Why Graves Of The Unknown And Poor Are Called Potter's Fields

The book of Matthew, chapter 27, from the Bible's New Testament contains the first historical reference to a "potter's field." Verses one through ten continue a story very familiar to Christians, when Jesus' disciple Judas Iscariot betrayed his master to Roman authorities for 30 pieces of silver. After receiving his pay and learning that Jesus had been sentenced to death, Judas is wracked by grief and hangs himself. Before he does so he chucks his silver into a temple. Some priests find the money, but not Judas' body, and say that they can't keep the money because it's "blood money." So, they decide to use it to buy some land as "a burial place for foreigners." Specifically, they buy "the potter's field." Although it's not clear which local potter they're talking about, it does seem like we're talking about a literal field owned by a person who makes pots.

But why a potter's field? And is a potter's field just a field owned by a potter? Grammarist suggests that the potter's field wasn't used to grow crops but to dig for clay used to make pots. If so, the soil would have likely been stripped, not good for growing things, and as Mental Floss points out, full of holes from digging. It's possible that all such factors might have made the land ideal for burials. But, this is all speculation, as there's no way to verify any of it one way or another.

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