Although discovered in the 1970s, the portion called the gospel of judas has only recently been restored and translated by scholars the completion of the restoration and translation was announced by the national geographic society at a news conference in washington. This accords very well with the agenda of dan browns bestseller the davinci code and the impending release of the film based on that book may well account for why the gospel of judas translation was published at this time. Gospel of judas accused of mistranslation the translator. Judas iscariot between 1886 and 1894 by james tissot. It may be freely copied and used, in whole or in part, changed or unchanged, for any purpose. According to a scholium attributed to apollinaris of laodicea, papias also related a tale on the grotesque fate of judas iscariot. The gospel of judas is part of an ancient coptic egyptian codex which dates from around the third century ad. The issues of translation she highlights are almost all discussed in the notes in the popular edition and critical edition of the gospel of judas, and the observation that judas is the. While national geographics translation supported the provocative interpretation of judas as a hero, a more careful reading makes clear that judas is not only no hero, he is a demon. The following translation has been committed to the public domain and may be freely copied and used, changed or unchanged, for any purpose. Contents 33 the hidden discourse of the pronouncement in which jesus spoke with judas iscariot for eight days, three days before he celebrated passover. The gospel of judas is considered gnostic in origin.
Incipit the secret account of the revelation that jesus spoke in conversation with judas iscariot. It says that judas is a specific demon called the thirteenth. Several of the translation choices made by the societys scholars fall well outside the commonly accepted practices in the field. Sometime in the 1970s, in a cave in egypt, a copy of the gospel of judas was discovered. The circumstances of the discovery have been described as shady, with those who possessed the copy asking for. The gospel of judas is a gnostic gospel whose content consists of conversations between jesus and judas iscariot. Subsequent studies, however, questioned this interpretation of the gospel of. Generally, gnostics hold that salvation of the soul comes from a quasiintuitive knowledge of the mysteries of the universe and of secret formulae indicative of that knowledge. Mar 23, 2020 the gnostic gospel of judas shows fascinating contrast from the theology of nicean christianity. They produce a fictitious history of this kind, which they style the gospel of judas. The gospel of judas iscariot, one of the socalled lost books of early christianity, was referred to in irenaeus and was known to exist in the 2 nd century but has been lost to the world since that time. The gnostic gospel of judas shows fascinating contrast from the theology of nicean christianity. Mar 24, 2020 gospel of judas, apocryphal christian scripture from the 2nd century ad attributed to the apostle judas iscariot. We possess the gospel of judas as the third treatise in a single fourthcentury papyrus codex, or bound book, written in coptic, conventionally named codex tchacos.
The gospel of judas gives a different view of the relationship between jesus and judas, offering new insights into the disciple who betrayed jesus. In contrast to the canonical gospels which paint judas as a betrayer of christ who delivered him up to the authorities for crucifixion, the gospel of judas portrays judass actions as. Whether this newly discovered gospel of judas is identical to the text that irenaeus referred to remains a matter of scholarly debate. Just as judas iscariot rejected jesus and betrayed him with a kiss, the gospel of judas rejects the true gospel and truth. It is based on the coptic text of nag hammadi codex ii, 2. In the thirteenth apostle april deconick offers a new translation of the gospel of judas which seriously challenges the national geographic interpretation of a good judas.
The translators, it seems, played fast and loose with the material. For additional information about the translation, see the introduction to the pdf version. The gospel advances a gnostic cosmology and portrays judas in a positive light as the only apostle who fully understands jesus teachings. Following the annotated translation of the coptic gospel of judas, the rest of the book is dedicated to several scholars presenting their analysis of the work. Gospel of judas biblical studies oxford bibliographies. Should the gospel of judas or other gnostic gospels be included in the bible. The translation caused a sensation because it seemed to overturn the popular image of judas the betrayer and instead presented a benevolent judas who was a friend of jesus. In a discussion of the cainites, he claimed they had a book known as the gospel of judas. The gospel of judas johanna brankaer oxford university.
