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The Many Deaths of Judas Iscariot
Recensie, Bijdragen, 28-04-09
 The Christian tradition turned Judas into an embodiment of treason and of the abhorrence of suicide. A. Saari lost a brother who took his own life. In search for a religious answer he wanders through the scriptural material about the 'proto suicide' Judas Iscariot. Focusing on the particular differences between the Pauline, Markan, Matthean and Lukan accounts about Judas he argues a gradually build-up of the literary character of the so called 'traitor' of Jesus. Where Mark is primarily interested in undercutting the authority of "The Twelve" - Judas being a kind of prototype for the collective -, Matthew 'needs' Judas' character to let the Scriptures being fulfilled in Jesus. Finally it is Luke who sets Judas in a kind of lightly dualistic scheme in which Good and Evil are influencing the characters of the Jesus narrative.
Saari argues that nowhere in the Greek literature the verb ‘paradidomi’ means 'betrayal' except in New Testament translations when referring to Judas’ work. More correct would be to translate it as 'handing over', which can be an immoral deed, but certainly not 'treason'. Only Luke calls Judas a 'prodotes', a 'traitor', but not because of his handing over Jesus, but because of his alliance with Satan. Judas' following death is only described by Matthew and Luke (in Acts), but only Matthew mentions a suicide. It is only through the Christian hermeneutics and preaching practices that Judas became Jesus' 'traitor'. And because of this treason his suicide is also thought very immoral.
Strangely enough Saari seems to 'forget' the Johannine tradition in which Judas is called a 'paraditous' (also conveniently translated as 'traitor'), a kind of mixture between Matthew's and Luke's vocabulary. It would be interesting to see how this 'he who hands over' fits into Saari's theory.
Saari is honest enough to acknowledge his "private agenda", having to come to terms with the suicide of his brother in religious and theological terms. His short study is a bit eclectic but nevertheless interesting, maybe exactly because of Saari's highly personal involvement in the subject.
A.M.H. Saari, The Many Deaths of Judas Iscariot. A Meditation on Suicide, Routledge: Londen, ISBN 978-0-415-39239-6, 14 x 21, 164 p., € 25,70.
Bron: Deze recensie is gepubliceerd in het wetenschappelijk tijdschrijft Bijdragen 70 (2009, nr. 1), p. 120-121.
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