The Name "Iskarioth" (Iscariot) (Report‪)‬

Given the recent discovery and publication of the Gnostic Gospel of Judas (1) and renewed interest in the historical figure of Judas Iscariot, it may be timely to analyze again the suggestions made concerning the epithet of the betrayer of Jesus. As William Klassen has noted, "the last word has not been said or written about the meaning of this word." (2) There is little scholarly agreement about what exactly the epithet means, despite the etymological explanations offered to account for it. (3) Bart D. Ehrman notes that "some of the best scholars have concluded that we simply don't know what Iscariot means." (4) It is then a little daunting to begin an assessment of the arguments thus far proposed. I offer here a suggestion only with considerable caution. I. THE EPITHET IN THE NEW TESTAMENT