Editing Pontius Pilate (section)

===Incidents with the Jews===

Various disturbances during Pilate's governorship are recorded in the sources. In some cases, it is unclear if they may be referring to the same event,{{sfn|Schwartz|1992|p=399}} and it is difficult to establish a chronology of events for Pilate's rule.{{sfn|MacAdam|2001|p=78}} Joan Taylor argues that Pilate had a policy of promoting the [[imperial cult of ancient Rome|imperial cult]], which may have caused some of the friction with his Jewish subjects.{{sfn|Taylor|2006}} Schwartz suggests that Pilate's entire tenure was characterized by "continued underlying tension between governor and governed, now and again breaking out in brief incidents."{{sfn|Schwartz|1992|p=399}}

According to Josephus in his ''[[The Jewish War]]'' (2.9.2) and ''[[Antiquities of the Jews]]'' (18.3.1), Pilate offended the Jews by moving imperial standards with the image of Caesar into Jerusalem. This resulted in a crowd of Jews surrounding Pilate's house in Caesarea for five days. Pilate then summoned them to an [[arena]], where the Roman soldiers drew their swords. But the Jews showed so little fear of death, that Pilate relented and removed the standards.{{sfn|Bond|1998|pp=52–53}} Bond argues that the fact that Josephus says that Pilate brought in the standards by night, shows that he knew that the images of the emperor would be offensive.{{sfn|Bond|1998|p=57}} She dates this incident to early in Pilate's tenure as governor.{{sfn|Bond|1998|p=79}} Daniel Schwartz and Alexander Demandt both suggest that this incident is in fact identical with "the incident with the shields" reported in Philo's ''Embassy to Gaius'', an identification first made by the early church historian [[Eusebius]].{{sfn|Demandt|2012|pp=53–55}}{{sfn|Schwartz|1992|p=399}} Lémonon, however, argues against this identification.{{sfn|Lémonon|2007|p=206}}

According to Philo's ''Embassy to Gaius'' (''Embassy to Gaius'' 38), Pilate offended against [[Halakha|Jewish law]] by bringing golden shields into Jerusalem, and placing them on [[Herod's Palace (Jerusalem)|Herod's Palace]]. The sons of [[Herod the Great]] petitioned him to remove the shields, but Pilate refused. Herod's sons then threatened to petition the emperor, an action which Pilate feared would expose the crimes he had committed in office. He did not prevent their petition. Tiberius received the petition and angrily reprimanded Pilate, ordering him to remove the shields.{{sfn|Yonge|1855|pp=165–166}} Helen Bond, Daniel Schwartz, and [[Warren Carter]] argue that Philo's portrayal is largely stereotyped and rhetorical, portraying Pilate with the same words as other opponents of Jewish law, while portraying Tiberius as just and supportive of Jewish law.{{sfnm|1a1=Bond|1y=1998|1pp=36–37|2a1=Carter|2y=2003|2pp=15–16|3a1=Schwartz|3y=1992|3p=399}} It is unclear why the shields offended against Jewish law: it is likely that they contained an inscription referring to Tiberius as {{lang|la|divi Augusti filius|italics=yes}} (son of divine Augustus).{{sfn|Bond|1998|p=39}}{{sfn|Demandt|2012|pp=51–52}} Bond dates the incident to 31, sometime after Sejanus's death in 17 October.{{sfn|Bond|1998|p=46}}

In another incident recorded in both the ''Jewish Wars'' (2.9.4) and the ''Antiquities of the Jews'' (18.3.2), Josephus relates that Pilate offended the Jews by using up the [[temple treasury]] ({{lang|grc|korbanos|italics=yes}}) to pay for a new aqueduct to Jerusalem. When a mob formed while Pilate was visiting Jerusalem, Pilate ordered his troops to beat them with clubs; many perished from the blows or from being trampled by horses, and the mob was dispersed.{{sfn|Bond|1998|p=53}} The dating of the incident is unknown, but Bond argues that it must have occurred between 26 and 30 or 33, based on Josephus's chronology.{{sfn|Bond|1998|p=89}}

The Gospel of Luke mentions in passing Galileans "whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices" ([[Luke 13]]:1). This reference has been variously interpreted as referring to one of the incidents recorded by Josephus, or to an entirely unknown incident.{{sfn|Bond|1998|pp=194–195}} Bond argues that the number of Galileans killed does not seem to have been particularly high. In Bond's view, the reference to "sacrifices" likely means that this incident occurred at [[Passover]] at some unknown date.{{sfn|Bond|1998|pp=195–196}} She argues that "[i]t is not only possible but quite likely that Pilate's governorship contained many such brief outbreaks of trouble about which we know nothing. The insurrection in which [[Barabbas]] was caught up, if historical, may well be another example."{{sfn|Bond|1998|p=196}}