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162-430: Some debate exists over whether his last name should be pronounced Abarbanel or Abravanel . The traditional pronunciation is Abarbanel . Modern scholarly literature, since Graetz and Baer , has most commonly used Abravanel , but his own son Judah insisted on Abarbanel , and Sefer HaTishbi by Elijah Levita , who was a nearby contemporary, twice vowels the name as Abarbinel (אַבַּרְבִּינֵאל). The name's etymology

324-592: A 3rd- or 4th-century-AD copy of a 2nd-century original, relating a series of conversations in which Jesus and Judas interact and discuss the nature of the universe from a Gnostic viewpoint. The discovery was given dramatic international exposure in April 2006 when the US National Geographic magazine published a feature article entitled "The Gospel of Judas" with images of the fragile codex and analytical commentary by relevant experts and interested observers (but not

486-589: A God of clemency and mercy." All of the council's decrees were confirmed by Pope Pius IV on 28 January 1564. Thus, an ecumenical council, confirmed by the Magisterium of a Pope, affirmed that Judas Iscariot was condemned to Hell. The Council of Trent continued the tradition of the early Church fathers, such as Pope Leo I ("...had [Judas] not thus denied His omnipotence, he would have obtained His mercy..."), and Pope Gregory I ("The godless betrayer, shutting his mind to all these things, turned upon himself, not with

648-549: A boy, was possessed by Satan, who caused him to bite himself or anyone else present. In one of these attacks, Judas bit the young Jesus in the side; and, by touching Him, Satan was exorcised. It further states that the side which Judas supposedly bit was the same side that was pierced by the Holy Lance at the Crucifixion . During the 1970s, a Coptic papyrus codex (book) was discovered near Beni Masah, Egypt . It appeared to be

810-424: A charcoal fire, that he was going to kill himself, because he knew Jesus would rise from the dead and, when he did, he would punish him. Judas's wife laughed and told him that Jesus could no more rise from the dead than he could resurrect the chicken she was cooking. Immediately, the chicken was restored to life and began to crow. Judas then ran away and hanged himself. In the apocryphal Gospel of Judas , Judas has

972-705: A close. While in Palestine, he gave the first impetus to the foundation of an orphan asylum there. He also took a great interest in the progress of the Alliance Israélite Universelle , and participated as a delegate in the convention assembled at Paris in 1878 in the interest of the Romanian Jews. Graetz's name was prominently mentioned in the anti-Semitic controversy, especially after Treitschke had published his "Ein Wort über Unser Judenthum" (1879–1880), in which

1134-798: A collection of Messianic passages of the Bible and their interpretations, in the course of which Abarbanel criticizes the Christian interpretation of these passages. Other works by Abarbanel include: These three works were written in Naples after the Catholic Monarchs of Spain had expelled the Jews in the Alhambra Decree . They were first published together as an incunabulum in Constantinople on December 5, 1505 by

1296-438: A comprehensive translation). The article's introduction stated: "An ancient text lost for 1,700 years says Christ's betrayer was his truest disciple." The article points to some evidence that the original document was extant in the 2nd century: "Around A.D. 180, Irenaeus , Bishop of Lyon in what was then Roman Gaul, wrote a massive treatise called Against Heresies [in which he attacked] a 'fictitious history,' which 'they style

1458-419: A copying error in I Corinthians 1:12 which should have referred to a very early Christian teacher. This history of the Jews is not written by a cool observer, but by a warm-hearted Jew. On the other hand, some of these commendable features are at the same time shortcomings. In his introduction to a 1975 volume of Graetz's essays translated into English, rabbi and historian Ismar Schorsch wrote of History of

1620-651: A first-century Jewish man who became a disciple and one of the original Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ . Judas betrayed Jesus to the Sanhedrin in the Garden of Gethsemane , in exchange for 30 pieces of silver , by kissing him on the cheek and addressing him as " master " to reveal his identity in the darkness to the crowd who had come to arrest him. In modern times, his name is often used synonymously with betrayal or treason. The Gospel of Mark gives no motive for Judas's betrayal but does present Jesus predicting it at

1782-605: A glorious throne in the Kingdom of God. That saying, therefore appears to go back to Jesus, and indicates, then, that he had twelve close disciples, whom he predicted would reign in the coming Kingdom." Matthew directly states that Judas betrayed Jesus for a bribe of " thirty pieces of silver " by identifying him with a kiss—"the kiss of Judas "—to arresting soldiers of the High Priest Caiaphas , who then turned Jesus over to Pontius Pilate 's soldiers. Mark's Gospel states that

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1944-460: A hidden meaning in addition to its overt significance, thus he interpreted passages in the Torah in various ways. His commentary to Deuteronomy 25:5 demonstrates both his knowledge and endorsement of kabbalists and kabbalistic understanding of Scripture. Side by side with philosophical concepts (entitled "the analytical way", "the scientific", or "the method of wisdom") he gives "the way of the Torah", i.e.,

2106-577: A kiss, but like the thief on the cross I will confess you." Judas Iscariot is often shown with red hair in Spanish culture and by William Shakespeare . The practice is comparable to the Renaissance portrayal of Jews with red hair, which was then regarded as a negative trait and which may have been used to correlate Judas Iscariot with contemporary Jews. In paintings depicting the Last Supper , Judas

2268-457: A lecture. His seventieth birthday was the occasion for his friends and disciples to bear testimony to the universal esteem in which he was held among them; and a volume of scientific essays was published in his honor ("Jubelschrift zum 70. Geburtstage des Prof. Dr. H. Graetz," Breslau, 1887). A year later (27 October 1888) he was appointed an honorary member of the Spanish Academy , to which, as

2430-606: A mind to repent, but in a madness of self destruction: ... even in the act of dying sinned unto the increase of his own eternal punishment.") Also, the Decree of Justification , promulgated during Session VI of the Council of Trent , states in Cannon 6, "If anyone shall say that it is not in the power of man to make his ways evil, but that God produces evil as well as the good works, not only by permission, but also properly and of Himself, so that

2592-466: A ministry of preaching and healing: Judas clearly played an active part in this apostolic ministry alongside the other eleven. However, in the Gospel of John, Judas's outlook was differentiated—many of Jesus's disciples abandoned him because of the difficulty of accepting his teachings, and Jesus asked the twelve if they would also leave him. Simon Peter spoke for the twelve: "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have

2754-468: A person receiving punishment as a particular judgment. The Catechism of the Council of Trent , which mentions Judas Iscariot several times, wrote that he possessed "motive unworthy" when he entered the priesthood and was thus sentenced to "eternal perdition." Furthermore, Judas is given as an example of a sinner that will "despair of mercy" because he looked "...on God as an avenger of crime and not, also, as

2916-619: A potter (18:2–; 19:1), a purchase (19:1), the Valley of Hinnom (where the Field of Blood is traditionally located, 19:2), 'innocent blood' (19:4), and the renaming of a place for burial (19:6, 11); and Jer 32:6–5 tells of the purchase of a field with silver." Classicist Glenn W. Most suggests that Judas's death in Acts can be interpreted figuratively, writing that πρηνὴς γενόμενος should be translated as saying his body went prone, rather than falling headlong, and

3078-504: A preparatory course on the Talmud . In 1869 the government conferred upon him the title of professor, and thenceforward he lectured at Breslau University. In 1872 Graetz went to Palestine in the company of his friend Gottschalck Levy of Berlin , for the purpose of studying the scenes of the earliest period of Jewish history, which he treated in volumes one and two of his history, published in 1874–1876; these volumes brought that great work to

3240-543: A pupil, companion, and amanuensis . In 1840 he accepted a tutorship with a family at Ostrowo , and in October 1842 he entered the University of Breslau. At that time the controversy between Orthodoxy and Reform Judaism was at its height, and Graetz, true to the principles which he had imbibed from Hirsch, began his literary career by writing contributions to the "Orient", edited by Julius Fürst , in which he severely criticized

