Welcome to Be-True :: Preserving Jewish Identity for Future Generations, Now!

Jesus In The Talmud

Beginning

Conclusion

Historians

Jesus in Hell

The Accusation

Insults Against Blessed Mary, Sanhedrin 106a
. Says Jesus’ mother was a whore: “She who was the descendant of princes
and governors played the harlot with carpenters.” Also in footnote #2 to
Shabbath 104b it is stated that in the “uncensored” text of the Talmud
it is written that Jesus mother, “Miriam the hairdresser,” had sex with
many men.

“Jesus was a bastard born of adultery.” (Yebamoth
49b, p.324).

“Mary was a whore: Jesus (Balaam) was an evil
man.” (Sanhedrin 106a &b, p.725).

“Jesus was a magician and a fool. Mary was an
adulteress”. (Shabbath 104b, p.504).

The reference to Shabbat 104b will be taken up in the section on the
Jesus
narrative.

The Text

Mishnah Yevamot 4:18

R. Shimon ben Azzai said: I found a book of geneologies in Jerusalem
and in it is written “The man Plony is a bastard.”

This is claimed to be a reference to Jesus. However, this claim is patently
ridiculous. The Mishnah was most likely referring to a famous person
and, due to the lack of any practical ramifications, his name was left
out by the compilers of the Mishnah. Plony is a biblical term used
similar to John Doe today (cf. Ruth 4:1). The keeping of geneological
records was very common in talmudic times so that regular Jews did not
marry bastards and violate the biblical prohibition (Deuteronomy 23:3).

Investigations into lineage and proclamations of bastardy were not uncommon
(cf. Nehemiah 7:5; Talmud Kiddushin 70b-71a). There is no reason
to assume that this refers to Jesus.

Gustaf Dalman rejects the assertion that this Mishnah refers to Jesus
[Dalman, Die Worte Jesus (Liepzig: Hinrichs, 1898), p. 4 n. 2].
Similarly, RT Herford calls this suggestion “doubtful and probably unfounded”
[Herford, "Jesus in Rabbinical Literature", The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia,
vol. 6 pp. 87-88]. Johann Maier calls it “odd speculation” [Maier,
Jesus
von Nazareth in der talmudischen Uberlieferung, p. 50]. All of
this is cited approvingly by John P. Meier in his highly acclaimed

A
Marginal Jew, vol. I p. 108 n. 53. See also Avraham Korman’s
discussion in Zeramim Vekitot Beyahadut, pp. 348-349.

The Text

Sanhedrin 106a

R. Yochanan said (regarding Balaam): In the beginning a prophet, in
the end a sorcerer.

Rav Papa said: As people say, “She was the descendant of princes and
rulers, she played the harlot with carpenters.”

Here we come to the common distortion that references in the talmud
to Balaam are really veiled references to Jesus. As we shall soon
see, Balaam is not a talmudic codeword for Jesus. Therefore, the
passage above is referring solely to Balaam and not to Jesus. Besides
this fact, read the passage closely and you will see that Rav Papa is offering
a parable that explains R. Yochanan’s statement. It is impossible
to read R. Yochanan’s statement as referring to Jesus and Rav Papa’s as
referring to Jesus’ mother.

R. Yochanan is saying that Balaam had tremendous potential and started
out as a true prophet of G-d. However, he turned to evil and in the
end of his life became a sorcerer (i.e. user of black magic). This
tradition regarding Balaam’s descent was also recorded in the Tanchuma
[Balak, 5] and in Yalkut Shimoni [Numbers, 771].

Rav Papa adds a parable to explain this. Consider a woman who
is married to a powerful ruler who leads their people out into battle.
She is used to being the wife of someone strong, whose powerful hands can
skillfully manipulate a sword and overcome any opponents. If her husband
were to die she would still want to marry someone in a similar position
of leadership and strength. Even if this widow is continually passed over
by those she wishes to marry, she will still strive for her former glory,
and will even marry a carpenter who, while not leading his countrymen out
into battle, still must skillfully handle tools. Even when the ability
to reach her old glory is obviously absent, she will still try everything
possible to reach any position that remotely resembles it.

