Jesus in the Talmud

The Talmud contains stories that some scholars have concluded are references to Jesus, the messiah of Christianity. During the disputations in the Middle Ages, advocates for the Christian church alleged that the Talmud contained insulting references to Jesus and his mother, Mary. Jewish apologists during the disputations denied that the references were to Jesus, and claimed they referred to other individuals. The disputations led to many of the refereences being removed from subsequent editions of the Talmud. Later Christian scholars analyzed the references with the goal of finding evidence of the Jesus as a historical individual. Travers Herford, a Christian scholar, concluded that the references did provide evidence of a historical individual. Later scholarship - such as that by Johann Maier - concluded that there was no evidence of Jesus as a historical individual, but rather that the references were examples of anti-Christian polemics that were added late in the Talmudic period. Scholar Peter Schafer concluded that they are references to Jesus as the messiah (that were incorporated in the Talmud during the third and fourth centuries) and that the references were parodies of parallel stories in the New Testament that illustrate the inter-sect rivalry between Judaism and nascent Christianity.

Some editions of the Talmud are missing some of the references, as they were removed by Christian censors starting in the thirteenth century, or by Jews themselves for fear of backlash. Some of this early material was probably omitted or lost by sheer negligence or accident without any intentional effort. However, most modern editions published since the early twentieth century have restored most of the references. Scholars have identified approximately twenty references (direct and indirect) to Jesus (considered as the messiah of Christianity) throughout various editions of Talmudic literature.

History

During the Middle Ages a series of debates on Judaism were staged by the Christian church - including the Disputation of Paris, the Disputation of Barcelona, and Disputation of Tortosa - and during those disputations, Jewish converts to Christianity, such as Pablo Christiani and Nicholas Donin claimed the Talmud contained insulting references to Jesus. An early work describing Jesus in the Talmud was Pugio Fidei ("Dagger of Faith") (c. 1280) by Raymond Marti, a Jewish convert to Christianity. In 1681 Johann Christoph Wagenseil published a collection of Jewish anti-Christian polemics Tela Ignea Satanæ, sive Arcani et Horribiles Judæorum Adversus Christum, Deum, et Christianam Religionem Libri (Flaming Arrows of Satan, that is, the secret and horrible books of the Jews against Christ, God, and the Christian religion) which discussed Jesus in the Talmud. The first book devoted solely to the topic of Jesus in the Talmud was Jesus in Talmude published in 1699 by Rudolf Martin Meelfuhrer. In 1700, Johann Andreas Eisenmenger published Entdecktes Judenthum (Judaism Unmasked), which included descriptions of Jesus in the Talmud, and which would become the basis of much anti-Semitic literature in later centuries.

Starting in twentieth century the topic of Jesus in Judaic literature became subject to more unbaised, scholarly research, such as Das Leben Jesu nach judischen Quellen written in 1902 by Samuel Krauss, which was the first shcolarly analysis of the Judaic anti-Christian polemicToledot Yeshu (The Biography of Jesus). In 1903, Christian author Travers Heford wrote Christianity in Talmud and Midrash, which became the standard work on the topic in the Christian world, and he concluded that a large number of refrences referred to Jesus. In 1910, Hermann Strack wrote Jesus, die Haretiker und die Christen nach den altesten judischen Angaben, which was an unbiased work on Jesus in the Talmud, which found no evidence of a historical Jesus. In 1922 Joseph Klausner wrote Yeshu ha-Notzri (Jesus of Nazareth) which concluded that "the evidence [for a historical Jesus] is scanty and does not contribute much to our knowledge of the historical Jesus; much of it is legendary and reflects the Jewish attempt to counter Christian claims and reproaches" but he did conclude some material was historically reliable.

In 1950 Morris Goldstein wrote Jesus in the Jewish Tradition. In 1951, Jacob Z. Lauterbach wrote the essay Jesus in the Talmud. In 1978 Johann Maier wrote Jesus von Nazareth in der talmudischen Uberlieferung, which was a very thorough and detailed work on Jesus in the Talmud, in which he concludes that there is virtually no evidence of the historical Jesus, and that the references to Jesus were "legendary" and probably added late in the Talmudic era "as a reaction to Christian provocations". In 2007, Peter Schäefer wrote Jesus in the Talmud in which he tried to find a middle ground between "anti-Jewish Christian" and "apologetic Jewish" interpretations. He concluded that the references to Jesus (as the messiah of Christianity) were included in the early (third and fourth century) versions of the Talmud, and that they were parodies of New Testament narratives.