3402-476: A street with buildings on either side. His face became so swollen that a doctor could not even identify the location of his eyes using an optical instrument. Judas's genitals became enormously swollen and oozed with pus and worms. Finally, he killed himself on his own land by pouring out his innards onto the ground, which stank so horribly that, even in Papias's own time a century later, people still could not pass

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3564-525: A suit to be brought against him by Sebastian Brunner for libeling him as an anti-Semite. As Graetz was not an Austrian subject, the suit was nominally brought against Leopold Kompert as editor, and the latter was fined (30 December 1863). Graetz had interpreted Isaiah chapters 52 and 53 to refer not to the personal Messiah , but rather to the entire people of Israel. Graetz and Kompert were brought to court in Vienna for publishing claims that were contrary to

3726-624: A supplement of recent events by Dr. Max Raisin. Rabbi A. B. Rhine provided the English translation. Graetz's historical studies, extending back to Biblical times, naturally led him into the field of exegesis . As early as the fifties he had written in the Monatsschrift essays dealing with exegetical subjects, as "Fälschungen in dem Texte der LXX." (1853) and "Die Grosse Versammlung: Keneset Hagedola" (1857); and with his translation of and commentaries on Ecclesiastes and Canticles (Breslau, 1871) he began

3888-732: A synonym for betrayer , and Judas has become the archetype of the traitor in Western art and literature. Judas is given some role in virtually all literature telling the Passion story and appears in numerous modern novels and movies. In the Eastern Orthodox hymns of Holy Wednesday (the Wednesday before Pascha ), Judas is contrasted with the woman who anointed Jesus with expensive perfume and washed his feet with her tears. The hymns of Holy Wednesday contrast these two figures, encouraging believers to avoid

4050-550: A token of his gratitude, he dedicated the third edition of the eighth volume of his history. As usual he spent the summer of 1891 in Carlsbad ; but alarming symptoms of heart disease forced him to discontinue his use of the waters. He went to Munich to visit his son Leo , a professor at the university of that city , and died there after a brief illness. He was buried in Breslau. Besides Leo, Graetz left three sons and one daughter. Graetz

4212-831: A translation of part of Vol. IX under the title "Influence of Judaism on the Protestant Reformation ". The fourth volume was translated by James K. Gutheim under the auspices of the American Jewish Publication Society , the title being "History of the Jews from the Down-fall of the Jewish State to the Conclusion of the Talmud" (New York, 1873). A five-volume English edition was published in London in 1891-92 as History of

4374-734: A vision of the disciples stoning and persecuting him. The discrepancy between the two different accounts of Judas's death in Matthew 27:1–10 and Acts 1:18 has proven to be a serious challenge to those who support the idea of Biblical inerrancy . This problem was one of the points leading C. S. Lewis , for example, to reject the view "that every statement in Scripture must be historical truth". Nonetheless, various attempts at harmonization have been suggested. Generally they have followed literal interpretations such as that of Augustine of Hippo , which suggest that these simply describe different aspects of

4536-534: Is a Greek rendering of the Hebrew name Judah ( יהודה , Y hûdâh , Hebrew for "praise or praised"), which was an extremely common name for Jewish men during the first century AD, due to the renowned hero Judas Maccabeus . Consequently, numerous other figures with this name are mentioned throughout the New Testament. In the Gospel of Mark 3:13–19 , which was written in the mid-60s or early 70s AD, Judas Iscariot

4698-499: Is apparently bound up with the fulfillment of God's purposes ( John 13:18 , John 17:12 , Matthew 26:23–25 , Luke 22:21–22 , Matt 27:9–10 , Acts 1:16 , Acts 1:20 ), yet "woe is upon him", and he would "have been better unborn" ( Matthew 26:23–25 ). The difficulty inherent in the saying is its paradox: if Judas had not been born, the Son of Man would apparently no longer do "as it is written of him." The consequence of this apologetic approach

4860-469: Is chiefly known as the Jewish historian, although he did considerable work in the field of exegesis also. His Geschichte der Juden superseded all former works of its kind, notably that of Jost , in its day a very remarkable production; and it has been translated into many languages. The fourth volume, beginning with the period following the destruction of Jerusalem, was published first. It appeared in 1853; but

5022-424: Is devoured by Lucifer, alongside Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus (leaders of the group of senators that assassinated Julius Caesar ). The innermost region of the ninth circle is reserved for traitors of masters and benefactors and is named Judecca, after Judas. In his 1969 book Theologie der Drei Tage (English translation: Mysterium Paschale ), Hans Urs von Balthasar emphasizes that Jesus

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5184-571: Is guilty of sloppiness of scholarship: e.g., Graetz omits the second halves of quotations which, if quoted in their entirety, contradict his thesis. Graetz claims, on the basis of quotations from certain Talmudic sages, that they "were wont to do" something – despite sources explicitly to the contrary – and goes on to develop these suppositions into theories affecting the entire Torah tradition. Hirsch accuses Graetz of fabricating dates, rearranging generations, overstating results, misinterpreting and distorting

5346-524: Is problematic, however, because there is nothing in the gospels to associate Judas with the Sicarii, and there is no evidence that the cadre existed during the 30s AD when Judas was alive. A possibility advanced by Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg is that "Iscariot" means "the liar" or "the false one", from the Hebrew איש-שקרים . C. C. Torrey suggests instead the Aramaic form שְׁקַרְיָא or אִשְׁקַרְיָא , with

5508-553: Is that Jesus was causing unrest likely to increase tensions with the Roman authorities and they thought he should be restrained until after the Passover, when everyone had gone back home and the commotion had died down. The gospels suggest that Jesus foresaw ( John 6:64 , Matthew 26:25 ) and allowed Judas's betrayal ( John 13:27–28 ). One explanation is that Jesus allowed the betrayal because it would allow God's plan to be fulfilled. Another

5670-579: Is that Judas's actions come to be seen as necessary and unavoidable, yet leading to condemnation. Another explanation is that Judas's birth and betrayal did not necessitate the only way the Son of Man could have suffered and been crucified. The earliest churches believed "as it is written of him" to be prophetic, fulfilling Scriptures such as that of the suffering servant in Isaiah 52–53 and the righteous one in Psalm 22, which do not require betrayal (at least by Judas ) as

5832-508: Is that regardless of the betrayal, Jesus was ultimately destined for crucifixion. In April 2006, a Coptic papyrus manuscript titled the Gospel of Judas from 200 AD was translated, suggesting that Jesus told Judas to betray him, although some scholars question the translation. Nevertheless, the Gospel of Judas is an apocryphal Gnostic gospel composed in the 2nd century, and some scholars agree that it contains no real historical information. Judas

5994-473: Is the only apostle named "Judas". Matthew 10:2–4 shares this portrayal. The Gospel of Luke 6:12–19 , however, replaces the apostle whom Mark and Matthew call " Thaddeus " with "Judas son of James". Peter Stanford suggests that this renaming may represent an effort by the author of the Gospel of Luke to create a "good Judas" in contrast to the betrayer Judas Iscariot. Judas's epithet "Iscariot" ( Ὶσκάριωθ or Ὶσκαριώτης ), which distinguishes him from

6156-449: Is the reward of all such as by unlawfully gotten goods buy anything" when Judas purchased the "Field of Blood" with the 30 pieces of silver (cf Acts 1:18). Obviously, the commentator had no doubt about the fate of Judas. The Catholic Church took no specific view concerning the damnation of Judas during Vatican II ; speaking in generalities, that Council stated, "[We] must be constantly vigilant so that ... we may not be ordered to go into

6318-450: Is the subject of philosophical writings. Origen of Alexandria , in his Commentary on John's Gospel , reflects on Judas's interactions with the other apostles and Jesus's confidence in him prior to his betrayal. Other philosophical reflections on Judas include The Problem of Natural Evil by Bertrand Russell and " Three Versions of Judas ", a short story by Jorge Luis Borges . They allege various problematic ideological contradictions with

6480-529: Is uncertain. Some say it comes from Ab Rabban El , meaning "father of the rabbis of God", which seems to favor the pronunciation "Abrabanel". Abarbanel was born in Lisbon , Portugal , into one of the oldest and most distinguished Iberian Jewish families, his antecedents having escaped the massacre in Castile in 1391 . A student of the rabbi of Lisbon, Joseph Chaim, he became well versed in rabbinic literature and in

6642-638: Is unknown whether Judas Iscariot is in Hell; for example, David Endres, writing in The Catholic Telegraph , cites Catechism of the Catholic Church §597 for the inability to make any determination whether Judas is in Hell. However, while that section of the catechism does instruct Catholics that the personal sin of Judas is unknown but to God, that statement is within the context that the Jewish people have no collective responsibility for Jesus's death: "...