Similarly, Balaam started out as a man with prophecy (like a prince
or ruler). He was capable of seeing the future and even manipulating it
through his curses and blessings. However, when he lost that gift when
G-d removed his prophecy, Balaam still wanted to see the future, even resorting
to such pale comparisons as sorcery and black magic (like a carpenter).

This passage has absolutely nothing to do with Jesus and there is certainly
no insult implied towards Mary.

Cf. R. Meir HaLevi Abulafia, Yad Ramah, Sanhedrin ad. loc.; Ephraim
Urbach, “Rabbinic Exegesis About Gentile Prophets And The Balaam Passage”
(Hebrew), Tarbitz (25:1956), p. 284 n. 56.

The Accusation

Gloats over Jesus Dying Young, A passage from
Sanhedrin 106 gloats over the early age at which Jesus died: “Hast thou
heard how old Balaam (Jesus) was?–He replied: It is not actually stated
but since it is written, Bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half
their days it follows that he was thirty-three or thirty-four years old.”

The Passage

Sanhedrin 106b

A sectarian said to R. Chanina: Do you know how old Balaam was?
[R. Chanina] replied: It is not written. However, since it says (Psalms
55:24) “Men of bloodshed and deceit will not live out half their days…”
he was 33 or 34. [The heretic] said: You said well. I have
seen the chronicle of Balaam and it said “At 33 years Balaam the lame was
killed by Pinchas (Phineas) the robber.”

Again we see the assumption that Balaam is a codeword for Jesus.
Here the connection is that Jesus died at the age of 33, and this passage
says that Balaam died at that age also. Also, Pinchas and Pontius
Pilate both have the letter “P” in their names. Even if this passage
refers to Jesus, which it does not, I do not see any gloating.

However, historians generally agree that this passage does not refer
to Jesus. The following is taken from Encyclopedia Judaica (“Jesus”,
vol. 10 p. 16) [transliteration from Hebrew changed for consistency]:

However, it is impossible to imagine that a Christian would
ask a Jew how old Jesus was, and call the Gospel Balaam’s Chronicle or
that Pontius Pilate, who is not mentioned even once in the whole of rabbinic
literature, should be referred to as Pinchas the robber. The sectarian
referred to was merely a member of a Gnostic sect who was testing whether
Chanina could answer a question that was not answered in the Torah.

Balaam’s Chronicle was an apocryphal book on Balaam. These books
often adopted an unfavorable attitude to the patriarchs and the prophets
and it was possible that Pinchas of the Bible was called in them Pinchas
the robber.

Cf. Urbach, ibid., p. 284; W. Bacher, Jewish Quarterly Review O.S.
3, pp. 456-457; Chanoch Zundel Ben Yosef, Eitz Yosef to Ein Ya’akov,
Sotah 11a sv Balaam.

To clarify the issue, let us now address the general claim that Balaam
is a talmudic codeword for Jesus.

Balaam

Balaam in rabbinic literature is one of the archetype villains.
As we shall see, he was a powerful man whose prophecy and closeness with
G-d gave him potential to do much good. However, he chose to use
those gifts towards evil. Because of his terrific potential that
was utterly twisted, his heavenly abilities that were perverted towards
wrongdoing, he is considered the prime example of corruption.

Some scholars have suggested that Balaam is a codeword in talmudic literature
for Jesus. However, we will show that Balaam is considered the paragon
of evil in passages that cannot refer to Jesus and from these passages
we can see that there is no compelling reason to read other similar passages
as referring to Jesus. Indeed, reading these passages as referring
to Jesus would be breaking with the established understanding of the talmud.

Sifrei on Deuteronomy 34:10

“Never again did there arise in Israel a prophet like Moses” – But
in other nations there did arise. Who? Balaam the son of Beor.
But there is a difference between Moses’s prophecy and Balaam’s prophecy.

Moses did not know who spoke to him but Balaam knew who spoke to him,
as it says (Numbers 24:16) “The words of the one who hears the sayings
of G-d…”

Moses did not know when G-d would speak to him until he was spoken to
but Balaam knew when He would speak, as it says (ibid.) “Who knows the
knowledge of the Supreme One…”

With Moses, G-d would not speak to him until he was standing, as it
says (Deuteronomy 5:28) “But as for you, stand here with Me…” But
with Balaam, G-d would speak to him even while fallen, as it says (Numbers
24:4) “Who sees the vision of the Almighty, while fallen with uncovered
eyes.”

