Sefer Toledot Yeshu (or Toledoth Jeschu) (ספר תולדות ישו, The History of Jesus,[1] Generations of Jesus,[2] or The Life of Jesus[3]) is a medieval version of the story of Jesus from a Jewish perspective.[4] The book concerns Yeshu, son of Joseph and Mary, born in Bethlehem, but also makes this Yeshu a contemporary of Queen Salome Alexandra (139–67 BCE). The work deliberately attacks and parodies the Christian Gospels and refers to Jesus as the illegitimate son of a Roman soldier, devoted to magic powers, a seducer, heretic and the victim of a shameful death.[5][6] It has been called the counter-gospel, anti-gospel, and anti-evangel and according to Van Voorst is popular polemic against Jesus "run wild".[4] The Toldoth Yeshu are not part of rabbinic literature and are considered neither canonical nor normative.[7] There is no one authoritative Toldoth Yeshu story; rather, various medieval versions existed that differ in attitudes towards the central characters and in story details. It is considered unlikely that any one person wrote it, and each version seems to be from a different set of storytellers.[7] A very recent study reports that more than 100 manuscripts of the Toledot Yeshu exist, almost all of them late medieval (the oldest manuscript being from the 11th century) and containing some details in the text that seem to be late medieval or even early modern era.[8]
As a generality, the Toledot is a hodgeprodge of anecdotes, disparaging of the traditional gospel stories about Jesus, gathered from widely divergent parts of the Talmud and Midrash.[9] Some of these are clearly fictitious or absurd, and some seem incompatible with each other or with known historical fact.[10] In some instances, the Talmudic source is or was very obscure, and frequently is told about an anonymous person and does not mention Jesus, as the "nativity" account in chapter 1 of the Strassburg version of the Toledot is derived from Kallah, a purported Talmudic tractate so obscure and whose provenance is so uncertain that it did not appear in print until 1864.[11] In some instances, the Toledot anecdote references some bit of early Christian lore other than the canonical New Testament, e.g. a story about the bad temper of young Jesus (in the Huldreich version[12]) vaguely resembles (in tone, not narrative) some stories in apocryphal infancy gospels of, circa, 4th - 6th centuries.[13] More to the point, the Strassburg version of Toledot contains a story that, using magic, Yeshu made clay birds come to life and fly, this closely resembles a non-canonical story about the young Jesus contained in the same non-canonical infancy gospels.[14] Further, there are references to Christian festivals and observances that, in some instances, only make sense after the 4th century.[15] Significantly, the Toledot seems to know (sometimes only superficially) of the miracles of the canonical Gospels and does not deny their occurrence, but instead attributes them to Yeshu's use either of Egyptian magic or a misuse of the secret Divine Name - but not to diabolical influences.[16] "The narrative in all versions treats Jesus as an exceptional person who from his youth demonstrated unusual wit and wisdom, but disrespect toward his elders and the sages of his age." [17]
The literary origins of Toledot Yeshu cannot be traced with any certainty and are unlikely to be before the 4th century, far too late to include authentic remembrances of Jesus.[18] Some suppose that the source material is no earlier than the 6th century, and the compilation no earlier than the 9th century.[19] Although the individual anecdotes that make up the Toledot Yeshu may all come from sources dating before the sixth century, there is no evidence that their gathering into a single narrative is that early;[20] the earliest known mention of a distinct (but unnamed) compilation is an oblique mention by Agobard, Archbishop of Lyon, circa. 826, and then another mention by his successor, Amulo, circa 849.[21]
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The materials contained in the books circulated orally (difficult to trace, but perhaps no earlier than the 2nd century) coalescing into book form in Late Antiquity (4th century at the earliest or in or around the 6th century[22]) or the Early Middle Ages. The books were widely circulated in Europe and the Middle East from the 9th century; Agobard, archbishop of Lyons, attests to the existence of such a book in 826[4] in De Iudaicis Superstitionibus.[3]
