Hebrew Latin Greek
John tells us that the inscription “Jesus the Nazarene, the King of the Jews” was placed above his head on the cross in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek (19:19-20). But this is just the culmination of a text that, though written in Greek, contains a number of cross-linguistic terms. Twice in chapter 19 John translates a Greek term into Hebrew/Aramic (vv. 13, 17), something he does only two other times in the gospel (5:2; 20:16).
Pilate, meanwhile, goes in and out of the Praetorium (18:28, 33), a Greek word borrowed from Latin, and a central point in debate is whether Caesar is going to be happy with Pilate (19:12).
That Jesus is the King of the Jews is proclaimed in all the relevant languages; that Jesus is crucified by a united humanity is evident in the trial scene as a whole - Pilate in his Praetorium, the Jews concerned for ritual impurity, both are described in John’s Greek.
Peter Leithart
Peter J. Leithart is President of Theopolis Institute. He is the author of numerous books on theology, literature, and culture, including Theopolitan, Defending Constantine, and Baptized Body.
In Medias Res
Your weekly digest for all things Theopolis.