XVIII. And he found a cave there, and brought it, and left his sons with it, and went to seek the midwife in the region of Bethlehem.

And here I was, Joseph [176], walking and not moving. And he looked into the air, and saw that the air was still, and he looked at the firmament, and saw that it was stopped, and the birds of the air were stopped in flight, and he looked at the earth, and saw the vessel set up, and the laborers reclining beside it, and their hands were near the vessel, and those who ate (food) did not eat, and those who took did not take, and those who brought it to their mouths did not bring it to their mouths; and the faces of all were turned to heaven. And he saw sheep that were being persecuted, but that were standing. And the shepherd lifted up his hand to drive them away, but his hand remained up. And he looked at the course of the river and saw that the goats touched the water, but did not drink, and at that moment everything stopped.

XIX. And I saw a woman coming down from the mountain, who said to me, "Man, where are you going?" I answered: I am looking for a midwife. In response, she asked me: Are you from Israel? And I said to her: Yes. And she said: And who is she who gives birth in a cave? I answered: She is betrothed to me. And she said, "Is she not your wife?" Then I answered, This is Mary, who grew up in the temple of the Lord, and I received her by lot to be my wife, but she is not my wife, but conceived of the Holy Spirit. And his grandmother said to him: Is it true? And Joseph answered, "Go and see." And the midwife went with him [177]. And they stood by the cave, and a shining cloud appeared in the cave. And the grandmother said, "My soul is exalted, my eyes have seen a miracle, for salvation has been born to Israel." And then the cloud moved away from the cave, and there shone in the cave such a light that they could not bear it, and after a while the light disappeared, and a child appeared, and came out and took the breast of his mother Mary. And the grandmother exclaimed, saying: "This day is great for me, for I have seen an unprecedented manifestation. And she came out of the cave, and met Salome,[178] and said to her, "Salome, Salome, I want to tell you about a wondrous phenomenon: a virgin gave birth and preserved her virginity." And Salome said, "As the Lord my God lives, until I stretch out my finger and test her virginity, I believe that a virgin has given birth."

XX. And Salome had hardly stretched out her finger when she cried out and said, "Woe to my unbelief, for I have dared to tempt God. And now my hand is taken away as if in fire. And she fell on her knees before the Lord, saying:

O Lord God of my fathers, remember that I am of the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, do not shame me before the children of Israel, but show me mercy for the poor: for you know that I served you in your name, and from you I wanted to receive recompense. And then an angel of the Lord stood before her, and said to her, "Salome, Salome, the Lord has hearkened unto thee, lift up thy hand to the babe and hold him, and salvation and joy shall come to thee." And Salome came and took the child in her arms, saying, I will worship him, for a great king of Israel is born. And immediately Salome was healed and came out of the cave saved.

XXI. And Joseph prepared to go (further) into Judea. And in Bethlehem of Judea there was great confusion, for the magicians came and asked, "Where is the king of the Jews who has been born?" for we have seen his star in the east, and have come to bow down before him. And when Herod heard this, he was alarmed, and sent his servants for the magicians. Then he summoned the chief priests and asked them in the praetorium [183] where Christ was to be born according to the scriptures. And they answered him, In Bethlehem of Judea, for it is written, and he sent them away. And then he asked the magicians, saying to them: What sign did you see of the birth of the king? And the magicians answered, "We saw a great star shining among the stars and darkening them, so that they were almost invisible, and so we learned that the king of Israel was born, and we came to bow down before Him." And Herod said, "Go and search, and when you find it, let me know, that I also may worship him." And the magicians went. And the star that they saw in the east went before them until they came to the cave, and stopped before the entrance of the cave. And the magicians saw the Child with His mother Mary, and having opened their treasures, they offered Him a gift of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having received a revelation from the angel not to return to Judea, they went to their country by another way.

XXII. Then Herod perceived that the magicians had deceived him, and being angry, he sent assassins, saying to them, "Kill the babes two years old and younger." And Mary, hearing that infants were being slaughtered, was frightened, and took her child, and, wrapped in swaddling clothes, laid it in an ox manger[184]. And Elizabeth[185] hearing that they were looking for John (her son), took him and went to the mountain. And I was looking for a place to hide it, but I did not find it. And she cried out with a loud voice, saying, "The mountain of God, let the mother and son in," and the mountain opened up and let her in. And the light shone upon them, and the angel of the Lord was with them, guarding them.

XXIII. Herod, meanwhile, sought out John, and sent his servants to Zecharias, saying, Where hast thou hidden thy son? And he answered, saying, I am a servant of God, I am in the temple, and I know not where my son is. And the servants came and told these things to Herod. And Herod said in anger, His son shall be king of Israel. And he sent (servants) to him again, saying, "Tell me the truth, where is your son?" For know that your life is in my power. And Zacharias answered: I am a witness (martyr) of God,186 if you shed my blood, the Lord will receive my soul, for you will shed innocent blood before the temple. And before dawn Zechariah was killed, and the children of Israel did not know that he had been killed.

XXIV. And during the kissing the priests were assembled, and Zacharias did not meet them, according to custom, with a blessing. And the priests, standing, waited for Zachariah to pray and glorify the Almighty. But since he did not appear, they were all filled with fear. And one of them dared to enter (into the sanctuary) and saw the blood caked at the altar, and a voice announced, "Zacharias has been killed, and his blood will not disappear until vengeance comes." Hearing these words, the priest was frightened and, going out, told the other priests. And they dared to go in, and saw what was there, and the walls of the temple cried out, and the priests themselves tore their garments; but his body was not found, only blood, which had become like stone, and seized with terror they went out and announced to the people that Zacharias had been killed. And all the tribes of the people heard, and wept and wept for him for three days and three nights. After three days, the priests began to consult who to do in his place, and the lot fell on Simeon. This was announced to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die until he saw the living Christ[187].

XXV. And I, James, who wrote this story in Jerusalem, hid in the wilderness during the troubles, until Herod died and the troubles subsided in Jerusalem. I praise the Lord God, who has given me wisdom to describe this. May his grace be to all who fear our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Gospel of Childhood of Thomas and Commentaries

On the Gospel of Childhood according to Thomas

Along with the Protoevangelium of James, the description of the early years of Jesus' life, created in the second century, was very popular.

In connection with the perception of Jesus as a powerful deity, there was a need to describe his early years, to show him as a miracle worker from childhood. Such a perception of the deity corresponded to ancient mythology: for example, Hercules (his cult was widespread in the 1st-2nd centuries in the Roman provinces), being in swaddling clothes, strangled two huge snakes. Similar ideas are found in the East: Indian legends about Krishna's childhood tell about his pranks and miracles performed by him (victory over demons, swallowing up a forest fire, etc.). [189].