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27 - Pilate's Wife to her Husband

Louise Lawrence
Affiliation:
University of Glasgow
Philip R. Davies
Affiliation:
University of Sheffield
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Summary

The Palace, Jerusalem, II Aprilis, AUC 786

My lord Pilate, my dear husband,

I write this to you urgently and in fear. Have nothing to do with that innocent man, the Galilean, for today I have suffered a great deal because of a dream about him.

Although I know you think I am whimsical, pre-disposed to a vivid imagination, I urge you to listen to me now. I am writing to you so that you will not lose face by having your wife come personally into the judgment hall and pour out her misgivings. Not to mention avoiding the spectacle of a procurator acting on his wife's ‘fanciful’ daydreaming.

I dreamt I saw this Galilean sitting on Caesar's throne, illumined by lightning that seemed to rip the sky asunder. At the sight of him your guards and all the people stood awe struck and declared ‘This man is the Son of God’. The ground shook and the rocks cracked open, releasing an army of the living dead hailing him as ‘Saviour’. This ‘King of the Jews’ stopped the world, living and dead, in its tracks, emanating an authority and power unlike anything seen in Rome. I heard voices saddling you with blame. A chorus sang of your demise, linked to this man's fate.

The dream warns that your dealings with this man will have serious repercussions for your own position in the eyes of your superiors. Remember the old proverb, Tam de se iudex iudicat quam de reo?

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Chapter
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Yours Faithfully
Virtual Letters from the Bible
, pp. 135 - 136
Publisher: Acumen Publishing
Print publication year: 2004

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