The Gospel of Judas in Context

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The Astrolabe

An ancient instrument for solving problems of location and distance, as well as time

Astrolábon órganon is the word used in Ptolemaeus Syntaxis 5.1 to describe a form of armillary sphere consisting of both fixed and rotating rings for determining the ecliptic co-ordinates of stars. Also called astrolabe were two-dimensional representations of the celestial sphere: over fixed disks with a representation of the horizon of the earth (in each case for a specific geographic latitude) and its parallels up to the zenith lies a rotating representation of the heavens (called ‘spider’ or ‘net’) with zodiac and indicators for some of the brightest stars. On the back is an indicator (‘alidade’) with visor plates for calculating the height of the stars. The astrolabe allows its user to determine the hours of day and night, the positions of stars, and the height and depth of objects on earth (mountains, buildings, wells). The oldest extant descriptions of the flat, planispheric astrolabe come from Iohannes Philoponus, 6th century AD, and (in Syrian) from Severus Sebokht, c. 660 AD. Indirect references may date back as early as Theon (4th cent.). Between the 8th and the 9th centuries the Arabs appropriated the knowledge of the astrolabe. At the end of the 10th century and again in the 12th century, they passed it on to Western Europe, where astrolabes were constructed up until the 17th cent. Today, one Byzantine astrolabe (from 1062) is extant, as are some 750 Arabic-Islamic astrolabes and approximately the same number of European astrolabes.

This information is abstracted from Brill's New Pauly, the English edition of the authoritative Der Neue Pauly, Encyclopaedia of the Ancient World. The encyclopaedic coverage and high academic standard of the work, the interdisciplinary and contemporary approach and clear and accessible presentation have made the New Pauly the unrivalled modern reference work for the ancient world. For more information see www.brillsnewpauly.com or visit our website catalog: www.brill.nl/bnp
Brill’s New Pauly and the complete original Der Neue Pauly, the recognized standard reference works for students and scholars of the ancient world are also available online. This dual-language edition offers basic and advanced search facilities and is fully browsable. New English translations are added as they become available. See www.paulyonline.brill.nl for more information and a demo version.

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Publications & Services> Books> Book Series> The Gospel of Judas in Context

The Gospel of Judas in Context

Proceedings of the First International Conference on the Gospel of Judas Paris, Sorbonne, October 27th-28th, 2006

edited by Madeleine Scopello

Books

Available
Publication year: 2008


Series:	Nag Hammadi and Manichaean Studies, 62
ISBN-13 (i)The ISBN (International Standard Book Number) has been changed from 10 to 13 digits on 1 January 2007:	978 90 04 16721 6
ISBN-10:	90 04 16721 8

Cover:	Hardback
Number of pages:	xvi, 404 pp.

List price:	€ 99.00 / US$ 147.00

Table of contents

Madeleine Scopello, Introduction

Textual and Literary Issues

Nathalie Bosson, L’Évangile de Judas. Notes linguistiques et stylistiques
Jean-Pierre Mahé, Mise en scène et effets dramatiques dans l’Évangile de Judas
Stephen Emmel, The Presuppositions and the Purpose of the Gospel of Judas
Marvin Meyer, Interpreting Judas: Ten Passages in the Gospel of Judas

Sources and Influences

James M. Robinson, The Sources of the Gospel of Judas
Glenn Most, The Judas of the Gospels and the Gospel of Judas
Christian-B. Amphoux, Judas et les frères de Jésus
Bernard Pouderon, Judas, l’homme double. Recherches sur les archétypes du disciple qui trahit Jésus dans l’Évangile de Judas
Cécile Dogniez, Les trente pièces d’argent de Judas

Judas: Traditions and History

Majella Franzmann, Judas as an Abraham Figure in the Gospel of Judas
Madeleine Scopello, Traditions angélologiques et mystique juive dans l’Évangile de Judas
Simon C. Mimouni, La figure de Judas et les origines du christianisme : entre tradition et histoire. Quelques remarques et réflexions
Francisco García Bazán, The Gnostic Gospels and the Gospel of Judas
Jean-Daniel Dubois, L’Évangile de Judas et la tradition basilidienne

Judas: Hero or Villain?

Einar Thomassen, Is Judas really the Hero of the Gospel of Judas?
Louis Painchaud, Aspects polémiques de l’Évangile de Judas
John D. Turner, The Place of the Gospel of Judas in Sethian Tradition
April Deconick, The Mystery of Betrayal. What does the Gospel of Judas Really Say?

Thematical Approaches

José Montserrat-Torrents, La cosmologie de l’Évangile de Judas
Ezio Albrile, Shining like a Star Man Iranian Elements in the Gospel of Judas
Seonyoung Kim, The Gospel of Judas and the Stars
Patricio de Navascués, Liturgy, Eschatology and Arithmology in the Gospel of Judas
Anna Van den kerchove, La maison, l’autel et les sacrifices : quelques remarques sur la polémique dans l’Évangile de Judas
Fernando Bermejo Rubio, L’ambiguïté du rire dans l’Évangile de Judas : les limites d’une Umwertung gnostique

Bibliography
Indexes:
Modern authors
Biblical references
Ancient Sources

Reviews

This is an important collection of scholarly articles on ...the Gospel of Judas. It helpfully dampens-down some of teh more sensational claims made in the popular media. The findings are based on close reading of the text and teh contribution in perceiving the figure of Judas to be a paordy of apostolic Christianity provides a compelling reading of the text.
Paul Foster, Edinburgh, The Expository Times, March 2009

Readership

All those interested in the religious and cultural history of late Antiquity, New Testament studies, Christian origins, Gnosticism and Coptic literature as well as Coptic philologists.

About the author(s)

Madeleine Scopello, Doctor in Classics and Philosophy, University of Turin; HDR, University of Sorbonne, Paris, is Directeur de Recherche at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique at the University of Sorbonne, Paris. She has published extensively on Gnosticism and Manichaeism, including L'Exégèse de l'âme (Brill, 1985), L'Allogène (Peeters-Presses de l'Université Laval, 2004), Femme, Gnose et Manichéisme (Brill, 2005).
Contributors include: Nathalie Bosson; Jean-Pierre Mahé; Stephen Emmel; Marvin Meyer; James M. Robinson; Glenn Most; Bernard Pouderon; Cécile Dogniez; Majella Franzmann; Madeleine Scopello; Simon C. Mimouni; Jean-Daniel Dubois; Einar Thomassen; Louis Painchaud; John D. Turner; April D. DeConick; José Montserrat-Torrents; Ezio Albrile; Seonyoung Kim; Anna Van den Kerchove; Fernando Bermejo Rubio.

The papers gathered in this book were presented at the First International Conference (held in Paris, University of Sorbonne, October 27th-28th 2006), devoted to the newly discovered Gospel of Judas, preserved in the 4th century Coptic Codex Tchacos. These essays explore several crucial literary, historical and doctrinal issues related to this gospel, composed in the second half of the 2nd century. This unexpected discovery sheds a new light on the role attributed to Judas by some Gnostic Christian movements. A hotly debated question is precisely the significance of Judas in this gospel: hero or villain? Special attention is given to the sources - Greek, Jewish, Christian and even Iranian - used by the unknown author. This book will be of special interest for historians of late Antiquity religions and scholars in New Testament studies, Gnosticism and Coptic literature.

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