54
CHRISTIANITY IN TALMUD
clearly to the historical Jesus ; for the simple act of
idolatry mentioned in the story cannot be called a
'causing of the multitude to sin.' What the point
may be of the statement that Jesus hung up a tile,
a burnt brick, and worshipped it, I cannot explain.
This passage is found in its full extent only in the
Babylonian Gemara, and is probably of very late
date. It is introduced as an illustration of the saying,
11 Let the left hand repel and the right hand invite."
But there was already an illustration of that saying in
the case of Elisha and Gehazi, and the whole passage
is brought in, where it occurs in the tractate San-
hedrin, as belonging to the subject of Gehazi. I sug-
gest that the mention of R. Jehoshua and Jesus was
an addition founded on the Palestinian tradition and
prompted by the mention of Elisha and Gehazi ; and
further that this addition was made in the schools of
Babylonia, upon uncertain authority. It is not cited
under the name of any Rabbi ; and the last sentence
of it, which distinctly refers it to Jesus, only does so
on the authority of ' a teacher,' whose name, presum-
ably, was not known. The glaring anachronism, of
making Jesus contemporary with R. Jehoshua b.
Perahjah, is more easy to understand on this theory,
than if we suppose the story to have originated in
Palestine at a time nearer to that when Jesus actually
lived.'
JESUS A MAGICIAN
.
(See also (1) above.)
(8) T. Shabb. xi. 15.
He that cuts marks on his
l f
esh ' ; R. Eliezer condemns, the wise permit.
AA
to the other anachronism, which makes Jesus contemporary with R.
Aqiba, a century after his own time, see above, p. 40.
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