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Audiobook edition · 41 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · 42 pagesHardcover · 6 × 9 in · 42 pagesAbout this book
What if the disciple known for betrayal is the one Jesus chooses for his most secret teachings?
The Gospel of Judas presents private conversations between Jesus and Judas Iscariot in the days before Passover. According to the text, the other disciples fail to understand who Jesus is. Judas stands apart, receiving teachings about a spiritual reality beyond the visible world. But what does this knowledge mean for his place among them?
This early Christian text belongs to the writings scholars call Gnostic, particularly the Sethian stream. Its account moves from Jesus laughing at his disciples to visions and a vast realm of light. The surviving Coptic manuscript has gaps, and scholars still debate its meaning, including whether its portrait of Judas makes him a hero or something more troubling.
What you’ll discover
- A different Judas Meet a disciple whose private exchanges with Jesus unsettle the familiar story of betrayal.
- Disciples under challenge Explore scenes where Jesus questions his followers and exposes the limits of their understanding.
- Beyond the visible world Enter the text’s strange cosmos of light, lesser powers, and saving spiritual knowledge.
- A house in a vision Follow Judas as he describes a great house he longs to enter.
- Questions without easy answers Consider why this account leaves scholars debating Judas’s role and the meaning of his knowledge.
Who will love it
You will love this if you enjoy early Christian history, lost gospels, and ancient ideas about knowledge, stars, and hidden worlds. It suits anyone curious about how Judas has been imagined.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A lost gospel surfaces from Egyptian sands
- Gnostic Christians sought saving knowledge, not faith alone
- Jesus laughs at his disciples and draws Judas aside
- The altar vision shows the disciples the error of their own worship
- Judas receives teaching and a vision of a house
- A map of the heavens explains where error comes from
- Scholars still debate whether Judas is hero or villain
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The Gospel of Judas
by Attributed to early Gnostic Christians · 150
Jesus laughs at his disciples' prayer, and only Judas Iscariot dares to stand before him.
ChallengingUnder 2 hours to readEnglish
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“Come away from the others, and I will tell you the mysteries of the kingdom.”
In short
What would you do if the teacher you follow laughed at your prayer? In the Gospel of Judas, Jesus finds his twelve disciples giving thanks over bread, and he laughs.
The Gospel of Judas at a glance
- Reading time
- About 15 min10 min fast, 15 min slow
- Length
- 3,030 words6 chapters
- Pages
- 42 pages42 in large print
- Library level
- Challenging long sentences, a rich vocabulary
- First published
- about AD 150by Attributed to early Gnostic Christians
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
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A lost gospel surfaces from Egyptian sands
The Gospel of Judas survives in one Coptic codex, a book of folded papyrus sheets. Scholars think the book was found in the 1970s in a cave near Beni Masah, along the Nile. Its pages then passed into the murky world of the antiquities trade.
Poor storage left the papyrus brittle, and many leaves broke into small pieces. That is why the text has gaps today. A Swiss dealer, Frieda Tchacos Nussberger, finally acquired it and had conservators piece the fragments together. The National Geographic Society presented the work in 2006.
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Jesus laughs at his disciples' prayer, and only Judas Iscariot dares to stand before him.
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Details
- First published
- 150
- Language
- English
- Listening time
- 41 min
- Level
- Challenging
- Paperback
- 42 pages · 6 × 9 in
- Hardcover
- 42 pages · 6 × 9 in
- Large print paperback
- 42 pages · 8.5 × 11 in
- Large print hardcover
- 42 pages · 8.5 × 11 in
- Delivery and returns
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Cite this edition
The Gospel of Judas. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/loa-gospel-of-judas.
The Gospel of Judas. (2026). Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/loa-gospel-of-judas (Original work published ca. 150)
The Gospel of Judas. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/loa-gospel-of-judas.
@book{anonymous2026gospel,
title = {The Gospel of Judas},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/loa-gospel-of-judas},
note = {First published ca. 150}
}
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What is the Gospel of Judas about?
It presents a private conversation in which Jesus teaches Judas Iscariot the mysteries of the kingdom. It includes the disciples' altar vision, a description of heavens and rulers, and Jesus's warnings about the stars and false worship.
When was the Gospel of Judas written and who wrote it?
Scholars generally place the Greek original in the second century. The author is unknown. The text survives in a Coptic version, usually dated to the third or fourth century, found in Egypt and published in 2006.
Is Judas a hero or a villain in this gospel?
Scholars disagree. An early reading saw him as the one disciple who understands Jesus. Others, such as April DeConick, argue the Coptic calls him a thirteenth demon and treats him as a lesser, doomed figure.
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