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Truth in the Details : the "Report of Pilate to Tiberius" as an Authentic Forgery

Published inCueva, E.P. ; Cueva & Martínez, J. (Ed.), Splendide Mendax, p. 219-238
PublisherGroningen : Barkhuis
Publication date2016
Abstract

The Report of Pilate to Tiberius, known also as Anaphora Pilati, is an ancient apocryphal work attributed to Pontius Pilate and originally written in Greek. In it, the governor of Judea informs the Emperor in Rome about Jesus' miracles, death sentence, crucifixion and resurrection. The tradition of such a report is alluded to by various early Christian writers. A thorough search for and investigation of its Greek manuscript witnesses has shed new light on certain aspects of its history, and especially on its origin and transmission. Firstly, one so-called “recension A” of the Report of Pilate is transmitted together with the Greek Acts of Pilate: this joint transmission explains the unusual syntax of the Report's first lines, which modern translators have always tended to overlook. Some lexical choices also raise the possibility of the Report's dependance on Eusebius' Church History (1, 9; 9, 5.11). Secondly, the text could be dated to the second half of the 5th century on the basis of geographical names – the mention of Palestine and Phoenicia, the designation of Pilate's administrative territory as an eparchia (the word being taken in its Christian, byzantine meaning and not as a subdivision of the early Roman Empire), and the variants on the names of Capernaum and Paneas. This lexical study enhances previous attempts to date the text in relation to specific places of worship mentionned in the Report of Pilate. An appendix offers a list of manuscripts organised in families and subfamilies.

Keywords
  • Ponce Pilate
  • Anaphora Pilati
  • Actes de Pilate
  • Evangelium Nicodemu
  • Eusèbe de Césarée
  • Littérature apocryphe chrétienne
  • Christianisme ancien
Citation (ISO format)
BAUDOIN, Anne-Catherine. Truth in the Details : the ‘Report of Pilate to Tiberius’ as an Authentic Forgery. In: Splendide Mendax. Cueva, E.P. ; Cueva & Martínez, J. (Ed.). Groningen : Barkhuis, 2016. p. 219–238.
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  • PID : unige:122541
ISBN9789491431982
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