We see here a clear reference to the biblical Balaam. The descriptions
of his awesome prophetic powers, greater than Moses’s, are inferred from
verses describing the biblical Balaam. There is no way that this
passage can refer to Jesus or to Yeshu.

Avot DeRabbi Natan 2:5

Why is Job called (Job 1:8) “A perfect and upright man”? To teach
us that he was born circumcised. Adam was also born circumcised as
it says (Genesis 1:27) “So G-d created man in His image…” Seth
was also born circumcised as it says (ibid. 5:2 ) “He begot in his likeness
and his image…” Noah was also born circumcised… Shem was also
born circumcised… Jacob was also born circumcised… Joseph
was also born circumcised… Moses was also born circumcised…

Even the wicked Balaam was born circumcised… Samuel was also born
circumcised… David was also born circumcised… Jeremiah
was also born circumcised… Zerubabel was also born circumcised…

The Talmud here is working with the understanding that circumcision
is the final step in the creation of a man. An uncircucised man is
not quite complete and G-d gave it to us to finish the job and complete
the creation of man by circumcising him. However, there were some
people born with such potential for greatness and perfection that they
were born already circumcised. They were born destined for perfection.

Among this list of heroes, this list of righteous and holy leaders, is
Balaam. He was born with the potential for greatness which he unfortunately
perverted towards evil with his free will.

It is clear, however, based on the chronological order, that this refers
to the biblical Balaam and not Jesus or Yeshu. Both Jesus and Yeshu
would have been listed after David, Jeremiah, and Zerubabel.

Talmud Sanhedrin 106a

Numbers (24:14) “Come, I shall advise you…” Rabbi Abba bar
Kahana said: [Balaam] said to them: Their G-d hates promiscuity and
they desire flaxen clothes. Let me give you this advice. Make
tents and put old prostitutes in front of them and young ones inside…

When the Jews are walking in the market, the old lady offers to sell them
clothes at market value and the young one offers it cheaper. After
two or three times she tells him that he is already a comfortable visitor
and should choose what he wants, all the while a bottle of Amonite wine
sitting beside her. She offers him a glass of wine. After he
drinks it will burn him up and he will ask for sex. She will take
out her idol and demand that he worship it first. He will say that
he is a Jew and she will say that all she is asking is that he defecate
[and he will not know that this is the worship of that idol]. She
will also say that she will not sleep with him until he denounces the Torah
of Moses.

This passage discusses the surprising transition in the biblical narrative
from Balaam’s prophecy (Numbers 24) directly into (Numbers 25:1) “Israel
settled in the Shittim and the people began to commit harlotry with the
daughters of Moab.” The talmud’s explanation is that Balaam, the
paid advisor of Moab (see Numbers 22), showed the Moabites how and why
to entice the Jewish men into harlotry.

This passage is clearly about Balaam and it describes both his cleverness
and his despicability. There are many more passages that show that
Balaam is considered by the talmud to be both a powerful and utterly wicked
man who earned the title of most hated villain.

Mishnah Avot 5:19

Whosoever possesses these three qualities belongs to the disciples
of Abraham our father: a generous eye, a humble spirit, and a meek soul.
But he who possesses the three opposite qualities — an evil eye, a proud
spirit, and a haughty soul — is of the disciples of Balaam the wicked.

How do the disciples of Abraham differ from the disciples of Balaam?
The disciples of Abraham enjoy this world and inherit the world to come,
as it is written (Proverbs 8:21) “Endowing with wealth those who love me,
and filling their treasuries.” The disciples of Balaam inherit Gehenna
and go down to the pit of destruction, as it is written (Psalm 55:23) “But
you, O G-d, will cast them down into the lowest pit; the bloodthirsty and
treacherous shall not live out half their days. But I will trust in you.”

Here again, we see that Balaam is the paragon of evil. Using strictly
Old Testament examples, the Mishnah tries to demonstrate the proper
attitudes one should take in life.