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6804-506: The Monatsschrift , that he would show little sympathy for the Reform element, and therefore refused to publish the volume unless the manuscript was submitted for examination. This Graetz refused to do; and the volume therefore appeared without the support of the publication society. Volumes I and II were published, as stated above, after Graetz had returned from Palestine. These volumes, of which

6966-521: The Book of Amos as indicative of very humanistic sentiments: "[Abarbanel] responded with unconcealed anger to the comment of a tenth-century Karaite from Jerusalem, Yefet b. Ali, on the issue of Black [promiscuity]. Yefet had interpreted a biblical verse (Amos 9:7) to refer to Black women as being 'promiscuous and therefore no one knows who his father is.' Abarbanel: 'I don't know who told Yefet this practice of promiscuity among Black women, which he mentions. But in

7128-437: The Book of Zechariah which describes the return of a payment of thirty pieces of silver. Even writers such as Jerome and John Calvin conclude that this was obviously an error. Evangelical theologian James R. White has suggested the misattribution arises from a supposed Jewish practice of using the name of a major prophet to refer to the whole content of the scroll group, including books written by minor prophets placed in

7290-769: The Cainites , who believed that Judas was an instrument of the Sophia , Divine Wisdom, thus earning the hatred of the Demiurge . His betrayal of Jesus thus was a victory over the materialist world. The Cainites later split into two groups, disagreeing over the ultimate significance of Jesus in their cosmology. The Syriac Infancy Gospel borrows from some of the different versions of the Infancy Gospel of Thomas . However, it adds many of its own tales, probably from local legends, including one of Judas. This pseudepigraphic work tells how Judas, as

7452-572: The Collect reminds Catholics that both Judas and the good thief are guilty, "...and yet, the one is condemned, the other pardoned." Thus, the Tridentine Latin Mass , as currently celebrated, continues to foster the tradition within the Catholic Church that Judas was punished. In the Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri , Judas is punished for all eternity in the ninth circle of Hell : in it, he

7614-821: The First Epistle to the Corinthians 11:23–24 , in which Paul the Apostle does not mention Judas by name but uses the passive voice of the Greek word paradídōmi (παραδίδωμι), which most Bible translations render as "was betrayed": "...the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread..." Nonetheless, some biblical scholars argue that the word paradídōmi should be translated as "was handed over". This translation could still refer to Judas, but it could also instead refer to God metaphorically "handing Jesus over" to

7776-545: The Gospel of Matthew , after the Sanhedrin condemns Jesus Christ to death, are added the comments concerning Judas: "...late repentance brings desperation" (cf. Mat. 27:3), and "Although he abhor his sins, yet is he not displeased there with, but despairs in God's mercies, and seeks his own destruction" (cf. Mat. 27:4). Furthermore, within Acts of the Apostles is the comment, "Perpetual infamy

7938-569: The Grand Inquisitor , who dashed into the royal presence, and throwing a crucifix down before the king and queen, asked whether, like Judas , they would betray their Lord for money. In the end, he managed only to get the date for the expulsion delayed by two days. He died in Venice in 1508 and was buried in Padua next to its rabbi, Judah Minz . Owing to the destruction of the Jewish cemetery there during

8100-496: The Last Supper , an event also described in all the other gospels. The Gospel of Matthew 26:15 states that Judas committed the betrayal in exchange for thirty pieces of silver . The Gospel of Luke 22:3 and the Gospel of John 13:27 suggest that he was possessed by Satan . According to Matthew 27:1–10 , after learning that Jesus was to be crucified , Judas attempted to return the money he had been paid for his betrayal to

8262-465: The Reconquista , Abarbanel advanced considerable sums of money to the king. When the Jews were ordered banished by the Catholic Monarchs of Spain with the Alhambra Decree , he did all in his power to induce the king to revoke the edict. He unsuccessfully offered the king 30,000 ducats (approximately £60,000 at the time). He left Spain with his fellow Jews and went to Naples, where, soon after, he entered

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8424-618: The Rosh Amanah ( The Pinnacle of Faith ) (Amsterdam, 1505), whose title derives from Song of Songs 4:8. This work, devoted to the championship of the Maimonidean 13 articles of belief against the attacks of Hasdai Crescas and Joseph Albo , ends with the statement that Maimonides compiled these articles merely in accordance with the fashion of other nations, which set up axioms or fundamental principles for their science. However, he holds that Judaism has nothing in common with human science; that

8586-528: The Siege of Padua in 1509, his grave is now unknown. Bones from the cemetery were reburied in 1955, and there is a tradition that the remains of Abarbanel and Minz are among them. Claimed descendants of Abarbanel include Russian author Boris Pasternak and Brazilian media mogul and entertainer Silvio Santos . Abarbanel wrote many works during his lifetime which are often categorized into three groups— exegesis , philosophy , and apologetics . His philosophy dealt with

8748-506: The Son of Man shall sit on his glorious throne, you will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the Twelve Tribes of Israel ." New Testament scholar Bart D. Ehrman concludes, "This is not a tradition that was likely to have been made up by a Christian later, after Jesus's death—since one of these twelve had abandoned his cause and betrayed him. No one thought that Judas Iscariot would be seated on

8910-422: The Temple of Jerusalem . This was published in 1856 and was followed by the fifth, after which the volumes appeared in regular succession up to the eleventh, which was published in 1870 and brought the history down to 1848, with which year the author closed, not wishing to include living persons. In spite of this reserve he gravely offended the Liberal party, which inferred, from articles that Graetz contributed to

9072-415: The Torah and Nevi'im . These were published in three works: "Perush" (Commentary) on the Torah (Venice, 1579); "Perush" on the Earlier Prophets (Pesaro, 1511?); "Perush" on the Later Prophets (Pesaro, 1520?). He may also have composed a commentary on Song of Songs . His commentaries are divided into chapters, each of which is preceded by a list of questions or difficulties that he sets out to explain over

9234-482: The University of Jena . After 1845 he was principal of the Jewish Orthodox school of the Breslau community, and later taught history at the Jewish Theological Seminary of Breslau (now Wrocław, Poland). His magnum opus History of the Jews was the first Jewish history which threaded together a unified national history across the global Jewish communities. It was quickly translated into other languages and ignited worldwide interest in Jewish history , and later

9396-453: The heathen were never included in the sanction of possessing slaves as the children of Israel were permitted to do, for the Scripture says (Leviticus 25:44) : "Of them you shall buy, etc.", meaning, "Israel alone is permitted to buy from them [enslaved persons], but they are not permitted to buy [enslaved persons] from you, nor from one another." Scholars including Jonathan Schorsch and David M. Goldenberg point out Abarbanel's comments on

9558-681: The "lachrymose conception of Jewish history," sometimes identified with Heinrich Graetz. In a 1975 interview Baron said: "Suffering is part of the destiny [of the Jews], but so is repeated joy as well as ultimate redemption." According to Arthur Hertzberg , Baron was writing social history, insisting that spiritual creativity and the political situation were all borne by a living society and its changing forms. Judas Judas Iscariot ( / ˈ dʒ uː d ə s ɪ ˈ s k æ r i ə t / ; Biblical Greek : Ἰούδας Ἰσκαριώτης Ioúdas Iskariṓtēs ; died c.  30  – c.  33 AD) was, according to Christianity 's four canonical gospels ,

