Theudas
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- Theudas is also the name of a follower of Paul of Tarsus, who taught Valentinius, for more information, see Theudas (teacher of Valentinius)
Theudas (Thoo duhs) Personal name meaning, "gift of God." Between 44 and 46 CE, he claimed to be the Messiah. About 400 people followed him in what was a short-lived revolt.
Our principal source is Josephus, who wrote:
- It came to pass, while Cuspius Fadus was procurator of Judea, that a certain charlatan, whose name was Theudas, persuaded a great part of the people to take their effects with them, and follow him to the Jordan river; for he told them he was a prophet, and that he would, by his own command, divide the river, and afford them an easy passage over it. Many were deluded by his words. However, Fadus did not permit them to make any advantage of his wild attempt, but sent a troop of horsemen out against them. After falling upon them unexpectedly, they slew many of them, and took many of them alive. They also took Theudas alive, cut off his head, and carried it to Jerusalem. (Jewish Antiquities 20.97-98)
His followers were dispersed, and were never heard of again.
The Theudas problem
In Bible scholarship, the sole reference to Theudas presents a problem of chronology. Gamaliel, a member of the sanhedrin there says:
- "Men of Israel, be cautious in deciding what to do with these men. Some time ago, Theudas came forward, claiming to be soomebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him. But he was killed and his whole following was broken up and disappeared. After him came Judas the Galilean at the time of the census; he induced some people to revolt under his leadership, but he too perished and his whole following was scattered." (NEB, Acts 5:36-8)
The difficulty is that the rising of Theudas is here given as before that of Judas of Galilee, which is itself dated to the time of the taxation (c. 6-7 AD). Josephus, on the other hand, says that Theudas was 45 or 46, which is after Gamaliel is speaking, and long after Judas the Galilean.
There are two arguments put forward to solve this problem. The first is that Luke, the author of the Book of Acts, makes a mistake in his reading of Josephus, that Luke takes a later reference in Josephus to the execution of the sons of Judas the Galilean after the rebellion of Theudas as saying that the rebellion of Judas was later. However, this argument requires both that Acts have been written after Josephus and that Luke have read this one particular work and derived his knowledge of the rebellions solely from it. Another possibility advanced by scholars is that Luke used a completely different source, one that Josephus might have used when he compiled his history. Finally, it is possible that Josephus has his chronology out of order or that there were multiple "Judases" or "Theudases."
Sources
- Flavius Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 20:97-98
- Acts of the apostles 5:36