“The earliest New Testament author Paul knew nothing of Judas. But decades later the evangelists created Judas (Yehuda in Hebrew meaning Jew) as the perfect archetypal betrayer figure for shifting guilt from favored Rome to the Jews for crucifying rabbi Jesus . With Judas as the star villain was born the historical sea of anti-Semitism. The Christians (meaning Messianics) like the Essenes, another early messianic Jewish sect, needed to reject the mother religion in order to bloom as a newly named tree of hope. In his introduction, translation and sumptuous annotation the Coptic scholar Marvin Meyer eloquently documents all the ancient legends of Judas. The book’s core is the recently found, brilliantly explosive Gnostic Gospel of Judas in which Judas appears as Jesus’s most intimate student (disciple). Judas yields his life to free Jesus from bodily bondage and be transfigured in divine light. As Jesus’s trusted liberator, the student is not the grotesque demon of the canonical gospels but Saint Judas.” - Willis Barnstone, author of The Other Bible
“No one has made a greater impact on the scholarly investigation of the recently discovered Gospel of Judas than Marvin Meyer, one of America’s top experts on Gnosticism. Now with this collection of primary materials, Meyer gives English readers a full accounting of what our ancient Christian sources say about the most maligned figure in Christian history. Was the historical Judas Iscariot a fiend, or has he been misportrayed? The answer lies in these intriguing accounts , presented here in clear and crisp English translations.” - Bart Ehrman, author of Misquoting Jesus
“Marvin Meyer has provided the most convenient collection of all the references to Judas available in early Christian literature.” - James M. Robinson, author of The Secrets of Judas
“Marvin Meyer has put together a timely anthology of controversial ancient writings that refer to “Judas” and “Judas Iscariot.” He includes canonical texts like the Gospels of Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John, alongside lesser-known apocryphal texts such as the Arabic Infancy Gospel and the Golden Legend, and Gnostic gospels like the recently recovered Gospel of Judas. Meyer’s anthology makes accessible to the general public documents about Judas that are not otherwise readily available.” - April D. DeConick, author of The Thirteenth Apostle: What the Gospel of Judas Really Says
“Marvin Meyer’s Judas leads us into the world of the new Coptic gospel that portrays Judas as the most beloved and insightful disciple of Christ. This book offers a thrilling journey through early Christian texts about Judas, asking the question if the devilish figure of this disciple is founded on historical elements or if it is merely a literary creation. The fluent presentation keeps the reader in suspense from the first to the last page. You won’t be able to stop reading this book.” - Madeleine Scopello, Directeur de Recherche au Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université de Paris IV-Sorbonne, and author of Femme, Gnose et Manichéisme
“Meyer offers a diverse sampling of interesting and important texts and traditions that relate, or may relate, to the very curious gospel character Judas Iscariot, about whom quite lively debate has been renewed by a recently published ancient manuscript. Meyer’s collection and his lucid comments provide general readers with handy access to ancient sources at the heart of the new debates, and an introduction to reasons for some of the controversy.” - Michael A. Williams, Professor of Comparative Religion, University of Washington
“This wide-ranging collection of texts produced from the second to the fifth centuries and beyond clearly shows the interpretive spectrum of the developing Church’s struggle with the legendary and controversial figure of the apostle Judas Iscariot.” - John D. Turner, Cotner Professor of Religious Studies, University of Nebraska
“Judas is an essential scholarly tool, written in a clear and direct way, for understanding the challenge posed by the recent discovery of the Gospel of Judas. This gospel has raised issues regarding the possible reinterpretation of a number of known texts about Judas Iscariot, and many of these texts are presented in this volume and accompanied with helpful commentary.” - Sofía Torallas Tovar, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Madrid, and co-author of El Evangelio de Judas
