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Pontius Pilate in History and Interpretation, by Helen K. Bond. SNTSMS 100. Cambridge, UK/New York: Cambridge University Press, 1998. Pp. xxvi + 249. $59.95.
The major aim of Bond's work is to "see how this real historical figure [Pontius Pilate] was used by various Jewish and Christian authors of the first century C.E. as a literary character in their writings. How do Philo, Josephus and the four gospels portray Pilate and what rhetorical concerns have shaped these interpretations of the governor? In particular, have these differing literary presentations of the Roman prefect been influenced by their authors' attitudes towards the Romans with whom they have come in contact?" (p. xvii; emphases mine).
Her methodology is to treat Philo and Josephus first, for "the bulk of what we can reconstruct of the historical Pilate is derived from their accounts (p. xix). About the Gospels Bond writes: "After a consideration of the general themes in each evangelist's passion narrative, each chapter will give a more detailed description of how the writer concerned presents the prefect as a literary character, asking how a first-century reader would have understood and interpreted Pilate's actions. When this has been established we will ask whether the portrayal of Pilate in each case gives any indication as to the author's attitude towards the Roman state, and what kind of readers might have found this useful" (p. xx). In these statements of aim and methodology we glimpse a deficiency in this monograph, for they outline the...