rainbow walking

Someone just made an assertion that the Jewish Talmud contained a transcript of Jesus' trial, (I'mm assuming by Pilate).

I know this is probably a ludicrous claim but, since I'm no Jewish scholar, I wanted to be certain of my rebuttal before I reply. Is this a true assertion?

Darwin's Finch

The person making that claim is probably, confusedly, thinking of Sanhedrin 43a, which tells of a Yeshu (or some variant of the name) who was hanged on the eve of Passover. As the story goes, for forty days prior to the execution, a crier preceded this person, proclaiming that he was to be stoned for leading Isreal away from God and that persons having something to say in his defense should come forward.

Christians are fond of claiming that this is a reference to their Jesus, though the name was a common one and there seems no way to determine who the individual referred to really was.

I've never heard of an alleged trial transcript in the Talmud or anywhere else, but I'm not a scholar of such things. Perhaps someone else can shed some light on that. Sounds like BS to me.

rainbow walking

was that in the Talmud? is Sanhedrin whatever one of the tracts of the Talmud or in any way part of the Talmud?

Darwin's Finch

Sanhedrin 43a seems to be a section of the Babylonian Talmud, but my searches for this passage just keep taking me to the Christian sites that refer to it as evidence of Jesus's manner of death. I have not yet found an independent, preferably Jewish, site from which I can link to it. Until I do, I would take the reference itself with a grain of salt.

Layman

It is a part of the Bablyonian Talmud, written three or four hundred years after Jesus, I believe.

From what I remember, the majority of scholars believe it is a reference to Jesus, but are skeptical to the amount of accurate information it conveys about him. Oddly, it puts more of an emphasis on Jewish responsibility for Jesus' death than even the gospels.

rainbow walking

you've been a tremendous help. Hope I can repay the kindness in the future.

Bobzammel

Since Christianity was gaining speed at the time, perhaps it was a reaction by the Rabbis to counter what they saw as heresy. Remember that at this point, Christian persecution of Jewish people had not really started(The Roman Church was just starting up), and it was safe to write such a thing.

Layman

Maybe this site will be helpful:

http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~humm/Topi.../b_san43a.html

Asha'man

I thought I would mention this: the Jewish penalty for blasphemy was death by stoning. Then the corpse would be hung on a tree, but the body had to be removed by nightfall.

If you look at the Gospels, they clearly show the Sanhedrin finding Jesus guilty of blasphemy.

There are a couple Jewish writings that mention hanging of one “Jesus” or another, at least one was specifically on the day before Passover. Don’t get caught up in the Roman crucifixion myth, it is entirely possible that the original story was simply a stoning and a hanging.

thebeast

Greetings Rainbow Walking.


I said the talmud had the prosecution side of the trial of Jesus on the Theology forum.

I just got activated today.