Topical Encyclopedia
Barabbas is a figure mentioned in the New Testament, specifically in the context of the trial and crucifixion of Jesus Christ. His account is found in all four Gospels:
Matthew 27:15-26,
Mark 15:6-15,
Luke 23:18-25, and
John 18:39-40. Barabbas is known primarily for being the prisoner released by Pontius Pilate instead of Jesus, in accordance with a Passover tradition.
Name and IdentityThe name "Barabbas" is Aramaic in origin, meaning "son of the father" (bar abba). Some ancient manuscripts of Matthew's Gospel refer to him as "Jesus Barabbas," which would mean "Jesus, son of the father." This has led to various interpretations and discussions among scholars regarding the significance of his name and its possible implications in the narrative.
Crimes and ImprisonmentBarabbas is described as a notorious prisoner. The Gospels provide some details about his crimes. In
Mark 15:7 and
Luke 23:19, he is identified as having taken part in an insurrection in the city and as having committed murder.
John 18:40 refers to him as a "bandit" or "robber." These descriptions suggest that Barabbas was involved in violent rebellion against Roman authority, a serious offense in the eyes of the Roman government.
The Custom of ReleaseDuring the Passover festival, it was customary for the Roman governor to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. This tradition is mentioned in all four Gospels. Pilate, recognizing the innocence of Jesus and seeking a way to release Him, offered the crowd a choice between Jesus and Barabbas.
Matthew 27:17 records Pilate's question: "Whom do you want me to release to you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?"
The Choice of the CrowdThe chief priests and elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas's release and to demand the crucifixion of Jesus (
Matthew 27:20). Despite Pilate's attempts to reason with the crowd, they insisted on freeing Barabbas.
Mark 15:11-13 states, "But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release Barabbas to them instead. So Pilate asked them again, 'What then do you want me to do with the One you call the King of the Jews?' And they shouted back, 'Crucify Him!'"
Significance in the Passion NarrativeThe release of Barabbas and the subsequent crucifixion of Jesus hold deep theological significance. Barabbas, a guilty man, was set free, while Jesus, the innocent Lamb of God, was condemned to die. This exchange is often seen as a powerful illustration of the substitutionary atonement of Christ, where Jesus takes the place of sinners, bearing the punishment they deserve.
Historical and Theological InterpretationsThroughout Christian history, Barabbas has been viewed as a symbol of humanity's sinful nature and the grace offered through Christ's sacrifice. His release serves as a poignant reminder of the choice between the ways of the world and the kingdom of God. The crowd's preference for Barabbas over Jesus highlights the rejection of the Messiah by His own people, fulfilling prophetic scriptures and underscoring the tragic nature of the events leading to the crucifixion.
Barabbas's account, though brief, is a critical component of the Passion narrative, illustrating the themes of justice, mercy, and redemption that are central to the Christian faith.
Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary
Barabbasson of shame, confusion
Smith's Bible Dictionary
Barabbas(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
ATS Bible Dictionary
BarabbasA noted robber in Christ's time, who was imprisoned and awaiting death for the crimes of sedition and murder. It was a custom of the Roman government, for the sake of conciliating the Jews, to release one Jewish prisoner, whom they might choose, at the yearly Passover. Pilate desired thus to release Jesus, but the Jews demanded Barabbas,Matthew 27:16-26.
Easton's Bible Dictionary
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 (
Matthew 27:16-26;
Acts 3:14). This Pilate did.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
BARABBASba-rab'-as (Barabbas): For Aramaic Bar-abba = literally, "son of the father," i.e. of the master or teacher. Abba in the time of Jesus was perhaps a title of honor (Matthew 23:9), but became later a proper name. The variant Barrabban found in the 19-Harclean Syriac would mean "son of the rabbi or teacher." Origen knew and does not absolutely condemn a reading ofMatthew 27:16, 17, which gave the name "Jesus Barabbas," but although it is also found in a few cursives and in the Aramaic and the Jerusalem Syriac versions in this place only, it is probably due to a scribe's error in transcription (Westcott-Hort, App., 20). If the name was simply Barabbas or Barrabban, it may still have meant that the man was a rabbi's son, or it may have been a purely conventional proper name, signifying nothing. He was the criminal chosen by the Jerusalem mob, at the instigation of the priests, in preference to Jesus Christ, for Pilate to release on the feast of Passover (Mark 15:15Matthew 27:20, 21Luke 23:18John 18:40). Matthew calls him "a notable (i.e. notorious) prisoner" (Matthew 27:16). Mark says that he was "bound with them that had made insurrection, men who in the insurrection had committed murder" (Matthew 15:7). Luke states that he was cast into prison "for a certain insurrection made in the city, and for murder" (Luke 23:19; compareActs 3:14). John calls him a "robber" or "brigand" (John 18:40). Nothing further is known of him, nor of the insurrection in which he took part. Luke's statement that he was a murderer is probably a deduction from Mark's more circumstantial statement, that he was only one of a gang, who in a rising had committed murder. Whether robbery was the motive of his crime, as John suggests, or whether he was "a man who had raised a revolt against the Roman power" (Gould) cannot be decided. But it seems equally improbable that the priests (the pro-Roman party) would urge the release of a political prisoner and that Pilate would grant it, especially when the former were urging, and the latter could not resist, the execution of Jesus on a political charge (Luke 23:2). The insurrection may have been a notorious case of brigandage. To say that the Jews would not be interested in the release of such a prisoner, is to forget the history of mobs. The custom referred to of releasing a prisoner on the Passover is otherwise unknown. "What Matthew (and John) represents as brought about by Pilate, Mark makes to appear as if it were suggested by the people themselves. An unessential variation" (Meyer). For a view of the incident as semi-legendary growth, see Schmiedel in Encyclopedia Biblica. See also Allen, Matthew, and Gould, Mark, at the place, and article "Barabbas" by Plummer in Hastings, Dictionary of the Bible (five volumes).
