A gospel (a contraction of Old English god spel, meaning 'good news/glad tidings', comparable to Greek εὐαγγέλιον, evangelion)[1] is a written record of the teachings of Jesus, usually in the form of an account of his life and career.[2] The term originally meant the Christian message itself, but came to be used for the books in which the message was set out[3] in the 2nd century.
Gospels are a genre of ancient biography in Early Christian literature. The New Testament has four canonical gospels, which are accepted as the only authentic scripture by the great majority of Christians, but many others exist, or used to exist, and are called either New Testament apocrypha or pseudepigrapha. Some of these have left considerable traces on Christian traditions, including iconography.
Fragmentary gospels are those preserved from primary sources.
Reconstructed gospels are those preserved from secondary sources and commentaries.
Fragmentary gospels are those preserved from primary sources.
A late and secondary compilation, ultimately dependent on the Protevangelium of James and the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, but greatly amplified. It derives from a Syr. original, but the date of this source is doubtful.
The Latin Infancy Gospel ... is a later account of the births and early lives of Mary and Jesus