Thomas the Israelite Philosopher's Account of the Infancy of the Lord.

1. I Thomas, an Israelite, write you this account, that all the brethren from among
the heathen may know the miracles of our Lord Jesus Christ in His infancy, which
He did after His birth in our country. The beginning of it is as follows:—

2. This child Jesus, when five years old, was playing in the ford of a mountain
stream; and He collected the flowing waters into pools, and made them clear
immediately, and by a word alone He made them obey Him. And having made
some soft clay, He fashioned out of it twelve sparrows. And it was the Sabbath
when He did these things. And there were also many other children playing with
Him. And a certain Jew, seeing what Jesus was doing, playing on the Sabbath,
went off immediately, and said to his father Joseph: Behold, your son is at the
stream, and has taken clay, and made of it twelve birds, and has profaned the
Sabbath. And Joseph, coming to the place and seeing, cried out to Him, saying:
Why do you do on the Sabbath what it is not lawful to do? And Jesus clapped His
hands, and cried out to the sparrows, and said to them: Off you go! And the
sparrows flew, and went off crying. And the Jews seeing this were amazed, and
went away and reported to their chief men what they had seen Jesus doing.

3. And the son of Annas the scribe was standing there with Joseph; and he took a
willow branch, and let out the waters which Jesus had collected. And Jesus, seeing
what was done, was angry, and said to him: O wicked, impious, and foolish! What
harm did the pools and the waters do to you? Behold, even now you shall be dried
up like a tree, and you shall not bring forth either leaves, or root, or fruit. And
straightway that boy was quite dried up. And Jesus departed, and went to Joseph's
house. But the parents of the boy that had been dried up took him up, bewailing his
youth, and brought him to Joseph, and reproached him because, said they, you
have such a child doing such things.

4. After that He was again passing through the village; and a boy ran up against
Him, and struck His shoulder. And Jesus was angry, and said to him: You shall not
go back the way you came. And immediately he fell down dead. And some who
saw what had taken place, said: Whence was this child begotten, that every word
of his is certainly accomplished? And the parents of the dead boy went away to
Joseph, and blamed him, saying: Since you have such a child, it is impossible for
you to live with us in the village; or else teach him to bless, and not to curse: for he
is killing our children.
5. And Joseph called the child apart, and admonished Him, saying: Why do you do
such things, and these people suffer, and hate us, and persecute us? And Jesus said:
I know that these words of yours are not your own; nevertheless for your sake I
will be silent; but they shall bear their punishment. And straightway those that
accused Him were struck blind. And those who saw it were much afraid and in
great perplexity, and said about Him: Every word which he spoke, whether good or
bad, was an act, and became a wonder. And when they saw that Jesus had done
such a thing, Joseph rose and took hold of His ear, and pulled it hard. And the child
was very angry, and said to him: It is enough for you to seek, and not to find; and
most certainly you have not done wisely. Do you not know that I am yours? Do not
trouble me.

6. And a certain teacher, Zacchæus by name, was standing in a certain place, and
heard Jesus thus speaking to his father; and he wondered exceedingly, that, being a
child, he should speak in such a way. And a few days thereafter he came to Joseph,
and said to him: You have a sensible child, and he has some mind. Give him to me,
then, that he may learn letters; and I shall teach him along with the letters all
knowledge, both how to address all the elders, and to honour them as forefathers
and fathers, and how to love those of his own age. And He said to him all the
letters from the Alpha even to the Omega, clearly and with great exactness. And
He looked upon the teacher Zacchæus, and said to him: Thou who art ignorant of
the nature of the Alpha, how can you teach others the Beta? Thou hypocrite! First,
if you know, teach the A, and then we shall believe you about the B. Then He
began to question the teacher about the first letter, and he was not able to answer
Him. And in the hearing of many, the child says to Zacchæus: Hear, O teacher, the
order of the first letter, and notice here how it has lines, and a middle stroke
crossing those which you see common; (lines) brought together; the highest part
supporting them, and again bringing them under one head; with three points of
intersection; of the same kind; principal and subordinate; of equal length. You have
the lines of the A.

