<P> In his book Antisemitism and Modernity (2006), the Jewish scholar Hyam Maccoby suggests that, in the New Testament, the name "Judas" was constructed as an attack on the Judaeans or on the Judaean religious establishment held responsible for executing Jesus . In his book The Sins of Scripture (2009), John Shelby Spong concurs with this argument, insisting, "The whole story of Judas has the feeling of being contrived...The act of betrayal by a member of the twelve disciples is not found in the earliest Christian writings . Judas is first placed into the Christian story by the Gospel of Mark (3: 19), who wrote in the early years of the eighth decade of the Common Era ." </P> <P> Most scholars reject these arguments for non-historicity, noting that there is nothing in the gospels to associate Judas with Judeans except his name, which was an extremely common one for Jewish men during the first century, and that numerous other figures named "Judas" are mentioned throughout the New Testament, none of whom are portrayed negatively . Positive figures named Judas mentioned in the New Testament include the prophet Judas Barsabbas (Acts 15: 22 - 33), Jesus's brother Jude (Mark 6: 3; Matt 13: 55; Jude 1), and the apostle Judas the son of James (Luke 6: 14 - 16; Acts 1: 13; John 14: 22). B.J. Oropeza argues that Christians should not repeat the historic tragedy of associating Judas Iscariot with the Judeans but regard him instead as an emergent Christian apostate, and hence, one of their own . His betrayal over a sum of money warns auditors against the vice of greed . </P> <P> The name Judas (Ὶούδας) is a Greek rendering of the Hebrew name Judah (יהודה, Y hûdâh, Hebrew for "God is praised"), which was an extremely common name for Jewish men during the first century AD, due to the renowned hero Judas Maccabeus . Consequently, numerous other figures with this name are mentioned throughout the New Testament . In the Gospel of Mark 3: 13 - 19, the earliest of all the gospels, which was written in the mid 60s or early 70s AD, Judas Iscariot is the only apostle named Judas . Matthew 10: 2 - 4 follows this portrayal . The Gospel of Luke 6: 12 - 19, however, replaces the apostle whom Mark and Matthew call "Thaddeus" with "Judas son of James". Peter Stanford suggests that this renaming may represent an effort by the author of the Gospel of Luke to create a "good Judas" in contrast to the betrayer Judas Iscariot . </P> <P> Judas's epithet Iscariot (Ὶσκάριωθ or Ὶσκαριώτης), which distinguishes him from the other people named Judas in the gospels, is usually thought to be a Greek rendering of the Hebrew phrase איש ־ קריות, (Îš - Qrîyôt), meaning "the man from Kerioth". This interpretation is supported by the statement in the Gospel of John 6: 71 that Judas was "the son of Simon Iscariot". Nonetheless, this interpretation of the name is not fully accepted by all scholars . One of the most popular alternative explanations holds that Iscariot (ܣܟܪܝܘܛܐ' Skaryota' in Syriac Aramaic, per the Peshitta text) may be a corruption of the Latin word sicarius, meaning "dagger man", Roth bar Raphael, Andrew Gabriel - Yizkhak . Aramaic English New Testament (5 ed .). Netzari Press . ISBN 978 - 1934916421 .; Sedro - Woolley, Wash.: Netzari Press, 2012), 278fn177. </ ref> which referred to a member of the Sicarii (סיקריים in Aramaic), a group of Jewish rebels who were known for committing acts of terrorism in the 40s and 50s AD by assassinating people in crowds using long knives hidden under their cloaks . This interpretation is problematic, however, because there is nothing in the gospels to associate Judas with the Sicarii, and there is no evidence that the cadre existed during the 30s AD when Judas was alive . </P>

What does the name judas mean in greek
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