Nihil,
Here is the source of your historical knowledge about Jesus and Paul! Some of your material comes also from the Talmud. The Toledoth and Talmud are the "historical" sources of Jewish myths and fables used to train rabbis in rabbinical schools. Why not admit it?
The Toledoth Yeshu (the History of Jesus written by anti-Christian rabbis. This mythical history of Jesus and references to Paul was written sometimes in the sixth century. It reflects some of the blasphemous and anti-Christain fables also found in the Babylonian Talmud. Jews
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Toledoth Yeshu
In the year 3671[1] in the days of King Jannaeus, a great misfortune befell Israel, when
there arose a certain disreputable man of the tribe of Judah, whose name was Joseph
Pandera. He lived at
Bethlehem, in Judah.
Near his house dwelt a widow and her lovely and chaste daughter named Miriam.
Miriam was betrothed to Yohanan, of the royal house of David, a man learned in the
Torah and God-fearing.
At the close of a certain Sabbath, Joseph Pandera, attractive and like a warrior in
appearance,
having gazed lustfully upon Miriam, knocked upon the door of her room and betrayed
her by
pretending that he was her betrothed husband, Yohanan. Even so, she was amazed at
this improper
conduct and submitted only against her will.
Thereafter, when Yohanan came to her, Miriam expressed astonishment at behavior so
foreign to his
character. It was thus that they both came to know the crime of Joseph Pandera and the
terrible
mistake on the part of Miriam. Whereupon Yohanan went to Rabban Shimeon ben
Shetah and
related to him the tragic seduction. Lacking witnesses required for the punishment of
Joseph
Pandera, and Miriam being with child, Yohanan left for Babylonia.[2]
Miriam gave birth to a son and named him Yehoshua, after her brother. This name later
deteriorated
to Yeshu. On the eighth day he was circumcised. When he was old enough the lad was
taken by
Miriam to the house of study to be instructed in the Jewish tradition.
One day Yeshu walked in front of the Sages with his head uncovered, showing
shameful disrespect.
At this, the discussion arose as to whether this behavior did not truly indicate that Yeshu
was an
illegitimate child and the son of a niddah[3]. Moreover, the story tells that while the
rabbis were
discussing the Tractate Nezikin, he gave his own impudent interpretation of the law and
in an ensuing
debate he held that Moses could not be the greatest of the prophets if he had to receive
counsel
from Jethro. This led to further inquiry as to the antecedents of Yeshu, and it was
discovered through
Rabban Shimeon ben Shetah that he was the illegitimate son of Joseph Pandera. Miriam
admitted
it.[4] After this became known, it was necessary for Yeshu to flee to Upper Galilee.
After King Jannaeus, his wife Helene[5] ruled over all Israel. In the Temple was to be
found the
Foundation Stone on which were engraven the letters of God's Ineffable Name.
Whoever learned
the secret of the Name and its use would be able to do whatever he wished. Therefore,
the Sages
took measures so that no one should gain this knowledge. Lions of brass were bound to
two iron
pillars at the gate of the place of burnt offerings. Should anyone enter and learn the
Name, when he
left the lions would roar at him and immediately the valuable secret would be forgotten.
Yeshu came and learned the letters of the Name; he wrote them upon the parchment
which he
placed in an open cut on his thigh and then drew the flesh over the parchment. As he
left, the lions
roared and he forgot the secret. But when he came to his house he reopened the cut in
his flesh with
a knife an lifted out the writing. Then he remembered and obtained the use of the
letters.[6]
He gathered about himself three hundred and ten young men of Israel and accused those
who spoke
ill of his birth of being people who desired greatness and power for themselves. Yeshu
proclaimed,
"I am the Messiah; and concerning me Isaiah prophesied and said, 'Behold, a virgin shall
conceive,
and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.'" He quoted other messianic texts,
insisting, "David
my ancestor prophesied concerning me: 'The Lord said to me, thou art my son, this day
have I
begotten thee.'"