The only copy of it known to exist is a coptic language text that has been carbon dated to ad 280, plus or minus 60 years. Researchers say they have discovered the only known copy of the gospel of judas. Found 21 sentences matching phrase gospel of judas. The name judas is a greek rendering of the hebrew name judah, y e hudah, hebrew for god is praised, which was an extremely common name for jewish men during the first century ad, due to the renowned hero judas maccabeus. The gospel of judas, on the other hand, portrays judas in a very different perspective than do the gospels of the new testament, according to a preliminary translation made in early 2006 by the national geographic society. Gospel of judas learn the history of this book and study its validity. The lost gospel of judas from the codex tchacos 91720 the lost gospel uf judas from nationalgeographic website an ancient coptic manuscript dating from the third or fourth century, containing the only known surviving copy of the gospel of judas, has been restored and authenticated after being lost for nearly 1,700 years. Deconick contends that the gospel of judas is not about a good judas, or even a poor old judas. Several of the translation choices made by the societys scholars. In contrast to the canonical gospels which paint judas as a betrayer of christ who delivered him up to the authorities for crucifixion, the gospel of judas portrays judass actions as done in obedience to instructions given by christ. Some of the scholars in question tried to vehemently portray the text clearly fantastical as an equally valid alternative to the true texts of the gospels. Some of the scholars in question tried to vehemently portray the text clearly fantastical as an equally. Although lost for centuries, the gospel of judas was known to have existed because it was. The gospel of judas, second edition kasser, rodolphe, meyer, marvin, wurst, gregor, gaudard, francois on.
Given that it includes late 2nd century theology, it is thought to have been composed in the 2nd century by gnostic christians, rather than the historic judas himself. Blatz, writing without knowledge of the new codex, believed that the gospel of judas would have been written at some time between a. The gospel of judas translated by rodolphe kasser, marvin meyer, and gregor wurst, in collaboration with francois gaudard introduction. Irenaeus made an indirect reference to the gospel of judas in his seminal work, against heresies. First translated in the early 2000s, the codex contains text that appears to be from the late 2nd century, and includes the self. After being lost for nearly 1,700 years, the gospel of judas was recently restored, authenticated, and translated. Jan 02, 2020 the gospel of judas is a gnostic gospel, espousing a gnostic viewpoint of christianity. Gospel according to judas the recently unearthed gospel of judas contradicts everything we know about christianity, says religious historian elaine pagels. A wild story from a gospel excluded from the bible gospel.
In certain gnostic traditions, this is the given name of the king of demons an entity. Ultimately, it reached the hands of scholars who have now completed its translation, under the auspices and funding of the national geographic society see usa today, longlost gospel of judas recasts traitor, 46. Opinion what the gospel of judas really says the new york. The gospel of judas is simply a heretical forgery, much the same as the gospel of thomas, the gospel of mary, and the gospel of philip. The actual manuscript that scholars have discovered in recent years is a copy of a translation into coptic, a mix of the original language of egypt with greek. The coptic, or egyptian christian, manuscripts were unveiled today at. Gospel of judas translation englishspanish dictionary. Departing from the scholarly debate over how this secondcentury gospel portrays the character of judas iscariot, he investigates the texts preoccupation with jesus twelve disciples, and why its author. For some reflections on the meaning and significance of judas gospel for. This public domain translation includes the more recently recovered fragments initially published in 2010. According to gagne, the opening lines of the judas gospel should not be translated as the secret word of declaration by which jesus spoke in conversation with judas iscariot but rather as the secret word of the denial by which jesus spoke in conversation with judas iscariot gospel of judas 33. The gospel according to judas is simply a heretical forgery. The gospel of judas is an ancient book written between ad 300 and 400 in an egyptian language known as coptic. The gospel of judas is a gnostic text from the second century c.
The translation caused a sensation because it seemed to overturn the popular image of judas the betrayer and instead presented a. In 2006, national geographic released the first english translation of the gospel of judas, a secondcentury text discovered in egypt in the 1970s. Mattison this translation has been committed to the public domain. The gospel of judas is another gospel that scholars only knew about through the writings of its opponents. A false apocryphal gnostic document the gospel of judas. The gospel of judas caused a huge stir when national geographic published it back in 2006. The gospel of judas this translation is by david brakke and is intended only for the use of his students. Probably discovered in egypt in the 1970s, it became available to the scholarly community and public only in april of 2006. The gnostics believed that the road to salvation was through secret knowledge given by jesus to his inner circle.
