The Jesus Archive
Who they were

Thomas is listed among the Twelve in all the Gospels. John gives him a distinct voice: he is the disciple who doubts the resurrection until he sees and touches Jesus, and then confesses him as ‘my Lord and my God’. His name means ‘twin’ in Aramaic, as does the Greek Didymus.

Syrian tradition called him Judas Thomas and linked him with Edessa and with a mission to India; Eusebius tells how he sent Thaddaeus to King Abgar. The sayings Gospel of Thomas is presented as written down by ‘Didymos Judas Thomas’, but its attribution is literary rather than historical. The unrelated Infancy Gospel of Thomas also bears his name.

Where to start

The New TestamentThe Gospel of Johnc. AD 90–110 · Anonymous; attributed to the beloved disciple
The Other GospelsThe Gospel of Thomas1st–2nd century, disputed (Greek fragments c. 200–250; Coptic c. 350) · Unknown (attributed to Didymos Judas Thomas); tr. Mark M. Mattison
The Early ChurchEusebius, Church History, Book IEarly 4th century AD (completed c. 325) · Eusebius of Caesarea

Every mention

25 writings
  1. AD 70The Gospel of MarkThe New Testament1×
  2. AD 85The Gospel of MatthewThe New Testament1×
  3. AD 85The Gospel of LukeThe New Testament1×
  4. AD 85The Acts of the ApostlesThe New Testament1×
  5. AD 95The Gospel of JohnThe New Testament10×
  6. AD 120Papias of Hierapolis, FragmentsThe Early Church1×
  7. AD 125The Gospel of ThomasThe Other Gospels16×
  8. AD 150The Infancy Gospel of ThomasThe Other Gospels4×
  9. AD 150The Gospel of JudasThe Other Gospels1×
  10. AD 150The Secret Book of James (Apocryphon of James)The Other Gospels1×
  11. AD 170The Infancy Gospel of James (Protevangelium of James)The Other Gospels2×
  12. AD 170Tatian’s DiatessaronThe Other Gospels5×
  13. AD 175Sayings of Jesus (Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 5575)The Other Gospels6×
  14. AD 250Pistis SophiaThe Other Gospels1×
  15. AD 320Eusebius, Church History, Book IThe Early Church2×
  16. AD 320Eusebius, Church History, Book IIIThe Early Church3×
  17. AD 550Hone’s Apocryphal New Testament: the Arabic Infancy Gospel and the Abgar LettersThe Other Gospels3×
  18. AD 627Qur’an, Surah 3 (Al ʿImran): The Family of ImranOther Voices1×
  19. 1907G. R. S. Mead, The Gnostic Crucifixion (1907)The Other Gospels1×
  20. 2026Registry of Gospels and Their Canonical StatusThe Other Gospels7×
  21. 2026Guide to the research and the world before JesusThe Dossier1×
  22. 2026Jesus’s life: a chronological catalogue of the canonical narrativesThe Dossier5×
  23. 2026The documentary record of Jesus and the movements that interpreted himThe Dossier8×
  24. 2026From medieval devotion to the presentThe Dossier2×
  25. 2026Sources and further readingThe Dossier8×