Dialogus Iesu et Andreae
Standard abbreviation: Dial. Jesus Andr.
Other titles: none
Clavis numbers: ECCA 417; CANT 225.III.1
Category: Apocryphal Acts, Revelatory Dialogues
Related literature: Acts of Andrew, Acts of Andrew and Bartholomew, Acts of Andrew and Philemon
Compiled by: Chance Bonar, PhD candidate, Harvard University ([email protected])
Citing this resource (using Chicago Manual of Style): Bonar, Chance. “Dialogue between Jesus and Andrew.” e-Clavis: Christian Apocrypha. Accessed DAY MONTH YEAR. https://www.nasscal.com/e-clavis-christian-apocrypha/dialogue-between-Jesus-and-andrew/.
Created February 2022.
1. SUMMARY AND TRANSLATION
The Dialogue between Jesus and Andrew is a brief and fragmentary scene preserved only on two Sahidic folia dating to the fourth or fifth centuries CE, likely translated into Coptic from Greek. The text was part of a miniature codex (14 × 8.3 cm) with at least one scribe and one corrector—although the latter added some blatant errors, such as “correcting” the noun for “the cross” (stauros) as the verb for “crucify” (staurou). While there are substantial lacunae, the narrative opens with Jesus speaking to Andrew about his blessedness, his role as a pillar, and his fiery name. Andrew responds by claiming that he has left behind his parents, wife, and children to follow Jesus and has not seen them ever since, associating bearing the cross with a disruption of traditional familial ties. The final lacunose statement that can be deciphered seemingly records Andrew once more talking about his family and his lack of desire for two coats—likely a reference to Luke 3:11.
The generic context and story world for Dial. Jesus Andr. is difficult to pin down. Since its publication in 1960, many have suggested that it is a missing scene from the beginning of the Acts of Andrew, mirroring how the Coptic Act of Peter has often been understood to be an independent scene derived from the Acts of Peter (e.g., Barns, Elliott). Others are more cautious about fitting Dial. Jesus Andr. into the Acts Andr., instead suggesting that this pericope comes from a distinct text (e.g., Prieur). Given the text’s ascetic tendencies toward familial relations and clothing, some have read it alongside Acts Andr. as an example of encratite thought. However, such a claim is difficult to substantiate from this short fragment.
Given the brevity of the extant text, it is possible to give a new translation here:
Fol. 1 recto
[…] human […] to see me in the member which is […] Then Jesus said to Andrew: “Come close to me, Andrew. Your name is the fire. Blessed are you among people.” Andrew answered and said to the Savior: “Allow me to speak.” Then he said to him: “Speak, Andrew, you firm pillar.” Andrew answered and said: “As God, who is your Father,
Fol. 1 verso
lives, I came out from the house of my father and my mother. And as my soul lives, I have not gone again into it, and I have not seen the faces of my father and my mother, nor have I seen the faces of my children and my wife. But I carried the cross every day, following you from morning until night, and I have not laid it down.” Jesus answered and said: “I know, Andrew, […]”
Fol. 2 recto
“[…] my wife and my little children […]
Fol. 2 verso
[…] a lesser than one of us who bears your name. I have not desired two coats for myself. Even this coat, which is upon me, is upon [me as(?)] one who […]”
Named historical figures and characters: Andrew (apostle), Jesus Christ.
Geographical locations: none.
2. RESOURCES
3. BIBLIOGRAPHY
3.1 Manuscripts and Editions
3.1.1 Coptic (Sahidic) (PAThs)
Oxford, Bodleian Library, Copt. f. 103 (P) (4th/5th cent.)
Barns, ]ohn. “A Coptic Apocryphal Fragment in the Bodleian Library.” JTS 11 (1960): 70–76 (text, pp. 71–72; English translation, p. 72; images pl. 1).
MacDonald, Dennis R. The Acts of Andrew and the Acts of Andrew and Matthias in the City of the Cannibals. SBL Texts and Translations 33; Christian Apocrypha 1. Atlanta: SBL, 1990 (text and translation, pp. 444–49).
Prieur, Jean-Marc. Acta Andreae. 2 vols. CCSA 5–6. Turnhout: Brepols, 1989 (reproduction of the edition of Barns, vol. 1, p. 22, and French translation, p. 23; discussion, pp. 24–25).
3.2 Modern Translations
3.2.1 English
Barns, ]ohn. “A Coptic Apocryphal Fragment in the Bodleian Library.” JTS 11 (1960): 70–76 (text, pp. 71–72; English translation, p. 72; images pl. 1).
Elliott, J. K. The Apocryphal New Testament. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1993 (English trans. pp. 271–72).
MacDonald, Dennis R. The Acts of Andrew. Salem, OR: Polebridge, 2005 (p. 115).
———. The Acts of Andrew and the Acts of Andrew and Matthias in the City of the Cannibals. SBL Texts and Translations 33; Christian Apocrypha 1. Atlanta: SBL, 1990 (text and translation, pp. 444–47).
3.2.2 French
Prieur, Jean-Marc. Acta Andreae. 2 vols. CCSA 5–6. Turnhout: Brepols, 1989 (reproduction of the edition of Barns, vol. 1, p. 22, and French translation, p. 23; discussion, pp. 24–25).
3.2.3 Italian
Moraldi, Luigi, ed. and trans. Apocrifi del Nuovo Testamento. 2 vols. Classici delle religioni, Sezione quarta, La religione cattolica 24. Turin: Unione Tipografico-Editrice Torinese, 1971 (vol. 2, pp. 1428–29).
3.3 General Works
Horn, Cornelia B. “Suffering Children, Parental Authority and the Question for Liberation? A Tale of Three Girls in the Acts of Paul (And Thecla), The Act(s) of Peter, The Acts of Nerseus and Achilleus and the Epistle of Pseudo-Titus.” Pages 118–145 in A Feminist Companion to the New Testament Apocrypha. Edited by Amy-Jill Levine and Maria Mayo Robbins. London: T&T Clark, 2006 (esp. p. 132).
Prieur, Jean-Marc, and Wilhelm Schneemelcher. “Andreasakten.” Pages 93–137 in Neutestamentliche Apokryphen in deutscher Übersetzung, Bd. II: Apostolisches Apokalypsen und Verwandtes. Edited by Wilhelm Schneemelcher. Tubingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1989 (esp. pp. 98–99). English translation: “Acts of Andrew.” Pages 101–51 in New Testament Apocrypha, Vol. 2: Writings Related to the Apostles; Apocalypses and Related Subjects. Edited by Wilhelm Schneemelcher. Translated by R. McL. Wilson. Rev. ed. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 1992 (p. 106).
Quispel, Gilles. “An Unknown Fragment of the Acts of Andrew (Pap. Copt. Utrecht N. 1).” VC 10.3 (1956): 129–48.
Richter, Tonio Sebastian. “P.Ien. inv. 649: Ein Splitter vom koptischen Text der Acta Andreae.” APF 44 (1998): 275–84.