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Pontius Pilate
Contributed by: Clay
  • 1. Which event is Pontius Pilate most famously associated with?
A) The sermon on the mount
B) The baptism of Jesus
C) The crucifixion of Jesus
D) The resurrection of Jesus
  • 2. According to the Gospels, how did Pilate attempt to absolve himself of responsibility?
A) He put it to a vote
B) He condemned Jesus himself
C) He fled Jerusalem
D) He washed his hands
  • 3. Which Roman Emperor was in power during Pilate's governance?
A) Augustus
B) Caligula
C) Nero
D) Tiberius
  • 4. Which Jewish festival was occurring during Jesus' trial?
A) Pentecost
B) Hanukkah
C) Tabernacles
D) Passover
  • 5. Who did Pilate release instead of Jesus?
A) Lazarus
B) Barabbas
C) Simon
D) Matthew
  • 6. How is Pilate viewed in Christian theology?
A) As a martyr
B) As a hero
C) As a villain only
D) As a figure of moral conflict
  • 7. What was Pilate's primary concern during the trial?
A) The truth of the accusations
B) Maintaining order and avoiding unrest
C) The opinions of the Pharisees
D) Justice for Jesus
  • 8. Which Gospel contains the most detailed account of Pilate's interaction with Jesus?
A) Matthew
B) Luke
C) Mark
D) John
  • 9. Which ancient historian reports that Pilate was dismissed after a Samaritan uprising?
A) Josephus
B) Suetonius
C) Pliny the Younger
D) Tacitus
  • 10. What does the cognomen 'Pilatus' potentially mean?
A) "Follower of Jesus Christ"
B) "Descendant of a Roman emperor"
C) "Skilled with the javelin (pilum)"
D) "Leader of the Jewish council"
  • 11. What might the cognomen 'Pilatus' refer to if it is not related to military skill?
A) "The pileus or Phrygian cap, possibly indicating a freedman ancestor"
B) "A title of nobility in Judaea"
C) "An ancient city in Italy"
D) "A Roman legion"
  • 12. What does the name 'Pontius' suggest about Pilate's ancestry?
A) "An ancestor lived in Jerusalem"
B) "An ancestor came from Samnium in central, southern Italy"
C) "An ancestor was a Roman emperor"
D) "An ancestor was a Greek philosopher"
  • 13. What was the original social status of Pilate's family before becoming ennobled?
A) "Patrician origin"
B) "Noble origin"
C) "Plebeian origin"
D) "Slave origin"
  • 14. According to historian Alexander Demandt, where might Pilate have had a military command?
A) "In Jerusalem"
B) "With a legion stationed at the Rhine or Danube"
C) "In Egypt"
D) "In Greece"
  • 15. What is the traditional tenure period for Pontius Pilate as governor of Judaea?
A) 30 to 40 AD
B) 19 to 29 AD
C) 17 to 27 AD
D) 26 to 36/37 AD
  • 16. What was the primary residence of Pontius Pilate as governor?
A) Antioch
B) Capri
C) Jerusalem
D) Caesarea
  • 17. Which Jewish High Priest did Pilate retain for his entire tenure?
A) Jonathan ben Ananus
B) Ananus ben Ananus
C) Eleazar ben Ananias
D) Joseph ben Caiaphas
  • 18. Which sect did Pontius Pilate work closely with during Jesus's execution according to Helen Bond?
A) Zealots
B) Pharisees
C) Sadducees
D) Essenes
  • 19. Which Jewish king did Pilate have a difficult relationship with, according to the Gospel of Luke?
A) Philip the Tetrarch
B) Archelaus
C) Herod Antipas
D) Herod Agrippa I
  • 20. Who was responsible for collecting tributes and taxes during Pilate's governorship?
A) Lucius Vitellius
B) The Jewish Sanhedrin
C) Pontius Pilate
D) Herod Antipas
  • 21. Which scholar argues that Pilate's governorship began in 19 AD?
A) Daniel R. Schwartz
B) Jean-Pierre Lémonon
C) Kenneth Lönnqvist
D) E. Stauffer
  • 22. What was the relationship between Pontius Pilate and Herod Antipas after Jesus's execution?
A) It deteriorated further.
B) Herod Antipas was removed from power.
