How did Judas die?

Question

Matthew 27:5
And he [Judas] cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.

Acts 1:18
Now this man [Judas] purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out.

Whenever someone hangs himself their bowells do not gush out.

Answer 1

God caught him masturbating, and zapped him, not with a lightning bolt, but in His microwave.

Answer 2

How do you know what happens if a man hangs himself? Ever seen it? You know, if the bible were to tell every little detail of every story, it would fill a stadium and nobody would be able to carry it. Did you ever think that the body could have broken loose from the head when he did the deed and dogs came to feed on him, thus his bowels gushing out? And then sometimes if the body is not taken down right away but left for a while, it will bloat and then finally burst open too and the bowels will gush out just as it said. Nowhere does it say which of these scenarios happened but does it really matter that much for it to have happened in either way?

Answer 3

How did Judas Iscariot die?

Matthew 27:5 states that Judas hanged himself, whereas Acts 1:18 says that “pitching head foremost he noisily burst in his midst and all his intestines were poured out.” While Matthew seems to deal with the mode of the attempted suicide, Acts describes the results. Judas apparently tied a rope to the branch of a tree, put a noose around his neck, and tried to hang himself by jumping off a cliff. It seems that either the rope or the tree limb broke so that he plunged downward and burst open on the rocks below. The topography around Jerusalem makes such a conclusion reasonable.

Answer 4

I looked this up for you and here is what I found. In the bible, you have to read a lot and compare it to other books in the bible. Knowing who, when, where and why helps answers questions that aren't plainly said.

Falling headlong. Mt 27:5 says he hanged himself. Peter tells some additional particulars, which Matthew omitted. He probably hanged himself on a tree projecting over the precipices of the Valley of Hinnom, and afterwards, on account of the rope or limb breaking, fell headlong with such force as to burst his body open on the jagged rocks. This is the traditional account of his death.

Answer 5

I've read an explanation of it somewhere, but you'll notice that the latter passage (if you read the verses around it) seems much more like an urban legend than a historical detailing of facts. Put yourself in their times, talking to your friend, and you come across that field. You'd probably whisper over to your friend, "Hey, that's the field where they say Judas spontaneously combusted." "Yeah, I know, it's just like the drummer on Spinal Tap; therefore, heavy metal is an inherently evil genre." (I had to throw in musical criticism for no real reason -- metal is NOT evil, for all you silly Christians out there who think it is).

Anyhow, this makes a lot of sense if you manage to put yourself into somewhat of a superstitious mindset. I've heard other explanations, but I don't remember what they are. This one makes the most sense, in my opinion, seeing as how people don't just randomly burst open.

EDIT: the idea that he hanged himself in this field and later fell down also makes a lot of sense, too. Other people mentioned it.

Answer 6

How many hangings have you witnessed? I've never witnessed any but I heard this story from my great grand mother. She said that in her time when hanging was permitted for both men and women, a woman was hanged and her entire inside came out her private parts, back and front, from that day hanging women were not permitted. This took place in Barbados. What's the difference, if a person was hanged by someone or himself?

Answer 7

It depends on how you interpret the acts passage. He could have hung himslef in the middle of his field. He fell headlong, until he got to the end of the rope, the bursting bowels could be a reference to the explosive bowel evacuation that most deceased go thru.

Answer 8

in reading acts it says that the man (judas)bought a piece of land that he got for betraying Jesus it pertains to falling headlong in the middle of his body it burst open and all his intestines fell out they called the piece of land Akeldama- the field of blood

Answer 9

He was overcome with grief and went to hang himself on a tree branch that hung over a steep cliff and the rope broke and he was "burst asunder" on the rocks below. Don't ask me why I remember that (I've tried to forget all the religious crap) but I do.

Answer 10

He did hang himself and about the bowels it's hard to say. hey may have cut his abdomen. In medieval times they would cut the stomach so the guts would fall out so it is possible that that happened.

Answer 11

You answered your own question.

He hanged himself and the rope or branch broke after some time and caused him to fall, falling head first and his bowels spewing out. It is quite plausible that he hanged himself from the wall of Jerusalem, high enough to cause such an impact.