Originally in Aramaic, there are recensions extant in Hebrew, and later versions in Judeo-Persian and Arabic as well as Yiddish and Ladino (Judeo-Spanish).[23]
Some scholars, such as Rubenstein (2010) favour a late composition date, after the Babylonian Talmud.[24]
Celsus, the second-century Greek philosopher, also maintained that the true father of Jesus was a soldier by the name of Pantera.[25]
Hostile Jewish portrayals of Christianity in the Toledot Yeshu have been explained as a reaction to Christian anti-Judaism. As a demonstration of a vicious cycle, anti-semitic polemicists from the 9th through 20th centuries have used these texts to inflame Christian hostility towards Jews.[2][26] Martin Luther quoted the Toledot (evidently the Strassburg version) at length in his general condemnation of Jews in his book Von Schem Hamporas in 1543.[27] It should not be a surprise that one of the versions circulated among Jews had this cautionary note in its introduction, "[This booklet] should be shown only to people of discretion, for one never knows what the morrow may bring. ... I copied it from three different pamphlets from three different countries, not just one, The contents of all these pamphlets were identical, except that I wrote it in the language of prudence [- namely, Hebrew, because Gentiles do not understand it]...." [28]
In 1405, Toledot Yeshu was banned by Church authorities.[29] A book under this title was strongly condemned by Francesc Eiximenis (d. 1409) in his Vita Christi.[30] But in 1614 it was largely reprinted by a Jewish apostate, Samuel Friedrich Brenz, in Nuremberg, as part of his book vilifying his former religion, titled "Skin Shed by the Jewish Snake".[31]
Long unknown to Christians, it was first translated into Latin by Ramón Martí, a Dominican friar, toward the end of the 13th century.[5]
Johann Christian Wagenseil (1633–1705), a professor at the University of Altdorf, and a fanatical hater of Jews, published his edition in 1681, with a Hebrew text of the Toledot Yeshu and a Latin translation, in a book titled "Satan's Flaming Arrow" (Tela Ignea Satanae).[32] Johann Wagenseil's version is perhaps the most prominent. The first section provides a treatment of Jesus; later sections deal with the exploits of his apostles. Supplementary chapters tell of Nestorius and his attempts to keep Christians obeying Jewish custom, and the story of Simeon Kepha who is construed to be the Apostle Peter or Paul.[4]
Wagenseil's version is derivative in character, making heavy use of the canonical gospels, Acts, and the Hebrew Bible. Some items about Jesus are adaptations from references to him in the Talmud. Jesus is portrayed as a seducer and a heretic, showing a connection to the traditions in Celsus, and has correspondence to Justin Martyr's Dialogue with Trypho (17, 108) where Jesus is a deceiver, crucified by the Jews, whose disciples stole his body and deceived others by proclaiming his resurrection. Derivations from the Talmud appear to be popular adaptions – polemic material aimed at two Christian doctrines, the virgin birth and the ascension.[4]
Concurrences with the gospel accounts include: his being the offspring of Joseph and Mary; that he was born in Bethlehem; that he was bold toward the Jewish elders; that he could perform miracles (here made out to be sorcery); that he pretended to be born of a virgin; that he claimed to be the Son of God; that he applied Isaiah 7:14 to himself; that he raised the dead; that he healed a leper; that Jews fell down and worshipped him; that he entered Jerusalem upon an ass; that he applied to himself Zacharias 9:9; that he charged the Jews with being stiff-necked people; that he applied to himself the 2nd and 110th Psalms; that he walked on water; that he was betrayed by Judas; that he was scourged, crowned with thorns, and given vinegar to drink; that he was put to death on the Passover and buried before the Sabbath began; and that his twelve apostles spread a story of his resurrection.[33]
A great misfortune struck Israel in the year 3651 (c. 90 BCE). A man of the tribe of Judah, Joseph Pandera, lived near a widow who had a daughter called Miriam. This virgin was betrothed to Yohanan, a Torah-learned and God-fearing man of the house of David. Before the end of a certain Sabbath, Joseph looked lustfully at Miriam, knocked on her door and pretended to be her husband, but she only submitted against her will. When Yohanan came later to see her, she was surprised how strange his behavior was. Thus they both knew of Pandera’s crime and Miriam’s fault. Without witnesses to punish Pandera, Yohanan left for Babylonia.
