An ancient ring unearthed at a Judean fortress is providing fresh historical context for a detail recorded in John’s account of Jesus’ crucifixion.
The roughly 2,000-year-old ring bears an inscription connected to Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor who sentenced Jesus to death. Archaeologists discovered it at Herodium in the Judean desert during the 1960s, but it remained in storage for more than 50 years.
Catherine Bonesho, a UCLA professor of ancient Judaism, argues that the Greek inscription is a transliteration of the Latin “PILATO,” meaning “for Pilate” or “to Pilate.”
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Bonesho concluded that the inexpensive ring likely belonged to a lower-ranking worker who used it while conducting official business under Pilate’s authority.
“Understanding the ring gives us more insight into what the Roman administration of early Roman Judea looked like in terms of how authority was distributed into the lower echelons of the political structure,” Bonesho said in a UCLA release.
Candida Moss, a historian of early Christianity, told Fox News Digital that the interpretation helps resolve the mystery surrounding the ring’s poor quality.
“This isn’t an expensive ring, the kind of thing that you would expect the person who is the governor of the whole area to have,” Moss said.
The ring also provides insight into John 19:19, which records that Pilate wrote the inscription placed above Jesus on the cross: “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.”
“I think the ring helps us understand why the Bible says that Pilate wrote the inscription that was put on the cross of Jesus, even though we know as historians that he couldn’t possibly have written it himself,” Moss said.
“He delegated that work to someone else,” she added.
The ring illustrates how Roman officials operated under delegated authority. A subordinate could physically carry out Pilate’s command, while the action itself was properly attributed to the governor. Nearly 2,000 years later, the artifact is helping us better understand the governmental system surrounding the crucifixion of Jesus.
James Lasher, a seasoned writer and editor at Charisma Media, combines faith and storytelling with a journalism background from Otterbein University and ministry experience in Guatemala and at the LA Dream Center. A Marine Corps and Air Force veteran, he is the author of The Revelation of Jesus: A Common Man’s Commentary and a contributor to Charisma magazine. For interviews and media inquiries, please contact [email protected].
