Jesus and the Birds in Medieval Abrahamic Traditions

Abstract

As is well known, the three “Peoples of the Book” have in common versions of the tale of Abraham: the “Father of Faith,” who, in return for his willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac, was promised descendants as numerous as the stars (Exod. 32:13; cf. Qur'an 2:131–33).1It is less well known that, in the Middle Ages, the three religions shared versions of a legend about Jesus dating from late antiquity: the tale that Jesus once brought clay birds to life.2Thelocus classicusfor this legend, which is not found in the New Testament, is theInfancy Gospel of Thomas(hereafter IGT), an apocryphal text that focuses on the childhood of Christ, particularly his amazing deeds and words. This text is believed to have been composed in Greek in the second century, though it circulated in many languages and was variously appropriated in the late-antique and medieval periods.3An examination of the motif of Jesus bringing clay birds to life reveals the complex transmission history of the IGT and its derivatives, in both East and West, over the course of many centuries.4More broadly, this story about the legendary Christ Child (an adult in the Jewish version, actually) and his command over the animal kingdom specifically shows the different faiths' understanding of the source and extent of Jesus's power and suggests a reaction to one or both of the other groups. The appropriation of the legend in each case tells us something about each faith's convictions about the way God's power could work in Jesus, and something about how each group viewed Jesus's childhood.