In the context of Christian-Judaic polemics

Jeffrey Rubenstein has argued that the accounts in Chullin and Avodah Zarah reveal an ambivalent relationship between rabbis and Christianity. In his view the tosefta account reveals that at least some Jews believed Christians were true healers, but that the rabbis saw this belief as a major threat. Concerning the Babylonian Talmud account in Avoda Zarah, Boyarin views Jacob of Sechania as a Christian preacher and understands Rabbi Eliezer's arrest for minuth as an arrest by the Romans for practising Christianity (the text uses the word for heretic). When the Governor (the text uses the word for chief judge) interrogated him, the Rabbi answered that he "trusted the judge." Boyarin has suggested that this was the Jewish version of the Br'er Rabbit approach to domination, which he contrasts to the strategy of many early Christians, who proclaim their beliefs in spite of the consequences (i.e. martyrdom). Although Rabbi Eliezer was referring to God, the Governor interpreted him to be referring to the Governor himself, and freed the Rabbi. According to them the account also reveals that there was greater contact between Christians and Jews in the second century than commonly believed. They view the account of the teaching of Yeshu as an attempt to mock Christianity. According to Rubenstein, the structure of this teaching, in which a Biblical prooftext is used to answer a question about Biblical law, is common to both the Rabbis and early Christians. The vulgar content, however, may have been used to parody Christian values. Boyarin considers the text to be an acknowledgment that Rabbis often interacted with Christians, despite their doctrinal antipathy.

Relationship to New Testament

Scholar Peter Schaefer concluded that the references were not from the early tannaitic period (first and second centuries) but rather from the third and fourth centuries, during the amoraic period. He asserts that the references in the Babylonian Talmud were "polemical counternarratives that parody the New Testament stories, most notably the story of Jesus' birth and death" and that the rabbinical authors were familiar with the Gospels (particularly the Gospel of John) in their form as the Diatessaron and the Peshitta, the New Testament of the Syrian Church. Schaefer asserts that the message conveyed by in the Talmud was a "bold and self-confident" assertion of correctness of Judaism, maintaining that "there is no reason to feel ashamed because we rightfully exectued a blasphemer and idolater."

Alterations and censorship

The Christian church ordered the Talmud to be censored following the disputation of Barcelona in 1263. Many manuscript editions had references to Jesus removed or changed, and subsequent manuscripts sometimes omitted the passages entirely. Following the invention of the printing press, all printed editions of the Talmud, including the the Basel edition and the Vilna edition, were censored. In the twentieth century, new editions began restoring the censored material, such as in the 1935 English Soncino edition. Scholar Peter Schaefer compared several editions and documented the differing texts as shown in the following table (English translations from Schaefer, pp 133-140):

Edition / Manuscript	Passage on execution (Sanhedrin 43 a-b)	Passage on punishment in hell (b Gitten 57a)	Passage on disciples (Sanhedrin 43 a-b)
Herzog 1	on the eve of Passover they hanged Jesus the Nazarene		Jesus the Nazarene had five disciples
Vatican 130		he went and brought up Jesus the Nazarene
Vatican 140		he went and brought up Jesus
Munich 95	on the eve of Passover they hanged [name erased]	he went and brought up Jesus	[text erased]
Firenze II.1.8-9	on Sabbath even and the eve of Passover they hanged Jesus the Nazarene		Jesus the Nazarene had five disciples
Karlsruhe 2	on the eve of Passover they hanged Jesus the Nazarene		Jesus the Nazarene had five disciples
Barco	on the eve of Passover they hanged [not legible]		[not legible] had five disciples
Soncino	on the eve of Passover they hanged [not legible]	he went and brought up [name missing]
Vilna	[whole passage deleted by censor]	he went and brought up the sinners of Israel	[whole passage deleted by censor]

As evidence of a historical individual

There are many scholars who argue that the Jesus of the Talmud provide no evidence of the historical individual. They point to the many inconsistencies. For example the accounts in the Tosefta and Talmud take place in different historical periods. Also, the tradition first seen in the writings of Celsus can not be regarded as a reliable reference to the historical Jesus. Furthermore Jesus was crucified and not hanged from a tree. Also the Bible makes no mention of a Roman soldier named Panthera.

