Exploring the Meaning of Ioudas in Greek

Ἰούδας is a personal name rendered “Judas.” In the passages cited here it appears both in Jesus’ family setting and in the passion narrative as the identifying name of “Judas Iscariot.”

Occurrences

Matthew 1:2 — “Abraham became the father of Isaac. Isaac became the father of Jacob. Jacob became the father of Judah and his brothers.”

Here Ἰούδας functions as a genealogical name within a chain of father-to-son relationships. The verse uses it to mark the point where “Jacob” is said to beget “Judah and his brothers,” presenting Ἰούδας as one among siblings and anchoring the line in a remembered family history.

Matthew 1:3 — “Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar. Perez became the father of Hezron. Hezron became the father of Ram.”

In this next link of the genealogy, Ἰούδας is the named father of “Perez and Zerah by Tamar.” The name’s contribution is strictly identifying: it is the personal label that connects the preceding generation (“Jacob”) to the next (“Perez… Hezron… Ram”), and it supplies the subject for the statement of parentage.

Matthew 10:4 — “Simon the Zealot; and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.”

In the list of the twelve, Ἰούδας appears with the qualifier “Iscariot,” and the verse immediately appends the characterization “who also betrayed him.” The name identifies a specific member of the apostolic group, and in this context it is bound tightly to his later action: betrayal. The proper name does the work of distinguishing him from others who might bear the same name.

Matthew 13:55 — “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother called Mary, and his brothers, James, Joses, Simon, and Judas?”

Here Ἰούδας is one of the names listed as Jesus’ brothers, alongside “James, Joses, Simon.” The name contributes to the crowd’s appeal to familiarity: they identify Jesus by family ties (“carpenter’s son… mother called Mary”) and then by the names of his brothers, with Ἰούδας included among them as part of that household recognition.

Matthew 26:14 — “Then one of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests,”

In this scene the name Ἰούδας appears within a pivotal narrative movement: “one of the twelve” goes to “the chief priests.” The clause “who was called Judas Iscariot” both identifies the person and underscores the dissonance between his status (“one of the twelve”) and his destination (the leadership opposed to Jesus in the passion narrative). The name functions as the narrative’s anchor for this initiating step.

Matthew 26:25 — “Judas, who betrayed him, answered, “It isn’t me, is it, Rabbi?” He said to him, “You said it.”

Ἰούδας appears as a direct address and as the speaker who asks, “It isn’t me, is it, Rabbi?” The added description “who betrayed him” frames the dialogue with dramatic irony: the name marks the questioner as the betrayer even as he voices denial. In this verse the name identifies the participant in an exchange that places responsibility and response side by side (“He said to him, ‘You said it.’”).

Matthew 26:47 — “While he was still speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and elders of the people.”

Here Ἰούδας is the arriving figure who brings the arresting party: “with him a great multitude with swords and clubs.” The name again is paired with status, “one of the twelve,” heightening the scene’s tension: a close associate arrives at the head of a hostile crowd. The name supplies the narrative’s focal point for the transition from speech to confrontation.

Matthew 27:3 — “Then Judas, who betrayed him, when he saw that Jesus was condemned, felt remorse, and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,”

In this aftermath scene, Ἰούδας is the subject of multiple actions: seeing condemnation, feeling remorse, and returning “the thirty pieces of silver” to religious authorities. The description “who betrayed him” remains attached to the name, but the verse also depicts an inner response (“felt remorse”) and a concrete reversal of the transaction (“brought back”). The name therefore carries the narrative weight of both culpability and reaction within the same sentence.

Mark 3:19 — “and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him. Then he came into a house.”

As in Matthew’s list, Ἰούδας appears in Mark with “Iscariot” and the note “who also betrayed him.” The name functions to complete the roster with a particular identifying label, and the appended characterization fixes how the reader is meant to remember him within the group. The brief narrative continuation (“Then he came into a house”) moves on, leaving the name as a concluding mark on the list.

Mark 6:3 — “Isn’t this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judah, and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” They were offended at him.

In Mark’s hometown question, Ἰούδας occurs as “Judah” in English in the same familial list: “brother of James, Joses, Judah, and Simon.” The name is used as part of the community’s inventory of relatives—an argument from proximity and familiarity that culminates in the reaction, “They were offended at him.” Here the name’s force is social: it is one of the household names used to reduce Jesus to the known and ordinary.

Mark 14:10 — “Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went away to the chief priests, that he might deliver him to them.”

In this verse Ἰούδας is again identified as “Iscariot” and explicitly as “one of the twelve,” and the purpose of his movement is spelled out: “that he might deliver him to them.” The name fixes agency: Judas is the one who initiates the handover by going to the chief priests. The formulation links identity (a named disciple) with intention (delivery).

Mark 14:43 — “Immediately, while he was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, came—and with him a multitude with swords and clubs, from the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders.”

As in Matthew’s arrest scene, Ἰούδας is the named arrival, “one of the twelve,” accompanied by an armed crowd. Mark expands the sourcing of the group: “from the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders.” The name serves to pinpoint the insider who leads the outsiders to Jesus, and it stands at the hinge of the action marked by “Immediately.”

Sense and Usage

Across these passages Ἰούδας functions as a straightforward personal name, but its narrative associations differ by context. In the genealogical material (Matthew 1:2–3), the name is purely connective: it links generations by fatherhood and places a particular individual within a sequence of descent. The name carries no stated evaluation; its role is to maintain the continuity of the family line by naming each key figure in turn.

In the hometown scenes (Matthew 13:55; Mark 6:3), Ἰούδας appears as one item in a list of siblings. In both accounts the list contributes to a communal claim of knowing who Jesus is by the people closest to him—mother, brothers, sisters. Within that rhetorical strategy, the name is one of several familiar identifiers marshaled to support the conclusion that Jesus should be intelligible and unremarkable to them, a stance that results in offense in Mark’s telling.

In the lists of the twelve (Matthew 10:4; Mark 3:19), the name is sharpened by an attached descriptor: “Iscariot,” followed by the explanatory tag “who also betrayed him.” The combination of proper name plus qualifier serves two purposes at once: it distinguishes this Judas from any other Judas, and it interprets his place in the group through the defining act of betrayal. The name is not merely an identifier in these list contexts; it becomes a label that already contains the plot’s outcome.

In the passion narrative steps (Matthew 26:14, 26:25, 26:47, 27:3; Mark 14:10, 14:43), Ἰούδας is repeatedly coupled with relational language—“one of the twelve”—and with his action toward Jesus—going to the chief priests, coming with the armed crowd, being the one “who betrayed him,” and experiencing remorse when Jesus is condemned. The repetition of the name in these scenes keeps the focus on personal agency: a particular individual, known and named, performs decisive actions. At the same time, the recurring “one of the twelve” keeps his proximity in view; the name identifies not only a betrayer, but an insider whose actions occur from within the circle.

Imagery

The name Ἰούδας gathers two dominant settings in these verses: the quiet register of family identification (genealogy and siblings) and the tense movement of betrayal (approaching chief priests, arriving with swords and clubs, returning silver in remorse). The same personal name thus appears both among ordinary household lists and at the center of scenes filled with confrontation and consequence, where “a great multitude with swords and clubs” accompanies him (Matthew 26:47; Mark 14:43) and where “the thirty pieces of silver” appear in his hands as he turns back (Matthew 27:3).

Sources: Lexical data from Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance and the Translators Brief Lexicon of Extended Strongs for Greek (STEPBible, CC BY). Occurrence data from the Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament (STEPBible, CC BY). Scripture quotations from the World English Bible (public domain).