not been born of woman Gospel of Thomas saying 15

**The "One Not Born of Woman" in the Gospel of Thomas**

In the Gospel of Thomas, Saying 15, Jesus states:

> "When you see one who has not been born of woman, fall upon your faces and prostrate yourselves before that one: it is that one who is your father."

This passage has long puzzled scholars and readers alike because of the phrase **“not born of woman.”** Some interpretations have suggested that the “One” refers to Adam, but a careful examination of early Christian texts, including the Gospel of Philip, demonstrates the limitations of this view. In the Gospel of Philip, Adam is described as coming into being:

> “from two virgins, from the Spirit and from the virgin earth.”

This statement clarifies that Adam’s origin is distinct from that of a being who is **not born of woman.** The phrase “virgin earth” is symbolic rather than literal. In Hebrew, the word for earth is feminine, and the Gospel of Philip employs **personification**, describing the earth as a virgin to indicate purity and the source of Adam’s material existence. Therefore, Adam was, in a metaphorical sense, “born of woman,” because the virgin earth functions as a maternal principle. His creation, while extraordinary, does not exclude him from having an origin that can be conceptualized as maternal.

Furthermore, Adam is not an angel but a corporeal being made from the “virgin earth.” The Gospel of Philip emphasizes that Christ, in contrast, was born from a virgin specifically to rectify the Fall:

> “Christ therefore, was born from a virgin to rectify the Fall which occurred in the beginning.”

This distinction underscores the unique role of Christ in salvation history, highlighting the corrective nature of his birth rather than suggesting that Adam occupies the same ontological status as the “one not born of woman” in Thomas 15. Therefore, Adam cannot be the referent of Jesus’ saying, because his origin from the Spirit and the virgin earth situates him within a created framework, unlike the eternal, uncreated being described in Thomas.

Similarly, the “one not born of woman” cannot be Jesus himself. While Jesus is indeed a significant figure in the Gospel of Thomas, he is consistently identified as the Son, begotten of the Father, and therefore, unlike the Father, has a point of origin. The text distinguishes between the begotten and the unbegotten. The identification of the “One” not born of woman as the Father explicitly excludes Jesus as a candidate. The distinction lies in the understanding that Jesus, as the Son, was begotten or born of the Father, while the Father is considered **uncreated, eternal, and the ultimate source of all things.**

The Father’s uncreated nature is central to understanding this passage. In the Gospel of Thomas, the ultimate source is often referred to as the “living one,” a term that emphasizes self-existence and eternal being. Other sayings in Thomas, including 37, 52, 59, and 111, use similar language to describe this eternal, uncreated figure, aligning with the identification in Saying 15. The “living one” is thus:

> “our Father and the One we should worship.”

This connection between the “not born of woman” and the “living one” reveals a consistent theological thread in Thomas: the recognition of an eternal source that precedes all creation, transcending human birth and mortality. The text instructs the disciples to **prostrate themselves** before this figure, indicating proper veneration of the ultimate source rather than any created being.

The Gospel of Thomas presents the Father as the foundational principle of existence, one who is not subject to the limitations of the material world. This conception aligns with other scriptural traditions emphasizing the eternal, self-existent nature of God. For example, Revelation presents the heavenly beings prostrating themselves before the eternal One:

> Revelation 4:10: “The twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne, and worship him who lives forever and ever.”

> Revelation 7:11: “All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God.”

These passages illustrate a consistent biblical motif: worship is due to the eternal, uncreated source of life, not to any human or angelic figure. In Thomas, this same pattern appears in the description of the “one not born of woman,” linking the practice of prostration and worship to recognition of the Father as the living one.

The use of the phrase **“not born of woman”** also carries deeper symbolic meaning. It emphasizes the absolute independence and self-existence of the Father, contrasting with all created beings, including Adam and Jesus. Adam, though created in a remarkable manner, remains part of the created order and is dependent on the virgin earth and the Spirit for his existence. Jesus, though begotten and uniquely significant, is likewise a created Son and therefore distinct from the eternal, unbegotten Father. In contrast, the Father is without origin, embodying eternal existence and serving as the ultimate source of all life and knowledge.

In conclusion, Saying 15 of the Gospel of Thomas must be understood as referring to the **Father as the eternal, uncreated source**. The identification of the “one not born of woman” with Adam or Jesus is inconsistent with both the Gospel of Philip and the broader theological context of Thomas. Adam’s origin from the Spirit and virgin earth is symbolic, and Jesus’ begotten nature differentiates him from the uncreated Father. Instead, the text consistently points to the eternal Father, described elsewhere in Thomas as the “living one,” as the proper recipient of prostration and worship. By recognizing the Father in this manner, the disciples acknowledge the ultimate source of all being, transcending human limitations and the constraints of the created order.

The Gospel of Thomas thus preserves a profound theological insight: the eternal, uncreated Father is the true object of veneration, entirely independent of human birth or creation. By instructing disciples to fall on their faces before the one not born of woman, the text emphasizes the primacy of the eternal source, the living one, and the Father of all. This teaching underscores the distinction between created and uncreated beings, clarifying the hierarchy of existence and the nature of worship in early Christian thought.

