Judas Iscariot (died April AD 29–33, Hebrew יהודה איש־קריות Yəhûḏāh ʾΚ-qəriyyôṯ) was, according to the New Testament, one of the twelve original apostles of Jesus, and the one who ultimately betrayed him.

Traditional Christian views

Judas is mentioned only in the gospels and at the beginning of Acts. According to the account given in the gospels, he carried the disciples' money box and betrayed Jesus for a bribe of "thirty pieces of silver" by identifying him with a kiss—the "kiss of Judas"— to arresting Roman soldiers. The "pieces of silver" were most likely intended to be understood as silver Tyrian shekels.

Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, should not be confused with Jude Thomas, or with Saint Jude who was also one of the twelve disciples and a brother of James the Less.

After Jesus' arrest by the Roman authorities (but before his execution), the guilt-ridden Judas returned the bribe to the priests and committed suicide. The Gospel of Matthew says he hanged himself; the Acts of the Apostles (1:18), however, says that he "purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out". This field is called Akeldama or "Field Of Blood." Acts 1 goes on to describe how his place among the apostles was filled by Saint Matthias.

The act of Judas has been much discussed in context of free will; the mainstream position has been that although Jesus, being divine, knew that Judas would betray him, Judas was still acting in free will and was culpable for his actions. Jesus himself condemned his betrayer heavily in Matthew 26:

When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve. And while they were eating, he said, "I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me."

They were very sad and began to say to him one after the other, "Surely not I, Lord?"

Jesus replied, "The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born."

Theological questions

Judas has been a figure of great interest to esoteric groups, such as many Gnostic sects, because of the apparent contradiction in the idea of "the betrayal of God". The possibilities seem to be these:

• Jesus did not foresee the betrayal by Judas.
• He was unable to prevent it.
• He allowed Judas to betray him.
• Judas was an informed accomplice in Jesus' planned destiny.

Irenaeus records the beliefs of one Gnostic sect, 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 carnal world. The Cainites later split into two groups, both praising Judas over Jesus Christ, but disagreeing over the significance of Jesus in their cosmology.

The text of the Gospels suggests that Jesus both foresaw and allowed Judas' betrayal.

Philosophical questions

Judas is also the subject of many philosophical writings, including The Problem of Natural Evil by Bertrand Russell and Three Versions of Judas, a short story by Jorge Luis Borges. They both allege various problematic ideological contradictions with the discrepancy between Judas' actions and his eternal punishment.

• If Jesus foresees Judas' betrayal, then it may be argued that Judas has no free will, and cannot avoid betraying Jesus. If Judas cannot control his betrayal of Jesus, then he is not morally responsible for his actions. The question has been approached by Thomas Aquinas in his Summa Theologiae, which differentiates between foreknowledge and predestination, and argues that the omnipotence of the divine is not sufficient grounds for eliminating the existence of free will.
• If Judas is sent to Hell for his betrayal, and his betrayal was a necessary step in the humanity-saving death of Jesus Christ, then Judas is being punished for saving humanity. This goes hand-in-hand with the "free will" argument, and Aquinas's Summa deals with the issue of free will in demons and other beings instrumental in the life of Jesus that are nevertheless damned.
• If Jesus only suffered while dying on the cross, and then ascended into Heaven, while Judas must suffer for eternity in Hell, then Judas has suffered much more for the sins of humanity than Jesus, and his role in the Atonement is that much more significant. Standard Christian dogma holds that the suffering of Jesus was infinite, and that the suffering of Jesus was not time-dependent. This position holds throughout orthodox Catholicism and many forms of Protestantism.
• Do Jesus' last words on the cross, "Father forgive them, they know not what they do," not apply to Judas? Is his atonement insufficient for Judas' sin(s)?

Modern interpretations

Most modern Christians, whether laity, clergy or theologians, still consider Judas a traitor. Indeed the term Judas has entered the language as a synonym for betrayer.

However, some scholars have embraced the alternative notion that Judas was merely the negotiator in a prearranged prisoner exchange (following the money-lender riot in the Temple) that gave Jesus to the Roman authorities by mutual agreement, and that Judas' later portrayal as "traitor" was a historical distortion.