The insurgents with him replied that if Yeshu was the Messiah he should give them a
convincing sign.
They therefore, brought to him a lame man, who had never walked. Yeshu spoke over
the man the
letters of the Ineffable Name, and the leper was healed. Thereupon, they worshipped
him as the
Messiah, Son of the Highest.
When word of these happenings came to Jerusalem, the Sanhedrin decided to bring
about the
capture of Yeshu. They sent messengers, Annanui and Ahaziah, who, pretending to be
his disciples,
said that they brought him an invitation from the leaders of Jerusalem to visit them.
Yeshu consented
on condition the members of the Sanhedrin receive him as a lord. He started out toward
Jerusalem
and, arriving at Knob, acquired an ass on which he rode into Jerusalem, as a fulfillment
of the
prophecy of Zechariah.
The Sages bound him and led him before Queen Helene, with the accusation: "This man
is a sorcerer
and entices everyone." Yeshu replied, "The prophets long ago prophesied my coming:
'And there
shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse,' and I am he; but as for them, Scripture
says 'Blessed
is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly.'"
Queen Helene asked the Sages: "What he says, is it in your Torah?" They replied: "It is
in our Torah,
but it is not applicable to him, for it is in Scripture: 'And that prophet which shall
presume to speak a
word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak or that shall speak in the
name of
other gods, even that prophet shall die.' He has not fulfilled the signs and conditions of
the Messiah."
Yeshu spoke up: "Madam, I am the Messiah and I revive the dead." A dead body was
brought in;
he pronounced the letters of the Ineffable Name and the corpse came to life. The Queen
was greatly
moved and said: "This is a true sign." She reprimanded the Sages and sent them
humiliated from her
presence. Yeshu's dissident followers increased and there was controversy in Israel.
Yeshu went to Upper Galilee. the Sages came before the Queen, complaining that
Yeshu practiced
sorcery and was leading everyone astray. Therefore she sent Annanui and Ahaziah to
fetch him.
The found him in Upper Galilee, proclaiming himself the Son of God. When they tried to
take him
there was a struggle, but Yeshu said to the men of Upper Galilee: "Wage no battle." He
would prove
himself by the power which came to him from his Father in heaven. He spoke the
Ineffable Name
over the birds of clay and they flew into the air. He spoke the same letters over a
millstone that had
been placed upon the waters. He sat in it and it floated like a boat. When they saw this
the people
marveled. At the behest of Yeshu, the emissaries departed and reported these wonders
to the
Queen. She trembled with astonishment.
Then the Sages selected a man named Judah Iskarioto and brought him to the Sanctuary
where he
learned the letters of the Ineffable Name as Yeshu had done.
When Yeshu was summoned before the queen, this time there were present also the
Sages and
Judah Iskarioto. Yeshu said: "It is spoken of me, 'I will ascend into heaven.'" He lifted
his arms like
the wings of an eagle and he flew between heaven and earth, to the amazement of
everyone.
The elders asked Iskarioto to do likewise. He did, and flew toward heaven. Iskarioto
attempted to
force Yeshu down to earth but neither one of the two could prevail against the other for
both had the
use of the Ineffable Name. However, Iskarioto defiled Yeshu, so that they both lost
their power and
fell down to the earth, and in their condition of defilement the letters of the Ineffable
Name escaped
from them. Because of this deed of Judah they weep on the eve of the birth of Yeshu.
Yeshu was seized. His head was covered with a garment and he was smitten with
pomegranate
staves; but he could do nothing, for he no longer had the Ineffable Name.
Yeshu was taken prisoner to the synagogue of Tiberias, and they bound him to a pillar.
To allay his
thirst they gave him vinegar to drink. On his head they set a crown of thorns. There was
strife and
wrangling between the elders and the unrestrained followers of Yeshu, as a result of
which the
followers escaped with Yeshu to the region of Antioch[7]; there Yeshu remained until
the eve of the
Passover.
