The very name of Judas has a sor of hiss in it. Its sylables conjure up memories of such consistent villainy as precludes one relieving virtue. We think of him as a gnarled fiend from boyhood, skulking through the years with a malevolent gleam of hate glinting in his eyes. But we have the wrong idea. When Jesus chose him as one of the twelve, he had many attractive virtues and was a young man of real promise. He was faithful in many tasks committed to hi in his earlier ministry. His name means "Praise!" His second name, Iscariot, seems like a "significant combination of harsh bitterness in sounds," but it means nothing more sinister than "the man of Kerioth."
- Paul E. Holdcraft, {Cyclopedia of Bible Illustrations} (New York: Abingdon-Cokesbury Press) 13-14
Be the first to react on this!