C) Their relationship mended.
D) They became political allies.
  • 23. What policy is Joan Taylor known for attributing to Pontius Pilate during his governorship?
A) Building new infrastructure projects
B) Reducing military presence in Jerusalem
C) Promoting the imperial cult
D) Implementing tax reforms
  • 24. What does Bond suggest about the number of Galileans killed?
A) Only a few dozen were affected
B) Thousands were killed
C) All Galileans in Jerusalem were killed
D) The number does not seem particularly high
  • 25. Who attested to Pilate's role in condemning Jesus to death outside the Gospels?
A) Pliny the Younger
B) Cicero
C) Tacitus
D) Seneca
  • 26. According to Josephus, who requested Jesus's execution by Pilate?
A) Roman soldiers
B) Nero
C) Prominent Jews
D) Pontius Pilate himself
  • 27. Which form of trial did Pilate likely use to judge Jesus?
A) Lex Julia de adulteriis
B) Judicium publicum
C) Cognitio extra ordinem
D) Repetundae
  • 28. What was the crime for which Jesus was brought to Pilate and executed?
A) Theft
B) Blasphemy
C) Sedition
D) Treason against Rome
  • 29. Which Gospel is considered the earliest one, showing Jews and Pilate in agreement about executing Jesus?
A) Luke
B) Mark
C) Matthew
D) John
  • 30. Which historian argued that Pilate unhesitatingly executed Jesus as a rebel?
A) S. G. F. Brandon
B) Tacitus
C) Josephus
D) Philo
  • 31. Where did Pontius Pilate slaughter a group of armed Samaritans?
A) Jerusalem
B) Bethlehem
C) Caesarea Maritima
D) Tirathana near Mount Gerizim
  • 32. Who was the governor of Syria when Pilate's removal as governor occurred?
A) Caligula
B) Lucius Vitellius the Elder
C) Augustus
D) Tiberius
  • 33. Who was the new emperor when Pontius Pilate returned to Rome after Tiberius's death?
A) Claudius
B) Vespasian
C) Caligula
D) Nero
  • 34. Which historian claims that Pontius Pilate committed suicide after being recalled to Rome?
A) Eusebius
B) Tacitus
C) Philo
D) Josephus
  • 35. What does Paul Maier note about the records of Pilate's suicide?
A) No other surviving records corroborate Pilate's suicide.
B) Many records confirm Pilate's suicide.
C) All historians agree on the details of Pilate's death.
D) Pilate's suicide is well-documented in Roman archives.
  • 36. Which philosopher questioned why God did not punish Pontius Pilate if Jesus was divine?
A) Aristotle
B) Socrates
C) Plato
D) Celsus
  • 37. Who argued that nothing bad happened to Pilate because the Jews were responsible for Jesus' death?
A) Tacitus
B) Celsus
C) Eusebius
D) Origen
  • 38. In what year was the Pilate Stone found by archaeologists?
A) 1984
B) 1961
C) 1955
D) 1970
  • 39. What is the name of the building mentioned in the inscription?
A) Aquila
B) Tiberieum
C) Caesarea Palace
D) Temple of Augustus
  • 40. Why is there disagreement about the Pilate Stone's inscription?
A) It was damaged by natural causes.
B) It was written in an unknown language.
C) Pilate's name is missing.
D) The inscription is fragmentary.
  • 41. What does Géza Alföldy suggest the Tiberieum might have been?
A) A marketplace
B) A temple dedicated to Tiberius
C) A lighthouse
D) A Roman bathhouse
  • 42. What pattern does the word 'Tiberieum' follow?
A) Naming religious sites after gods.
B) Naming public baths after senators.
C) Naming buildings after Roman emperors.
D) Naming military structures after victories.
  • 43. What title is associated with Pontius Pilate in the Ameria inscription?
A) Quattuorvir (IIIVIR)
B) Governor of Judaea
C) Pontifex Maximus
D) Praetorian Prefect
  • 44. What was the general belief about the Ameria inscription at the turn of the 20th century?
A) It was accepted as genuine.
B) It was lost and forgotten.
C) It was considered a forgery.
D) It was believed to be an ancient myth.
  • 45. What type of coins did Pontius Pilate mint?
