Apocrypha
Gospel of Bartholomew
Questions to Jesus
5 chapters · read and listen
Reading note
An apocryphal or pseudepigraphal text — outside the canon of the Western churches, yet widely circulated among ancient Jews and Christians. Published here from a public-domain translation, edited for continuous reading.
Chapters
Dossier
Bartholomew asks the risen Jesus what no one else dared to ask — including where he went while he was dead — and then asks to see the abyss.
Where this text comes from
Greek, Coptic and Latin, 3rd to 6th centuries AD, also called the Questions of Bartholomew. The text is incomplete and the versions differ considerably.
Why it is not in the Bible
Rejected and named among the condemned apocrypha in the West.
What you will find
- The answer about what happened at the moment of death, with the number of souls that leave the world each day.
- Beliar is brought in chains before the apostles and forced to tell of his own fall.
- Mary begins to reveal what was said to her at the annunciation and is interrupted by fire from heaven.
Frequently asked questions
- Is the Gospel of Bartholomew complete?
- No. The Greek, Latin and Coptic versions diverge and none is whole. The reading skips passages that were lost.