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Bible Dictionaries
Thomas
People's Dictionary of the Bible
or Thomas (tŏm'as), twin. Also called Didymus, a Greek term meaning twin. Matthew 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:15; Acts 1:13. There can be little doubt that this apostle was a native of Galilee. John 21:2. In the character of Thomas we observe a desire for a sufficient evidence of facts. John 14:6; John 20:24-25. He was of a thoughtful mind; his affection for his Master was warm and disinterested, John 11:16; and his faith was not, as some have characterized it, inconsiderate, running easily from one extreme to the other. He had doubted the resurrection, and described the kind of proof he required; but, when the Lord appeared, and showed by his address to him that he knew his thoughts, then the apostle naturally desired nothing more. His reason was convinced: it was his Lord and his God. John 20:26-29. There is nothing in Thomas' behavior to surprise those accustomed to analyze the workings of the human mind. The Scripture is afterwards silent as to this apostle. According to earliest tradition, he preached in Parthia, and was buried at Edessa: later histories say that he went to India, and was martyred there; and the Syrian Christians in that country claim him as the founder of their church.
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Rice, Edwin Wilbur, DD. Entry for 'Thomas'. People's Dictionary of the Bible. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/rpd/t/thomas.html. 1893.
