BDAG Entry for Ἰουδαῖος (From the Third Edition)

Ἰουδαῖος, αία, αῖον (Clearchus, the pupil of Aristotle, Fgm. 6 [in Jos., C. Ap. 1, 179]; Theophr., Fgm. 151 W. [WJaeger, Diokles v. Karystos ’38, 134–53: Theophrastus and the earliest Gk. report concerning the Judeans or Jews]; Hecataeus of Abdera [300 b.c.] : 264 Fgm. 25, 28, 2a Jac. [in Diod S 1, 28, 2] al.; Polyb.; Diod S; Strabo; Plut.; Epict. 1, 11, 12f, al.; Appian, Syr. 50 §252f, Mithrid. 106 §498, Bell. Civ. 2, 90 §380; Artem. 4, 24 p. 217, 13; Diog. L. 1, 9; OGI 73, 4; 74, 3; 726, 8; CIG 3418; CB I/2, 538 no. 399b τ. νόμον τῶν Εἰουδέων [on Ἰ. in ins s. RKraemer, HTR 82, ’89, 35–53]; Mitt-Wilck. I/2, 55; 56 [both III b.c.]; 57 [II b.c.]; BGU 1079, 25 [41 a.d.]; PFay 123, 16 [100 a.d.]; POxy 1189, 9; LXX; TestSol; AscIs 2:7; EpArist; SibOr; Philo, Joseph., Ar., Just., Tat. For a variety of synonyms s. Schürer III 87–91.). Gener. as description of ‘one who identifies with beliefs, rites, and customs of adherents of Israel’s Mosaic and prophetic tradition’ (the standard term in the Mishnah is ‘Israelite’). (Since the term ‘Judaism’ suggests a monolithic entity that fails to take account of the many varieties of thought and social expression associated with such adherents, the calque or loanword ‘Judean’ is used in this and other entries where Ἰ. is treated. Complicating the semantic problem is the existence side by side of persons who had genealogy on their side and those who became proselytes [on the latter cp. Cass. Dio 37, 17, 1; 67, 14, 2; 68, 1, 2]; also of adherents of Moses who recognized Jesus as Messiah [s. Gal 2:13 in 2d below; s. also 2eα] and those who did not do so. Incalculable harm has been caused by simply glossing Ἰ. with ‘Jew’, for many readers or auditors of Bible translations do not practice the historical judgment necessary to distinguish between circumstances and events of an ancient time and contemporary ethnic-religious-social realities, with the result that anti-Judaism in the modern sense of the term is needlessly fostered through biblical texts.)

① pert. to being Judean (Jewish), with focus on adherence to Mosaic tradition, Judean, as a real adj. (Philo, In Flacc. 29; Jos., Ant. 10, 265) ἀνὴρ Ἰ. (1 Macc 2:23; 14:33) Judean Ac 10:28; 22:3. ἄνθρωπος 21:39. ἀρχιερεύς 19:14. ψευδοπροφήτης 13:6. ἐξορκισταί 19:13. γυνή (Jos., Ant. 11, 185) 16:1. χώρα Mk 1:5.—But γῆ J 3:22 is to be taken of Judea in the narrower sense (s. Ἰουδαία 1), and means the Judean countryside in contrast to the capital city. Of Drusilla, described as οὔσα Ἰουδαία being Judean or Jewish, but for the view that Ἰ. is here a noun s. 2b.

② one who is Judean (Jewish), with focus on adherence to Mosaic tradition, a Judean, Ἰουδαῖος as noun (so predom.). Since Jerusalem sets the standard for fidelity to Israel’s tradition, and since Jerusalem is located in Judea, Ἰ. frequently suggests conformity to Israel’s ancestral belief and practice. In turn, the geographical name provided outsiders with a term that applied to all, including followers of Jesus, who practiced customs variously associated with Judea (note the Roman perception Ac 18:15 [‘Judeans’ at Corinth]; 23:28).

ⓐ (ὁ) Ἰ. Judean (w. respect to birth, nationality, or cult) J 3:25; (Mitt-Wilck. I/2, 57, 5 [II b.c.] παρ’ Ἰουδαίου=from a Judean) 4:9; 18:35; Ac 18:2, 24; 19:34; Ro 1:16; 2:9f, 17, 28f (on the ‘genuine’ Judean cp. Epict. 2, 9, 20f τῷ ὄντι Ἰουδαῖος … λόγῳ μὲν Ἰουδαῖοι, ἔργῳ δ’ ἄλλο τι); 10:12; Gal 2:14; 3:28; Col 3:11.—Collective sing. (Thu. 6, 78, 1 ὁ Ἀθηναῖος, ὁ Συρακόσιος; EpArist 13 ὁ Πέρσης; B-D-F §139; Rob. 408) Ro 3:1.

ⓑ of Drusilla οὔσα Ἰουδαία being a Judean Ac 24:24, but for the simple adjectival sense s. 1 end.

