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The [[Talmud]] contains stories that some scholars have concluded are references to [[Jesus]], the messiah of [[Christianity]].
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 (mother of Jesus)|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 references 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.<ref>Herford, Travers, ''Christianity in Talmud and Midrash'', London: Williams & Norgate, 1903 (reprint New York, KTAV, 1975)</ref>
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 (mother of Jesus)|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 references being removed from subsequent editions of the Talmud.


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.<ref>
In the modern era, Travers Herford, a Christian scholar, concluded that the references did not provide evidence of Jesus as a historical individual, but instead were non-historical oral traditons which circulated among Jews.<ref>
*Lasker, p xxi - Summarizes Herford's conclusions
*Herford, Travers, ''Christianity in Talmud and Midrash'', London: Williams & Norgate, 1903 (reprint New York, KTAV, 1975)</ref> Additional scholarship - such as that by Johann Maier - also concluded that there was no evidence of Jesus as a historical individual, and Maier concluded that the references were examples of anti-Christian polemics that were added late in the Talmudic period.<ref>
*Maier, Johann, ''Jesus von Nazareth in der talmudischen Uberlieferung'', Buchgesellschaft, 1978
*Maier, Johann, ''Jesus von Nazareth in der talmudischen Uberlieferung'', Buchgesellschaft, 1978
*Theissen, p 74-75</ref> Scholar [[Peter Schaefer (author)|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.<ref>Schaefer, Peter, ''Jesus in the Talmud'', Princeton University Press, 2007</ref>
*Theissen, p 74-75</ref> Scholar [[Peter Schaefer (author)|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.<ref>Schaefer, Peter, ''Jesus in the Talmud'', Princeton University Press, 2007</ref>

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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 references being removed from subsequent editions of the Talmud.

In the modern era, Travers Herford, a Christian scholar, concluded that the references did not provide evidence of Jesus as a historical individual, but instead were non-historical oral traditons which circulated among Jews.[1] Additional scholarship - such as that by Johann Maier - also concluded that there was no evidence of Jesus as a historical individual, and Maier concluded that the references were examples of anti-Christian polemics that were added late in the Talmudic period.[2] 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.[3]

Some editions of the Talmud are missing some of the references, as they were removed by Christian censors starting in the thirteenth century,[4] or by Jews themselves for fear of reprisals. Some of this early material was probably omitted or lost by sheer negligence or accident without any intentional effort.[5] 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.[6]

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.[7] An early work describing Jesus in the Talmud was Pugio Fidei ("Dagger of Faith") (c. 1280) by Raymond Marti, a Jewish convert to Christianity.[8] 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.[8] The first book devoted solely to the topic of Jesus in the Talmud was Jesus in Talmude published in 1699 by Rudolf Martin Meelfuhrer.[9] 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.[10]

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 scholarly analysis of the Judaic anti-Christian polemicToledot Yeshu (The Biography of Jesus).[9] 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 references referred to Jesus, not as a historical individual, but instead as the messiah of Christianity.[11] 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.[9] 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.[12]

In 1950 Morris Goldstein wrote Jesus in the Jewish Tradition. In 1951, Jacob Z. Lauterbach wrote the essay Jesus in the Talmud.[13] 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".[14] 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.[15]

In the context of Christian-Judaic polemics

In the first few centuries CE, there were many sects of Judaism (such as Pharisees, Essenes, and Sadducees) each claiming to be the correct faith.[16] Some scholars treat Christianity, during that era, as simply one of many sects of Judaism.[17] Some sects wrote polemics advocating their position, and occasionally disparaging rival sects. Some scholars view the depictions of Jesus in the Talmud as a manifestation of those inter-sect rivalries - thus the depictions can be read as polemics by the rabbinic authors of the Talmud which indirectly criticized the rival sect (Christianity), which was growing and becoming more dominant.[18]

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.[19] 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"[20] 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."[21]

Early anti-Christian sentiments

In contrast to Shaefer, scholar Daniel J. Lasker suggests that the Talmudic stories about Jesus are not deliberate, provocative polemics, but instead demonstrate "embryonic" Jewish objections to Christianity which would later "blossom into a full-scale Jewish polemical attack on Christianity [the Toledoth Yeshu]".[22]