9720-439: The 15th century) of the Gospel of Barnabas it was Judas, not Jesus, who was crucified on the cross. This work states that Judas's appearance was transformed to that of Jesus, when the former, out of betrayal, led the Roman soldiers to arrest Jesus who by then was ascended to the heavens. This transformation of appearance was so identical that the masses, followers of Christ, and even the Mother of Jesus, Mary, initially thought that

9882-407: The Aramaic roots סכר or סגר . This would mean "to deliver", based on the Septuagint rendering of Isaiah 19:4—a theory advanced by J. Alfred Morin. The epithet could also be associated with the manner of Judas's death, hanging. This would mean Iscariot derives from a kind of Greek-Aramaic hybrid: אִסְכַּרְיוּתָא , Iskarioutha , meaning "chokiness" or "constriction". This might indicate that

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10044-405: The Catholic faith, as well as contradicting Jewish tradition. Viennese rabbis Isaak Noah Mannheimer and Lazar Horowitz defended Graetz, and Azriel Hildesheimer criticized them for doing so; Isaac Hirsch Weiss published a pamphlet entitled Neẓaḥ Yisrael in support of their testimony. This case, known as the "Kompert Affair," was important in defining the wedge between Orthodox Judaism and

10206-451: The Gospel of John makes no mention of the thirty pieces of silver as a fee for betrayal. The evangelist comments in John 12:5–6 that Judas spoke fine words about giving money to the poor, but the reality was "not that he cared for the poor, but [that] he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it." However, in John 13:27–30, when Judas left the gathering of Jesus and his disciples with betrayal in mind, some [of

10368-440: The Gospel of Judas. ' " Before the magazine's edition was circulated, other news media gave exposure to the story, abridging and selectively reporting it. In December 2007, April DeConick asserted that the National Geographic ' s translation is badly flawed: "For example, in one instance the National Geographic transcription refers to Judas as a 'daimon,' which the society's experts have translated as 'spirit.' However,

10530-411: The Gospel of Matthew account, on the other hand, he asks what they will pay him for handing Jesus over. In the Gospel of Luke and the Gospel of John, the devil enters into Judas, causing him to offer to betray Jesus. The Gospel of John account has Judas complaining that money has been spent on expensive perfumes to anoint Jesus which could have been spent on the poor, but adds that he was the keeper of

10692-447: The Jews , opposed the view of Jewish history as being 'all darkness and no light' and sought to restore balance, by writing a social history. Baron strove to integrate the religious dimension of Jewish history into a full picture of Jewish life and to integrate the history of Jews into the wider history of the eras and societies in which they lived. Baron brought very distinctive views to his scholarship. He inveighed against what he termed

10854-473: The Jews : "[It] still remains, a century later, the best single introduction to the totality of Jewish history.... The extraordinary combination of narrative skill and basic research which was the hallmark of Graetz's work has never been matched." Some characterize Graetz's main elements of Jewish experience through the ages to be 'suffering and spiritual scholarship', while later Jewish scholarly works like Salo W. Baron 's 1937 A Social and Religious History of

11016-425: The Jews from the Earliest Times to the Present Day (5 vols.; edited and in part translated by Bella Löwy). According to a review in the January–April 1893 edition of Quarterly Review , it "was passing through the press in its English version, and had received the author's final touches, when Graetz died in September 1891". In 1919, the Jordan Publishing Co. of New York published a two-volume "improved" edition, with

11178-399: The Jews should not be spoken of as rejected or accursed as if this followed from holy Scripture." This seems to be defining a different doctrinal point (i.e., the relationship of Catholics with Jewish people), rather than making any sort of decision concerning Judas's particular judgment. Ludwig Ott's reference book Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma identifies Judas Iscariot as an example of

11340-445: The Reform party, as well as Geiger 's text-book of the Mishnah ("Orient", 1844). These contributions and his championship of the Conservative cause during the time of the Reform Rabbinical Conferences made him popular with the Orthodox party. This was especially the case when he agitated for a vote of confidence to be given to Zecharias Frankel after he had left in protest the Second Rabbinical Conference in Frankfurt in 1845 after

11502-415: The Romans. In his book Antisemitism and Modernity (2006), the Jewish scholar Hyam Maccoby suggests that, in the New Testament , the name "Judas" was constructed as an attack on the Judaeans or on the Judaean religious establishment held responsible for executing Jesus. In his book The Sins of Scripture (2009), John Shelby Spong concurs with this argument, insisting, "The whole story of Judas has

11664-559: The Talmud, which, according to him, was an actual voice made audible by God—a miracle, in fact. In like manner, Abarbanel exceeded all his predecessors in combating Maimonides' theory of the "Heavenly Chariot" in Ezekiel. Abarbanel felt deeply the hopelessness and despair, which possessed Spanish Jews in the years following their expulsion from Spain, and set himself, therefore, to champion and strengthen their Messianic belief. With this aim, he wrote these works: These three books are considered

11826-457: The Talmudic tradition to serve his narrative needs. David N. Myers argues that Hirsch's criticisms of his one-time student's work were motivated by a complete difference of opinion on the value of historicism. "Hirsch came to regard his erstwhile disciple as the embodiment of history's destructive tendencies." A translation into English was begun by S. Tuska , who in 1867 published in Cincinnati

11988-584: The Twelve, and (2) he handed over Jesus to the Jerusalem authorities, thus precipitating Jesus's execution." Many different accounts of Judas's death have survived from antiquity, both within and outside the New Testament. Matthew 27:1–10 states that after learning that Jesus was to be crucified , Judas was overcome by remorse and attempted to return the 30 pieces of silver to the priests, but they would not accept them because they were blood money, so he threw them on

12150-550: The Venetian republic. Several times during the mid to late 15th century, he personally spent large amounts of his personal fortunes to bribe the Catholic monarchs to permit the Jews to remain in Spain. Abarbanel is claimed to have offered them 600,000 crowns for the revocation of the edict. Ferdinand is said to have hesitated, but was prevented from accepting the offer by Tomás de Torquemada ,

12312-455: The actual lives of the Jewish people must be deliberated on, as well, when discussing such an important topic as the Bible . He also took the time to include an introduction concerning the character of each book on which he commented, as well as its date of composition, and the intention of the original author, to make the works more accessible to the average reader. Abarbanel composed commentaries on

12474-481: The affair..." before committing suicide (cf. Matthew 27:3–5). However, some believed that Judas "hanged himself thinking to precede Jesus into hades and there to plead for his own salvation." The Catholic theologian Erasmus believed that Judas was free to change his intention, but Martin Luther argued in rebuttal that Judas' will was immutable. John Calvin states that Judas was predestined to damnation but writes on

12636-500: The age, who did not rely as heavily on Messianic concepts. Abarbanel's Jewish predecessors in the realm of philosophy did not receive the same tolerance at his hands as the Christians did. Men such as Isaac Albalag , Shem-Tov ibn Falaquera , Gersonides , Moses ben Joshua , and others, were denounced by Abarbanel as infidels and misleading guides for assuming a comparatively liberal standpoint in religiophilosophical questions. Abarbanel

12798-473: The apostles' purse and used to steal from it. According to some , Judas thought he could get the money for betraying Jesus without Jesus being killed as he would escape like he had done many times before. One suggestion has been that Judas expected Jesus to overthrow Roman rule of Judea . In this view, Judas is a disillusioned disciple betraying Jesus not so much because he loved money, but because he loved his country and thought Jesus had failed it. Another

