I found what I wanted
" The Wandering or Eternal Jew is a theme and a character that run through the entire trilogy. In the first part, he merely pops up without explanation; in the second part, he is well known and his nature is hinted at; and in the third part, he is explained. There are two traditional tales that underlie this figure. One tradition comes from Judas Ischariot; the other one, from Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha. Judas Ischariot, as you know from your reading in the bible, betrayed Jesus to the High Priest. Theologians are divided about his motivation. Some say that he was convinced of the political role that Jesus would play and so was attempting to force Jesus’ hand. Judas was convinced that Jesus would call up the legions of heavenly host and would make short shrift of the priests and the king and all the Romans in the country. When he realized that this was not about to happen, Judas returns to throw his thirty silver coins back into the hall of the priest; then he takes a rope and attempts to hang himself. According to biblical stories, he succeeds. According to folk tales, he does not succeed. In fact, try as he wishes, he cannot die and is condemned to walk the earth until Jesus returns triumphant. This legend seems least likely as the resource for Miller’s Canticle for Leibowitz.
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I really like this explanation. Of course it is good as a puzzle, too. |