Ambivalent relationship

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.[23]

Crticisim and censorship

See also: Criticism of the Talmud

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.[7] As a result of these disputations, the Christian church ordered the Talmud to be censored. 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 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.[24]

Alleged insults

Hyam Maccoby, Gil Student, and the ADL describe the allegation that the Talmud contains insults directed at Jesus Christ.[25] In the Paris disputation, Donin presented the criticism that the Talmud that contained insults directed at Jesus Christ[26] and that criticism has been widely repeated, based on the following texts from the Talmud:

A sorcerer - Sanhedrin 43a[27] relates the trial and execution of a sorcerer named Jesus ("Yeshu" in Hebrew) and his five disciples. The sorcerer is stoned and hanged on the Eve of Passover.[28]

Student paying too much attention to inn-keepers wife - Sanhedrin 107[29] tells of a Jesus ("Yeshu") "offended his teacher by paying too much attention to the inn-keeper's wife. Jesus wished to be forgiven, but [his rabbi] was too slow to forgive him, and Jesus in despair went away and put up a brick [idol] and worshipped it."[30]

Boiled in excrement - In Gittin 56b, 57a[31] a story is mentioned in which Onkelos summons up the spirit of a Yeshu who sought to harm Israel. He describes his punishment in the afterlife as boiling in excrement.[32][33]

"May his name and memory be blotted out" - Some critics claim that the Hebrew name Yeshu is not a short form of the name Yeshua, but rather an acrostic for the Hebrew phrase "may his name and memory be blotted out" created by taking the first letter of the Hebrew words.[34] However, this acrostic is merely speculation, and there is no evidence that Talmudic authors created such an acrostic.

In addition, at the 1240 Disputation in Paris, Donin presented the allegation that the Talmud was blasphemous towards Mary, the mother of Jesus, ("Miriam" in Hebrew) and this criticism has been repeated by many Christian sources.[35] The texts cited by critics include Sanhedrin 67a,[36] Sanhedrin 106a,[37] and Shabbath 104b.[38] However, the references to Mary are not specific, and some assert that they do not refer to Jesus' mother, or perhaps refer to Mary Magdalen.[39]

Examples of alterations

Starting in the thirteenth century, manuscripts of the Talmud were sometimes altered in response to the criticisms made during the disputations, and in response to orders from the Christian church. Existing manuscripts were sometimes altered (for example, by erasure) and new manuscripts often omitted the passages entirely. Scholar Peter Schaefer compared several editions and documented some alterations as illustrated in the following table:[40]

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

Many scholars argue that the Talmud provides no evidence of Jesus as a historical individual. They point to chronological 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.

Many modern critical scholars view the references as referring to Jesus as the messiah of Christianity, rather than to the historical Jesus as an individual.[41][42] [43]

Christian interpretations

Some scholars, primarily Christian scholars, believe the Talmud gives insight into the Historical Jesus. These 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 conclusions about the historical Jesus, such as:[44][45][46][47][48]

  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:[49]

  • Jesus as a sorcerer with disciples (b Sanh 43a-b)
  • Healing in the name of Jesus (Hul 2:22f; AZ 2:22/12; y Shab 124:4/13; QohR 1:8; b AZ 27b)
  • As a torah teacher (b AZ 17a; Hul 2:24; QohR 1:8)
  • As a son or disciple that turned out badly (Sanh 193a/b; Ber 17b)
  • As a frivolous disciple who practiced magic and turned to idolatry(Sanh 107b; Sot 47a)
  • Jesus' punishment in hell (b Git 56b, 57a)
  • Jesus' execution (b Sanh 43a-b)
  • Jesus as the son of Mary (Shab 104b, Sanh 67a)

As a sorcerer with disciples

Sanhedrin 43a relates the trial and execution of Jesus and his five disciples.[50] 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:[51]

  • Babylonian Sanhedrin 43a-b - "Jesus the Nazarene had five disciples" (Editions: 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. [52][53]

