The Gospel of Judas. Marvin W. Meyer

of apophasis in the incipit of the Gospel of Judas as well.

      2. Judas is referred to as the thirteenth, whose star is bound to reign over the thirteenth aeon, and new fragmentary remains placed on the top half of page 55 may expand the scope of meaning for Judas and the number thirteen in the Gospel of Judas. Sethian texts, such as the Nature of the Rulers, the Holy Book of the Great Invisible Spirit, and the Revelation of Adam, often make mention of the history of Israel in the Sethian story of salvation. Prior to the examination of the fragments, the Gospel of Judas seemed to have little to say about Israel in Sethian Heilsgeschichte or salvation history. Now the reading of page 55 may be expanded with information on the history of Israel as well as the place of the twelve tribes—and the thirteenth aeon. The section reads, as Jesus is speaking, “And they will . . . evil, and . . . the aeons, bringing their generations and offering them to Sakla. And after that [. .]rael (p[. .]raēl) will come bringing the twelve tribes of Israel from [Egypt (?)]. And [the generations] will all serve Sakla, [also] sinning in my name. And your star will rule over the thirteenth aeon” (55,1–13). (P)[. .]rael may be Israel or Istrael, forms of the name of the angel of Israel, as attested on magical gems.22 The story of Israel coming out, it seems to be, from Egypt could well rehearse the event of the exodus from Egypt as a part of Sethian salvation history. And the juxtaposition of the twelve tribes of Israel with the thirteenth aeon of Judas may add important content to the constellation of themes surrounding Judas and the thirteenth aeon in the Gospel of Judas.

      3. In the Gospel of Judas the announcement made by Jesus that Judas will sacrifice the man who bears him has been adrift, before the recovered fragments became available, in the uncertain context of lacunae preceding and following the announcement. With recovered fragments placed, the passage on pages 56–57, though still not free of ambiguity, begins to attain greater clarity as an interpretation of the crucifixion of the mortal flesh of Jesus and the resultant eschatological events. The passage, restored, has Jesus explain, with the previous text joined with the fragments, “I’m telling [you] the truth, this baptism . . . [in] my name . . . . . . this will destroy the entire generation of the earthly man Adam. Tomorrow they will torment the one who bears me (peterpho[rei] emmoi). I’m [telling] you the truth, no hand of a mortal human [will] sin against me. [I’m] telling you the truth, Judas, those [who] offer sacrifices to Sakla [will] all . . . , since . . . upon . . . all of them . . . everything evil. But you will exceed all of them. For you will sacrifice the man who bears me . . . .23 [I’m telling you] the truth, your last . . . and . . . come to be . . . the ministers of the aeon have . . . , and the kings have become weak, and the generations of the angels have grieved, and those who are evil . . . the ruler, since he is overthrown. And then the image of the great generation of Adam will be magnified . . .” (55,24—57,11). This passage incorporates another reference by Jesus to the man who bears him. The remaining lacuna in the line that explains what will happen to those who sacrifice to the archon Sakla almost certainly is to be restored by means of a verb in a future tense with a third-person plural pronominal subject (or a passive construction). One possibility, tentatively adopted here, is as follows: “those [who] offer sacrifices to Sakla will all [die (?)]” (56,13–14). There should be other possible readings. Such a reconstruction could shed light on how Judas will surpass them, in that he will live, and he will bring about events that will shatter heaven and earth and cause the cosmic forces to be undone. The concluding lines of the passage, improved with additional text, divulge the apocalyptic events that will come on the heels of the “sacrifice” or betrayal of the mortal remains of Jesus. The “sacrifice” of Jesus takes on something of a triumphant character: the ruler of the world will be overcome, and the powers of heaven and earth will be brought down and destroyed—even as Irenaeus states in his brief description of the Gospel of Judas. This seems to be, as Irenaeus puts it, “the mystery of the betrayal.”