🔼The name Judas: Summary
- Meaning
- Praised, Let Him Be Praised
- Etymology
- From the verb ידה (yada), to praise.
🔼The name Judas in the Bible
The Greek name Judas is the transliterated form of the Hebrew name Judah, and there are six men named Judas in the New Testament. For some reason, one of these New Testament Judases is known in English as Jude. Perhaps people didn't want the brother of Jesus to have the same name as the man who betrayed him.
In the New Testament we find the following Judases:
- The apostle also known as Thaddaeus (Luke 6:16, Matthew 10:3).
- The apostle Judas Iscariot (Luke 6:16).
- A brother of Jesus and James, and possibly the author of the Book of Jude (Matthew 13:55).
- A leader referred to by Gamaliel (Acts 5:37).
- A Jew of Damascus who aids Saul, later Paul (Acts 9:11).
- The prophet Judas Barsabbas, who joined Paul, Barnabas and Silas on their trip to Antioch (Acts 15:22, 15:32).
The name Judas occurs 38 times in the New Testament; see full concordance.
🔼Etymology of the name Judas
The name Judas is the Hellenized version of the Hebrew name Judah, and the name Judah comes from the Hebrew verb ידה, meaning to praise:
הוד ידה
The related verbs ידה (yada), to praise, and הוד (hod), to be worthy of praise, conjugate into such similar forms that it's often not clear which verb in which tense is used. From the verb ידה (yada), to praise, come:
- The plural noun הידות (huyyedot), meaning songs of praise.
- The noun תודה (toda), meaning confession or praise.
From the verb הוד (hod), meaning to be praise-worthy, comes the noun הוד (hod), meaning splendor, majesty, vigor, glory or honor.
🔼Judas meaning
For the meaning of the name Judah (=Judas), Jones' Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names proposes Praised. NOBSE Study Bible Name List reads Let Him (God) Be Praised.