7. And when the teacher Zacchæus heard the child speaking such and so great
allegories of the first letter, he was at a great loss about such a narrative, and about
His teaching. And He said to those that were present: Alas! I, wretch that I am, am
at a loss, bringing shame upon myself by having dragged this child hither. Take
him away, then, I beseech you, brother Joseph. I cannot endure the sternness of his
look; I cannot make out his meaning at all. That child does not belong to this earth;
he can tame even fire. Assuredly he was born before the creation of the world.
What sort of a belly bore him, what sort of a womb nourished him, I do not know.
Alas! My friend, he has carried me away; I cannot get at his meaning: thrice
wretched that I am, I have deceived myself. I made a struggle to have a scholar,
and I was found to have a teacher. My mind is filled with shame, my friends,
because I, an old man, have been conquered by a child. There is nothing for me but
despondency and death on account of this boy, for I am not able at this hour to
look him in the face; and when everybody says that I have been beaten by a little
child, what can I say? And how can I give an account of the lines of the first letter
that he spoke about? I know not, O my friends; for I can make neither beginning
nor end of him. Therefore, I beseech you, brother Joseph, take him home. What
great thing he is, either god or angel, or what I am to say, I know not.

8. And when the Jews were encouraging Zacchæus, the child laughed aloud, and
said: Now let your learning bring forth fruit, and let the blind in heart see. I am
here from above, that I may curse them, and call them to the things that are above,
as He that sent me on your account has commanded me. And when the child
ceased speaking, immediately all were made whole who had fallen under His
curse. And no one after that dared to make Him angry, lest He should curse him,
and he should be maimed.

9. And some days after, Jesus was playing in an upper room of a certain house, and
one of the children that were playing with Him fell down from the house, and was
killed. And, when the other children saw this, they ran away, and Jesus alone stood
still. And the parents of the dead child coming, reproached. ..and they threatened
Him. And Jesus leaped down from the roof, and stood beside the body of the child,
and cried with a loud voice, and said: Zeno — for that was his name — stand up,
and tell me; did I throw you down? And he stood up immediately, and said:
Certainly not, my lord; you did not throw me down, but hast raised me up. And
those that saw this were struck with astonishment. And the child's parents glorified
God on account of the miracle that had happened, and adored Jesus.

10. A few days after, a young man was splitting wood in the corner, and the axe
came down and cut the sole of his foot in two, and he died from loss of blood. And
there was a great commotion, and people ran together, and the child Jesus ran there
too. And He pressed through the crowd, and laid hold of the young man's wounded
foot, and he was cured immediately. And He said to the young man: Rise up now,
split the wood, and remember me. And the crowd seeing what had happened,
adored the child, saying: Truly the Spirit of God dwells in this child.

11. And when He was six years old, His mother gave Him a pitcher, and sent Him
to draw water, and bring it into the house. But He struck against some one in the
crowd, and the pitcher was broken. And Jesus unfolded the cloak which He had on,
and filled it with water, and carried it to His mother. And His mother, seeing the
miracle that had happened, kissed Him, and kept within herself the mysteries
which she had seen Him doing.

12. And again in seed-time the child went out with His father to sow grain in their
land. And while His father was sowing, the child Jesus also sowed one grain of
grain. And when He had reaped it, and threshed it, He made a hundred kors; and
calling all the poor of the village to the threshing-floor, He gave them the grain,
and Joseph took away what was left of the grain. And He was eight years old when
He did this miracle.

13. And His father was a carpenter, and at that time made ploughs and yokes. And
a certain rich man ordered him to make him a couch. And one of what is called the
cross pieces being too short, they did not know what to do. The child Jesus said to
His father Joseph: Put down the two pieces of wood, and make them even in the
middle. And Joseph did as the child said to him. And Jesus stood at the other end,
and took hold of the shorter piece of wood, and stretched it, and made it equal to
the other. And His father Joseph saw it, and wondered, and embraced the child,
and blessed Him, saying: Blessed am I, because God has given me this child.