12960-410: The author adds imaginative details such as the thirty pieces of silver, and the fact that Judas hangs himself, to an earlier tradition about Judas's death. Matthew's description of the death as fulfilment of a prophecy "spoken through Jeremiah the prophet" has caused difficulties, since it does not clearly correspond to any known version of the Book of Jeremiah but does appear to refer to a story from

13122-561: The authorities. The book has been variously described as "factually groundless", based on "little data" and "wild suppositions", "disturbing", and "tawdry". The nature of Judas' eternal destination has been a matter of debate within Christian theology. Some have argued that Judas was damned due to the despair which caused him to subsequently commit suicide. This is confirmed in Cornelius à Lapide 's famous commentary, in which he writes that, by hanging himself, "Judas then added to his former sin

13284-428: The betrayal of Judas is not less His own proper work than the vocation of Paul; let him be anathema." Here, the Council is making it clear that Judas exercised his own free will to commit the betrayal of Jesus Christ, rather than being predestined by God. Also, by contrasting the actions of Judas to those of Paul, the implication is that Judas is the opposite of a saint (i.e., damned). Liturgical institutions are part of

13446-479: The captives. After the death of Afonso, he was obliged to relinquish his office, having been accused by King John II of connivance with the Duke of Braganza , who had been executed on the charge of conspiracy. Abarbanel, warned in time, saved himself by a hasty flight to Castile in 1483. His large fortune was confiscated by royal decree. At Toledo , his new home, he occupied himself at first with Biblical studies, and in

13608-440: The cause of Orthodox Judaism . His first intention was to go to Prague , to which place he was attracted by the fame of its old yeshivah and the facilities afforded by the university. Being rejected by the immigration officers, he returned to Zerkov and wrote to Hirsch, then rabbi of Oldenburg, indicating his desire. Hirsch offered him a place in his house. Graetz arrived there on May 8, 1837, and spent three years with his patron as

13770-471: The chief priests and hanged himself. The priests used the money to buy a field to bury strangers in, which was called the " Field of Blood " because it had been bought with blood money. The Book of Acts 1:18 quotes Peter as saying that Judas used the money to buy the field himself and, he "[fell] headlong... burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out." His place among the Twelve Apostles

13932-486: The chief priests were looking for a way to arrest Jesus . They decided not to do so during the feast [of the Passover ], since they were afraid that people would riot; instead, they chose the night before the feast to arrest him. According to Luke's account, Satan entered Judas at this time. According to the account in the Gospel of John, Judas carried the disciples' money bag or box ( γλωσσόκομον , glōssokomon ), but

14094-585: The conceptual basis for black slavery: "[...] the great Jewish philosopher and statesman Isaac ben Abravanel, having seen many black slaves both in his native Portugal and in Spain, merged Aristotle's theory of natural slaves with the belief that the biblical Noah had cursed and condemned to slavery both his son Ham and his young grandson Canaan . Abravanel concluded that the servitude of animalistic black Africans should be perpetual." Abarbanel's view on slavery, however, stood in direct contradiction to that of Rashi , who, citing an earlier Talmudic source, wrote that

14256-447: The country of my birth [Portugal] I have seen many of these people and their women are loyal to their husbands unless they are prisoners and captive to their enemies. They are just like any other people.'" Schorsch argues that concerning Abarbanel's views about the connection between slavery and the curse of Ham, Abarbanel was influenced by the writings of his contemporaries and predecessors, including Christian and Muslim writers, as well as

14418-446: The course of six months produced an extensive commentary on the books of Joshua, Judges, and Samuel. Shortly afterward, though, he entered the service of the house of Castile. Together with his friend, the influential converso Don Abraham Senior , of Segovia , he undertook to farm the revenues and to supply provisions for the royal army, contracts that he carried out to the entire satisfaction of Queen Isabella I of Castile . During

14580-450: The course of the chapter. Not only did this make it easier for scholars to find the answers they were looking for, but these lists of difficulties aided the average student in studying Abarbanel's work. In his commentary on the Torah, these questions have no fixed number, sometimes amounting to over 40, but in his commentary to the Prophets he limits himself to six. Abarbanel rarely forayed into

14742-529: The culture around him, and was hardly considered unique in his views. Abarbanel's commentary on Amos 9:7 and other writings, argues Schorsch, show the complexity of Abarbanel's views of Blacks. "Abarbanel's conflicting passages regarding Blacks were written at different times and addressed different realms of discourse, the one abstract myth, the other actual living Blacks." Schorsch shows how contemporary travel books described Ethiopians as barbarians, stealing each other's children to sell to Muslim foreigners. "Hence,

14904-492: The current Christian interpretation. He is impelled to this by the fact that Daniel furnishes the foundation for his Messianic theory. The remainder of his commentary is devoted to an exhaustive and caustic criticism of the Christian exposition. The second work is probably unique in being an exposition of the doctrine concerning the Messiah according to the traditional testimony of Talmud and Midrash. His third apologetic work contains

15066-487: The disciples knew Jesus's true teachings. Since the Middle Ages , Judas has sometimes been portrayed as a personification of the Jewish people, and his betrayal has been used to justify Christian antisemitism . Although Judas Iscariot's historical existence is generally widely accepted among secular historians, this relative consensus has not gone entirely unchallenged. The earliest possible allusion to Judas comes from

15228-476: The disciples] thought that Judas might have been leaving to buy supplies or on a charitable errand. Ehrman argues that Judas's betrayal "is about as historically certain as anything else in the tradition", pointing out that the betrayal is independently attested in the Gospel of Mark, in the Gospel of John, and in the Book of Acts. Ehrman also contends that it is highly unlikely that early Christians would have made up

15390-466: The discrepancy between Judas's actions and his eternal punishment. Bruce Reichenbach argues that if Jesus foresees Judas's betrayal, then the betrayal is not an act of free will and therefore should not be punishable. Conversely, it is argued that just because the betrayal was foretold, it does not prevent Judas from exercising his own free will in this matter. Other scholars argue that Judas acted in obedience to God's will. The gospels suggest that Judas

15552-422: The early years of the anti-Semitic movement he wrote, besides the articles in which he defended himself against the accusations of Treitschke, an anonymous essay entitled "Briefwechsel einer Englischen Dame über Judenthum und Semitismus" (Stuttgart, 1883). To supplement his lectures on Jewish literature he published an anthology of neo-Hebraic poetry under the title "Leḳeṭ Shoshannim" (Breslau, 1862), in which he made

15714-416: The editorship in 1869, Graetz took over the task himself for the next 18 years, until he reached the age of 70 in 1887. Graetz's activity was not limited to his special field. He enriched other branches of Jewish science and wrote here and there on general literature or on questions of the day. To the field of general literature also belongs his essay on " Shylock ," published in the Monatsschrift , 1880. In

15876-522: The epithet was applied posthumously by the remaining disciples, but Joan E. Taylor has argued that it was a descriptive name given to Judas by Jesus, since other disciples such as Simon Peter /Cephas ( Kephas "rock") were also given such names. Although the canonical gospels frequently disagree on the names of some of the minor apostles, all four of them list Judas Iscariot as one of them. The Synoptic Gospels state that Jesus sent out "the twelve" (including Judas) with power over unclean spirits and with

16038-431: The error of Origenism which includes denying the eternity of Hell "...by a general rehabilitation of the damned, including, apparently, Satan." This error, while not considered a formal heresy, was condemned at a synod in 548 AD, which was subsequently confirmed by Pope Vigilius . Judas has been a figure of great interest to esoteric groups, such as many Gnostic sects. Irenaeus records the beliefs of one Gnostic sect,

16200-495: The eternal fire (cf. Mk. 25, 41) like wicked and slothful servants (cf. Mk. 25, 26), into the exterior darkness where 'there will be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth' (Mt. 22, 13 and 25, 30)." The Vatican only proclaims individuals' Eternal Salvation through the Canon of Saints . There is no ' Canon of the Damned .' Thus, there is a school of thought within the Catholic Church that it

