Saint Matthias Saint Matthias Matthias (Hebrew transliteration: "Mattityahu"; Koine Greek: Μαθθίας; ; died c. 80 AD) was, according to the Acts of the Apostles, the apostle chosen to replace Judas Iscariot following Judas' betrayal of Jesus and his (Judas') subsequent death. His calling as an apostle is unique, in that his appointment was not made personally by Jesus, who had already ascended into heaven, and it was also made before the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the early Church. There is no mention of a Matthias among the lists of disciples or followers of Jesus in the three synoptic gospels, but
Judas Iscariot to the Corinthians , in which Paul the Apostle does not mention Judas by name, but uses the passive voice of the Greek word "paradidōmi" (παραδίδωμι), which most Bible translations render as "was betrayed": "...the Lord Jesus on the night when he "was betrayed" took a loaf of bread..." Nonetheless, many biblical scholars argue that the word "paradidōmi" should be translated as "was handed over". This translation could still refer to Judas, but it could also instead refer to God metaphorically "handing Jesus over" to the Romans. In his book "Antisemitism and Modernity" (2006), the Jewish scholar Hyam Maccoby suggests