The Life of Jesus in Harmony | Index

Golgotha

Golgotha was the name of the place outside of Jerusalem where Jesus was crucified. The name means in Hebrew "skull place", the Greek word "kranion" means skull, and the Latin word "calvarium" or calvary also means skull. The Hebrew word would indicate that it was a place filled with skulls, but it is impossible to know exactly what this means. The two main theories are: that the rocks on the hill were shaped like a skull. The second is that this was a place of public execution and there were many skulls in this area. There is no certain proof in archaeology where the exact location of Golgotha might be. Some believe it is at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, others believe it is at Gordon's Calvary, and others believe that it is Mount Moriah where the holy of holies was located.

Scriptures

John 19:17 - And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called [the place] of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha: 

Matthew 27:33 - And when they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull, 

Mark 15:22 - And they bring him unto the place Golgotha, which is, being interpreted, The place of a skull. 

MORE INFORMATION

GOL'GO-THA

Golgotha meaning the "place of the skull" was probably where Jesus was crucified. In 135 AD Rome's Emperor Hadrian covered this traditional site of Golgotha and Jesus' tomb with a massive pavement. Two centuries later, Constantine removed it and built the first Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

CAL'VARY (Gk. kranion, a "skull," Heb. Golgotha )

Calvary refers to the place where Christ was crucified, designated as the place of a skull (Golgotha), either because of the shape of the mound or elevation or because it was a place of execution. Some claim that Moriah and Calvary are identical. The shift of the city wall from time to time renders it difficult to locate the spot. It would probably have been a prominent place near the public highway, for the Romans selected such places for public executions.

From the fourth century to the present day the sites of Calvary and of the Holy Sepulcher have been shown within the precincts of the church of the Holy Sepulcher, a Crusader construction, standing where Constantine's Basilica was raised. Others identify the spot with "Gordon's Calvary," N of the present N wall.

Golgotha in Easton's Bible Dictionary the common name of the spot where Jesus was crucified. It is interpreted by the evangelists as meaning "the place of a skull" (Matt. 27:33; Mark 15:22; John 19:17). This name represents in Greek letters the Aramaic word Gulgaltha, which is the Hebrew Gulgoleth (Num. 1:2; 1 Chr. 23:3, 24; 2 Kings 9:35), meaning "a skull." It is identical with the word Calvary (q.v.). It was a little knoll rounded like a bare skull. It is obvious from the evangelists that it was some well-known spot outside the gate (comp. Heb. 13:12), and near the city (Luke 23:26), containing a "garden" (John 19:41), and on a thoroughfare leading into the country. Hence it is an untenable idea that it is embraced within the present "Church of the Holy Sepulchre." The hillock above Jeremiah's Grotto, to the north of the city, is in all probability the true site of Calvary. The skull-like appearance of the rock in the southern precipice of the hillock is very remarkable.