16362-472: The example of the fallen disciple and instead to imitate Mary's example of repentance. Also, Wednesday is observed as a day of fasting from meat, dairy products, and olive oil throughout the year in memory of the betrayal of Judas. The prayers of preparation for receiving the Eucharist also make mention of Judas's betrayal: "I will not reveal your mysteries to your enemies, neither like Judas will I betray you with

16524-560: The expressions of Sacred Tradition of the Catholic Church . Within the 1962 Roman Missal for the Tridentine Latin Mass , the Collect for Holy Thursday states: "O God, from whom Judas received the punishment of his guilt, and the thief the reward of his confession ... our Lord Jesus Christ gave to each a different recompense according to his merits..." In his commentary on the Liturgical Year , Abbot Gueranger, O.S.B. states that

16686-421: The feeling of being contrived ... The act of betrayal by a member of the twelve disciples is not found in the earliest Christian writings. Judas is first placed into the Christian story by the Gospel of Mark ( 3:19 ), who wrote in the early 70s AD." Most scholars reject these arguments for non-historicity, noting that there is nothing in the gospels to associate Judas with Judeans except his name, which

16848-453: The first printers in that city, David and Samuel ibn Naḥmias, who had fled in the same boat from Iberia to Naples. The Naḥmias brothers had worked in the Portuguese printing house of Eliezer Toledano ben Avraham ibn Alantansi, the Jewish printer of Híjar . Ironically, according to David Brion Davis , a Yale historian who specializes in slavery , Abarbanel played a pivotal role in providing

17010-530: The further sin of despair. It was not a more heinous sin, but one more fatal to himself, as thrusting him down to the very depths of hell. He might, on his repentance, have asked (and surely have obtained) pardon of Christ. But, like Cain , he despaired of forgiveness." The concept that Judas despaired of God's forgiveness is reiterated by Rev. A. Jones in his contribution to a mid-20th century Catholic commentary: "Filled with remorse (not true 'repentance' because empty of hope) [Judas] sought to dissociate himself from

17172-449: The great wealth he had inherited from his father to aid his co-religionists. When his patron Afonso captured the city of Arzila , in Morocco , the Jewish captives faced being sold as slaves. Abarbanel both contributed large sums to the ransom and personally arranged for collections throughout Portugal. He also wrote to his learned and wealthy friend, Vitale (Yehiel) Nissim da Pisa, on behalf of

17334-415: The ground and left. Afterwards, he committed suicide by hanging himself according to Mosaic law ( Deuteronomy 21:22–23 ). The priests then used the money to buy a potter's field , which became known as Akeldama (חקל דמא – khakel dama ) – the Field of Blood – because it had been bought with blood money. Acts 1:18 states that Judas used the money to buy a field, and "[fell] headlong... burst asunder in

17496-410: The ground, and shake them from the foundations; they will be left utterly dry and barren, and they will suffer anguish, and the memory of them will perish." There are several explanations as to why Judas betrayed Jesus. In the earliest account, in the Gospel of Mark, when he goes to the chief priests to betray Jesus, he is offered money as a reward, but it is not clear that money is his motivation. In

17658-504: The latter left Lundenburg and went to Berlin, where he delivered a course of less than successful lectures on Jewish history to rabbinical students. His advocacy of Frankel's approach had brought him into close contact with the latter, for whose magazine he frequently wrote articles; and accordingly in 1854 he was appointed a member of the teaching staff of the seminary at Breslau, over which Frankel presided. In this position he remained up to his death, teaching history and Bible exegesis, with

17820-508: The latter, referring to the eleventh volume of the history, accused Graetz of hatred of Christianity and of bias against the German people , quoting him as a proof that the Jews could never assimilate themselves to their surroundings. This arraignment of Graetz had a decided effect upon the public. Even friends of the Jews, like Mommsen , and advocates of Judaism within the Jewish fold expressed their condemnation of Graetz's passionate language. It

17982-411: The leadership of Frankel. In the same year he was invited to preach a trial sermon before the congregation of Gleiwitz , Silesia , but failed completely. He remained in Breslau until 1848, when, upon the advice of a friend, he went to Vienna, purposing to follow a journalistic career. On the way he stopped at Nikolsburg , where Hirsch was residing as Moravian chief rabbi. Hirsch, who then contemplated

18144-491: The learning of his time, devoting his early years to the study of Jewish philosophy . Abarbanel is quoted as saying that he counted Joseph ibn Shem-Tov as his mentor. At 20 years old, he wrote on the original form of the natural elements, on religious questions and prophecy. Together with his intellectual abilities, he exhibited a mastery of financial matters. This attracted the attention of King Afonso V of Portugal , who employed him as treasurer. He used his high position and

18306-442: The major characteristic that separated Abarbanel from his predecessors was his unflagging commitment toward using the Scripture as a means of elucidating the status quo of his surrounding Jewish community; as a historical scholar, Abarbanel was able to contemporize the lessons of the historical eras described in the Scripture and apply them successfully in his explanations of modern Jewish living. Abarbanel, who had himself taken part in

18468-579: The majority had decided against prayers in Hebrew, and for prayers in the vernacular. After Graetz had obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Jena (his dissertation being "De Auctoritate et Vi Quam Gnosis in Judaismum Habuerit," 1845; published a year later under the title " Gnosticismus und Judenthum"), he was made principal of a religious school founded by the Conservatives in Breslau, again under

18630-613: The many statements that Ethiopians engaged in relations... with their siblings or parents. In this view, families, a cultured product, would not have been known to primitives who lived like animals. Yet Abarbanel dismissed all these derogatory notions when defending the behavior of actual Blacks living in Portugal." The Synagogue Don Isaac Abravanel in Paris, France, was named in his memory. Heinrich Graetz Heinrich Graetz ( German: [ɡʁɛts] ; 31 October 1817 – 7 September 1891)

18792-406: The means to the suffering. Regardless of any necessity, Judas is held responsible for his act (Mark 14:21; Luke 22:22; Matt 26:24). In his 1965 book The Passover Plot , British New Testament scholar Hugh J. Schonfield suggests that the crucifixion of Christ was a conscious re-enactment of Biblical prophecy and that Judas acted with the full knowledge and consent of Jesus in "betraying" him to

18954-496: The midst, and all his bowels gushed out." In this account, Judas's death is apparently by accident, and he shows no signs of remorse. The early Church Father Papias of Hierapolis records in his Expositions of the Sayings of the Lord (which was probably written around 100 AD) that Judas was afflicted by God's wrath; his body became so enormously bloated that he could not pass through

19116-905: The mistake of reading the verses of a poem horizontally instead of vertically, which mistake Geiger mercilessly criticized ( Jüdische Zeitschrift für Wissenschaft und Leben , 1, p. 68-75). A very meritorious work was his edition of the Jerusalem Talmud in one volume (Krotoschin, 1866). A bibliography of his works has been given by Israel Abrahams in The Jewish Quarterly Review (4, pp. 194–203). Graetz's essay "Die Verjüngung des jüdischen Stammes", in Wertheimer-Kompert's Jahrbuch für Israeliten , Vol. X, Vienna, 1863 (reprinted with comments by Th. Zlocisti, in Jüdischer Volks-Kalender , p. 99, Brünn, 1903), caused

19278-565: The moral and religious tenets to be derived from the text. He quoted extensively from the Midrash , but allowed himself to criticize his source, when in his view, it did not align with the literal meaning of the text. He explains, "I shall not refrain from pointing to the weakness inherent in their statements where they are homiletical in nature and are not accepted by them as authoritative" (Introduction to Joshua ). Overall, Abarbanel's exegetical writings are notable for these distinctions: However,

19440-680: The most popular alternative explanations holds that "Iscariot" ( ܣܟܪܝܘܛܐ , 'Skaryota' in Syriac Aramaic, per the Peshitta text) may be a corruption of the Latin word sicarius , meaning "dagger man", which referred to a member of the Sicarii ( סיקריים in Aramaic), a group of Jewish rebels who were known for assassinating people in crowds using long knives hidden under their cloaks. This interpretation

