Who is Nicodemus – Crosspost from Patreon
I am currently writing a novel about one of the nine lepers who were healed and failed to return to give thanks. The leper in my story, Eleazar, is associated with Nicodemus. This post is one I already shared with my patrons via Patreon, but I also wanted to share it here. If you’re interested in learning more about that effort, check out https://patreon.com/euphemos.
It took me a few weeks to realize Nicodemus is a major character. I entered with my focus upon Eleazar, and expected Nicodemus would be relatively minor. As I began to lay out my timeline, however, I discovered I have a good deal to learn from exploring the character of Nicodemus.
Biblically, we know little with certainty about Nicodemus. He is mentioned only in the St. John’s gospel, and only three times. First, in John 3, Nicodemus comes to Jesus by night, acknowledges Jesus is a teacher come from God, then gets thrown for a bit of a loop when Jesus says no one can see the kingdom of God without being born again/from above. Jesus challenges him to believe heavenly things, and states that “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish, but have eternal life.” In John 7, Nicodemus speaks up on behalf of Jesus to ask if the law condemns a person before it first hears the evidence and accusations (Sanhedrin trials consisted of a reading of the accusation, an opportunity to confess, presentation of evidence by two or more witnesses, then a judgment). Finally, in John 19, Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea wrap the body of Jesus and lay it in a tomb.
We know, then
- He is a Pharisee (tradition associates him with R. Gamaliel, of the School of Hillel)
- He is a prominent member of the Sanhedrin (Jesus calls him “the teacher of Israel”)
- There are significant gaps in our understanding of the Sanhedrin at this time, and certainly I don’t have an expert grasp on even what is known. The Sanhedrin had several divisions. Nicodemus would have been in the chamber of the elders, as would (most probably) Joseph of Arimathea. The Sanhedrin had a president (Nasi). In Jesus’ time, this was R. Gamaliel. On the president’s right sat the Father of the House of Judgement. On his left, the Chakam (“wise man”) who pre-examined matters and acted as a sort of referee to ensure proceedings obeyed the rules of order. Nicodemus is, quite possibly, the Chakam of the Sanhedrin. We see him exercise this role in John 7.
- He recognizes Jesus is a master/teacher, and addresses him as rabbi. Today, every Tobias, Daniel, and Hadassah are ordained “rabbi,” but this term was reserved only for the greatest of teachers until several centuries after the time of Jesus.
- He comes to Jesus by night. We don’t know why. Some speculate timidity. Others suggest that, since scripture study at night was extra holy, it made sense for a leading Pharisee to come at night.
- He is not a young man (old enough to be a leader within the Sanhedrin, so not younger than 50-ish), but we cannot necessarily assume he is old from his question about entering his mother’s womb when he is already old.
- Some assert that he is a rigid/literal thinker, based upon his responses in John 3. Others suggest he “gets it” exactly, and is responding to Jesus not with confusion, but in the “answering a question with a question” style common between leading teachers.
- He has a sense of justice (John 7).
- He becomes openly associated with Jesus and defiles himself by touching a corpse right before a major feast (John 20).
Nicodemus is possibly the same person as Buni “Naqdimon” ben Gurion, one of Jerusalem’s three leading members of the Sanhedrin. The Talmud (b.Gittin 56a) says he was wealthy enough that he and two others could provide all the needs of Jerusalem for 21 years. Tractate Erub 3(4):17 says the Gurion family estates were in Ruma, in Lower Galilee. The Talmud tells a remarkably long and detailed story of how Buni ben Gurion became Nicodemus (b.Ta’anit 19b-20a). Here is a wonderfully accessible version of the story, from https://www.sefaria.org.
ת”ר פעם אחת עלו כל ישראל לרגל לירושלים ולא היה להם מים לשתות הלך נקדימון בן גוריון אצל אדון אחד אמר לו הלויני שתים עשרה מעיינות מים לעולי רגלים ואני אתן לך שתים עשרה עינות מים ואם איני נותן לך הריני נותן לך שתים עשרה ככר כסף וקבע לו זמן
The Sages taught: Once all the Jewish people ascended for the pilgrimage Festival to Jerusalem and there was not enough water for them to drink. Nakdimon ben Guryon, one of the wealthy citizens of Jerusalem, went to a certain gentile officer [hegemon] and said to him: Lend me twelve wells of water for the pilgrims, and I will give back to you twelve wells of water. And if I do not give them to you, I will give you twelve talents of silver. And the officer set him a time limit for returning the water.
