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| Title: Pontius Pilate's Suspension from Office: Chronology and Sources Secondary Title: WUNT 60 Pages: 202-217 Type: Generic Year: 1992 Abstract: "Argues that Pilate was deposed in 37 and suggests that Jos. Ant. 18:90-95 comes from a Jerusalem priestly source, 18:122-126 from a source interested in Herod Antipas. 15:403-409 and 20:6-14 are based upon the lost conclusion of Philo's Legatio ad Gaium. // Josephus reported that Lucius Vitellius suspended Pontius Pilate from the governorship of Judea (Ant. 18:89), visited Jerusalem at Passover (18:90-95), and visited Jerusalem on a Jewish holiday during which the news of Tiberius' death arrived (18:2122-126). In fact, Vitellius' only visit to Jerusalem was at Passover in A.D. 37. The two accounts of his visit reflect Josephus' use of different sources - one by a Jerusalem priest (18:90-95), the other concerning Herod Antipas (18:122-126). - D.J.H. // A well-known chronological problem concerns the end of Pontius Pilate's governorship in Judaea. Josephus reports that Lucius Vitellius, the governor of Syria, successively (1) suspended Pilate (Antiquitates 18,89), (2) visited Jerusalem on an Passover (ibid: §§90-95), and, after some other matters, (3) visited Jerusalem on an Jewish holiday, during which arrived the news of Tiberius' death (16 March 37) (§§122-126). If the latter visit was on Passover 37, as is generally assumed, the former was on Passover 36, but this conflicts with Josephus' statement (§89), that although Pilate hurried to Rome he arrived only after Tiberius' death. Various solutions have been proposed, all presuming Josephus erred and/or that communications between Juaea and Rome were much slower that is reasonably to be expected. The present study attempts to revive a suggestion by W. Ott, according to which Vitellius visited Jerusalem only one, on Passover 37, the two accounts reflecting Josephus' use of different sources. Ant 18,90-95 appears to follow an account by a Jerusalem priest, while 18,122-126 follows an account interested in Herod Antipas. Moreover, two other chapters in Antiquities refer to this same visit, with regard to Vitellius' restoration of the high priestly garments to Jewish control on that occasion (15,403-9;20,6-14), and it is suggested that these chapters - which show many contrasts to the other two but are very similar to one another - are based on the lost end of Philo's Legatio ad Gaium." Keywords: Chronology and Calendar |