Short answer
The Bible contradicts itself. Matthew says Judas threw the silver into the temple, then went and hanged himself. Acts says Judas bought a field with the money, fell headlong and burst open. So in one book he throws the money away, and in the other he spends it on land. In Matthew the priests buy the field, and only after he is dead. The two books also give different reasons for its name, the Field of Blood. Many Christians join the two deaths: the rope or branch broke and the body fell. But a hanged man hangs feet down. If the rope broke, he would drop feet first, not headlong, unless he had hanged himself upside down. Matthew then says the price fulfilled the words of Jeremiah, but the thirty pieces of silver come from Zechariah, and no joining mends that. A book from God (﷾) would not make such a mistake, and the Qur'an asks to be tested this way (4:82).
Full explanation
Matthew: he hanged himself, and the priests bought the field
In Matthew, Judas regrets the betrayal and brings the thirty pieces of silver back. He throws them down in the temple and hangs himself. The chief priests will not put blood money in the treasury, so they buy the potter's field with it. Matthew says that is why it is called the Field of Blood.
“Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that. And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.”
“And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood. And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in. Wherefore that field was called, The field of blood, unto this day.”
Acts: he bought the field and burst open
Acts says that Judas himself bought a field with the reward of his crime. Falling headlong, he burst open in the middle, and his bowels poured out. Acts says the news reached everyone in Jerusalem. So the field came to be called Aceldama, which in their own language means the Field of Blood.
“Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out. And it was known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem; insomuch as that field is called in their proper tongue, Aceldama, that is to say, The field of blood.”
| Point | Matthew | Acts |
|---|---|---|
| The silver | Thrown down in the temple | Spent on a field |
| Who bought the field | The chief priests, after his death | Judas himself |
| How he died | He hanged himself | He fell headlong and burst open |
| Why it is the Field of Blood | Blood money paid for it | His death became known to all |
Five points where the accounts contradict each other
First, what did Judas do with the money? In Matthew he threw it down in the temple and left it. In Acts he bought a field with it. Second, who bought the field? The priests (Matthew), or Judas (Acts). Third, when was it bought? In Matthew, the priests buy it after Judas has thrown the money back and hanged himself. In Acts, Judas buys it himself, and his death is told along with it. Fourth, how did he die? By hanging (Matthew), or by a fall that burst him open (Acts). Fifth, why does the field have its name? Because blood money paid for it (Matthew), or because everyone came to know of his death (Acts). Matthew names no fall, and Acts names no rope.
“Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that. And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.”
“And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood. And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in. Wherefore that field was called, The field of blood, unto this day.”
“Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out. And it was known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem; insomuch as that field is called in their proper tongue, Aceldama, that is to say, The field of blood.”
How Christians join the two accounts
Many Christians say the two accounts describe one event from two sides. They say Judas hanged himself, the rope or branch gave way, and the body fell and burst open. So Matthew tells the start and Acts the end. They also say Acts calls the field his because it was bought with his money, even though the priests carried out the purchase.
“Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that. And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.”
“And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood. And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in. Wherefore that field was called, The field of blood, unto this day.”
“Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out. And it was known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem; insomuch as that field is called in their proper tongue, Aceldama, that is to say, The field of blood.”
Why the joining does not work
A man who hangs himself hangs feet down. If the rope or the branch gave way, his body would drop feet first. Acts says he fell headlong, that is, head first, which is not how a body drops from a rope, unless he had hanged himself upside down. The field does not fit either. In Matthew, Judas throws the money down in the temple and leaves it. He hangs himself, and only then do the priests buy the field with it. A man who has thrown his money away has not bought land with it. In Acts the field is already his, bought by Judas himself, and his death is told as part of its story. Both cannot be true of who bought it and when. And neither book describes what the other says: Matthew has no fall, and Acts has no hanging.
“Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that. And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.”
“And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood. And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in. Wherefore that field was called, The field of blood, unto this day.”
“Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out. And it was known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem; insomuch as that field is called in their proper tongue, Aceldama, that is to say, The field of blood.”
An apostle who saw the miracles
Judas was one of the twelve. Matthew says Jesus gave the twelve power to cast out unclean spirits and to heal every sickness, and he names Judas among them. Jesus sent them to heal the sick, raise the dead and cast out devils. So by the Gospels' own account, Judas saw the miracles, and worked them himself. Yet the same Gospels have him sell his master for thirty pieces of silver. Matthew says he repented when he saw that Jesus was condemned. John says Jesus knew from the beginning who would betray him, chose him anyway, and called him a devil. And John says Judas was a thief who kept the money bag. The Gospels do not agree on who Judas was. And they leave a question open: how could a man who had seen such signs sell the one who worked them?
“And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.”
“Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.”
“Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.”
“Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that. And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.”
“But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him.”
“Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon: for he it was that should betray him, being one of the twelve.”
“This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein.”