In his book The Passover Plot, the British theologian Hugh J. Schonfield argued that the crucifixion of Christ was a conscious re-enactment of Biblical prophecy and Judas acted with Jesus' full knowledge and consent in "betraying" his master to the authorities. Schonfield's hypothesis recognizes the fulfillment of prophecy in Judas' recorded actions without acknowledging that the prophecies were really fulfilled in history. This interpretation became well known to the general population by the controversial film The Last Temptation of Christ.

The Roman Catholic Church has never officially stated that it believes Judas is in Hell, it does not know where his soul is. According to one Catholic writer, if he had not committed suicide but repented of his actions it would still have been possible for him to become a great saint, just like Saint Peter who denied Christ three times.

Etymology of "Judas Iscariot"

In the Greek of the New Testament, Judas

"Judas" is the Greek form of the common name Judah (יהודה, Y^ehûdâh, Hebrew for "praised"). In English translations of the Bible is also found the name Jude, however there is no such distinction in the original Greek or in the Latin Vulgate translation. King David united the Kingdom of Israel and King Solomon built the First Temple, however the kingdom split into two in 928bce, namely the northern kingdom Israel and the southern Kingdom of Judah. In 722bce, the Assyrian King Shalmaneser V conquered Israel and renamed it Samerina (Samaria). In 586bce, the Babylonian King Nebuchadrezzar II conquered Judah, destroyed the First Temple, and exiled the "Judeans" to Babylon. Cyrus II of Persia conquered Babylon in 539bce and granted the Judeans the right to return and to rebuild their Temple (Second Temple). For this reason Isaiah 44:25-45:4 proclaimed Cyrus to be anointed. Hence, to make a long story short, Judah, Judean, and Jew are almost synonymous. Technically, for the context of the New Testament, Judean is correct, as the Roman Emperor Augustus created Iudaea Province (6-64,73-132ce) in Latin which is generally translated into English as Judea, hence its people were called Judeans.

What "Iscariot" signifies is unclear, other than its Greek suffix -otes, like English "-ite" or "-ian". No territory "Iscaria" has ever existed. A birthplace is sometimes offered at the Karioth that is mentioned only once, in a long list of cities in the time of Joshua (Joshua 15:25), concerning which The Classical Gazeteer tactfully remarked "of uncertain position" . Karioth is not mentioned in any text of the centuries before or after Judas Iscariot. (Compare Cana and Arimathea.)

There are two major theories on the meaning of this name, each of which must satisfy certain expectations in order to be credible:

One etymology, accepted by the majority, and credited to Jerome, derives "Iscariot" from Hebrew איש־קריות, Κ–Qrîyôth, that is "man of Kerioth", the Judean town (or, more probably, collection of small towns) of Kerioth, not otherwise related to any person or event in the New Testament, nor mentioned in any document of the period. As Aramaic was the main language of the time, and all other biblical characters have Aramaic surnames and nicknames, this Hebrew Judaean name would have marked out Judas as different from the Galilean disciples.

In the second etymology, "Iscariot" is considered to be a transformation of the Latin sicarius, or "dagger-man". The Sicarii were a cadre of assassins among Jewish rebels intent on driving the Romans out of Judea. It is possible then, that this Latin name might have been transformed by Aramaic into a form more closely resembling "Iscariot". But many historians maintain that the sicarii only arose in the 40's or 50's of the 1st century, so Judas could not have been a member. Brown, Raymond E. (1994). The Death of the Messiah: From Gethsemane to the Grave: A Commentary on the Passion Narratives in the Four Gospels v.1 pp. 688-92. New York: Doubleday/The Anchor Bible Reference Library. ISBN 0-385-49448-3; Meier, John P. (2001). A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus v. 3 p. 210. New York: Doubleday/The Anchor Bible Reference Library. ISBN 0-385-46993-4 (v.3). While Judas may or may not have actually been a sicariote, the term may have been used for him pejoratively. Therefore, if Judas is largely synonymous with Judean and if Iscariot means Sicarius, then Judas Iscariot would mean Judean Assassin.

"Iscariot" could also be derived from the Aramaic sheqarya' or shiqrai, indicating a person who is a fraud; "the false one" would usually be written as ishqaraya. It could also have been derived from the Hebrew sachar. It also has been theorised that Iscariot could mean deliverer, derived from the Hebrew sakar.

But one factor arguing against "Iscariot" deriving from Judas' betrayal of Jesus is the reference in John 6:71 to Judas as "son of Simon the Iscariot." In light of this, Iscariot appears to be a family name, which would make the Kerioth theory more likely.

Because of Judas' role in betraying Jesus Christ, the name Judas—which was common during the time of Christ—has almost entirely fallen out of use as a name among Christians, though its Hebrew equivalent Yehuda remains common among Jews, and the etymologically equivalent name Jude is not unknown among Christians.

Judas in hymnography

In the Eastern Orthodox hymns of Holy Wednesday (the Wednesday before Pascha), Judas is contrasted with the prostitute who anointed Jesus with expensive perfume and washed his feet with her tears. According to the Gospels, Judas protested at this apparent extravagance, suggesting that the money spent on it should have been given to the poor. After this, Judas went to the chief priests and offered to betray Jesus for money. The hymns of Holy Wednesday contrast these two figures, encouraging believers to avoid the example of the fallen disciple and instead to imitate the prostitute'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' betrayal: "I will not reveal your mysteries to your enemies, neither like Judas will I betrayyou with a punch, but like the thief on the cross I will confess you."

Judas in the Gospel of Barnabas

According to the medieval Gospel of Barnabas, it was Judas, not Jesus, who was cruicified on the cross. It is mentioned in this work that Judas' 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 heaven. This transformation of appearance was so identical that the masses, followers of Christ, and even the Mother of Jesus, Mary, initially thought that the one arrested and crucified was Jesus himself. The Gospel then mentions that after three days since burial, Judas' body was stolen from his grave, and then the rumours 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 so he descended and gathered his mother, disciples, and followers and mentioned to them the truth of what happened, and having said this he ascended back to the heavens, and will come back at the end of times as a just king.

Chapter 214 of the Gospel states:

"Having gone forth from the house, Jesus retired into the garden to pray, according as his custom was to pray, bowing his knees an hundred times and prostrating himself upon his face. Judas, accordingly, knowing the place where Jesus was with his disciples, went to the



high priest, and said: "If you will give me what was promised, this night will I give into your hand Jesus whom you seek; for he is alone with eleven companions." The high priest answered: "How much do you seek?" Judas said, "Thirty pieces of gold." Then straightway the high priest counted to him the money, and sent a Pharisee to the governor to fetch soldiers, and to Herod, and they gave a legion of them, because they feared the people; wherefore they took their arms, and with torches and lanterns upon staves went out of Jerusalem"

Chapter 216 of the Gospel states:

"Judas entered impetuously before all into the chamber whence Jesus had been taken up. And the disciples were sleeping. Whereupon the wonderful God acted wonderfully, insomuch that Judas was so changed in speech and in face to be like Jesus that we believed him to be Jesus. And he, having awakened us, was seeking where the Master was. Whereupon we marvelled, and answered: 'You, Lord, are our master; have you now forgotten us?'And he, smiling, said: 'Now are you foolish, that know not me to be Judas Iscariot!' And as he was saying this the soldiery entered, and laid their hands upon Judas, because he was in every way like to Jesus."

Chapter 217 of the Gospel states:

"But God, who had decreed the issue, reserved Judas for the cross, in order that he might suffer that horrible death to which he had sold another...And the soldiers came before him, bowing down in mockery, saluting him as King of the Jews. And they held out their hands to receive gifts, such as new kings are accustomed to give; and receiving nothing they smote Judas, saying: 'Now, how are you crowned, foolish king, if you will not pay your soldiers and servants?' Judas truly did nothing else but cry out: 'God, why have you forsaken me, seeing the malefactor has escaped and I die unjustly?' *Truly I say that the voice, the face, and the person of Judas were so like to Jesus, that his disciples and believers entirely believed that he was Jesus; wherefore some departed from the doctrine of Jesus, believing that Jesus had been a false prophet, and that by art magic he had done the miracles which he did: for Jesus had said that he should not die till near the end of the world; for that at that time he should be taken away from the world. But they that stood firm in the doctrine of Jesus were so encompassed with sorrow, seeing him die who was entirely like to Jesus, that they remembered not what Jesus had said. And so in company with the mother of Jesus they went to Mount Calvary, and were not only present at the death of Judas, weeping continually, but by means of Nicodemus and Joseph of Abarimathia; they obtained from the governor the body of Judas to bury it. Whereupon, they took him down from the cross with such weeping as assuredly no one would believe, and buried."

