The trial of Jesus in the Talmud account

Abstract

The extracts treating of Jesus in the rabbinic literature included in the Babylonian Talmud describe the events from the life and public ministry of Master of Nazareth in a very peculiar way. The figure of Jesus is mentioned on the margin of other issues under discussion. Analyzing the report of Jesus’ death in the Babylonian Talmud it can be stated that the reference made to Jesus is of fragmentary character. Nevertheless it is not a literary fiction but a deliberate action of its authors. The text of the Babylonian Sanhedrin 43 a indicates the discrediting of Jesus of Nazareth and the community of his believers. According to the Babylonian Talmud Jesus was sentenced to death on suspicion of idolatry, magic and blasphemy.