The Limits of the Dialogue Gospel Genre

This article questions the Gospel of Thomas's long-standing classification as a »sayings gospel.« It argues that this classification rests largely on modern editorial practices, which impact the reading experience. Using a material philological approach, by reading the gospel as an uninterrupted work as presented on the Greek and Coptic manuscripts, we can see that the Gospel of Thomas exhibits dialogical features, thematic coherence, and a concern with revelation, eschatology, and Jesus's departure. In both form and content, the text aligns closely with early Christian dialogue gospels such as the Apocryphon of John and the Book of Thomas, and in some respects contains more dialogue than these comparable works. Adopting a fluid understanding of genre, the article argues that the Gospel of Thomas has been unhelpfully confined by the category of »sayings gospel« and should be recategorized as a »dialogue gospel.«