JUDAS

1. ISCARIOT, that is, man of Carioth or Kerioth, a city of Judah, Jos 15:25. Being one of the twelve apostles of our Lord, Judas seems to have possessed the full confidence of his fellow apostles, and was entrusted by them with all the presents which were made them, and all their means of subsistence; and when the twelve were sent out to preach and to work miracles, Judas appears to have been among them, and to have received the same powers. He was accustomed, however, even at this time, to appropriate part of their common stock to his own use, Joh 12:6; and at length sealed his infamy by betraying his Lord to the Jews for money. For the paltry sum of about $15, he engaged with the Jewish Sanhedrin to guide them to a place where they could seize him by night without danger of a tumult. But when he learned the result, a terrible remorse took possession of him; not succeeding in undoing his fatal work with the priests, he cast down before them the price of blood, crossed the gloomy valley of Hinnom, and hung himself, Mt 27:3-10. Luke, in Ac 1:18, adds that he fell headlong and burst asunder, probably by the breaking of the rope or branch. The steep hillside south of the valley of Hinnom might well be the scene of such a twofold death. See ACELDAMA. The remorseful confession of Judas was a signal testimony to the spotless innocence of Christ, Mt 27:4; and his awful end is a solemn warning against avarice, hypocrisy, and all unfaithfulness, Mt 26:34 Joh 17:12 Ac 1:25. 2. One of the apostles, called also Jude, Lebbeus, and Thaddeus, Mt 10:3 Mr 3:18 Jude 1:1, the son of Alpheus and Mary, and brother of James the LESS. See Jas 2 and 3. He was the author of the epistle which bears his name, Mr 6:3 Lu 6:16 Ac 1:13. 3. The brother of our Lord, Mt 27:56. Supposed by many to have been only a cousin, and the same as Judas 2. The apostle. But his "brethren" did not believe in him until near the close of his ministry. See Jas 3 4. A Christian teacher, called also Barsabas, sent from Jerusalem to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, Ac 15:22,27,32. 5. Surnamed "the Galilean," called also, by Josephus, the Gaulonite. He was born at Gamala, a city of Gaulonitis near the southeastern shore of the lake of Tiberias. In company with one Sadoc, he attempted to excite a sedition among the Jews, but was destroyed by Quirinus, or Cyrenius, at that time governor of Syria and Judea, Ac 5:37. 6. A Jew at Damascus, with whom Paul lodged, Ac 9:11.

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Judas. Judas
The Graecized form of Judah. (1.) The patriarch (Matt. 1:2, 3).

(2.) Son of Simon (John 6:71; 13:2, 26), surnamed Iscariot, i.e., a man of Kerioth (Josh. 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” (Matt. 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 Matt. 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.”

(3.) 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.”

(4.) 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.”

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Judas. Jude, same as Judah

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(a) Iscariot, the betrayer of Jesus (1) General References to Mt 10:4; 26:14; Joh 6:70; 12:4; 13:26,30; Mr 14:43; Mt 27:3 Ac 1:16; Ps 109:8; Zec 11:12 (2) Characteristics of --Avariciousness Mt 26:14,15 --Hypocrisy Joh 12:5,6 --Treachery Mr 14:10; Lu 22:47,48 --Dishonesty Joh 12:6 --Remorse Mt 27:3,4; Ac 1:18 (b) One of the Brethren of Christ (?) Mt 13:55; Mr 6:3 (c) Jude, or Lebbaeus, surnamed Thaddaeus, brother of the Apostle James Mt 10:3; Mr 3:18; Lu 6:16; Joh 14:22; Ac 1:13 (d) Of Galilee Ac 5:37 (e) A Disciple Ac 9:11 (f) Barsabas Ac 15:22

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Ju″das (?), n. The disciple who betrayed Christ. Hence: A treacherous person; one who betrays under the semblance of friendship. — a. Treacherous; betraying.
Judas hole, a peephole or secret opening for spying. — Judas kiss, a deceitful and treacherous kiss. — Judas tree (Bot.), a leguminous tree of the genus Cercis, with pretty, rose-colored flowers in clusters along the branches. Judas is said to have hanged himself on a tree of this genus (C. Siliquastrum). C. Canadensis and C. occidentalis are the American species, and are called also redbud.