# Toledot Yeshu (notes only) If you don’t know me, my name is Rachel✡, and these are my scripture notes on the Toledot Yeshu. The verses are presented sequentially in English and Aramaic, followed by my commentary. Think of it as a living midrash: whenever I learn something new, I add a note. My notes draw from an eclectic range of ancient sources, both Jewish and Gentile. See my [about page](https://hearah.com/about/) for more. Toledot Yeshu is a Jewish polemical gospel that retells the life of Jesus from an unflattering perspective. I’ve glossed it out solely out of historical interest. The English translation follows *The Jewish Life of Christ* (London, 1885), by G.W. Foote and J.M. Wheeler, tweaking only a few important mistakes. *The following notes are presented in English. For other languages, see the individual chapter files (e.g. [Toledot Yeshu 1](https://hearah.com/commentary/jewish/toledot-yeshu/1.md)).* ## Toledot Yeshu 1:1–2 - The name Pandera (פנדרא) reflects an early anti-Christian polemic levied by the pagan philosopher Celsus☀ (c. 177). Origen✝ (c. 185–253) preserves this critique, which alleges Jesus’ mother committed adultery with a soldier named Panthera (Πανθήρα). > **Origen, Against Celsus 1.32, trans. Crombie** — But let us now return to where the Jew is introduced, speaking of the mother of Jesus, and saying that when she was pregnant she was turned out of doors by the carpenter to whom she had been betrothed, as having been guilty of adultery, and that she bore a child to a certain soldier named Panthera; ## Toledot Yeshu 1:3–4 - A “Mary the hairdresser” also appears in the Talmud. Scholars suspect she’s the fusion of mother Mary and Mary Magdalene, merged into a single character. The name megaddela (מְגַדְּלָא) likely garbles “Magdalene.” > **Shabbat 104b** — “One who scratches on his flesh.” It is taught: Rabbi Eliezer said to the Sages: But did not ben Stada bring spells out of Egypt in a scratch upon his flesh? They said to him: He was a fool, and one does not bring proof from fools. Ben Stada? He is ben Pandera! Rav Ḥisda said: The husband was Stada; the lover was Pandera. But was not the husband Pappos ben Yehuda? Rather, his mother was Stada. But was not his mother Miriam, the braider of women’s hair? Rather, it is as they say in Pumbedita: This one strayed [setat da] from her husband. ## Toledot Yeshu 1:5–6 - For clarity, observe that Joseph is *not* Jochanan, Mary’s betrothed. ## Toledot Yeshu 1:7–8 - Joseph’s mother has just endorsed pursuing a betrothed woman sexually. ## Toledot Yeshu 1:9–11 - Per the laws of niddah, Mary is ritually unclean due to her period. An observant couple avoids physical contact during this period, not that these two are married. Such couples won’t even pass objects between each other, for fear of accidental contact. For strangers, men and women avoid affectionate contact altogether. All that said, in the mind of the reader, Joseph is breaking a serious taboo crossing this boundary to even *touch* her, much less do with her “as he pleased.” > **[Leviticus 18:19](https://hearah.com/commentary/tanakh/leviticus/#18)** — 19And thou shalt not approach unto a woman to uncover her nakedness, as long as she is impure by her uncleanness. > **Shulchan Arukh, Yoreh De’ah 195:2** — He may not touch her even with his little finger, nor hand anything from his hand to hers, nor receive anything from her hand, lest he touch her flesh (and so too throwing from his hand to hers, or the reverse, is forbidden). - This is also why Jesus saying don't cling to me (μή μου ἅπτου) in [John 20](https://hearah.com/commentary/new-testament/john/#20) is rather suggestive. > **[John 20:17](https://hearah.com/commentary/new-testament/john/#20)** — 17Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God. ## Toledot Yeshu 1:12 - The master aggadist Shmuel bar Naḥman✡ (3rd c.–4th c.) says that if it weren’t for our evil inclination, we wouldn’t procreate. This is what burns within Joseph. > **Bereshit Rabbah 9:7** — Rabbi Naḥman bar Shmuel bar Naḥman said in the name of Rav Shmuel bar Naḥman: “And, behold, it was very good”: this is the good inclination. “And, behold, it was very good”: this is the evil inclination. Is the evil inclination then very good? How astonishing! Rather, were it not for the evil inclination, a man would not build a house, nor marry a wife, nor beget children, nor buy and sell. And so Solomon says: “that it is a man’s rivalry with his neighbour.” ## Toledot Yeshu 1:13–15 - This recension places the rape just after the Sabbath concludes. In Huldreich’s version, it’s the fast of Yom Kippur, the Sabbath of Sabbaths and holiest day of the year – though the sex is consensual. In either case, this is shocking. - The rabbis urge married couples to have sex on Shabbat, though these two aren’t married. The kabbalists understand this Jewish lovemaking to unite the blessed Holy One with His Shekinah, the Father and Mother becoming One. This doesn’t precisely apply given the timing, but it shows the potential mystical stakes of their union. - In Christian paradigms, the virgin Mary is the holy mother. This defilement is as shocking and spiritually significant as the moment Yaldabaoth rapes Eve in the Apocryphon of John. > **Secret John 14:16-20 (Davies)** — 16The man and woman were too terrified to renounce Yaldabaoth, Who showed his ignorance to his angels 17And he cast both of them out of paradise, Dressing them in heavy darkness. 18The Chief Archon saw the young woman who was standing by Adam. He realized that the light-filled Epinoia of life was within her. Yaldabaoth became completely ignorant. 19When the Providence of all saw what was going to happen. She sent assistants to remove Divine Life from Eve. 20Yaldabaoth raped Eve. ## Toledot Yeshu 1:16–22 - Jehoshua (יהושע), aka Jesus. See my [Matthew 1:21](https://hearah.com/commentary/new-testament/matthew/#1-20) commentary for more on the name Jesus. --- © 2026 Hearah. All rights reserved. The full page, with its reading options and cross-references, is at https://hearah.com/commentary/jewish/toledot-yeshu/ How to cite: Rachel. *Toledot Yeshu*. Hearah. https://hearah.com/commentary/jewish/toledot-yeshu/ Please respect Rachel's privacy.