Iscariots

Iscariots is a term used chiefly to refer to Judas Iscariot, a member of Jesus's Twelve Apostles who is described in the New Testament as the betrayer of Jesus. The plural form can be used to discuss people who bore the surname Iscariot or to refer to Judas in a generalized sense, though there is no separate historical group known as “the Iscariots.”

Etymology and origin of the name are a central point of interpretation. The surname Iscariot is commonly understood as meaning "man from Karioth" or "Ish Qiryath" in Hebrew, indicating origin from the Judean town of Karioth. Karioth is mentioned in biblical texts as a settlement in the territory of Judah, but its exact location remains uncertain. The name appears in Greek in the New Testament as Iskariotēs and is rendered in Latin and other languages as Iscarius or Iscariot.

In the biblical narrative, Judas is identified as one of the Twelve Apostles. He is depicted as the one who facilitates Jesus's arrest by betraying him for thirty pieces of silver, with the Gospels describing his subsequent death by suicide. The scholarly discussion around the name focuses on whether it signals geographic origin or carries other connotations; some later theories have linked Iscariot to the Sicarii, a group of dagger-wielding zealots, but this connection is speculative and not universally accepted.

There is no widely recognized separate organization or movement known as the Iscariots. The term is primarily understood as a surname associated with Judas Iscariot and, by extension, discussions of his role in the gospel narratives.