The point of all these examples is to show that Balaam
is viewed in rabbinic literature as the ultimate villain. Through
indisputable proofs we have shown that the biblical Balaam, not Jesus or
Yeshu, is consistently painted as someone destined for greatness who instead
misused his talents for evil. In contemporary terms, he is the Darth
Vader of the Bible. It is therefore no surprise that historians can
find many passages that denigrate Balaam. However, there is every
reason to believe that these passages refer to the actual Balaam and not
to Jesus or Yeshu.

There are some historians who believe that Balaam is a
talmudic codeword for Jesus. However, this theory has not stood up
to the scrutiny of academic talmudic scholarship and has fallen out of
favor with historians.

Professor Louis Ginzberg, “Some Observations on the Attitude of the
Synagogue Towards the Apocalyptic-Eschatological Writings”, Journal
of Biblical Literature (1922), p. 121 n. 18

One may therefore state with absolute certainty that the entire Talmudic-Midrashic
literature does not know of any nicknames for Jesus or his disciples.

John P. Meier, A
Marginal Jew (1991), vol. 1 p. 95

For instance, a radical position is represented by Johann Maier, who
maintains that not only the Mishna but also both Talmuds lack any authentic,
direct mention of Jesus of Nazareth⁴¹…

In my opinion, Maier’s arguments are especially convincing for the Mishna
and other early rabbinic material: no text cited from that period really
refers to Jesus. He thus confirms the view I defend in this section.

41 See Johann Maier, Jesus von Nazareth in der talmudischen
Uberlieferung (Ertrage der Forschung 82; Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche
Buchgesellschaft, 1978). His position, which is argued in minute
detail throughout the volume, is summarized on pp. 263-75.

The noted historian of rabbinics, Ephraim E. Urbach, dedicated an article
to explaining the rabbinic view of Balaam and debunking the theory that
Balaam is a talmudic codeword for Jesus. See Ephraim Urbach, “Rabbinic
Exegesis About Gentile Prophets And The Balaam Passage” (Hebrew), Tarbitz
(25:1956), pp. 272-289.

The Accusation

Gittin 57a. Says Jesus is in hell, being boiled
in “hot excrement.”

The Text

Talmud Gittin 56b-57a

[Onkelos Bar Kalonikus] called up Balaam from the dead. [Onkelos]
asked: Who is honored in that world? [Balaam] replied: Israel. [Onkelos
asked:] What about joining them? [Balaam] replied: (Deut. 23:7) “You
shall not seek their peace or welfare all your days.” [Onkelos] asked:
What is your punishment? [Balaam answered]: In boiling semen.

[Onkelos] called up Yeshu from the dead. [Onkelos] asked: Who
is honored in that world? [Yeshu] replied: Israel. [Onkelos
asked:] What about joining them? [Yeshu] replied: Seek their good.
Do not seek their bad. Whoever touches them is as if he touched the
pupil of his eye. [Onkelos] asked: What is your punishment?
[Yeshu answered]: In boiling excrement. As the mast said: Whoever
mocks the words of the sages in punished in boiling excrement.

Here we see a story of the famous convert Onkelos who, prior to converting,
used black magic to bring up famous villains of history and ask them whether
their wickedness saved them in the world to come. In both cases (there
is a third case of Onkelos calling up Titus as well) the sinner is being
terribly punished in the afterlife while Israel is being rewarded.
Presumably, this helped convince Onkelos to convert to Judaism.

As we have explained elsewhere,
Yeshu is not Jesus of the New Testament. He is most likely
a prominent sectarian of the early first century BCE who deviated from
rabbinic tradition and created his own religion combining Hellenistic paganism
with Judaism. While Yeshu may be the proto-Jesus some scholars point
to as inspiring the early Christians, he is definitely not the man
who was crucified in Jerusalem in the year 33 CE.

Interestingly, if someone were to claim that Yeshu in the passage above
is Jesus, then Balaam cannot also refer to Jesus because both Balaam and
Yeshu are in the passage together. In other words, it is self-contradicting
to claim that the passages above about Balaam’s mother being a harlot or
dying young refer to Jesus and to claim that the passage above about Yeshu
being punished also refers to Jesus. You can’t have it both ways.

Back to home

Rating: 0.0/10 (0 votes cast)

Share and Enjoy: