PILATE, PONTIUS, of equestrian rank, was Roman gover nor of Judaea from A.D. 26 to A.D. 36, when he was recalled. He kept the Roman peace in Palestine, but with little understanding of the people (Josephus, Ant. XVIII., 1, 2; iv. I, 2; Jewish War, II., ix., 2-4, Philo ad Gahm, 38). One disturbance arose when Pilate used Temple funds for an aqueduct. The reference in Luke xiii., I, to the massacre of Galilean pilgrims in the act of sacrificing suggests the governor's ruthlessness in putting down riot. It must be said, however, that the post of Roman Governor in Judaea was peculiarly difficult, and it was to Pilate's credit that his rule lasted as long as ten years. Both Pilate's part in responsibility for the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and the legal aspects of the trial have been much debated. The Early Church blamed the Jews, and correspondingly tended to exonerate Pilate. The Third and Fourth Gospels, especially, suggest that extraordi nary pressure was brought to bear upon the governor by the Jewish priests. Pilate may well have been impressed by the
dignity and gentleness of the great Preacher of the Kingdom of God, and may also have given Him opportunity to save Him self (John xviii., 33-38; xix., 9–I1). There are many stories, all of uncertain value and in many cases legendary, telling of Pilate's later life and of his suicide. Pilate has been canonized in the Abyssinian church (June 25) and his wife Procla, or Procula, in the Greek (Oct. 27).
Tacitus, Annals XV. 44; G. A. Muller, Pontius Pilatus, etc. (i888) ; Innes, The Trial of Jesus Christ, etc. (1899) ; Reg nault, Une Province Procuratorienne, etc. and Le Proces du Christ (1909) ; H. Peter, Pontius Pilatus, etc. (1907) ; Husband, The Prosecu tion of Jesus (1916) ; Schiirer, The Jewish People in the time of Jesus Christ. For the apocryphal accounts, M. R. James, Apoc. Anecdote 11. (Camb. Texts and Studies vol. v.) pp. 65-81 and The Apocryphal New Test., pp.