Bible Study Tools
Language Tools
Historical Writings
Pastoral Resources
Personal Resources
Site Resources
Lectionary Calendar
Friday, April 19th, 2024
the Third Week after Easter
Attention!
Partner with StudyLight.org as God uses us to make a difference for those displaced by Russia's war on Ukraine.
Click to donate today!
Home » Bible Dictionaries » Easton's Bible Dictionary » Letter J

Bible Dictionaries
Judas

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Search for…
Enter query below:
or
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z
Prev Entry
Judah, Tribe of
Next Entry
Jude
Resource Toolbox
Print Article
Additional Links
The Graecized form of Judah.
  • The patriarch (Matthew 1:2,3 ).

  • Son of Simon (John 6:71; 13:2,26 ), surnamed Iscariot, i.e., a man of Kerioth (Joshua 15:25 ). His name is uniformly the last in the list of the apostles, as given in the synoptic (i.e., the first three) Gospels. The evil of his nature probably gradually unfolded itself till "Satan entered into him" (John 13:27 ), and he betrayed our Lord (18:3). Afterwards he owned his sin with "an exceeding bitter cry," and cast the money he had received as the wages of his iniquity down on the floor of the sanctuary, and "departed and went and hanged himself" (Matthew 27:5 ). He perished in his guilt, and "went unto his own place" (Acts 1:25 ). The statement in Acts 1:18 that he "fell headlong and burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out," is in no way contrary to that in Matthew 27:5 . The sucide first hanged himself, perhaps over the valley of Hinnom, "and the rope giving way, or the branch to which he hung breaking, he fell down headlong on his face, and was crushed and mangled on the rocky pavement below."

    Why such a man was chosen to be an apostle we know not, but it is written that "Jesus knew from the beginning who should betray him" (John 6:64 ). Nor can any answer be satisfactorily given to the question as to the motives that led Judas to betray his Master. "Of the motives that have been assigned we need not care to fix on any one as that which simply led him on. Crime is, for the most part, the result of a hundred motives rushing with bewildering fury through the mind of the criminal."

  • A Jew of Damascus (Acts 9:11 ), to whose house Ananias was sent. The street called "Straight" in which it was situated is identified with the modern "street of bazaars," where is still pointed out the so-called "house of Judas."

  • A Christian teacher, surnamed Barsabas. He was sent from Jerusalem to Antioch along with Paul and Barnabas with the decision of the council (Acts 15:22,27,32 ). He was a "prophet" and a "chief man among the brethren."

    Copyright Statement
    These dictionary topics are from M.G. Easton M.A., D.D., Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Third Edition, published by Thomas Nelson, 1897. Public Domain.
    Bibliography Information
    Easton, Matthew George. Entry for 'Judas'. Easton's Bible Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/​dictionaries/​eng/​ebd/​j/judas.html. 1897.
    • terms of use • privacy policy • rights and permissions • contact sl • about sl • link to sl
    To report dead links, typos, or html errors or suggestions about making these resources more useful use the convenient contact form
    StudyLight.org © 2001-2022
    Powered by Lightspeed Technology
    adsFree icon
    Ads FreeProfile