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:[51]

  • 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 the name of Jesus son of Pandera" (Edition: Venice)
  • Jerusalem Shabboth 14:4/13 - "Jacob ... came in the name of Jesus Pandera to heal him" (Edition: Venice)
  • Qohelet Rabbah 1:8(3) - "Jacob ... came to heal him in the name of Jesus son of Pandera" (Editions: Vatican 291, Oxford 164, Pesaro 1519)
  • Babylonian Abodah Zarah 27b - "Jacob ... came to heal him" (Editions: New York 15, Pearo, Vilna)
  • Jerusalem Abodah Zarah 2:2/7 - "someone ... whispered to him in the name of Jesus son of Pandera" (Edition: Venice)
  • Jerusalem Shabboth 14:4/8 - "someone ... whispered to him in the name of Jesus son of Pandera" (Edition: Venice)

Torah teacher

Scholars have identified passages that mention Jesus, as the messiah of Christianity, in the context of a Torah teacher:[51]

  • Babylonian Abodah Zarah 17a - "One of the disciples of Jesus the Nazarene found me" (Editions: 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" (Editions: Oxford 164, Vatican 291, Pesaro 1519)
  • Babylonian Abodah Zarah 17a - "Thus I was taught by Jesus the Nazarene" (Editions: 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.[54] 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:[51]

  • Babylonian Sanhedrin 103a - "that you will not have a son or disciple ... like Jesus the Nazarene" (Editions: Firenze II.1.8-9, Barco, Munich 95)
  • Babylonian Berakoth 17b - "that we will not have a son or disciple ... like Jesus the Nazarene" (Edition: Oxford 23)

As frivolous student who practiced magic and turned to idolatry

In Sanhedrin 107b and Sotah 47a Jesus, as the messiah of Christianity, 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 (the same word can mean "inn" and "hostess").[55] 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?" [56] 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:[57]

  • Babylonian Sanhedrin 107b - "not as Yehoshua b. Perahya who pushed Jesus the Nazarene away" (Editions: Barco, Vilna)
  • Babylonian Sotah 47a - "not as Yehoshua b. Perahya who pushed Jesus the Nazarene away" (Editions: Vatican 110, Vilna, Munich 95)
  • Babyonian Sanhedrin 107b - "Jesus said to him: Rabbi, her eyes are narrow" (Editions: Herzog 1)
  • Babylonian Sotah 47a - "Jesus the Nazarene said to him: Rabbi, here eyes are narrow" (Edition: Oxford 20)
  • Babylonian Sanhedrin 107b - "The master said: Jesus the Nazarene practiced magic (Editions: Firenze II.1.8-9, Barco )
  • Babylonian Sotah 47a - "The master said: Jesus the Nazarene because he practiced magic" (Edition: 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,[58] 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.[23]

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:[59]

  • Babylonin Gittin 57a - "he went and brought up Jesus the Nazarene" (Editions: 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:

  • Babylonian Sanhedrin 43a-b -"on the eve of Passover they hanged Jesus the Nazarene" (Editions: Herzog 1, Karlsruhe 2)
  • Babylonian Sanhedrin 43a-b - "Jesus the Nazarene is going forth to be stoned" (Editions: 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?" (Editions: Herzog 1, Firenze II.1.8-9, Karlsruhe 2 )
  • Babylonian Sanhedrin 43a-b - "With Jesus the Nazarene it was different" (Editions: 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."[60][61]

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.[62]

Mother and father

In the Talmudic sources, references are made to a father named Pandera (variously called Pandera, Panthera, Pandira, Pantiri, or Pantera), and some of the texts identify Jesus as the son of Pandera (ben Pandera in Hebrew). In some of the texts, the father produced a son with a woman named Mary (Miriam in Hebrew). Several of the texts indicate that the mother was not married to Pandera, and was committing adultery and - by implication - Jesus was a bastard child. Some of the texts indicate that Mary's husband's name was Stada. Some of the texts that mention the father Pandera are in the Talmud, but others are in ancillary texts such as the Tosefta and the Midrash Rabba.[63]

