—who were on a journey (1)—stopped at a certain place. A woman from that locality came and lavished hospitality upon them. Yehoshua said, “How excellent this woman is!”—meaning her deeds. Jesus—so they allege—replied, “Were it not for the defect (2) in her eye.” Yehoshua shouted, “O mamzer—that is, O zanīm (illegitimate one)—are you committing fornication with your very look?!” He became exceedingly angry, returned to Jerusalem, placed Jesus under a ban, and cursed him for four hundred generations. From then on Jesus attached himself to one (3) of the Roman commanders, ingratiating himself through the practice of medicine; by that he gained strength over the Jews, who at that time were under the protection of Caesar Tiberius (4). He began to contravene the Torah, amend it, and set parts of it aside until what befell him finally befell him.

Other Jewish groups tell a different story. They say he was playing ball with some children when the ball rolled in among a gathering of Jewish elders. Out of deference to the elders the children were too shy to retrieve it, but Jesus forced his way through, stepping over their necks, and took it. They said to him, “We can only suppose that you are a mamzer.”

Another point of disagreement (5) among the Jews regarding him concerns the identity of his father—according to their claim, the man who had betrothed Mary. Some of them call him Joseph son of Judah the carpenter; others say he was Joseph the smith. The Christians assert that she was a married woman and that her husband was Joseph son of Jacob, while still others say he was Joseph son of Heli (6). They also differ over his lineage back to Abraham, some abbreviating it and others extending it.