The gospel of judas is a gnostic text, and in gnostic literature the word daimon is always rendered into english as demon, said deconick. Amsterdam about 1800 years after its ban by the church because of its blasphemous content, the gospel of judas has been made public again. Dec 01, 2007 while national geographics translation supported the provocative interpretation of judas as a hero, a more careful reading makes clear that judas is not only no hero, he is a demon. A swiss foundation discovered a copy of the forbidden gospel and is currently working on a translation. Found 30 sentences matching phrase gospel of judas. The gospel of judas edited by johanna brankaer bas van os oxford early christian gospel texts. Well, an oped piece in the new york times this morning says, in effect. A wild story from a gospel excluded from the bible. The gospel of judas johanna brankaer oxford university press. The one physical version of the text known to exist today is from the 4 th century ce. The gospel of judas is a gnostic gospel and is consistent with gnostic viewpoints.
The gospel of judas was written in greek between and 170 ad. A fourthcentury coptic translation of the gospel of judas, which is a secondcentury gospel first mentioned by irenaeus of lyons, was recovered in 2006 and published initially under the auspices of the national geographic society as a gospel that exonerated judas and saw him as a gnostic hero and soul mate of jesus. A fourthcentury coptic translation of the gospel of judas, which is a second century gospel first mentioned by irenaeus of lyons, was recovered in 2006 and. The gospel of judas is an apocryphal testament of jesus life according to his disciple judas.
A translation of the text was first published in early 2006 by the national geographic society. Dec 02, 2007 so what does the gospel of judas really say. Fullscale bibliographies in the gospel of judas are still in their infancy. Blatz, writing without knowledge of the new codex, believed that the gospel of judas would have been written at. This book provides a critical edition with the coptic text and english translation of a major noncanonical gospel, the gospel of judas.
Rodolphe kasser, marvin meyer, and gregor wurst, in collaboration with francois gaudard. The gospel of judas itself of course must have been written well before this to have been mentioned by irenaeus in a. Lance jenott presents a new critical edition, annotated translation, and interpretation of the gospel of judas which, for the first time, includes all extant fragments of the manuscript. Jun 21, 2016 the gospel of judas caused a huge stir when national geographic published it back in 2006. Jun 12, 2008 gospel of judas story criticized for scholarly malpractice prominent scholars have accused the national geographic societys 2006 series of articles on the gospel of judas of mistranslation, commercial exploitation, and scholarly malpractice. The discovery in the desert of egypt of the leatherbound papyrus manuscript, and now its translation, was announced by the national geographic society at a news conference in washington. Translation memories are created by human, but computer aligned, which might cause mistakes. Useful bibliographies are offered in scopello 2008 and deconick 2009 cited under anthologies of essays on the gospel of judas. Opinion what the gospel of judas really says the new. The content consists of conversations between jesus and judas iscariot. Gospel of judas prompts reexamination of bible last week the national geographic society made the remarkable announcement that it had completed the translation of. Falling headlong he burst open in the middle and his. The coptic, or egyptian christian, manuscripts were unveiled today at national. Gospel of judas, apocryphal christian scripture from the 2nd century.
Apr 06, 2006 after being lost for nearly 1,700 years, the gospel of judas was recently restored, authenticated, and translated. Gospel of judas, apocryphal christian scripture from the 2nd century ad attributed to the apostle judas iscariot. In contrast to the canonical gospels which paint judas as a betrayer of christ who delivered him up to the authorities for crucifixion, the gospel of judas portrays judas s actions as done in obedience to instructions given by christ. Unlike the accounts in the canonical gospels of matthew, mark, luke, and john, in which judas is portrayed as a reviled traitor, this newly discovered gospel portrays judas as acting at jesus request when he hands jesus over to the authorities. For information about the surviving manuscript of the gospel of judas, see the manuscript information page. Gospel of judas story criticized for scholarly malpractice prominent scholars have accused the national geographic societys 2006 series of articles on the gospel of judas of mistranslation, commercial exploitation, and scholarly malpractice. The 26page judas text is said to be a copy in coptic, made around a.