Who is panthera

One thing seems certain, though: the story gained some traction. Why else would Origen have taken the time to respond? Fortunately, traction does not equal truth, and Origen took Celsus to task. In so doing, he might have given us a hint as to the purpose of a false story… but only a hint.

Such people then and now have the power to persuade people against God. And then accept God himself! This is why these types of accusations continue to this day — they must. But they travel now as they traveled then: on the far-fringe of credibility.

Some observers have gleaned a similar story out of the Talmud although, I have read the same words and simply do not see it. Get to know the snow leopard. Get to know the leopard. Get to know the puma. Get to know the cheetah. Download the Full Annual Report. Our vision is a world where wild cats thrive in healthy, natural and developed landscapes that sustain people and biodiversity. Click here to view and download the Annual Report Why Protect Big Cats?

Our team of leading biologists and law enforcement experts develop innovative strategies to address the dire threats facing cheetahs, jaguars, leopards, lions, pumas, snow leopards, and tigers. We are on the front lines, fighting to stop poaching, prevent conflict with people, conserve wild cat habitats, and reduce unsustainable legal hunting.

These proven strategies don't just protect wild cats— they also protect their vast landscapes and the endless variety of life within them. Learn More. Join us in celebrating our 15th Anniversary. Together, we can continue to save wild cats and wild places around the world.

Panthera uses its expertise to inform and influence public policy that contributes to maintaining healthy populations of wild cats and their wild landscapes. Sign up to learn more. Panthera wishes good health to all of our supporters and your families in these anxious times.

In the midst of an unimaginable future, we know that wild cat poachers and wildlife traffickers Even in the midst of uncertainty, we carry on our mission with the same passion and commitment as ever. Wherever you are in the world, we hope you enjoy a Window to the Wild with some of Firstly, that thou wast born of fornication ; secondly, that thy birth in Bethlehem was the cause of the slaying of children ; thirdly, that thy father Joseph and thy mother Mary fled into Egypt because they had no confidence before the people.

Hence it is probably quite a longstanding tradition. And after she had been astonished, her womb was found as before she had conceived. This virgin becomes a mother and is found filled with tenderness bringing into the world this child while suffering no birth pains. These passages clearly show the intention of their authors. If this assumption is retained, we would be in presence of two types of defense established in the Christian world in the fight against the pagan and Jewish slanders concerning the virgin birth of Jesus :.

Taking up the reconsidered accusation of adultery in order to counterattack the authors of this accusation. Hence, according to this scholar, both Jews and Christians would have used the same name for Jesus. Moreover, this instance of its appearance sheds no new light on the origin of the cryptogram pantera. The accusation was current for a long time among the Jews, for it is found in Toledot Yeshu. The remarks in the book are based on Talmudic sources that have been thoroughly reworked.

Toledot Yeshu is thus given over to a thorough revision of the stories in the Gospels, presenting it in the form of a Jewish life of Jesus. In John , this expression is employed at the time of the meeting between Philip and Nathanael and the object is to make the person of Jesus more intelligible to Nathanael. Therefore it can be emphasized that no arguments are employed to counter the affirmation of a natural birth of Jesus.

Therefore, one may assume that this tradition could have emerged as early as the second century. Nevertheless, it is difficult to imagine that the tradition preceded the composition of the Gospel according to Matthew.

This defamatory epithet is also found in the writings of Tertullian in second century. He refers to the Jewish arguments against Jesus in the following manner :. This is He whom you purchased from Judas! This is He whom you struck with reed and fist, whom you contemptuously spat upon, to whom you gave gall and vinegar to drink! This is He whom His disciples secretly stole away, that it might be said He had risen again.

This passage is particularly interesting, because it mentions the Jewish accusation of a union with a prostitute, of which Jesus was the product. This must have been a widespread allegation among the Jews, the very milieu in which Tertullian developed. The Jewish allegation that Jesus was the son of a prostitute is quite well grounded in the Talmudic tradition.

It appears in both the Talmudic and Midrashic corpus and without doubt testifies to a very old Jewish representation of the person of Jesus. The accusation that Jesus was the son of a prostitute is elaborated in the Midrash in the form of the affiliation between Jesus and Christianity. In other words, Christianity is equated with the seduction of a prostitute, from whom one must distance oneself radically, as we see in the following passage : [53].

What is the hedge which the Holy Writings made about their words? Lo, it says, Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house. Remove thy way from her refers to minuth. Therefore the verse says, None that go unto her return, neither do they attain unto the paths of life.

It is written, She hath prepared her meat, she hath mingled her wine : she hath also furnished her table Prov 9, 2.

