The "Noble Death" of Judas Iscariot: A Reconsideration of Suicide in the Bible and Early Christianity
Authors
Middleton, PaulAffiliation
University of ChesterPublication Date
2018-08-22
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
This essay problematizes the often repeated claim that Jewish and Christian traditions have always and unambiguously opposed suicide. By examining the suicide narratives in the Hebrew Bible and late Second Temple texts, alongside early Christian martyr texts which demonstrate not only enthusiasm for death, but suicide martyrdom, I argue that many Jewish and Christian self-killings conform to Greco-Roman patterns Noble Death. Finally, I consider the death of Judas Iscariot, and having removed any a priori reason to interpret his suicide negatively, I argue Matthew’s account of his self-killing compares favourably with Luke’s narrative, in which he is the victim of divine execution. Moreover, I conclude that Matthew’s main concern is to transfer the blame for Jesus’ death from Judas to the Jewish authorities, and that he has Judas impose on himself to the appropriate and potentially expiatory penalty for his action. Thus, I conclude, even Judas’s iconic suicide can be read quite plausibly as an example of Noble Death.Citation
Middleton, P. (2018). The "Noble Death of Judas Iscariot: A Reconsideration of Suicide in the Bible and Early Christianity. Journal of Religion and Violence, 6(2), 245-266Publisher
Philosophy Documentation CenterJournal
Journal of Religion and ViolenceAdditional Links
https://www.pdcnet.org/jrv/content/jrv_2018_0999_8_21_54Type
ArticleLanguage
enISSN
0738-098Xae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.5840/jrv201882154
Scopus Count
Collections
Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/