Jesus in the Talmud

66 Chapter 6It is within this halakhic discourse that some details of Jesus’ condemnationand execution are reported:• He was hanged on the eve of Passover which, according to one manuscript,happened to be Sabbath eve.• The herald made the announcement required by the law forty daysbefore the execution took place.• Jesus was executed because he practiced sorcery and enticed Israelinto idolatry.• Nobody came to his defense.• He was close to the government.Several of these details can be easily explained against the backgroundof the relevant Mishna in tractate Sanhedrin. There, the standard procedureaccording to the rabbinic law is explained as follows: 20All who are stoned are also hanged (nitlin) [afterwards] [on a tree]: 21(these are) the words of R. Eliezer.However the Sages said: only the blasphemer (ha-megaddef ) andthe idolater (ha-