The fact that the Gospel of Thomas records the aphorisms of the lamp and the disclosed secrets in separate clusters unrelated to the contexts in which they were used in the synoptic Gospels proves that these sayings were recalled independently in early Christian circles. Unlike any synoptic author, Thomas presents the hidden/revealed paradox first, long before introducing the image of the location of the lamp. In fact he cites it twice in adjacent clusters (Thom 5.2 & 6.5), to support different non-canonical Jesus sayings, each of which concludes with the catchword “disclosed.”

Moreover, while this Thomas doublet is worded exactly the same, it is not identical to any synoptic version. Though Thom 6:5-6 presents a balanced pair of synonyms similar to Matt 10:26 // Luke 12:2, the paired verbs are cited in an inverted order [“hidden/revealed // covered/disclosed” rather than “covered/uncovered // hidden/made known”]. Such variation indicates that the non-canonical author working from aural memory rather than from any synoptic gospel.

Thomas’ version of the aphorism of the lamp displays the same pattern of inverted wording vis-à-vis synoptic parallels. Thom 33:2 is closest to Luke 11:33 except its identification of inappropriate places to locate an oil lamp [“under a bushel” or “in a cellar”] is the reverse of Luke’s. Moreover, in Thomas this aphorism is appended to an injunction to disclose whispered secrets that is worded more like Matt 10:27 than Luke’s version.  This shows that the Gospel of Thomas is the product of a culture which collected oral sayings instead of transcribing texts.