Editing Akeldama (section)

==New Testament connection==
{{further|Judas Iscariot#Death}}
Christian tradition connects the place with Judas Iscariot, who betrayed [[Jesus]] for 30 pieces of silver. There are two accounts of his death.

The [[Gospel of Matthew]] describes how Judas returned the money to the Temple authorities before hanging himself. Deeming it as blood money, and therefore illegal to put into their treasury, they used it instead to buy a field as a burial ground for foreigners: thus the place gained the name "the Field of Blood" ({{bibleverse|Matthew|27:7}}, and possibly with allusions to {{bibleverse|Zechariah|11:12–13}} and {{bibleverse|Jeremiah|18:2–3}} and {{bibleverse|Jeremiah|32:6–15}}).

According to the [[Acts of the Apostles]] ({{bibleverse|Acts|1:18–19}}) Judas "acquired a field with the reward of his unjust deed, and falling headfirst he burst open in the middle and all his intestines gushed out. This became known to all who lived in Jerusalem, so that in their own language they called that field Hakeldama, that is, 'Field of Blood.{{'-}}"

The implication in Matthew is that the location name refers to the blood of Jesus, whereas in Acts the name refers to the blood of Judas.<ref>Arie W. Zwiep, ''Judas and the choice of Matthias: a study on context and concern of Acts 1:15–26'' (Mohr Siebeck, 2004) page 150.</ref> 
[[Barnabas Lindars]] holds the Acts narrative to be prior, and that although the incident is not created out of the Old Testament passages the text of [[Book of Zechariah|Zechariah]] 11:12ff is "freely used to fill up the gaps in the story ... to the early Christian exegetes a perfectly legitimate [[wikt:hermeneutical|hermeneutical]] procedure".<ref>Barnabas Lindars, ''New Testament Apologetic'', London, 1961, p122</ref>

According to [[I. Howard Marshall|Ian Howard Marshall]], Acts may be recording the (inaccurate) story as told within Jerusalem.<ref>I Howard–Marshall, ''Acts'', Tyndale, 1980, pp 64–65</ref>

===Identification===
In his ''[[Onomasticon (Eusebius)|Onomasticon]]'' (ed. Klostermann, p.&nbsp;102, 16), [[Eusebius]] says the "field of Haceldama" lies nearer to "[[Tophet|Thafeth]] of the [[Gehenna|Valley of Ennom]]". But under the word "Haceldama" (p.&nbsp;38, 20) he says that this field was pointed out as being "north of [[Mount Zion|Mount Sion]]". [[St. Jerome]] changed this to "south of Mount Sion" (p.&nbsp;39, 27).