Saying 79: Blessed Is the Womb That Bore You
A woman blesses the womb that carried him and the breasts that fed him; he answers that blessed are those who have heard the Father's word and kept it — and that days are coming when people will call blessed the womb that never conceived.
Commentary
Thomas joins two Lukan passages that are chapters apart. The combined effect is a sharp turn away from motherhood as a category of blessing — read alongside sayings 101 and 105.
Parallels
Luke 11:27–28; Luke 23:29
Sayings on the same themes
- Saying 6 Saying 6: On Fasting, Prayer and Almsgiving The disciples ask how to fast, pray, give alms and eat; the answer is to stop lying and to stop doing what…
- Saying 28 Saying 28: I Found Them All Drunk I took my place in the middle of the world and appeared in flesh; I found everyone drunk and no one thirsty,…
- Saying 37 Saying 37: When You Strip Without Shame Asked when he will appear to them, Jesus answers: when you undress without being ashamed, and trample your clothes underfoot like little…
- Saying 42 Saying 42: Be Passers-By Be passers-by.
- Saying 80 Saying 80: Whoever Has Found the Body Whoever has come to know the world has found the body, and whoever has found the body is worth more than the…
- Saying 86 Saying 86: Nowhere to Lay His Head Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the son of man has nowhere to lay his head and rest.