Pontius Pilate in History and Interpretation

by Helen K. Bond

This study reconstructs the life of Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor responsible for the execution of Jesus. The first section provides the historical and archaeological background. The following chapters look at six first-century authors: Philo, Josephus and the four gospel writers. Each chapter asks how Pilate is being used as a literary character in each work, why each author describes Pilate in a different way, and what this tells us about the relationship between each author and the Roman state.

Genres: Nonfiction

276 pages, Paperback

First published December 2, 1999

Reviews

[Matthew McBirth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A helpful book on what we can know about the person of Pontius Pilate, prefect of Judea from AD 26-37. Bond's analysis of Pilate as a character in six different Jewish sources during Antiquity was clear and educational. As she says in the intro, for some reason the world is fascinated with Pilate and his role in the crucifixion of Jesus. His judgement of Jesus not only shows up in all four gospels (and Josephus), but is also named in the Nicene Creed. Add onto this the many more books and cinema that portray him, it is obvious that we see something in Pilate that we want to avoid, or dare I say ... emulate. I don't agree with all of Bond's interpretations, but I learned something helpful in every chapter. I think there is a bit more going on in Luke then she asserts, but it is undeniable that Luke's portrayal of Pilate looks different than the others (at least on the surface). With this said, this is a good book that I'd recommend to people who are interested in an academic exploration of Pilate.

[Joseph Nobles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent review of the historical data about Pilate and then an focused look at how Pilate is used in Christian writings. Highly recommended!