A) Aureus
B) Sestertius
C) Denarius
D) Perutah
  • 46. Where were Pilate's coins minted?
A) Jerusalem
B) Antioch
C) Rome
D) Alexandria
  • 47. What did the earlier coins of Pontius Pilate read on the obverse?
A) ΗΡΩΔΗΣ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΥΣ
B) ΠΟΝΤΙΟΣ ΠΙΛΑΤΟΣ
C) ΙΟΥΛΙΑ ΚΑΙΣΑΡΟΣ
D) ΤΙΒΕΡΙΟΥ ΚΑΙΣΑΡΟΣ
  • 48. What change occurred on the coins after Livia's death?
A) They began to feature Jewish symbols.
B) They were no longer minted in Jerusalem.
C) They only read ΤΙΒΕΡΙΟΥ ΚΑΙΣΑΡΟΣ.
D) They started including a portrait of Tiberius.
  • 49. Who rejected the theory that the coins' pagan symbols offended Jews?
A) Joan Taylor
B) Alexander Demandt
C) Henry MacAdam
D) Helen Bond
  • 50. Who tentatively identified the aqueduct attributed to Pontius Pilate in the mid-20th century?
A) A. Mazar
B) Talmud
C) Josephus
D) Kenneth Lönnqvist
  • 51. Which aqueduct did A. Mazar tentatively identify as being attributed to Pontius Pilate?
A) Wadi el-Biyar Aqueduct
B) Arrub aqueduct
C) Solomon's Pools
D) Biar Aqueduct
  • 52. In what year was the inscription on a sealing ring attributed to Pontius Pilate uncovered?
A) 19th century
B) 2021
C) 2000
D) 2018
  • 53. Where was the copper-alloy sealing ring with an inscription related to Pontius Pilate discovered?
A) Herodium
B) Solomon's Pools
C) Jerusalem
D) Rome
  • 54. What does the inscription on the sealing ring read in Greek?
A) ΣΙΚΑΡΙΟΙ (Sicarii)
B) ΜΑΞΙΜΙΝΟΣ (Maximinus)
C) ΠΙΛΑΤΟ(Υ) (Pilato(u))
D) ΤΕΡΩΝ (Tiberius)
  • 55. Why is it unlikely that Pontius Pilate owned the copper-alloy sealing ring?
A) It was discovered at Herodium.
B) The cheap material
C) It was dated to 2018.
D) The inscription was in Latin.
  • 56. Which group targeted the aqueduct from Solomon's Pools during the First Jewish-Roman War?
A) Sicarii
B) Zealots
C) Temple treasury
D) Roman soldiers
  • 57. What is the name of another aqueduct providing water to Solomon's Pools, dated to the mid-first century AD?
A) Solomon's Pools
B) Arrub aqueduct
C) Biar Aqueduct
D) Wadi el-Biyar Aqueduct
  • 58. Which text records the destruction of an aqueduct from Solomon's Pools by the Sicarii?
A) Church History
B) Inscription on a sealing ring
C) Apocryphal texts
D) Talmud (Lamentations Rabbah 4.4)
  • 59. What is the earliest attestation of a positive tradition about Pilate?
A) Eusebius' Church History
B) Justin Martyr's writings
C) Apocryphal texts
D) Tertullian's writings
  • 60. Which emperor's persecution is associated with early apocryphal texts about Pilate?
A) Maximinus II
B) Tiberius
C) Trajan
D) Constantine
  • 61. What is the earliest reference to Pilate's records of Jesus's trial?
A) Apocryphal texts
B) Eusebius' Church History
C) Tertullian in late first-, early second-century
D) Christian apologist Justin Martyr around 160
  • 62. According to some versions, where was Pontius Pilate born?
A) Bethlehem
B) Jerusalem
C) Egypt
D) Rome
  • 63. In which language is the Book of the Cock preserved?
A) Greek
B) Latin
C) Hebrew
D) Ge'ez (Ethiopic)
  • 64. In which text is Pilate portrayed as a true believer in Christ who is martyred for his faith?
A) The Evangelium Gamalielis
B) The Mors Pilati
C) The Cura sanitatis Tiberii
D) The Vindicta Salvatoris
  • 65. In which text does Pilate's wife and two children also get crucified?
