Celebration of Scholars
Was Jesus Arrested at the Last Supper? : A Reexamination of Judas 58,9-26 of the Gospel of Judas
Name:
Brian Hansen
Major: Religion
Hometown: Arlington Heights, IL
Faculty Sponsor: Daniel Schowalter
Other Sponsors:
Type of research: Senior thesis
Abstract
My purpose for writing this paper was to become a contributor to the ongoing scholarly discussions on the recently discovered Gospel of Judas, an apocryphal gospel that has been at the forefront of my academic interest during my years here at Carthage College. This paper specifically focuses on the Gospel of Judas’ concluding passage – Judas 58,9-26 – a passage that has been understood by scholars as this gospel’s portrayal of Jesus’ arrest. My research method for this topic consisted of acquiring various scholarly sources on the Gospel of Judas and surveying them to see if any had made comments on Judas 58,9-26. I had discovered that there were few that addressed Judas 58,9-26, nevertheless, those that did still produced a range of controversies that clearly illustrate a division within Gospel of Judas scholarship. With that being said, my research specifically explores the standard interpretations of Judas 58,9-26 in relation to the Greek word kataluma – both its meanings and its root origins – in order to show that the earlier critical interpretations have not taken into account the full range of this word’s meaning. Consequently, my findings suggest a new interpretation of Judas 58,9-26, based on the more complete understanding of kataluma.Submit date: March 20, 2015, 2:37 a.m.