Gospel of Judas word of the "denial" by which Jesus spoke in conversation with Judas Iscariot" (Gospel of Judas 33:1). Gagné's conclusion is that this gospel is the story of the denial of true salvation for Judas. In 2006 Géza Vermes commented the gospel was "a typical product of Greek (Platonic)-Christian speculation" representing Judas "assisting the Jewish authorities’ arrest of Jesus and bringing about his liberation from the prison of his body.". This view is exemplified by a passage where Jesus says to Judas, “For you will sacrifice the man that clothes me.” (Gospel of Judas 56.18-20) Scholars are divided on the interpretation
Serpents in the Bible Serpents in the Bible Serpents ( "nāḥāš") are referred to in both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament. The symbol of a serpent or snake played important roles in religious and cultural life of ancient Egypt, Canaan, Mesopotamia and Greece. The serpent was a symbol of evil power and chaos from the underworld as well as a symbol of fertility, life and healing. "Nāḥāš", Hebrew for "snake", is also associated with divination, including the verb form meaning "to practice divination or fortune-telling". In the Hebrew Bible, "Nāḥāš" occurs in the Torah to identify the serpent in the Garden of