Pontius Pilate
Pontius Pilate [1] was the governor of the Roman province of Judaea from 26 AD until 36.
He was the sixth Procurator of Judaea. In modern times he is best known as the man who presided over the Trial of Jesus and ordered his crucifixion.
Pilate appears in all four canonical Christian Gospels. Mark, showing Jesus to be innocent of plotting against Rome, portrays Pilate as extremely reluctant to execute Jesus. The Jewish hierarchy was responsible for his death.[2] In Matthew, Pilate washes his hands of Jesus and reluctantly sends him to his death.[2] In Luke, Pilate not only agrees that Jesus did not conspire against Rome but King Herod also finds nothing treasonous in Jesus' actions.[2] In John, Jesus makes no claim to be the Son of Man or the Messiah to Pilate or to the Sanhedrin.[2]
Tacitus mentions in his Annales (15,44):[3] "Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus".[4]
Philo of Alexandria (Leg. ad Caj. 38) and Flavius Josephus (Antiq. 18:3, 4 and Bell. II:9, 2-4) also mention him.
Pilate's biographical details before and after his appointment to Judaea are unknown, but have been supplied by tradition, which include the detail that his wife's name was Procula (she is canonized as a saint in the Greek Orthodox Church).
Pilate's term serves as a reliable historical benchmark for Jesus' death.[source?]
[change] Other websites
- Pilate in history; the Tiberieum dedication block
- The Administrative and Military Organization of Roman-occupied Palestine
- Pontius Pilate Texts and Jona Lendering's discussion of all sources
- fresh translation of texts and analysis of evidence by Mahlon H. Smith
- Jewish Encyclopedia: Pilate, Pontius
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1911): Pontius Pilate
- Encyclopaedia Britannica 1911: "Pontius pilate"
- The Hausen Legend of Pontius Pilate
- Brian Murdoch, "The Mors Pilati in the Cornish Resurrexio Domini
- Fictional Memoires of Pontius Pilate - at BBC Radio 4 by Douglas Hurd
[change] References
- ↑ pronounced /ˈpɔnʧəs ˈpaɪlət/; Latin: Pontius Pilatus, Greek: Πόντιος Πιλᾶτος
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Stephen L Harris (1985). Understanding the Bible. Mayfield,Palo Alto.
- ↑ auctor nominis eius Christus Tibero imperitante per procuratorem Pontium Pilatum supplicio adfectus erat "P. CORNELI TACITI ANNALIVM LIBER QVINTVS DECIMVS". http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/tacitus/tac.ann15.shtml.
- ↑ [http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/txt/ah/Tacitus/TacitusAnnals15.html "The Annals by Publius Cornelius Tacitus, Book 15"]. http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/txt/ah/Tacitus/TacitusAnnals15.html.