Such are the wicked reshaim. As soon as he becomes one of them, they each claim their own and take it away from him. And of them it is said, Till an arrow strike through the liver ; as a bird hasteneth to the snare — and knoweth not that it is at the cost of his life.

Another interpretation. Remove thy way far from her refers to a harlot. And if he says, I have confidence in myself that, although I go there, I shall not stumble because of her, he is told, although thou hast confidence in thyself, walk not there lest thou stumble through her.

This is a crucial text, because it allows us to distinguish the attitude of the Sages toward the Christian minim [heretics]. At that time, the doctrinal polemics between Jews and Christians caused the two religions to reach a Parting of the Ways and to regard one another as rivals. It is in this spirit of polemic, which appeared in the second century, that the Parting of the Ways should be placed. This phenomenon of separation between Jews and Judeo-Christians can be explained by a dual process that had its origin both in the rabbinical world and the Christian world, while being a function of different historical factors.

The Jewish world, that was well on its way to socio-religious normalization after the destruction of the Second Temple, wished to expel the Judeo-Christians from the Synagogue. The Birkat ha-minim constitutes the most significant step in this direction.

In the Christian world this century represented the concern for construction of an identity passing frequently by self-definition in order to dispute internally with personalities such as Basilides or Marcion and apologetic steps aimed at informing the Roman authorities of the existence and reality of Christianity.

The idea of a separation between Jews and Christians in the second century has long been taken for granted by the historiographical research. It was considered that this century launched a period of relative isolation between Jews and Christians and that the only possible interactions involved polemics and conflict.

In the last few years, this paradigm has been re-evaluated and Judaism and Christianity are no longer considered monolithic entities for which an act of separation would have marked a historic rupture. This new historiographical approach dwells on the continuity between the traditions shared by Judaism and Christianity and on their mutual impacts. Certainly mutations arose, but an important place is accorded to the constants between the traditions.

Thus, Ben Pantera is the most ancient reference to Jesus to be found in Talmudic literature. The name yeshua ben pantiri is equivalent to yeshu hanotsri Jesus of Nazareth. While these names are typical of rabbinical literature, it should be noted that the latter is mainly found in Babylonian sources.

Hence, the name is usually thought to be a deformation of the form, yeshua ben pant d era , which is supposed to be its original version. Nevertheless, M. Rens claims to have uncovered a mention of Jesus in the name Yeshua ben Pantiri, which appears in the Baraita of Baba Metsia 62a :.

Two people were traveling along the way and one of them had in his possession a flask of water. If both drink, they will die, however, if one of them drinks, he will reach a settlement. According to Rens, the unusual use of the verbal form darash without any scriptural support reveals a teaching by an anonymous author who does not belong to the circles close to the Sages. In the present case, this author, who is thus ben Patura , is assimilated to yeshua ben pantiri , meaning Jesus.

Rens thus suggests correcting the text, basing himself on a transliteration of the Hebrew ben pantiri into the Latin ben Patri filius patri , evoking the filial nature of Jesus, as it seems to appear in the Gospels.

Regarding the teaching that is supposed to be that of Jesus, Lauterbach does not hesitate to associate it to the spirit of the Sermon on the Mount, suggesting that it might have been omitted during the composition of the Gospel of Matthew. Other occurrences of the verb form darash are found, and their authors are well known Sages. It is unlikely that Jesus would have been named with the Hebrew term ben accompanied by the Latin patri. A text of the Sifra, with content almost identical to that of the Baraita, mentions R.

Aquiba in conversation with ben Patouri a. Needless to say, this contemporary reference completely undermines the identification of the latter with Jesus. Certain texts of the Tosefta mention the complete name of Ben Patouri a , who appears to be R. Yehuda ben Paturi , a man who indeed lived in the second century. Thus it is difficult to connect these two personages to one another. Nevertheless, it does seem logical to assume that yeshua ben pantiri is a deformation of yeshua ben pantera , which was much better known in Talmudic texts as references to Jesus.

One finds various forms of this cryptogram, such as : pantera ; pandira ; pandera ; pantira ; panteri. All of these names designate Jesus of Nazareth in Talmudic literature. They are, however, different in the way they are transliterated, especially because of slight differences in spelling, for example the addition of a yod before the last syllable.

Sifre ed. Finkelstein, p. Hammer, Sifre. See S. Agus , Judaism and Christianity. Selected Accounts , New York, Arno, , p. We will return to this question.

Bezold , ed. It should be mentioned that various epitaphs of Roman soldiers show that this name was widely used, especially in inscriptions found in Germany. Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum XIII, 2, , which refers to an archer from Sidon in Phoenicia who was probably transferred to Germany in 9 ce to continue his service there.

Two other epitaphs mention the name Pantera. Boyarin , Dying for God.