View source for Theudas

{{short description|1st century AD Jewish rebel}}
{{for|the Gnostic|Theudas (teacher of Valentinus)}}

'''Theudas''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|θj|uː|d|ə|s}}; {{Langx|el|Θευδᾶς}}; died {{circa|46&nbsp;AD}}) was a [[Jew]]ish rebel of the 1st century AD. Scholars attribute to his name a [[Greek language|Greek]] etymology<ref>{{cite book |author=Emil Schürer |author-link=Emil Schürer |others=revised and edited by [[Geza Vermes]], [[Fergus Millar]] and [[Matthew Black]] |title=The History of the Jewish People in the Age of Jesus Christ, Volume I |edition=revised English |year=1973 |publisher=T&T Clark |location=Edinburgh |isbn=0-567-02242-0 |pages=456, n. 6 }}</ref> possibly meant as "flowing with water",<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.ccel.org/ccel/hitchcock/bible_names.txt
| title = Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary
| access-date = 2007-04-16
| year = 1874
| last = Hitchcock
| first = Roswell D.
| publisher = A.J. Johnson
}}
</ref> although with a Hellenist-styled ending. At some point between 44 and 46 AD, Theudas led his followers in a short-lived revolt.

==The revolt==

The principal source for the story of Theudas' revolt is [[Josephus]], who wrote:

<blockquote>It came to pass, while [[Cuspius Fadus]] was [[procurator (Roman)|procurator]] of [[Judaea (Roman province)|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|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 take 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.<ref name="Josephus1824">{{cite book|author=Flavius Josephus|title=The Genuine Works of Flavius Josephus: Containing four books of the Antiquities of the Jews. With the life of Josephus|url=https://archive.org/details/genuineworksoffl03jose|year=1824|publisher=W. Borradaile|pages=[https://archive.org/details/genuineworksoffl03jose/page/177 177]–}}</ref> (''Jewish Antiquities'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0146%3Abook%3D20%3Asection%3D97 20.97-98])</blockquote>

Josephus does not provide a number for Theudas's followers, but the movement was dispersed and never heard of again.

==The Theudas Problem==
{{see also|Historical reliability of the Acts of the Apostles#Acts 5:33-39: Theudas}}
The sole reference to Theudas presents a problem of chronology if one assumes that the [[Acts of the Apostles]] and Josephus are speaking of the same person.<ref name="Talbert2003">{{cite book|author=Charles H. Talbert|title=Reading Luke-Acts in Its Mediterranean Milieu|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-9CKE1F_uK8C&pg=PA200|date=1 January 2003|publisher=BRILL|isbn=90-04-12964-2|pages=200–}}</ref> In Acts, [[Gamaliel]], a member of the [[Sanhedrin]], defends the apostles by referring to Theudas:
{{blockquote|Men of Israel, be cautious in deciding what to do with these men. Some time ago, Theudas came forward, claiming to be somebody, and many men, about four hundred, joined him. But he was killed and his whole following was broken up and disappeared. After he 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. {{Bibleverse|Acts|5:36-7|NEB}} }}

The author of ''Acts'' has Gamaliel, speaking before the year 37, refer to an incident that preceded the revolt of [[Judas of Galilee]] at the time of the [[Census of Quirinius]], which occurred decades before in 6 CE. Josephus makes clear that the revolt of his Theudas took place {{circa|45}}, years after Gamaliel addressed the Sanhedrin and an entire generation after Judas the Galilean.<ref>Louis H. Feldman, Jewish Life and Thought among Greeks and Romans: Primary Readings (A&C Black, 1996) page 335.</ref><ref>Talbert, Charles H. ''Reading Luke-Acts in Its Mediterranean Milieu'' Brill pg 200</ref><ref>Mohd Elfie Nieshaem Juferi, {{cite web|title=Gamaliel And The Revolt Of Theudas|url=https://bismikaallahuma.org/bible/gamaliel-and-the-revolt-of-theudas/|website=bismikaallahuma.org|date=15 October 2005 |access-date=October 15, 2005}}</ref>

It has been proposed that the writer of Acts used Josephus as a source, and made a mistake in reading the text, taking a later reference 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 it is a minority view, since most scholars agree that Luke and Josephus used separate, independent sources.<ref name="Shellard2004">{{cite book|author=Barbara Shellard|title=New Light on Luke: Its Purpose, Sources and Literary Context|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r2Y8CwAAQBAJ&pg=PA32|date=9 July 2004|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|isbn=978-0-567-51485-1|pages=32–}}</ref><ref name="Bruce1990">{{cite book|author=Frederick Fyvie Bruce|title=The Acts of the Apostles: The Greek Text with Introduction and Commentary|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2lN0ibbLOHEC&pg=PA44|date=1 December 1990|publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing|isbn=978-0-8028-0966-7|pages=44–}}</ref> It has also been suggested that the reference in Acts is to a different revolt by another, unknown Theudas,<ref>{{cite encyclopedia | author = W. J. Heard | editor = Joel B. Green, Scot McKnight and [[I. Howard Marshall]] | encyclopedia = Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels | title = Revolutionary Movements, 3.1.2: Theudas | year = 1992 | publisher = InterVarsity Press | location = Downers Grove, Ill. | isbn = 0-8308-1777-8}}</ref><ref>Colin J. Hemer, Conrad H. Gempf, ''The book of Acts in the setting of Hellenistic history'' (Mohr Siebeck, 1989), pages 162-3.</ref><ref>Ronald F. Youngblood, Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Thomas F. Nelson, 2014) page 1128.</ref> because Josephus states that there were numerous uprisings, saying there were "ten thousand disorders", but he gives details on only four and Theudas was not a unique name.<ref name="Williams2011">{{cite book|author=David J. Williams|title=Acts (Understanding the Bible Commentary Series)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_3wz00ot74IC&pg=PT109|date=1 August 2011|publisher=Baker Books|isbn=978-1-4412-3745-3|pages=109–}}</ref> According to [[ancient historian]] and [[New Testament]] scholar [[Paul Barnett (bishop)|Paul Barnett]] "It seems unlikely that Luke would have made an error about an infamous contemporary".<ref name="Barnett2005">{{cite book|author=Paul Barnett|title=The Birth of Christianity: The First Twenty Years|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iEfBfYC5NU4C&pg=PA199|date=29 March 2005|publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing|isbn=978-0-8028-2781-4|pages=199–}}</ref> It is also possible that Josephus himself made a mistake, the ''[[Pulpit Commentary]]'' states: "Josephus may have misplaced the adventure of Theudas by some accidental error. Considering the vast number of Jewish insurrections from the death of Herod the Great to the destruction of Jerusalem, such a mistake is not very improbable."<ref name=Exell>Exell, Joseph S.; Spence-Jones, Henry Donald Maurice (Editors). [http://biblehub.com/commentaries/pulpit/acts/5.htm  On "Acts 5".] In: ''The [[Pulpit Commentary]]''. 23 volumes. First publication: 1890. Electronic Database. Copyright © 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2010 by Biblesoft, Inc.</ref>

==See also==
*[[List of people who were beheaded]]

== References ==
<references/>

== Sources ==
* [[Josephus|Flavius Josephus]], ''Jewish Antiquities'' [http://pace.cns.yorku.ca/York/york/showText?book=20&chapter=5&textChunk=nieseSection&chunkId=97&text=anti&version=whiston 20.97-98]
* [[Acts of the Apostles]] 5:36

== External links ==
* [http://www.christian-thinktank.com/qtheudy.html A response to the Theudas problem]
* [http://jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=188&letter=T&search=Theudas Jewish Encyclopedia: Theudas]

{{New Testament people}}

[[Category:1st-century Jews]]
[[Category:1st-century people]]
[[Category:1st-century executions]]
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]
[[Category:40s deaths]]
[[Category:Executed revolutionaries]]
[[Category:Jewish messiah claimants]]
[[Category:People executed by decapitation]]
[[Category:People executed by the Roman Empire]]
[[Category:People in Acts of the Apostles]]
[[Category:Census of Quirinius]]
[[Category:Jewish rebels]]