14. And Joseph, seeing that the child was vigorous in mind and body, again
resolved that He should not remain ignorant of the letters, and took Him away, and
handed Him over to another teacher. And the teacher said to Joseph: I shall first
teach him the Greek letters, and then the Hebrew. For the teacher was aware of the
trial that had been made of the child, and was afraid of Him. Nevertheless he wrote
out the alphabet, and gave Him all his attention for a long time, and He made him
no answer. And Jesus said to him: If you are really a teacher, and art well
acquainted with the letters, tell me the power of the Alpha, and I will tell you the
power of the Beta. And the teacher was enraged at this, and struck Him on the
head. And the child, being in pain, cursed him; and immediately he swooned away,
and fell to the ground on his face. And the child returned to Joseph's house; and
Joseph was grieved, and gave orders to His mother, saying: Do not let him go
outside of the door, because those that make him angry die.

15. And after some time, another master again, a genuine friend of Joseph, said to
him: Bring the child to my school; perhaps I shall be able to flatter him into
learning his letters. And Joseph said: If you have the courage, brother, take him
with you. And he took Him with him in fear and great agony; but the child went
along pleasantly. And going boldly into the school, He found a book lying on the
reading-desk; and taking it, He read not the letters that were in it, but opening His
mouth, He spoke by the Holy Spirit, and taught the law to those that were standing
round. And a great crowd having come together, stood by and heard Him, and
wondered at the ripeness of His teaching, and the readiness of His words, and that
He, child as He was, spoke in such a way. And Joseph hearing of it, was afraid,
and ran to the school, in doubt lest his master too should be without experience.
And the master said to Joseph: Know, brother, that I have taken the child as a
scholar, and he is full of much grace and wisdom; but I beseech you, brother, take
him home. And when the child heard this, He laughed at him directly, and said:
Since you have spoken aright, and witnessed aright, for your sake he also that was
struck down shall be cured. And immediately the other master was cured. And
Joseph took the child, and went away home.

16. And Joseph sent his son James to tie up wood and bring it home, and the child
Jesus also followed him. And when James was gathering the fagots, a viper bit
James' hand. And when he was racked with pain, and at the point of death, Jesus
came near and blew upon the bite; and the pain ceased directly, and the beast burst,
and instantly James remained safe and sound.

17. And after this the infant of one of Joseph's neighbours fell sick and died, and its
mother wept sore. And Jesus heard that there was great lamentation and
commotion, and ran in haste, and found the child dead, and touched his breast, and
said: I say to you, child, be not dead, but live, and be with your mother. And
directly it looked up and laughed. And He said to the woman: Take it, and give it
milk, and remember me. And seeing this, the crowd that was standing by
wondered, and said: Truly this child was either God or an angel of God, for every
word of his is a certain fact. And Jesus went out thence, playing with the other
children.

18. And some time after there occurred a great commotion while a house was
building, and Jesus stood up and went away to the place. And seeing a man lying
dead, He took him by the hand, and said: Man, I say to you, arise, and go on with
your work. And directly he rose up, and adored Him. And seeing this, the crowd
wondered, and said: This child is from heaven, for he has saved many souls from
death, and he continues to save during all his life.

19. And when He was twelve years old His parents went as usual to Jerusalem to
the feast of the passover with their fellow-travellers. And after the passover they
were coming home again. And while they were coming home, the child Jesus went
back to Jerusalem. And His parents thought that He was in the company. And
having gone one day's journey, they sought for Him among their relations; and not
finding Him, they were in great grief, and turned back to the city seeking for Him.
And after the third day they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the
teachers, both hearing the law and asking them questions. And they were all
attending to Him, and wondering that He, being a child, was shutting the mouths of
the elders and teachers of the people, explaining the main points of the law and the
parables of the prophets. And His mother Mary coming up, said to Him: Why have
you done this to us, child? Behold, we have been seeking for you in great trouble.
And Jesus said to them: Why do you seek me? Do you not know that I must be
about my Father's business? And the scribes and the Pharisees said: Are you the
mother of this child? And she said: I am. And they said to her: Blessed are you
among women, for God has blessed the fruit of your womb; for such glory, and
such virtue and wisdom, we have neither seen nor heard ever. And Jesus rose up,
and followed His mother, and was subject to His parents. And His mother observed
all these things that had happened. And Jesus advanced in wisdom, and stature, and
grace. Luke 2:41-52 To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.