Validating the ‘Virgin Mary was a Whore’ (Sanhedrin 106a) Babylonian Talmud Quote

Returning to the Babylonian Talmud we have a claim that Tractate Sanhedrin on folio 106a calls the Virgin Mary a whore, but – as always – lets be sure and validate the quote together.

Folio 106a of Tractate Sanhedrin 106a states as follows:

‘Rav Yochanan said (regarding Balaam): In the beginning a prophet, in the end a sorcerer. Rav Papa said: As people say, "She was the descendant of princes and rulers, she played the harlot with carpenters."’ (1)

Now the likely counter-response you’ll encounter with this passage is that it says ‘Balaam’ not ‘Jesus of Nazareth’ or some known variant of Jesus’ name such as ‘Yeshua’ or ‘Ben Pandera’/’Ben Pantera’ as well as the assertion that most ‘modern scholars reject’ such a link between ‘Balaam’ and Jesus (2) but this is untrue as Schaefer has pointed out because those who claim there is ‘no link’ between – for example – ‘Balaam’ and Jesus have to demonstrate this from the evidence not simply come up with small objections. (3)

The main (and best) arguments against ‘Balaam’ acting as a coded reference to Jesus of Nazareth in the Talmud are that ‘Balaam’ is not of ‘the congregation of Israel’ (i.e., he was a jewish character and therefore because Jesus of Nazareth was jewish as understood by the rabbis of the Babylonian Talmud) (4) and that:

‘The wide field of Balaam references in the New Testament, Philo and rabbinic Judaism reflect a long polemical tradition that typologically identifies many people as “Balaam.” Its specific application to Jesus is untenable.’ (5)

To answer this second objection first; this is a misnomer in that the fact remains that just because ‘Balaam’ was used widely by jews to refer to different people doesn’t mean that doesn’t mean Jesus because it is ‘non-specific’ but rather what it means is that Jesus is one possible meaning of the use of ‘Balaam’ by jews of the time.

Precisely because ‘Balaam’ as a code-word/name is used by the rabbinic writers because:

‘Balaam is presented as an outsider who seduces the people of God to false religion, a traditional picture shared by rabbinic writers.’ (6)

And ‘Balaam’ is indeed often used interchangeably with ‘Jesus’ in the Babylonian Talmud (7) and ‘Balaam’ was considered to be most prominent culprit for evil by the jewish sages and writers of the time. (8)

Now moving on to the more weighty objection that ‘Balaam’ was not of the ‘congregation of Israel’ (i.e., he couldn’t be jewish) and Jesus of Nazareth - as understood by the Babylonian Talmud - was jewish; this is a selective and somewhat deceptive argument because ‘Balaam’ didn’t necessarily have to be a ‘gentile’ since ‘Balaam’ is referred to in Tractate Sanhedrin 10 as an ‘Israelite commoner’. (9) Thus, the rabbinic belief that Jesus was a jewish heretic - as suggested by Tractate Gittin 57a - (10) is no bar to Sanhedrin 106a’s reference to ‘Balaam’ being a ‘code word’ for Jesus.

Hence Schaefer’s point that ‘Balaam’ isn’t a hard and fast category which in order for ‘Balaam’ not to be a ‘code word’ for Jesus it has to be, because unless ‘Balaam’ is a hard and fast category then ‘Balaam’ could be a ‘code word’ for Jesus and thus invalidates both of the main (and best) arguments that ‘Balaam’ in Sanhedrin 106a cannot refer to Jesus of Nazareth. (11)

But what of positive evidence?

Well, we’ve already seen Sanhedrin 106a states that ‘Balaam’ was a sorcerer, and we know from other mentions of Jesus of Nazareth which are also in Tractate Sanhedrin (43a and 67a respectively) (12) as well as Tractate Shabbat in folio 104b. (13)

In Sanhedrin 106a we also see a reference to ‘Balaam’s’ lineage where his mother is described as being ‘the descendant of princes and rulers’ which fits with Christian interpretations from the Gospel of Luke about Mary’s kingly descent from King David’s tribe of Judah (14) that is also evidenced by the fact that the rabbis of the Talmud also know the narrative from the Gospel of John (15) so we my reasonably assume they were familiar with the narrative from the Gospel of Luke.

In addition, Sanhedrin 106a also insults the mother of ‘Balaam’ as having ‘played the harlot with carpenters’ despite being of kingly jewish ancestry, which is difficult to read as anything other than an indirect reference to Jesus’ (official) father and Mary’s husband Joseph who is referred to repeatedly throughout the gospels as a ‘carpenter’. (16)

Thus, we can see it is nigh on impossible – because we have significant positive evidence, and all objections are essentially based on a deceptively selective reading of the Babylonian Talmud and/or unfounded appeals to mystery – not to read Tractate Sanhedrin 106a as a direct reference to the Virgin Mary - Jesus of Nazareth’s mother – as being in effect ‘a dirty whore’.

References

(1) Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 106a; for a slightly different but not differing in terms of sense translation see Robert Van Voorst, 2000, ‘Jesus Outside The New Testament: An Introduction to the Ancient Evidence’, 1st Edition, William B. Eerdmanns: Grand Rapids, p. 128

(2) Van Voorst, Op. Cit., pp. 114-116

(3) Peter Schaefer, 2007, ‘Jesus in the Talmud’, 1st Edition, Princeton University Press: Princeton, p. 7

(4) Van Voorst, Op. Cit., pp. 114-116

(5) Ibid., p. 115

(6) Ibid., p. 110, n. 76

(7) Schaefer, Op. Cit., pp. 32-33; Frederick Fyvie Bruce, 1974, ‘Jesus and Christian Origins outside the New Testament’, 1st Edition, Hodder and Stoughton: London, p. 59; also see my article: https://karlradl14.substack.com/p/validating-the-jesus-is-boiling-in-470

(8) Schaefer, Op. Cit., p. 31

(9) Van Vorst, Op. Cit., p. 115

(10) On these see: https://karlradl14.substack.com/p/validating-the-jesus-is-boiling-in and https://karlradl14.substack.com/p/validating-the-jesus-is-boiling-in-470

(11) Schaefer, Op. Cit., p. 86

(12) See my articles: https://karlradl14.substack.com/p/validating-the-jesus-was-a-sorcerer and https://karlradl14.substack.com/p/validating-the-jesus-was-a-sorcerer-2de

(13) See my article: https://karlradl14.substack.com/p/validating-the-jesus-was-a-sorcerer-2de

(14) Luke 3:23-38 (RSV); ref. Matt.1:1-16 (RSV)

(15) Schaefer, Op. Cit., pp. 72-73

(16) For example: Matthew (13:55), Mark 6:3 (RSV) and Luke 24:10 (RSV)