Chapter 218 states:

"Then returned each man to his house. He who writes, with John and James his brother, went with the mother of Jesus; to Nazareth. Those disciples who did not fear God went by night stole the body of Judas and hid it, spreading a report that Jesus was risen again; whence great confusion arose."

Chapter 219 states:

"So the angels that were guardians of Mary ascended to the third heaven;, where Jesus was in the company of angels, and recounted all to him. Wherefore Jesus prayed God that he would give him power to see his mother and his disciples. Then the merciful God commanded his four favourite angels, who are Michael, Gabriel, Rafael;, and Uriel, to bear Jesus into his mother's house, and there keep watch over him for three days continually, suffering him only to be seen by them that believed in his doctrine. Jesus came, surrounded with splendour, to the room where abode Mary the Virgin with her two sisters, and Martha and Mary Magdalen, and Lazarus, and him who writes, and John and James and Peter. Whereupon, through fear they fell as dead. And Jesus lifted up his mother and the others from the ground, saying: 'Fear not, for I am Jesus; and weep not, for I am alive and not dead.' They remained every one for a long time beside himself at the presence of Jesus, for they altogether believed that Jesus was dead. Then the Virgin, weeping, said: 'Tell me, my son, wherefore God, having given you power to raise the dead. suffered you to die, to the shame of your kinsfolk and friends, and to the shame of your doctrine? For every one that loves you has been as dead.'

Chapter 221 states:

"And he reproved many who believed that he had died and risen again, saying: "Do you hold me and God for liars? I said to you that God has granted to me to live almost to the end of the world. Truly I say to you, I did not die; it was Judas the traitor. Beware, for Satan will make every effort to deceive you. Be my witnesses in Israel, and throughout the world, of all things that you have heard and seen." And having said this, he prayed God for the salvation of the faithful, and the conversion of sinners and , his prayer ended, he embraced his mother, saying: "Peace be to you, my mother. Rest in God who created you and me." And having said this, he turned to his disciples, saying: "May God's grace and mercy be with you." Then before their eyes the four angels carried him up into heaven"

Judas and Anti-Semitism

Some scholars of the New Testament suggest that the name "Judas" was intended as an attack on the Judaeans or on the Judaean religious establishment held responsible for executing Christ. The English word "Jew" is derived from the Latin Judaeus, which, like the Greek Ιουδαιος (Ioudaios), could also mean "Judaean". In the Gospel of John, the original writer or a later editor may have tried to draw a parallel between Judas, Judaea, and the Judaeans (or Jews) in verses 6:70-7:1, which run like this in the King James Bible:

6:70 Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? 6:71 He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon: for he it was that should betray him, being one of the twelve. 7:1 After these things Jesus walked in Galilee: for he would not walk in Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill him.

In Greek, the earliest extant language of the Gospels, the words Judas -- Jewry -- Jews run like this: Ιουδας (Ioudas) -- Ιουδαια (Ioudaia) -- Ιουδαιοι (Ioudaioi). In Latin, the language of the Catholic Vulgate Bible, they run Judas -- Judaea -- Judaei. Whatever the original intentions of the original writers or editors of the Gospel of John, however, there is little doubt that the similarity between the name "Judas" and the words for "Jew" in various European languages has contributed powerfully to anti-Semitism. In German the same words run Judas -- Judäa -- Juden; in Spanish Judas -- Judea -- judíos; and in French Judas -- Judée -- juifs.

Over time Judas came to be seen as the archetypal Jew. He was said to have red hair, which was proverbially called "Judas-colored", and the ancient stereotype of Jews was that they had red hair too: in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice the Jewish money-lender Shylock is said to have been portrayed with red hair on the Elizabethan stage. Judas's betrayal of Christ for money was also seen as a typical piece of Jewish venality and avarice.

A few modern critics of European culture assert that in paintings and art of the Middle Ages and Renaissance, while the other apostles are portrayed as powerfully built Northern Europeans, Judas was given stereotypically Jewish characteristics. Specific examples of such portrayals in the Middle Ages and Renaissance, however, are hard to come by.

A more modern example, however, can be found in John Fiester's monument clock, the Apostolic Clock. Judas is half the height of the other eleven apostles, hunched over, and possesses an exaggerated nose. The notes provided at the Hershey Museum, where it is on display, claims the artist made Judas shorter because he considered him to be less of a man than the other apostles, not because of anti-Semitism.

