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New Testament History |
The places of the PassionAntipas was residing in a palace in Bezetha at the time of the crucifixion.[1] Bezetha was the highest point of the city (Josephus, B.J. 5.246), and it lay directly above the Temple (B.J. 5.149, 246). Pilate was residing in his palace, which was situated near the Antonia.[2] This palace had a forum,[3] and so did the Citadel of David.[4] Herod the Great’s palace lay a little north of the fish market,[5] apparently on the north side of the Citadel of David. Herod’s royal palace was situated in the upper city (B.J. 1.402; 5.245; A.J. 15.318), in the west (B.J. 2.44; A.J. 17.255), at the upper agora (B.J. 2.305).[6] There stood “a large tower, like a fortress” at the location of Herod’s palace at the time of the crucifixion.[7] This tower is the magnificent Phasael Tower, which Herod had built (B.J. 5.161-162, 166-169; A.J. 16.144). Herod’s palace joined the towers named Hippicus, Phasael, and Mariamme (B.J. 5.176). The location of Calvary was already molested by the time of the ascension (on 14 May 33 AD).[8] The Cenacle was destroyed during the first persecutions against the Christians.[9] The house of Caiaphas was already altered at the time of the martyrdom of James the Greater (on 5 March 43 AD).[10]
[1] A.C.E., Passion, 205: “The palace of the Tetrarch Herod was built on the north side of the forum, in the new town [Bezetha means “New Town”: Josephus, B.J. 2.530; 5.151]; not very far from that of Pilate.” [2] A.C.E., Passion, 307. The massacre of the Holy Innocents had taken place in a building near Pilate’s palace: A.C.E., Mary, 320-322; A.C.E., Passion, 194. [3] A.C.E., Passion, 189. [4] A.C.E., Passion, 191. The forum of the citadel was inclining towards the citadel (A.C.E., Passion, 65). David had built this citadel (2 Sam 5:9) at the upper agora (Josephus, B.J. 5.137). It lay remnant at the time of the birth of Christ and of the crucifixion, and was used as stables for travellers (A.C.E., Passion, 191). [5] A.C.E., Mary, 252. Cf. A.C.E., Mary, 106: “Zacharias now came to lead the company from his house to the inn. […] They went along several streets, passing the palace of Herod and the house where, later, Pilate lived. Their way led them towards the north-eastern corner of the Temple hill; behind them was the fortress Antonia, a big high building on the north-western side of the Temple.” The ancestral house of Zechariah stood in the neighbourhood of the fish market: A.C.E., Mary, 105. [6] The governor Florus (64-66 AD) resided in Herod’s palace (B.J. 2.301), and Florus’s contemporary Agrippa II resided in the Hasmonean palace (B.J. 2.344; A.J. 20.189-190). [7] A.C.E., Passion, 308. [8] A.C.E., Life, 4:411. [9] A.C.E., Vie, 5:228. [10] A.C.E., Life, 4:449. |