ⓒ (οἱ) Ἰουδαῖοι (on the use of the art. B-D-F §262, 1; 3) the Judeans οἱ Φαρισαῖοι κ. πάντες οἱ Ἰ. Mk 7:3; τὸ πάσχα τῶν Ἰ. J 2:13; cp. 5:1; 6:4; 7:2; ὁ βασιλεὺς τῶν Ἰ. (Appian, Mithrid. 117 §573 Ἰουδαίων βασιλεὺς Ἀριστόβουλος) Mt 2:2; 27:11, 29 (in these three last pass., Ἰ. is used by non-Israelites; Mt’s preferred term is Ἰσραήλ); Mk 15:2 and oft. πόλις τῶν Ἰ. Lk 23:51; ἔθνος τῶν Ἰ. Ac 10:22; λαὸς τῶν Ἰ. 12:11. χώρα τῶν Ἰ. 10:39 (Just., A I, 34, 2; cp. A I, 32, 4 ἡ γῆ Ἰουδαίων). ἄρχων τῶν Ἰ. J 3:1; συναγωγὴ τῶν Ἰ. Ac 14:1a. Cp. J 2:6; 4:22; 18:20. Ἰ. καὶ Ἕλληνες (on the combination of the two words s. B-D-F §444, 2: w. τε … καί) Judeans and Hellenes Ac 14:1b; 18:4; 19:10; 20:21; 1 Cor 1:24; 10:32; 12:13; PtK 2 p. 15, 7; ἔθνη τε καὶ Ἰ.=non-Judeans and Judeans Ac 14:5; cp. ISm 1:2. Ἰ. τε καὶ προσήλυτοι Judeans and proselytes Ac 2:11; cp. 13:43; οἱ κατὰ τὰ ἔθνη Ἰ. the Judeans who live among the nations (in the Diaspora) 21:21. Judeans and non-Judeans as persecutors of Christians MPol 12:2; cp. also 13:1; 17:2; 18:1; 1 Th 2:14 (Polytheists, Jews, and Christians Ar. 2, 1).—Dg 1.—Without the art. (cp. 19:3 φαρισαῖοι) Mt 28:15, suggesting that not all ‘Judeans’ are meant, and without ref. to Israel, or Jews, as an entity.

ⓓ a Mosaic adherent who identifies with Jesus Christ Judean Gal 2:13; cp. Ac 21:20 and eα below. On Rv 2:9; 3:9 s. Mussies 195.

ⓔ in J Ἰουδαῖοι or ‘Judeans’ for the most part (for exceptions s. a and c) constitute two groups

α. those who in various degrees identify with Jesus and his teaching J 8:52; 10:19–21; 11:45; 12:11 al.

β. those who are in opposition to Jesus, with special focus on hostility emanating from leaders in Jerusalem, center of Israelite belief and cult; there is no indication that John uses the term in the general ethnic sense suggested in modern use of the word ‘Jew’, which covers diversities of belief and practice that were not envisaged by biblical writers, who concern themselves with intra-Judean (intra-Israelite) differences and conflicts: 1:19; 2:18, 20; 5:10, 15f; 6:41, 52 (a debate); 7:1, 11, 13; 9:18, 22; 10:24, 31, 33 (in contrast to the πολλοί from ‘beyond the Jordan’, 10:40–42, who are certainly Israelites) 11:8; 13:33; 18:14. S. Hdb. exc. on J 1:19 and, fr. another viewpoint, JBelser, TQ 84, 1902, 265ff; WLütgert, Heinrici Festschr. 1914, 147ff, Schlatter Festschr. 1922, 137–48; GBoccaccini, Multiple Judaisms: BRev XI/1 ’95, 38–41, 46.—J 18:20 affirms that Jesus did not engage in sectarian activity. Further on anti-Judean feeling in J, s. EGraesser, NTS 11, ’64, 74–90; DHare, RSR, July, ’76, 15–22 (lit.); Hdb. exc. on J 1:19; BHHW II 906–11, 901f, 905.—LFeldman, Jew and Gentile in the Ancient World ’93.—MLowe, Who Were the Ἰουδαῖοι?: NovT 18, ’76, 101–30; idem Ἰουδαῖοι of the Apocrypha [NT]: NovT 23, ’81, 56–90; UvonWahlde, The Johannine ‘Jews’—A Critical Survey: NTS 28, ’82, 33–60; JAshton, ibid. 27, ’85, 40–75 (J).—For impact of Ἰουδαῖοι on gentiles s. ESmallwood, The Jews under Roman Rule fr. Pompey to Diocletian ’81; SCohen, Crossing the Boundary and Becoming a Jew: HTR 82, ’89, 13–33; PvanderHorst, NedTTs 43, ’89, 106–21 (c. 200 a.d.); PSchäfer, Judeophobia, Attitudes toward the Jews in the Ancient World ’97.—On the whole word s. Ἱσραήλ end. For Ἰουδαῖοι in ins s. SEG XXXIX, 1839. M-M. EDNT. TW.