[8] Yeshu then resolved to go the Temple to acquire again the secret of the Name. That
year the
Passover came on a Sabbath day. On the eve of the Passover, Yeshu, accompanied by
his disciples,
came to Jerusalem riding upon an ass. Many bowed down before him. He entered the
Temple with
his three hundred and ten followers. One of them, Judah Iskarioto[9] apprised the
Sages that Yeshu
was to be found in the Temple, that the disciples had taken a vow by the Ten
Commandments not to
reveal his identity but that he would point him out by bowing to him. So it was done and
Yeshu was
seized. Asked his name, he replied to the question by several times giving the names
Mattai, Nakki,
Buni, Netzer, each time with a verse quoted by him and a counter-verse by the Sages.
Yeshu was put to death on the sixth hour on the eve of the Passover and of the
Sabbath. When they
tried to hang him on a tree it broke, for when he had possessed the power he had
pronounced by
the Ineffable Name that no tree should hold him. He had failed to pronounce the
prohibition over the
carob-stalk[10], for it was a plant more than a tree, and on it he was hanged until the
hour for
afternoon prayer, for it is written in Scripture, "His body shall not remain all night upon
the tree."
They buried him outside the city.
On the first day of the week his bold followers came to Queen Helene with the report
that he who
was slain was truly the Messiah and that he was not in his grave; he had ascended to
heaven as he
prophesied. Diligent search was made and he was not found in the grave where he had
been buried.
A gardener had taken him from the grave and had brought him into his garden and
buried him in the
sand over which the waters flowed into the garden.
Queen Helene demanded, on threat of a severe penalty, that the body of Yeshu be
shown to her
within a period of three days. There was a great distress. When the keeper of the
garden saw Rabbi
Tanhuma walking in the field and lamenting over the ultimatum of the Queen, the
gardener related
what he had done, in order that Yeshu's followers should not steal the body and then
claim that he
had ascended into heaven. The Sages removed the body, tied it to the tail of a horse
and transported
it to the Queen, with the words, "This is Yeshu who is said to have ascended to
heaven." Realizing
that Yeshu was a false prophet who enticed the people and led them astray, she
mocked the
followers but praised the Sages.
The disciples went out among the nations--three went to the mountains of Ararat, three
to Armenia,
three to Rome and three to the kingdoms buy the sea, They deluded the people, but
ultimately they
were slain.
The erring followers amongst Israel said: "You have slain the Messiah of the Lord." The
Israelites
answered: "You have believed in a false prophet." There was endless strife and discord
for thirty
years.
The Sages desired to separate from Israel those who continued to claim Yeshu as the
Messiah, and
they called upon a greatly learned man, Simeon Kepha, for help. Simeon went to
Antioch, main city
of the Nazarenes and proclaimed toe them: "I am the disciple of Yeshu. He has sent me
to show you
the way. I will give you a sign as Yeshu has done."
Simeon, having gained the secret of the Ineffable Name, healed a leper and a lame man
by means of
it and thus found acceptance as a true disciple. He told them that Yeshu was in heaven,
at the right
hand of his Father, in fulfillment of Psalm 110:1. He added that Yeshu desired that they
separate
themselves from the Jews and no longer follow their practices, as Isaiah had said, "Your
new moons
and your feasts my soul abhorreth." They were now to observe the first day of the week
instead of
the seventh, the Resurrection instead of the Passover, the Ascension into Heaven
instead of the
Feast of Weeks, the finding of the Cross instead of the New Year, the Feast of the
Circumcision
instead of the Day of Atonement, the New Year instead of Chanukah; they were to be
indifferent
with regard to circumcision and the dietary laws. Also they were to follow the teaching
of turning the
right if smitten on the left and the meek acceptance of suffering. All these new
ordinances which
Simeon Kepha (or Paul, as he was known to the Nazarenes) taught them were really
meant to
separate these Nazarenes from the people of Israel and to bring the internal strife to an
end.
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