Potter's Field

The Potter's Field was a piece of ground purchased according to Matthew 27:7 by the chief priests with the thirty pieces of silver returned by Judas Iscariot after his betrayal of Jesus. Because the money was considered "blood money," the priests could not put it into the temple treasury (Matt. 27:6), so they bought the field as a burial place for foreigners — hence it was also called "the Field of Blood" or Aceldama (Acts 1:19; Aramaic for "field of blood"). Matthew interprets the purchase as fulfilling Jeremiah's prophecy (Matt. 27:9–10, citing Zechariah 11:12–13 under the name Jeremiah). The two accounts differ in detail: in Matthew the priests buy the field after Judas's death; in Acts 1:18–19, Peter's speech implies that Judas himself bought the field with his blood money and died there. The field was traditionally located on the south side of the Hinnom Valley where it meets the Kidron, south of Jerusalem. A monastery stood on the traditional site from at least the Byzantine period.