Iscariot
/ɪˈskæriət/noun
A surname or epithet traditionally associated with Judas, the disciple who betrayed Jesus.
Did you know?The Gospels never explain “Iscariot” as meaning traitor; the most widely accepted interpretation connects it to the Judean town Kerioth, although scholars still debate the exact origin.
Etymological Timeline
Biblical Hebrew
Hebrew
אִישׁ קְרִיּוֹת (ʾîš Qəriyyōṯ)
“Man of Kerioth; a possible description identifying someone from the place Kerioth”
Second Temple period
Aramaic
Iškaryāʾ
“A likely Aramaic form of the epithet, reconstructed from later transliterations”
1st Century
Ancient Greek
Ἰσκαριώτης (Iskariṓtēs)
“Iscariot; the form used in the Greek New Testament”
Late Antiquity
Latin
Iscariotes
“Iscariot; the Latin biblical form of Judas’s epithet”
Old English and Medieval English
English
Iscariot
“A traditional form of Judas’s name, transmitted through biblical and ecclesiastical texts”
Modern English
English
Iscariot
“Judas Iscariot, or figuratively a betrayer”