave You leave to walk in this place of purification and to see these holy vessels, when You have not washed nor yet have Your disciples bathed their feet? But You have walked in this temple defiled, which is a pure place, wherein no other man walks except he has washed himself and changed his garments, neither does he venture to see these holy vessels.” And the Savior immediately stood still with His disciples and answered him, “Are you then, being here in the temple, clean?” He says to Him, “I am clean; for I washed in the pool of David, and having descended by one staircase I ascended by another, and I put on white and clean garments, and then I came and looked on these holy vessels.” The Savior answered and said to him, “Woe you blind, who see not. You have washed in these running waters wherein dogs and swine have been cast night and day, and have cleansed and wiped the outside skin which also the harlots and flute-girls anoint and wash and wipe and beautify for the lust of men; but within they are full of scorpions and all wickedness. But My disciples and I, who you say have not bathed, have been dipped in the waters of continuous life which come from . . . but woe to the . . .”
FRAGMENT 2
“It weighed me down.” Then Jesus approached in a vision and said, “Why are you discouraged? For not . . . you, but the . . .” .“. . . You said, although You are not answering. What then did You renounce? What is the new doctrine that they say You teach, or what is the new immersion that You proclaim? Answer and . . .” When the scribes and Pharisees and priests saw Him, they were angry that He was reclining in the midst of sinners. But when Jesus heard, He said, “Those who are healthy have no need of a physician . . .” “. . . and pray for your enemies. For the one who is not against you is for you. The one who is far away today, tomorrow will be near you and in . . .” “. . . the adversary . . .”
FRAGMENT 1
. . . [And Jesus said] to the lawyers, “[Punish] every wrongdoer and transgressor, and not Me”; . . . And turning to the rulers of the people He spoke this, saying, “Search the Writings, in which you think that you have life; these are they which bear witness of Me. Do not think that I came to accuse you to My Father; there is one that accuses you, even Moses, on whom you have set your hope.” And when they said, “We know well that God spoke to Moses, but as for You, we do not know from where You are,” Jesus answered and said to them, “Now is your unbelief accused . . .” [They gave counsel to] the multitude to [gather] stones together and stone Him. And the rulers sought to lay their hands on Him that they might take Him and [hand Him over] to the multitude; and they could not take Him, because the hour of His betrayal was not yet come. But He Himself, even the Lord, going out through the midst of them, departed from them. And behold, there comes to Him a leper and says, “Master Jesus, journeying with lepers and eating with them in the inn I myself also became a leper. If, therefore, you will, I am made clean.” The Lord then said to him, “I will; be made clean.” And immediately the leprosy departed from him. [And the Lord said to him], “Go, [show yourself] to the [priests] . . .”
FRAGMENT 2
. . . coming to Him began to tempt Him with a question, saying, “Master Jesus, we know that You have come from God, for the things which You testify above all the prophets. Tell us therefore: Is it lawful [to render] to kings that which pertains to their rule? [Will we render to them], or not?” But Jesus, knowing their thought, being moved with indignation, said to them, “Why do you call Me Master with your mouth, when you do not hear what I say? Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying, This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. In vain do they worship Me, [teaching as their doctrines the] precepts [of men] . . .” “. . . shut up . . . in . . . place . . . its weight unweighed?” And when they were perplexed at His strange question, Jesus, as He walked, stood still on the edge of the River Jordan, and stretching forth His right hand, He [filled it with water] and sprinkled it on the . . . And then . . . water that had been sprinkled . . . before them and sent forth fruit . . .