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**The “One Not Born of Woman” and the Living One in the Gospel of Thomas: A Detailed Analysis**

In Saying 15 of the Gospel of Thomas, Jesus declares:

> “When you see one who has not been born of woman, fall upon your faces and prostrate yourselves before that one: it is that one who is your father.”

The phrase **“not born of woman”** (οὐκ ἐκ γυναικός γεννηθέντα, *ouk ek gynaikos gennēthenta*) is key to understanding the identity of the figure being referenced. This expression emphasizes an **uncreated, eternal origin**, setting this figure apart from all beings who have a point of origin, whether human, angelic, or otherwise. While some interpretations have attempted to associate this “One” with Adam, textual evidence from the Gospel of Philip demonstrates that Adam’s origin is incompatible with this description:

> “from two virgins, from the Spirit and from the virgin earth.”

Here, “virgin earth” (ἡ παρθένος γῆ, *hē parthenos gē*) is a personification, not a literal mother, indicating that Adam’s creation involved a combination of spiritual and material principles. The feminine noun for earth (*gē*) reinforces the symbolic maternal imagery. Thus, Adam cannot be considered “not born of woman,” since his existence stems from a created principle in the material cosmos.

Jesus himself is similarly excluded from being the “one not born of woman.” As the Son, he is begotten (γεννηθείς, *gennētheis*) from the Father and therefore does not share the uncreated, eternal status attributed to the “One.” This distinction aligns with the consistent terminology in Thomas, which differentiates the begotten Son from the **unbegotten Father**.

The connection between Saying 15 and other passages in Thomas reinforces the identification of the “one not born of woman” with the Father, referred to as the **“living one”**. In particular, Sayings 37, 52, 59, and 111 employ language that parallels Thomas 15, linking this figure to eternal life and uncreated being:

1. **Thomas 37**:

> “His disciples said to him, ‘When will you become revealed to us and when shall we see you?’ Jesus said, ‘When you strip naked without being ashamed and take up your cross and follow me, then you will see the living one.’”

Here, **the living one** (ὁ ζῶν, *ho zōn*) is the object of recognition, emphasizing that true perception requires the renunciation of ordinary identity and attachment. The same Greek term ζῶν (*zōn*) is employed to describe the eternal, uncreated source, directly correlating with the “one not born of woman” in Saying 15.

2. **Thomas 52**:

> “His disciples said to him, ‘Twenty-four prophets have spoken in Israel, and they all spoke of you.’ He said, ‘You have dismissed the living one who is among you, and you do not know him.’”

Again, the term **ζῶν (*zōn*)** identifies a being present and perceptible to the spiritually aware, yet overlooked by those focused on prophetic expectation or external authority. This reinforces the notion that the “one not born of woman” is the ultimate source of spiritual life, transcending human generational or prophetic lineage.

3. **Thomas 59**:

> “Jesus said, ‘Look for the living one as long as you live, so that you may become sons of the living one.’”

Here, the connection is both ontological and ethical: the **living one** (*ho zōn*) is the source of being and the model for discipleship. Recognition of this one transforms the disciple into a child of the eternal, uncreated Father, echoing the filial language in Saying 15: “it is that one who is your father.”

4. **Thomas 111**:

> “Jesus said, ‘He who seeks will find the living one; and when you find him, you will be like him, and you will realize that he is your father.’”

The terminology **ὁ ζῶν (*ho zōn*)** and the designation as **father (πατήρ, *patēr*)** directly mirrors Saying 15, providing textual evidence that the “one not born of woman” is synonymous with the living one, the uncreated Father. The repetition of these terms in multiple sayings emphasizes the consistent identification of the eternal source across the Gospel of Thomas.

Taken together, these sayings illustrate that the “one not born of woman” is neither Adam nor Jesus but the **Father as the uncreated, eternal, living source of all life and knowledge**. The repeated Greek term **ζῶν (*zōn*)** reinforces self-existence and eternal life, while **οὐκ ἐκ γυναικός γεννηθέντα (*ouk ek gynaikos gennēthenta*)** emphasizes the lack of any maternal or temporal origin.

The Gospel of Thomas consistently links recognition of the living one with proper veneration, ethical transformation, and understanding of spiritual reality. Saying 15 instructs the disciples to **prostrate themselves** before this figure, paralleling worship imagery found elsewhere in Scripture. Revelation illustrates a similar motif:

> Revelation 4:10: “The twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne, and worship him who lives forever and ever.”

> Revelation 7:11: “All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God.”

These passages demonstrate that worship is directed toward the eternal, self-existent one, confirming the parallel in Thomas between the “living one” and the figure “not born of woman.”

In conclusion, the textual and linguistic evidence demonstrates that the **“one not born of woman” in Thomas 15** is identical with the **living one** referenced in Sayings 37, 52, 59, and 111. The Father is uncreated, eternal, and the ultimate source of all things. Adam and Jesus, while significant figures, cannot occupy this role: Adam originates from the Spirit and virgin earth, and Jesus, as begotten, has a point of origin. The repeated use of the Greek **ζῶν (*zōn*)** and **πατήρ (*patēr*)** across multiple sayings establishes the consistent identification of the eternal Father, underscoring the theological core of Thomas: recognition, veneration, and alignment with the uncreated source as the path to spiritual life.

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