The Star of Judas in the Gospel of Judas

THE STAR OF JUDAS IN THE GOSPEL OF JUDAS

Niclas Förster

A special characteristic of the Gospel of Judas is its astronomical and astrological interest, especially traces of concerns about the influence of stars and planets. According to the Gospel of Judas, Jesus informed the twelve disciples: “Each of you has his own star.”1 Judas also is related to a star of his own. This star is mentioned in several passages of the Gospel and its influence can be considered to be negative because the star of Judas “led him astray.”2 Since 2006, when the text of the Tchacos Codex was published, scholars have been discussing the astral character of these passages, presupposing that each soul is assigned to a star.3 Ezio Albrile has examined the astral character of these passages against the background of Zoroastrianism as it may have evolved into Gnosticism.4 Already Seonyoung Kim has compared it with contemporary astrological writings.5 However, what celestial body should be identified as the star that influenced Judas is a question that has not yet been raised. In this paper, I will try to answer this question by scrutinizing Judas’ star, placing it against the background of Gnosticism and the religious history of antiquity. The idea that a special star is related to Judas will be explained as a symbol of his superior position, especially in comparison with the other disciples of Jesus, but also with respect to humanity as a whole. Nevertheless the star of Judas belongs to the earthly sphere of the seven planets because it deceives Judas and does not reveal to him any knowledge about the first unknown God and the house of the holy which are both localized above the seven heavens of the planets. This deception is explicitly stressed by Jesus.6 It is in this context that

1 Gos. Jud. 42.7–8. 2 Gos. Jud. 45.12–14. 3 E.g. the possible connection to Plato Tim 41d–42b was discussed by Meyer 2006, 153–154. 4 Albrile 2008. 5 Kim 2008. 6 Gos. Jud. 45.13. 326 niclas förster

Jesus declares that the sun and the moon do not influence the sphere situated above the seven heavens.7 At the end of the Gospel a final passage describes how Judas enters a cloud of light. In this passage, Jesus reveals to him that among the stars surrounding this cloud the star of Judas “goes ahead” of the others.8 In another passage, Jesus mentions six wandering stars. This is probably an allusion to the plants circling around the sun that stands firm in the middle.9 Associated with the imagery of Judas’ star is the number 13. Reflecting the Sethian Gnosticism that is present in the Gospel of Judas, Judas is described as the thirteenth disciple and the thirteenth daemon. This numerology is associated with the creator and ruler of the earthly realm.10 In Sethian writings, this world creator is often called Yaldabaoth. So in this Sethian Gnostic system, Judas is related to Yaldabaoth (also called Saklas), the creator and ruler of the lower and earthly realms.11 Thus Judas’ star, the thirteenth heavenly being, will preside over the archontic kingdom whose work is “everything that is evil”.12 What is this star? The star of Judas, which “goes ahead” of the others and rules over them? What is the thirteenth heavenly being in relation to the twelve, which is situated underneath the sphere of the fixed stars? As I will argue, Judas’ star is the sun.

Popular Astrology

I will begin my observations on the sun as Judas’ star by a brief over- view of some essential features of astrology contemporary to the Gos- pel of Judas. Here we should keep in mind that in the second century astrology was at the peak of its theoretical development. It influenced a large part of the intellectual climate of Roman society, so much so that several emperors shared its convictions. In addition to this, many people who lived around the Mediterranean at this time regarded the

7 Gos. Jud. 45.20–21. 8 Gos. Jud. 59.19–20. 9 Gos. Jud. 55.17–18. 10 Cf. the discussion of the place of the Gospel of Judas in Sethian tradition by Bran- kaer-Bethge 2007, 431–433; Turner 2008a, 190–209 and Schenke Robinson 2008a, 75–80. The relevant passages could be secondarily inserted. However, the additions do not concern the section about the star of Judas; cf. the discussion by Schenke Robinson 2008a, 78. 11 Brankaer-Bethge 2007, 343 and 428–433 on the cosmology of the Gos. Jud. 12 Gos. Jud. 56.17.