Joseph, called Caiaphas, was high priest in Jerusalem from about 18 to AD 36, an unusually long tenure that suggests close cooperation with the Roman prefects, including Pilate. Josephus records his appointment and his removal by the Syrian legate Vitellius. John calls him the son-in-law of Annas.
Matthew and John name him as the high priest before whom Jesus was brought after his arrest, and John has him argue that it was better for one man to die than for the nation to perish. An ossuary inscribed ‘Joseph son of Caiaphas’, found in Jerusalem in 1990, probably belonged to his family, and possibly to him.
Where to start
Every mention
13 writings- 530 BCDaniel: the vision of the Son of ManThe Prophets1×
- AD 40The Caiaphas ossuaryStones and Scrolls11×
- AD 85The Gospel of MatthewThe New Testament2×
- AD 85The Gospel of LukeThe New Testament1×
- AD 85The Acts of the ApostlesThe New Testament1×
- AD 93Josephus, Jewish Antiquities, Book 18: the Testimonium Flavianum and John the BaptistWitnesses Outside the Church1×
- AD 95The Gospel of JohnThe New Testament5×
- AD 170Tatian’s DiatessaronThe Other Gospels4×
- AD 320Eusebius, Church History, Book IThe Early Church6×
- AD 400The Gospel of Nicodemus (Acts of Pilate) and the Pilate LettersThe Other Gospels15×
- 2026Jesus’s life: a chronological catalogue of the canonical narrativesThe Dossier2×
- 2026What the evidence can and cannot establishThe Dossier2×
- 2026Sources and further readingThe Dossier1×