Son of Pantera / Pandera in a healing context

Two talmudic-era texts that explictly associate Jesus as the son of Pantera/Pandera are:

  • Tosefta Hullin 2:22f "Jacob ... came to heal him in the name of Jesus son of Pantera"
  • Qohelet Rabbah 1:8(3) "Jacob ... came to heal him in the name of Jesus son of Pandera"

Both of the above passages describe situations where Jesus' name is invoked to perform magical healing.[64] In addition, some editions of the Jerusalem Talmud explicitly identify Jesus as the son of Pandera:[65]

  • 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"
  • Jerusalem Abodah Zarah 2:2/12 "Jacob ... came to heal him. He said to him: we will speak to you in the name of Jesus son of Pandera"
  • Jerusalem Shabboth 14:4/13 "Jacob ... came in the name of Jesus Pandera to heal him"

However, some editions of the Jerusalem Talmud do not contain the name Jesus in these passages, so the association in this case is disputed. The parallel passages in the Babylonian Talmud do not contain the name Jesus.

Son of Pantiri / Pandera in a teaching context

Other Talmudic narratives describe Jesus as the son of a Pantiri or Pandera, in a teaching context:[66]

  • 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"

However, the parallel accounts in the Babylonian Talmud mention Jesus but do not mention the father's name:

  • Babylonian Abodah Zarah 17a "One of the disciples of Jesus the Nazarene found me"
  • Babylonian Abodah Zarah 17a "Thus I was taught by Jesus the Nazarene"

Pandera and alleged adultery by Mary

The Babylonian talmud contains narratives that discuss an anonymous person who brought witchcraft out of Egypt, and the person is identified as "son of Pandera" or "son of Stada". The Talmud discusses whether the individual (the name Jesus is not present in these passages) is the son of Stada, or Pandera, and a suggestion is made that the mother Miriam committed adultery.[67]

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

The Pagan philosopher Celsus, writing circa 150 to 200 CE, wrote a narrative describing a Jew who discounts the story of the Virgin Birth of Jesus.[68] Scholars have remarked on the parallels (adultery, father's name "Panthera", return from Egypt, magical powers) between Celsus' account and the Talmudic narratives.[69] In Celsus' account, the Jew says:

". . .[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."[70][71]

See also

Bibliography

  • Boyarin, Daniel: Dying for God, Stanford University Press, 1999
  • Carroll, James, Constantine's sword: the church and the Jews : a history, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2002
  • Cohn-Sherbok, Dan, Judaism and other faiths, Palgrave Macmillan, 1994
  • 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
  • Lasker, Daniel J., ""Introduction to 2006 Reprint Edition", in Christianity in Talmud and Midrash, by R. Travers Herford, KTAV Publishing House, Inc., 2007
  • 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)
  • Jeffrey Rubenstein, Rabbinic Stories (The Classics of Western Spirituality) New York: The Paulist Press, 2002
  • Schäefer, Peter, Jesus in the Talmud, Princeton University Press, 2007
  • Seidman, Naomi, Faithful renderings: Jewish-Christian difference and the politics of translation, University of Chicago Press, 2006
  • 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

