wow amazing detective work Leo - really enjoyed your research, thanks
The Evolution of Judas Iscariot
by Leolaia 60 Replies latest watchtower bible
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Sad emo
And from the Apocalypse of Peter:
26. And other men and women were burning up to the middle and were cast into a dark place and were beaten by evil spirits, and their inwards were eaten by restless worms: and these were they who persecuted the righteous and delivered them up.
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hillary_step
Leo,
A quite brilliant piece of research. I missed this first time around.
Well done.
HS
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Leolaia
Sad emo....Hey that's a nice catch! I hadn't noticed that text from the Apocalypse of Peter before, which links itself nicely into the Judas tradition by referring to the infernal fate of those who "delivered up" (paradontes) the righteous, a phrase that recalls the apellation of Judas Iscariot in Mark 3:19, as "the one who delivered him [Jesus] up" (hos kai paredóken auton). Certainly in the Christian tradition, Judas would the foremost person who "delivered up" the righteous. The torture reserved for such persons, moreover, links up with descriptions of the deaths of Antiochus IV Epiphanes in 2 Maccabees, Herod the Great in Josephus, Herod Antipas in Acts, and the death of Judas in Acts and Papias. The concept of postmortem torture by worms and fire also has a clear exegetical basis in Isaiah 66:24. Here is a comparison of the relevant texts:
Apocalypse of Peter, Akhmim Fr. XII.27: "And other men and women were being burned up to their middle and cast down in a dark place and scourged by evil spirits, and having their entrails (ta splagkhna) devoured by worms that rested not (esthiomenoi hupo skólékón akoimétón). And these were they that had persecuted (dióxantes) the righteous and delivered them up (paradontes autous)".
Isaiah 66:24 LXX: "And they shall go forth and see the carcasses of men, the ones who acted against me. For their worm shall not cease (skóléxanton ou teleutései), and their fire shall not be extinguished, and they will become a sight to all flesh".
2 Maccabees 9:5-9: "The all-seeing Lord, the God of Israel, struck him [King Antiochus IV Epiphanes] down with an unseen but incurable blow; for scarcely had he uttered those words when he was seized with excruciating pains in his entrails (tón splagkhnón) and sharp internal torment....Breathing fire in his rage against the Jews, he gave orders to drive even faster. As a result he hurtled from the dashing chariot, and every part of his body was racked by the violent fall....The body of this impious man swarmed with worms (skólékas anazein), and while he was still alive in hideous torments, his flesh rotted off, so that the entire army was sickened by the stench of his corruption".
Josephus, Antiquities 17.168-169: "But now Herod [the Great]'s distemper greatly increased upon him after a severe manner, and this by God's judgment upon him for his sins.... His intestines were also ulcerated (helkósis tón te enterón), and the chief violence of his pain lay on his colon ... and his penis was putrefied and produced worms (skólékas empoiousa)".
Mark 3:19: "And Judas Iscariot, who was the one who delivered him up (paredóken auton)".
Acts 1:18: "Now this man [Judas] bought a field with the wages of his wickedness, and having become swollen, he burst open in the middle and all his entrails (ta splagkhna autou) gushed out".
Acts 12:23: "Since Herod [Agrippa] did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord at once smote him, and having become worm-eaten (skólékobrótos), he expired".
Papias, Expositions on the Oracles of our Lord, Fr. 18: "Judas was a terrible, walking example of ungodliness in this world, his flesh was so swollen (préstheis) that he was not able to pass through a place where a wagon passes easily ... and when he relieved himself there passed through it pus and worms (ikhóras kai skólékas) from every part of his body, much to his shame...The stench was so great that to this day no one can pass that place unless they hold their nose, so great was the discharge (ekhórésen) from his body".
Now I don't mean to suggest that the Apocalypse of Peter is necessarily literarily dependent on 2 Maccabees, Josephus, etc. Rather, these sources reveal some of the background of the description of the death of Judas in Christian tradition by attesting a stereotypical scenario of how very wicked men are supposed to die. The grotesque depiction of Judas' death is certainly part of this larger tradition, which focuses on putrification of internal organs, stench, and worms. So we have a parallel of Papias' description of worms passing through Judas' penis when he urinated with Josephus' description of Herod's penis producing worms. There may be literary dependence of Acts on Josephus, as there is much other evidence suggesting this as a possibility. But the important thing here is how the Apocalypse of Peter relates this "grotesque death" tradition to Judas by attributing the agony of having one's entrails eaten by worms to those who "deliver up" others, a phrase that as noted above brings Judas Iscariot to the mind of the attentive reader. If the author of the Apocalypse of Peter knew the book of Acts, he would have seen that that entrails and having one's innards eaten by worms were prominent in deaths of Judas and Herod (1:18, 12:23). The author was certainly familiar with the similarly hellish scene in Isaiah 66:24, from which he obtained the notion of worms that do not cease. Thus, skóléx "worm" is sort of like a catchword that links Psalm 66:24 with the "grotesque death" tradition that occurs in 2 Maccabees, Josephus, Acts, and Papias, turning a scenario of one's death into a scenario of postmortem torture. Moreover, we already know from Papias that the worm motif entered into the Judas death tradition through the exegetical influence of Psalm 69:23 ("May their eyes be darkened and go blind, make their loins shake continually"), which separately motivated the motif about Judas' blindness. That exegetical text, from the same psalm that influenced the Jesus-Judas tradition on many different points (cf. v. 9 on the story of Jesus in the Temple, v. 21 on the offering of gall and vinegar to Jesus on the cross, v. 25 on Judas' place of death or house being thereafter uninhabited, etc.), was a gateway for the worm motif from the "grotesque death" scenario to enter into the Judas death tradition. So could it be that the author of the Apocalypse of Peter betrays his familiarity with the tradition found in Papias (and later writers) that Judas suffered torture from worms? I think that is quite possible, if indeed he alluded to Judas through the reference to entrails (splagkhna) and the phrase paredóken auton.
