Do secular sources support the existence of Pontius Pilate?

Pontius Pilate is known to Bible readers because of his role in Jesus’ trial and execution. (Matt. 27:1, 2, 24-26) However, his name also appears a number of times in other contemporary historical records. According to The Anchor Bible Dictionary, the dossier of secular historical references to him is “larger and more detailed than that of any other Roman governor of Judea.”

Pilate’s name appears most frequently in the writings of the Jewish historian Josephus, who chronicled three specific incidents relating to the difficulties Pilate experienced while governing Judea. A fourth incident was added by the Jewish historian Philo. The Roman writer Tacitus, who recorded the history of Rome’s emperors, confirmed that Pontius Pilate ordered Jesus’ execution during the reign of Tiberius.

In 1961, archaeologists working in the ancient Roman theater in Caesarea, Israel, found that a reused stone slab clearly bore Pilate’s name in Latin. The inscription (shown here) is fragmentary but is thought originally to have read: “To the honorable gods (this) Tiberieum Pontius Pilate, Prefect of Judaea, had dedicated.” The building referred to was likely a temple honoring the Roman Emperor Tiberius.