Notes

  1. ^
    • Lasker, p xxi - Summarizes Herford's conclusions
    • Herford, Travers, Christianity in Talmud and Midrash, London: Williams & Norgate, 1903 (reprint New York, KTAV, 1975)
  2. ^
    • Maier, Johann, Jesus von Nazareth in der talmudischen Uberlieferung, Buchgesellschaft, 1978
    • Theissen, p 74-75
  3. ^ Schaefer, Peter, Jesus in the Talmud, Princeton University Press, 2007
  4. ^ William L. Merrifield, Who Do You Say I Am?: Jesus Called the Christ, Tate Publishing, 2010. p 39 Google link.
  5. ^ Trude Weiss-Rosmarin, Jewish expressions on Jesus: an anthology, Ktav Pub. House, 1977. p 3 Google link
  6. ^ Bernhard Pick, The Talmud: What It Is and What It Knows of Jesus and His Followers, Kessinger Publishing, LLC, 2007. p 113
  7. ^ a b Maccoby, Hyam, Judaism on Trial
  8. ^ a b Shaefer, p 3
  9. ^ a b c Shaefer, p 4
  10. ^ Rodkinson, pp 104-105
  11. ^
    • Shaefer, p 4
    • Lasker p xxi:
    Lasker writes that Herford "argues that the Talmudic Yeshus do indeed, refer to Jesus of Nazareth, but the citations concerning him reflect non-historical oral traditons which circulated among Jews and are not based on the written Gospels or other more authentic records of the life of Jesus. One can learn nothing about the historical Jesus from rabbinic accounts; at most one can learn form them something about rabbinic attitudes towards Jesus. In sum, the Talmud does make reference to the Christian Jesus but has nothing to offer the searcher for the historical Jesus. Such a position [says Lasker about Herford] seems eminently reasonable …"
  12. ^
    • Shaefer, p 5
    • Theissen, p 75
  13. ^ Shaefer, p 5
  14. ^
    • Theissen, pp 74-75
    • Shaefer, p 5
  15. ^ Schaefer, p 6ff
  16. ^ Boyarin, pp 1-3; Boyarin cites the Talmud as saying there were 24 sects
  17. ^ Boyarin, pp 1-3
  18. ^ Schaefer, p 7-9
  19. ^ Schaefer, p 7-9
  20. ^ Schaefer, p 9
  21. ^ Schaefer, p 9:
    "I agree that much of our Jesus material is relatively late; in fact, I will argue that the most explicty Jesus passages (those passages that deal with him as a person) appear only in the Babylonian Talmud and can be dated, at the earliest, to the late thrird-early fourth century C.E. … I propose that the (mainly) Babylonian stories about Jesus and his family are deliberate and highly sophisiticated counternarratives to the stories aobut Jesus' life and death in the Gospels - narratives that presuppose a detailed knowledge of the New Testament in particular the Gospel of John, presumably through the Diatessaron and/or the Peshitta, the New Testament of the Syrian Church. More precisely, I will argue - following indeed some of the older research - that they are polemical counternarratives that parody the New Testament stories, most notably the story of Jesus' birth and death. They riducule Jesus' birth from a virgin, as maintained by the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, and they contest fervently the claim that Jesus is the Messiah and the Son of God. Morst remarkably, they counter the New Testament Passion story with its message of the Jews' guilt and shame as Christ killers. Instead, they reverse it completetly: yes, they maintain, we accept responsibilty for it, but there is no reason to feel ashamed because we rightfully exectued a blasphemer and idolater. Jesus deserved death, and he got what he deserved. Accordingly, they subvert the Christian idea of Jesus' resurrection by having him punished forever in hell and by making clear that this fate awaits his followers as well, who believe in this impostor. There is no resurrection, they insist, not for him and not for his followers; in other words, there is no justification whatsoever for this Christain sect that impudently claims to be the new covenant and that is on its way to establish itself as a new religion (not least as a "Church" with political power). This, I will posit, is the historical message of the (late) talmudic evidence of Jesus. A proud and self-confident message that runs counter to all that we know from Christan and later Jewish sources. I will demonstrate that this message was possible only under the specfic historical circummstances in Sasanian Babylonia, with a Jewish commmunity that lived in relative freedom, at least with reagrd to Christians - quite different from conditions in Roman and Byzantine Palestine".
