Outside of literary sources such as Philo, Josephus, and the Gospels, the
name Pontius Pilate appears in only one inscription, which records his ded-
ication of aTiberieumand was discovered in the theater at Caesarea. In the
literary sources, two main images appear. In the Gospels, Pilate is depicted
as the blameless instrument of Roman justice. In both Philo and Josephus,
however, he appears as a ruthless administrator who openly offended Jew-
ish sensibilities and reveled in brutal methods of suppressing dissent. Philo
calls him “a man of inflexible, stubborn and cruel dispositions” whose ten-
ure was characterized by “venality, violence, robbery, assault, abusive be-
havior, frequent executions without trial, and endless savage ferocity”
(Legat.301–2). On more than one occasion, Pilate blatantly disrespected
Jewish religious sensibilities, and his response to their complaints was often
to resort to violence (J.W.2.169-77;Ant.18.55-62, 85-87). Finally, in ca. 36/37
c.e., he was recalled by the governor of Syria, Lucius Vitellius, and ordered
to return to Rome to explain his conduct to the emperor.
Things were relatively quiet in Judea until the winter of 39/40c.e.,
when the non-Jewish minority of Jamnia erected an altar to the imperial
cult, which the Jewish inhabitants of the town promptly destroyed. The
imperial procurator in Jamnia, Gaius Herrenius Capito, reported the inci-
dent to the new emperor, Gaius Caligula, who was enraged at the supposed
insult to his majesty. He ordered the new governor of Syria, Publius
Petronius, to march into Judea with two of the four legions stationed in
Syria and to erect a golden statue of Gaius in the Temple. If the Jews re-
sisted, Petronius was ordered to suppress them by force (J.W.2.184-85;Ant.
18.261-62; Philo,Legat.198–207). Realizing that Jewish resistance was inevi-
table, Petronius attempted to delay constructing the statue.HerodAgrippaI
In the midst of Petronius’s delaying tactics, Herod Agrippa, the grandson
of Herod the Great and ultimately his successor as King of Judea, also took
up the Judean cause. He had been educated in Rome alongside the impe-
rial family, in particular the future emperor Claudius (Ant.18.143, 165).
With the rise of Gaius to the throne, Agrippa finally achieved prominence.
He had become close friends with Gaius, and his friendship was rewarded
with the tetrarchy of his recently deceased uncle Herod Philip (J.W.2.181;
Ant.18.237). After the banishment of Antipas in 39c.e.Caligula enlarged
Agrippa’s kingdom by annexing Galilee and Perea (Ant.18.252).54chris seeman and adam kolman marshakEERDMANS -- Early Judaism (Collins and Harlow) final text
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