כיון שהגיע הזמן ולא ירדו גשמים בשחרית שלח לו שגר לי או מים או מעות שיש לי בידך שלח לו עדיין יש לי זמן כל היום כולו שלי הוא בצהרים שלח לו שגר לי או מים או מעות שיש לי בידך שלח לו עדיין יש לי שהות ביום במנחה שלח לו שגר לי או מים או מעות שיש לי בידך שלח לו עדיין יש לי שהות ביום לגלג עליו אותו אדון אמר כל השנה כולה לא ירדו גשמים
When the set time arrived and no rain had fallen, in the morning the official sent a message to Nakdimon: Send me either the water or the coins that you owe me. Nakdimon sent a message to him: I still have time, as the entire day is mine. At noontime the official again sent a message to him: Send me either the water or the coins that you owe me. Nakdimon sent a message to him: I still have time left in the day. In the afternoon he sent a message to him: Send me either the water or the coins that you owe me. Nakdimon sent a message to him: I still have time left in the day. That officer ridiculed him, saying: Throughout the entire year rain has not fallen,
ועכשיו ירדו גשמים נכנס לבית המרחץ בשמחה עד שהאדון נכנס בשמחתו לבית המרחץ נקדימון נכנס לבית המקדש כשהוא עצב נתעטף ועמד בתפלה
and now it will rain? He entered the bathhouse in a state of joy, anticipating the large sum of money he was about to receive. As the master entered the bathhouse in his joy, Nakdimon entered the Temple in a state of sadness. He wrapped himself in his prayer shawl and stood in prayer.
אמר לפניו רבונו של עולם גלוי וידוע לפניך שלא לכבודי עשיתי ולא לכבוד בית אבא עשיתי אלא לכבודך עשיתי שיהו מים מצויין לעולי רגלים מיד נתקשרו שמים בעבים וירדו גשמים עד שנתמלאו שתים עשרה מעינות מים והותירו
He said before God: Master of the Universe, it is revealed and known before You that I did not act for my own honor, nor did I act for the honor of my father’s house. Rather, I acted for Your honor, so that there should be water for the Festival pilgrims. Immediately the sky became overcast and rain fell until the twelve cisterns were filled with water, and there was even more water, so that they overflowed.
עד שיצא אדון מבית המרחץ נקדימון בן גוריון יצא מבית המקדש כשפגעו זה בזה אמר לו תן לי דמי מים יותר שיש לי בידך אמר לו יודע אני שלא הרעיש הקב”ה את עולמו אלא בשבילך אלא עדיין יש לי פתחון פה עליך שאוציא ממך את מעותיי שכבר שקעה חמה וגשמים ברשותי ירדו
As the master left the bathhouse, Nakdimon ben Guryon left the Temple. When they met one another, Nakdimon said to him: Give me the money you owe me for the extra water you received. The official said to him: I know that the Holy One, Blessed be He, has shaken His world and caused rain to fall only for you. However, I still maintain a claim against you, by which I can legally take my coins from you, as you did not pay me on the agreed date, for the sun had already set, and therefore the rain fell onto my property.
חזר ונכנס לבית המקדש נתעטף ועמד בתפלה ואמר לפניו רבונו של עולם הודע שיש לך אהובים בעולמך מיד נתפזרו העבים וזרחה החמה באותה שעה אמר לו האדון אילו לא נקדרה החמה היה לי פתחון פה עליך שאוציא ממך מעותיי תנא לא נקדימון שמו אלא בוני שמו ולמה נקרא שמו נקדימון שנקדרה חמה בעבורו
Nakdimon went back and entered the Temple, wrapped himself in his prayer shawl, and stood in prayer. He said before God: Master of the Universe, let it be known that You have beloved ones in Your world. Immediately, the clouds scattered and the sun shined. At that time, the master said to him: If the sun had not broken through the clouds, I would have had a claim against you, by which I could have taken my coins from you. A Sage taught: Nakdimon was not his real name; rather his name was Buni. And why was he called Nakdimon? Because the sun broke through [nikdera] for him.
Since Naqdimon is equivalent to the Greek Nikos Demos (victorious people), it is reasonable to think the Romans would have addressed Nicodemus by the Greek equivalent. The talmud also relates that Buni was one of Yeshua’s five students, and was martyred some time after Yeshua’s death.
It is fascinating that Nicodemus is named after a miracle involving rain, and prayed to God, “Master of the Universe… You have beloved ones in Your world,” and Jesus speaks of heavenly things, the necessity of being born of water and spirit, and how God so loved the world he sent his only son. Furthermore, Nicodemus could hardly have missed Jesus’ reference to Ezekiel 36, in which God promises to restore Israel not for their sake, but for the honor of God’s name (just like the prayer of Nakdimon), to sprinkle them with clean water, and put a new spirit within them as the nation is reborn.