  22. ^ Lasker, p xxiv:
    "What does emerge from the material presented by Herford is that even if Christianity was not a fundamental worry of emerging Rabbinic Judaism, basic Jewish objections to this religion, which hundreds of years later would blossom into a full-scale Jewish polemical attack on Christianity [Lasker is referring to the Toledot Yeshu "The History of Jesus"], are already present in embryonic form in Rabbinic literature. Thus, Jesus was the product of adultery between his engaged mother and a man not her hsuband, not a result of miraculous birth. … God does not have a Son…. One can add to these arguments the Jewish accusations against Christianity and Jesus in the New Testament itself, for instance that if Jesus could not save himself, how could he save others (Matt 27:42)."
  23. ^ a b Jeffrey Rubenstein Rabbinic Stories (The Classics of Western Spirituality) New York: The Paulist Press, 2002
  24. ^ Schaefer, p 132
  25. ^
    • Asserted by Donin, Dilling, Rohling, Pranaitis, and others
    • Carroll, p 308
  26. ^
    • Siedman, p 137
    • Cohn-Sherbok, p 48
  27. ^ Sanhedrin 43 online
  28. ^
    • Siedman, p 137
    • Cohn-Sherbok p 48
  29. ^ Sanhedrin 107 online
  30. ^ Cohn-Sherbok, p 48"
  31. ^ Gittin 56 online, Gittin 57 online
  32. ^ Jesus in the Talmud by Peter Schäfer, Princeton University Press, 2007, p 13, 85-92, 98–100, 113, 174.
  33. ^
    • Jewish history and Jewish memory: essays in honor of Yosef Hayim Yerushalmi by Yosef Hayim Yerushalmi, UPNE, 1998, page 33.
    • Why the Jews Rejected Jesus: The Turning Point in Western History by David Klinghoffer, Random House, Inc., 2006, page 154 (identifies source of criticism as King Louis IX).
    • Tolerance and intolerance in early Judaism and Christianity by Graham Stanton, Guy G. Stroumsa, Cambridge University Press, 1998, page 247 (also includes a discussion of the censorship that removed references to Jesus - see footnote #34 on page 256; includes the assertion that "Balaam" is one of the names used instead of Jesus/Yeshua).
    • Two Nations in Your Womb: Perceptions of Jews and Christians, by Israel Jacob Yuval, University of California Press, 2008, page 132.
    • Jesus outside the New Testament: an introduction to the ancient evidence by Robert E. Van Voorst, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2000, page 110 (also discusses use of name Balaam in lieu of Jesus/Yeshua).
    • Church, State, and Jew in the Middle Ages by Robert Chazan,Behrman House, Inc, 1979, page 227-230 (transcript of 1240 Paris disputation).
    • A history of the Jews by Paul Johnson, HarperCollins, 1988, page 217 (identifies critic as Nicholas Donin).
    • Rabbi Moses ha-Kohen of Tordesillas and his book Ezer ha-emunah, by Yehuda Shamir, BRILL, 1975, page 31-32 (identifies Pope Gregory IX as a critic).
    • The Jew in the medieval book: English antisemitism, 1350-1500 by Anthony Paul Bale, Cambridge University Press, 2006, page 33.
    • From rebel to rabbi: reclaiming Jesus and the making of modern Jewish culture, by Matthew B. Hoffman, Stanford University Press, 2007, pages 4-5
  34. ^
    • David Berger, 1998, "On the Uses of History in Medieval Jewish Polemic Against Christianity", in Jewish history and Jewish memory Yosef Hayim Yerushalmi (Ed.), UPNE, pp. 32-33
    • Bale, Anthony Paul (2006). The Jew in the medieval book: English antisemitisms, 1350-1500. Cambridge University Press. p. 33. ISBN 0521863546.
    • Schäfer, Peter (2007). Jesus in the Talmud. Princeton University Press. pp. 85–92, 98–100. ISBN 0691129266.
    • Hoffman, Matthew B. (2007). From rebel to rabbi: reclaiming Jesus and the making of modern Jewish culture. Stanford University Press. pp. 4–5. ISBN 0804753717.
    • Seidman, Naomi (2006). Faithful renderings: Jewish-Christian difference and the politics of translation. University of Chicago Press. p. 139. ISBN 0226745066,. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  35. ^
