The Gospel of Thomas: a literary translation
Abstract
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- The Gospel of Thomas: a literary translation
- Creators
- Itamar Shalev
- Contributors
- Paul C Dilley (Advisor)Jan Steyn (Committee Member)Adrienne K Ho Rose (Committee Member)
- Resource Type
- Thesis
- Degree Awarded
- Master of Fine Arts (MFA), University of Iowa
- Degree in
- Literary Translation
- Date degree season
- Spring 2025
- DOI
- 10.25820/etd.007807
- Publisher
- University of Iowa
- Number of pages
- xlii, 63 pages
- Copyright
- Copyright 2025 Itamar Shalev
- Language
- English
- Date submitted
- 04/28/2025
- Description illustrations
- illustrations, facsimiles
- Description bibliographic
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 61-63).
- Public Abstract (ETD)
This thesis has two parts. The first part, the translator’s note, makes an argument for the necessity of translating theological texts in a manner that preserves their ambiguities and facilitates further interpretation; describes translation strategies that align with that principle; and discusses existing translations of The Gospel of Thomas.
The second part is a translation of The Gospel of Thomas from the Coptic language into English, which aligns with the theoretical principles described in the first part: it requires reader’s active involvement in its interpretation, and aims to avoid putting into words what is infinite and ineffable—which some people would call blasphemy—by encouraging non-literalist reading. This is achieved by rendering the text in verse, using line breaks and enjambment; preserving and enhancing ambiguity; representing lacunae (gaps in the text) and scribal errors in the translation; borrowing features of the original’s orthography (the way it’s spelled and formatted on the page); and making interventions that call attention to the text being a translation.
- Academic Unit
- Translation
- Record Identifier
- 9984830726802771