Some modern critical scholars view these references as references to Jesus as the messiah of Christianity, but not to the historical Jesus as an individual. Also Traditional and Orthodox Jewish commentators throughout the centuries rejected the view that the term "Yeshu" referred to Jesus. Whatever the case may be, in the medieval Toledot Yeshu narratives, "Yeshu" is used to refer to the Christian Jesus. The term was revived in the 20th century as a name for Jesus in modern Israeli Hebrew.

Christian interpretations

Some Christian scholars believe the Talmud gives insight into the Historical Jesus. However, most scholars do not believe the Talmud provides evidence about the historical Jesus, because circumstances of the Talmud's creation demonstrate that the authors of the Talmud had no direct knowledge of Jesus as an individual. The Christian researchers contend that the Talmud's importance and credibility as an early source lies in the fact that it gives the "opposition view" to Jesus, and they have used the Talmud to draw the following conclusions about the historical Jesus:

1. There was a religious man named Jesus.
2. His "father" was a carpenter and his mother was Miriam.
3. Miriam was accused of conceiving out of wedlock and it was believed that her "betrothed" was not the father of Jesus.
4. Jesus went to Egypt
5. Jesus had a number of disciples
6. Jesus performed miraculous signs, which were perceived by many as sorcery.
7. As Jesus became more widely known he was charged with practicing magic and leading Israel astray.
8. All deserted him and none came to his defense.
9. On the eve of Passover, Jesus was executed.

Specific References

Summary

Scholars have identified the following references in the Talmud that some conclude refer to Jesus, as the messiah of Christiainty:

• Jesus as the son of Stada, not the son of Pandera; reference to Mary (Shab 104b, Sanh 67a)
• As a son or disciple that turned out badly (Sanh 193a/b; Ber 17b)
• As a frivolous disciple (Sanh 107b; Sot 47a)
• As a torah teacher (b AZ 17a; Hul 2:24; QohR 1:8)
• Healing in the name of Jesus (Hul 2:22f; AZ 2:22/12; y Shab 124:4/13; QohR 1:8; b AZ 27b)
• Jesus as a sorcerer, and Jesus' execution (b Sanh 43a-b)
• Jesus' disciples (b Sanh 43a-b)
• Jesus' punishment in hell (b Git 56b, 57a)

As a sorcerer with disciples

Sanhedrin 43a relates the trial and execution of Jesus and his five disciples. Here, Jesus is a sorcerer who has enticed other Jews to apostasy. A herald is sent to call for witnesses in his favour for forty days before his execution. No one comes forth and in the end he is stoned and hanged on the Eve of Passover. His five disciples, named Matai, Nekai, Netzer, Buni, and Todah are then tried. Word play is made on each of their names, and they are executed. It is mentioned that leniency could not be applied because of Jesus' influence with the royal government (malkhut). The passages that specifically mention Jesus, as the messiah of Christianity, are:

Source of passage	English translation	Manuscript or edition
Babylonian Sanhedrin 43a-b	"Jesus the Nazarene had five disciples"	Herzog 1, Firenze II.1.8-9, Karlsruhe 2

The entire passage is: Our rabbis taught Jesus the Nazarene had five disciples, and these are they: Mattai, Naqqai, Netzer, Buni, and Todah.

Healing in the name of Jesus

Scholars have identified passages in the Talmud and associated Talmudic texts that involve invoking Jesus' name, as the messiah of Christianity, in order to perform magical healing:

Source of passage	English translation	Manuscript or edition
Tosefta Hullin 2:22f	"Jacob ... came to heal him in the name of Jesus son of Pantera"	-
Jerusalem Abodah Zarah 2:2/12	"Jacob ... came to heal him. He said to him: we will speak to you in th enamof Jesus son of Pandera"	-
Jerusalem Shabboth 14:4/13	"Jacob ... came in the name of Jesus Pandera to heal him"	-
Qohelet Rabbah 1:8(3)	"Jacob ... came to heal him in the name of Jesus son of Pandera"	Vatican 291, Oxford 164, Pesaro 1519
Babylonian Abodah Zarah 27b	"Jacob ... came to heal him"	New York 15, Pearo, Vilna
Jerusalem Abodah Zarah 2:2/7	"someone ... whispered to him in the name of Jesus son of Pandera"	-
Jerusalem Shabboth 14:4/8	"someone ... whispered to him in the name of Jesus son of Pandera"	-

Torah teacher

Scholars have identified passages that mention Jesus, as the messiah of Christianity, in the context of a Torah teacher:

Source of passage	English translation	Manuscript or edition
Babylonian Abodah Zarah 17a	"One of the disciples of Jesus the Nazarene found me"	Munich 95, Paris 1377, New York 15
Tosefta Hullin 2:24	"He told me of a word of heresy in the name of Jesus son of Pantiri"	-
Qohelet Rabbah 1:8(3)	"He told me a word in the name of Jesus son of Pandera"	Oxford 164, Vatican 291, Pesaro 1519
Babylonian Abodah Zarah 17a	"Thus I was taught by Jesus the Nazarene"	Munich 95, Paris 1337

The son or disciple who turned out badly

Sanhedrin 103a and Berachot 17b talk about a Yeshu ha-Nosri (Jesus of Nazareth) who "burns his food in public", possibly a reference to pagan sacrifices or a metaphor for apostasy. The account is discussing Manasseh the king of Judah infamous for having turned to idolatry and having persecuted the Jews (2 Kings 21). It is part of a larger discussion about three kings and four commoners excluded from paradise. These are also discussed in the Shulkhan Arukh where the son who burns his food is explicitly stated to be Manasseh. The passages identified by scholars in this context are:

Source of passage	English translation	Manuscript or edition
Babylonian Sanhedrin 103a	"that you will not have a son or disciple ... like Jesus the Nazarene"	Firenze II.1.8-9, Barco, Munich 95
Babylonian Berakoth 17b	"that we will not have a son or disciple ... like Jesus the Nazarene"	Oxford 23

As frivolous student of Joshua ben Perachiah

In Sanhedrin 107b and Sotah 47a Yeshu is mentioned as a student of Yehoshua ben Perachya who was sent away for misinterpreting a word that in context should have been understood as referring to the Inn, he instead understood it to mean the inkeeper's wife. His teacher said "Here is a nice Inn", to which he replied "Her eyes are crooked", to which his teacher responded "Is this what your are occupied in?" After several returns for forgiveness he mistook Perachiah's signal to wait a moment as a signal of final rejection, and so he turned to idolatry. Some passages that have been identified by scholars as mentioning Jesus, as the messiah of Christianity, in this context include:

Source of passage	English translation	Manuscript or edition
Babylonian Sanhedrin 107b	"not as Yehoshua b. Perahya who pushed Jesus the Nazarene away"	Barco, Vilna
Babylonian Sotah 47a	"not as Yehoshua b. Perahya who pushed Jesus the Nazarene away"	Vatican 110, Vilna, Munich 95
Babyonian Sanhedrin 107b	"Jesus said to him: Rabbi, her eyes are narrow"	Herzog 1
Babylonian Sotah 47a	Jesus the Nazarene said to him: Rabbi, here eyes are narrow"	Oxford 20
Babylonian Sanhedrin 107b	"The master said: Jesus the Nazarene practiced magic	Firenze II.1.8-9, Barco
Babylonian Sotah 47a	"The master said: Jesus the Nazarene because he practiced magic"	Munich 95

The full passage is:

In all circumstances (one should excercise) use the left hand to push (away) and the right (to) bring closeward ..not like Yehoshua ben Perachya who pushed him –to Yeshu- with both hands.. (here the Talmud begins a narration) at the time that Yannai the king was executing the Rabbis, Shimon ben Shatach(‘s sister) hid Rabbi Yehoshua ben Perachya, he (then, subsequently was able to) go and run (escape) to Alexandira of Egypt. When there was (came) and (an era of) peace, Shimon ben Shatach sent to him (a letter:) “from me Yerushalayim the holy city to you Alexander of Egypt -my sister, my husband dwells amongst you and I am sitting lonely” said (Rabbi Yeshushua ben Perachya) “I deduce (from the letter) that he (is enjoying)peace. As he (Rabbi Yehoshua ben Perachya) came they went up to a lodge, (they -at the lodge) stood for him with exemplary honor and did for him extended goodness. He sat and was in the midst of praising 'how beautiful is this lodging', (Yeshu) said to him “My master, her eyes are misshaped”. He said to him “Evil one!, in this you are busy with?!” he brought out four hundred Shofars and excommunicated him.

Every day he would come before him (intent on being readmitted,) and he did not accept him. One day he was reciting Krait Shema, he (Yeshu) came before him (the Rabbi) -it was on his (the Rabbi's) mind to accept him- he (the Rabbi) showed him with his hand, he (Yeshu) thought 'push he is pushing him', (Yeshu then) went erected a fish worship, he (his Rabbi) said to him 'return yourself' he (Yeshu) said to him '(so) I learnt from you; 'all who sin and cause others to sin we do not give (are not given) him the ability to repent'.

— Sotah 47a, Sanhedrin 107

The story ends by invoking a Mishnaic era teaching that Yeshu practised black magic, deceived and led Israel astray. This quote is seen by some as an explanation in general for the designation Yeshu.

According to Dr. Rubenstein, the account in Sanhedrin 107b recognizes the kinship between Christians and Jews, since Jesus is presented as a disciple of a prominent Rabbi. But it also reflects and speaks to an anxiety fundamental to Rabbinic Judaism. Prior to the destruction of the Temple in 70, Jews were divided into different sects, each promoting different interpretations of the law. Rabbinic Judaism domesticated and internalized conflicts over the law, while vigorously condemning any sectarianism. In other words, rabbis are encouraged to disagree and argue with one another, but these activities must be carefully contained, or else they could lead to a schism. Although this story may not present a historically accurate account of Jesus' life, it does use a fiction about Jesus to communicate an important truth about the Rabbis. Moreover, Rubenstein sees this story as a rebuke to overly harsh Rabbis. Boyarin suggests that the Rabbis were well aware of Christian views of the Pharisees and that this story acknowledges the Christian belief that Jesus was forgiving and the Pharisees were not (see Mark 2:1-2), while emphasizing forgiveness as a necessary Rabbinic value.

Punishment in hell

In Gittin 56b, 57a a story is mentioned in which Onkelos -intent on converting to Judaism- summons up the spirit of Yeshu. He describes his punishment in the afterlife as boiling in excrement. Relevant passages from the Talmud that scholars address in this context include:

Source of passage	English translation	Manuscript or edition
Babylonin Gittin 57a	"he went and brought up Jesus the Nazarene"	Vatican 130

The complete passage from the 1935 Soncino edition is:

Onkelos son of Kolonikos ... went and raised Titus from the dead by magical arts, and asked him; 'Who is most in repute in the [other] world? He replied: Israel. What then, he said, about joining them? He said: Their observances are burdensome and you will not be able to carry them out. Go and attack them in that world and you will be at the top as it is written, Her adversaries are become the head etc.; whoever harasses Israel becomes head. He asked him: What is your punishment [in the other world]? He replied: What I decreed for myself. Every day my ashes are collected and sentence is passed on me and I am burnt and my ashes are scattered over the seven seas. He then went and raised Balaam by incantations. He asked him: Who is in repute in the other world? He replied: Israel. What then, he said, about joining them? He replied: Thou shalt not seek their peace nor their prosperity all thy days for ever. He then asked: What is your punishment? He replied: With boiling hot semen. He then went and raised by incantations Jesus [in Vilna edition: "the sinners of Israel"; "Jesus" appears in Munich 95 and Vatican 130, 140 manuscripts]. He asked them: Who is in repute in the other world? They replied: Israel. What about joining them? They replied: Seek their welfare, seek not their harm. Whoever touches them touches the apple of his eye. He said: What is your punishment? They replied: With boiling hot excrement, since a Master has said: Whoever mocks at the words of the Sages is punished with boiling hot excrement. Observe the difference between the sinners of Israel and the prophets of the other nations who worship idols. It has been taught: Note from this incident how serious a thing it is to put a man to shame, for God espoused the cause of Bar Kamza and destroyed His House and burnt His Temple.