T. Rees
Greek
912.Barabbas -- "son of Abba,"Barabbas, the Isr. robber released...... 911, 912.
Barabbas. 913 . "son of Abba,"
Barabbas, the Isr. robber
released instead of Christ. Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine
...Library
Barabbas
...BARABBAS. BY REV. JG GREENHOUGH, MA. "And they cried out all at once, saying, Away
with this man, and release unto usBarabbas.""ST Luke 23:18....
March the Twenty-Eighth the Choice ofBarabbas
... MARCH The Twenty-eighth THE CHOICE OFBARABBAS. LUKE xxiii.13-24.Barabbas rather
than Christ! The destroyer of life rather than the Giver of life!...
"Jesus orBarabbas. "
... CHAPTER VIII. "JESUS ORBARABBAS.". See!... ForBarabbas, the murderer, Pardon asking,
and liberty. Oh, how otherwise once 'fore the Egyptian folk Joseph!...
Other Incidents of the Passion Minutely Compared with Prophecy...
... Chapter XLII."Other Incidents of the Passion Minutely Compared with Prophecy Pilate
and Herod.Barabbas Preferred to Jesus. Details of the Crucifixion....
And Pilate Said unto the Chief Priests and the Multitude...
... him whom they would. [3488] And there was in their prison a well-known
prisoner, [22, 23] calledBarabbas. [3489] And when they...
The Sentence which Condemned the Judges
... And they had then a notable prisoner, calledBarabbas.17....Barabbas, or Jesus which
is called Christ? 18. For he knew that for envy they had delivered Him.19....
Jesus and Pilate
... And they cried out all at once, saying, Away with this man, and release unto us
Barabbas: 19.... The choice ofBarabbas reveals the national ideal....
I am Told, Further, that You Touch with Some Critical Sharpness...
... rising on your forehead and your eyebrows knitted, make sport of me with a wit worthy
of Plautus, for having said that I had a Jew namedBarabbas for my teacher...
A Savage Duel.
... Pilate brings forward a man namedBarabbas, who was a robber and murderer and charged
with leading an insurrection against Roman rule.... Give usBarabbas!...
The Trial Before Pilate Resumed.
... And they had then a notable prisoner, calledBarabbas, lying bound with them that
had made insurrection, men who in the insurrection had committed murder....
Thesaurus
Barabbas (10 Occurrences)... But the Jews were so bent on the death of Jesus that they demanded that
Barabbas should be pardoned (Matthew 27:16-26; Acts 3:14). This Pilate did.
...BARABBAS.
...Barabbas's (1 Occurrence)
... Multi-Version ConcordanceBarabbas's (1 Occurrence). Mark 15:11 But the High Priests
urged on the crowd to obtainBarabbas's release in preference; (WEY)....
Barab'bas (10 Occurrences)
Barab'bas.Barabbas, Barab'bas.Barabbas's .... Barab'bas (10 Occurrences). Matthew
27:16 and they had then a noted prisoner, calledBarabbas, (See RSV)....
Release (61 Occurrences)
... release to you?Barabbas, or Jesus, who is called Christ?" (WEB KJV WEY ASV
DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV). Matthew 27:21 But the governor...
Voices (76 Occurrences)
... witnessed. (WEY BBE NIV). Luke 23:18 But with loud voices they said all together,
Put this man to death, and makeBarabbas free. (BBE)....
Free (454 Occurrences)
... And they said,Barabbas. (BBE). Matthew 27:26 Then he letBarabbas go free: but
after having Jesus whipped, he gave him up to be put to death on the cross....
Named (428 Occurrences)
... day. (BBE). Matthew 27:16 And they had then a notable prisoner, namedBarabbas.
(DBY).... have?Barabbas, or Jesus, who is named Christ? (BBE)....
Cried (255 Occurrences)
... Matthew 27:21 So when the Governor a second time asked them, "Which of the
two shall I release to you?" --they cried, "Barabbas!" (WEY)....
Loud (222 Occurrences)
... Luke 23:18 But with loud voices they said all together, Put this man to death,
and makeBarabbas free. (BBE).... NowBarabbas was an outlaw. (BBE)....
Urged (44 Occurrences)
... (WEY). Matthew 27:20 The High Priests, however, and the Elders urged the crowd
to ask forBarabbas and to demand the death of Jesus. (WEY)....
Resources
Who was Barabbas in the Bible? | GotQuestions.orgWhy did the crowds shout, “Crucify Him!” when Pilate wanted to release Jesus? | GotQuestions.orgWho was Pontius Pilate? | GotQuestions.orgBarabbas: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.comBible Concordance •
Bible Dictionary •
Bible Encyclopedia •
Topical Bible •
Bible Thesuarus