Matthew names the wrong prophet
Matthew says the thirty pieces of silver and the potter's field fulfilled words spoken by Jeremiah. Jeremiah was a prophet about 600 years before Jesus. The heart of what Matthew quotes is from Zechariah, another Old Testament prophet. It is thirty pieces of silver, weighed out as a price and cast to the potter. Jeremiah does buy a field once, but for seventeen shekels. He never mentions thirty pieces of silver or a price set on anyone.
“Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was valued, whom they of the children of Israel did value; And gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord appointed me.”
“And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver. And the Lord said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the Lord.”
“And I bought the field of Hanameel my uncle’s son, that was in Anathoth, and weighed him the money, even seventeen shekels of silver.”
What the Qur'an says about such writing
The Qur'an warns of people who write the Book with their own hands, and then say it is from God (﷾). It also gives a test for any scripture. If it were from anyone other than God (﷾), people would find many contradictions in it.
“Then woe to those who write the Book with their own hands, and then say:"This is from Allah," to traffic with it for miserable price!- Woe to them for what their hands do write, and for the gain they make thereby.”
“Do they not consider the Qur'an (with care)? Had it been from other Than Allah, they would surely have found therein Much discrepancy.”
The usual answers
Acts 1:18-19 — Acts of the Apostles, chapter 1, verses 18-19
“Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out. And it was known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem; insomuch as that field is called in their proper tongue, Aceldama, that is to say, The field of blood.”
Cited for
Judas hanged himself, the rope or branch gave way, and the body fell and burst. Matthew tells the start and Acts the end.
The response
A hanged man hangs feet down, so a broken rope or branch drops him feet first, not headlong, unless he had hanged himself upside down. Acts mentions no hanging, and Matthew no fall. Matthew has Judas throw the money away and the priests buy the field after his death, while Acts has Judas buy it with the money himself. And Matthew still says Jeremiah spoke of the thirty pieces of silver, words that are Zechariah's.
Where it lands — The joining does not fit the headlong fall Acts describes, and it leaves Matthew crediting Jeremiah with Zechariah's words.
Matthew 27:9-10 — Gospel of Matthew, chapter 27, verses 9-10
“Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was valued, whom they of the children of Israel did value; And gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord appointed me.”
Cited for
Matthew is combining Zechariah with Jeremiah. He uses the potter's house and the clay jar in chapters 18-19, and the innocent blood and burial ground there. He also uses the field Jeremiah bought in chapter 32. He names the greater prophet.
The response
Jeremiah has a potter, a burial ground and a field bought for seventeen shekels. None of it has thirty pieces of silver, a price set on a man, or money cast to the potter. Those, the heart of the prophecy, are Zechariah's. And Matthew says the words were "spoken by Jeremy the prophet", a man speaking, not a scroll that begins with his book.
Where it lands — The words that make the prophecy, the thirty pieces and the price, are Zechariah's, and Matthew gives them to Jeremiah.
Perspectives
Christian harmonisation
Many Christians hold that the two accounts tell one event from two sides. Judas hanged himself, and later the body fell and burst. And the field bought with his money can be called his purchase.
Acts says Judas bought the field because it was bought with his money, even though the priests made the purchase.
Rebuttal
Matthew says Judas threw the money down in the temple and left it, and the priests bought the field with it after he had hanged himself. A man who has thrown his money away has not bought a field with it. Acts says "this man purchased a field", and tells his death as part of its story. Both cannot be true of who bought it and when. And Matthew still gives Jeremiah's name to words that are Zechariah's.
Judas hanged himself, and his body later fell and burst open, so both accounts are true.
Rebuttal
A hanged man hangs feet down, so a broken rope or branch drops him feet first. Acts says he fell headlong, which fits no such drop, unless he had hanged himself upside down. Acts mentions no rope, and Matthew no fall. And no joining mends Matthew's giving Jeremiah's name to words that are Zechariah's.
Seeing miracles does not force anyone to believe. Judas loved money, as John says, so his betrayal fits.
Rebuttal
Then the Gospels do not agree on him. John has a thief and a devil, who Jesus knew from the beginning would betray him, and whom he chose anyway. Matthew has one of the twelve, given power to heal and cast out devils. When he saw Jesus condemned, he repented and threw the money back.
The Islamic perspective
The two accounts contradict each other on five points: what Judas did with the money, who bought the field, when, how Judas died, and why the field has its name. A body dropping from a broken rope falls feet first, not headlong. And Matthew gives Zechariah's words to Jeremiah, a mistake that no joining of the stories can mend.
Matthew says Judas threw the silver down in the temple and left it. Then the chief priests bought the field with it.
Acts says Judas himself bought the field with the money and died by falling headlong and bursting open.
Matthew has the priests buy the field after Judas's death. Acts has Judas buy it. And a hanged man whose rope broke would fall feet first, not headlong.
Judas was one of the twelve, given power to heal and cast out devils. Yet the Gospels have him sell Jesus. And they disagree on whether he repented, or was a devil from the start.
Matthew credits Jeremiah with words that are found in Zechariah.
The Qur'an holds that people wrote scripture with their own hands. And it holds that a book from God (﷾) has no contradictions.