Judas: The Definitive Collection of Gospels and Legends about the Infamous Apostle of Jesus »

Marvin Meyer is one of the foremost scholars on early Christianity and texts about Jesus outside the New Testament. He is Griset Professor of Bible and Christian Studies at Chapman University in Orange, California. Among his recent books are The Gospel of Judas, The Gnostic Gospels of Jesus, The Gospels of Mary, The Gospel of Thomas, and The Nag Hammadi Scriptures.

Judas Iscariot has been demonized as the quintessential traitor, the disciple who betrayed his master for the infamous thirty pieces of silver. But the recent sensational discovery and publication of the long lost Gospel of Judas, with its remarkable portrayal of Judas Iscariot as the disciple closest to Jesus, raises serious new questions. Was Judas the only member of the Twelve who truly understood Jesus? Did Jesus secretly collaborate with Judas to set in motion the series of events that would redeem all of humankind? In search of answers, Marvin Meyer, one of the world's leading experts on the Gospel of Judas presents a collection of the earliest accounts of Judas, which together paint a fuller portrait of this most enigmatic disciple.

This book presents the essential texts that deal with the figure of Judas, including New Testament writings, Gnostic documents, and other early and later Christian literature. These are the earliest known testimonies about Judas and include selections from the gospels of Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John, the Acts of the Apostles, and relevant passages from Paul. The centerpiece of the book is the Gospel of Judas, followed by excerpts from three other Gnostic texts—the Dialogue of the Savior, the Concept of Our Great Power, and the "Round Dance of the Cross"—which may shed new light on the figure of Judas. A series of additional writings on Judas produced over the centuries provide glimpses of the vilification of Judas and the emergence of anti-Semitic themes.

Meyer offers evidence of traitors before Judas—the Genesis story of Joseph's brothers who sold him into slavery, the duplicitous friend of the poet in Psalm 41, and Melanthius the goatherd in Homer's Odyssey—all of which raise the question of whether the story of Judas Iscariot could be simply a piece of religious fiction derived from earlier stories.

Judas provides a rich collection of original sources that tell the story of Christianity's most infamous figure, offering the fullest understanding of Judas Iscariot's undeniable importance in the climax of Jesus's life.

James A. Overbeck - Library Journal

Interest in the Gospel of Judas was sparked in early 2006 with the National Geographic Society's preliminary translation of the newly discovered text, which appeared to show that Judas was Jesus's hero and friend, not his betrayer. Meyer (Chapman Univ.), a highly respected scholar of Gnosticism, presents yet another book on Judas. The advantages of this one include a fresh (if tentative) translation of the gospel, a comparison among conflicting references to Judas in the New Testament, references to traitors and the betrayed in the Hebrew Scriptures and other ancient texts, a long list of Gnostic texts mentioning Judas, and translations of other relevant documents. The bounty of material Meyer here excerpts-chiefly and in addition to the gospel, the Gnostic texts Dialogue of the Savior, The Concept of Our Great Power, and Round Dance of the Cross-shows readers that, indeed, early Christianity engaged a wide variety of ideas and stories. Recommended for all libraries.

Introduction: The Vilification and Redemption of a Disciple of Jesus     1
Judas in the New Testament     27
The Gospel of Judas     45
Judas in the Dialogue of the Savior     67
The Follower Without a Name in the Concept of Our Great Power     87
The Traitor in the "Round Dance of the Cross"     101
Judas the Diabolical in Other Christian Texts     109
Traitors Before Judas     135
Notes     149
Selected Bibliography     173
Acknowledgments     181