Toledot Yeshu ("The life story of Jesus") revisited

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One of the most controversial texts in history, Toledot Yeshu presents the life of Jesus from a negative, anti-Christian viewpoint. It claims Jesus had an illegitimate birth, stole the Ineffable Name of God, engaged in heretical activities, and met a disgraceful end. For centuries, this narrative circulated orally before taking on various literary forms. While the exact dates of these compositions are unclear, early references to a Jewish counter-history of Jesus can be found in the writings of pagan and Christian authors from Late Antiquity, including Celsus, Justin, and Tertullian. In the Middle Ages, the text sparked intense controversy, with Jews, Christians, and atheists—like Ibn Shaprut, Luther, and Voltaire—citing and critiquing it to challenge their opponents' beliefs, often revealing their own biases. Due to its provocative content, Toledot Yeshu has received limited scholarly attention until recently. In 2007, Peter Schäfer initiated a project at Princeton University to create a scholarly edition with translation and commentary based on approximately 150 manuscripts. This effort, along with an international conference organized by Schäfer, Michael Meerson, and Yaacov Deutsch, has advanced research on Toledot Yeshu, marking a significant development in the field.