Judas Iscariot
?–30 CE · Galilee
Judas Iscariot was one of the Twelve, the inner circle of disciples chosen by Jesus (Mark 3:19). Like Jesus and the other eleven, he was a Jew. John's Gospel calls him the son of Simon Iscariot and says he kept the group's money box (John 6:71; 12:6; 13:29). The Gospels report that he went to the chief priests and agreed to hand Jesus over. Matthew alone sets the price at thirty pieces of silver (Matthew 26:14-16). He then led an armed party to Jesus at night and identified him with a kiss (Mark 14:43-46). The New Testament gives two different accounts of his death. In Matthew, he regrets the betrayal, returns the money, and hangs himself, and the priests buy a 'potter's field' (Matthew 27:3-10). In Acts, he acquires a field himself, falls headlong there, and his body bursts open (Acts 1:18-19). Both call the place the 'Field of Blood'. Scholars still debate what 'Iscariot' means. Over the centuries Judas was misused in Christian polemic as a symbol of the Jewish people. Modern churches and scholars reject any collective blame.
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What they did here
Mark names Judas Iscariot last in the list of the Twelve whom Jesus appointed (Mark 3:16-19; cf. Matthew 10:2-4; Luke 6:16). He travelled with them during the ministry, which the Gospels centre on Galilee. His own home town is unknown: if 'Iscariot' means 'man of Kerioth', that place cannot be securely located, so it is not pinned.
About Galilee
Galilee is a region of northern Israel, extending into southern Lebanon, around the Sea of Galilee. According to the New Testament, much of Jesus' ministry took place there, with many of his miracles set on the shores of the lake. In the Roman period Sepphoris, rebuilt by Herod Antipas, and Tiberias, which he founded around 18-19 CE, were its main towns, and Galilee became the centre of Jewish life in the land: the Mishnah was redacted there under Judah ha-Nasi, and the Jerusalem Talmud took shape mainly in Tiberias, reaching its final form around 400. In the Ottoman era Safed became a centre of kabbalah. Today its population is mixed Jewish, Muslim, Christian and Druze.
In Galilee at the same time
In the same place & time
Sages whose lives overlapped with Judas Iscariot’s in the same cities, drawn from their recorded journeys.
Across the traditions
In the same tradition
Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus, Mary, mother of Jesus, Jesus of Nazareth, Philip the Apostle, Matthias the Apostle, Bartholomew the Apostle, Thomas the Apostle, Mary Magdalene, James, son of Zebedee, Barnabas, Andrew the Apostle, Peter the Apostle, Paul the Apostle, John the Apostle, Stephen the Protomartyr, Jude the Apostle, James the Just
The world in their lifetime
Thinkers and teachers of other traditions whose lives overlapped with Judas Iscariot’s — a glimpse of the wider world they lived in. Drawn purely from recorded birth and death years.
Works
No works attributed in the corpus yet.