19602-464: The nascent Conservative Judaism championed by the likes of Graetz and Zecharias Frankel. Thus, within the Jewish fold the lawsuit also had its consequences, as the Orthodox raised against Graetz the accusation of heresy because he had denied the personal character of the prophetic Messiah . Graetz's history became very popular and influential in its time. The material for Jewish history being so varied,

19764-404: The one arrested and crucified was Jesus himself. The gospel then mentions that after three days since burial, Judas's body was stolen from his grave, and then the rumors spread of Jesus being risen from the dead. When Jesus was informed in the third heaven about what happened, he prayed to God to be sent back to the earth, and descended and gathered his mother, disciples, and followers, and told them

19926-511: The ongoing clash between scriptural fundamentalism and attempts at revision were childish because of the unreliability of the sources. Therefore, she argued, "People interpret, and cheat. The answer is not to fix the Bible but to fix ourselves." Other scholars have questioned the initial translation and interpretation of the Gospel of Judas by the National Geographic team of experts. According to medieval copies (the earliest copies from

20088-448: The other people named "Judas" in the gospels, is usually thought to be a Greek rendering of the Hebrew phrase איש־קריות , ( Κ-Qrîyôt ), meaning "the man from Kerioth ". This interpretation is supported by the statement in the Gospel of John 6:71 that Judas was "the son of Simon Iscariot". Nonetheless, this interpretation of the name is not fully accepted by all scholars. One of

20250-476: The period of a Biblical book or a certain passage, when at best there could only be a probable hypothesis. Thus his hypothesis of the origin of Ecclesiastes at the time of Herod the Great , while brilliant in its presentation, is hardly tenable. His textual emendations display fine tact, and of late they have become more and more respected and adopted. Graetz had contributed scholarly articles on Judaism and history to

20412-457: The politics of the great powers of the day, believed that mere consideration of the literary elements of Scripture was insufficient, and that the political and social life of the characters in the Tanakh must also be taken into account. Due to the overall excellence and exhaustiveness of Abarbanel's exegetical literature, he was looked to as a beacon for later Christian scholarship, which often included

20574-461: The publication of separate exegetical works. A commentary and translation of the Psalms followed (ib. 1882–83). Toward the end of his life he planned an edition of the whole Hebrew Bible with his own textual emendations . A prospectus of this work appeared in 1891. Shortly before the author's death, a part of it, Isaiah and Jeremiah , was issued in the form in which the author had intended to publish it;

20736-406: The publication was not a financial success, and the publisher refused to continue it. However, the publication society Institut zur Förderung der Israelitischen Litteratur , founded by Ludwig Philippson , had just come into existence, and it undertook the publication of the subsequent volumes, beginning with the third, which covered the period from the death of Judas Maccabeus to the destruction of

20898-593: The question of Judas' guilt: "surely in Judas's betrayal, it will be no more right, because God himself willed that his son be delivered up and delivered him up to death, to ascribe the guilt of the crime to God than to transfer the credit for redemption to Judas." Karl Daub , in his book Judas Ischariot , writes that Judas should be considered "an incarnation of the devil" for whom "mercy and blessedness are alike impossible." The Geneva Bible contains several additional notes concerning Judas Iscariot within its commentaries. In

21060-608: The rest contained only the textual notes, not the text itself. It was edited, under the title "Emendationes in Plerosque Sacræ Scripturæ Veteris Testamenti Libros," by W. Bacher (Breslau, 1892–94). The most characteristic features of Graetz's exegesis are his bold textual emendations, which often substitute something conjectural for the Masoretic text, although he always carefully consulted the ancient versions. He also determined with too much certainty

21222-445: The same event—that Judas hanged himself in the field, and the rope eventually snapped and the fall burst his body open, or that the accounts of Acts and Matthew refer to two different transactions. Some have taken the descriptions as figurative: that the "falling prostrate" was Judas in anguish, and the "bursting out of the bowels" is pouring out emotion. Modern scholars reject these approaches. Arie W. Zwiep states "neither story

21384-525: The same grouping. Some scholars have suggested that the writer may also have had a passage from Jeremiah in mind, such as chapters 18:1–4 and 19:1–13 which refer to a potter's jar and a burial place, and chapter 32:6–15 which refers to a burial place and an earthenware jar. Raymond Brown suggests "the most plausible [explanation] is that Matthew 27:9–10 is presenting a mixed citation with words taken both from Zechariah and Jeremiah, and ... he refers to that combination by one name. Jeremiah 18–9 concerns

21546-415: The same meaning. Stanford rejects this, arguing that the gospel writers follow Judas's name with the statement that he betrayed Jesus, so it would be redundant for them to call him "the false one" before immediately stating that he was a traitor. Some have proposed that the word derives from an Aramaic word meaning "red color", from the root סקר . Another hypothesis holds that the word derives from one of

21708-511: The scholarly periodicals started by Frankel since his graduation from the university in 1846. He continued steadily in this task once the Monatsschrift für die Geschichte und Wissenschaft des Judenthums was firmly established under Frankel's editorship in Breslau, between 1851 and 1853. Frankel and Graetz practically took over the periodical with the leadership of the concept of Wissenschaft des Judentums from its Reform initiators, Leopold Zunz and Eduard Gans . After Frankel's retirement from

21870-507: The sciences and how the general field relates to the Jewish religion and traditions, and his apologetics defend, the idea of the Messiah in Judaism while criticizing the Christian version. Abarbanel's exegetic writings were different from the usual biblical commentaries because he took social and political issues of the times into consideration. He believed that mere commentary was not enough, but that

22032-615: The second practically consisted of two, appeared in 1872–1875, and completed the stupendous undertaking. For more popular purposes Graetz published later an abstract of his work under the title Volksthümliche Geschichte der Juden , in which he brought the history down to his own time. The fourth volume of the History of the Jews received a detailed review by Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch in a series of essays in Vols. II-IV (1855-8) of his monthly journal Jeschurun . In these essays, Hirsch argues that Graetz

22194-440: The separate parts of a larger work entitled Tower of Salvation ( מגדל ישועות ‎, Migdāl Yəshuʿot ). The first work is in the form of a commentary upon Daniel, in which he controverts both the Christian exposition of and the Jewish rationalistic approach to this book. Curiously enough, in opposition to the Talmud and all later rabbinical tradition, he counts Daniel among the prophets, coinciding therein—but therein only—with

22356-548: The service of the king. For a short time, he lived in peace undisturbed, but when the city was taken by the French, bereft of all his possessions, he followed the young king, Alfonso , to Messina in 1495, before going to Corfu . In 1496, he settled in Monopoli , before finally landing in Venice in 1503, where his services were employed in negotiating a commercial treaty between Portugal and

22518-401: The site without holding their noses. This story was well known among Christians in antiquity and was often told in competition with the two conflicting stories from the New Testament. According to the apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus , which was probably written in the fourth century AD, Judas was overcome with remorse and went home to tell his wife, who was roasting a chicken on a spit over

22680-416: The sources so scattered in the literatures of all nations, and the chronological sequence so often interrupted, made the presentation of this history as a whole a very difficult undertaking. Graetz performed his task skillfully, mastering most of the details while not losing sight of the whole. Another reason for the popularity of the work is its sympathetic treatment. Also, Graetz has been credited with finding

22842-522: The spilling of the entrails is meant to invoke the imagery of dead snakes and their burst-open bellies. Hence Luke was stating that Judas took the body posture of a snake and died like one. However, the Catholic biblical scholar John L. McKenzie states "This passage probably echoes the fate of the wicked in..." the Deuterocanonical book Wisdom of Solomon 4:19: "... [the Lord] will dash them speechless to