— Babylonian Talmud, Gittin 56b-57a

Execution

Scholars have identified passages that mention Jesus in the context of his execution:

Source of passage	English translation	Manuscript or edition
Babylonian Sanhedrin 43a-b	"on the eve of Passover they hanged Jesus the Nazarene"	Herzog 1, Karlsruhe 2
Babylonian Sanhedrin 43a-b	"Jesus the Nazarene is going forth to be stoned"	Herzog 1, Firenze II.1.8-9, Karlsruhe 2
Babylonian Sanhedrin 43a-b	"Do you suppose Jesus the Nazarene was one for whom a defense could be made?"	Herzog 1, Firenze II.1.8-9, Karlsruhe 2
Babylonian Sanhedrin 43a-b	"With Jesus the Nazarene it was different"	Herzog 1, Firenze II.1.8-9, Karlsruhe 2

The complete passage is: "On (Sabbath eve and) the eve of Passover Jesus the Nazarene was hanged and a herald went forth before him forty days heralding, 'Jesus the Nazarene is going forth to be stoned because he practiced sorcery and instigated and seduced Israel to idolatry. Whoever knows anything in defense may come and state it.' But since they did not find anything in his defense they hanged him on (Sabbath eve and) the eve of Passover. Ulla said: Do you suppose that Jesus the Nazarene was one for whom a defense could be made? He was a mesit (someone who instigated Israel to idolatry), concerning whom the Merciful [God]says: Show him no compassion and do not shield him (Deut. 13:9). With Jesus the Nazarene it was different. For he was close to the government."

In the Florence manuscript of the Talmud (1177 CE) an addition is made to Sanhedrin 43a saying that Yeshu was hanged on the eve of the Sabbath.

Mother and father

The Talmud contains passages that mention the mother and father of Jesus, considered as the messiah of Christianity, including the following passages:

Source of passage	English translation	Manuscript or edition
Babylonian Shabbath 104b	"Was he the son of Stara (and not) the son of Pandera?"	Oxford 23, Soncino
Babylonian Sanhedrin 67a	"Was he the son of Stara (and not) the son of Pandera?"	Herzog 1, Karlsruhe 2, ...
Babylonian Sabbath 104b	"husband Stada, lover Pandera"	Vatican 108, Munich 95, Vilna
Babylonian Sanhedrin 67a	"husband Stara, lover Pandera"	Herzog 1, Barco
Babylonian Shabbath 104b	"husband Pappos, mother Stada"	Munich 95, Vilna
Babylonian Sanhedrin 67a	"husband Pappos, mother Stada"	Vilna, Munich 95
Babylonian Shabbath 104b	"his mother Miriam who let grow (her) women's hair"	Vilna, Oxford 23, Soncino
BabylonianSanhedrin 67a	"his mother Miriam who let grow (her) women's hair"	Karlsruhe 2, Munich 95

The complete passage is:

(The Talmud queries; Is he really) The son of Sitida? the son of Pandira (the common understanding is that he is the son of Pandira)! Rav Chisda said (explains the seeming contradiction); The husband was/is Sitida (but the) lover was/is Pandira. (The Talmud states as fact): (the true) Husband (is/was) Pappus Ben Yehuda. (so then, if his mother's true husband and his biological father where both not called Sitida then why is he called "the son of Sitida"?). Only (as the explantion of the contradiction) say, his mother was Sitida, (The Talmud furthur queries how this is plausible since) his mother (was called) Miriam (who) grow's/grew [the hair of] women, (at this point the Talmud gives a final explanation to resolve the reasoning of him being called "The son of Sitida") As is said (explained) in Pumbedita; "She strayed from her husband"

— Sanhedrin 67a

(Talmud Shabbat 104b)

Rav Eliezer told the sages "Did not the son of Stada bring sorcery with him from Egypt in a cut that was on his skin?"

They said to him "He was a fool and you cannot bring proof from a fool.

Another title found in the Tosefta and Talmud is ben Stada (son of Stada). However in Shabbat 104b and Sanhedrin 67a in the Babylonian Talmud, a passage is found that some have interpreted as equating ben Pandera with ben Stada. The passage is in the form a Talmudic debate in which various voices make statements, each refuting the previous statement. In such debates the various statements and their refutations are often of a Midrashic nature, sometimes incorporating subtle humour and should not always be taken at face value. The purpose of the passage is to arrive at a Midrashic meaning for the term Stada.