A) The Cura sanitatis Tiberii
B) The Vindicta Salvatoris
C) The Martyrium Pilati
D) The Evangelium Gamalielis
  • 66. In which century did legends about Pilate begin in Western Europe?
A) Ninth century
B) Fifth century
C) Eleventh century
D) Seventh century
  • 67. In which text does Pilate's body experience demonic visitations?
A) The Evangelium Gamalielis
B) The Mors Pilati
C) The Vindicta Salvatoris
D) The Cura sanitatis Tiberii
  • 68. In which text does Pilate's suicide occur after exile by Emperor Nero?
A) The Cura sanitatis Tiberii
B) The Vindicta Salvatoris
C) The Evangelium Gamalielis
D) The Mors Pilati
  • 69. What skill was King Atus known for?
A) Medicine
B) Astrology
C) Swordsmanship
D) Architecture
  • 70. Where did King Atus live according to the legend?
A) Vienne
B) Mainz
C) Rome
D) Jerusalem
  • 71. What action led to Pilate being sent as a hostage to Rome?
A) Attempting to escape
B) Stealing from the king
C) Refusing to obey orders
D) Killing another hostage
  • 72. What did Pilate grant Judas after he killed his own father?
A) A position in the court
B) Money and jewels
C) Ruben's property
D) An army to fight with
  • 73. Which Spanish city has a first-century Roman tower called 'Torre del Pilatos'?
A) Lyon
B) Tarragona
C) Huesca
D) Seville
  • 74. Which village in Scotland claims to be Pilate's birthplace?
A) Tarragona
B) Fortingall
C) Bamberg
D) Vienne
  • 75. Which material became less common for Pilate's depictions starting from the eleventh century?
A) Manuscripts
B) Frescoes
C) Ivory
D) Metal
  • 76. Which medium became prominent for depicting large-scale church paintings of Pilate in Italy?
A) Woodcuts
B) Large-scale church paintings
C) Ivory carvings
D) Manuscript illuminations
  • 77. What stereotype was often given to Pilate in thirteenth-century depictions?
A) Angelic characteristics
B) Greek philosopher traits
C) Roman imperial attributes
D) Stereotyped Jewish features
  • 78. In which play does Pilate instruct flagellators on how best to whip Jesus?
A) Frankfurter Passionsspiel
B) Alsfelder Passionsspiel
C) Arnoul Gréban's fifteenth-century Passion
D) Benediktbeuern passion play
  • 79. In which country were passion plays used to satirize corrupt officials rather than stoke antisemitism?
A) Italy
B) Germany
C) England
D) France
  • 80. Which play includes legendary scenes of Pilate's life before the passion?
A) Alsfelder Passionsspiel
B) Mystère de la Passion d'Angers by Jean Michel
C) Ludus de Passione from Klosterneuburg
D) Frankfurter Passionsspiel
  • 81. In Anatole France's short story 'Le Procurateur de Judée,' where is Pontius Pilate banished?
A) Sicily
B) Rome
C) Egypt
D) Gaul
  • 82. In Chingiz Aitmatov's novel 'Plakha,' what philosophical perspective does Pilate hold?
A) Materialist pessimism, believing mankind will soon destroy itself
B) Faith in divine intervention
C) Optimistic belief in human progress
D) Indifference to the fate of humanity
  • 83. On what date is Pontius Pilate venerated as a saint by the Ethiopian Church?
A) 19 June
B) 15 August
C) 25 December
D) 25 June
  • 84. Which ancient source is hostile towards Pontius Pilate?
A) The Gospels
B) Tacitus
C) Josephus
D) Philo
  • 85. How does Josephus view Pilate's governorship?
A) Mostly neutral
B) Completely supportive
C) Hostile
D) Very critical
  • 86. Which scholar argues that Pilate was a reasonably competent administrator?
A) Henry MacAdam
B) Paul Maier
C) E. Stauffer
D) M. P. Charlesworth
  • 87. What is one reason scholars are skeptical of the theory connecting Pilate with Sejanus?
A) "Pilate's coins explicitly deny any connection"
B) "The evidence depends entirely on Philo"
C) "Sejanus never existed"
D) "It was proven false by archaeological findings"
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