Also, notice that the death of Antiochus Epiphanes is related in 2 Maccabees 9:5-9 involves a fall, followed by the torturous symptoms that lead to his demise. That is reminiscent of the scenario of Judas' death by Eusebius, who has Judas becoming bed-ridden after his fall, after which he burst apart and finally died.
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transhuman68
bttt
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peacefulpete
Just a follow up interesting detail. Papias is ostensibly quoted twice in Apollinarius' work. Leolaia focused on the longer version for much of her verbal analyses. The shorter version retains the chariot/wagon element but has him actually run over by one.
First the longer as discussed in the OP:
Judas walked about as an example of godlessness in this world, having been bloated so much in the flesh that he could not go through where a chariot goes easily, indeed not even his swollen head by itself. For the lids of his eyes, they say, were so puffed up that he could not see the light, and his own eyes could not be seen, not even by a physician with optics, such depth had they from the outer apparent surface. And his genitalia appeared more disgusting and greater than all formlessness, and he bore through them from his whole body flowing pus and worms, and to his shame these things alone were forced [out]. And after many tortures and torments, they say, when he had come to his end in his own place, from the place became deserted and uninhabited until now from the stench, but not even to this day can anyone go by that place unless they pinch their nostrils with their hands, so great did the outflow from his body spread out upon the earth.
Next the shorter version:
Judas lived his career in this world as an enormous example of impiety. He was so swollen in the flesh that he could not pass where a chariot could easily pass. Having been crushed by a chariot, his entrails poured out.
Was Apollinarius misquoting Papias or had Papias offered two renditions of the legend in different contexts? Apollinarius quotes the one in his commentary on Acts and the other in a commentary on Matthew.
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PioneerSchmioneer
Very interesting work.
Again, though not declaring any personal claim to Christianity myself, I find the "invention" of Judas Iscariot unnecessary.
The mythology of the gospels aside, the rabbi known as Jesus of Nazareth was destined to crucifixion, no matter what as the priesthood of the time had no sympathy for messianic pretenders that publically embrassed them while creating powerful movements consisting of sympathic followers. Rome likewise did not appreciate anyone calling themselves "king" in opposition to Caesar, and this self-proclaimed rabbi had might as well fashioned his own cross and asked his apostles to nail himself to it after congratulating Peter for identifying him the Messiah, King of the Jews.
Another character, like Judas Iscariot, handing him over as a betrayer is an invention? Unlikely. Judas is actually just the name "Jude," which was slightly changed so as not to confuse it with the name of the brother of Jesus who is also named Jude. (John 14:22) There is also the prophet named Judas Barsabbas mentioned in Acts 15:22-33.
Then, whether or not this is the same Judas as the "brother of Jesus" or someone merely writing in his name, the Epistle or Letter of Jude is actually written by someone named Judas--but since "Judas Iscariot" is supposedly the betrayer, Christians changed the name of the author to "Jude" to avoid confusion.
While I do know that the prophecies supposedly fulfilled by the betrayal of Judas Iscariot are merely midrash attributed after the fact, it is unlikely that someone with the same name of the "brother of Jesus" who helped to betray him to his death--an embrassing fact--is entirely invented. There would be no reason to change "Judas" to "Jude" in the title of the epistle, especially since scholars believe it is pseudonymous--and that would make no sense if we are talking about a character made up of tropes harvested from the Old Testament.
Why hide a "made up fact" you worked so hard to make up? You would want people to see what you worked so hard to make up, wouldn't you?
With or without Judas in the gospel narrative, Jesus of Nazareth always marches to his death. Why invent such a character with a name of the brother of the person who betrayed him--and then change the name of the innocent brother?
But it doesn't matter to me in the end.
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peacefulpete
It's helpful to think of the Gospel stories as OT midrash. Nearly every story element was drawn from past stories. Moses, Samuel, Joseph, David and others provided the details. This was in fact revealed by the authors through the continued phrase, "to fulfill or according to the scriptures"
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PioneerSchmioneer
Midrash is a form of Jewish exegesis, an ancient form of commentary on Scriptural text. The methodology started around the time of the school of Hillel the Elder, who was active around the end of the first century BCE and the beginning of the first century CE.
My mother is a Conservative Jew and I myself was educated in it, studying midrash for almost 10 years.
While the author of the gospel of Matthew employs midrash at Mt 1:22-23 and 1:15 (as in other places), it is a method of exegesis, not narrative. For instance, it is not midrash when Matthew claims Jesus fulfills another prophecy at 1:5-6. (Can you spot the difference between midrash and regular "prophecy" fulfillment--or are you just another Gentile using the term like a novelty?)
Midrash is not folklore or legend or mythology as it involves explaining what previously composed texts means (not composing new ones), commenting on them, and interpreting texts, sometimes via a play on words such as at Matthew 1:23.
There is an entire book of this method in the Talmud called "The Midrash" that employs this form. But one cannot create entire characters or storylines by means of it.
The term "midrash" is synonymous with "exegesis," and saying that the story elements of the gospels were created by means of exegesis or commentary is incorrect. You are misuing the term or just don't know what midrash is.
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