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Bible Dictionaries
Judas
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible
or JUDAS (in Apocr. [Note: Apocrypha, Apocryphal.] ), the Gr. equivalent of the Heb. name Judah . 1. The third son of Mattathias, called Maccahæus ( 1M Malachi 2:4 etc.). See Maccabees, § 2 . 2 . One of two captains who stood by Jonathan at Hazor ( 1Ma 11:70 ). 3. A Jew holding some important position at Jerusalem; he is named in the title of a letter sent from the Jews of Jerusalem and Judæa and the Jewish Senate to their brethren in Egypt, and to a certain Aristobulus ( 2M Malachi 1:10 ). 4. A son, probably the eldest, of Simon the Maccabee ( 1Ma 16:2 ). In b.c. 135, he, with his father and another brother named Mattathias, was murdered at Dok by Ptolemy, the son of Abubus ( 1Ma 16:11-17 ). 5. Esther 9:23 Esther 9:23 = Judah of Ezra 10:23 .
JUDAS (in NT)
1. Judas Iscariot . See following article.
2. Judas, the son of James (see James 4:1-17 ). one of the twelve Apostles ( Luke 6:16 ), called by Mt. ( Matthew 10:3 ) Lebbæus and by Mk. ( Mark 3:18 ) Thaddæus. The only thing recorded of him is that, when Jesus promised in the Upper Room to manifest Himself to the man that loved Him, he inquired: ‘Lord, what is come to pass that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?’ ( John 14:22 RV [Note: Revised Version.] ); showing that he shared the common ideal of the Messianic Kingdom. He pictured it as a worldly kingdom, and was expecting that Jesus would presently flash forth in majesty before an astonished world and ascend the throne of David; and he wondered what could have happened to prevent this consummation.
3. Judas, the Lord’s brother ( Matthew 13:55 = Mark 6:3 ). See Brethren of the Lord. He was the author of the Short Epistle of Jude ( i.e. Judas), where he styles himself ‘the servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James’ ( Judges 1:1 ), and, like James, exhibits a stern zeal for morality.
4. Judas, the Galilæan . He is so called both in the NT ( Acts 5:37 ) and in Josephus, though he belonged to Gamala in Gaulanitis on the eastern side of the Lake of Galilee; perhaps because Galilee was the scene of his patriotic enterprise. At the enrolment or census under Quirinius in a.d. 7, Judas raised an insurrection. He perished, and his followers were scattered, but their spirit did not die. They banded themselves into a patriotic fraternity under the significant name of the Zealots , pledged to undying hostility against the Roman tyranny and ever eager for an opportunity to throw off its yoke.
5. Judas, a Jew of Damascus ( Acts 9:11 ). His house was in the Straight Street, and Saul of Tarsus lodged there after his conversion.
6. Judas Barsabbas , one of two deputies Silas being the other who were chosen by the rulers of the Church at Jerusalem to accompany Paul and Barnabas to Antioch, and report to the believers there the Council’s decision on the question on what terms the Gentiles should be admitted into the Christian Church ( Acts 15:22-33 ). Judas and Silas are described as ‘chief men among the brethren’ ( Acts 15:22 ) and ‘prophets’ ( Acts 15:32 ). Since they bore the same patronymic, Judas may have been a brother of Joseph Barsabbas ( Acts 1:23 ). 7. An ancestor of Jesus ( Luke 3:30 ).
David Smith.
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Hastings, James. Entry for 'Judas'. Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/hdb/j/judas.html. 1909.