Miriam gave birth to Yehoshua, whose name later depreciated to Yeshu. When old enough, she took him to study the Jewish tradition. One day he walked with his head uncovered, showing disrespect, in front of the sages. This betrayed his illegitimacy and Miriam admitted him as Pandera’s son. Scandalised, he fled to Upper Galilee.
Yeshu later went to the Jerusalem Temple and learned the letters of God’s ineffable name (one could do anything desired by them). He gathered 310 young men and proclaimed himself the Messiah, claiming Isaiah’s “a virgin shall conceive and bear a son” and other prophets prophesied about him. Using God’s name he healed a lame man, they worshipped him as the Messiah. The Sanhedrin decided to arrest him, and sent messengers to invite him to Jerusalem. They pretended to be his disciples to trick him.
Bound before Queen Helen, the sages accused him of sorcery. When he brought a corpse to life, she released him.
Accused again, the queen sent for his arrest. He asked his disciples not to resist. Using God’s name he made birds of clay and caused them to fly. The sages then got Judah Iskarioto to learn the name. At a contest of miracles between the two, they both lost knowledge of the name.
Yeshu was arrested and beaten with pomegranate staves. He was taken to Tiberias and bound to a synagogue pillar. Vinegar was given to him to drink and a crown of thorns was put on his head. An argument broke out between the elders and Yeshu followers resulting in their escape to Antioch (or Egypt). On the day before the Passover, Yeshu decided to go to the Temple and recover the secret name. He entered Jerusalem riding on an ass, but one of his followers, Judah Iskarioto, told the sages he was in the Temple. On a day before the Passover, they tried to hang him on a tree; using the name he caused it, and any tree they should use, to break. A cabbage stalk, being not a tree, was used successfully to hang him on, and he was buried.
His followers on Sunday told the queen that he was not in his grave, that he ascended to heaven as he had prophesied. As a gardener took him from the grave, they searched it and could not find him. But the gardener confessed he had taken it to prevent his followers from stealing his body and claiming his ascension to heaven. Recovering the body, the sages tied it to horse tail and took it to the queen. Convinced he was a false prophet, she ridiculed his followers and commended the sages.[34]
In the Strassburg Manuscript, Mary was seduced by a soldier called Ben Pandera. The child Jesus shows great impudence by appearing bareheaded and disputing the Law with teachers. The miracle working powers of Jesus are attributed to having stolen the Name of God from the Temple. Jesus claims messianic dignity and is accused of sorcery by the Jews in front of Queen Helena of Jerusalem, but Jesus raises a man from the dead in front of the Queen's eyes and is released. Jesus goes to Galilee where he brings clay birds to life and makes a millstone float. (Klausner notes that the Toledot scarcely ever denies Gospel miracles, but merely changes good to evil.[35]) Judas Iscariot, the hero of the tale, learns the Divine Name as well, and Jesus and Judas fly through the sky engaged in aerial combat, with Judas victorious. The now powerless Jesus is arrested and put to death by being hung upon a carob tree, and buried. The body is taken away and his ascension is claimed by his apostles on the basis of the empty tomb. But Jesus's body is found hidden in a garden and is dragged back to Jerusalem and shown to Queen Helena.[23]
A third major recension was published by Johann Jacob Huldreich (or Huldrich) in Leyden, Holland, in 1705, with a Latin translation, as Historia Jeschuae Nazareri by "Johannes Jocabus Huldricus". This was based on a Hebrew manuscript, now lost, and has its own unique variants.[36] A summary of it is presented by Rev. Sabine Baring-Gould, The Lost and Hostile Gospels (1874, London) pages 102-115, who surmised (because of some of the errors and anecdotes) that it was of medieval German origin, perhaps not even predating Martin Luther (page 115).