Shabbat 104b relates that a ben Stada brought magic from Egypt in incisions in his flesh. Sanhedrin 67a relates that a ben-Stada was caught by hidden observers and hanged in the town of Lod on the Eve of Passover. The debate then follows. It begins by asking if this was not ben Pandera rather than ben Stada. This is refuted by the claim that it is both, his mother's husband was Stada but her lover was Pandera. This is countered with the claim the husband was Pappos ben Yehuda (a second century figure elsewhere remembered as having locked up his unfaithful wife and visiting R. Akiva in jail after the Bar-Kokhba revolt) and that the mother was named Stada. This is then refuted by the claim that the mother was named Miriam, the dresser of women's hair, but that she had gone astray from her husband (a Miriam the daughter of Bilgah, is mentioned elsewhere as having had an affair with a Roman soldier). In Aramaic, "gone astray" is satat da, thus a Midrashic meaning for the term Stada is obtained. Real historical relationships between the figures mentioned cannot be inferred due to the Midrashic nature of the debate. Pappos and Miriam might have been introduced simply as a result of their being remembered in connection with a theme of a woman having gone astray.

The character of Miriam the dresser of woman's hair is of interest. (Her name is also mentioned briefly in Chagigah 4b in the Babylonian Talmud where it is used together with Miriam the teacher of children simply as an arbitrary choice of names in illustrating a point.) Some suggest that the expression "dresser of women's hair" is a euphemism for a woman of ill repute. The original Aramaic for her name is Miriam megadela neshaya in which many see Mary Magdalene. Some have thus identified her with Mary Magdalene while others are more cautious merely suggesting dresser of women's hair as a possible meaning of Magdalene alternate to the traditional understanding of the name as a toponymic surname (Migdolit, from the town of Migdol).

Ben-Stada is also mentioned in the Jerusalem Talmud. In Shabbat 12:4 III he is mentioned as having learnt by cutting marks in his flesh. In Sanhedrin 7:12 I he is mentioned as an example of someone caught by hidden observers and subsequently stoned. This information is paralleled in the Tosefta in Shabbat 11:15 and Sanhedrin 10:11 respectively.

Meaning and etymology of Stada

The literal meaning of the term Stada is no longer known. It does not correspond to any known name, suggesting that son of Stada might also be a designation of a class of individuals rather an a patronymic, or perhaps an invented title like that of the Jewish general Bar Kochba (son of the star). The only known parallel to the term is found in the apocryphal Christian text the Acts of Peter where the villain Simon Magus describes himself as `uios `o stadios - the son who remains standing. The Toldoth Yeshu narratives combine elements from the Talmud about ben-Stada with elements resembling the account of Simon Magus in the Acts of Peter suggesting that there is indeed a connection. As a result of the difficulty in understanding the name some attempt to explain it by focusing on variant spellings in certain manuscripts containing an r (resh) instead of the d (daleth), however these variants are generally regarded as copyist errors.

Meaning and etymology of Pandera

The meaning and etymology of this name are uncertain:

Besides the form Pandera, variations have been found in different Tosefta manuscripts for example Pantiri and Pantera . Saul Lieberman's investigation of Tosefta variations revealed Pandera to be the original form. (Some authors such as Herford spell it Pandira in English.)

Celsus in his discourse The True Word gives the name as Panthera in Greek . This name is not known from any graves or inscriptions, but the surname Pantera (a Latin rendering) is known from the first century tombstone of Tiberius Iulius Abdes Pantera . Origen (c. 248 CE) responded to Celsus' claim by saying that Pantheras was the patronymic of Joseph the husband of Mary on account of his father, Jacob, being called Panther. An alternative claim was made in the Teaching of Jacob (634 CE) where Panther is said to be the grandfather of Mary. Friedrich August Nitzsch (1840) suggested that the name may refer to a panther being a lustful animal and thus have the meaning of "whore", additionally being a pun on parthenos meaning virgin. Herford also considered the Greek pentheros meaning son-in-law , however he dismissed all of these forms including Celsus' Panthera as spurious explanations of the Hebrew Pandera as they do not match phonetically. He noted that Hebrew would have represented the sounds correctly if any of these were the origin. The interpolated form Panthyra appearing in the Rodkinson translation of the Talmud suffers the same problem.