23004-403: The start of a rabbinical seminary, employed Graetz temporarily as teacher at Nikolsburg, and made him principal of the Jewish school in the neighboring city of Lundenburg (1850). In October 1850, Graetz married Marie Monasch, the daughter of the printer and publisher B. L. Monasch, of Krotoschin . It seems that Hirsch's departure from Nikolsburg had an influence on Graetz's position; for in 1852

23166-503: The story of Judas's betrayal, since it reflects poorly on Jesus's judgment in choosing him as an apostle. Nonetheless, Ehrman argues that what Judas actually told the authorities was not Jesus's location, but rather Jesus's secret teaching that he was the Messiah. This, he holds, explains why the authorities did not try to arrest Jesus prior to Judas's betrayal. John P. Meier sums up the historical consensus, stating, "We only know two basic facts about [Judas]: (1) Jesus chose him as one of

23328-586: The surviving versions as transmitting a suppressed apostolic original. Some Islamic organizations cite it in support of the Islamic view of Jesus. Although the sanctification of the instruments of the Passion of Jesus (the so-called Arma Christi ), that slowly accrued over the course of the Middle Ages in Christian symbolism and art, also included the head and lips of Judas, the term Judas has entered many languages as

23490-407: The synagogue. He vehemently fought the extreme rationalism of philosophical interpretation, as well as interpretations based on philosophical allegory. At the same time, he himself had recourse, especially in his commentary on the Torah, to numerous interpretations based on philosophy. His opposition to philosophical allegory must also be ascribed to the conditions of his time, the fear of undermining

23652-403: The tasks of translating and condensing his works. His exegetical writings are set against a richly conceived backdrop of the Jewish historical and sociocultural experience, and it is often implied that his exegesis was sculpted with the purpose of giving hope to the Jews of Spain that the arrival of the Messiah was imminent in their days. This idea distinguished him from many other philosophers of

23814-446: The teachings of the Torah are revelations from God, and therefore are all of equal value; that among them are neither principles nor corollaries from principles. Abarbanel agrees with and supports some of Maimonides' ideas, but he assails Maimonides' conception that the prophetic visions were the creations of imagination. Abarbanel will not hear of this explanation, even for the bat kol of

23976-437: The truth of what happened. He then ascended back to the heavens, and will come back at the end of times as a just king. This gospel is considered by the majority of Christians to be late and pseudepigraphical; however, some academics suggest that it may contain some remnants of an earlier apocryphal work (perhaps Gnostic, Ebionite, or Diatessaronic ), redacted to bring it more in line with Islamic doctrine. Some Muslims consider

24138-668: The universally accepted word for 'spirit' is 'pneuma'—in Gnostic literature "daimon" is always taken to mean 'demon. ' " The National Geographic Society responded that "Virtually all issues April D. DeConick raises about translation choices are addressed in footnotes in both the popular and critical editions." In a later review of the issues and relevant publications, critic Joan Acocella questioned whether ulterior intentions had not begun to supersede historical analysis, e.g., whether publication of The Gospel of Judas could be an attempt to roll back ancient anti-semitic imputations. She concluded that

24300-454: The unquestioning faith of the simple Jew, and the danger to Jewish survival in exile. This also explains Abarbanel's faith in the Messianic concepts of Judaism, as well as his need to make his work accessible to all Jews instead of writing merely for the scholars of his time. Although his commentary often differed from kabbalistic interpretations, Abarbanel nonetheless believed that the Torah had

24462-402: The words of eternal life," but Jesus observed then that despite the fact that he himself had chosen the twelve, one of them (unnamed by Jesus, but identified by the narrator) was "a devil" who would betray him. One of the best-attested and most reliable statements made by Jesus in the gospels comes from the Gospel of Matthew 19:28 , in which Jesus tells his apostles: "in the new world , when

24624-432: The world of grammatical or philological investigation in the vein of Abraham ibn Ezra or David Kimhi before him, instead focusing on a content-based investigation of the Scripture at hand. Occasionally, Abarbanel digresses from the subject under discussion, particularly in his commentary on the Torah. His style and presentations are prolix and often repetitive. Some of his interpretations derive from homilies delivered in

24786-433: The world") to extrapolate the idea that God as " immanent Trinity " can endure and conquer godlessness, abandonment, and death in an "eternal super- kenosis ". A Catholic priest, Richard Neuhaus, an admitted student of Balthasar, argues that it is unknown if Judas is in Hell, and it is also possible that Hell could be empty. However, French monsignor Léon Cristiani considers that Balthasar and Neuhaus are merely recycling

24948-603: Was a German exegete and one of the first historians to write a comprehensive history of the Jewish people from a Jewish perspective. Born Tzvi Hirsch Graetz to a butcher family in Xions (now Książ Wielkopolski ), Grand Duchy of Posen , in Prussia (now in Poland ), he attended Breslau University , but since Jews at that time were barred from receiving Ph.D.s there, he obtained his doctorate from

25110-487: Was an extremely common one for Jewish men during the first century, and that numerous other figures named "Judas" are mentioned throughout the New Testament, none of whom are portrayed negatively. Positive figures named Judas mentioned in the New Testament include the prophet Judas Barsabbas (Acts 15:22–33), Jesus's brother Jude (Mark 6:3; Matt 13:55; Jude 1), and the apostle Judas the son of James (Luke 6:14–16; Acts 1:13; John 14:22). The name "Judas" ( Ὶούδας )

25272-534: Was due to this comparative unpopularity that Graetz was not invited to join the commission created by the union of German Jewish congregations ( Deutsch-Israelitischer Gemeindebund ) for the promotion of the study of the history of the Jews of Germany (1885). On the other hand, his fame spread to foreign countries; and the promoters of the Anglo-Jewish Exhibition invited him in 1887 to open the Exhibition with

25434-406: Was essentially an opponent of philosophy, despite his authority on the subject, because his entire understanding of the Jewish religion was based on God's revelation in Jewish history . Jewish exegesis had become philosophical and far removed from the underlying truth of the text, according to Abarbanel. A characteristic instance of his vacillation is afforded by his most important religious work,

25596-537: Was later filled by Matthias . Due to his notorious role in all the gospel narratives, Judas remains a controversial figure in Christian history. His betrayal is seen as setting in motion the events that led to Jesus's crucifixion and resurrection , which, according to traditional Christian theology brought salvation to humanity. The Gnostic Gospel of Judas —rejected by the proto-orthodox Church as heretical —portrays Judas's actions as done in obedience to instructions given to him by Jesus, and that he alone amongst

25758-531: Was meant to be read in light of the other" and "the integrity of both stories as complete narratives in themselves is seriously disrespected when the two separate stories are being conflated into a third, harmonized version." David A. Reed argues that the Matthew account is a midrashic exposition that allows the author to present the event as a fulfillment of prophetic passages from the Old Testament. They argue that

25920-517: Was not betrayed but surrendered and delivered up by himself, since the meaning of the Greek word used by the New Testament, paradidonai (παραδιδόναι, Latin : tradere ), is unequivocally "handing over of self". In the "Preface to the Second Edition", Balthasar takes a cue from Revelation 13:8 ( Vulgate : agni qui occisus est ab origine mundi , NIV : "the Lamb who was slain from the creation of

26082-404: Was sent to Wollstein , where he attended the yeshivah up to 1836, acquiring secular knowledge by private study. The Neunzehn Briefe über Judenthum ("Nineteen Letters on Judaism") by Samson Raphael Hirsch , which were published under the pseudonym of "Ben Uziel" at Altona in 1836, made a powerful impression on him; and he resolved to prepare himself for academic studies in order to champion

26244-575: Was used as a textbook in Israeli schools. As a result, Graetz was widely considered a Zionist or proto-Zionist, but historians have also noted his support for European assimilation. In 1869 the University of Breslau (Wrocław) granted him the title of Honorary Professor. In 1888 he was appointed an Honorary Member of the Spanish Royal Academy of Sciences . Graetz received his first instruction at Zerkow , where his parents had relocated, and in 1831

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