Lectionary Calendar

Sunday, November 17th, 2024
the Week of Proper 28 / Ordinary 33

Attention!

Tired of seeing ads while studying? Now you can enjoy an "Ads Free" version of the site for as little as 10¢ a day and support a great cause!
Click here to learn more!

Bible Dictionaries
Agrapha

Holman Bible Dictionary

Search for…

1 2 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z

Prev Entry
Aging

Next Entry
Agriculture

Resource Toolbox

Print Article

Additional Links

, “unwritten things,” has been used since about 1700 to denote words of Jesus not written in the four canonical gospels. Some examples within the Bible are Acts 20:35 and 1 Corinthians 11:24-25 . More are found in Apocryphal writings, Gnostic gospels, the Talmud, the Islamic sources, Oxyrhynhychus Papyri, and the church fathers. Some scholars suggest that the canonical gospels may rely in part on these sayings. Most sayings are regarded by scholars as expansions of the gospel tradition or creations by subsequent followers of Jesus, though a few of them may be authentic. “Whoever is near to me is near to the fire, but whoever is far from me is far from the Kingdom” is from the Gospel of Thomas, an extrabiblical gnostic agrapha. Recent discovery of the Nag Hammadi library has increased our examples.

Joe Baskin

Bibliography Information
Butler, Trent C. Editor. Entry for 'Agrapha'. Holman Bible Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/hbd/a/agrapha.html. 1991.

Bible Dictionaries Agrapha

Holman Bible Dictionary

Bible Dictionaries
Agrapha