Find Le Figaro special issue "Jesus Christ, this stranger" in kiosks and on Figaro Store.
● The son of the centurion
The Talmud, a vast legal compilation of rabbinism composed between the 3rd and 6th centuries, conceals a curious genealogy which seems to be part of the controversy against Jesus. It evokes a figure hanged on the eve of Passover ( Sanhedrin treaty 67), fathered by a Roman soldier of an adulterous Jewish woman ( ib. 64a), and who once bears the name of Ben Pantera. It is the source of the Toledot Yeshou ("story of Jesus"), written in the 8th century, which was widely distributed in the Middle Ages. The pseudo-begetting of Jesus by a Roman soldier by the name of Panthera is moreover attested in 180 by the true Speech of the Roman Celse (Origen, Against Celse 1, 32). Does the Talmud record a reliable historical data, which would have been used for the controversy which Celse echoes? The name of Panthera is certainly attested in the Roman army of the time. But the controversy took hold of it because of its assonance with
This article is for subscribers only. You still have 96% to discover.
Subscribe: € 1 the first month
cancellable at any time
Enter your emailAlready subscribed? Log in