Neubauer understand the name to be Pandareus. The Toldoth Yeshu narratives contain elements resembling the story of Pandareus in Greek mythology, namely stealing from a temple and the presence of a bronze animal.

Robert Eisler considered the name to be derived from Pandaros. He also argued that it may not have been a real name but instead as a generic name for a betrayer. He notes that in the Iliad, Pandaros betrays the Greeks and breaks a truce confirmed by solemn oath. He argues that the name came to be used as a generic term for a betrayer and was borrowed by Hebrew. The name is indeed found in Genesis Rabba 50 in the expression qol Pandar (literally "voice of Pandaros" denoting false promises of a betrayer) used as a derogatory placeholder name for a judge of Sodom. The -a at the end of the form Pandera can be understood to be the Aramaic definite article .

Related narratives

The Pagan philosopher Celsus also relates a similar account, which undermines the story of the Virgin Birth of Jesus:

. . .[Jesus] came from a Jewish village and from a poor country woman who earned her living by spinning. He says that she was driven out by her husband, who was a carpenter by trade, as she was convicted of adultery. Then he says that after she had been driven out by her husband and while she was wandering about in a disgraceful way she secretly gave birth to Jesus. He states that because he [Jesus] was poor he hired himself out as a workman in Egypt, and there tried his hand at certain magical powers on which the Egyptians pride themselves; he returned full of conceit, because of these powers, and on account of them gave himself the title of God . . . the mother of Jesus is described as having been turned out by the carpenter who was betrothed to her, as she had been convicted of adultery and had a child by a certain soldier named Panthera.

See also

• Criticism of the Talmud
• Historicity of Jesus
• Judaism's view of Jesus
• Toledot Yeshu
• Yeshu

Bibliography

• Boyarin, Daniel: Dying for God, Stanford University Press, 1999
• Dalman, Gustav: Jesus Christ in the Talmud, Midrash, Zohar, and the Liturgy of the Synagogue, Deighton, Bell, and Co., 1893
• Eisenmenger, Johann Andreas. Entdecktes Judenthum, 1711. English translations: 1732-34 by J.P. Stekelin "The Traditions of the Jews, with the Expositions and Doctrines of the Rabbins,"; English translation re-published in 2006 as "The traditions of the Jews", by Independent History & Research. German edition online here.
• Goldstein, Morris, Jesus in the Jewish Tradition, Macmillan, 1950
• Herford, R. Travers, Christianity in Talmud and Midrash, London: Williams & Norgate, 1903 (reprint New York, KTAV, 1975)
• Hirshman , Mark, A Rivalry of Genius: Jewish and Christian Biblical Interpretation in Late Antiquity trans. Baya Stein. Albany: SUNY PRess 1996
• Klausner, Joseph, Yeshu ha-Notzri (Hebrew), Shtible, 1922. Translated and reprinted as Jesus of Nazareth, Beacon Books, 1964; translated and reprinted as Jesus of Nazareth, Bloch, 1989
• Krauss, Samuel, Das Leben Jesu nach judischen Quellen, Berlin: S. Calvary, 1902
• Lauterbach, Jacob Z., "Jesus in the Talmud” in Rabbinic Essays, Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College Press, 1951 (reprinted by Ktav, 1973).
• Maier, Johann, Jesus von Nazareth in der talmudischen Uberlieferung, Buchgesellschaft, 1978.
• Marti, Raymond, Pugio Fidei, c. 1280 (reprinted: Apud Ioannem Henault, 1651)
• McKinsey , Dennis, Biblical Errancy, A Reference Guide, Prometheus Books, (2000)
• Neusner, Jacob, Judaism in the Matrix of Christianity Philadelphia: Fortress Press 1986
• Pick, Bernhard, The Talmud: what it is and what it says about Jesus and the Christians, 1887 (reprinted Kessinger Publishing, 2007)
• Schäefer, Peter, Jesus in the Talmud, Princeton University Press, 2007
• Strack, Hermann: Jesus, die Haretiker und die Christen nach den altesten judischen Angaben, Leipzig: J. C. Hinrichs'sche Buchhandlung, 1910
• Theissen, Gerd, Annette Merz, The historical Jesus: a comprehensive guide, Fortress Press, 1998
• Van Voorst, Robert E.: Jesus outside the New Testament, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2000