    • Siedman, p 137 (discussing Donin)
    • Donin said: "The passage says that someone … was hanged in Lydda on the eve of Passover. His mother's name was Miriam, 'the hairdresser'; … her lover's name was Pandira. So Mary is called an adulteress by the Talmud". - Cohn-Sherbok, p 48, citing Maccoby, p 157
    • Voorst, Robert E., Jesus outside the New Testament: an introduction to the ancient evidence, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2000. p 113
    • Chilton, Bruce, Studying the historical Jesus: evaluations of the state of current research, BRILL, p 444
    • Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, Editors Joel B. Green, Scot McKnight, I. Howard Marshall, InterVarsity Press, 1992, p 366
  36. ^ Sanhedrin 67a online Committed adultery
  37. ^ Sanhedrin 106a online "played harlot with the carpenters"
  38. ^ Shabbath 104b online Committed adultery
  39. ^
    • "The rabbis in the Paris disputation responded that this could not be Mary because Jesus is not mentioned by name in the passage, and because it takes place in Lydda, not Jerusalem." - Cohn-Sherbok, p 48
    • Gil Student response to Mary criticism
  40. ^ English translations from Schaefer, pp 133–140
  41. ^ Thiessen and Merz draw on Dalman (1893), Maier (1982), and Thoma (1990) in reaching this conclusion. Theissen, Gerd and Annette Merz. The historical Jesus: a comprehensive guide. Fortress Press. 1998. translated from German (1996 edition). p. 74-76.
  42. ^ The Jesus Narrative In The Talmud pp 1-2
  43. ^ See also Jeffrey Rubenstein, Rabbinic Stories (The Classics of Western Spirituality) New York: The Paulist Press, 2002 & Daniel Boyarin, Dying for God: Martyrdom and the Making of Christianity and Judaism, Stanford University Press, 1999.
  44. ^ Robert E. Van Voorst, Jesus outside the New Testament: an introduction to the ancient evidence, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2000. pp 111-120
  45. ^ Norman Perrin, The New Testament, an introduction: proclamation and parenesis, myth and history, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1982. pp 407-408
  46. ^ R. Travers Herford, Christianity in Talmud and Midrash, KTAV Publishing House Inc, 2007. pp 35-96
  47. ^ C. H. Dodd, Historical Tradition in the Fourth Gospel, Cambridge University Press, 1976. pp 303-305
  48. ^ George R. Honig, The Alexandria Letter, BookPros, LLC, 2010. pp 259-260
  49. ^ Schaefer
  50. ^ For a discussion of this passage, see Theissen, pp 74-76
  51. ^ a b c d English translations from Schaefer
  52. ^ Peter Schäfer, Jesus in the Talmud, Princeton University Press, 2007. p 75
  53. ^ Bernhard Pick, The Talmud: What It Is and What It Knows of Jesus and His Followers, Kessinger Publishing, LLC, 2007. p 116
  54. ^ Hans Joachim Schoeps, The Jewish-Christian Argument, 1961, pp 24 (English language edition)
  55. ^ Boyarin, p 24
  56. ^ (This happened during their period of refuge in Egypt during the persecutions of Pharisees 88-76 BCE ordered by Alexander Jannæus. The incident is also mentioned in the Jerusalem Talmud in Chagigah 2:2 but there the person in question is not given any name.)
  57. ^ English translations from Scheafer
  58. ^ the reciting of Shema being a spiritually intense moment
  59. ^ Translation into English from Shaefer
  60. ^ Peter Schäfer, Jesus in the Talmud, Princeton University Press, 2007. p 64-65
  61. ^ Bernhard Pick, The Talmud: What It Is and What It Knows of Jesus and His Followers, Kessinger Publishing, LLC, 2007. p 115
  62. ^ Schaefer, p 139
  63. ^ Schaefer, pp 15-24, 133-141
  64. ^ Schaefer, pp 52-62
  65. ^ Schaefer, pp 52-62, 133-141
  66. ^ Schaefer, pp 41-51
  67. ^ Schaefer, pp 15-24, 133-141
  68. ^ Celsus' treatise is Alethes Logos, cited in Schaefer, p 19
  69. ^ Schaefer, p 18
  70. ^ Celsus' quote from Peter Schäfer, Jesus in the Talmud, Princeton University Press, 2007. p 18-19
  71. ^ Bernhard Pick, The Talmud: What It Is and What It Knows of Jesus and His Followers, Kessinger Publishing, LLC, 2007. p 117-120
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