Meaning of the Name Pilate
A Latin cognomen whose meaning is debated; the usual explanation links it with pilum, 'javelin', giving 'armed with a javelin'. Another view connects it with the pileus, the felt cap worn by freed slaves. Pilatus is the second part of the governor's full name, Pontius Pilatus; Pontius is the name of the Pontii family, of Samnite origin.
Origin
The name Pilate is of Latin origin.
Who is Pilate in the Bible?
Pontius Pilate is the Roman governor of Judea at the time of Jesus' trial. The Gospels relate that he declared several times that he found no guilt in Jesus, yet under pressure from the crowd and the leaders handed him over to be crucified. His historical existence is also attested by Roman and Jewish historians and by an inscription bearing his name found at Caesarea.
The story of Pilate in the Bible
Pilate is the Roman governor who ruled Judea, as Luke notes, in the time of the emperor Tiberius. Since only the Romans could impose the death penalty, the leaders who arrested Jesus bring him to Pilate at dawn. Pilate questions Jesus and asks whether he is the King of the Jews. In John's Gospel Jesus says his kingdom is not of this world and that he came to bear witness to the truth, and Pilate asks him what truth is. Pilate declares several times that he finds no guilt in Jesus; in Luke he even sends him to Herod, the ruler of Galilee. Matthew adds that Pilate's wife, troubled by a dream, warned him to leave that righteous man alone. Yet as the crowd keeps shouting, Pilate fears a riot: he releases Barabbas, washes his hands before the crowd, saying he is innocent of this blood, and hands Jesus over to be crucified. He has King of the Jews written on the cross in three languages and refuses to change it. Christian creeds confess that Jesus suffered under Pontius Pilate, making the name a historical anchor of faith; Paul too, writing to Timothy, recalls Jesus' testimony before Pilate.
Is Pilate mentioned in the Quran?
The name Pilate does not appear in the Quran. In the Bible, Pontius Pilate is the Roman governor in the Gospels who tried Jesus and handed him over to be crucified.
Verses where Pilate appears
- Matthew 27:2 —
and they bound him, and led him away, and delivered him up to Pontius Pilate, the governor.
- Luke 23:4 —
Pilate said to the chief priests and the multitudes, “I find no basis for a charge against this man.”
- John 18:38 —
Pilate said to him, “What is truth?” When he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, “I find no basis for a charge against him.