Man living at the time of the New Testament
Barabbas, a notorious prisoner, was released by Pilate instead of Jesus at the crowd's demand.
🗺 Places mentioned alongside Barabbas on the map →
Also known as Jesus
Barabbas was a notorious prisoner mentioned in all four Gospels (Mat.27.16-26; Mrk.15.7-15; Luk.23.18-25; Jhn.18.40). He was in custody during the trial of Jesus before Pontius Pilate. According to the Gospel accounts, it was customary during the Passover feast for the Roman governor to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. Pilate offered the people a choice between releasing Jesus or Barabbas. The chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude to ask for Barabbas and demand Jesus' crucifixion. Pilate, although convinced of Jesus' innocence, yielded to the crowd's pressure and released Barabbas while condemning Jesus to death. Some manuscripts of Mat.27.16-17 refer to Barabbas as "Jesus Barabbas," suggesting that he may have also been called Jesus. Barabbas is described as a notorious criminal, with Mark and Luke mentioning that he had committed murder during an insurrection. His release in place of Jesus highlights the irony and injustice of the situation.
Part of: Roman Officials
Pilate offered the crowd a choice between Barabbas, a notable prisoner, and Jesus. Barabbas was released, and Pilate scourged Jesus and handed him over.
Sources: Scripture
More background: search Wikipedia ↗
I.e., son of Abba or of a father, a notorious robber whom Pilate proposed to condemn to death instead of Jesus, whom he wished to release, in accordance with the Roman custom (John 18:40; Mark 15:7; Luke 23:19). But the Jews were so bent on the death of Jesus that they demanded that Barabbas should be pardoned (Matt. 27:16-26; Acts 3:14). This Pilate did.
(son of Abba), a robber, (John 18:40) who had committed murder in an insurrection, (Mark 15:7; Luke 28:18) in Jerusalem and was lying in prison the time of the trial of Jesus before Pilate.p
son of shame, confusion
BARAB'BAS (son of Abba), a noted criminal at Jerusalem who was in confinement for sedition and murder when Christ was condemned. Matt 27:16. It was the custom of the Romans to release some one prisoner at the time of the Jewish Passover. The Jews were permitted to name any one whose release they desired; and when the choice lay between Barabbas and Christ, they chose the robber. Matt 27:21; Mark 15:6-11; Luke 23:18; John 18:40; Acts 3:14. Pilate was anxious to save Christ, but at last released Barabbas. The custom is said to have prevailed among the Venetians as lately as the close of the eighteenth century to release a prisoner at the annual commemoration of our Saviour's resurrection.
BARAB'BAS (son of Abba), a noted criminal at Jerusalem who was in confinement for sedition and murder when Christ was condemned. Matt 27:16. It was the custom of the Romans to release some one prisoner at the time of the Jewish Passover. The Jews were permitted to name any one whose release they desired; and when the choice lay between Barabbas and Christ, they chose the robber. Matt 27:21; Mark 15:6-11; Luke 23:18; John 18:40; Acts 3:14. Pilate was anxious to save Christ, but at last released Barabbas. The custom is said to have prevailed among the Venetians as lately as the close of the eighteenth century to release a prisoner at the annual commemoration of our Saviour's resurrection.
Easton (1897), Smith (1863), Hitchcock (1869), Hastings (1898) and Schaff are in the public domain. Parsed text: neuu-org/bible-dictionary-dataset (CC BY 4.0). Headwords and whitespace normalised for this site.
10 verses in 4 books · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s G0912
At that time they were holding a notorious prisoner named Barabbas.
So when the crowd had assembled, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?”
But the chief priests and elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus put to death.
“Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” asked the governor. “Barabbas,” they replied.
So Pilate released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed Him over to be crucified.
And a man named Barabbas was imprisoned with the rebels who had committed murder during the insurrection.
But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release Barabbas to them instead.
And wishing to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed Him over to be crucified.
But they all cried out in unison: “Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us!”
“Not this man,” they shouted, “but Barabbas!” (Now Barabbas was an insurrectionist.)
Names, family links and references: STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Short descriptions were drafted with AI assistance by STEPBible. Family links follow STEPBible’s scholarly decisions where genealogies are ambiguous.