The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-04-21
SILVER OF JUDAS.
One of the Thirty Pieces said to be
in Existence.

From the New York Sun: Tradi-
ton and legend supply long history
/ of the thirty pieces of silver paid 70
! Judas for the betrayal of Christ, of
/ one of which Mark Fisher of this city
/ thinks he was robbed recently. 4
series of traditions would carry II
/ back to the time of Terah, father OF
Abraham; for his hands, we are told.
fashioned and made the thirty pieces
/ of silver" which were kept intact
from that time until they were used as
/ the purchase money for the potter
! field, or field OF blood.
Terah having made them, Abraham
took them with him when ne telL
| Chaldea, and used them as part Of the
purchase money for the cave 81
/ Machpelah They appear next in the
hands of the Ishmaelites, who paid
them to Joseph's brethren when they
sold him into bondage.
AS the Biblical version of the story
says that only twenty pieces of silver
was the price paid for Joseph, we
must conclude, in order to keep the
thirty pieces intact, either that the
/ other ten were paid with theIn Tor
some other purchase, or accept the
statement made by a writer in the
/ fourteenth century that for thfltu
pens they sold that childe.
However this may be, tradition says
| that these same pieces of silver came
1 into the possession of Joseph himself
when his brethren went down INTO
Egypt to buy corn. On the death OF
Jacob they found their way into the
royal treasury of Shebas where Joseph
sent them to pay for spices to embalm
his father.
Here they remained, undisturbed, for
a long period of years, in fact, until the
] Queen of Sheba made her wonderful
visit to King Solomon, when they ng-
ured among the gifts presented by the
/ queen to the ruler whose fame had
| reused her curiosity.
/ From Jerusalem they found their way
| - TO-
of Rehoboam, when the King of Egypt,
4 having despoiled the temple, gave them
| to the King of Arabia, his ally, as part
of his share of the plumber.
! Again they rest, this time until the
birth of Christ, when Melchoir, one of
the wise men, brought them from
| Arabia and placed them at the feet OF
the infant Saviour as part OF his otfer-
ling. During the hurried flight into
Egypt they were in the keeping OF the
| Virgin Mary but when closely pursued
by the soldiers of Herod she stopped to
| inquire her way of a man VINO was
| sowing corn, and in her haste and con-
fusion she dropped them
Scarcely were the holy family out OF
sight when the corn the man had been
sowing miracuIously sprang up
and grew. Almost Immediately
Herod's soldiers appeared and
inquired of the sower if he had seen
the infant Saviour and His parents
This man replied that no one had pass
ed that way since his corn was sown,
and the soldiers, considering further
pursuit in that direction useless, turned
back and gave uD the search.
I They money was found by shep-
herd, who kept it intact for years.
Then, being afflicted by disease that
was pronounced incurable. he appled
10 the Savior for help and was healed.
Out of gratitude he presented the
lrnoney as an Offering at the high altar,
and soon afterward it was used to
pay Judas for his act of treachery.
Various reasons have been given to
explain why Judas eXacted just that
amount One is that he believed him
self cheated out of so much. through
the use of the box of ointment for if
it had been sold for three hundred
pence he would have appropriated a
tenth. Again, it is said that Judas,
having been sent by Christ on Holy
Thursday with that amount of money
to make ready the last supper, fell
asleep by the Wayside and was robbed.
In the midst of his distress plate ap-
lpeared. and being tempted, he agreed
to betray his Master for the amount
of money of which he had been rob
bed.
| When snnitten by remorse, he least
down the pieces of silver in the tenn
ple' and the priests, believing it not
llawful=being the price of blOOd-to
return them to the treasury, pur-
chased with them the Dotter's field, the
field of blood" This field was long
supposed to be possessed of unusual
| powers, among them that of rapidly
decomposing bodies buried in it. so
that large quantities of the earth were
carried away. The Pisan Crusaders
took some of the earth with them for
the Campo Santo in Pisa. and the
Empress Helena had some of it taken
to Rome. Portions of it are still
shown in various parts Of Europe,
where it is said to have been pre-
served.
One tradition says that only half of
the thirty pieces of silver were used
as purchase money for the field of
blood the others being given as a
bride to the soldiers who guarded the
sepuIchre, that they might say that
the body of our Lord had been stolen.
Here, according to tradition. all trace
of them was lost.