Samuel Krauss reprinted a version recounting that Miriam had been betrothed to a nobleman by the name of Yochanan, who was both a descendant of the House of David, and a God-fearing Torah scholar.[3] In Yochanan's absence her neighbor, Yosef ben Pandera forced his way upon her,[37] coercing her into an act of sexual intercourse during her Niddah (i.e., menstruation, a period of ritual impurity during which relations are forbidden according to Jewish Law). The fruit of the affair was a son she named Yeshu, "the bastard son of a menstruate woman."[3]
Krauss's book, Das Leben Jesu nach juedischen Quellen, published in Berlin in 1902, contained a study of nine different versions of the Toledot, and remains the leading scholarly work in the field (but has not yet been translated into English).[17]
Due probably to its offensive nature both Jewish and Christian scholars have until recently paid little attention to it.[38] The opinion of Father Edward H. Flannery is representative: "This scurrilous fable of the life of Jesus is a medieval work, probably written down in the tenth century, .... Though its contents enjoyed a certain currency in the oral traditions of the Jewish masses, it was almost totally ignored by official or scholarly Judaism. Anti-Semites have not failed to employ it as an illustration of the blasphemous character of the Synagogue."[39] As Hugh J. Schonfield noted, "... only a very limited number of Jews set any store by it. By most it was even at this time regarded as a jest, a dubious after-dinner take for Christmas eve, and those who retailed its sordid details only faintly associated the principal character with the Jesus of the Christians."[26]
According to Alan Humm: "There is no scholarly consensus on to what extent the text might be a direct parody of a now lost gospel. H.J. Schonfield argued that it was so closely connected to the Gospel of the Hebrews that he attempted to reconstruct that lost work from the Toledoth."[40]
In 1874, Sabine Baring-Gould published The Lost and Hostile Gospels, which included lengthy summaries of two versions of the Toledoth Jeschu - the Wagenseil and one called the Huldreich (so named from the editor of a 1705 Latin edition and with differences from other versions) - as well as quotations and descriptions of apocryphal and lost gospels of early Christian history. He evidently regarded the Toledoth as representing early anti-Christian folklore, largely motivated by the oppression suffered by Jews.[41] In 1903, G.R.S. Mead, a well known Theosophist, published Did Jesus Live 100 BC?, which treated the Toledoth Yeshu as sufficiently authentic and reliable to postulate, on the basis of its mention of historic figures such as Queen Helene, that Jesus actually lived a century earlier than commonly believed.[42] In 1937, the Jewish New Testament scholar, Hugh J. Schonfield, published According to the Hebrews, which theorized that the Toledoth was considerably more ancient than commonly thought and may have constituted the "Gospel of the Hebrews", a lost (and presumably heretical) book mentioned by name, but not otherwise described, in some early Christian literature.[43] These books provided translations of the Toledoth - Mead including some indelicate verses omitted by Schonfield, and Schonfield identifying Talmudic and Islamic passages that may have supplied the content of the Toledoth.
Scholarly consensus, according to van Voorst, dismisses it as an unreliable source for the historical Jesus: "It may contain a few older traditions from ancient Jewish polemics against Christians, but we learn nothing new or significant from it". Scholars, however, still look for reliable traditions on Jesus in it.[44] Jane Schaberg contends it lends weight to the theory that Mary conceived Jesus as the result of being raped.[4]
Other Jewish polemic or apologetic sources:
The works bear striking resemblance to Christian legends regarding Simon Magus, and to 12th century Christian portrayals of Muhammad.[2]
The book is mentioned in the poem The Ring and the Book by Robert Browning.[45]