The penitent thief is unnamed in the canonical gospels. The name Dismas was assigned later, in an early Greek recension of the Acta Pilati and the Latin Gospel of Nicodemus, portions of which may date to the late fourth century; it may derive from a Greek word meaning "dying".[3] He is traditionally known in Catholicism as Saint Dismas (sometimes Dysmas; in Spanish and Portuguese, Dimas), while the other thief is named Gestas. Other traditions give other names:
- In Coptic Orthodox tradition and the Narrative of Joseph of Arimathea, he is named Demas.[4][5]
- In the Codex Colbertinus, he is named Zoatham or Zoathan.[6]
- In the Arabic Infancy Gospel, he is named Titus and the other thief Dumachus; it adds a tale in which Titus prevented his companions from robbing Mary and Joseph during the flight into Egypt.[7]
- In Russian Orthodox tradition, he is named Rakh (Russian: Рах).[8]
Legendary elaborations grew around the figure. The devotional Life of the Good Thief (Histoire du Bon Larron, French 1868, English 1882) recounts that as a child he addressed the child Jesus: "O most blessed of children, if ever a time should come when I shall crave Thy Mercy, remember me and forget not what has passed this day."[9] Anne Catherine Emmerich described the Holy Family as "exhausted and helpless" when, according to Augustine of Hippo and Peter Damian, they met Dismas.[10] A Coptic Homily on the Crucifixion and the Good Thief is traditionally attributed to Theophilus of Alexandria (385–412), though scholarship regards it as pseudonymous; it survives in Sahidic Coptic.[11]
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