I said in my previous blog post<\/a>, in response to Francis Watson\u2019s claim that various phrases show dependence on other Gospels. There are a great many phrases one will encounter in a language which will only seem derivative of a specific other text to someone who is not a native speaker \u2013 to a native speaker, they will more likely seem to be common language that it would be impossible to associate with a single text, the language being too widely used in too many different ways.<\/p>\nOf course, I must admit that the phrasing I used in that post did remind me at the time of the \u201cMost Interesting Man in the World\u201d meme. Some<\/em> phrases do have specific resonances, and sometimes even a very vague structure can remind us of a familiar phrase \u2013 although the more familiar the phrasing or wording, the less necessary it will be to posit direct dependence on a literary text.<\/p>\nSo the relevant question is whether those found in \u201cThe Gospel of Jesus\u2019 Wife\u201d are in the former or the latter category.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Steve Douglas kindly made and shared this image: The words are something I said in my previous blog post, in response to Francis Watson\u2019s claim that various phrases show dependence on other Gospels. There are a great many phrases one will encounter in a language which will only seem derivative of a specific other text […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,132,34,39,42],"tags":[2193,2195,2621,3332,3533,3562,3575,4089,4093,4110,5677,7011,8691,13719],"class_list":["post-9560","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bible","category-coptic","category-gospel-of-matthew","category-historical-jesus","category-humor","tag-coptic","tag-copying","tag-derivative","tag-fake","tag-forgery","tag-fragment","tag-francis-watson","tag-gospel","tag-gospel-of-jesus-wife","tag-gospels","tag-jesus","tag-mark-goodacre","tag-papyrus","tag-wife"],"yoast_head":"\n
The Most Interesting Gospel about Jesus' Wife in the World?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Steve Douglas kindly made and shared this image: The words are something I said in my previous blog post, in response to Francis Watson's claim that\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/09\/the-most-interesting-gospel-about-jesus-wife-in-the-world.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Most Interesting Gospel about Jesus' Wife in the World?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Steve Douglas kindly made and shared this image: The words are something I said in my previous blog post, in response to Francis Watson's claim that\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/09\/the-most-interesting-gospel-about-jesus-wife-in-the-world.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Religion Prof: The Blog of James F. McGrath\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/religionprof\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-09-21T17:24:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/lh6.googleusercontent.com\/-E5EYvUibM2A\/UFyOikx7zaI\/AAAAAAAATIg\/N0igi8O7rWo\/w497-h373\/matthew28.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"James F. McGrath\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ReligionProf\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"James F. McGrath\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/09\/the-most-interesting-gospel-about-jesus-wife-in-the-world.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/09\/the-most-interesting-gospel-about-jesus-wife-in-the-world.html\",\"name\":\"The Most Interesting Gospel about Jesus' Wife in the World?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2012-09-21T17:24:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2012-09-21T17:24:01+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/78342576667b872e3d259c153ce4c5bf\"},\"description\":\"Steve Douglas kindly made and shared this image: The words are something I said in my previous blog post, in response to Francis Watson's claim that\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/09\/the-most-interesting-gospel-about-jesus-wife-in-the-world.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/09\/the-most-interesting-gospel-about-jesus-wife-in-the-world.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/09\/the-most-interesting-gospel-about-jesus-wife-in-the-world.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Most Interesting Gospel about Jesus’ Wife in the World?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/\",\"name\":\"Religion Prof: The Blog of James F. McGrath\",\"description\":\"The Blog of Dr. James F. McGrath, Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature at Butler University, Indianapolis\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/78342576667b872e3d259c153ce4c5bf\",\"name\":\"James F. McGrath\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/88ca096942acd474313f7ef4227a49da?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/88ca096942acd474313f7ef4227a49da?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"James F. McGrath\"},\"description\":\"Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. BD University of London, PhD Durham University. Author of John's Apologetic Christology, The Only True God, Theology and Science Fiction, and The Burial of Jesus, as well as (with Charles Haberl of Rutgers University) the two-volume Mandaean Book of John critical edition, translation, and commentary. Also author of numerous articles (and a few science fiction short stories) and the editor or co-editor of several volumes.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3Ge8ul5\",\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/religionprof\/\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/jamesfmcgrath\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/jfmcgrat\/\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ReligionProf\",\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/religionprof\",\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/religionprof\",\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/James_F._McGrath\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/author\/james-f-mcgrath\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Most Interesting Gospel about Jesus' Wife in the World?","description":"Steve Douglas kindly made and shared this image: The words are something I said in my previous blog post, in response to Francis Watson's claim that","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/09\/the-most-interesting-gospel-about-jesus-wife-in-the-world.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Most Interesting Gospel about Jesus' Wife in the World?","og_description":"Steve Douglas kindly made and shared this image: The words are something I said in my previous blog post, in response to Francis Watson's claim that","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/09\/the-most-interesting-gospel-about-jesus-wife-in-the-world.html","og_site_name":"Religion Prof: The Blog of James F. McGrath","article_author":"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/religionprof\/","article_published_time":"2012-09-21T17:24:01+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/lh6.googleusercontent.com\/-E5EYvUibM2A\/UFyOikx7zaI\/AAAAAAAATIg\/N0igi8O7rWo\/w497-h373\/matthew28.jpg"}],"author":"James F. McGrath","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@ReligionProf","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"James F. McGrath","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/09\/the-most-interesting-gospel-about-jesus-wife-in-the-world.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/09\/the-most-interesting-gospel-about-jesus-wife-in-the-world.html","name":"The Most Interesting Gospel about Jesus' Wife in the World?","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#website"},"datePublished":"2012-09-21T17:24:01+00:00","dateModified":"2012-09-21T17:24:01+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/78342576667b872e3d259c153ce4c5bf"},"description":"Steve Douglas kindly made and shared this image: The words are something I said in my previous blog post, in response to Francis Watson's claim that","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/09\/the-most-interesting-gospel-about-jesus-wife-in-the-world.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/09\/the-most-interesting-gospel-about-jesus-wife-in-the-world.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/09\/the-most-interesting-gospel-about-jesus-wife-in-the-world.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Most Interesting Gospel about Jesus’ Wife in the World?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/","name":"Religion Prof: The Blog of James F. McGrath","description":"The Blog of Dr. James F. McGrath, Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature at Butler University, Indianapolis","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/78342576667b872e3d259c153ce4c5bf","name":"James F. McGrath","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/88ca096942acd474313f7ef4227a49da?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/88ca096942acd474313f7ef4227a49da?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"James F. McGrath"},"description":"Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. BD University of London, PhD Durham University. Author of John's Apologetic Christology, The Only True God, Theology and Science Fiction, and The Burial of Jesus, as well as (with Charles Haberl of Rutgers University) the two-volume Mandaean Book of John critical edition, translation, and commentary. Also author of numerous articles (and a few science fiction short stories) and the editor or co-editor of several volumes.","sameAs":["https:\/\/amzn.to\/3Ge8ul5","http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/religionprof\/","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/jamesfmcgrath\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/jfmcgrat\/","https:\/\/twitter.com\/ReligionProf","http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/religionprof","https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/religionprof","https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/James_F._McGrath"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/author\/james-f-mcgrath"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9560","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/136"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9560"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9560\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9560"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9560"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9560"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/lh6.googleusercontent.com\/-E5EYvUibM2A\/UFyOikx7zaI\/AAAAAAAATIg\/N0igi8O7rWo\/w497-h373\/matthew28.jpg\")
<\/p>\n