Judas in art and literature

Judas has become the archetype of the betrayer in Western culture, with some role in virtually all literature telling the Passion story. In Dante's Inferno, he is condemned to the lowest circle of Hell, where he is one of three sinners deemed evil enough that they are doomed to be chewed for eternity in the mouths of the triple-headed Satan. (The others are Brutus and Cassius, who conspired against and assassinated Julius Caesar.)

• Armando Cosani: The Flight of the Feathered Serpent, suggests an untold story of Judas as a Spiritual Master.

• Jorge Luis Borges' short story Three Versions of Judas gives several interpretations of Judas' story, one of which concludes that Judas is the true savior of humanity.

• Edward Elgar's oratorio, The Apostles, depicts Judas as wanting to force Jesus to declare his divinity and establish the kingdom on earth. Eventually he succumbs to the sin of despair.

• In Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita, the entire story of Christ is portrayed differently. In the case of Judas, Bulgakov presents a parody of the betrayal of Christ, as though first-century Jerusalem were Moscow in the 1920s-1930s. Pilate is talking to his head of the secret service, and mentions that he "heard a rumor" stating that Judas of Kerioth was slated for an early grave, so "I expect you to do your best to help him". After Judas's death ("A shame, I understand you did your best.."), Pilate ponders rhetorically, asking whether "he might have killed himself?", thereby starting the biblical account of Judas's suicide.

Judas in contemporary popular culture

Main article: Judas Iscariot in contemporary popular culture

Judas often appears as a metaphor for the archetypal, profit-driven betrayer in much late 20th and early 21st century culture. Some examples:

• In the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Jesus Christ Superstar, Judas is shown as a man who loves Jesus and believes his teachings, but fears that the emergence of a new religion centred on will spark an uprising which the Romans would brutally suppress. Torn between his love of Christ and his fear that the Romans "will crush us if we go too far", he regretfully betrays Jesus. Inspired by the Bob Dylan lyric "You'll have to decide/Whether Judas Iscariot/Had God on his side", the play casts Judas in a sympathetic light.

• In the film Dracula 2000, it is suggested that Dracula was an incarnation of Judas Iscariot.

• The manga and anime Hellsing, there is an organization known as the Vatican Section XIII, or the Iscariot Organization, a military division of the Vatican, dedicated to fighting vampires and heretics alike. In the manga particularly they give a speech describing their goals:
  • " We are disciples yet not disciples. We are traitors yet not traitors. We are death. The minions of death. We humbly bow down and ask for forgiveness from our Lord.. Submitting ourselves in reverence of God, we shall vanquish all of His foes. We are those who swing our daggers on a moonless night; we are the ones who lace your dinners with poison. We are assassins. The ones who have embraced the ways of Judas Iscariot! ..We cohorts of the cloth, in ranks of five, are now forming an Agmen Quadratum, desiring to do battle with the 7,405,926 demons of Hell."

• The following songs contain lyrical references to Judas:
  • "Amarok—Zorn Des Lammes III" by Nagaroth
  • "At Least I Know I'm a Sinner" by Atreyu
  • "The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest" by Bob Dylan (this was the inspiration for the name of the name of the band Judas Priest)
  • "It was as if the Dead Man Stood upon the Air" by Norma Jean
  • "Judas" by Depeche Mode
  • "Judas Iscariot" by Rick Wakeman
  • "The Man's Too Strong" by Dire Straits
  • "Masters of War" by Bob Dylan
  • "Omerta" by Lamb of God
  • "Pride (In the Name of Love)" by U2
  • "Truly, Truly this is the End" by Zao
  • "Until the End of the World" by U2
  • "With God on Our Side" by Bob Dylan
  • "Brainsaw" by Therapy?
  • "Judas My Heart" by Belly
  • "Kiss of Judas" by Stratovarius
  • "Judas be My Guide" by Iron Maiden
  • "Age of False Innocence" by Blind Guardian

In addition, the Smashing Pumpkins' two B-side collection albums Pisces Iscariot and Judas 0 derive their titles from Judas' name.

Trivia

In Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper an overturned salt cellar lies in front of Judas (a reference to the superstition that spilling salt is bad luck).

See also

• Burning of Judas
• John the Baptist
• Quisling