A second Simon is listed; he is further identified as the Cananaean. There is some discussion regarding the meaning of the word transliterated Cananaean by Revised Standard Version and translated “Patriot” by Good News Translation. Most modern commentators understand the word to be an Aramaic equivalent of “zealot,” referring to the zealous group of Jewish revolutionaries who were anti-Rome. New American Bible renders “the Zealot Party member,” New English Bible “a member of the Zealot party,” and Barclay “the Nationalist.” The presupposition of an Aramaic or a Hebrew background for the word Cananaean is supported by Luke, who specifically refers to him as “the Zealot” (6.15).

The concept conveyed by Cananaean, “zealot,” or “nationalist” is very difficult to translate in many cultures. In some cases “who was strong for his country (or, people)” works well enough. In some parts of Africa “freedom fighter” has been the closest natural equivalent, or “who worked to free his people.”

There is disagreement regarding the meaning of the name Iscariot, and so no less than four solutions have been proposed: (1) It has been held to mean “man of Kariot,” a wording found in some manuscripts of John 6.71. (2) Others believe “Kariot” to be a corruption of the Greek word for Jericho, according to which his name would mean “man of Jericho.” (3) Still others have traced his name back to the Latin word sicarius (“murderous”), which derives from the noun sicar (“curved dagger”), thereby making a connection with the Zealot movement. (4) Finally, some see here a reflection of the Aramaic word meaning “false one” or “deceiver,” in which case the title would reflect the name given Judas by the first Christians. If this solution is accepted, then the name would be equivalent to “who betrayed Jesus” (Good News Translation). If this latter suggestion is accepted, then a possible translation is “Judas called Iscariot, which means he betrayed Jesus.” However, it is best in translation to treat Iscariot as a name without attempting to give it meaning.

The text has who betrayed him, but since he had not yet done that, some render it “who later betrayed Jesus.” Note that him refers to Jesus, as Good News Translation has made clear.

It seems likely that most cultures understand betrayal and so will have a good way to translate betrayed. However, some will have to say “gave him over to his enemies” or “helped his enemies to catch (or, arrest) him.” In some cases it is necessary to add “even though he was his friend” or “even though Jesus trusted him.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on the Gospel of Matthew. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1988. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .