There was an interesting little article in the Expositor (August, 1908) by Canon Sherlock, on what is often quoted as an instance of hopeless discrepancy, the account of the last actions of Judas, as related by Matthew and in the Acts. He shows, for instance, that the “reward of iniquity” in Acts 1:18 is not said to consist of the thirty pieces of silver at all. He argues well that the price of the field was stolen from the bag (John 12:6, R.V.) and is rightly called by the above terms. This purchase was therefore arranged before the betrayal. The priests, having their attention called to the plot of ground by the ghastly end of the traitor, determined to spend the “price of blood” upon its acquisition, and hence its name Aceldama was twice-earned, once by the suicide, once by the bloodstained pieces which were paid for it as a public cemetery. The answer, therefore, to the dilemma, “Who bought the field, Judas or the priests?” is, “Both, at successive dates.”
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Author: Harrington Lees
Keywords: Potter's field, Judas, Judas death, Judas suicide, death of Judas, Judas field, blood money, Judas was a thief, money bag, Judas money bag, Aceldama, Akeldama, field of blood, 30 pieces of silver, thirty pieces of silver, betrayal money, Judas Iscariot
Bible reference(s): Matthew 27:6-7, John 12:6, Acts 1:18-19
Source: The Joy of Bible Study as found in The Testimony, Vol. 18, No. 214, October 1948, p. 355.
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