This verse, like the others in the death of Judas section, has no direct parallel in the other gospels. This verse is likely influenced by Zechariah 11:12–13 in the Hebrew Bible that has money being thrown into the potter of the temple. Another parallel is 2 Samuel 17:23 where Ahithophel hangs himself after betraying David.[1] It does not match the death of Judas described in Acts, where he perishes of disease.
The suicide of Judas in this verse is one of the central texts in the later Christian view of suicide as a great sin. Suicide becomes closely linked to the sin of Judas's betrayal. Jewish law of the period had no such moral prohibition of suicide, and killing oneself after repenting evil acts was at times praised in Jewish literature of the period.[2] Such a positive view of suicide was also widespread in Greco-Roman morality.[3]
There has long been a debate as to the exact nature of Judas in the gospels. Davies and Allison,[4] and Nolland feels that Matthew's narrative is one of a repentant Judas whose suicide is not described as an evil act, but one of contrition.[5] Other scholars disagree. Keener argues that even to the Romans, the context of Judas' suicide was deeply dishonourable.[6]
The translation of τον ναον is debated. It can be read as the coin being thrown "into the temple", "in the temple", or "into the sanctuary." The inner sanctuary translation is the most literal, and is how Matthew usually interprets τον ναον. It is also the most problematic. The inner sanctuary of the temple was a secure area where only priests were permitted, to which Judas would not have had access. Some early manuscripts address this problem by changing this verse to specify that it is the temple, not the sanctuary where the coins are going, but the earliest sources agree that τον ναον was the term the author of Matthew used. While the author of Matthew would have been aware of the rules surrounding the Temple sanctuary, he may be using the term to emphasize the defilement with the blood money corrupting the holy place and presaging the destruction of the Temple itself.[7] Gundry feels the wording is a specific reference to Zechariah, and does not have implications beyond that.[8]
Another view is that while τον ναον literally meant the sanctuary, it was also an accepted term for the temple itself and the temple complex. The temple was home to the treasury, and Judas' act may be interpreted as returning the coins to where they came from, in the parallel verse in Zechariah the coins are returned to the "potter", usually understood to be a term for a foundry where coins would be made.[9]
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