PASSAGES RELATING TO JESUS
55
He said to them,
'
And did not Ben Stada
learn only in this way ?' They said to him,
Because of one fool are we to destroy all
discerning people?'
Commentary.-The extract
(1)
above, and the
parallel passage j. Shabb. 13d, contain almost the same
words. I repeat them here because of their reference to
the character of Jesus as a magician. In the
earlier quotation the main reference of the passage
was to the parentage of Jesus.
It has already been shown that Ben Stada denotes
Jesus.
(See above, p. 37 fol.) What is the meaning
of the statement that he brought magical charms
from Egypt concealed in an incision in his flesh? I
do not know of anything related about Jesus which
could have given rise to the detail about the cutting
of his flesh. The charge that he was a magician is
no doubt based on the belief that he did many
miracles, a belief which found ample support in the
Gospel records. We shall see later on that miracles,
whether done by Jews or Christians, were ascribed to
magic, and were not on that account despised. Now
Egypt was regarded as the especial home of magic,
an opinion expressed in the Talmud, b. Qidd. 49b :-
11
Ten measures of sorcery descended into the world,
Egypt received nine, the rest of the world one." To
say that Jesus learnt magic in Egypt is to say that
he was a great magician, more powerful than others.
And as we have seen in the preceding extract (7)
there was a tradition that he had had something to
do with Egypt. As to the manner in which he is
alleged to have brought away with him Egyptian
magic, a curious explanation is given by Rashi (b.
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