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 27 Saying 27: Fasting From the World If you do not fast from the world you will not find the kingdom; if you do not keep the sabbath as…
- Saying 42 Saying 42: Be Passers-By Be passers-by.
- Saying 7 Saying 7: The Lion and the Human Blessed is the lion eaten by a human, for the lion becomes human; cursed is the human eaten by a lion, for…
- Saying 97 Saying 97: The Jar of Meal The kingdom is like a woman carrying a jar of meal. The handle broke on the road and the meal spilled out…
- Saying 60 Saying 60: The Samaritan and the Lamb Seeing a Samaritan carrying a lamb to Judea, Jesus observes that the man can only eat it once it is dead and…
- Saying 21 Saying 21: Children in a Field Not Theirs Mary asks what the disciples are like; they are like children living in a field that is not theirs, who give it…